Remembering the Nintendo GameCube

[S.C.G]

I find it hard to process that the Nintendo GameCube launched nearly 17 years ago... that's... almost exactly half of my lifetime.

But it's true, the European launch date was May 3rd 2002 and I can still remember it as if it had only happened recently.

So I thought that I would make this thread now because usually I forget about these milestones and only remember when it's too late.

I think it was just good timing that I happened to see this video from HappyConsoleGamer which recounted his launch day tale...

(thanks to @Hero-of-Time for bringing this guys channel to my attention)

And it got me thinking that it would be nice to hear either some launch day stories or just some memories from everyone here on the forum so that we might be able to celebrate it in two weeks time.

I'll of course share my launch day story as well, I've just got to type it out... indeed I may have shared that story on the forum in the past, so I'll check for that.

We don't get to celebrate console launches that often I feel and with the recent success of the ongoing N-E Top Ten for all Nintendo consoles, I thought there'd be no better time than now.

Indeed, if this is something you'd like to see more of in the future then I'll try and keep other Nintendo console launch dates in mind for future articles as well.

For now though, please share anything you can remember about either the launch of the Nintendo GameCube or just any stories from your time spent playing any of its excellent games.

[sumo73]

I was watching a YouTube video yesterday where someone said the GameCube was already being considered a retro console. How time flies!

Anyone remember watching this on TV?

GameCube remains my favourite console despite owning several other systems. If there is ever a fire in my house, it will be the first thing I rescue.

 

[bob]

GameCube remains my favourite console despite owning several other systems. If there is ever a fire in my house, it will be the first thing I rescue.

I really hope you don't have any kids.

[LazyBoy]

I remember having been looking forward to it since I had first about Project Dolphin. Then you had those first pictures of Smash Melee coming out, and everyone going nuts cause you could see the denim print on Mario's dungarees.

When I finally got the thing home I remember just losing my mind over Rogue Squadron. Factor 5 did such an incredible job for a launch game. Anyway yeah, love the GC. 

[BowserBasher]

Such a fantastic console. 

I remember launch day. It was the first console I ordered online so I was waiting at home for it. As a Friday I wasn’t in work till 6pm so I thought I’d get it early and have some time to play it. Damn thing didn’t turn up till about 5pm so I had to go to work knowing it was sitting at home. However I do remember when I got home and unpacked it. I had Luigi Mansion and Rogue Squadron. Kept changing between the two ever 30 minutes or so. 

I still have it somewhere and one day I want to be able to display all my consoles. 

[sumo73]

2 hours ago, bob said:

 

 

I really hope you don't have any kids.

 

Of course my family and kids would be rescued first because they are 'not things' hence the first 'thing' would be the GameCube but er, thanks for that, I guess. 

Edited April 15, 2019 by sumo73

[killthenet]

It was the first console that I was actively hyped for in the lead up to release. The N64 came a bit too early for me, I was only 10 when that came out and the PS2 and Dreamcast didn't really interest me but in the run up to the Gamecube's reveal and launch I was desperate for news. I would read the rumours in the back of NOM about the Nintendo Dolphin and I remember being floored by the first tech demos from Spaceworld that CBBC showed on Newsround.

I was only 14 when the GC launched so didn't have the means to buy my own but my 17 year-old brother worked part time and saved up to buy one so I knew I would be able to play it on launch day. I went to school as normal but all I could think about all day was getting home to play the GC. When school finished I ran home (the only thing I can ever remember running home for) and ran straight up to my room where my brother was already playing it. I can't remember what he was playing exactly when I got home but I know that we definitely had Luigi's Mansion, Star Wars Rogue Leader and Super Monkey Ball. He had to go to work on the Saturday so I ended up getting to play the Gamecube all day, I finished Luigi's Mansion that weekend. 

I never really got to experience much of the Gamecube after that though, my brother went to uni the next year and took it with him so it wasn't until a few years later that I got to experience gems like the Wind Waker and more recently played through a load of the other games I missed. But I remember the launch day so vividly, crazy that it's almost 17 years ago! 

[Ike]

The Gamecube was my first console that I bought with my own money, the price drop before launch helped. Bought it from Toys R Us with Luigi's Mansion and Extreme G Racing (or something).

Parents went food shopping, afterwards. It was a looong wait in the car, let me tell you.

I remember being amazed by the no load times in Luigi's Mansion, you were straight at the title screen ready to go. The Pikmin trailer played instantly. shame Nintendo aren't as strict about keeping load times as short as possible these days.

Think I jumped back on the Dreamcast on PSO after I finished playing it. 

[Dog-amoto]

Who could forget this?

 

[Jonnas]

I remember first hearing about the Gamecube in a TV program about that year's E3. Clips of Starfox Adventures and Pikmin caught my attention, since they looked better than anything else in that show. What truly made it memorable was the controller, though. I'm not kidding when I say that odd-looking controller stuck to my mind harder than anything else in that presentation. Even Miyamoto showing off the handle to pick up the Cube.

A couple years later, the game that pushes me into getting the Gamecube is Super Smash Bros. Melee. Seeing it in stores, the back cover really made it look fantastic. Plus, apparently Sheik and Ganondorf are in it? And Mewtwo!? Needed to get it. And evidently, that game surpassed my expectations and then some.

The rest of my history with the Gamecube has a lot more to be said, but that's how my introduction with it went. It wasn't the first time I was hyped for videogames, but the Gamecube was the console that satisfied me the most. Okay, maybe tied with the Game Boy...

[RedShell]

On 15/04/2019 at 12:25 PM, S.C.G said:

I find it hard to process that the Nintendo GameCube launched nearly 17 years ago...

My word, how time flies.

Loved the GameCube. Can't remember the specifics from launch day now, but I'm pretty sure I got it with Luigi's Mansion and Wave Race. Might have got Star Wars at launch too actually... well, it's in my GCN collection anyway, which also includes 2 sets of DK Bongos (Donkey Konga & Jungle Beat), the GameBoy Player and a GBA link cable.
I got quite a lot of use out of the link cable, thanks to Four Sword Adventures, Pac-Man Vs., Mario Golf and Animal Crossing.  

I definitely remember the day I bought and first played Animal Crossing! I got the Australian PAL version, as it was massively delayed in Europe (remember the days of that malarkey? ) and was pretty much glued to it from that point on. Shame there's no activity log on the GameCube, would be interesting to see how many hours I played AC for, and the rest of my GCN library of course.

These days my GameCube is all boxed up and in storage, but the controllers are still out and about (for the odd local multiplayer game of Smash Bros. Ultimate ) and I ripped the majority of my game collection a few years ago for use on the Dolphin Emulator.

But yeah... great system, fantastic games and good times.

Edited April 16, 2019 by RedShell

[Jimbob]

The GameCube was the last console i had bought for me (well, partially as i had money from my first paypacket and they topped it up).  Got the console around my birthday from Virgin Megastores, they had an offer on where i got the console, memory card and 2 games for about £200(ish).  Was the perfect console, and the one machine that i played consistently (well, as much as i could outside of college and work).

Then the GBA/GC adapter came about, and that meant big-screen Gameboy games.  Playing A Link to the Past and Minish Cap on the big screen was great, especially as batteries were not needed.

It's a shame that Nintendo didn't carry on with the online play until the Wii days.  Smash Melee and Mario Kart could have been epic online.

[Dog-amoto]

I remember seeing all the hype surrounding Metroid Prime before it came out. Urgh, another first person shooter, were my thoughts at the time. I’d never played a Metroid game prior to this and my disdain for first person games plus my nonchalance for sci-fi meant this was a non purchase for me. 

On release day, my mate brought it round so naturally, I had a go. Within half an hour I was blown the f**k away!! How could my instincts for what I would and wouldn’t like be so far off the mark? I went and bought it the very next day.  

What a game this is. Still hoping for the trilogy to be released on Switch. 

[sumo73]

On 4/16/2019 at 5:19 PM, Jimbob said:

It's a shame that Nintendo didn't carry on with the online play until the Wii days.  Smash Melee and Mario Kart could have been epic online.

Mario Kart Double Dash back in the day was online if you knew how and the Wii still has some online games beyond COD and Goldeneye 007 that can be played online.

I never got round to playing Homeland online and doubt I could find anyone to play it with me now even though I saw a recent reddit post saying otherwise.

Regardless the GameCube was a great console with some great games behind it.

Edited April 25, 2019 by sumo73

[S.C.G]

Phew... well a nominal amount of time later and I've managed to write up my thoughts about the GameCube... (or some of them anyway)

 

I was lucky enough to experience the N64 relatively early on in its life-cycle, it was a family console purchased by my late grandparents on Boxing Day, it came with Goldeneye and I couldn't be any more excited at that time (or so I thought) as I'd read about the console, had played on one only very briefly before and I'd go on to buy such classic games within the same year as owning the machine which included The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Banjo-Kazooie and of course, Super Mario 64. That's pretty hard to top.

When it came to the reveal of the GameCube years later, it was at a time where I was in the middle of going to college, the consoles I had bought inbetween would have been the Game Boy Advance which was amazing in its own right and the Sega Dreamcast just as it was sadly on the way out but this was the first time I'd had the chance to actually save up for a home console on my own in the hope that I could purchase it on launch day.

That date was stuck in my mind... May 3rd 2002, ever since it was confirmed as I would have read about it during the N64-Europe Days (before Cube-Europe, Revo-Europe and N-Europe) and this was before I joined the forum as staff because I would mostly just passively read news, as for the reveal video though... I'm pretty sure I must have seen that first on a video tape which came with CUBE magazine. In any case, once I had seen the machine, I knew that I had to have it and I set about saving up the at least £250 which would have been required in order to purchase a GameCube, one extra controller, a memory card and two games which would end up being Wave Race: Blue Storm and Star Wars: Rogue Leader.

But then, something unexpected happened as prior to the launch Nintendo actually slashed the RRP of the GameCube from £199.99 to a much more wallet-friendly £129.99! This only made me all the more determined, I can still remember having a cardcoard container with a window on it, plus a load of GC related images stuck onto it which I had gotten from leaflets obtained from Electronics Boutique/Game/Dixons which served as a place to save up all the physical cash required to purchase the console on launch day... I may well still have it somewhere, either that or the cardboard GC replica which I initially started using before I realised that wouldn't be able to hold the funds.

Launch day finally arrived, I'd had my Nintendo GameCube console in Black pre-ordered at Game with the two games I'd planned to get plus the accessories ready to pick up, it was on a normal college day though so I had to wait until lunch break, at which point I promptly rushed down to the town centre, picked it up at the counter where it was all waiting for me in a big bag, paid for it in cash and then went back up to college where I was going to leave it in a safe place but instead I decided to empty my backpack out of stuff, put the GameCube in there instead and just put my other stuff in the Game bag for safe keeping; I then kept my bag very close to me during AVCE ICT class, only showing the console to one of my class mates who I trusted enough at the time as I really didn't want to risk getting mugged for my brand new console on the way home.

Anyway I got home on that Friday afternoon, my brothers and I were excited to see this new Nintendo console in action, so with that a weekend of gaming commenced! I'll never forget setting up the console for the first time, seeing that start-up screen and then setting the time, date and aspect ratio in the menu before checking the empty memory card, putting the disc in and watching it all load up seamlessly. Of course the first game I had to try out was Wave Race: Blue Storm as I'd heard all about the realistic water effects, of course it didn't let me down, it did take me a while to get anywhere near good at the game but I still appreciated it plus it was fun playing it in multiplayer mode, also don't forget that this is only the early 2000's so I was still playing on my good old Minato 14" CRT TV (which still works) so it was a small screen size but it really didn't matter.

Then later on it was time to play what everyone considered to be the main launch title, loading up Star Wars: Rogue Leader made by the supremely talanted Factor 5 who made the amazing Rogue Squadron on the N64 before it, was an unforgettable moment in gaming history. I'd never been that big on Star Wars but even I couldn't deny that getting to control an X-Wing on a mission where you could blow up the Death Star was something that was just too good to miss out on, so much was right about the game as well and I'd even go as far to say that it beats ANY other Star Wars game I've played to this day and of course I include any modern titles in that comparison as well which pale into insignificance for me personally. It shouldn't come as a surprise that anyone who owns a Switch these days would pay good money to own that HD trilogy of all the Rogue Squadron titles which never got released but really should as it would do as much for Nintendo's console now as the second title did for the GC back then but I digress.

Over the years I got to experience not only some of the finest first-party Nintendo releases such as Pikmin, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Metroid Prime, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and much more besides but it was also where I got to play Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes which was my first experience with the series plus the remake of Resident Evil... both of these titles in particular were of equal interest to my younger brother and myself. Indeed by that time we both had our own GameCube consoles thanks to the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! bundle which came with the Zelda: Collector's Edition disc, so when it came to those two disc games, we could both be playing the games at different points if say for instance I was on disc 2 of MGS and my brother wanted to start a file on disc 1, then I'd finish the game as quick as I could so that I'd be done with the game by the time it came to the disc-swapping part on his file.

Indeed, we took this to the extreme when it came to the release of Resident Evil 4 as it almost became a race to see who could beat the game first, my brother was further along than me until one night I must have played for eight hours straight or more and I got to the save point right before the final boss before saving, leaving it there. He's always been a bigger Resident Evil fan than myself, so even though I really enjoyed Resi 4, I waited until he got to the same point so that he could finish the game and then I completed it soon after and it was a really fantastic shared experience.

After that we would take turns playing the Mercenaries mode for hours on end in what are still some of my fondest gaming memories and on the subject of multiplayer titles, that's a whole other element to the GameCube as playing with both my brothers on TimeSplitters 2 in split-screen multiplayer brought back some of those great memories from playing Goldeneye on the N64, then there was Super Smash Bros. Melee which was endless amounts of fun plus the first time playing Soul Calibur II at my grandparents house, getting the game on release weekend and watching that intro on a very small TV was still really special at the time. The GC was easy to take with us as well because I found out that I could fit it all in a shoebox, so that's another plus for Nintendo's ingenious design.

But out of all the games I ended up playing on the machine, the one I ended up playing the most was the game I had been obsessed with since picking up a Dreamcast barely a year or so before, that game of course was Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II which I will honestly never forget and still think of the good times had on what's easily my favourite online game in existence... even if the original servers are technically offline, it's still very much playable and I do still go back to it from time to time.

Whether it was the arcade racing of Burnout 2: Point of Impact, the sheer adrenaline-fuelled madness that is Ikaruga or the epic quest of a life-time in Tales of Symphonia or even the equally legendary Skies of Arcadia: Legends... there are many games which really resonated with me when playing them on the Nintendo GameCube as the format offered so much for what was a relatively small price to pay. Of course I still had to save up for each game as I had yet to enter employment but, that just made me appreciate each title all the more and as the years would go by with my collection growing, I didn't feel the need to trade-in or sell many titles from my collection at all, which I why I have around eighty or more titles all of which have earned their place and are probably responsible for making me want to keep a decent collection of games in general from that point going forward.

I have a lot to thank the GameCube for and I believe that I wouldn't be here writing this if it wasn't for Nintendo's wonderful, purple box of brilliance, so on behalf of the four boxed GC consoles, set of WaveBird controllers, DK Bongos, both GBA link cable titles, countless memory cards and even one lone import title in Cubivore; I will say Happy Birthday to the good old GameCube and wonder just what titles I might be playing (if at all) by the next time May 3rd comes around. Though I really hope that I'll get to spend many more hours with my GC collection yet and I hope that many others who appreciate the console as much as I do will as well, so spend some time with Nintendo's first disc-based console if and when you next get the chance because afterall... "Life's a Game" so why not play and enjoy it? - Sam C Gittins (N-Europe Reviewer/Staff Member)

 

There's still about a week before May 3rd if anyone else wants to get their thoughts/contributions/memories down in this thread, also if you want to take pictures of your GameCube collections or anything GC related then please do, I'll do my best to make an article out of whatever I've got to work with.

 

[bob]

Ha, I had that cardboard GC with a slot in the top to use as a piggy bank while saving up. Must have been given away with NGC magazine I guess?

[S.C.G]

2 hours ago, bob said:

Ha, I had that cardboard GC with a slot in the top to use as a piggy bank while saving up. Must have been given away with NGC magazine I guess?

That's the one! I'm going to see if I can find it, I'm sure I've still got it stored away somewhere.

[Grazza]

Whilst the 16- and 32-bit consoles had seen me through my teenage years, I had reached a point where I decided to give up gaming.  As great as the Dreamcast was, I just couldn't get into any games on it.  The last game I fully appreciated was Majora's Mask on the N64, which I did enjoy, but had begun to find that sort of challenge gruelling.  After completing it, I sold all my consoles and forgot about the hobby.  As I wasn't buying any gaming magazines or reading websites on the subject, I had very little idea of Nintendo's future plans.  The only way I was keeping in touch at all was via Channel 4's Digitiser service on Teletext.

 

Soon, I began to be aware of the GameCube.  I heard that there was a follow-on to Mario 64, which had a very different theme, and a Zelda that was causing some controversy over its visual style.  In the back of my mind, I knew I was going to have to play these sooner or later.  As I was more into comics at the time, I received a leaflet from my local comics shop, which had branched out into games as well.  I was impressed by the variety of 3rd-party titles Nintendo had managed to get on board - not to the extent of Xbox or PS2, of course, but they had certainly managed to get a taste of that market.  It's worth pointing out that this was an absolutely superb time for games shopping, before the internet had established its dominance.  We had a great many games shops in our town, and I found myself in one of these when something caught my eye - Wind Waker.  Being only vaguely aware of the game, I was gobsmacked by how beautiful it was in motion.

 

Quickly, I researched which games I was going to buy.  I knew I was going to have to get Mario Sunshine and Zelda, and Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door also stood out to me with its origami-style bosses.  I selected a black GameCube with Donkey Konga plus bongos, which is a bit odd, as I preferred the purple one and don't have any rhythm!  Getting it home, I felt I had entered the next generation.  The controller was instantly familiar, but advanced, with a subtle rumble built in that I had never bothered with on the N64.  Mario Sunshine acted as the escape its creators intended (remember, these were much more turbulent times than the 1990s).  It transported me to a tropical paradise, where I could almost feel the warmth of the sun.  The game's differentiating mechanic, FLUDD, taught me the brilliance of analogue triggers, and why I couldn't defeat the stingray boss just by holding them down fully.

 

But Wind Waker provided the true genius.  Giving the player their own boat, it expertly encapsulated the feel of exploration and adventure.  I remember first reaching Windfall Island and being reunited with Tingle - this and many other aspects of the game re-connected me with an era that, although experienced not long before, I had largely forgotten.  As for the photographer who shows you the gallery of mysterious things he has caught on camera, and that you might find yourself out on the ocean... there's just something magical about that.  To this day, I have hardly had such an emotional connection with a game.

 

Of course, there were many more brilliant titles.  Metroid Prime introduced me to a character I was unfamiliar with, was unlike anything I’d played before and took me years to master.  F-Zero GX was similarly challenging, but very satisfying to get better at.  Animal Crossing was really quite profound, and set the template for something that would deservedly increase in popularity, and Four Swords Adventure was like a tour-de-force of 2D Zelda.

 

I mentioned multi-platform titles, and amongst my favourites of these were Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Spider-Man 2 and the rather exotic Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.  It was just enough to show Nintendo’s console could keep up with the competition, largely thanks to using disc-based media and general parity with the PS2 and Xbox.

 

Everything about the GameCube made sense.  Nintendo had learnt from its genuine mistakes, but kept hold of what made it unique.  The games built upon its tried-and-tested gameplay templates from the N64 days, but were also incredibly bold, thematically speaking, and infused with real heart and soul.  That’s why, for me, the GameCube remains the greatest console ever released.

[nekunando]

Looking back on it now, some of the choices made by me around the launch of the Nintendo Gamecube back in 2002 seem bizarre.. and yet I wouldn't change anything

I've always been a Nintendo fan growing up thanks to the Super Nintendo and then being constantly blown away with the step into 3D with the Nintendo 64 and all of the astonishing games that came out for that particular system. My friends growing up, however, were never quite on the same wavelength!

From teaming up with friends on the Streets of Rage on the Sega Mega Drive to competing in some fierce battles in ISS Pro on the PlayStation, I always seemed to be the odd one out with my love for Nintendo, a feeling that still persists to this very day.

It was amazing to grow up with access to all sorts of different consoles spread across my friends who lived up my road and the pattern looked set to continue with my interest in the Nintendo Gamecube accompanying the desires of my friends to pick up a PS2. In the run up to the Christmas before the launch of the Gamecube, I had the opportunity to dip my toe into an SSX demo on the PS2 at my friend's house and just finding myself impressed by the graphics and DVD capabilities of the system (I still, in 2019, have never owned an actual DVD player that wasn't a part of a games console)

Given my love for International Superstar Soccer and the upcoming Pro Evolution Soccer, something I knew my other friends were about to receive on Christmas Day along with their brand new PS2, a little bit of jealousy crept in as I knew the Gamecube was still several months away. It was then that I hesitantly asked my parents for a PS2 that Christmas, more in hope than expectation, but was to be left somewhat disappointed not to be joining in the next generation along with my mates. To be honest, I can't even remember what I received that year.. maybe a Hi-Fi!

Anyway, with that opportunity gone, focus once again returned to the upcoming launch of the Gamecube on 3/3/2002, twelve days before my birthday. Having witnessed a VHS of several Nintendo Gamecube games, including some launnch titles, in the first issue of NGC after it's transistion from the wonderful N64 Magazine, I knew my heart was still with Nintendo and I couldn't wait to pick up the console for myself. In fact, given the reluctance of my parents to even really consider the PS2 several months earlier, I knew my best bet was to somehow save whatever money I could and purchase the console for myself. When Nintendo reduced the price before launch to £129.99, I knew my goal was more in reach that I ever thought possible!

My saving was going really well (I believe I also had the cardboard GC money box  ) but, despite this, I still cheekily enquired about the possibility of receiving an exceptionally generous birthday present from my parents in the form of a black Gamecube. If it wasn't to be, I had the money there to pick it up for myself.. I wasn't to be denied!

My parents, however, did not disappoint!

They went to GAME to enquire about the Gamecube only to find out that it has all been sold out.. apart from one person who did not collect their pre-order! And so, without my knowledge, the console would be awaiting me on the 15th of May.

In the weeks before that, I recall a demo unit of the Gamecube in GAME that me and my brother had walked up to. Unfortunately, you couldn't play anything but I had always had an idea of what the controller might feel like from looking at pictures in magazines. Finally, we were able to grad a controller at this demo unit and it felt like it just melted perfectly into my hands. It was perfect! This increased my excitement levels even further!

My birthday came around and I got up early in the morning before school to open my presents.. and there it was! I was so happy

A black Nintendo Gamecube, 2 controllers and ISS 2 waiting for me to come back home from school to finally get to play it. That must have been a long day

Obviously, if I couldn't have Pro Evolution Soccer, ISS 2 was going to be the next best thing and, to be fair, we had an awful lot of fun with it.. but what would I do with all of that money I had saved up?

Spend it on some games, of course

When I think about it now, there were some amazing games at the launch of the Nintendo Gamecube and if it came out today I know I'd be going straight for Wave Race: Blue Storm, Luigi's Mansion and Pikmin without hesitation. This, however, was not the reality as I just turned 15.

With ISS 2 already there to provide our football fix, my brother and I decided that along with needing a memory card to save data, we needed a racing game. Burnout was to be that game.

Again, we loved it and just a few days later we thought it was time to add just one more game into the mix. Super Monkey Ball was there to round of my launch experience and, as with the previous 2 games, amazing fun was had with this game too. I know there may have been more obvious choices to make when selecting games for the Nintendo Gamecube at launch, but I still wouldn't change anything. Things started out great and only got more and more special with each passing month and year

[Gadwin]

The Nintendo Gamecube was my most played console of that generation. 

I was 17 at the time working part-time getting ready to start studying IT at college later that year and had the gamecube pre-ordered for launch day and got Rogue Squadron 2 with it. 

Rogue Squadron 2 was one of them games kind of like today with achievements except you got medals based on your performance.  I think I managed to get silver/gold on most of the missions.  It was a very replayable game for me except for those rare moments when a stray tie fighter would decide to kamakaze you ruining your score.

Some of my favourite games early on I played mostly in singleplayer as my brother was more into pc gaming at the time.

Games I spent a lot of time on were:

Super Smash Bros Melee

This game was a fun sequel to Smash Bros, didn't play this one as much in multiplayer but it had lots of unlockables.

Mario Golf Toadstool Tour

The sequel to the N64 game I played a ton getting all the birdie badges for a challenge in N64 magazine.  This was a game I spent a lot of time playing when I was moving country in 2004 and not having internet for well over a year.

Ikaruga

My first shmup on a modern console since Fire Shark on the Sega Megadrive.  This game was hard but one of them rare difficult gaming experiences where I didn't get frustrated for dieing but wanted to keep playing.  The training mode was fun to practice on with being able to slowdown the game and watch demonstrations of sections of the game.  A missing feature I would have liked to have seen in its Steam release.

Soul Calibur 2

So many modes for singleplayer content...  rarely played this in multiplayer but the wealth of things to do kept me playing this a long time.

Crusin' World USA

This simple racing game had things to unlock for completing races. One thing I enjoy in gaming is unlocking things and after a TON of racing I finally had gained enough EXP to unlock the Speed Demon car by the end of my time playing this game.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles

This was a game I played purely singleplayer back in the day, my favourite thing about this game was the moogles.  Was funny when your moogle companion would get cranky if you didn't take your turn holding the Chalice "It's your turn now, kupo!". 

Resident Evil 4:

My second resident evil game, originally played resident evil 2 on the PS1.  Played through this game many times and spent many nights when not playing it talking about it with friends in the visual lobby which brings me to my most played game on the Gamecube.

In the early days of the gamecube online gaming was just beginning for the generation of console gamers and I played a lot of single player games that was until the game I was very hyped for was released.  

Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2

This game is what started almost half a lifetime spent playing games online.  To this day my adventures on PSO still continue online through the creation of private servers.  It was a game where the community in the game gave me so many amusing memories and met a friend called Sam who I have played online games with for over a decade. It had a level cap that was so long to reach you could still be hunting for rare gear before you reach it.

With 2000+ hours alone on my FOmar Sonic Beta I never reached level 200.  I got him to level 186 before a file corruption but playing the game with my friends was so much fun I had several memory cards which were used to make new characters with new ID's to level together.

The game had a system where different ID's based on your name would give you different loot so everyone hosting parties had potential for different gear drops.

 

[Hero-of-Time]

It's been great reading everyone's launch day experiences. Where has the time gone?

Mine isn't anything special. I was working at the time and I had pre-ordered a purple Gamecube from my local Dixons store. I picked it up on launch day, along with Rogue Squadron II, Luigi's Mansion, Super Monkey Ball and Wave Race.

Luigi's Mansion was the first game I played. I think I beat it in a couple of sittings and I remember being disappointed with how short it was. The game did look absolutely gorgeous at the time and I remember a lot of the gaming magazines back then comparing it to Aardman Animation stuff like Wallace and Gromit, which, looking back, is pretty ridiculous.  Over the years I have come to appreciate the game more and I take it for what it is rather than for what it wasn't. In fact, I played through the 3DS version for the first time this year and I had an absolute blast with it. Thanks to the added extras, I think it is the best version of the game.

Rogue Leader was the game that I probably spent most of my time on. I was a huge fan of the original game on the N64 and I was eager to get my hands on the sequel. Graphically the game was something very special and it still holds up stupidly well to this day. I do think it's one of the most visually impressive launch games for any console that has ever been released. Usually in a console generation things start off a bit rough and once the developers get used to the hardware its only then that you start to see graphically impressive games, typically a few years into the systems life. Factor 5 bucked this trend and had such a game ready for launch.

I loved the mission structure to the game and trying to get the best medals on each of the stages really gave the game a stupid amount of replay value. It was something I done on the original game and I was happy to go through it again with the sequel. Some of the requirements were quite tight and you really had to learn the stage layout, enemy locations and what enemies to kill or leave to nab the highest rewards.

Super Monkey Ball was a game that had me and my friends in fits of laughter many times. Four of us used to hold game nights at each others houses on Friday evenings and this game was always featured in the lineup. Both Monkey Fight and Monkey Target were the games of choice for us and I think it was because just how fast these games went. They had a fantastic pick up and play value to them, as did the main game.

Speaking of the main game, as a youngster I grew up playing Marble Madness on my NES and this game really reminded me of that. The game starts off very easy but it soon turns into a hellish experience. I don't think I ever completed the game legitimately due to the sheer difficulty of the later stages. I ended up using the Action Replay device and even then it was still pretty brutal.  

Wave Race: Blue Storm is a game and part of a series I just don't get on with. Sorry, @nekunando. I played Wave Race 64 on the N64 and it's a game that I just couldn't get to grips with. I found the whole riding the wave mechanic very fiddly and random. Against my better judgement I decided to pick up the sequel purely because of how beautiful the water looks and I ended up hating the game. Truth be told I think it's just because I couldn't get the hang of playing the game properly and the fact that the game seem to have aggressive/ rubber banding AI didn't help matters either. It's a feature I really dislike in racing games. For me, the best Wave Race game is still the original on the Gameboy.  It is a game I would love to go back to and try to master, though.

The Gamecube is a console a hold very dear to my heart. I still have my collection of 100+ games, a few Wavebirds and 2 Gamecube models. The amount of variety of games that the console houses is very impressive. Stuff like Paper Mario 2, Battalion Wars, Skies of Arcadia, Baten Kaitos, F-Zero GX, Rogue Leader 2, Pikmin, Smash Bros Melee, Chibi Robo, Eternal Darkness and Kirby Air Ride just goes to show how diverse the games are on the system and these are just a few of the exclusives that the system had. Despite both Super Mario Sunshine and Wind Waker being rushed out of the gate and less polished than other entries, the rest of the Gamecube line up was more than strong enough to carry the system, at least for me.

Man, now I really want to go home, unpack my Gamecube and play on some of these games. Especially this bad boy...

It's been too long since I played through this. CUTLASS FURY!!!

 

 

[Hero-of-Time]

This is totally your fault, @S.C.G!

[S.C.G]

1 minute ago, Hero-of-Time said:

This is totally your fault, @S.C.G!

I am happy to take full responsibility for the fact that you're playing one of the greatest RPG's ever made again.

Can I please use that image in the article? Also if you have any other suggestions for GC images or media that should be used in the article then let me know.

I think I've got enough stories and experiences to make up the text portion of the article and I'll see if I can take any pictures of my GameCube collection, or some of it.

I'll put it all into an article later tonight with any luck and do some work on it tommorow night so that it's ready to post on the Friday May 3rd before I go to work.

[Hero-of-Time]

Yeah, by all means use the image.

 

[S.C.G]

Right, still working in this now but you should see it go up on the front page within the next couple of hours with any luck if all goes well.