Topic: The Top 10 GameCube Games (According to MetaCritic)

[M.K.Ultra]

I used the Best of GameCube games according to Metacritic, ranked by Metascore to come up with this list. I thought it would be fun to discuss our experiences with these games and whether we agree with them being the best of GameCube or not.
After you vote in the poll, post about:
Which game on this list is your favorite? Least favorite?
Did you play these on another console? Which one?
Any of these on your backlog?
What's that Zelda Collector's Edition?
Should I run a similar poll for another console? Which one?

[Adrock]

Which game on this list is your favorite? Least favorite?

Favorite: Metroid Prime (I used to waffle between this and RE4, but the best version of RE4 is Wii Edition so that how I separate them now)
Least Favorite: Either handegg game by default because I don't play sports sims.

Did you play these on another console? Which one?

Yes, 1-5.

Any of these on your backlog?

Technically, I never beat Soul Calibur II.

What's that Zelda Collector's Edition?

A promo disc that included the OG Legend of Zelda, Adventures of Link, Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask.

Should I run a similar poll for another console? Which one?

If you want. I'm not your mother. Or am I? (I'm not)

SNES, DS, or Switch would be my suggestions.

[NWR_insanolord]

I didn't quite know how to count it, because I didn't play three of these games (Metroid Prime, RE4, and Twilight Princess) until they came out on Wii. I voted for them as played, but technically it wasn't on GameCube.

[M.K.Ultra]

I voted for any game that I played on other systems. I played Metroid Prime, Resident Evil 4, and Twilight Princess on Wii. I played Wind Waker on Wii U. I have played all the games on the Collector's Edition on other consoles as well. Of those, Twilight Princess is my favorite, though Metroid Prime is a close second. I am interested in Viewtiful Joe and Eternal Darkness but I have never seen them in the used game stores so I would need a re-release to get access to them.

[Mop it up]

For once I agree with a number one, Metroid Prime is indeed the best GameCube game! Although, my own personal fave and most-played is Super Smash Bros. Melee, which I'm a little surprised isn't even on the list. Though I s'pose that series has never been much of a critical darling.

I have Resident Evil 4 for GameCube and Wii, but haven't played it yet. I have Zelda Twilight Princess for Wii not GameCube, I like it a lot as well. Wind Waker is disappointing but still good. I got the Zelda Collector's Edition from subscribing to Nintendo Power and it was the first time I played Majora's Mask. My bro got Eternal Darkness but I never played it meself. I don't have and never played the rest.

My own personal top ten GameCube would probably look something like:

10. TimeSplitters 2
9. Luigi's Mansion
8. Super Mario Sunshine
7. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
6. TimeSplitters Future Perfect
5. Battalion Wars
4. Tales of Symphonia
3. Metroid Prime 2 Echoes
2. Metroid Prime
1. Super Smash Bros. Melee

[Ian Sane]

It's funny seeing those NFL games in the list. I do have NFL 2K5 on the Xbox because I heard it's the greatest football game ever made and it was like two bucks.  I haven't properly played it yet thought, just confirmed that the game runs.  Sports games is the genre where the people that love them move on to the latest release and the people that love videogame history don't give a damn about.  If those were in your Gamecube top ten you probably haven't played or thought about the Gamecube in 15 years.

I've played all the rest aside from Resident Evil 4, which is a rather large omission on my part.  Of the remaining list Metroid Prime is not a bad choice for number 1 but I have not played it since it was current.  Nor I have I really gone back and played any of these games again.  I haven't really played a lot of Gamecube since it was current.  I bought most of the best games for it when they were new and it's a system where the retro prices got high very quickly.  I felt Viewtiful Joe was overrated at the time and you don't really hear much about it anymore so I think history proved that assessment correct.  The Zeldas are great games but both lacked the magic of the N64 games.  Wind Waker's ocean was dull and I felt Twilight Princess was too conservative, like a Zelda fan game that followed the Ocarina of Time blueprint too closely.  At the time I probably had the most fun with Zelda: Four Swords Adventure and Minish Cap on the Game Boy Player.

I actually preferred Metroid Prime 2 to the first game but they were both great.  And some of my favourites that are not in the Metacritic top 10 are SSB Melee and the Pikmin games.  And Animal Crossing dictated my real life so strictly that I made a conscious decision to stop playing it and I've never bought a game in the series since.  So does that mean I liked it?

[M.K.Ultra]

At first I could not get the site to sort by user score but I was just able to figure that out. Here are the top ten Gamecube games according to metacritic users:

• Resident Evil (2002) (9.6)
• Resident Evil 4 (9.2)
• Super Smash Bros. Melee (9.1)
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (9.0)
• Pikmin 2 (9.0)
• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (9.0)
• Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (9.0)
• Metroid Prime (8.9)
• Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
• Tales of Symphonia

[Luigi Dude]

I own 6 of the 10 games on this list.

Metroid Prime
Resident Evil 4
Twilight Princess
Wind Waker
Soul Calibur 2
Viewtiful Joe

All six games I bought at launch when they were released on the Gamecube and beat each one.  Three of the games, Metroid Prime, Twilight Princess and Soul Calibur 2, I 100% completed them, and for Resident Evil 4, Wind Waker and Viewtiful Joe I came pretty close to doing it.  Resident Evil 4 I just had to beat on Hard mode but stopped playing in the Castle.  For Wind Waker I got most of the trophies but stopped because I got tired of how tedious the process was.  For Viewtiful Joe I started Ultra V-Rated difficultly, but stopped playing shortly after since beating V-Rated was already a huge ordeal that pushed me too my limits and Ultra V-Rated was already crazy by the second level so I wanted to take a breather.  Of course then I never came back to it.

So yeah I'd say this list is pretty accurate.  Five of these games are in my own personal Top 10 Gamecube list, and I'd probably put Soul Calibur 2 in the Top 11-20 list.  Of the games on this list, it's kind of a tie between Twilight Princess and Resident Evil 4 to which one is my favorite.  Twilight Princess has the advantage of having the best amount of gameplay variety, but suffers from having a lower difficulty.  Resident Evil 4 is a much more intense game and has a good challenge, but the Island at the end of the game has some rather questionable design choices that drag it down.  I'd probably give Twilight Princess a slight edge because of the huge variety of gameplay it offers but it's very close.

My own personal Top Ten Gamecube list would look like this

1. Super Smash Bros Melee
2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
3. Resident Evil 4
4. Metroid Prime 2
5. Metroid Prime 1
6. Viewtiful Joe
7. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
8. Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat
9. F-Zero GX
10. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

I felt Viewtiful Joe was overrated at the time and you don't really hear much about it anymore so I think history proved that assessment correct.

The reason you don't hear much about Viewtiful Joe is because the original game came out almost 20 years ago and Capcom refuses to release his games on any modern systems.  People were talking about him when he was revealed to be playable in Tatsunoko vs Capcom as well as Marvel vs Capcom 3, but both of those games were over a decade ago now as well.  If Capcom would finally port his games to modern consoles that would spark some more interest, but for some reason they refuse to do so, even though they keep porting Okami and Devil May Cry over and over again, which are 2 game series that appeal heavily to the people who like Viewtiful Joe.

[M.K.Ultra]

The reason you don't hear much about Viewtiful Joe is because the original game came out almost 20 years ago and Capcom refuses to release his games on any modern systems.  People were talking about him when he was revealed to be playable in Tatsunoko vs Capcom as well as Marvel vs Capcom 3, but both of those games were over a decade ago now as well.  If Capcom would finally port his games to modern consoles that would spark some more interest, but for some reason they refuse to do so, even though they keep porting Okami and Devil May Cry over and over again, which are 2 game series that appeal heavily to the people who like Viewtiful Joe.

I found a petition for a Viewtiful Joe Remake on Switch. Only 15 signature so far, but with our numbers here in the forums, I'll bet we can make it happen. https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/viewtiful-joe-remakeremaster.html

[Mop it up]

I've always thought of review sites being something only enthusiasts would read, so I wouldn't have expected sports games to be something that earns high scores. I guess this was one way sites were trying to expand their audience?

I was always curious about Viewtiful Joe, but for whatever reason I never got around to buying it. Here's hoping for a re-release I s'pose.

Should I run a similar poll for another console? Which one?

If you want. I'm not your mother. Or am I? (I'm not)

Considering that you said this completely unprompted, I'm beginning to think that you are!

[Adrock]

I found a petition for a Viewtiful Joe Remake on Switch. Only 15 signature so far, but with our numbers here in the forums, I'll bet we can make it happen.

Ah, so 18 signatures. Very good.

A major hurdle for a Viewtiful Joe remake is that most, if not all, of the people who would have fought for the series outside of crossover fighting game appearances are all at PlatinumGames.

Considering that you said this completely unprompted, I'm beginning to think that you are!