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Revisionist history has been kind to the Gamecube.
- Thread starter LevityNYC
- Start date
jhmtehgamr20xx
Banned
Because they dug their heads out of their asses and came to appreciate a game with visuals that weren't trying to copy real-life?
Where's your gamer spirit, man?
Jason's Ultimatum
Member
It had amazing third party games: VJ, RE4, REmake, Baten Kaitos......god I loved that cube.
GC was amazing in every way. Leave it alone!
Nostalgia time:
Owning a WiiU feels exactly like owning a GC back in the day. There weren't too many games coming out, but what was coming out was awesome. There was a lot of disdain from 'rival' gamers, bad press, a lot of doom about Nintendo.....but I didnt give a single shit because I was playing WW, Prime, Melee and Sunshine
Nostalgia time:
Owning a WiiU feels exactly like owning a GC back in the day. There weren't too many games coming out, but what was coming out was awesome. There was a lot of disdain from 'rival' gamers, bad press, a lot of doom about Nintendo.....but I didnt give a single shit because I was playing WW, Prime, Melee and Sunshine
And my housemate had a PS2 so I could still play Vice City
Take away first party games from the cube and you still get awesome third party games like:
F-Zero GX (Sega developed it)
Tales of Symphonia
Soul Calibur II
Skies of Arcadia
Viewtiful Joe
Viewtiful Joe 2
REmake
Resident Evil 4
Sonic Heroes
Baten Kaitos
Rogue Sqaudron II
Rogue Sqaudron III
Star Wars: Jedi Outcast 2
Killer 7
All EA sports titles
The only big third party games it missed out on was GTA (which was all the rage back then) and some JRPG's like Final Fantasy.
Add in new IP's from Nintendo like Luigi's Mansion and Pikmin 1&2 plus first time localizations of Fire Emblem and then add some of the best first party output Nintendo has ever done and you got the greatest Nintendo console of all time (Dat controller)
F-Zero GX (Sega developed it)
Tales of Symphonia
Soul Calibur II
Skies of Arcadia
Viewtiful Joe
Viewtiful Joe 2
REmake
Resident Evil 4
Sonic Heroes
Baten Kaitos
Rogue Sqaudron II
Rogue Sqaudron III
Star Wars: Jedi Outcast 2
Killer 7
All EA sports titles
The only big third party games it missed out on was GTA (which was all the rage back then) and some JRPG's like Final Fantasy.
Add in new IP's from Nintendo like Luigi's Mansion and Pikmin 1&2 plus first time localizations of Fire Emblem and then add some of the best first party output Nintendo has ever done and you got the greatest Nintendo console of all time (Dat controller)
Fox Mulder
Member
yeah, I like Jungle Beat, but I would have rather had a proper DKC sequel. DKCR is great, but the forced waggle motions for stuff like rolling hurt it.
I appreciate Nintendo for trying something new with JB though. The bongo controller is neat and I don't know if I even want to try it on the Wii without that gimmick.
Oh, don't worry, Mario Sunshine was my biggest disappointment... maybe ever. After Super Mario 64. But I liked Wind Waker. And yeah, RE4 was ported, but the port was much inferior.
And never ever forget Metroid Prime, which everyone really liked.
Oh, I know that. Many people still laugh about it being a box. And the handle. For me, the handle just emphasised the compact form factor, it was really a console that you could easily carry around on that.
Also, I was lucky. There really wasn't any internet here yet and the Gmaecube was well received. In fact, it was the goto Soulcalibur 2 console in the local gamestore. Pikmin was well liked and F-Zero GX was played often. So overall, the console had a reputation as "small but good library, good graphics, really good power for price".
See, the times before the Internet. They had some real upsides, don't you agree?
moltonasty
Member
Yeah boi! I have fond memories of having sore ass hands from marathon Donkey Konga sessions with friends, and going ham on the bosses in Jungle Beat.
I think WInd Waker is ok but I am just saying that Gamecube was not great when it was out and general sentiment was very bad.
PumpkinPie
Banned
Metroid Prime is surely one of the finest games ever made, but on the whole I was very underwhelmed by the Gamecube.
hardcastlemccormick
Banned
I took forever to get a Gamecube but I didn't play many games then anyway. I liked what I played and look back on those games fondly. Metroid Prime and RE4 are the two winners.
However, having played the PS2 for many years since, the PS2 is so many lightyears beyond the Gamecube it's not even funny. Library depth is so good, and library quality is just as high.
Looking back, I find it hard to pass judgment on the Gamecube's library either way. It had games, I liked playing them.
However, having played the PS2 for many years since, the PS2 is so many lightyears beyond the Gamecube it's not even funny. Library depth is so good, and library quality is just as high.
Looking back, I find it hard to pass judgment on the Gamecube's library either way. It had games, I liked playing them.
darkazcura
Member
Dude it's an opinion. Several people have already outlined why they preferred the Cube over the Wii in terms of first and third party output. Like I've said previously I had more than double the amount of GameCube games. I just preferred it much more. That's not nostalgia either. I simply just bought more games for my GameCube than I did for the Wii during their respective generations. It's probably because I found the GameCube to have more appealing and better games.
Hell there are a couple really fun games that people are mentioning that I even forgot like Monkey Ball and Eternal Darkness. The variety and quality on the GameCube was second to none, IMO. It was great. Variety, especially.
Frank_Wheeler
Member
Sometimes I look at my Gamecube collection and I'm amazed at how many great games came out on the system. The GC/PS2 generation is possibly my favorite.
1st Course
Member
100% true. This has been a problem with Nintendo systems ever since the SNES imo, very few actual good games and most of were from Nintendo too.
The gamecube is fucking cool. One word: Melee. Still playing it. Also, being exclusively a nintendo fanboy when I was younger, the gamecube gave me the option to play more multiplatform games than on the n64 and the Wii later. Games like Timesplitters 2-3 (played the shit out of those), SSX Tricky, Burnout 1-2 (my favorites of the series), FIFA, Tony Hawk 3 etc.
Meh. I loved my GC. It was my first last gen console. Super Monkey Ball and Rogue Leader were great launch games.
TaroYamada
Member
That's objectively bullshit, during the time DC was officially on the market well-liked and well-reviewed games came at a rapid pace, it had fantastic online gaming for the time and it launched at a solid price in the US market.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
Hmmm I agree with what you've picked out, although I think Zelda was pretty decent. Metroid Prime Corruption may not have topped Prime, but it was decent. Mariokart was definitely better on GC, and sadly we didn't get Luigi's Mansion.
But... Sin and Punishment 2 was awesome and we saw the cool return of Punch-Out. We received two very good Kirby games, and Warioware was it's own game as opposed to a GBA port. Endless Ocean was interesting. Donkey Kong Country Returns was absolutely badass. Wii Sports Resort was truly alot of fun! Then there's the other stuff like Fortune Street and Last Story.
Overall I have to go with the Wii.
Coldnoodle
Member
The gamecube was Nintendo at it's lowest for me.
Thank god for the Wii, played Wii Sports for months.
Thank god for the Wii, played Wii Sports for months.
Relevant? seriously? We've got to the point where GC's third party was relevant? are we being serious here? this is exactly what the OP is talking about, some people are delusional.
edit: and I loved the GC, of course after almost a decade it has a pretty decent library, but lets be realistic.
Heavy's Sandvich
Member
list thread? list thread.
It had online.
It had online.
Uncle Rupee
Banned
Gamecube was a great system, if anything history remembers the OG Xbox too kindly
Heavy's Sandvich
Member
You only needed 2 gamecubes to win this generation as well.
OP Gamecube.
OP Gamecube.
Justin Timberlake
Member
Revisionist?
I've loved the Gamecube from the start!
Also
It has Melee bruh
A console can't be bad if it has the best game of all time
I've loved the Gamecube from the start!
Also
It has Melee bruh
A console can't be bad if it has the best game of all time
It got my wife into gaming. Not Wii style "gaming", but actually bought it for herself to play actual games. Wind Waker, Tales of Symphonia, etc. Thing was dirtcheap, had oodles of charm, great games and the best controller. Even through the terrible draughts I remember it fondly.
wii could play wii games, gamecube games, had games on the virtual console, online gaming (even if it wasn't great, it was better than the gamecube).
gamecube's one advantage is that it could play game boy/color/advance games. that's actually a nice thing, but it's not enough for me to consider it over the wii.
oh and if we're just comparing libraries, the wii's knocks out the gamecube's. sin & punishment versus star fox assault, super mario galaxy vs super mario sunshine, super mario galaxy 2 vs nothing, nsmbw vs nothing, tp wii vs tp gc, re4 wii vs re4 gc, xenoblade vs baten kaitos, and that's before you ever get into the wii's superior third-party exclusives.
This. Never had so much fun with my brothers. Loved Crystal Chronicles too.
Take it from me though, being a GameCube exclusive owner was tough back in the day. There was a really strong start and few really killer games, but when releases started to lag, man oh man did they lag.
Owning a Wii was better on every level.
nckillthegrimace
Member
The SNES, N64, and Gamecube each had about the same number of great games. The PS1 and PS2 both had more B games, but fewer A+ games. The Saturn, Dreamcast, and Xbox were always distant third places. The Wii, 360, and PS3 are somewhere in between unless you are really a fan of cover shooters or party games. The NES still comes out on top as the most necessary console to own in its time.
Gormless Noodle
Member
The Gamecube era was awesome, I had a PS2 as well back then and I'm pretty sure I clocked in more hours on that little purple bastard.
Wii doesn't even begin to compare as far as I'm concerned. I went into it with an open mind but I ended up loathing motion controls, plus it turned me off of Zelda which not even the CDi was able to do (yes I find Skyward Sword THAT bad). The only game that made me play on the Wii for a longer period of time, was the stellar Xenoblade and I am incredibly thankful it didn't use motion controls.
Wii doesn't even begin to compare as far as I'm concerned. I went into it with an open mind but I ended up loathing motion controls, plus it turned me off of Zelda which not even the CDi was able to do (yes I find Skyward Sword THAT bad). The only game that made me play on the Wii for a longer period of time, was the stellar Xenoblade and I am incredibly thankful it didn't use motion controls.
I've never owned a Gamecube, it allowed me to play nice Cube games during the intial Wii drought, so that was nice. 
Other than that I don't know. To randomly ramble some: It has some very nice games, but doesn't have the library of the PS2, the controller is comfortable but it's a bit quirky (left analog, lack of a left z trigger). GC era Nintendo had to sell Rare, while understandable due to ownership reasons is a bit sad since I think that the IP's Rare held could complement existing Nintendo IP if handled well (perhaps a slighlty too huge if there). It did have the whole Capcom partnership with the exlusives, that while it eventually tanked (?), and the last game wasn't made iirc(?) brought RE4 and Viewtiful Joe to the system.
Other than that I don't know. To randomly ramble some: It has some very nice games, but doesn't have the library of the PS2, the controller is comfortable but it's a bit quirky (left analog, lack of a left z trigger). GC era Nintendo had to sell Rare, while understandable due to ownership reasons is a bit sad since I think that the IP's Rare held could complement existing Nintendo IP if handled well (perhaps a slighlty too huge if there). It did have the whole Capcom partnership with the exlusives, that while it eventually tanked (?), and the last game wasn't made iirc(?) brought RE4 and Viewtiful Joe to the system.
I loved it. Rogue Squadron 2's Hoth mission is as close as I have ever felt to being in a Star Wars film, and it still looks great today.
Also-
Zelda: Wind Waker
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Skies of Arcadia: Legends (with its mildly reduced encounter rate)
Resident Evil 0
Metroid Prime
Sure, at the time, the games weren't coming thick and fast, but the games have held up very well- very few PS2 games look as good now as Wind Waker, Rogue Squadron 2 etc. I'm not saying it was a better machine or library, but to me it's a great console.
The idea that consoles are either massively successful or a total bomb is silly. The GameCube had software droughts, was mildly profitable and had great games, all three are true. Nothing wrong with looking back at the library in isolation and thinking that, in the cold light of day, it's pretty good.
Also-
Zelda: Wind Waker
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Skies of Arcadia: Legends (with its mildly reduced encounter rate)
Resident Evil 0
Metroid Prime
Sure, at the time, the games weren't coming thick and fast, but the games have held up very well- very few PS2 games look as good now as Wind Waker, Rogue Squadron 2 etc. I'm not saying it was a better machine or library, but to me it's a great console.
The idea that consoles are either massively successful or a total bomb is silly. The GameCube had software droughts, was mildly profitable and had great games, all three are true. Nothing wrong with looking back at the library in isolation and thinking that, in the cold light of day, it's pretty good.
I compare libraries by comparing original releases, generally, sometimes including arcade ports. PN03, Killer7, good Super Monkey Ball, F-Zero GX, Viewtiful Joe, Pikmin, Eternal Darkness, Mr. Driller Drill Land, Resident Evil 4, REmake... GC has a lot of great then-exclusives, off the top of my head.
I couldn't get into Wii Trauma Center games at all. The slower pace and controls of Trauma Team killed it for me after playing the DS games.
I couldn't get into Wii Trauma Center games at all. The slower pace and controls of Trauma Team killed it for me after playing the DS games.
I won't go through all three and a half pages, but I'm sure someone provided a list of games to demonstrate just why people love it.
But I know for me personally, one of the things I loved about it is that it seems to be the last time we got thirsty Nintendo. And I don't mean 'they were desperate', I mean it was the last time they seemingly bothered to compete with the pack on visuals, content and support. Nintendo games from this era - and third party games, frankly, BG&E and RE4, for example - were competitive visually (Wind Waker REMAINS one of the best looking games of all time; Twilight Princess was easily on par with the best from that gen; Paper Mario, Sunshine, etc, all visually compelling for the time), and far more daring with their concepts and core franchises than ever before.
They introduced the world to Pikmin, what is perhaps the most novel take ever from that particular strategy genre. They introduced the world to the complexities of complicated family relationships in the brilliant little gem Chibi Robo. They formed partnerships that weren't always successful, but when they were led to some great games or added features (Soul Calibur for added features and sold the best; F-Zero GX is to me the greatest racing game of all time). They were completely bonkers with the experimentation they did in their franchises. Sunshine is in many ways far more of a reach than even Galaxy was, with its FLUDD enhanced acrobatic abilities and its super uniform theming, which remains unique even to this day. Jungle Beat is the game nobody in the right mind would have thought could work, and yet it remains an all-time classic.
Many of the experiments from this gen were in brand new franchises, almost all of them aimed at the hardcore. Nintendo had a fantastic Wavebird controller, had competent third party support that includes classics like Tales of Symphonia, Resident Evil 4, Viewtiful Joe, Rogue Squadron, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (I ain't no damn bucket bitch, fuck ya'll), Baten Kaitos 1/2 (and now look at Monolith Soft; under Nintendo's wings and with the extremely critically acclaimed X), and actually bothered to compete in categories Nintendo has long since stopped bothering in.
And most of all, it just seemed like back then Nintendo was always on the cusp of their next great idea. I always knew if a game they made was announced, it's likely I would be interested in it and fairly good odds I'd love it. Now a days, half the games they announce aren't even aimed at me. Another 90% of the games they have remaining are just petulant franchise whoring (often without any of the brilliantly imaginative genre recreations of past excursions; NSMB is fastly becoming a warehoused tomb of retreaded ideas and recycled content. Sorry, I know how AMAZING the level design tends to be in the last third but that doesn't excuse how lazy Nintendo is with so many facets of these games). And another 10% are games I am very much interested in, but they don't have the boldness or the competitiveness of past Nintendo (obviously Wii U prevents them from being competitive visually with next-gen, but that's not my problem, that's theirs).
Some of this may be romanticizing, all of these points have a few exceptions on Wii and Wii U even, but the overall effect remains the same. Nintendo from the GCN-era was for me and it felt like their talent never ended; Nintendo from this gen is often not for me at all and they frequently fall on their face quality-wise. Unlike many, I don't think Nintendo has some special 'magic' - I think they had a long run with tons of talent, but that for whatever reason it's not as reliable as it once was. And I do think the quality of their offerings has, as an average, been steadily declining since GCN.
theechrisfox
Member
Gamecube destroyed so many hours of my college life playing Smash Bros with roommate bros. Those were some simpler times for sure. I don't even remember having any other games for it besides Smash.
My mom and sister and I still manage to play Pikmin 2 multiplayer from time to time when they come over the house. I am going to try to see if they'll finally upgrade to Pikmin 3 multiplayer with me next-month lol
ElectricBanquet
Member
This is something that I think really gets overlooked when comparing Nintendo's past consoles to the current one. When all was said and done the Gamecube was left with a very respectable library of games, but I still do remember in that first year especially there were stretches of months at a time where not much of anything was coming out for it.
People complained about droughts on the Wii and are complaining about it now on the Wii U, but honestly that's a problem that goes all the way back to the N64 and at this point is something that probably should just be expected Nintendo consoles.
The Gamecube really was the last time Nintendo tried to compete in the traditional way it's done in this industry: make modern hardware, form partnerships and beat the competition with stronger core titles.
No online was a big hole in this strategy, but it admirably held in there until the very end with big releases like Resident Evil 4, Pikmin 2, Metroid Prime 2.
The launch was pretty great with graphical showpieces like Rogue Squadron 2, and there was a time in 2002 that it looked like Nintendo's fall lineup might really push them into a strong 2nd for the generation, but core gamers chose Splinter Cell for Xbox that year over Metroid Prime.
No online was a big hole in this strategy, but it admirably held in there until the very end with big releases like Resident Evil 4, Pikmin 2, Metroid Prime 2.
The launch was pretty great with graphical showpieces like Rogue Squadron 2, and there was a time in 2002 that it looked like Nintendo's fall lineup might really push them into a strong 2nd for the generation, but core gamers chose Splinter Cell for Xbox that year over Metroid Prime.