Coming home from college one weekend, I saw my sister playing on the Gamecube, a console that we have at home. Most Consoles nowadays are starting to switch from the three cable video to HDMI cables. So when you want to play old video games like Gamecube titles for example, it becomes a real effort to get a old television setup to actually play. The Gamecube is the one console that I absolutely adore; I have a natural bias to this console because I grew up with it. Regardless, I know a lot of Gamecube games and I still have a pretty big collection of Gamecube titles in my house. So I thought I would share some of the great titles that I played and still pick up and play often on my weekends home from college.
1. Super Smash Brothers Melee
This particular game is a legend and I used to play it all the time. It's so good that it's still played in tournaments today. Melee wasn't the first fighter from nintendo- there was Super Smash Brother 64 released before that. However, the game wasn't as successful until Melee was in the scene. The characters had more structure and were easier to control. Its great to play both solo and co-op.This game was my favorite game that I played with my friends. We all had so much fun fighting against each other.
One of the reasons why the game was so fun was because as you got better at a character, you just wanted to verse your friends and show off how good you were. Or you wanted to just play and see what kind of different combos you could do with particular characters. The game is constantly being remade for the more resent consoles. Melee will aways be the game that really established the series. It's actually really fun just watching pros play against each other; you kind of feel the heat as they're playing. If you haven't played this title yet, I personally suggest that you do, or at least play one of the recent titles like Super Smash Brothers Brawl on the Wii U or Nintendo DS.
2. The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess
There were so many Legend of Zelda titles released on the Gamecube and honestly I could've put any Legend of Zelda game here, but there was a lot of controversy about this particular title. Some people liked it because it was different and strange. This game went in a different direction from the other titles. However, I think that is what made it so great. Legend of Zelda was considered to be a game full of color and had a cartoon appearance. More or less, Legend of Zelda is a game with sword fighting and puzzles. The new dark and more realistic game received much criticism. The realistic look was really engaging and I feel that it connected more teens to the title. Also it solved the problem of many fans wanting a realistic title for the longest time.
To me, the game was a great change. It was new and different. Many looked at the parts where you played as a wolf as repetitive and not interesting. I see why they argue this, but I think that the parts where you collect "tears of light" are not that interesting. The game developers could've done something more challenging with the same idea. But that in itself doesn't take away from the game as a whole. The game has so many puzzles and optional activities that you can do; it's almost endless gameplay. To be perfectly honest, I haven't even done everything in the game. I'm still working on getting 100 percent completion.
3. Luigi's Mansion
When Luigi's Mansion came out it was more or less a new and unique title. Luigi had never been the most dominant character in Mario games. Even recently in Mario games, you still typically play as Mario and Luigi is a secondary option. That fact that Luigi was the main character initially attracted many people to the game. Luigi's Mansion is not like any other game; you control Luigi as he goes through this haunted mansion that he won from a contest he didn't enter. When he finds out that Mario arrived before him and is missing, it becomes your job to explore the mansion in search for him. The game is great control-wise when you have to attack enemies. Gamecube isn't motion controlled, so your only option is to move around with the controller. However, the level design and overall game makes up for the fact that the game is not motion controlled. Every room in the mansion brings a new experience and challenge. Just when you feel like you're a master at the game, a new challenge gets thrown at you. Later in the game there are unique activities to do, like watering a plant gradually to get the prize inside it and collecting all of Mario's items that were left behind in some rooms of the mansion.
When beating many bosses and semi-bosses, the level of your health and the time it takes to beat them determines whether you get a bronze, silver or gold painting to go into the gallery. The replay factor influences players to want to win all of the different paintings. At the end of the game, the amount of money you collect is equivalent to how big the new mansion is that is built in place of the old mansion. This also is a huge replay factor because it's fun to see the options for the new mansion. Regardless of that, Luigi's Mansion is a fun game to play just because with the enemies there are so many strategies to utilize and it's fun to experiment and see what makes you beat a certain boss faster or more easily. People may compare this game to the more recent titles released on the 3DS. However, if you're going to play Luigi's Mansion, I highly recommend the one on the Gamecube. It's just a classic and only playing the 3DS title, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Mood, doesn't give Luigi's Mansion the gaming interactions you get with Gamecube. It is a great sequel to the original, but I wish it was also on the Wii U console in addition to the 3DS.
4. Scooby-Doo Night of 100 Frights
Not only is Scooby-Doo one of the greatest shows that I used to watch as a kid, but the game is just as phenomenal. The game is in the platform and beat-em-up genre. Because of the varied levels and challenging-but-fun boss levels, the game was exciting to play even after you beat it. The story is very similar to a plot you would find on one of the television shows. All the characters had the same voice so there wasn't any disconnect. The game also is really interesting through the many power-ups you get. At the start of the game you are limited to jumping once and being relatively unprotected, which means you have to avoid most of the monsters you come across. This makes it feel so great when you get to eventually kill your first enemy. The game also does a great job with having a collectables option. Around many various levels of the game there are these monster tokens which are challenging to get to. If you collect them you can see the whole monster in the gallery and even get some information about them. I'm really not sure why I keep picking up this Gamecube game rather than a variety of different platforming games. Maybe its the great charm of it or the incomplete token collection. But this one game just makes me keep coming back for another play session.
I guarantee that you'll have a really fun time playing these titles. With so many new games coming out, there aren't many people suggesting great older games to play. Check these out if you're into retro gaming like I am! Through the variety of level design, beat-em up fun, and puzzle solving I know you'll enjoy one if not many of these old but great games.
