Let's Talk Favorite Gamecube Games

The 'Cube was a Christmas gift in '01. That's over a decade ago now, jeez. The N64 still worked fine (still does, in fact, even if there are still 4 games I need to retrieve from wherever Alex thinks he may have left them), but there weren't really any games coming out for it by then. So the 'Cube was the new hotness so to speak. The fact it was small and easily portable didn't hurt any, not for someone who had to periodically pack up all his stuff and move to or from a dorm.

I'm pretty sure the reason I wanted a Gamecube will be game #4 on the list, but on the whole, the system didn't work out so well for me. I bought 28 games all told, but there are at least 10 I'd classify as "duds", and probably at least another 5 that had certain aspects I enjoyed, but had enough frustrating things to ruin the experience on the whole. Baten Kaitos: Origins would fall squarely in that category. It's predecessor might, as well. Of course, there were certain games I intended to buy for the Gamecube I wound up having to purchase for another system, which skewed things a little. If I'd managed to get Beyond Good & Evil for the Gamecube instead of the XBox, that might change my perspective. On the little purple lunchpail, at least.

#5. Skies of Arcadia: Legends
#4. Super Smash Bros. Melee
#3. Timesplitters 2
#2. Metroid Prime
#1. Resident Evil 4

Skies of Arcadia narrowly edged out Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker for the 5th spot. One RPG, two first person shooters, a fighting game, and a survival/horror/adventure/3rd person shooter(?) I'm not entirely sure how to classify RE4. It's less of a horror game than RE2 or Silent Hill 2, but adventure seems a little, I don't know, cheerful for it.

I was trying to beat Metroid Prime again this spring, which didn't really work out, but anyway. I was being repeatedly killed by the Omega Pirate. Or more accurately, I was being killed by the various Beam Pirates it was calling down to protect itself while it tried to rebuild its Phazon armor. After several days of trying once or twice and failing, I threatened the game with demotion to #3 on the list if it didn't let me win. That didn't have an immediate effect, but I let it keep its spot. Metroid Prime is one of those games where it's really fun when things are going well, and I enjoy the efforts to flesh out the world with the Chozo Lore and Pirate Research entries. Although that Space Pirate planetarium is about the saddest thing ever. When the planet with the virus that is about to kill you when you start seeing double is the happiest place, you know it's a hellhole.

Looking back at the review, I may not have given Timsplitters its fair due. At one time, I owned it and Halo, and Timesplitters 2 is the one I kept. I'd regard it better if they'd fixed some of the co-op glitches, and if it had gotten some of the character building Timesplitters: Future Perfect did. As to Smash Bros., I find I'm getting progressively worse at the games with each new iteration. The more new moves and control functions they add, the more I struggle. Granted, I didn't put in as much time on Melee as I did on the original, but even when I play it a lot, some of the moves never become second nature to me.

This isn't a particularly close list, RE4 is well ahead of the others. I've played it to completion multiple times, and I likely will again. I'm just so happy the camera plays fair now, even if that's makes it a less terrifying game. The gameplay is just a lot of fun, and the timing button commands to kick or escape added an enjoyable bit of flexibility to the game (I know people who love to shoot out the legs of attackers, then either slice them with the knife, or kick the hell out of them.) I would put it behind RE2 from a story perspective. That game's characters and their arcs have always been more interesting and felt more filled out.