"What the N64 should have been…sort of"

I'd hoped that Nintendo would have learned and recovered from their errors with the N64 and would deliver a console truly worthy of the NES and Super NES's legacies. But alas the GameCube (GC) was by and large disappointing, suffering from many of the same issues that had caused the company's console fortunes to decline in the first place.

System Design
Nintendo intended for the GC to be more compact and portable than the PS2 and X-Box, it even has a handle on the back. While I appreciate Nintendo trying to take a different approach from the competition, the outward appearance was a big mistake in my opinion. It looks like some kind of kiddy lunch box. Making the standard colour purple was also really dumb. I'm comfortable enough with my sexuality that I'd play even if it were rainbow coloured with a big smiley face and purple unicorn dancing around on top, but Nintendo should have known that this was not likely to fly with the majority of the 13+ crowd. The perception that Nintendo only targets little kids with its consoles was further reinforced with the GC and the system's image suffered badly because of it. PS2 looks like a high end gaming machine, GC doesn't.

The Achilles Heal of the N64 was of course its use of cartridges rather than CDs for storing its games. Thankfully Nintendo was smart enough to make the leap to discs this time around, but only part way. Rather than using standard DVDs the GC uses its own mini-DVDs. The reasoning behind them was to alleviate the high cost and storage limitations of cartridges while still delivering faster load times and making it hard to pirate games. A good idea in theory, the problem was that the supposed advantages were not emphasized enough to woo consumers or developers back to Nintendo. The fact that Sony and Microsoft were both using the same format for their games made it impractical to develop with the mini discs in mid, particularly for multi-platform releases. The more limited storage space of GC DVDs meant that longer titles often required multiple discs. Many developers reduced content for GC releases rather than continue across several DVDs or simply didn't release their games on the system period.

One thing I did like about the GC was the minimalist approach they took to system extras, a trend I'm glad to see carried over to the Wii. I don't like this now common place phenomenon of having DVD players and the like shoved down my throat every time I drop the cash for a new console. Why? Well, three reasons (a) they jack up the price (b) the quality is inferior to stand alone units (c) I usually don't use them anyway. I already have a loathsome enough relationship with that worthless piece of junk that comes with the PS2, so not having to buy another crappy DVD player was a breath of fresh air for me.

Controllers
Another thing that I liked was the controller. It may look intimidating at first (not to mention as immature as the console itself) but once you pick one up and start playing you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. Each button is well placed, easy to access, and usually well utilized. The size is just right, not too bulky or fragile and it contours to your hands perfectly. Definitely my favorite of the sixth generation consoles.

The controller incorporates dual analog sticks but rather than placing them both at the bottom of the controller (ala PSX) the left one is located in the upper left hand corner. This puzzled me a bit a first until I realized the incredible ease this allows in accessing the left shoulder button and directional pad by keeping both of your thumbs to the center left and right of the controller.

The only problems I have with the GC controller are the lack of a back trigger, like the N64's Z button, which takes away from the immersion factor a bit. And that the D-pad is far too small and unresponsive. This isn't an issue for most games which either don't use the d-pad at all or use it like a regular action button rather than for movement. Where you run into problems is when trying to play 2D fighting games like Capcom vs. SNK 2 where a third party controller is pretty much mandatory.

Graphics
Technology wise GC is the proverbial monkey in the middle, stronger than the PS2 in most regards but generally inferior to the X-Box. Most people owned the PS2 as their primary console and if they were inclined to pick up a superior version of a multi-platform title X-Box was the obvious choice. This left GC with no real marketing muscle in the graphics department and its superiority over the PS2 never really manifested itself into a competitive advantage. Though there are certainly games that pushed the hardware's capabilities and are mighty impressive to look at such as Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, Resident Evil, Metroid Prime, and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess being among my most memorable experiences with the system.

Games
The thing that hurt the GC more than anything else was the stigmatism left by the N64. Nintendo alienated so many gamers and third party developers with that system that it had a very uphill battle just to prove it was still a relevant player in the console wars. While the GC continued to deliver strong first party support from Nintendo its third party support (though vastly better than the N64's) failed to significantly improve and pales in comparison to Sony's PS2. Capcom and Namco were the key players as far as third party software goes, delivering a small but generally impressive list of survival horror, action, and RPG titles. My favorites are the Resident Evil and Baten Kaitos series. Konami, Ubisoft, and even SquareEnix made a few notable contributions as well. But again the greatest strength lies in Nintendo's own in house offerings. The system continued to reinvent the long running Mario, Zelda, Star Fox, and Donkey Kong franchises as well as introducing several interesting new ones such as Pikmin, Animal Crossing, and Fire Emblem. It really irked me seeing so much of the gaming world overlook innovative and creative titles such as these. But the most notable in my opinion was the resurrection of the long neglected Metroid series with Metroid Prime. If you own a GC or Wii and are looking for some great inexpensive titles Prime should be at the top of your list. The GC is also your best bet for good kids appropriate software, but the hardcore will probably find themselves left in the cold.

Buy?
The GC by most standards is a good console, but a very disappointing one considering what I'd come to expect from Nintendo. The GC is dead last behind NES, Super NES, N64, and Wii. It was a solid piece of hardware that had the potential to perform a lot better than it did. But bad marketing, conflicting images, and lack of incentive for developers to really get behind it whole heartedly ultimately left the console in the so-so territory. I would still highly recommend checking out some of its best games, but unless you're really budget conscious there's really no point in buying the system itself. Just buy a Wii and take advantage of the backwards compatibility that it offers.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/29/07

Game Release: GameCube Hardware (US, 11/18/01)