Is it worth getting a Gamecube?
 

As I've recently discovered the PS2 and its' vast array of games, all for a relatively meager sum, I've thought about the game cube. How is it? Is it worth getting one today (are there good games out there?)? I can easily get one for about €60 brand new...

If you had the money I would say to buy a Wii as all the gamecube games are backwardly compatible.

There are a few decent games on the Gamecube

Metroid Prime 1 & 2 - Great FPS with some puzzles.
Zelda Wind Waker - Some people hate the cell shaded characters. I loved it.
Eternal Darkness - Creepy
Mario Sunshine - not the best Mario game.
Ikaruga - possibly the best vertical shooter of all time. Bloody hard though.
Resident Evil 4 - Superb.
Pikmin 2 - Cute and weird.
Paper Mario 1000 year door - Mario RPG.
Beyond Good and Evil - Lucasarts style action game.

Yeah, those are the greatest, but I would also add:
F-Zero GX - The word speed gets a whole new mening in this racing game.
Star Fox Adventures - Zelda like adventure made by the awsome Rare, maybe a little short and a little too easy, but still a great game.
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat - Playing a platformer with a drum-controller, how can that possibly go wrong?
Skies of Arcadia - At least seems like a good game, I want this one!

... And for heavens sake, don't forget Zelda: Twiligt Princess. :pan:

Totally agree with Lucien. At this point in time, I would get a Wii.

Ok, thanks. Then I'll probably get a Wii if I ever get a Nintendo urge. I will probably skip it and get a PS3 in the future instead.

That is a very strange list. Super Mario Sunshine is not a good reason to get the Gamecube, Beyond Good & Evil and Resident Evil 4 are multiplatform (including PS2), and Pikmin 2 is nowhere near as good as the first Pikmin (which is wonderful).



Whether or not it's worth getting a Gamecube depends on whether you like Nintendo games. If you like exploring (a la Myst) and don't mind fighting, the two Metroid Primes are must-haves. If you like Zelda games, there are three available for Gamecube, including a very neat multiplayer one (but which you probably wouldn't have the equipment to play). If you like Nintendo's more casual style of videogames, Animal Crossing is a lovely little distraction. On the other extreme, F-Zero GX is incredibly challenging, which is good if (like me) you find that sort of thing satisfying. Pikmin and Chibi Robo are classics, if you can tolerate the incredibly cutesy styles. (I'd also repeat Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, which is wonderful, but you probably wouldn't want to buy the special controller if you're looking to get stuff cheap.) Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is hilarious and clever.

So yeah, there's plenty of good reasons to get a Gamecube. But if you don't like Nintendo games, don't bother.

And by the way, based on how few good Wii games there are at this point, I think getting a Gamecube's a much better deal. You don't always have to have the most recent thing on the market.

The Zelda and Metroid franchise are the only two franchises I miss in my Microsoft and Sony world. I'll give it some thought and since a Gamecube isn't THAT expensive anymore it might be worth buying for those ~10 games that I'll buy.

The Gamecube definitely hinges on only a few excellent titles. But those titles are so iconic, unique and exclusive, it's worth it nonetheless :) You will not find anything like a Metroid game anywhere else, and they're pretty much incredible (if brutally difficult sometimes).

While the game cube has a few exclusives that are worth it, would you really want to buy a console for only 8 or so good exclusive games knowing that it has been completely dismissed by every publisher including Nintendo, or would you rather buy a console that can play those 8 games, and has much more third party support this time around (not to mention the ability to play the old nintendo greats like ocarina of time). To me, it is a no brainer.

I agree with SoccerDude. Just get a Wii. You can play those games plus you'll be able to get the great Wii games that inevitably come out (including the few already out that are great). Plus the VC.

I think the GC is some $70-100 nowadays. Just save up a little more and get a Wii... It's nearly the same as buying a GBA at this point. Sure it's cheap and you have some great games to mess around with, but why not invest a little more in the better system that can not only play those same games but also play the games of the near future. You know you'll just end up buying it anyway, even if in a few years.

Point taken... :)

You might also consider that there's an attachment for the Gamecube called the Game Boy Player that essentially gives it all the functionality of a GBA. That is, it lets you play any Game Boy games on the TV. I don't know how much that peripheral sells for these days, but it's worth pointing out in comparing the number of games playable. (Wii doesn't let you play Game Boy games.)

I don't think I'll bother with the Gameboy games. It's still some time (if ever) before I buy either a Gamecube or a Wii. Thanks for the pointers though. :)

Ok SMS isn't the greatest game however Pikmin 2 is widely regarded to be a better game than the original. (Check almost any review site)

RE4 was originally a Gamecube game and is superior to the PS2 version. The PC version has only recently been released and was a poor conversion. BG&E is multiplatform, Still a decent game though.

But check any review site and they'll confirm that the Wii version trumps them all.

I'd also like to add a disclaimer to my GC : Wii :: GBA : DS analogy from before. There's a big difference between the DS and the Wii, in that the DS at this point has more awesome games than the Wii has games. Whereas the DS has proven to be a tried and true gaming staple this generation the Wii still has to sort of prove that, but things look good for the future when the novelty inevitably wears off. There will be way more third party games and exclusives this generation around, and of course Nintendo games will always rock the pants off anything else.

They're wrong. :P The first Pikmin, as I said, was a classic. And the second was a chore to play. The first was carefully crafted and the second had a lot of randomness. The story of the first is more charming. I would hesitate in recommending the second game even to someone who'd already played the first, but I'd certainly never recommend it to someone who hadn't.

But why wait a few years for games, when you can get good games right now?

Oh, and Lucien's not wrong: You should get Beyond Good & Evil for whatever platform if you haven't already.

That's kind of what I was saying earlier. I added that disclaimer because I admit that at this point the Wii is a riskier purchase. Things look great for Nintendo this generation, but at the moment there are only a few games I would consider buying, those being:
Twilight Princess
Super Paper Mario
Resident Evil 4 Wii
But I suppose when you factor in the Gamecube games it's already well worth the purchase.

That's funny- I have Twilight Princess and RE4 for Gamecube. (I would recommend both.) I'm sort of annoyed about Super Paper Mario- they originally said it would be for Gamecube, and then tacked on some motion control gimmicks to justify the move to Wii. Still, it does mean that I'm going to have to eventually find a Wii to play it. Blah.

If I may rant a little, I'm very disappointed in how little they've done with the motion controls so far- it seems like all the good games (with the exception of Wii Sports) could have worked with ordinary controls. Even Super Mario Galaxy (which is sure to be amazing, since it's made by the same team as DK: Jungle Beat) looks like it doesn't really need the motion controls they've given it. The only hardcore game coming up which seems significantly better for the motion controls is Metroid Prime 3 (which looks very disappointing to me), and I'm sure that won't be much better than a mouse-and-keyboard interface. And on the casual game side, Nintendo seems to already have gotten bored with the remote, seeing as how the game they're promoting most right now (Wii Fit) uses an entirely different controller!

Okay, I'm done now. Get a Wii, if you like.

I've just come back playing a bit more of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and it's another fantastic game for the Gamecube / Wii. Not many other games manage an atmosphere so thick you have to pluck it out of your hair every now and then. And truly tense too: I'm a frightened gamer and this game frightens me.