"Not Legendary, But Still Awesome!"

The GameCube is by far my favorite system in this generation. It has more games that I like than any other system, which is really what I base getting a system on. To start off I would like to say that the GameCube is highly underrated. A lot of this is actually because people think that it only has “kiddy” games, or they are embarrassed about getting one. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are also a lot of people who don’t get one simply because of the fact that they don’t want one or that they don’ have enough money, I’m just saying that the GameCube would have a lot more sales if people were less self-conscious. In my opinion, this system is not something that will be remembered as revolutionary, or amazing, (Such as the NES and SNES were), but more of a landmark in Nintendo’s quest for there next revolutionary system. I really think that by the time the GameCube’s lifespan is over it will have a lot more amazing game titles than it has now. This console does have a lot of games that will probably be remembered as legendary (such as Super Smash Brothers Melee, Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker), but this system just doesn’t have as many legendary and remarkable games as the old systems. Nintendo’s newest console is something that you will probably want to buy, unless you don’t have the money, or are planning to get a Play Station 2, or Xbox, or you just don’t like video games. But if you do like video games then the GameCube has many games to keep even the most hardcore gamer busy for a while. So whether you are a video game maniac or a casual gamer, the GameCube will keep you having fun for a long time. With that said I will review the GameCube on eight categories being: Design, Controller, Games, Graphics, Sound, Memory, Game Boy Advance SP connectivity, and then I’ll do my conclusion.

Design

I love the design of the GameCube. It is small, which makes it easy to take places, and I’ve actually found the handle on the back to be useful when I’m carrying it places. The disc size is also cool. I like it being small, it really serves no purpose, I just think it looks cool. I also like how it is a square, because its not an odd shape like the Play Station 2. The thing I like the most about it though is that you can choose different colors for the console, which is something the Nintendo is the only company to do. I personally like the Jet Black GameCube the best, but having all those other colors is just something cool to see. This brings me to another point, which is the Game Boy Advance SP (GBA SP). I love having a matching Jet Black GameCube and an Onyx Game Boy Advance SP. It just looks really cool.

Controller

This controller is very much underrated. People never talk about it, and when they do it is to complain about it. I personally find it to be my favorite controller because it is the most comfortable fitting. I find the Xbox to be to big and the Play Station 2 to be way to small. Many people complain about the C-Pad being to small, but I have had no problem with it. It fits just perfectly for me. The GameCube controller is good for Fighting games, and racing games, but where it really shines is first person shooting games (such as Metroid Prime), I find it to be because of the controllers well placed buttons, it’s just so easy to access everything. That is about it for the controller, but if you don’t like it, you can always get a Play Station 2 controller adapter.

Games

This console has many good games, but also a lot of bad games. No bad games jump to the front of my mind so there’s not much I can say about it’s bad games, but there is some I can say about it’s good games. Out of the good games it has, only a few will be remembered as legendary titles. Some of the good games for the GameCube would be: Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, Sonic Adventure DX: Directors Cut, Pikmin, Soul Calibur 2, and F-Zero GX. Just to name a few. Now I will name the games that I think will long be remembered in video gaming history: Super Smash Brothers Melee, Super Mario Sunshine, Animal Crossing, Metroid: Prime, and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Those are the best games that I could think of for this system, and they are all definitely worth getting.

Graphics

This console has some amazing graphics. Better than the Play Station 2 and almost able to match the Xbox. The two biggest games that would represent the great graphics of the GameCube would be Metroid: Prime, and Soul Calibur 2. They both have outstanding graphics and are truly amazing in that category, not to mention that there also great games all around. You will not have any complaints about the GameCube’s graphics so pleas don’t decide not to buy one because you heard it had bad graphics or something else.

Sound

The GameCube’s sound is just like every other system, it really only depends on what speakers you have, but as far as the sounds on it’s video games go, on average I would say that the sound of most of the video games are pretty good. There’s not much else I can say about it’s sound.

Memory

The GameCube has no built in memory hard drive like the Xbox, but it does have memory cards. These memory cards have almost no memory compared to the Play Station 2 memory cards, but at least they have some. You will probably only have to buy between 3 and 4 memory cards for the GameCube depending on how many games you get, which also depends on whether your a casual gamer or a hardcore gamer.

GameCube and Game Boy Advance SP Link Cable

The link of these two systems is great. It brings a lot more fun to the games when you can use this function. A good example of this would be The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker when you can link them up and play as tingle and aid link in his quest. It is also good when you can link two of the same type of game titles together that have been released at the same time. A good example of this would be Sonic Adventure 2: Battle linking up with Sonic Advance to get new unlockable items and secrets. This function is really great, and Nintendo says that they are really going to utilize this power and show it’s full potential in the future with it’s upcoming games.

Conclusion

The GameCube is a great system and is definitely my favorite console in this generation. If you want good games, combined with good graphics, combined with tons of other great things that Nintendo can do, then this is the system for you. In short, you can’t go wrong with this system. It is Awesome.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/18/03