List: Best 30 Gamecube Games (What do you want on yr shelf)

[mjmjr25]

Greetings,

Similar to the wii thread...without the added difficulty of having to project how something might hold up over the next 10 years.

Some of you have no GCN games, some have less then 30, some more...some have hundreds.

If you had to limit your list to 30 - what would they be (and why).

Things to consider (but not dealbreakers...just considerations):
- Is there a better version on another console
- Have subsequent sequels left the GCN version obsolete
- Have you played it recently and is it holding up?
- Please don't say Cubivore because it's rare. Say Cubivore because you've played it and it is in the 30 best GCN games.

Argue for and against in efforts to get the best consensus we can...

The List (in no particular order)
1. Super Monkey Ball
2. Super Smash Bros Melee
3. Super Mario Strikers
4. Chibi Robo
5. Phantasy Star Online Ep. I & II Plus
6. Battalion Wars
7. Resident Evil 0
8. F-Zero GX
9. Smugglers Run Warzones
10. Super Mario Kart Double-Dash
11. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II
12. Luigi's Mansion
13. Wario World
14. Killer 7
15. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
16. Phantasy Star III Card Revolution
17. Zelda Four Swords Adventures
18. P.N. 03
19. Paper Mario Thousand Year Door
20. Mario Golf
21. Viewtiful Joe
22. Fire Emblem Path of Radiance
23. Eternal Darkness
24. Pikmin
25. Skies of Arcadia Legends
26. Pacman vs.
27. Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes
28. Super Mario Sunshine
29. Ikaruga
30. Soul Calibur II

Honorable Mention

Incredible Hulk Ultimate Destruction
Alien Hominid
Animal Crossing
Baten Kaitos
Beach Spikers
Beyond Good and Evil
Billy Hatcher
Cubivore
Gauntlet Dark Legacy
Kirby Air Ride
Lost Kingdoms
Lost Kingdoms 2
Mario Tennis
NBA Street 3
Pikmin 2
Resident Evil
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 3
Ribbit King
Sonic Gems Collection
Starfox Adventures
Starfox Assault
Super Monkey Ball 2
Tales of Symphonia
Zelda Windwaker

[laurenhiya21]

I haven't played too many Gamecube games but the ones that I think that hold up are:

-LoZ: Twilight Princess (unless the Wii one is better? I haven't tried that version so I dunno)
-Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (best Paper Mario imo)
-Harvest Moon: A/Another Wonderful Life (but I seem to be the minority that thinks this game is amazing :/)

Man I really need to get more Gamecube games ._.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I own very few GameCube games.

Ikaruga deserves a nod. Such a unique and challenging game.

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is the triumphant return of the series to Nintendo home consoles. A fun little action-RPG with co-op play. I think it outshines parts X and XII on PS2.

Virtually every other GC game I really enjoy has had an enhanced port or remake that I haven't played. Anyone want to weigh in on old vs. new in terms of Resident Evil 4, Metroid Prime 1 & 2, Tales of Symphonia, Wind Waker...?

Skies of Arcadia is a toss-up. GC version has extra content, but I find that it feels like filler. Music is worse than DC original. Opinions?

Intriguing games I haven't played/finished: Four Swords Adventures, the Baten Kaitos games, Lost Kingdoms 1 & 2, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Phantasy Star Online Episode III, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Smash Bros. Melee... Looking forward to seeing what other folks think.

PSO Episodes I & II seems to be popular. But what distinguishes it from the other versions?

Anyhow, only two definitive picks from me: Ikaruga and FF: Crystal Chronicles.

[flojocabron]

Soul Calibur 2 has to be in there somewhere.

For a while it was the definitive fighting game on gamecube. I think it still is. Better than the PS2 version and about as good as the oXBOX one. Plus you get to play as link.

Controls are comfortable too. You can pull off nice combos even though the gamecube button scheme is not what many are used to.

[Jmustang1968]

1. Super Smash Bros Melee - I love the Smash series and sunk many hours into this one.
2. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance - I also love the Fire Emblem games. This was my first console entry of the series
3. Baten Kaitos: Origins - Surprisingly fun RPG series
4. Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean - See above
5. Legend of Zelda: Windwaker - Very polarizing Zelda, but this one was a quality release
6. Skies of Arcadia: Legends - A remade Dreamcast gem
7. Tales of Symphonia - One of the best entries in the storied Tales series
8. Battalion Wars - Consolized Advance Wars. Not quite as good as some of the mobile entries, but still good
9. Resident Evil 0 - Great remake of the original
10. Resident Evil 4 - Excellent entry into the series. Mature game that went against the Gamecube reputation of being kiddie.

[mjmjr25]

I've never been heavily into PS2, so some of my suggestions may have better ports - please do point them out if they do:

Super Mario Strikers - pure perfection imo, fun, challenging, 4players
Zapper One Wicket Cricket - Frogger mechanics done better then the frogger GCN games - arcadey mindless fun
Sega Soccer Slam - one of the only games I know of that features 3 player co-op (not 4) - great arcade soccer fun, playing season and upgrading is cool too
Gauntlet Legends - Such a brilliant arcadey hack n' slash with some RPG elements, another 4player gem
Super Mario Sunshine - the platforming levels are some of the most gaming fun i've had in the last 20 years. This game is top 10 all time for me.
Resident Evil 4 - The Wii version and this version play differently enough both make my lists. This is the first game that ever gave me chills. It still does if playing in the dark.
Mario Kart Double Dash - the first time the graphics really hold up. I can enjoy this every bit as much as MK Wii and MK 8. Still a favorite.
Mystic Heroes - fun multiplayer RPG for those who don't really know what RPG's are. Sorta like 360 degree Dungeons and Dragons (I know this isn't really an RPG, but it's as close as I get to playing RPG-lite)
Backyard Football - this is this generations 10-yard fight. Super easy controls, fun to pick up and play a game or a season. Love this game
FIFA Street - when you want to play soccer NBA Jam style.
Luigi's Mansion - a top 5-er for sure. Innovative, great in-game sound, this game had me quiver a few times with ghosts popping up. Some decent battles, fun mechanics, some puzzle elements for sure. Great, unique game
Pikmin - Another unique title. Using the night and day mechanic ala Majora's Mask brought the same intensity...and frustration.
Time Splitters 2 - best FPS on GCN and an absolute 4p blast.
Super Monkey Ball - another top 5-er for me. I spent more hours on Monkey Target mini-game than any game in the GCN library. I am embarrassed to say I was a bro-gamer in the early 2000's, playing very sparingly, but there was one game I would play for 18 hour marathon sessions and it was Monkey Target. The main game is great too.
Mario Golf Toadstool Tour - sadly, the N64 version doesn't hold up graphically, this one does, and it is still a good time.

Games I suspect will be mentioned, but I haven't played enough to comment:
Skies of Arcadia Legends
Digimon Rumble Arena 2
Metal Gear Twin Snakes
Chibi Robo
Gotcha Force
Wario Ware
Wario World
Eternal Darkness
F-Zero
Starfox Assault

[dunpeal2064]

PSO Episodes I & II seems to be popular. But what distinguishes it from the other versions?

Episode 2 was unique to the Cube, it was not on the Dreamcast. GC version also had 4 player couch co-op, which no other version supported. It is definitely THE PSO for me, and I don't spend time with any other version.

PSO Episode I & II (Plus) - For reasons stated above. I still play it to this day.

F-Zero GX - Probably the best racing game ever made.

Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2 - These are THE Monkey Ball games, developed by the same team that blessed us with F-Zero GX. Low barrier to entry, the least complex control scheme imaginable (One stick), and a brilliant difficulty curve with such an insanely high skill cap. Its god tier for the same reasons GX is, and both are absolutely essential.

I would toss a vote toward Ikaruga, Shikigami II, Chaos Field, and Radirgy, but I'm not sure any of those is better on the Cube, and when I do play these games it is rarely on this system.

Gauntlet Legends - Such a brilliant arcadey hack n' slash with some RPG elements, another 4player gem

I think Dark Legacy is the Cube Gauntlet, and I agree that its an absolute blast. I would have mentioned it myself, but I've only ever played the ps2 version.

[Omerta]

Episode 2 was unique to the Cube, it was not on the Dreamcast. GC version also had 4 player couch co-op, which no other version supported. It is definitely THE PSO for me, and I don't spend time with any other version.

Now my brain hurts. Isn't Version 2 the same as Episode 2?



Regardless, the cube version is fantastic because of offline multiplayer as stated above. PSO 1 and 2 Plus is the definitive console version since it has some more missions and bug fixes. If you're counting PC, Blue Burst has another entire episode and would be considered better.

[dunpeal2064]

Version 2 is a revamp, or "New" version of Episode 1. It still lets you visit the Forest, Cave, Mines, and Ruins, but with new weapon drops, and iirc this is also where they added the higher difficulty settings.

Episode 2, which was new to the GC version, lets you visit an entire 2nd world, containing the VR Temple, VR Spaceship, Control Center, and the Seabed. The story is new, the hub ship is new, all that good stuff.

It is quite confusing.

Regardless, the cube version is fantastic because of offline multiplayer as stated above. PSO 1 and 2 Plus is the definitive console version since it has some more missions and bug fixes. If you're counting PC, Blue Burst has another entire episode and would be considered better.

I disagree. For one, Blue Burst does not have couch co-op. This might be a minor thing to those with PCs everywhere, but I think its a big enough difference that I can't call Blue Burst "definitive"

Second, from what I have played of Blue Burst, the tweaking of things really changes the game all around. Its not an identical copy of GC's Episodes, with an expansion, the entire game feels different. Most probably because of the online aspect, the ease to get weapons that used to be very high tier and hard to obtain, the creation of even more obscene weapons that make those already OP ones nearly useless, and the ability to jump into any difficulty level regardless of your current lvl.

I like Blue Burst, don't get me wrong, but I don't see it as a better version, just a side, fan-made version that does a lot of cool stuff. If me and my girl or some friends are gonna hit the couch, drink some beers, and hunt for some red boxes, its gonna be on the GC version, every time.

[dsheinem]

+1 for these:
Ikaruga
RE4
Sega Soccer Slam
Luigi's Mansion
Super Mario Sunshine
Mario Kart Double Dash
Eternal Darkness
F-Zero
Super Monkey Ball 2
Shikigami II

-1 for these:
Soul Calibur II (the moment when a somewhat decent fighting series begins getting somewhat shitty, Link's inclusion is cool but not enough to save this one)
Super Monkey Ball (sequel trumps)
Starfox Assault (the Other M of the GCN)
Starfox Adventures (the other Other M of the GCN)

I would/will argue that these (not yet mentioned) warrant a spot:

Alien Hominid (Metal Slug homage that launched a Behemoth)
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (best in a great series)
Viewtiful Joe (though maybe the sequel is better?)
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (easily the best super hero game on the system)