Top 10 GameCube Games

I have been the proud owner of a GameCube since I received one for Christmas back in 2002 (the year of the console’s launch); and after nearly twenty years; it still miraculously works! This must be one of the best built machines in the history of electronics and manufacturing. Computers usually half a shelf-life of 10 years, and other devices probably don’t last as long; but yet my little Nintendo GameCube is still ticking on!

The GameCube was a very underrated machine. Compared to it’s two main rivals; the PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox, the GameCube didn’t sell all that well, plus due to the machine’s use of much smaller discs in comparison to it’s main competitors, it did struggle to receive some of the bigger and major games that the other consoles were getting. But this doesn’t mean it was in any way a bad machine; The controller for a start is quite possibly the best deigned video game controller ever produced. It fit snuggly into your hands, with buttons, triggers and sticks all within a comfortable reach; plus it had a built in rumble feature. The GameCube was also the first console to provide the option for a wireless controller in the form of the WaveBird.

It wasn’t just down to the controller though, as though while it did struggle to receive some of the bigger names in the industry when it came to games, it still provided a great library of exclusive titles to it’s name, plus a whole host of other titles from first and second party developers. So, in celebration of this amazing machine; I have chosen my Top 10 favourite games from the console to share with you.

Originally this was going to be a Top 5, but after I realised how many games I have played on the GameCube; that just felt wrong; but still that meant that there have been some that didn’t quite make it. So here are a selection of other great games (out of at least 35+) that I played on the GameCube:

• Monster Jam Maximum Destruction,
• Super Mario Sunshine,
• Sonic Heroes,
• Mario Kart Double Dash,
• Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg,
• Goldeneye Rogue Agent,
• Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance,
• Super Mario Strikers.

So with all the paperwork out of the way; here are my Top 10 favourite GameCube games; Enjoy! 

10. Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee – This was the first game I received for my GameCube, and to this day stands out as one of the best Godzilla video games ever made. The game was a fighting game featuring monsters from the Japanese film series all fighting one another in a city with plenty of buildings to destroy. The combat was excellent and fun from start to finish, plus there was a mode where the objective was simply to destroy as many buildings as possible. It was a Godzilla game designed to be the best Godzilla game possible, and it sort of still is!

9. The Simpsons: Road Rage – Simpsons Road Rage was really surprisingly good. Video games based on The Simpsons have been more miss than hit, but with Road Rage; instead of making a game around The Simpsons; they took Crazy Taxi; and inserted the Simpsons in it. It features the locale’s of The Simpson world from the suburbs, to the town, to even the gorge, and then fills in the world with stuff like the elevator to nowhere. Then they took major Simpsons characters, and gave them vehicles that relate to the characters, like Groundskeeper Willie‘s Tractor, Reverend Lovejoy‘s Book Burning Mobile, and my favourite; Homer‘s Mr. Plow Truck. It was fun in both Single and Multiplayer, but on the whole it was a game which just worked, and did so beautifully!

8. Mario Party 5 – Nintendo released a cavalcade of Mario Party games on the GameCube (at least 4), and while they were mostly fun, the quality did begin to diminish as time went on. But at least Mario Party 5 was great. It’s almost like they poured every possibility they could do at the time into this, and then were a bit tired when they came to do 6 and 7. The maps were really good, the mini games were excellent, but also it came packed with lots of bonus games and activities in it too, to provide a great scope of opportunity as to how or where the future of the series could go. I especially liked the vehicle creation/combat bonus game!

7. James Bond 007: Nightfire – Nightfire was a very interesting game; it featured a light but still complex single player experience, but it was the game’s multiplayer experience that really stood out. For one you could actually play a multiplayer level with just one person and have the level filled up with AI Bots, still providing you with the experience of a multiplayer game if you didn’t have any friends round at the time. The maps were terrific, the gun selection was epic, and the variety of games to play were a truly unique collection, offering several varieties of gameplay. I can’t think of an FPS game since that has provided a decent multiplayer experience on the same par as this game. Maps in Call of Duty multiplayer are all static, they don’t feature ski-lifts to ride around in!

6. Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life – I came across this game by accident, but after a look through CUBE magazine, I sort of wanted to play it and discover more about it. Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life is a farming simulation game where you had to run a farm. You would grow crops and take care of animals in the hope of making money. You would also have to raise a family. It was a game that to my friends sounded odd, but was really enjoyable to play!

5. Need For Speed Underground – I had played previous games in the series, but none of the games I had played have been as fun or as pleasurable as this one. Need For Speed Underground sets the racing series in the world of illegal street racing as you the player have to take on the finest underground racers, as well as avoid the oncoming traffic. I liked the customization and the variety of cars as well as racing modes, but what I enjoyed about it most was the option to simply drive really fast around the map whilst listening to the great selection of music. I could spend hours just going for a fast drive, a gaming experience I couldn’t enjoy again until the release of Test Drive Unlimited 2. The game was fun no matter which mode I chose, but I had a special selection just for my own video gaming pleasure!

4. Battalion Wars – This game came out about a year before the release of the Wii, and stood out as to what the GameCube was actually capable of. Battalion Wars was a Real-Time-Tactics game where the player was given command over a small battalion of troops, and had to direct them on the battlefield against an opposing force. A spin-off of the Advance Wars series, the game was set in a fictional, and very cartoony location. By being that little bit silly in it’s presentation, the game already stood out as a fun experience. For such a small disc, the game was ‘HUGE’! It featured something like over 25 missions on some large scale maps, plus had a an army of different characters, units and vehicles. It was really engaging and engrossing, and the story was really good too, packed with some really funky and memorable cutscenes!

3. WWE Day of Reckoning – I first became a fan of WWE in the summer of 2004, and soon after that was the release of this game! Like other wrestling games, this one featured a create a wrestler mode, a career mode of sorts, plus the option for an exhibition mode where you could play with friends and use famous wrestlers. So on the surface it was pretty generic, but deep down it was something more. The game’s controls just blended in with the GameCube’s controller and was so easy just to pick up and play. The use of a stamina bar helped to build up the character’s special move allowances, in the same way a conventional fighting game would. It was an experience all could join in with too: sometimes when I would have my friends round for a game; they weren’t wrestling fans, but they really seriously enjoyed playing this game; they would even ask to play it by request! It was a one-of-a-kind wrestling game, which no other wrestling game that I have played since has been any where near of equaling!

2. Sonic Adventure 2 Battle – I first played this on the Dreamcast; so when it was released on the GameCube, it was a must buy for me. It was the same game as on the Dreamcast, but I was able to play more of it on this occasion and really discover the story. The choice of playing either the heroes or the villains, and the style of gameplay attached to each character was simply terrific! The range of new characters was strange…but they were really good creations! The variety of the levels and the accompanying music was a real treat; and there was a real sense of accomplishment when you finished the story modes of each of the two arcs. It’s a Sonic game which creates a unique experience and one which all gamers should try at least once; plus, the Chao mini game is really fun once you really dive deep down into it (although I can guarantee you will play this mode more than the actual story part of the game)!

1. F-Zero GX – I have quite possibly played this game more than any other game on any other device. For hours at a time I was glued to my screen as I raced these amazing vehicles around these brilliant maps. I was dedicated to finishing the races, and to unlocking more of the F-Zero TV interview segments at the end of a Grand Prix. I absolutely adored this game, and I still do. It was a game that I couldn’t get enough of. OK, there wasn’t the option to go on a simple drive in the vehicles, but I didn’t want to do that either, all I wanted to do was try out several different vehicles, complete Grand Prix’s and beat the time trials with them. I also enjoyed watching the cutscenes from the story mode over and over again too. It’s a game which took over hours of my video game play time, and I enjoyed every second, of every minute of it; and that’s why it’s my number 1 favourite game on the GameCube!