10 Best GameCube Games Of All Time

The Nintendo GameCube might not have been one of the company’s top-selling consoles, but the library of titles that the system racked up is up there with the very best. Thanks to a significant leap in capability from the Nintendo 64, the GameCube was able to build and expand on the blossoming legacy of 3D titles on Nintendo systems. From strong iterations of past formulas to games that experimented and broke the mold in new and exciting ways, there’s no shortage of fascinating experiences to find on the GameCube.

It’s no surprise that some of the best titles on the GameCube come from Nintendo’s time-honored flagship franchises, but none of them were coasting on the quality of past successes. Other excellent games came from Nintendo partners or third-party developers, covering essentially any genre that players might be looking for. Despite the expansive library of the contemporary PlayStation 2 and the exciting developments happening on the original Xbox, the GameCube library featured enough exclusives to easily fill up a selection of its best games without crossing over into any multi-platform titles.

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10 Animal Crossing (2001)

Nintendo, Social Simulation

There wasn’t anything like Animal Crossing when it was first released, and despite occasional imitators, there still really isn’t today. Animal Crossing isn’t about farming, or fighting, or really even getting the Bells to pay off home loans. What sets it apart from anything else is the surplus of quirky and memorable interactions with the animal villagers, and although newer franchise entries like Animal Crossing: New Horizons have added a robust array of features and quality-of-life improvements, the original Animal Crossing is still hard to beat in this core regard.

9 Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (2002)

Silicon Knights, Horror

Horror may not be the genre that first comes to mind when thinking about Nintendo, but the company published one of the most fascinating titles in the genre with Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. Eternal Darkness is most famous for its Sanity Effects, which play around with the reality of the game in ways that sometimes leap out of the bounds that players would expect. It’s exceptionally innovative and generally great, making it a must-play even today.

8 Tales of Symphonia (2003)

Namco Tales Studio, RPG

The Tales of series may be more known for delivering comfort food RPGs than for leading the genre in innovation, but Tales of Symphonia is arguably the franchise’s best bid for true greatness. An engaging story never stops moving and developing across the course of a substantial runtime, and the world is positively jam-packed with memorable charm. Although more RPGs ultimately graced the PlayStation 2 than the GameCube, Nintendo got one of the very best with Tales of Symphonia.

7 Pikmin (2001)

Nintendo, Real-Time Strategy

It’s hard to understand just how good Pikmin is without playing it. It’s one of the most offbeat real-time strategy games ever made, but it’s also one of the most elegant, eschewing many of the genre’s more exhausting elements for deceptive simplicity that’s put to use in a series of excellent open-ended puzzles. Pikmin 2 expands on the original entry in fantastic ways, but it’s hard to beat the home run that Pikmin delivered in its first at-bat.

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6 Super Mario Sunshine (2002)

Nintendo, 3D Platformer

There was never going to be any perfect way to follow up Super Mario 64, a transition to 3D platforming that’s almost impossibly good. Super Mario Sunshine‘s large levels, intense challenges, and reliance on unusual water propulsion mechanics were all a little more divisive, but it’s ultimately attracted far more advocates than detractors. Mastering Super Mario Sunshine is one of the most rewarding experiences out there, and it’s easy to keep coming back to it time and time again.

5 Resident Evil 4 (2005)

Capcom, Survival Horror

Resident Evil 4 is one of the best horror games ever, with a remake and a VR version both receiving their own share of acclaim. Although the earliest (and still great!) Resident Evil games can be a bit hard to adjust to from a modern perspective; the original GameCube version of Resident Evil 4 isn’t, and it’s still a perfect way to play the game today. Leon S. Kennedy’s rescue mission is filled with action, scares, and a fantastic atmosphere that helped it change the survival horror genre forever.

4 Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001)

Nintendo, Fighting

Super Smash Bros. Melee is almost singlehandedly the reason why GameCubes and peripherals can be a bit expensive on the secondhand market. Few games have ever cultivated a comparably passionate and enduring community, and its ardent fans will still defend its superiority over all other Smash Bros. entries to this day. There’s good reason for this love, as the chaotic brawling action that it offers is full of fascinating tech to master for a great casual or competitive experience.

3 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006)

Nintendo, Action-Adventure

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was the game that many Zelda fans had been asking for, with a more realistic style than any franchise entry before it and a darker story than most. Fortunately, it’s a lot more than just a response to demands, delivering an engaging experience that recalled many of Ocarina of Time‘s best elements while carving out a strong enough niche of its own.

It released on the Wii slightly before the GameCube in North America, but the older platform has a better claim to being canon, as the world of the Wii version was flipped to make the usually left-handed Link match better with right-handed motion controls.

2 Metroid Prime (2002)

Retro Studios, Action-Adventure

The sprawling, complicated environments of Metroid might seem like a hard thing to bring to 3D on the GameCube, but Metroid Prime made it look natural. Bounty hunter Samus Aran’s journey across Tallon IV is deeply engaging, and the game represents an extraordinarily high standard for immersion with rich environments filled with interesting lore. It can take some time and care to navigate the complexities of Metroid Prime, but it could hardly be more worth it.

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1 The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002)

Nintendo, Action-Adventure

Unlike Twilight Princess, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker made no attempts to take the series in a darker or more realistic direction. The charming cel-shaded world that resulted still looks beautiful and feels richly rewarding to explore today, and the sense of vastness accomplished by sailing the open sea beats many proper open worlds that have come since. Every corner of every island bursts with ingenuity and care, and some genuinely emotional story beats anchor the whimsy in a way that makes for an unbeatable GameCube experience.