Whenever I go to gamerankings.com I see a ton of 90 plus % games. I have an Xbox and am a big pc gamer but there are alot of games on GC that aren’t available on either system. Metroid, SMS, Perfect Dark, Rogue Leader, Zelda, Resident Evil, etc… For some odd reason Monkey Ball appeals to me. Seems like one of those edge of your seat, throw the controller against the wall games I love. What’s your opinion on this console?
I bought a Gamecube just to play the new Zelda. Got Metroid Prime and Mario Sunshine for free (not to mention Ocarina of Time). Even if I don’t buy any other games, I’ve by far gotten my money’s worth. As you noted, these are all exclusives, too.
Next purchases are going to be Eternal Darkness and Soul Caliber 2. Nintendo never lets me down.
The Nintendo-exclusive games almost always have excellent gameplay and are often really innovative and interesting. I enjoy my Gamecube a lot for its cute purple fun-ness. I also enjoy my X-box for its macho green/black squatting-masculinelyness. Completely different consoles and gaming experiences, but a lot of fun with both.
Besides, I love the Gamecube controllers that actually fit in my girly little hands.
I’m happy. But I don’t like Monkey Ball. I played it for about an hour and then it got too hard and frustrating, and I haven’t touched it in a year. The party games are supposed to be fun though. Same thing with Rogue Leader actually, although that lasted five hours.
OTOH, I did play Mario Sunshine, Zelda, and Metroid Prime for tens of hours each.
I love my Gamecube and it saddens me everytime Nintendo has to offer a new special to sell consoles. They just can’t shake the whole “kiddie” system stigma, even with outstanding mature titles like Eternal Darkness and the Resident Evil remakes.
Granted, I’m still not fond of the button layout of the controllers but I’ve gotten used to it. Plus you can now play most every Gameboy/GBC/GBA on the big screen using the new attachment. That’s a huge library.
I’ve been a loyal Nintendo guy since the original NES. As others have already said, the GC is great for those titles unique to Nintendo (Mario, Zelda) and for those that happen to be unique in the GC but not necessarily Nintendo as a company (Resident Evil for example).
Resident Evil is a beautiful and spooky game. RE0, also made only for GC, was OK- still had pretty good scenery and graphics, but a little weaker on storyline, IMO.
Eternal Darkness suffers a bit in the graphics dept, especially if you’ve just some fresh from RE, but is a FANTASTIC game.
And all of the regular Nintendo properties are solid, with the new take on Metroid being absolutely kickass.
However, I just finally caved this week and bought a PS2, mainly because Nintendo did what they did with the N64: put out a handful of killer games and just kind of petered off.
I’ve also come to the realization that my expectations of Nintendo systems have dropped quite a bit in recent years: if I get 4-6 really good games for it, then I feel they’ve met my expectations, and here’s where I think they suffer in the market. Many platform gamers aren’t going to be satistied with that when they can get a system that offers dozens of great games, and hundreds of so-so ones, is backwards-compatible with older systems, and also plays DVDs and CDs.
IMHO, I think Nintendo ought to think about getting out of the platform market and becoming strictly a game developer.
-j
Here’s something that slightly annoys me about the way Nintendo does things as well:
I dislike that they have taken to putting hidden levels/games/classic versions on their software that can ONLY be unlocked if you own a Game Boy Advance, the similar GBA title, and the connectors. I have no interest in GBA- I don’t care much for any portable games, but I WOULD love to be able to play the orignal Metroid again on a system where I don’t have to breathe on the cartridge and gently slide it in and wedge another cartridge in on top of it to make it work for another 10 minutes before it freezes again.
I think Nintendo has survived mainly because of its loyal base, and really should TRY to throw us a bone every once in a while.
I’m also deeply bothered by the “expansion” slot on the bottom of N64- I really wanted to use that thing. 
Hey, don’t feel too bad. The Perfect Dark series has moved to the XBox. It happened when Nintendo let Rare go and Microsoft picked them up.
I wasn’t as happy with my GC as most people in this thread. It should be said however, that I’m more a fan of multiplayer games and found X-box my type of system. I got the PS2 only for GTA3 and GTA:VC and it was well worth it for those.
It worked great, and once I got used to the controlls I could deal with it, just not my personal favorite.
Get Eternal Darkness if you get a cube, or at least rent it and try to get deep in the game. Once you are 50% done with the game, there are still new play elements that have yet to come.
I’m really happy with my Cube, I can’t wait to get Mario Golf and Mario Kart, along with other new games.
I only bought my GameCube in April and I love it! Zelda is an excellant game, I only got it a week or so ago and havent completed it yet, but still, excellant game!
SMS was a good game too, some insanely dificult levels but overall I really enjoyed it.
Kiddie games that are good on it too are Louigis Mansion & Crash Bandicoot.
Overall Im happy with the GC, and cant wait for the release of Mario Kart
I’m happy with whatever Nintendo throws at me but I’m a huge fanboy so my opinion probably doesn’t matter much. Still, there’s more variety than one might think. You have your adventure games like Mario, Metroid, and Zelda, but where Gamecube really shines I think is the multiplayer games like Smash Bros and Monkey Ball. And the wireless controller is also a really neat feature.
Oh! I didn’t know they had a new Mario Kart coming out. I would’ve kept it otherwise! We still have the N64 out all the time just to play that game.
Mario Sunshine alone makes it worth it. Eternal Darkness, Zelda & Resident Evil are frosting on the cake.
I’m assuming they still have some games yet to release that will also be good? Hope so, even if they’re just sequels to what they already have. I’d love another Eternal Darkness. That game cost me $25 in late fees at Blockbuster.
I say go for it. I love my Gamecube, and never regretted for a moment buying it over the other systems available. Nintendo routinely makes some of the best software in the industry, and the second and third party titles for it are also spectacular. They really do not deserve the “kiddy” image (look at Eternal Darkness!) they have, because good gameplay is ageless. Mario may not have an attitude, but he’s a heck of a lot of fun to play.
(Oddly enough, Nintendo was the only company NOT to censor BMX XXX, though I do not thinke the “mature” label was warrented (nobody mature would be the least bit interested in that thing.)
Like most everyone else, I love the Marios & Zeldas etc. It’s the reason I got a CG instead of something else.
I am toying with the idea of picking up a PS2 to give this Grand Theft Auto thing a look & playing Kingdom Hearts.
I thought the PS2 version was the only one that’s censored. The Xbox one is uncensored, just like the cube’s.
Anyway, I’m surprised that nobody’s mentioned F-zero yet. Just a couple of days now…
Ok, now part 2. I decided to get a cube but it is nigh impossible to find out what many of these games are like. Even after reading the reviews I still can’t figure out what you do in Zelda or Metroid because the assumption is that you’ve played the previous incarnations. Hopefully you guys can point me in the right direction. I like first person shooters, action games in general, and adventure puzzle games. I’m not impressed by a game that is JUST story. I’m not a big collector (ala animal crossing) nor am i someone who likes to “explore” just to see things. I want to do. Whether I like platform jumping remains to be seen. It’s been a long time since I’ve played those types. Any ideas?
I also should have mentioned that I’m not a big “lets find all the secrets” kinda guy. Can anyone tell me what the puzzles are like or how the combat works in the zelda and metroid?
I haven’t played the new Zelda yet, but I can tell you that Metroid is largely a first person shooter, in terms of fighting style. It’s really cool, too.
-j