The story goes that if you had a GameCube, you adored it. If you didn’t, you couldn’t understand the affection those who played the cube-shaped toybox lavished on it.
Me? I had a GameCube – and loved it. I loved its funny shape, its charming purpleness and its hella good games. The PlayStation 2 might have looked sleeker but my sixth generation console gave me years of unbridled joy.
So much so that, many years later, I’ve decided now is the time to do what has never been easy: Create a definitive list of the best GameCube games.
The Top Gamecube Games
To help, I raided my old collection that spanned from 2001-2007. If a game sold well, had a cult following, revolutionized a franchise like The Legend of Zelda or breathed new life into a genre like the 3D platformer, it made the cut.
I’ve also taken into account earned nostalgia and objective facts, including sales, metacritic scores and hours of gameplay until completion.
If it didn’t tick any of those boxes but let you run a virtual farm where you could hunt, fish and raise virtual kids? Yeah, it made the cut too.
25. Animal Crossing (2001)
- Developer : Nintendo EAD
- Genre: Social sim
- Standout Angle: Sync’s with your GameCube’s internal clock to allow for real-time progression
If anyone was ever worried that a studio could run out of ideas, Animal Crossing was a timely reminder that there’s always something new around the corner. It’s a relaxing social-sim game that allows you to get creative as you navigate life in a forest. You have to hunt, fish and complete other chores as you adjust to life in a virtual community.
At one point, I had a weird dream during my Animal Crossing era and woke up fully believing I lived on a farm for real.
It especially came into its own when you played it with up-to four other people on the same memory card, with the game letting others come into your village and interact with you. If someone had their own memory card, they could just as easily leave your village and go live elsewhere.
The game was also notable for letting you play other Nintendo games inside your virtual home, while the itinerant villagers themselves could be lovable, cranky – and even downright mean. The game had so much personality, it would be tantamount to treason not to include it in this list.
24. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (2005)
- Developer: Intelligence Systems
- Genre: Tactical role-playing game (TRPG)
- Standout Angle: Sheer emotional depth of the characters, narrative and plot
Scoring a solid 85 on metacritic, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance had to balance the two things that matter to TRPG fans: Strategy and narrative.
It’s not always easy to get this balance right but Path of Radiance features a quest that’s not too long and not too short (40 hours on average), astute storytelling that comes complete with a humble, likeable protagonist, and a turn-based strategy that feeds into touchy themes of war, politics and even racism with aplomb.
Often lauded as the best in the franchise by critics and gamers, its 3D battle sequences further added to the experience – one which is often likened to watching a movie.
The only issue for fans is that it came out not long before the purple cube expired, with Nintendo releasing less than 600,000 copies. That’s made it a collectors item today, with gamers infected with a bit of nostalgia working hard to track down (expensive) copies of a game that lives long in the memory.
23. Skies of Arcadia Legends (2003)
- Developer: Overworks
- Genre: JRPG
- Standout Angle: Refreshingly for a JRPG, it wasn’t all doom, gloom and darkness
Sega has an excellent track record of producing groundbreaking consoles and developing top-tier video games. For Skies of Arcadia Legends, it set its internal team, Overworks, the task of creating a JRPG that wasn’t cheesy, predictable – or apocalyptic.
As someone who found numerous JRPG’s prior to Sega’s involvement a little tacky, I can confirm that Skies of Arcadia Legends was just the tonic I needed. Even today, I still play it via Dolphin, a GameCube emulator that allows me to explore the world as a pirate – just like I always told mom I would do when I was a kid.
She said “don’t be silly” but, boy, did I prove her wrong (and I’m still proving her wrong today, thanks to Dolphin).
Completing the main story should take around 40 hours, which is about average for a JRPG game. But if you tackle the extras, including the bonus bonuses, Skies of Arcadia Legends can stretch to more than 80 hours worth of gameplay.
22. Tales of Symphonia (2004)
- Developer: Namco
- Genre: JRPG
- Standout Angle: Works superbly as a coop game with up to 4 players
Out of all the most popular GameCube games, it’s possible that Tales of Symphonia has aged the worst in terms of its aesthetics and narrative as a JRPG game. That, however, doesn’t override the fact that, when it was released in 2003, it felt almost revolutionary, with 1.1million copies sold around the world.
It was a huge hit that went onto sell many more copies on other consoles, with a nerve-jangling battle system, a storyline that starts as something whimsical and charming before drawing you into something darker, and a linear movement path that is far from restricting.
Importantly for a JRPG, your decisions ultimately affect the ending, with plenty of twists, turns and hidden dialogue along the way. What’s more, how you play the game will be the difference between extracting 40 hours out of it or 80.
Ironically, the game’s cell-shaded style actually made it look better than Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker at the time. But while the Zelda franchise has gone from strength to strength since (with a movie currently in production), Tales of Symphonia remains rooted in an era where details such as world maps weren’t anywhere near as evolved as they are today.
21. Eternal Darkness (2002)
- Developer: Silicon Knights
- Genre: Survival horror
- Standout Angle: Screen glitches made you question your reality
Eternal Darkness was exclusive to the GameCube. The moody survival horror game was so good that there may have been some gamers who bought the awkwardly-shaped console just so they could experience fighting what are essentially zombies in pitch-black darkness.
Humans will do anything for kicks, huh?
Despite the story spanning 2,000 years, with settings including The Forbidden City in Persia, the game only takes around 15 hours to complete, depending on how good you are at solving puzzles (in the dark). This can make it look a tad weak when compared to classic RPG games but you could extend the game by digging out hidden artefacts and relics.
Testament to its brilliance is the fact that dedicated RPG gamers would probably buy it – and love it. Eternal Darkness also looked spectacular on the GameCube and helped to showcase the console’s potential when it came to ambitious plots, combat systems and intricate puzzles.
20. Pikmin 2 (2004)
- Developer: Nintendo Analysis
- Genre: Real-Time Strategy
- Standout Angle: Two playable characters helped to enhance the game’s strategy
For Pikmin 2, Nintendo removed the suffocating 30-day time limit of Pikmin and replaced it with infinite time. This freed up your creative expression – although it did mean that the game became incredibly long.
Still, there was a lot to do. This time around, you didn’t have to fix a spaceship, with the new goal being to pay off a debt by scavenging various treasures from the planet and managing your resources.
Thanks to the introduction of new Pikmins, the game was extremely playable, particularly in two-player Battle Mode. It had jump scares galore and was so popular on the GameCube (it was one of the top 35 selling titles) that Nintendo later released it on the Wii and, in 2023, the Switch.
As one of the biggest selling games on the GameCube, it’s hard to argue with it cracking the top 20. Despite the sales, though, its initial production run was so limited that some copies today can be considered collector’s items.
19. Viewtiful Joe (2003)
- Developer: Team Viewtiful
- Genre: Beat ‘em up
- Standout Angle: Comic book aesthetics made it one of the most stylish beat ‘em up games you could play
Viewtiful Joe wasn’t an ordinary, run-of-the-mill beat ‘em up game. With this one, you couldn’t just bash a few buttons in the hope of landing a killer blow before moving onto the next baddy. Instead, you had to master the controls, with Capcom’s internal development team, Team Viewtiful, creating a game that mixed cinema with arcade gaming to great effect.
In some ways, it was a cultural milestone that set new perimeters in a genre often (unfairly) derided for being a little brainless.
If you wanted to slow down time and evade the enemy? You could do it. If you wanted to zoom in before executing a perfectly-timed roundhouse on your already stricken victim? Yeah – no sweat. The best thing? No one judged you for it.
Hideki Kamiya was at the helm for this one, with his team eventually becoming Clover Studios, which would go on to make numerous Viewtiful Joe sequels. Despite each subsequent effort scaling new cel–shaded art heights, none could quite capture the magic of the original.
18. F-Zero GX (2003)
- Developer: Amusement Vision
- Genre: Racing
- Standout Angle: 60 frames-per-second performance created one of the most exhilarating racing games of the era
60 fps was no mean feat in 2003, with F-Zero GX (which was delivered to Nintendo by a SEGA development team) one of the few games to pull it off with such fluency at the time. The end result was a breathtaking futuristic racing game that genuinely felt as though it had come from the future, with gamers invited to take bends at unfathomable speeds.
It was technically virtuosic, which isn’t something we could always say about GameCube games.
The craziest thing about the game was that it came with a Speed Boost feature that let you go even faster if you wanted. No matter how fast you went, the visuals around you kept the pace.
Pro racers like myself, of course, barely broke sweat. One time, I took a corner blindfolded with my arms tied behind my back. Honest.
And while it can’t compete with Mario Kart: Double Dash!! as a racer game, F-Zero GX lives long in the memory for its commitment to speed, competitive racing and extremely high difficulty levels.
17. Beyond Good and Evil (2003)
- Developer: Ubisoft Montpeillier
- Genre: Action-adventure
- Standout Angle: The game seamlessly mixed together so many styles to create an utterly unique experience
Personally, I’ve never been heavy into politics. Beyond Good and Evil, though, was my first proper introduction to politics when I was a teenager – and it taught me to always do the right thing.
If that already doesn’t make it one of the best GameCube games of all time, I don’t know what does.
Well, apart from perhaps a clever plot, a mix of stealth, combat, side-scrolling, puzzle-solving boss fights and photojournalism, which Beyond Good and Evil has in spades.
Now, the purpose of this list of popular GameCube games was never to moralize and promote good over evil (boring). But sometimes, a game comes along with a protagonist like Jade, who genuinely makes you feel good for doing the right thing, even if you’re only playing a video game.
16. Killer 7 (2005)
- Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture
- Genre: Action-adventure
- Standout Angle: Cult classic despite being a poor seller
I promised myself I would only include one politically-driven game. Then, I remembered Killer 7, a cult-classic that snuk into this best GameCube games list on account of a) it being a cult classic and b) its depth when it comes to narrative, plot and character development.
What I also loved about the game is that it satisfied the intellectually curious and those who just wanna beat the bad guy with 7 – count ‘em – different assassins.
The cel-shaded animation, meanwhile, perfectly complemented the sophisticated narrative and befitted a storyline that is deep, resonant and which works on multiple levels, including political, surrealist and psychological.
It wasn’t anywhere near a bestseller at the time, however, with the GameCube version annihilating PlayStation 2 sales, which were poor. What’s more, Capcom would have considered it a commercial failure – so thank goodness this list gives cult games a chance to shine.
15. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II (2001)
- Developer: Factor 5
- Genre: Flight sim
- Standout Angle: One of the best games based on a movie franchise of all time
Space combat games are far from easy to get right. They have to look good and it’s equally important that they play well. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II succeeded on both fronts so much that it easily fitted into my top 15 good GameCube games.
Look, it’s beyond doubt that SW Rogue Squadron II is one of the best visually crafted games, let alone on the GameCube. Despite the console’s notoriously limited color and lighting abilities, SW Rogue Squadron II’s developers created a game that even today scores 90 on Metacritic, with its mindblowing aesthetics pushing boundaries when it was released in 2021.
The game was also helped by the fact that it was pretty much based on one of the greatest movies of all time, with developers Factor 5 recreating battles that many of us grew up watching on the big screen
But let’s circle back for one moment to our criteria for the best GameCube games: Sounds, sights, hidden content (including the Millenium Falcon), bonus materials, high difficulty rating and high replayability, all of which SW Rogue Squadron II has without breaking sweat.
14. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (2004)
- Developer: Intelligent Systems
- Genre: Turn-based role-playing-game
- Standout Angle: Perhaps the game that confirmed you could literally stick Mario in ANY type of game
When Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door first debuted, it confirmed something I and I’m sure many other games had been thinking for some time: Mario can be dropped into any genre without ever looking out of place.
Give him a baseball bat? He’ll look like he was born to swing. Send him into outer space? Hey, why not! He’s as comfortable up there with the martians as he is in the Mushroom Kingdom.
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is further testament not just to Mario’s unique ability to be everything all at once – it also confirmed that Nintendo created arguably the greatest video game character of all time in the eighties by accident (cause animation limitations and all that).
The truth is, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is a tad like Mario himself in that it could fit anywhere on this list without looking out of place. It’s one of the top GameCube games of all time that would surely have ranked a little higher were it not for the elite games above it.
13. SoulCailbur II (2003)
- Developer: Namco
- Genre: Fighting game
- Standout Angle: Revolutionized the fighting game genre
The fact that you could play SoulCalibur II today and it would still feel fresh is a testament to the enduring legacy of a 3D fighting game that flipped the genre on its head when it first came out. The 25 different characters are highly detailed and there are weapons, which – back in 2003 – was still a No-No in fighting games.
The game had a few tricks up its sleeve, too – notably the appearance of Link from the Zelda franchise. And while Link couldn’t really compete with snarling bruisers like Nightmare (trust me, I tried), his inclusion added extra excitement to the game and came with bonus music from Zelda.
Crucially for a fighting game that’s made my list, SoulCalibur II never felt like it was chucking newbies in at the deep end. Beginners could play it along with more experienced fight game veterans, while various modes – including 1v1 competitive multiplayer – makes it one of the top Gamecube games.
12. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (2004)
- Developer: Silicon Knights and Konami Computer Entertainment Japan
- Genre: Action-adventure
- Standout Angle: Improves on the PlayStation original with first-person shooting ability
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes was a remake of the PlayStation’s Metal Gear Solid game. It updated the 1998 classic by adding first-person shooting, although it lacked the original soundtrack.
However, it improved on the original by virtue of director Ryuhei Kitamura’s ingenuity and eye for extravagance. The cinematic feel was a tad OTT at times but few could deny how mesmeric the cut scenes were. If ever a GameCube game was capable of feeling like a movie back in 2004, this was it.
The issue was that, while adding first-person shooting was all well and good, it actually made the boss battles too easy, which no purist wants.
Still, despite dividing fans and critics at the time, the game holds up. It’s more of a cult, niche game today that didn’t manage to sell 1,000,000 copies at the time, and is a worthy addition to this list on account of it letting GameCube players play an all-time PlayStation classic.
11. Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life (2003)
- Developer: Marvelous Interactive
- Genre: Farming sim
- Standout Angle: Few games have captured the passing of time so well
Quite where anyone puts a game like Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life on a list of top GameCube games is anyone’s guess. This is far from your typical game.
It’s a meditative, whimsical affair that could have you yearning for a virtual life you’ve never really lived but which felt so real while you were raising your virtual kids, marrying your virtual spouse – and even watching on as virtual people die around you.
It’s somber at times, painful at other times but always utterly engrossing. Notable for taking place across many years, the game found a loving, niche audience, selling over 1,150,000 copies.
More than that, it’s a game that teaches you things, with perhaps its most enduring life lesson being to put family before wealth. It’s a slow burner, of course, but with as many as 150 hours in the tank before you complete it, it’s fully deserving of its place on my list as a game that’s expansive, detailed and heartwarming.
10. Luigi’s Mansion (2001)
- Developer: Nintendo + Next Level Games
- Genre: Action-adventure
- Standout Angle: Breathed spooky new life into the Super Mario franchise
Luigi’s Mansion was so good that it got me thinking Luigi was living in Mario’s shadow all along. He didn’t really need the erstwhile plumber and could probably nail a movie or two of his own. Hey, Flubber got his own movie, so why not Luigi?
Luigi’s Mansion is a classic haunted house game that takes you on a wander through a creepy mansion. It’s definitely short and sweet and shouldn’t take you longer than 6 hours to complete but that doesn’t mean you won’t have a bunch of frightful scares along the way.
In fact, Luigi’s Mansion does what all the most popular GameCube games should do: It entertains, which is partly why it’s ranked so highly on this list.
The developers crammed a lot into those 5-6 hours, too. You’ll engage in combat, solve puzzles and catch ghosts with Luigi’s trusty Poltergust-5000.
I’d have been tempted to rank the game higher but for the fact that you couldn’t play in co-op mode until 2018, when a remake for the 3DS came along with new maps and an all-round fresher feel.
However, the original GameCube version remains the best, with Nintendo ticking off another key criteria for my ranking: Updating a franchise without making a mess of things.
9. Pokemon Colosseum (2003)
- Developer: Genius Sonority
- Genre: RPG
- Standout Angle: It was the first Pokemon game to introduce double battles
I’ve written elsewhere in this guide to the top gameCube games of all time that a key criteria I considered was how a game revolutionized a franchise. And if it didn’t quite revolutionize a franchise, it at least took it forward.
This was the case for Pokemon Colosseum, a title that followed in the 2D pixelated footsteps of Pokemon Blue and Pokemon Red, and upped the ante with double battles. This lets you field a pair of Pokemon at the same time, raising the stakes in battle and forcing you to think more strategically.
It made the game more challenging and more difficult, which was what an expansive concept like Pokemon needed. Ultimately, it made it more rewarding.
The game also changed the way you catch Pokemon. Instead of finding them in the wild, you now had to take them from corrupt trainers.
It rode the quest of a wave when it was released in 2003, with pretty much the whole world going Pokemon-crazy (even my grandmother wanted to catch a Pikachu in her garden, bless her). The game – which sold over 2,400,000 GameCube copies – also came with a bonus disc, which further made it a must-have title at the time.
8. Resident Evil 4 (2005)
- Developer: Capcom
- Genre: Survival horror
- Standout Angle: Refined the ‘over-the-shoulder’ camera style
In 2005, the survival horror genre wasn’t exactly dead – but it was ailing. Silent Hill 3 was a masterclass and Clock Tower 3 wasn’t for the faint hearted. Despite this, the genre needed shaking up a bit.
Enter Resident Evil 4, Capcom’s terrifying tour-de-force that practically invented the over-the-shoulder aesthetic. Suddenly, the game felt real, which – for me personally – meant a couple of trips to Dr. Finkelstein. We had a lot of new issues to work out.
Remarkably, the game was originally intended to be exclusive to the GameCube. That’s a little hard to believe today, especially when you consider it’s sold around 15,000,000 copies across all consoles worldwide. It also has a 93 rating on Metacritic, with the biggest compliment I can pay is that it’s as era-defining as games like Halo and GTA.
And while it doesn’t exactly face stiff competition from other survival horror games in the GameCube canon, there’s still enough to justify its place in this list of GameCube games. Just like a good horror movie is rarely scary for the full duration, Resident Evil is only genuinely creepy in parts – but always ridiculously tense.
7. Super Mario Sunshine (2002)
- Developer: Nintendo EAD
- Genre: 3D platformer
- Standout Angle: The F.L.U.U.D water pack was introduced for the first time, enhancing playability and replayability
One of the criteria I used when creating this guide of top GameCube games was innovation. If a game evolved a franchise or did something genuinely new (and brilliant), there’s a real chance it made the cut.
This is where Super Mario Sunshine fits in. The issue is, its revolutionary F.L.U.U.D water pack was also for some fans the game’s biggest downfall.
F.L.U.U.D was a tool that let the inimical plumber do a few different things with ease, including launching himself into the air, attacking enemies and running faster than the speed of light across water. It was what the game hinged on and it essentially altered how you played it.
Not everyone liked it but – as director Yoshiaki Koizumi explained – it was the GameCube’s unique controller that made F.L.U.U.D possible. The chance came along and Koizumi took it.
The proof is in the pudding, too. With more than 6,000,000 sales to its name, Super Mario Sunshine is the GameCube’s third biggest selling game, with the game easier to play than its predecessor, more fun and, thanks to the shift to Isle Delfino, more colorful.
6. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006)
- Developer: Nintendo EAD
- Genre: Action-adventure
- Standout Angle: The character Midna changed how we viewed character development in RPGs
Cards on the table: My first video game character crush was Lara Croft. But if you were to ask me who my first video game character love was, it was probably Midna, Link’s ally in Twilight Princess.
Not only is Midna cute, she’s actually interesting. Starting out as an acid-tongued, sarcastic Princess, she transforms over the course of the game into a true leader. The writers – who included Aya Kyogoku of Animal Crossing fame – did an excellent job of crafting a character in an RPG game who you start out hating before eventually rooting for.
You’ve got around 30-35 hours with her, with the game taking me personally 4 weeks to complete (hey, I had to draw it out as long as I could). That’s not bad for an RPG and you can extend things by completing side quests.
As ever with a Zelda game, the story can be a bit slow at times but the dungeons and the atmosphere are first-rate. It’s a little dark at times but always feels suitably epic.
The game sold around 1,400,000 copies off its first GameCube run in 2006. It’s since been remastered, though, with the 2016 remaster selling over 1,000,000 copies, therefore confirming its replayabilty.
5. Metroid Prime (2002)
- Developer: Retro Studios
- Genre: First-person action-adventure
- Standout Angle: Made the transition from 2D side-scrolling to 3D first-person actioner with consummate ease
Anyone who played the 2D Metroid platformer games – whether on the GameBoy, the Nintendo or the SNES – will recall how innovative they felt. Metroid was a 2D platformer but not in the classic mold. It always did things differently.
So when it made the transition to a 3D all-out-assault for the GameCube, yours truly was stupendously excited. The result was one of the rarest GameCube games that put you inside the protagonist’s helmet so that you could see, feel and hear everything from Samus Aran’s POV.
It worked a charm and signalled that Metroid Prime, far from being another generic action-adventue game, was about to shake things up. It meant that exploration was more immersive, allowing you to do much more than just shoot the bad guys; there was always a chillling sense of dread/panic whenever fog steamed your visor, and, ultimately, the game drew you in much more.
Naturally, it could have all gone badly wrong for Nintendo because, at the time, the Metroid franchise was widely regarded as one of the best in the publisher’s canon. But with 2,800,000 sales worldwide, a 97 Metacritic rating and a tight 14 hours average completion time, it’s safe to say that Retro Studios pulled a rabbit out of the hat with this one.
4. Super Monkey Ball 2 (2002)
- Developer: Amusement Vision
- Genre: Action-puzzle
- Standout Angle: Rapid-fire levels of 60 seconds or less made it one of the best mini-games of all time
If Super Moneky Ball 2 isn’t the greatest mini-game ever, it’s certainly one of them. Its fast and furious levels took between 30 and 60 seconds to complete, making it easy for gamers to instantly restart and try again.
Throw in the fact that you only needed an analog stick to play it and Super Monkey Ball 2 was a gloriously riotous game that summed up what I and many others love about arcade gaming: Speed, precision and split-second thinking.
What’s more, the short levels encouraged you to work things out by yourself on the spot. If you faltered, you could quickly go again, only this time you’d try something different. Such creativity bred a trial-and-error mindset, ensuring the game improved one’s brain plasticity (did it work for me? Well, I can at least cook now).
Then, there were the levels, which started out somewhat simple before becoming increasingly elaborate and borderline labyrthine as the game went along.
Naturally, not all lists of top GameCube games are going to include a puzzle game in the top five. What Super Monkey Ball 2 did differently, though, is it mixed in plenty of action, which meant it satisfied gamers of all ilk.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (2003)
- Developer: Nintendo EAD
- Genre: Action-adventure
- Standout Angle: Cel-shaded style has cemented its enduring legacy
When Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker was released, a lot of rival games were going for a more realistic aesthetic. This meant Wind Waker stood out visually on account of its cartoonish look. It also means the game today stands out head and shoulders above its contemporaries because it still looks as gorgeous and as unique as it did at the time of its release.
“Unique” is a word I use often when talking about any Zelda game. It’s easy to use it loosely but when it comes to Wind Waker, the word actually has meaning. This is, indeed, a game that sold more than 4,300,000 copies on the GameCube during its original lifecycle, and which has a 96 score on Metacritic.
The reasons are simple: Its cel-shaded animation, though polarizing at the time, enhances the magical narrative, allowing the swordfights and other combat scenes to stand out visually. The combos are lightning fast, the sea exploration is made all the more effective due to the scenery, and the somewhat darkly tense narrative is one of the richest in the franchise.
This, of course, doesn’t mean we should overlook the game’s flaws. Even as a total Zelda fanboy, I admit that the GameCube version had a few issues that needed to be addressed by the time it was released on the Wii.
But if we’re talking about games that mix epic, unforgettable stories with some of the best art direction the GameCube has ever seen, it simply had to be in my top 3 best GameCube games of all time.
2. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (2003)
- Developer: Nintendo EAD
- Genre: Kart racing
- Standout Angle: Two players can play at the same time, in the same kart
There are racing games – and then there is Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, a racer that takes co-op gaming to the next level. Whereas previously you’d be alone in your kart, this time around your buddy can join you.
One of you has to steer, the other is tasked with handling and – in true Mario fashion – throwing stuff. Let the arguments commence!
Personally, I always preferred to throw stuff, especially with Mario Kart: Double Dash!! giving you two items to throw, as opposed to one (which is what subsequent entries limited you to).
What’s more, each character got their own unique items, such as Donkey Kong and his enormous banana.
The game, then, is as memorable as it was fun. You and your friend could get together for the evening and work out how best to win a race while physcially assaulting your rivals. Does Forza let you do that? I think not.
Usually, you could play the game with up to 4 players. However, if you and your friends had multiple purple cubes, you could play with as many as 6 players, which makes Mario Kart: Double Dash!! not only one of the best GameCube games of all time, but also one of the best co-op games on any console.
1. Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001)
- Developer: HAL Laboratory
- Genre: Platform fighter
- Standout Angle: A supremely challenging and creative title that’s more than just another fighter game, with Nintendo’s stardust everywhere, from the roster to the settings to the trophy collection.
And so, we come to the best GameCube game of all time. Yes, Super Smash Bros. Melee is technically a fighter game. But just like there are racing games and then there is Double Dash!!, there are also fighter games – and there is Super Smash Bros. Melee.
One of the things that developers HAL Laboratroy had in their locker was the chance to recognize Nintendo’s history. This is exactly what they did with an extensive trophy collection and hidden characters. It was a platform fighter that was able to leverage an incredible legacy, which already gave the devs a head start. Just to reach a boss, you had to fight your way through various Nintendo universes that we all recognize, including the Mushroom Kingdom.
Key to its high rating is the fact that it worked just as well in single-player mode, 1v1 combat, 2v2 combat – or even a 1v3 pile-on if you and two of your friends woke up one morning and decided to choose violence against another friend. It was pure, unrepentant chaos.
Overall, the game accommodated as many as 4 players but the catch was that only the elite survived. If you weren’t precise with your controls, you’d get destroyed. Indeed, its difficulty level is the reason why it endures even today, with gamers still working out how best to master it.
Its 92 metacritic rating might be down to the fact that the game had a couple of bugs, while admittedly its graphics haven’t aged super well. But if we’re talking about popular GameCube games that absolutely nailed what it was like to play the console with your friends at the start of the noughties, Super Smash Bros. Melee is the one.
Best GameCube Games Ranked: Final Thoughts
The oddly shaped GameCube may have been the underdog in the rivalry between itself and the PlayStation 2 but its games were anything but second-rate. In fact, many of the good GameCube games I’ve listed above score higher than 85 on Metacritic and are still sought-out by collectors all over the world today, with some commanding eyewatering prices.
This is a testament to their quality, the inventiveness of the developers, as well as all the good work Nintendo had done previously, creating franchises and memorable characters that even today continue to define video gaming.
And if you see a box-shaped gift at Christmas this year under the tree? Fingers crossed it’s a GameCube.
