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

[Reprise]

What's with the Viewtiful Joe haters? Man, I love that game.

[Sarge]

Yeah, that game was viewtiful. (Second game didn't seem like it had the same magic. Also, VJ is pretty dang hard.)

I'd agree on pulling Kirby's Air Ride. It's good, but it's not that good. I don't think Star Fox Assault was bad, but I'm pretty sure it's not as good as either VJ or Paper Mario. At least in my opinion!

[mjmjr25]

Alrighty...3 pages of Kirby hate, Paper Mario praise, and mostly love for Joe...

Starfox Assault out - Viewtiful Joe in?
Kirby Air Ride out - Paper Mario in?
RE:0 or RE (remake)?

[prfsnl_gmr]

Starfox Assault out - Viewtiful Joe in?
Kirby Air Ride out - Paper Mario in?
RE:0 or RE (remake)?

I agree with the replacements.

I think you should include the RE:0 since the recent HD port of REmake is apparently the definitive version of that game.

[dsheinem]

The best part of Super Monkey Ball is the monkey target mini-game - hands down the best mini game. This was RUINED in SMB2. Most of the mini-games were worse than SMB1, yes there are more, but they were rushed. The main gameplay is probably marginally better in 2 than 1, but mini-games being significantly better trumps that.

I strongly disagree that the mini games were rushed or are in any way worse. In any case, it is a matter of taste at best -- I vastly prefer the improvements of the mini-games in the second. More games AND better quality. Don't take my word for it, though:


Eurogamer:

Here we are, and for some of you this is the main event. Many of our old favourites have grown new threads and new features, and there are six whole new party games to consider. First, the ball games…

We kicked off with Monkey Soccer. This five-a-side game is a bit like digital Subbuteo. Each monkey can perform a dash challenge, as if flicked out of the ether, along with pass and shoot moves, and because of the closed pitch and tight conditions, it's very much a game of pass and move. There are four teams to choose from, each with a particular slant (one is dedicated to being crap, giving fresh-faced opposition a fairer grounding) and three strategic formations, with Penalty Shootouts at the end of a draw and a roving, Soccer Slam-style camera. The verdict? Well, despite being fairly far removed from football, this is actually really good fun and probably well worth unlocking first or second - as with all the others, it really comes into its own when you've got multiple players on the pitch.

Monkey Tennis was the second game we unlocked, and it's equally simple. Played one-on-one or in doubles, it gives you three types of shot and rolls along at a manageable pace, leading to more strategy than brute force victories. It may be more like Virtua Tennis on the GBA than the Dreamcast, but God dammit it's got monkeys. Baby even sits on a barrel playing umpire!

The final ball game debutant is Monkey Baseball, which takes on a suitably wacky twist. As the bowler (sorry, pitcher), you hurl the ball and then control it, UT2003 Redeemer-style towards the batter, who must do his damnedest to propel it into one of a series of big holes marked around the edge of the pitch. It's a bit like skeeball meets rounders, my fellow surrender-monkeys.

Of the three others, Monkey Boat, Monkey Shot and Monkey Dogfight, Dogfight is the best. Rather like Lylatwars' multi-player, you skirt around a packed 3D fly-zone trying to line your sights on the enemy, with a little radar, a big fat aiming reticule and a fairly insignificant health bar. Very little in the whole game comes close to the mad panic as four rival fighters from all corners of the screen converge en masse and slip gracefully into one another's sights...

Sadly though, neither Boat nor Shot does much to keep up. Boat reverses the steering (because it's canoeing, apparently), as the left and right triggers cleverly work the paddle, but it's like a My First Wave Race Clone, and doesn't play particularly well. It's not really worth bothering with until the end, but definitely do get it before you spend your final 2500 points on Monkey Shot, a basic and uninspiring shoot 'em up. On a related note, do you remember the end credits game from the first Monkey Ball, of rolling through a sea of bananas and avoiding the names and credits? This time we have a 2D vertical shoot 'em up, and it actually outdoes Monkey Shot (and can be bought for posterity once you've unlocked everything else).

IGN:

More importantly, though, are the multiplayer-centric mini-games, of which there are many. The six minis featured in the first game are back, including Monkey Race, Fight, Target, Billiards, Bowling and Golf, and all of them revamped and boasting new additions. Each mode has been deepened considerably with the inclusion of more levels, or more holes, or more lanes, or more arenas. For instance, Monkey Bowling now comes complete with regular lanes and fantastical ones that move, zigzag, or go concave. In truth, these new lanes could probably be released as a stand alone game; exploring the mode is that much fun, that rewarding. But the fact that Monkey Bowling is only a small part of the huge title is a true testament to how much replay value it radiates. Monkey Fight now includes a sudden death mode; Target has formation flying and split-screen play; Race has several new track themes. All of these are great fun. Players can imagine the multiplayer possibilities.

But there are six brand new party games too including Monkey Tennis, Baseball, Soccer, Boat Race, Shot and Dog Fight, several of them true winners. It seems some of these are a monkey-ized reproduction of Sega's other games. Monkey Tennis plays a lot like a cross between Mario and Virtua Tennis, for instance, which pleases us greatly. It even supports two-on-two multiplayer action -- an option that is sure to waste the hours and days of gamers in college dorms across the globe. Baseball lacks depth, but is fun in short bursts. It follows the basic structure of the sport with some major changes. One player must pitch, or roll, a monkey ball down to the batter. Once the ball has been hit, it rolls over ramps in the outfield that jettison it off for a single, double, triple or home run; if all ramps are missed, the batter is out. Soccer plays like Virtua Striker, which means it controls sluggishly. In Race, gamers must kayak down a river using the L and R buttons to steer. It's hard and frustrating, and will definitely take some practice, but it's also fairly rewarding once it's figured out. Shot is something like Virtua Cop, meaning that players control a target and must shoot objects as they are guided around on a track; it's fun primarily as a multiplayer experience. Finally, Dog Fight, a mode in which monkeys fly through the air and try to shoot each other down, is very enjoyable, though hard.

In our experience, the six additional games aren't as well conceived as the original six, but there are standouts. Tennis, for instance, is incredibly enjoyable. And still, the fact that they have even been included is amazing given the sheer selection already available.

Gamespot:

All the party games from the original Super Monkey Ball--monkey race, monkey fight, monkey target, monkey billiards, monkey bowling, and monkey golf--have returned for the sequel in an enhanced form, and all are playable right from the get-go. The enhancements that have been made to these games are generally minor and seem designed specifically to make the proceedings more enjoyable for novice players, though they shouldn't really keep monkey ball veterans from continuing to enjoy them.

The six new unlockable party games are all worth unlocking, though some have greater lasting appeal than others. Monkey boat is a race mode where the monkeys have converted their balls into tiny plastic kayaks. This mode can prove to be physically draining, as forward motion and directional control are determined by the left and right strokes of your paddle, which are handled by the left and right trigger buttons, respectively, and you'll have to pump like mad to keep ahead of the pack. In monkey dogfight the simians are given weapons and the ability of flight, and they do battle in an aerial arena. Monkey shoot is essentially a cutesy version of Virtua Cop, or any other rail-based shooter where you use a targeting reticle to shoot down moving targets. The other three party games, monkey baseball, monkey soccer, and monkey tennis, pretty much play as simplified versions of those sports. They will not give the likes of High Heat Baseball or FIFA Soccer a run for their money, but the easy-to-learn mechanics and fast pacing make them perfectly fit for quality multiplayer action.

I know, I know - citing the press OMG! But their points are well made, I think. I am sorry you didn't like the revised Monkey Target game, but I thought it and everything else was FAR superior and deeper in SMB2.

[Ack]

Damn, Ds is pissed about his Monkey Ball.

[dsheinem]

Damn, Ds is pissed about his Monkey Ball.

I know, serious business, right? I feel like Mike is just discounting arguments about SMB2's superiority because he's hung up on one of the mini-games. It is a dubious claim that the target game is worse, but even if it were it is one of like 12 party games. I think there's a lot more evidence that all of them are better in SMB2 compared to the original, as is (not surprisingly) the main Monkey Ball game.

[dsheinem]

I also realize this kind of thing is why no one likes me.

[Reprise]

Nah, I'm with you there. SMB2 destroys the first game in every single way imaginable. It's unfathomable to me that anyone would prefer the first game.

[Exhuminator]

Starfox Assault out - Viewtiful Joe in?
Kirby Air Ride out - Paper Mario in?
RE:0 or RE (remake)?

Sounds fair to me. Kirby Air Ride is too good for the unwashed masses anyway.