With GameCube support virtually nonexistent since Nintendo interred the Wii, many games not popular or commercially successful enough to warrant HD makeovers were buried with it. That's a shame, because the little purple lunchbox hosted some of the industry's most experimental and overlooked titles that became classics in their own right.
Recent reports suggest that Nintendo will put up GameCube Games on the Switch Virtual Console, listing Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi's Mansion, and Super Smash Bros. Melee as shoe-ins for early availability. Those are fine games, and fans can expect other first-party titles like Metroid Prime and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker to join them.
However, some of the GameCube's best games had nothing to do with Mario or Link.
Forgotten GameCube Games That Deserve To Make a Comeback On Nintendo Switch
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Battalion Wars
Developer: Kuju Entertainment
rnPublisher: Nintendo
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rnOriginally conceived as a named-entry in the Advance Wars series of 2D, turn-based strategy games for GBA, Battalion Wars waged war in the third dimension and sped up combat to real-time. Instead of overseeing the conflict from a bird's-eye view of the battlefield, players switch between units quickly and run around in third-person. -
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Developer: The Game Designers Studio (shell corporation of Square Enix Development Division-2)
rnPublisher: Nintendo
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rnCrystal Chronicles shook up the traditional Final Fantasy template by leaning into real-time combat. More importantly, it featured unique GameCube/Game Boy Advance compatibility: by connecting GBA's into the 'Cube's controller ports, four players could party up locally. The Switch reveal trailer made a point of emphasizing local multiplayer via WiFi—a feature Crystal Chronicles would put to excellent use. -
Eternal Darkness: Sanity\'s Requiem
Developer: Silicon Knights rnPublisher: Nintendo rn rnEternal Darkness spun a moody survival horror yarn that stretched back over centuries. Players controlled different characters whose sanity ebbed as they came face-to-face with eldritch horrors straight out of a Lovecraft story, leading to in-game and meta effects like the character's limbs falling off and the player's TV volume adjusting itself. A team of developers attempted to craft a spiritual sequel and fund it through Kickstarter, but it petered out. While its insanity effects might seem hokey, Eternal Darkness sets a chilling mood that can hold weight with the best Silent Hill and Resident Evil have to offer. -
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 2 Rogue Leader
Developer: Factor 5
rnPublisher: LucasArts
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rnRecreating space battles from all three original Star Wars films, Rogue Squadron II was arguably the centerpiece of the GameCube's launch lineup. Like its predecessor on the N64, the game was a technical tour de force—exactly the sort of title a console manufacturer wants to help its new hardware strut its stuff. -
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
Developer: Silicon Knights
rnPublisher: Konami
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rnTwin Snakes is a one-to-one remake of the original Metal Gear Solid on PSX... almost. Silicon Knights brought over all the original areas, and rejiggered gameplay to include mechanics from MGS 2 such as first-person aiming, plus new cinematics that add to rather than compromise the original story. -
Viewtiful Joe
Developer: Capcom Production Studio 4 rnPublisher: Capcom rn rnA spiritual successor of sorts to Comix Zone on Sega Genesis, Viewtiful Joe was a vibrant and frenetic homage to the 2D beat-em-ups of the '90s. The original was ported to PS2, and a few sequels appeared on other consoles. It eeked out just enough money for Capcom to green-light a sequel, but faded quickly after. Amid the glut of urban-themed beat-em-ups, Viewtiful Joe's stylized and breathtaking visuals were the icing on the cake: it played fantastically, and could find new life as a budget-priced Virtual Console download. -
Skies of Arcadia Legends
Developer: Overworks rnPublisher: Sega rn rnAlongside many entries in the "Tales" series, Skies of Arcadia (originally published on Dreamcast) is remembered as one of the best JRPGs of the PS2/Xbox/GameCube era of systems. The visuals pushed GameCube's capabilities, resulting in one of the platform's most colorful and distinctive titles; and combat took place both between characters and the airships on which the story centered, giving players lots of different mechanics and strategies to master
