Top 20 GameCube Games Of All Time
David Craig updates
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we’re counting down our picks for the Top 20 GameCube Games of All Time! For this list, we’re looking at the absolute best games to have launched on the Nintendo GameCube! Do note that we’re prioritizing exclusives, so don’t expect too many multiplatform titles. Which of these GameCube classics were your absolute favorite? Share your love for Nintendo’s purple lunchbox in the comments below!
#20: “Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat” (2005)
As one of the few games to utilize Nintendo’s plastic bongo controller, “Jungle Beat” took the big gorilla on a somewhat musical adventure. Beat, clap, and punch your way through the jungle and face off against mighty adversaries like Karate Kong and Cactus King! Even with its simple control scheme, “Jungle Beat” was a wondrous experience with its beautiful level design and frenetic energy. Our only gripe with the game was that the party lasted only a few hours. That, and the sound of hands beating on plastic wasn’t too pleasant for our parents.
#19: “Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader” (2001)
Honestly, it’s somewhat befuddling that “Rogue Squadron 2” never made its way to other platforms. And yet, it really shows how many exceptional games premiered on the GameCube. “Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader” was more of the same we had experienced from its predecessor on PC and N64. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though! Not only did “Rogue Squadron 2” boast far more exceptional visuals than the first game, it also featured fantastic sound design, creating one of the most immersive “Star Wars” games at the time. It’s only a shame that the third “Rogue Squadron” game, “Rebel Strike”, could not live up to the expectations set here. Still, we’d love to see all three games make their way to modern platforms!
#18: “Sonic Adventure 2: Battle” (2001)
Even though “Sonic Adventure 2” originally debuted on the ill-fated SEGA Dreamcast, the GameCube version was the best version to play and for good reason. In addition to improved textures and character models, players were also given more options for multiplayer. Of course, the real star of this version was the expanded Chao Garden [pronounced “chow”], which incorporated the ability to transfer Chaos [“chows”] between “Adventure 2: Battle” and the “Sonic Advance” GBA games. Plus, who could forget Chao Karate!? Even with its secretly sadistic concept, that mode was dope! And we got to enjoy all of this with no sign of Big the Cat.
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#17: “Super Monkey Ball” (2001)
There’s just something about rolling giant balls through obstacle courses that make games like “Super Monkey Ball” so much fun. Though in this case, “Super Monkey Ball” will always be the king of said domain. Each course presented its own unique set of challenges to test your speed and reflexes as you guided your cute chimps to the goal. The short stages and arcade-y experience made it easy to compete against friends or tackle a whole run together. And if for some reason you were worn out from obstacle courses, you could all compete in various minigames like Monkey Billiards, Monkey Bowling, and Monkey Fight!
#16: “Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem” (2002)
It has been forever known as the GameCube’s Forgotten Horror Title. “Eternal Darkness” was a victim of circumstance, having been overshadowed by the system’s more family-friendly games as well as Capcom’s HD remake of “Resident Evil”. The few who got to experience this title were treated to a terrifying journey that offered up unique ways to break the fourth wall. With its Sanity mechanic, players could potentially find themselves suffering from adjustments to their television, making it much harder to ward off enemies. If you ask us, this game has been long overdue for a remake, and if it were to come back, we’d need it on every platform available!
#15: “Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance” (2005)
Back when “Path of Radiance” first launched, there weren’t too many folks familiar with “Fire Emblem”. How shameful us Westerners were to ignore a gem like this! As if we weren’t already spoiled enough by a fantastic story, “Path of Radiance” offered up a large roster of characters to recruit - a whopping total of forty-six! Really, that’s about it in terms of new features, and it’s all we could have asked for. Overall, it was more of that core “Fire Emblem” experience we’ve come to know and love, more of that challenging and tactical gameplay where permadeath could prove to be an unforgiving punishment.
#14: “Soulcalibur II” (2003)
Now, we know that we said we would be prioritizing exclusives for this list, but we really must make an exception for “Soulcalibur II” here. See, this wasn’t just a fantastic fighting game with great controls and visuals. This game had the honor of being one of the few times we got to see a Nintendo character in a non-Nintendo game. Whereas Xbox and PS2 users got Todd McFarlane’s Spawn and Heihachi Mishima from “Tekken” respectively, GameCube owners got to play as Link! That’s right - Link was a playable character in a fighting game that wasn’t “Smash Bros.”! It was an absurd idea we never thought would happen, and between the three guest characters, he was the most fun to play. Anyway, “Soulcalibur II” was awesome.
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#13: “Kirby Air Ride” (2003)
While it certainly had its fair share of problems in terms of controls and content, “Kirby Air Ride” excelled in its own unique way. This wasn’t just Kirby’s version of another Nintendo racing franchise - it was a racing game with Kirby’s simplified control philosophy mixed with the action of the other racing series. All you have to worry about are steering, pressing the “A” button at opportune times, and owning the race. It's enough to warrant a challenge, but not enough to deter new players. Though as fun as its core gameplay was, we lost countless hours to the insanely fun “City Trial” mode. Yeah, the critics certainly underplayed how much fun this game really was.
#12: “Pikmin 2” (2004)
Even though the first game will always hold a special place in our hearts, “Pikmin 2” is without a doubt the best in the franchise. Having discovered that random pieces of junk are actually worth money, Olimar is sent back to the Distant Planet alongside Louie to recover more foreign objects and help their boss climb out of debt. Yes, you are back where you were in the first game - squadding up with legions of Pikmin and trying to recover “treasures”. Only there’s a new wrench thrown in your journey: Louie. “Pikmin 2” bumps up the difficulty by giving you two teams of Pikmin to manage. Yeah, it’s a lot harder than it sounds, and the co-op mode is just as fun to play.
#11: “Resident Evil 4” (2005)
While you can play this treasured game on just about any platform today, it originally launched as a GameCube exclusive. So, it counts. Anyways, what is there to say about “Resident Evil 4” that hasn’t already been said? It’s absolutely the best game in the series, and you can see why. Fantastic visuals, terrifying enemies, brilliant level design, satisfying gunplay, and the campy dialogue we’ve come to expect from Capcom’s famed horror franchise. It all blends together into a game that almost everyone needs to play for themselves at least once.
#10: “Animal Crossing” (2002)
We never anticipated a game so cute and charming to evolve into one of Nintendo’s most influential and innovative franchises in the last couple decades. “Animal Crossing” threw players into a new village inhabited by adorable animals and a greedy as heck tanuki. From there, we lived a second life where all that mattered was digging up fossils, gathering fruit, fishing, and decorating our island homes. The way it integrated the GameCube’s internal clock into in-game events made for a package with a seemingly endless supply of secrets. So, when someone asks why folks are obsessed with “Animal Crossing”, just point them to this. A few hours will suck them right in.
#9: “F-Zero GX” (2003)
It seems that no matter how much time has passed, “F-Zero GX” refuses to show a wrinkle, and it’s splendid to revisit all these years later. This was “F-Zero” at its finest - anti-gravity racing with vehicles blasting beyond the sound barrier as Nintendo's most rocking soundtrack blares in our ears. This was hardcore racing with mindbending tracks and a touch of vehicular mayhem! And it’s the reason why so many folks have been begging Nintendo for a new entry decades later. Come on, guys, at least do a port of this!?
#8: “Metroid Prime” (2002)
It’s rare to see a franchise manage to reinvent itself the same way “Metroid” did back in 2002. Before then, we had only seen Samus and her foes on a two-dimensional plane. “Prime” not only brought the franchise into the 3D landscape, it did so with flying colors! It was the same core experience of exploring areas for secrets, yet it felt like an entirely new game with its breathtakingly morbid environments and frenetic combat. This was “Metroid” fully realized for a new generation that would carry on into the Wii era, and it’s been away for far too long. (Please, “Prime 4”, please hurry!)
#7: “Super Mario Sunshine” (2002)
We’ll be the first to admit that “Sunshine” has its own problems, particularly in the finicky controls. However, it excels in so many other ways. First off, the FLUDD mechanic grants a new way to combat enemies and traverse areas. As for the areas themselves, each one is crafted in unique ways while still fitting the game’s theme of “tropical island resort”. From Bianco Hills to Ricco Harbor, it’s almost impossible to forget about any location! Couple this with the spectacular music, and you have yet another 3D Mario game worthy of being called one of the greats.
#6: “Star Fox Assault” (2005)
One problem with “Star Fox Adventures” was that it behaved more like a “Zelda” game than a real “Star Fox” game. Luckily, we got to see a new form of the Star Fox team, one that put the crew in a more action-packed setting. Veterans appreciated the return to dogfights, but what really showed the franchise’s potential was how you could go from aerial combat to on-foot third-person shooting in ships and bases. And it was all presented in excellent visuals that still hold up to this day. Why Nintendo did not continue taking “Star Fox” in this direction we’ll never know, and we wait for the day Corneria needs Fox once again.
#5: “Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door” (2005)
This would be the final time we’d see “Paper Mario” as we knew it after the N64 original, and good lord, was it a stellar adventure. Sure, the gameplay hadn’t changed much between then and now, but that’s not why you play turn-based RPGs. “The Thousand-Year Door” holds a special place in peoples’ hearts because of its story, its colorful characters with their own arcs, and the wondrous locations visited throughout. There is a lot to love here (except those damn paper airplane segments), and it’s precisely the reason why “Paper Mario” has become such a contentious yet beloved franchise today.
#4: “Luigi’s Mansion” (2001)
Honestly, if we were to choose which Mario brother had stolen much of the spotlight during the GameCube days, we’d pick Luigi. “Luigi’s Mansion” was practically a required title for GameCube owners, and rightfully so! The control scheme offered a unique playstyle we hadn’t really encountered in games prior, and the expansive mansion held so many secrets to find that we needed to do multiple playthroughs. With its goofy humor, clever level and boss designs, and challenging puzzles, “Luigi’s Mansion” showed the world that the younger bro could provide a game just as amazing as Mario!
#3: “Mario Kart: Double Dash!!” (2003)
After the exceptional display put on by “Mario Kart 64”, we weren’t expecting to see our beloved kart racing series take such a drastic turn in gameplay. “Double Dash” was the chaotic energy of its predecessors cranked up to eleven, and it worked out extremely well! Veterans practically had to re-learn “Mario Kart” with the new addition of interchangeable karts, special items, and character switching. It wasn’t enough to know which corners to drift around - now you needed to know which characters were right for the job! It's this level of depth that has caused so many players to scream for a sequel. Hey, the Switch hasn’t had its own true “Mario Kart” yet. So…there’s hope?
#2: “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker” (2003)
It’s astonishing to think that back when “Wind Waker” was still in development, folks were appalled by the art style. Much to the chagrin of skeptics, “Wind Waker” would prove to be one of the timeless classics in the “Zelda” franchise. From its cel-shaded artstyle to its charming character design, this was an adventure for every gamer, regardless if they were a Nintendo fan or not. Everything was just brimming with personality, and sailing brought about a creative spin on traversing the world. It’s almost still hard to believe that such a sharp change in visuals would spawn a whole new style of “Zelda” games years later!
#1: “Super Smash Bros. Melee” (2001)
Twenty-six playable fighters. Three hundred trophies to collect. Fifty-one challenges to conquer. An expansive and epic Adventure Mode. The introduction of Special Rules. Home-Run Contest. These were all factors in what allowed “Melee” to define the GameCube era. “Smash Bros” had upped its game by gearing up the speed, throwing in new techniques, and serving up a plethora of modes, making “Melee” insanely replayable. One simply cannot ignore the influence on indie fighters and the hype this game has brought. And it’s for all these reasons why we crown “Super Smash Bros. Melee” as the Greatest GameCube Game of All Time.
