The Nintendo Gamecube, in my opinion, was the underrated console of its generation. The PlayStation 2 (and to a lesser extent the original Xbox) took over the headlines leaving the big N’s system largely forgotten. It certainly didn’t help that it had the worst third party support of the three, and ports were often watered down in content because of the storage medium. The unusual button layout didn’t do it any favors for these multiplatform titles. Basically the best games for the platform were designed specifically for it. Despite the limited library the console did amass some classics, and many of them are underrated. You can see where I’m going with this so I’m just going to dive right in. These are the top 15 best Nintendo Gamecube hidden gems! Before we get started let’s go over some rules I had while drafting this list.
- We are leaving import titles off this list. This is just North American releases. Yes, there are a few great import titles but I’ll save those for another list.
- Several games for the platform had limited exposure at their time of release but have since had a lot of exposure due to becoming cult classics. I’ll try to avoid these titles, but in some cases it’s unavoidable. Still you won’t find popular games here.
- Please bear in mind that this is my opinion, and mine alone. By all means this is no definitive list, rather something I’ve written to help fans of the console to find something they may have missed. It’s all in good fun.
Alright let’s start for real. These are the best Nintendo Gamecube hidden gems.
Amazing Island
The generic name and premise is surely what turned most gamers off. Honestly Amazing Island looks and sounds like a title made for kids. For the most part that’s true, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. Amazing Island is a cutesy mini-game collection held together loosely by an adventure mode where you explore to unlock more of these. It’s part Mario Party, and part exploration. Amazing Island isn’t the greatest game on the platform but it didn’t get it’s fair due. Furthermore no one seems to mention it these days. The mini-games are fast and frantic. Plus I really like the fact that you can customize your character for use during these to great effect. I feel like Amazing Island came out too soon, and could have seen more success had Sega held on to this one for the next generation because it may have found it’s audience more.
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
It’s no secret that Nintendo consoles, since the Nintendo 64, were lagging behind in the RPG genre. The fact that Namco and Monolith Soft decided to make an original one for the Gamecube was super surprising at the time. Baten Kaitos had absolutely amazing graphics with some of the best pre-rendered backgrounds of all time. So why wasn’t this one popular? It’s because the battle system was based off of card combat. You had to use these for every action which made it very different from your traditional RPG. You could customize your deck but each turn required you to pull specific cards to make use of all actions. I still think this is a bad idea to this day, but it’s serviceable and fun. I still wish Namco had released this same exact game but with a traditional combat system because Baten Kaitos truly gets everything else right.
Baten Kaitos Origins
The most shocking thing about Baten Kaitos is the fact that Namco and Monlith Soft made a prequel just a few years later. It came out just before the launch of the Wii console, at that. It’s no wonder no one played it because the Gamecube was on it’s last leg at that point. Regardless Baten Kaitos Origins is a great game. It uses a similar battle system to the original, but it has been streamlined in some decent ways. This makes the whole ‘card combat’ angle a bit more palatable. With that said the storyline isn’t nearly as good, but Origins uses the same amazing graphics engine with incredible pre-rendered backgrounds and great character designs. Baten Kaitos Origins improves things but I still wish they had worked more on tweaking the combat system. It would be a better title had they gone with a more traditional approach.
Battalion Wars
The ‘wars’ series from Nintendo was a huge hit in Japan since the NES days. It wasn’t until the Gameboy Advance that we finally saw a game in this franchise localized for North American audiences. The thing is… the series was always primarily on console up to this point. Fans were wondering if the Gamecube would be graced with a new installment and then Nintendo went and announced Batallion Wars for it. Unfortunately Intelligent Systems took a different approach here opting for more action and real time gameplay. This was a stark contrast from the rest of the franchise which is why Batallion Wars was passed up by most fans of the series. Regardless it’s a delightful game that’s fun in it’s own right. The problem was we were all expecting Advance Wars in 3D, and that’s not what we got.
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg
Sega going third party was a huge deal at the time. Sonic Team in particular made it well known that the Gamecube was their platform of choice with various Sonic ports. Their first truly original title was a 3D platformer by the name of Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg. What makes this game special is the fact that it was never ported anywhere else, and no sequels were ever released. Billy Hatcher was a one and done, and aside from the title character being a racer in various kart releases he has been all but forgotten. Gameplay here is a bit different from your usual mascot platformer. All attacks are performed with an egg which the protagonist rolls. You have to plan these out because it can be lost, and must then be regained. It’s a pretty interesting combat mechanic nonetheless.
Bomberman Generation
In previous generations Bomberman was a huge franchise. With the dawn 3D hardware the franchise struggled to make the transition to the new dimension. When it came to the Gamecube Hudson Soft was still at it trying to make Bomberman a household name once again. The main draw of this installment was the cel-shaded graphics and honestly they look incredible. The style fits the series extremely well. Multiplayer is traditional Bomberman fare (but frankly that’s what we’ve come to expect). In the single player mode it’s more of an action adventure title. Honestly it’s a bit fast and frantic for series purists, but I found the story mode fun. Bomberman Generation had the unfortunate limitation of belonging to a forgotten franchise.
Chibi-Robo!
This is another late Gamecube release. Chibi-Robo was released when the Nintendo Wii was on the horizon. Still I have to give them extra points for supporting the console so late in its lifespan. Here you play as a small robot cleaning unit that, well… he cleans up messes. You have various objectives in each stage (which all take place within the same house) to earn happy points. If it sounds whimsical then that’s because it is. There are few video games that are as fun or charming as this one. Unfortunately every action from picking things up to walking around drain’s Chibi-Robo’s health. Should this drain entirely you have to resume from the last checkpoint you reached. To recharge this little guy must plug himself in to a power source. It’s a unique title that’s still quite fun.
Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest
Cubivore was originally in development for the Nintendo 64DD in Japan and was known original as Animal Leader. Like many other titles on the platform it was moved to the Gamecube. Nintendo was originally planning to leave this one in Japan but Atlus picked it up and translated everything into English. You wander around as an animal designed entirely out of cubes. Honestly the characters look like something out of Minecraft, but this was years before that. Your goal is to roam the land eating other animals. This leads to mutations, but there’s a trick to it. The protagonist mutates based off of what creatures he consumes, and even the body parts. What’s more is that he can reproduce, and create unique offspring based off of how you’ve grown it. Cubivore is certainly interesting, and despite middling reviews I really like it.
Evolution: Worlds
Odds are if you owned a Gamecube then you were starving for RPGs. The thirst was real. One of the early releases in this genre for the platform was Evolution: Worlds. Unfortunately this wasn’t a new title and instead a compilation of Evolution and Evolution 2 which were originally released on the Sega Dreamcast. Both were okay, but the fact that they were both included in a compilation for the Gamecube no less made this package more special. Both titles are very traditional by genre standards with a focus on dungeon exploration. These are fairly well designed, and battles are classic turn based fare. There’s nothing innovative here, but also none of it is offensive in any way. I actually really like the graphics and it’s simplistic approach to the genre. Many will disagree, but in my opinion Evolution: Worlds is a true Gamecube hidden gem.
Geist
I remember pre-release many fans of the console were claiming this would be the next Halo. Spoiler alert. It’s not Halo. The good news is that it doesn’t try to be. Geist is a first person shooter with a big unique gimmick. Rather than playing as a singular character you instead you’re a ghost. You can’t damage enemies by yourself. This character can’t even directly interact with the environment on his own. Instead you have to possess people, and things. This is how the game is played. Upon possessing somebody (or something) you view the game from their perspective and can act according to how they (or it) would. This means you can possess enemies and use their weapons against each other. You can even take control of machines or inanimate objects for a variety of effects. It lacked a lot of polish, but Geist was a really interesting idea.
Gotcha Force
Catching them all became a huge phenomenon following the release of Pokemon. Capcom tried their hand at the concept, and instead of copying the formula tried something different. The result was Gotcha Force which unfortunately was a major flop. The game revolves entirely around collecting and battle with gatcha toys. When engaging in a fight you’re moved to a 3D arena where you use a variety of different special attacks to drain the enemy’s life bar. Think of this as sort of a Virtual On-lite. I’ll be honest, I can see why this one had a tough time with the critics. At first I just couldn’t get into it, but at some point in my original playthrough something just clicked. Gotcha Force isn’t amazing by any means but it’s good clean fun. This is a good contender as one of the best Gamecube hidden gems.
Ikaruga
This one originated in arcades, then hit the Dreamcast (in Japan), and only hit Western audiences when it was ported to the Nintendo Gamecube. This was an unusual release because it’s largely a 2.5D shoot ’em up. The genre was clearly on its way out at the time, but leave it to Treasure (after the amazing Radiant Silvergun) to keep interest in it going. From an overhead perspective you pilot a ship which must dodge incoming fire while shooting down enemies. The gimmick here absolutely defines the gameplay and makes it one of the most interesting in the genre. Basically you have two colors; light and dark. You can switch between them freely. While in light mode you cannot be hit by white colored bullets, and can destroy dark enemies/shots. The opposite goes for when in dark mode. This one takes a lot of practice to master.
Mega Man Network Transmission
Here’s a real oddball entry in the series. The Mega Man Network Transmission series were RPGs on the Game Boy Advance. With this console iteration Capcom moved the spin-offs back to what Mega Man so good originally. At it’s core Network Transmission plays in a very similar fashion to the classic blue bomber adventures. It’s a 2.5D action platformer where you blast away at foes making your way from the left to the right side of the screen. The traditional power-up mechanics are gone in favor of RPG elements more akin to the Mega Man Network series. Lame. Well, not quite. The level design is surprisingly enjoyable, and a 2D platformer in that day and age was pretty rare. Overall I really liked Mega Man Network Transmission even if I did wish it had more of the traditional elements from the main series.
Odama
Few video games have ever had me saying “what the heck is happening” quite like Odama. It’s difficult to describe. Here is my best shot. This is a pinball game using a giant boulder called ‘Odama.’ You actually are in charge of an entire army, and must defeat enemy forces using this, but you can also send your soldiers in to fight or to defend your base. In the beginning it’s almost impossible to tell what’s going on. There’s too much going on in every screen. The action is crammed with small characters and large enemies. When you really give it a chance you’ll find that Odama is actually really fun. It’s a shame no one talks about it these days because it’s clearly one of the best Gamecube hidden gems of all time. Odama doesn’t even seem to have a cult following.
Pac-Man Vs.
One of the major problems with the Nintendo Gamecube was that Nintendo just didn’t know what gamers wanted back then. Take their E3 2003 presentation for example. Pac Man Vs was one of their major highlights. I love the game (as you can tell by it being included here) but it’s hardly what their show should have been focused on. Regardless, at it’s core this is classic Pac-Man. The real change up is the fact that it makes use of the Game Boy Advance link cable. You can connect the handheld (which is actually required) and it becomes a match of three against one. The players with the Gamecube controllers view small screens on the television while they hunt Pac-Man (the player on the Game Boy Advance who can see the entire playfield). This clearly was a precursor to the Wii U console. It’s frantic, and a TON of fun.
