The GameCube stands as one of the finest consoles Nintendo have ever released, which in turn makes it one of the greatest consoles ever. Crammed with amazing games and sporting a truly modern controller, the GameCube was an evolution for Nintendo games and it still has an impact on gaming today.
With over 600 games released for the GameCube, picking a top five can be hard. We’re always up for a challenge, however, so here’s our list of the best GameCube games of all time.
Pikmin 2
Great things come in small packages and there aren’t a lot of things much smaller than a Pikmin. Pikmin 2 isn’t just a great strategy/puzzle game that sees you lead your horde through a variety of levels, it’s a technical masterpiece. That many Pikmin on screen at once on a GameCube running at 30 FPS? That’s some magic right there.
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
Speaking of magic, here’s a game infused with dark wizardry. Eternal Darkness is a game that truly understands horror, utilising the act of playing a game as a key component in the chills and scares. The game’s Sanity Effects almost break the fourth wall, making the game feel almost cursed as you play it. It’s a wonder to behold, and present horror games owe a huge debt to Eternal Darkness.
Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing may have first appeared on the N64 but its remaster later in 2001 meant it found its true home on the GameCube. Sometimes you just need a little time and space to build your ideal home and make some friends and nothing does that quite as well as an Animal Crossing game. With a legacy that reaches to the present day, Animal Crossing is definitely a worthy inclusion in the pantheon of the best GameCube games of all time.
Luigi’s Mansion
Luigi is everyone’s favourite brother, that’s just a fact. So it’s fitting that he should have his own game, and what a game Luigi’s Mansion is. Tasked with hoovering up troublesome ghosts, Luigi’s Mansion combines tight gameplay with pitch-perfect animation to make it one of the best entries in the entire Mario/Luigi series.
Resident Evil 4
It’s hard to remember now but Resident Evil 4 was a massive departure for the series. Gone were the fixed cameras and instead we got a third person action game set in Spain with the T-Virus being barely visible. What luck then that this risk was worth it, with a game that’s still renowned as being probably the best Resident Evil game of all time, and one of the best GameCube games ever released.
