This video is sponsored by Squarespace
- the all-in-one platform for building a professional website. Stick around to hear more. As I get older and games move forward, it becomes
harder for me to place myself in the past. For all of the conveniences offered in the current
state of the industry, there are also an abundance of...inconveniences. Long updates and download
times, massive game sizes that can barely fit on a console’s basic storage, anticipated
games releasing in an unfinished state, expensive DLC packs and season passes for things
that could’ve been included in the base game, and companies losing a lot of player respect after
getting a taste of success. A lot of these things have been commonplace for the past decade, and
they’ve only become more problematic with time. Which is why starting up Metroid Dread on
launch day was such a magical experience. I took the game home, put it in the Switch, and
within moments I was going through the intro sequence. No day-one patches, no incessant company
logos, no promise of DLC that was being held over, just an excellent, challenging, immersive and
infinitely replayable Metroid game. A game that was released in such a beautiful state and
accounted for extravagant sequence-breaks. Something that you could get invested in and
remember for a long time - no strings attached. I haven’t had an experience this pure with a
brand new game in a very long time. The game took me back to a time when there were no updates
or download times. When a game was done - that was it. You couldn’t update it or patch it after the
fact - it had to be bug-free on release, otherwise those bugs would become part of the game’s legacy.
On top of that, the entire game had to fit on a disc - no installation, no copying to the hard
drive - you just pop the game in and play. I suppose I just crave the simplicity of an era lost
to time. In my eyes, the last era in which these simple conveniences were commonplace was the sixth
generation of consoles. This was the era in which my love for this medium of entertainment was born,
and it’s all thanks to the Nintendo GameCube. This is the story of a little
lunchbox that went a long way. The GameCube was all about letting experiences
come first. In doing so, the system left behind an astonishing
library of fantastic games. However, it faced many hardships before it finally bit the
dust. In this video, I’ll be discussing the games that set the system apart from its competitors,
its fight for relevance in the industry, what Nintendo learned from the system,
and its legacy. I’m Liam Triforce, and in honour of the console’s 20th anniversary,
this is a Nintendo GameCube retrospective. A quick shoutout to Squarespace for sponsoring
today’s video. Squarespace provides anyone with the tools necessary to create a website. Whether
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find that Squarespace likely has the tools you need, and in my experience it has been incredibly
easy and fun to use. It’s a great platform for unifying your online presence and presenting your
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for yourself, head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and once you’re set to launch, use
https://www.squarespace.com/liamtriforce for 10% off your first purchase of a website
or domain. Thanks, Squarespace! Although the Nintendo 64 has enjoyed acclaim in
the years since its release, some of the decisions Nintendo made with the console would result in
them gradually losing third-party support and close partnerships with other studios. The most
commonly cited issue was its use of cartridges. The system’s competitors - the Sony PlayStation
and the Sega Saturn - both used CD-ROMs for delivering games. These CDs held a maximum of 650
MB, whereas Nintendo 64 cartridges could only hold 64 MB. This limited what developers could do in
many ways; although they featured very fast or otherwise non-existent load times, developers were
forced to work around the storage limitations by decreasing texture and sound quality, foregoing
full-motion video in most cases, and reducing the overall amount of content they included
if they wanted to avoid compressing assets. Usually, they’d have to do that anyway, because
the texture cache was only 4 KB in size. All of the storage limitations made full-scale RPGs
like Final Fantasy VII impractical without major compromises. On top of that, cartridges
were more expensive to produce than CDs. With all of this in mind, many major developers
like Squaresoft, Capcom, Konami, Namco, and even Argonaut Software of Star Fox fame shifted their
resources to the PlayStation. The competition was fierce, and while the Nintendo 64 was still a
very technically impressive system for its time, it wasn’t very easy to develop for unless you
solely devoted your focus to understanding its architecture. Near the end of the system’s life,
chief of hardware development at Nintendo Genyo Takeda looked back on the system’s
programming challenges with regret. However - when developers had this opportunity
to work directly and solely with the Nintendo 64 hardware, the games would speak for themselves.
These games were the reason people remembered the system with great fondness. They don’t
remember the Nintendo 64 for its technical shortcomings - they remember the experiences.
The hours spent racing in Mario Kart 64, the first time they beat Ganon in
Ocarina of Time, or the countless slap battles they had in Goldeneye - they
remember the core experiences they had with the games on Nintendo 64. And I believe
this remains true for the GameCube era. Now, I’m gonna talk about the games that made
the GameCube the incredible system that it was. Games that realized the fullest potential
of the system’s hardware, controller, peripherals or niche audience to deliver
experiences that you couldn’t get anywhere else. But no matter what you decide to play on the
GameCube, the console is unified by its main menu. You’d probably think that a little, floating
cube sitting in an empty black void would accompany some unsettling music, but the
GameCube interprets this as a blank slate. An opportunity to sit still and
reflect, change some settings, or maybe look at the many icons for
the save files on your memory cards. Above all else, it asks a simple question... What do you want to play? Just hearing a few notes from its ambient music reminds me of how many memories I have with the
GameCube. It is the purest, most evocative form of nostalgia I have, as that minimalistic, ambient
bell pad piece connects me to every GameCube game I ever played as a kid. It transports me to
a simpler time, and I think everyone needs that sometimes. Anyway, enough dawdling. Let's play some games. On launch day, what demonstrated the system’s
capabilities out of the box? In terms of graphics, both Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II and Luigi’s
Mansion were excellent technical showcases for what the GameCube could do, the former
being developed by Factor 5. This studio became Nintendo’s technology partner through their
understanding of the Nintendo 64’s architecture, and the Rogue Squadron games lived on as highly
regarded games in the GameCube’s library. Luigi’s Mansion, however, also demonstrated
how amazing the GameCube’s CONTROLLER is, and the kind of charm that would become a
staple of the system. In Luigi’s Mansion, you need to snap the control stick in the opposite
direction that your ghost is trying to scurry. Thanks to the control stick’s octagonal notches,
you can feel the accuracy of digital inputs with the freedom of analog control. You can tilt in
the eight directions flawlessly, while also making minute adjustments that aren’t possible on digital
d-pads. This works wonders in maximizing your profits in Luigi’s Mansion and replaying the game
over and over again for a better rank, and for a launch game - replayability is a great thing. Luigi's Mansion also had oodles of personality of its own unlike any other game I’ve played thanks to its
ghosts, character writing and soundtrack. Not even its sequels could accurately replicate
its charm, instead forging their own paths. So we’re already off to a great start, but my
favourite exclusive launch title was a little game called Super Monkey Ball. This game combined
feats of performance, tech, and controller utilization into a unique and extraordinarily
fun take on Marble Madness. Running at 60 FPS, optimized for high speeds and sporting simplistic
but appealing textures and reflections, the game was great at showcasing the GameCube’s
capabilities. It may have been a port of an arcade game, but it feels right at home on the GameCube.
Not just because of what I’ve mentioned, but also very much thanks to the controller. As you’re
tilting the stage and not the monkey, accuracy is key to clearing levels as you make sharp
adjustments to your monkey’s trajectory. This accuracy can enable you to pull off some tricky
skips and incredible feats of human ingenuity. See, Super Monkey Ball isn’t just about finding
solutions to the puzzle mazes. It is designed for replayability thanks to its relentlessly
challenging and abstract level design that you can find exploits in and faster ways to cross the
goal. On top of the main game, you also have the party games, which some people spent ALL of their
time on. Both of these modes could be played with up to four players, making for hours of fun either
alone or with a group. The game even received a sequel a year later, which fully realized the
potential of these abstract level designs. So many shapes and tests of accuracy and moments that
barely resemble what the game was inspired by. Super Monkey Ball was a wholly unique experience,
and you could spend countless hours on it for many different reasons. Super Monkey Ball’s
replayability stemmed from its difficulty, and the sheer depth in its level design and
controls. Trying to get better times in challenge mode, and unlock those extra levels by not dying
or using a continue. Pair that with an immensely enjoyable collection of party games, and you have
a pair of games that you could play for...well, 20 years. And for a game like that to LAUNCH
with the console...yeah, that’s a good sign. When it comes to third-party support, the most notable launch title, to me, was an
uncompromised port of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3. Simply having Rogue Squadron 2, Luigi’s Mansion,
Monkey Ball and Tony Hawk is an absolute blessing because pretty much all of them have benefits to
being replayed endlessly. Sometimes less is more. Even if you weren’t keen on buying the
system at launch - it wouldn’t take long before an earth-shattering game would come
to the GameCube. About a month after launch, Nintendo released Super Smash Bros. Melee, a game
that would transcend the system and become one of the most popular competitive fighting games of
all time...by complete accident. Director Masahiro Sakurai never intended for the game to have a
competitive scene, and worried about the gap widening between casual and competitive players.
But it is impossible to disregard the amount of tech that players have discovered in the years
since. Players have transformed the game into one of the most invigorating and intense fighting
games to watch - period. There are 134 entries in the techniques category on the Smash Wiki for Melee alone. The game has a considerable amount of hidden depth that the developers never even
considered, but the end result is a beautiful competitive scene. Setting up combos and kill
confirms has never been as fluent and satisfying. The controller also lent itself well to the
gameplay of Melee, and there’s a good reason it remains a popular choice of controller
to this very day in subsequent Smash games. Even if you don’t care about the competitive
side of Melee, you’ll find a lot to enjoy in it. There’s far more content to delve into than
Smash 64 ever had, and unlocking characters always comes as a welcome surprise. Surviving 100-Man
melee for the first time only to discover Falco, or leaving the GameCube on overnight by accident
and coming back to end up fighting Mewtwo...yeah, those are experiences that you don’t forget.
I always loved how the unlockable stages and characters are strewn across the different modes.
It encouraged players to seek out all of the content the game had to offer, and I had a great
time doing it. Melee is still one of the sharpest Smash games mechanically, and while not everyone
will have an urge to revisit it today, it will always hold a special place in my heart. Still haven’t unlocked Sonic, though. I have a
feeling that kid was lying to me in second grade. There was one thing I didn’t like about Melee, though. Its absolutely monumental impact and legacy almost entirely overshadowed another Nintendo
game that released on the same day. Pikmin. This was a real-time strategy game that anyone
could enjoy, speaking as someone that doesn’t really enjoy real-time strategy games. You had
thirty days to repair your ship and get home, which meant carefully allocating your time toward
growing your Pikmin army, performing tasks, finding ship parts and much more. It is delicately
designed to ease you into such a daunting task, and while it tends to induce anxiety in new
players, it is one hell of a game. If the time limit isn’t your thing, then perhaps you’d like to
try out its sequel from 2004. With that game, you can explore caves as much as you like to complete
the Piklopedia, which can be an addicting cycle as your Pikmin counts continue to rise...or plummet,
depending on the challenges you encounter. They both handle tension differently, and they offer different things to different people. But I think they still stand tall in their own right. As far as I’m concerned, the GameCube had an
excellent lineup in its first two months, and that lineup would continue to expand. Let’s rewind
back to Super Monkey Ball for a second. The game was a precedent at the time as it was the first
game Sega published for a Nintendo console. Sega making games on a Nintendo platform was already
a mind blowing concept back then, but then they decided to start making Sonic games for the system. And Sonic
thrived on the GameCube! This all began with Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, which features more detailed
textures and geometry than the Dreamcast original, and fleshed out its Chao Garden with
quality-of-life features and an in-depth replacement for taking your Chao with you in the
Dreamcast’s VMU - the Tiny Chao Garden. By linking the game with a Game Boy Advance, you could copy
your Chao’s data and take it with you on the go, or transfer them to the Chao Garden in Sonic
Advance. Since the Chao raising in Adventure 2 was already a step up from Sonic Adventure, with Chao evolutions
and separate gardens for each type of Chao, I honestly spent more time replaying my favourite
levels and raising Chao than I did on any other aspect of the game. I even had a friend of mine
bring over his memory card when I was a kid, and I was able to check out his Chao Garden, trade with
him and even battle. Yeah, I really miss everything about this. When it comes to Sonic, his games were not
in short supply. A port of the original Sonic Adventure came out as well, in addition to
versions of the multi-platform games Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Riders. These games
were all over the place in terms of quality, of course, but if you wanted to play a classic
Sonic game instead - Sega had you covered. The Sonic Mega and Gems collections are still
some of the best examples of how you handle a compilation disc. Sonic Mega Collection offered
the original trilogy (& Knuckles), Sonic 3D Blast, Spinball, Mean Bean Machine, Ristar, Comix
Zone and Flicky all for $20 at the time of its release. Not only was it affordable, it
offered great emulation and a ton of bonus content alongside the games you were likely to buy the
collection for. Gems Collection featured rarer games in the series, notably Sonic CD, Sonic R
and Sonic the Fighters - the latter of which was an arcade game - along with other goodies
like Game Gear games, the Vectorman games, and save states. Where these compilations really
succeed, though, is their presentation. Sonic Mega Collection goes for a decidedly retro
design. The loading screens have you flying through hyperspace as if you’re travelling back in
time, and the music is reflective and nostalgic. Listening to this while flipping through old,
goofy Sonic comics or reading the game manuals adds to that feeling of stepping back in time.
Regardless of whether or not you’ve played Sonic before, this collection was worth diving into. It was the perfect entry point as it preserved a lot of Sonic's history on a $20 disc. Sonic Gems Collection went for a modern and sleek look, and its electronic music and killer
remixes made for perfect accompaniment. Both collections are evocative of a similar yearning
for the past, and even though these discs were my introduction to the world of Sonic, the
effect their overall presentation had on me cannot be understated. They were comforting
then, and they are immensely nostalgic today. It’s always nice to see developers go
the extra mile and create experiences out of simple compilations like this, and these
collections are the gold standard for that. In a time where access to older games no longer
necessitates dedicated compilation discs, or where companies feel the need to just bundle games
together and call it a day, I find myself yearning for something that could come close to matching
those Sonic collections. Sega nailed it back then. Sega really seemed to favour the GameCube
in general, and Nintendo took notice. After Amusement Vision did such a fantastic
job with Super Monkey Ball, they ended up repurposing that high-speed game engine to
create a new entry in an old favourite series. F-Zero GX is about as good as arcade racers get.
It took everything that made F-Zero X on Nintendo 64 so exhilarating, and cranked things up to
eleven with more detailed and memorable tracks, tighter gameplay, and like most Sega games - a
challenging main game that required considerable practice and repeat attempts to become
the greatest racer around. Its ridiculous tone in the story mode perfectly matched
the ludicrous races that you compete in, and Captain Falcon’s theme is
basically hard rock gospel. I’m going to reserve my extended thoughts on this
game for now because it might be the subject of a full-blown retrospective in the future.
F-Zero GX was an unforgettable experience, and the levels of high skill, speed-induced
dopamine it created have yet to be matched. It’s a crying shame that this was the
last F-Zero game released on a home console, but it’s also pretty hard to
believe that anything could top it. Artist Takaya Imamura - who created Captain
Falcon - said in 2003 that it was hard to see if they could take the series any further than GX. There may have been attempts to do such a thing behind closed doors, but the series
has remained dormant since the 2000’s. Maybe one day we’ll see the Blue Falcon and Black Bull face
off once again. Alongside F-Zero GX, Nintendo and Sega
created an arcade counterpart - aptly named F-Zero AX. This game ran on a board known as
the Triforce, the name coming from the trio of developers that worked on it - Nintendo, Sega, and
Namco. Being based on the GameCube’s architecture, it also accepted GameCube memory cards, which
you could use to import exclusive content to GX. This board was also used to create Mario Kart
Arcade GP, which let you play as Pac-Man. It was awesome seeing these arcade machines in the
wild. F-Zero AX in particular also bridges nicely into a philosophy that Nintendo still holds dear -
finding new ways for players to experience games. The GameCube was arguably Nintendo’s last
traditional games console of any kind. The Wii focused on motion controls, the DS had
its dual-screens and touch-based gameplay, the Wii U had asymmetrical multiplayer, and the Switch
is an amalgamation of these ideas rolled into one device that you can play anywhere. But for as long
as they’ve been around, Nintendo has always been keen on experimenting with new ways to experience
games. In the GameCube days, the most infamous example of this experimentation was the Game Boy
Advance link cable. This created an asymmetrical gameplay experience that wouldn’t be revisited
until the Wii U. Take for example Pac-Man VS. Three players control the ghosts on the TV screen
and can only see a portion of the maze at a time. Meanwhile, the player controlling Pac-Man uses
the Game Boy Advance and can see the entire maze like the normal arcade game. The ghosts have
to communicate to track down Pac-Man before he can complete the maze. It’s honestly a
lot of fun even today, but it is only a sampling of what was possible with the link cable. A much
more fleshed out demonstration exists in the form of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. Much like its
predecessor, this game had players progressing linearly through Zelda-esque gauntlets of puzzles
and combat challenges, with items tying into the game’s co-operative nature. However, unlike the
original Four Swords, Adventures’ dungeons and worlds are not randomized, primarily because the
designers created elaborate puzzles and layouts involving the GBA connectivity. Some portions
of the level can only be seen on the GBA screen, and when you involve four players at a time,
this can lead to some layered and complex problem-solving contingent on your communication
and memorization as a team. It is an absolutely wonderful multiplayer experience, and it is a testament to Nintendo’s
philosophy on finding new ways to experience this medium, and quite possibly the catalyst for
the endless experimentation we see today. For further experimentation on the GameCube, look no further than Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat.
This is a platformer that you play by clapping and banging your grubby little hands on a pair of bongos. You know how Rayman Legends has a level in which you clear hazards
by playing to the beat of Black Betty by Ram Jam? That’s the closest thing I can compare the
entirety of Jungle Beat to, and for that feat alone - Jungle Beat is definitely worth
your time. I had so much fun recording this game during the summer that I actually went
back to it a second time just for this video. This game is genuinely astonishing. There were a handful of other games that
featured these peripherals (including notable ones like Final Fantasy:
Crystal Chronicles and Donkey Konga), but I just wanted to give you an overview of the
peripherals themselves. The truth is - there were plenty of peripherals for the GameCube, as is the
case with any games console. But these two were unique innovations in designing games, and they
remain difficult experiences to emulate nowadays. Now, let’s step back for a second. F-Zero GX
managed to be THE definitive F-Zero game. What other series received “definitive” games on the
GameCube? Well, when talking definitive - I could never forget Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
It is a marginal step beyond the original game in character writing, world design, problem-solving,
music, mechanical variety, emotional resonance, and fun. Simply put, it is one of the best RPGs
ever made, and one of the few RPGs to effectively innovate on turn-based combat by making you
an active participant in its battles. This was something that the original Paper Mario did
very well, but Thousand-Year Door significantly improved on its gameplay in every way, in
combination with everything else it did right. Now, along with being definitive... Another thing that these games reveal about
the GameCube itself is the platform’s devotion to innovation. Sure, through its peripherals you can see this philosophy, but it also shines through in game design. A rhythm platformer
that is controlled with a pair of bongos, a puzzle-platformer that can be so much bigger and
bolder than it appears, an asymmetric multiplayer Zelda game that has you communicating your
perspectives on both screens to other players, a Resident Evil game in which you suck up ghosts
optimally and find secrets for a higher score on each playthrough...these are the experiences
that set the GameCube apart from its competitors. Take for example Mario Kart: Double Dash.
It’s my favourite game in the series thanks to its two-rider motif, and the co-operative
and competitive possibilities that it invites. Whether I was in control of both of my riders at
once and performing item management and optimal drifting, or I was tackling each track
with a friend and communicating as we cleared each lap - Double Dash was an excellent
take on the quintessential kart racer. It may have been eclipsed by Mario Kart
Wii and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in terms of content and features, but its
core gameplay has yet to be matched. Even more abstract is Kirby Air Ride. It features
a simplistic control scheme and a unique take on racing in general, but hidden within is one of
the most fun party game modes in any video game ever - City Trial. Essentially, you have a set
amount of time to upgrade your character and Air Ride machine by collecting items for each stat.
After all is said and done, you compete in a race, minigame, or boss battle. In addition, you also
have to watch out for events that can drastically affect how you go about upgrading, and you can go
out of your way to search for the three pieces of the Dragoon or Hydra to create a Legendary
Air Ride machine and mop the floor with your opponents. All of this is happening simultaneously against the other players as
they attempt to sabotage you or blow you up, and all within a sprawling city with detailed
sections, shortcuts, secrets, and more. As far as I’m concerned - City Trial is all Kirby Air
Ride needed to be in order to be successful, because it’s all anyone ever talks about from this
game. Its uniqueness serves as a further testament to how GameCube game developers thought outside
of the box to solidify the console’s identity. So many of the GameCube’s best games are unique
experiences that remain unparalleled by anything else in the history of the medium. And although
they are excellent games - I’m not talking about what they accomplish in overall quality. What
stands out to me are the ideas they carry out. Rather than trying to maintain the status quo
of their genres or strive for excellence over the established rulesets of a genre, they all
strived to be distinctive takes on these genres. That’s not to say the other consoles
didn’t have games like that. Halo: Combat Evolved made incredible strides
in designing a first-person shooter, while Kingdom Hearts redefined the
possibilities of an action-RPG. But the GameCube was consistent in this philosophy
of thinking outside of the box, and there are still so many games I haven’t mentioned. Eternal
Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, for example, is a must play. It is a fresh take on psychological horror
that deliberately messes with the player in their darkest moments with tricks that I wouldn’t
dare spoil. You may or may not enjoy Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, but its concept of an
egg-rolling platformer is unmistakably original. If you wanted a further showcase for the
brilliance of the GameCube’s controller, SoulCalibur II was a perfect fit for the control
stick’s notches. And you can’t forget Mario Party. Even though the franchise was annualized
on the GameCube, its gameplay remains unmatched by its imitators, and I find Mario Party 6 to be
the sharpest entry in the series. The console is also home to hidden gems that don’t compromise
on the system’s reputation for individuality, like Wario World and Geist. Okay, maybe they’re
not gems, but they are pretty distinct games. I have over a hundred GameCube games on my
shelf, so picking out the ones I wanted to spend time on was excruciatingly difficult,
and I still haven’t talked about all of my picks yet. The point I’m trying to
make with these games I’ve discussed is that the system had a strong lineup of
games with distinguished characteristics. These characteristics took them a step beyond the
genres that defined them, and instead bent genre rules to their will, or otherwise went beyond
any expectations held by players. A fighting party game that based its competitive scene
on oversights and hidden, advanced techniques. A real-time strategy game that directly involves
you in the action and puzzle-solving on a time limit. This is why the GameCube had such a strong lineup. And it’s a shame that this
commitment to delivering experiences ended up being detrimental to the
system’s short-term relevance. While the GameCube was a pretty powerful system
and it was MUCH easier for developers to take advantage of than the N64...it had its hiccups.
The decision to use mini-DVDs over full-sized DVDs forced developers to release games on
multiple discs. They'd have to compress data and video files, or remove content entirely - much like
the N64. But perhaps the biggest hit to third-party developers was its lack of a proper
online infrastructure. The PlayStation 2 and especially the Xbox took full advantage of
the possibilities of online multiplayer, however Nintendo saw no reason to pursue it. Aside
from Phantasy Star Online and the Japan-exclusive game Homeland, the GameCube really only made use
of LAN multiplayer, meaning multiple systems could connect to one another on the same network,
and even then - only three games utilized it, and you’d need to buy separate
peripherals in order to connect systems. Phantasy Star Online was a very highly regarded game and it is still played to this very day on private
servers. So - why not have more online games? Well, Nintendo's reasoning includes concerns over
quality control, doubts over subscription fees, and wanting kids and families
to feel safe and secure with their GameCube at home. This alienated many developers that wanted
to deliver online experiences across every system, as they’d either have to spend money on an
online mode for a console that had no online strategy in place, or release the game without
online features and hope that people buy it. The original Battlefield 1942 was proposed
to Nintendo as a GameCube exclusive, but you can imagine how well that went over. These problems, combined with the console’s
lunchbox-y appearance and Nintendo’s traditional focus on family-friendly entertainment drove many
third-party developers away from the system. Even Nintendo’s strongest and most confident
releases were met with skepticism. Super Mario Sunshine! I love this game. FLUDD and Yoshi
both feel like perfect and organic extensions of Mario’s abilities, and each mission had defined
characteristics that could occasionally revamp how you explore a level. However...not everyone was keen on the game’s structure, which focused on clearing episode seven in every world and
eliminated the freedom established in Mario 64, and getting 120 shines meant
collecting 240 blue coins. It’s a very complicated situation, and I’d love
to make a full-length video on the game someday. A game I have made a video on is The Legend of
Zelda: The Wind Waker. It’s my favourite game, but I’m sure you know all about THAT by now.
Its new art style was deliberate and a massive commitment, and it had an effect on the game’s
design, mechanics, and especially its narrative. It aimed to convey an alternative perspective to growing up, unlike Ocarina of Time... and not many people were able to see through
its whimsical art style at the time. Most of its pre-order sales came from people
looking to get the Ocarina of Time Master Quest disc for their GameCube, which completely
validates the point Wind Waker was trying to make. Its reputation improved over time, and the game’s
art direction is now seen as groundbreaking and one of the best examples of cel-shading in a video
game. I personally believe it paved the way for many games that attempted the same style.
But at the time...it didn’t convince people. With some of Nintendo’s biggest and most
recognizable franchises not attracting as wide an audience as previously done with the
Nintendo 64 (aside from Smash Bros. and Mario Kart), the GameCube (as it stood in the 2000’s)
offered an impeccable lineup of games to a rather niche market. Nintendo needed a game that would
transcend its own target audience. It needed to fit into a recognizable and profitable genre, but
also follow the GameCube’s reputation of bending genre rules. The franchise that was chosen to
accomplish such a monumental task...was Metroid. Metroid Prime was met with skepticism when
it was revealed that it was going to be a first-person shooter, but the core of Metroid was
very much intact when it first released, sweeping awards in 2002 and becoming a legendary game in
Nintendo’s repertoire. Retro Studios perfectly transitioned the gameplay of Metroid into 3D, and
the first-person perspective meant exploring this new axis for depth in puzzle-design, combat and
atmosphere with unparalleled immersion. Metroid Prime eventually became a trilogy of games,
and I’ve made a video on how much I love them. Still one of my favourite videos to date, along
with Wind Waker. Metroid Prime transcended both Nintendo’s traditional audience and refused to
conform to FPS traditions, making it a killer app for the GameCube. But it wouldn’t be enough
to save the system from its inevitable decline. While I believe the console’s strong lineup
of games solidified its reputation today, its sole focus on games, as well as
its target audience, ended up isolating the company back then in an ever-growing
industry. The latter was an inevitability, while the former was the result of their
vision for the console...for better or worse. To this day, Nintendo remains apprehensive
about changing the way they do things. I won’t delve deeply into
this topic because...well, I have once before on my now-defunct Twitter
page, and there’s no need to beat a dead horse. It also generally depresses me to dwell on
their stubborn nature, so I won’t bother. If you want an archive of the write-up I made, there
will be a link to a document in the description. The only thing that has truly stayed the same,
however, is the company’s commitment to delivering fantastic experiences, and that’s what keeps me
and many others crawling back. I don’t agree with everything that Nintendo does, but they certainly
haven’t forgotten how to make great games. Also, that’s not to say third-party
support didn’t exist on the GameCube. Along with SEGA’s adamant support of the system,
many highly acclaimed multi-platform games hit the system and I had fond memories experiencing them
first on the GameCube. They may not be relevant to the discussion of what set the system apart from
its competition, but just because it didn’t have Grand Theft Auto or Final Fantasy doesn’t mean
it didn’t have any support from the sidelines. The question is - did this support last? And the
answer is no. By 2005, both first and third-party support for the GameCube dwindled, with 2006
releases slowing to a crawl. During this time, the most you’d get would be a swath of licensed
games for kids or an oddball first party game like Geist or Mario Superstar Baseball. Great games did
release during the twilight of the system’s life, but they were few and far between, and
occasionally very odd or niche, which was welcome in the grand scheme of things, but it wasn't
great for creating broad appeal at the time. Another huge hit to the system’s
library was the loss of developer Rare, and it was entirely Nintendo’s fault that they
had to say goodbye to them. Rare contributed to the Nintendo 64’s library in a major way, creating
innovative first-person shooters, 3D platformers and even a kart-racer that unquestionably inspired
Crash Team Racing. Their impact on the industry should not be overlooked. While they were making
these games, Nintendo never thought to acquire the company, instead settling for the 49% stake they
owned. With development costs rising and Nintendo refusing to offer more capital or purchase the
remaining stake, Rare was eventually bought out by Microsoft for $375 million dollars. Adjusted for inflation, that's over $500 million. Nintendo let Rare slip through their fingers. To be fair, their last game with Nintendo was Star Fox
Adventures, which wasn’t one of their finest works, and after being acquired by Microsoft they
really haven’t been the same. I mean...I guess I liked Viva Pinata? I think? But perhaps this
was a gradual change that was already in motion before the company was acquired. Regardless of
whether or not Nintendo were to let them get away, maybe this decline was inevitable. But no matter
where you stand on the issue, it’s a fact that we never got to play a proper Banjo-Threeie or
Donkey Kong Racing, and that still stings after all these years. The Rare I once knew belonged
with Nintendo...but it’s clear that they weren’t going to be the same company forever, so
maybe their departure was for the best. With all of this at hand, things were looking
grim as the system was set to face obsoletion, and Nintendo had one last trick up their sleeve
in an effort to reclaim support. They collaborated with a developer that was once one of their
closest partners. Introducing... the Capcom Five. This was a lineup of GameCube games that were
touted as exclusives, and they all aimed to fit right in with the system’s focus on originality
and quality. The first of these was P.N.03, which...certainly was unique, but it didn’t
strike a chord with everyone due to its controls and repetition. The second was much better,
though. It was an excellent side-scrolling beat-em-up called Viewtiful Joe, a game that
oozes style and charm to this day in all aspects. This is where things started to go south,
however. The third game, Dead Phoenix, was never released, and it was around this
time that the exclusivity fell through. Viewtiful Joe received a port to PlayStation 2, as
did the fourth game - Killer7. The fifth game was supposed to remain exclusive, but it has since
become one of the most ported video games ever. However...that fifth game was - for a limited
time - a big reason to purchase a GameCube. It swept Game of the Year awards in 2005 and is
personally one of my favourite games of all time. While Resident Evil had a phenomenal presence
on the GameCube with an excellent remake of the original game, as well as ports of 2, 3,
and Code: Veronica, and the original prequel game Zero, the one that had the biggest impact was Resident
Evil 4. Seeing as most of us have played this game by now, I’m not going to sing its praises over
again. Simply put - it forever revolutionized third-person shooters without compromising
on the tense gameplay of Resident Evil. By emphasizing accuracy in an anxious setting, it
made survival contingent on how well you can aim, strategize and organize. Its effects can
still be felt in the genres it influenced, the games it inspired, and even
future Resident Evil games. In summary - the Capcom Five’s games were not
all failures. God, no. But the strategy itself unfortunately flopped. The system’s market share
and target audience wasn’t broad enough for the games to make bank, especially when you consider
the irreverent or mature themes they dealt with. This resulted in the exclusivity deal
fading into the background, with Nintendo and Capcom’s relationship remaining strained
for many years. It was a final nail in the GameCube's coffin, despite everything it had
accomplished over the course of its life. Nintendo eventually abandoned ship and released the Wii
in 2006, with the GameCube being discontinued the following year, and leaving Madden NFL 08 as
the last game released for it. Yeah, what a swansong. And that, my friends...is the tragic story of
the GameCube. But while its life ended there, its legacy lived on. The Wii was the beginning
of Nintendo’s blue ocean strategy, in which they focused on capturing an audience outside of
the ones their competitors were fighting over. The strategy has since brought them astounding
levels of success. With the Wii striving to reach an untapped
market of casual players and non-gamers, I feel as though this was a move directly inspired
by how diverse and fundamentally different the GameCube’s library was, on top of Satoru Iwata’s
mission to reach new people with Nintendo’s games in the Wii and DS era. The GameCube library
thought outside of the box a lot of the time, as demonstrated before with genre-defying
games and innovative peripherals. While the software library was constrained
by missteps made on the company’s part, it was the beginning of an era in which Nintendo
would continue to think differently than its competitors, and thanks to the Wii’s
controller setup and DS’s dual-screens, different ways of experiencing games came about
in that generation, too. Oh, and on top of the Wii’s robust Virtual Console lineup of NES, SNES,
and N64 games - the Wii’s similar architecture to the GameCube meant that it was fully backwards
compatible with GameCube games, controllers, peripherals, and memory cards. This means that
with a much larger install base than before, players on the Wii could have all of the amazing
experiences that they might’ve missed out on. There’s no support for the broadband adapter
or Game Boy Player, but everything else was compatible - including games like Four Swords
Adventures and Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat. This arguably made the Wii Nintendo’s best home
console, but that’s a discussion for another day. Obviously, the Wii wasn’t going to stay on the
market forever, and neither were the GameCube games of old. As the Wii U rolled around, GameCube
games had long since left local GameStops, and the system didn’t even support GameCube discs, despite
having native compatibility for them built in. Now, in the Switch era - we have no official way
to support these games, and Nintendo has yet to provide a solution. Games from other companies
like Sega and Capcom have since been re-released or remade, and I understand that licensing could
prevent games like Star Wars: Rogue Squadron from being re-released, but Nintendo owns all
of the first party games I focused on in this video, and they have done little to preserve their legacy content. Some games that rely on peripherals like Four Swords Adventures might be impractical
and financially ill-advised to re-release as that would mean creating a solution
for a single, relatively niche game, but most of the other games I talked about
today have no reason to be held back. They have an adapter for the controllers best
suited to these games, and compromises can be made otherwise, like what they did with Super Mario
Sunshine. Oh, by the way, Super Mario Sunshine IS available on the Switch...but the compilation
it is playable on has since been delisted, as they felt it was best as a temporary celebration of
Mario’s anniversary. But I don't buy it. I say it was a sales tactic and they capitalized on nostalgia and the
fear of missing out over preserving their games. With Super Mario Sunshine’s inclusion on
the Switch, it’s clear that they have an emulator in place to support these games, and
a company willing to work on it. The Nintendo European Research & Development division (or
NERD for short) is currently hard at work on maintaining the NES and SNES emulators in place
on Nintendo Switch Online, and presumably the N64 emulator, too. They also developed a
DS emulator for the Wii U Virtual Console, as well as the emulation on 3D All-Stars for Mario
64, Sunshine and Galaxy. So...what’s holding them back from bringing GameCube games to the Switch? I don't know. They're sitting on money, and I wish I had the answer as to why. People want to buy these games, but they have no viable way to do so directly. Other systems are also in a problematic position
thanks to Nintendo’s Switch Online service. It took a year and a half for NES games to
finally come to the Switch, one more year for Super Nintendo games, and TWO more years
for Nintendo 64 games. Along the way, Nintendo would drip feed us games that wouldn’t always
be exciting, and games like Earthbound and Super Mario RPG remain unaccounted for. Flashback to
the Wii - Super Mario 64 was available at launch, with new games being added every Wednesday. Or
heck, how about Xbox? They have made strides in maintaining their Xbox and Xbox 360 emulation, so
that many of their legacy titles can be played on modern hardware. On top of that, these games
were PURCHASABLE on digital storefronts. But even then...all digital storefronts will eventually close, taking their libraries with them. This is an unavoidable reality in the digital era. Preservation efforts have fallen in the hands of emulator developers, and they’ve
done a fantastic job of keeping history alive. Provided that you still have copies of your
old games, playing them in emulators can offer improvements that were never possible on the
hardware they were made for. From pixel-perfect upscaling in Super Nintendo games, to achieving
60FPS in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, to enabling widescreen support for a plethora
of GameCube games that didn't have it. Emulation is a great way to play games in the modern era. I am very
grateful for the work these developers have done, and Dolphin - a GameCube and Wii emulator - is one
of the best emulators around thanks to its suite of features, graphical options and improvements,
and astronomically high compatibility. It’s so monstrous in terms of features that I
can’t address everything they’ve accomplished in this video. I’ve seen plenty of people make
the switch over the Dolphin in recent years for playing GameCube games, and I don’t blame
them. Super Smash Bros. Melee has received some incredible advancements, with Slippi implementing
rollback netcode. I can’t fathom how much work that must’ve taken, but the end result is the
most accessible Melee has been...well, ever. The only problem that remains...is acquiring the
games themselves. I am very fortunate to still have
working copies of all my old games, but some people weren’t as lucky, or perhaps
they never had the chance to experience them. On top of that, not everyone has the hardware or
tech savviness required to run GameCube games in an emulator comfortably, leaving us with the
only legal option available to us. Buying them second-hand. So let’s check eBay for Paper Mario,
why don’t we. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door… Oh. Well, I could just buy two games
at that price. Uhh...F-Zero GX? Haugh. Um...Super Smash Bros. Melee? Ok, no, yeah - that’s rough. This brings us full circle as we pile another
inconvenience onto the unavoidable facts of the industry today. If you look for originality and
innovation, you’re likely to find it, especially as Nintendo and independent developers continue to
breathe life into a crowded industry of remakes, remasters, reboots, sequels, DLC packs, annualized
franchises and weird amalgamations of mechanics that worked across financially viable games. But
games like Metroid Dread remind me of a time when nothing stood between you and the game, and that’s
why I decided with this video that I wanted to relive my childhood one more time. I wanted to
go back to a time where nothing mattered more than having a great game to play. It’d
be nice to have that simplicity back, but things have changed. And I have to accept that. That’s why I’m gonna talk about one more game. A
game that preserves a sense of simplicity as you go about your life. It’s something to look forward
to, and something that you can become attached to. And it’s unlike anything else on the GameCube. It's Animal Crossing. It’s funny, actually. That a game could
focus on simple pleasures like fishing, catching bugs, rearranging
furniture and talking to friends and still be one of the most cathartic
and profound video games of all time. The repetition of these day by day actions
shouldn’t translate into a compelling game, and yet they do. Perhaps it’s the personalities
of your neighbors that keep it fresh. Perhaps it’s the feeling of excitement you get as you finally
pay off your loan and can fill your house with more furniture than before, or perhaps
it’s the feeling you get as you work towards filling the museum with donations. Whatever the
reasons we have for coming back to our town, I feel it is the simplicity of these tasks -
knowing that we will eventually feel fulfilled in completing them - that makes it all worth
it. It is a direct reflection of our adult lives, presented in a cute and easily digestible manner
without outside stresses or pressure to complete something in a specific timeframe. You can just go
at your own pace; figure things out on your own, and the villagers nearby will be happy to help
you out and be your friend. Most of the time. When revisiting so many games
I loved from my childhood, I was surprised to discover how much more
Animal Crossing resonates with me as an adult. Firstly, it is everything I loved about
growing up with the GameCube. Like the other titles I’ve discussed, it is wholly unique and
groundbreaking in its own right. Second, it is one of the purest experiences I’ve ever had with a
video game, which is a feeling I’ve missed dearly. But most importantly - it is a reflection of
how I have come to appreciate my daily routine. We may not think much of going for a walk or
grabbing a morning coffee, but it’s those simple pleasures that define how we choose to live our
lives, and I should relish having these simple privileges now while I can still enjoy them. While
I miss the simplicity of feeling magic in every new game I played, I also cherish the simplicity
of talking to you about these memories now, and doing something productive with my love of the
GameCube. In essence, the purity and simplicity of an experience like the one I had with Metroid
Dread and many games of my past will continue to come my way as long as I recognize and savour
them before time takes hold of me once more. Many systems and experiences have passed me by, and who knows how long I’ll have THIS? These videos? That's why I'll appreciate them while I can still make them. I owe a lot to the GameCube. It shaped my
interests in games, my passion for the medium, and a lot of its games eventually drove
me to create this YouTube channel. So thank you, little lunchbox. For everything. Oh, by the way...there’s one more GameCube game
that I wanted to talk about in this video, but being the huge Zelda fan that I am, I felt
it deserved more than just a quick look. My Zelda retrospective will
continue...with Twilight Princess. If you’d like to catch up on my Zelda
videos, check them out by clicking the playlist on the screen. Also, I’ve
included links to all of the videos I’ve made on the games I featured today in the
description, so check those out too. For now, I’ve been Liam Triforce, and thank you
so much for watching. See you next time.
I might have missed it in the video but one thing the GameCube didn't have was the ability to play DVD movies and that was a big deal back then.
20 years from now, someone is going to make a video about how the PS5/Series X era was a "simpler time in gaming." Turns out everyone's childhood console coincides with the times being simpler, because, wait for it, being a child is a simpler time.