As a relic of the past, the Nintendo GameCube served as one of the very first consoles for Millennials and older Gen Z-ers. Despite not being the most celebrated console, it did have its perks. This includes being the first Nintendo videogame console to use optical discs for storage. The reviews on the console were mostly positive; it did get praise on its controllers and high-quality games.
However, most of the criticism was about its appearance and lack of external features; its most noticeable aspects were the memory card port and its ability to host four controllers (players) at a time. Nevertheless, it was a simple console where the main purpose was gaming. Despite its high resolution, some games were deemed as the worst. According to Metacritic, here are the five best Nintendo Gamecube games and the five worst.
7 BEST: The Legend Of Zelda Collector's Edition (95)
Released on November 17th of 2003, the set includes the original Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask. In other words, gamers receive the whole Zelda experience. Regarding both Zelda and Zelda II, the graphics look a bit rough around the edges, which is perfect to insight nostalgia in die-hard fans.
Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time, on the other hand, did get an upgrade on graphics. The control layouts of every single game are displayed on the screen before each game starts. So not only is it fun to play, but it also gives gamers a nudge in the right direction to start with.
6 WORST: Jeremy McGrath Supercross World (36)
The graphics of this game wouldn’t be a problem if it were a Nintendo 64 game, but it’s not; the aforementioned graphics are lower-than-average for GameCube standards. The overlapping of the sound effects makes for one unpleasant auditory experience. If it weren’t for the 3D arrow at the top of the screen, players wouldn’t know which way to go in some levels due to the lack of physical boundaries in them.
There are no interactions with the other figures; gamers just go drive their motorcycles in a vast terrain. In other words, it’s a racing game that doesn’t feel like one.
5 BEST: The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker (96)
Wind Waker's colorful aesthetic cartoonish graphics create a cheerful mood when compared to the dark undertones of Majora’s Mask. Link’s movements don’t glitch, which gives the gamer more opportunities to defeat the opponents smoothly.
WORST: Bad Boys: Miami Takedown (35)
This game is filled with bad graphics. The game characters don’t even look like the cops played by Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. This might make some sense since the actors didn’t lend their voices for the game, so most of the dialogue does not even match the gameplay.
The gameplay mode gets as confused as the gamers themselves; sometimes it’s in the first person and sometimes it’s in the third. The levels are linear and boring; and somehow gamers may only protect themselves in designated circles, which defies all logic.
BEST: The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess (96)
The gameplay for this Zelda game is simply outstanding. One of the themes that catches most players' eyes is Link’s ability to turn into a wolf, which lets him communicate with animals and allows players to make progress in the game.
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In addition, the game’s storyline thickens with the help of a mysterious being named Midna as gamers must defeat an army of demon-like creatures while horseback riding, for the most part. It does lack dialogue, which goes accordingly with the battling and focused atmosphere. Why talk when gamers have a kingdom to save?
WORST: Batman: Dark Tomorrow (29)
Batman: Dark Tomorrow is notorious for two things: camera and controls. With the camera, gamers have the choice of alternating between first-person and third person. However, while first-person helps the player to sneak up behind enemies, the camera often faces the opposite way and puts the player in danger since the whole ordeal allows the enemies to attack Batman without as much of a warning.
On third-person mode, the camera zooms away from Batman which allows the player to see the enemies attacking them but not see Batman himself. As per controls, Batman doesn’t block attacks when the player wants him to. Most weapons don’t work properly. In general, simple commands are hardly executed with ease.
4 BEST: Resident Evil 4 (96)
For horror fans everywhere, Resident Evil 4 will forever be one of the bests. It is another game in which Metacritic also indicates it deserves “universal acclaim.” The sound effects kept players on their toes, especially when it’s a third-person shooter.
The fight choreographies of the enemies, as well as the 3D graphics, add for a horror movie atmosphere for the gamers. Having moments where the player interacts with the cut scenes makes the gameplay modes more interactive. That and the voice acting skills of Paul Mercier (Leon Scott Kennedy) make Resident Evil 4 one of the best GameCube games ever.
3 WORST: Aquaman: Battle For Atlantis (27)
Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis is another game in which the controls don’t cooperate with the players. In this case, whenever the player tries to block, the enemy can simply hold Aquaman’s hands, cancel the block, and then proceed to attack.
Combos also seem to be obsolete since the game does not acknowledge them very often. If it does acknowledge the combo attack, the initial punch pushes the enemy far away from the perimeter; this results in the rest of the attack having no effect whatsoever. Gamers are better off pushing random buttons and hope for the best.
2 BEST: Metroid Prime (97)
Metroid Prime is the fifth installment in the Metroid series. It is one of the best games for Nintendo’s GameCube because it was the first game to include 3D computer graphics. This allowed gamers to play as Samus Aran in a first-person perspective. Since gamers had to be on the watch for the enemy while playing, the game kept players at the edge of their seats.
More than a million copies sold in North America, aside from winning various Game of the Year awards. Focusing more on exploration than battling, the intergalactic graphics and moody soundtrack make for fantastic gameplay.
1 WORST: Charlie's Angels (23)
This game is notoriously known as one of the worst games to exist for GameCube as well as in general. The introduction of the storyline takes too long. The bad graphics don’t match the dialogue. The uncontrollable camera makes for one awkward gameplay. Even though the gameplay itself is quite simple, certain aspects make it problematic. First, there are invisible walls whenever there is a fight scene. This means that there is neither room nor opportunity to strategize against the opponents.
Second, the game has an option to switch Angels. However, this option is useless. It is not available during a fight and it is not needed to complete a level; while the opponents may attack the player in groups, the player may only use one Angel to save themselves. Last but not least, since the camera control is terrible, gamers end up not knowing what they are up against or where they are going until it’s too late.