The Gamecube was one of Nintendo’s worst-performing systems, right up there with the Wii U and Virtual Boy, which led to less recognition of quite a few of its games.
There is a bevy of underrated Gamecube titles that either went under your radar or got incredibly middling reviews despite being cult classics nowadays, and I’d like to cover the best.
10 Underrated PS2 Exclusive Titles You Need To Play
The PS2 was the king of the 2000s, which means a lot of great stuff slipped through the cracks.
I think all of these games deserve a thorough playthrough if you’ve written them off from seeing bad reviews, or just haven’t heard of them before, as they’re all bangers in their own special ways.
As long as you’re willing to spend a small fortune on some old games, since the Gamecube market is insane, or, you know, emulate them, I can’t tell you what to do.
10Mario Party 6
The Party Never Stops
Mario Party 6
Ask any dedicatedMario Partyfan what their top 3 games in the series are, and they’ll likely mention Mario Party 6, despite having a Metascore of 71.
It was given a middling reception and many said at the time that it was bland and did nothing to stand out, even though it’s one of the best Mario Party games to date.
The night and day gimmick changes the unique boards significantly every few turns, the items feel pretty well-balanced, and the boards are all quite fun.
I lovingly remember the chaos of hitting up Faire Square, gambling my life savings when it turned to night, then immediately being destroyed in Chance Time. It’s great stuff.
9Chibi-Robo!
Bite-Sized Adventure
Chibi Robo
A pretty obscure little game, and one of Nintendo’s franchises that’ll likely never see the light of day again, Chibi-Robo stands as a lovely little game that was soured by later releases.
It’s got that incredibly wacky energy you’d expect from one of Nintendo’s more obscure titles, with a plot focused on a tiny robot causing a divorce, or contacting an alien species.
It’s especially funny, seeing as that ridiculous story is being contrasted by Chibi-Robo performing mundane tasks like cleaning floors or throwing away garbage.
It’s incredibly charming, makes chores feel fun, and has you in a rush to get everything done and get as much juice as you can off a single battery charge.
8The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure
Playing Hard to Get
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure is probably best known as that game you’ve always thought looked cool but could never play, because of the hardware required.
This game asks you to own the GameCube, four Game Boy Advances, and four GameCube link cables to play the intended experience, and if you’re able to manage to get all of that, it’s a great time.
The Complete Legend of Zelda Timeline, Explained
To better understand the legendary universe of The Legend of Zelda, it’s crucial to comprehend Hyrulean lore and the famous timeline.
This is also where I’m obligated to mention that it’s very possible and very cool to use Parsec, Dolphin, and mGBA to emulate this experience with friends online, since that’s a great way to play.
This game has you and your buddies diving through caves in typical Zelda fashion, all putting your heads together to solve puzzles and kill stuff, and it’s awesome.
7F-Zero GX
Hypersonic Racing
TheF-Zerofranchise is a fickle beast,hardly receiving entries nowadaysand being tough to do correctly, but F-Zero GX, the final game in the franchise, got everything right.
It’s insanely fast, having you shoot down roads and winding paths at lightning speeds, while using your boosts to carefully navigate around your enemies to get ahead.
It’s one of the most thrilling experiences you’ll experience on the Gamecube and most consoles for that matter. The game combines intense speeds with precise navigation that feels incredibly demanding and rewarding, and it’s a shame it’s rather obscure.
When you talk about F-Zero, most people only know of the SNES game, making this incredible arcade racer pretty neglected, especially since Nintendo isn’t keen on re-releasing it.
6Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
Catch Literally All Of ‘Em
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
ThePokémongames on consoles at this time were weird main series adjacent RPGs, leaning more into the dark and strange side of the games than usual.
While Colosseum certainly exists, Gale of Darkness is, in my opinion, a better game with a more interesting narrative about Pokémon being corrupted, and having you purify them.
This extends to the other Trainer’s Pokémon, which means you’re able to purify someone else’s little buddy and steal it for yourself, which feels a little cursed.
Overall, despite the 64 on Metacritic, Gale of Darkness is a game that’s worth playing if you want something that feels like a main series title that’s willing to shake up the franchise a littlie bit.
5Wario World
Beaten To The Punch
Wario World
Wario games aren’t exactly known for shocking the world and being system sellers, so although Wario World is a pretty fun 3D beat-em-up platformer, it’s fallen under the radar.
It got a bad rap from critics, but it’s a fan-favorite Wario title, for having all the same personality and energy of Wario Land in a 3D space and letting you punch tons of dudes.
It’s an enjoyable mixture of hectic 3D platforming and fighting your way through a bunch of enemies to get as much money as possible, on top of a jazzy ass soundtrack.
Critics at the time panned it for only being 8 hours long and being a bit simplistic, but somehow, that makes it deserving of a 6/10, which I’ll never understand.
4Custom Robo
Tactical Robattling
Custom Robo is a sick fusion of giant robots, stealth, and fun combat. Somehow it received middling reviews to become one of the most underrated GameCube titles.
This game has you customizing a robot. If you can’t guess, then you use that mechanism to fire around corners and try to take out your opponent, all in an anime RPG.
It feels incredibly slick, especially being able to quickly jump and throw missiles, or dodge around cover, like an X-Com-style game, but not turn-based.
It’s got quite a fun, goofy story, and it has big robots fighting in a hologram, which makes me woefully confused as to how it got so incredibly neglected over the years.
31080° Avalanche
Slick Snowboarding
1080° Avalanche got middling reviews on launch, and doesn’t have the vibe of a Nintendo classic, despite having some of the best snowboarding gameplay ever.
It has you boarding down a mountain at really high velocity, with some incredibly good, rock-heavy music to back it up, and some fascinating track design as well.
Sliding through factories, ski lifts, snowy tunnels, and a city with a giant Mario statue all feel pretty awesome, and it’s baffling to me that this game didn’t sit well with critics.
Most outlets just compared this game to other snowboarding games and wrote it off, but if you’re looking for something more high-octane and entertaining, this is the game for you.
2Kirby Air Ride
A Hidden Gem
Kirby Air Ride
KirbyAir Ride is sort of the black sheep of the Kirby franchise, being a mildly obtuse racing game that was reviewed pretty poorly, despite being a cult classic nowadays.
I absolutely adoreCity Trial’s open explorationcombined with chaotic PvP and really fun items to mix everything up, and the other modes aren’t too shabby either.
The traditional races are a bit more simplified than other racing games, having you use a single button for drifting, item usage, and boosting, which feels a bit quirky.
I had far too many hours in this game just messing around the city and enjoying racing through all the utterly chaotic events, and I loved every minute of it.
1Star Fox Adventures
It’s Pretty Good, Actually
Star Fox Adventures
Star FoxAdventures is one of the more infamously made fun of games on the entire internet, with most people remembering it for Krystal and not much more.
Despite being a laughingstock for so long, I’m here to say that this game is great if you don’t have someone in your ear telling you it sucks and you just allow it to be its own thing.
It’s a whole adventure game where you go around exploring biomes that feel unique and alien, scavenging a bunch of collectibles, and solving puzzles.
It stemmed from Rare’s canceled Dinosaur Planet, which eventually morphed into this Star Fox game for some reason, and despite lacking the series’ usual vibes, it’s fun.
10 Best GameCube Games Ever Made, Officially Ranked
The GameCube was one of Nintendo’s best consoles and that can be seen in its amazing lineup of games. Which ones stand above the rest?
