10 Hidden Video Game Gems For The Nintendo GameCube

The Nintendo GameCube, the tiny little console with the great big handle, was originally released in 2001. Sitting between the N64 and the Wii in Nintendo's home console timeline, the GameCube sold just over 20 million units worldwide. More than the Dreamcast, fewer than the original Xbox, and far, far fewer than the PlayStation 2. It was, alas, not a commercial success. Still, the console had a killer line-up of high-quality titles, from first-party behemoths to internet-famous cult classics. They came on adorably tiny discs, too. So cute. Here are 10 Hidden Video Game Gems for the Nintendo GameCube.
VO: Ben Potter (@Confused_Dude)
Script: Simon Pike (@Sim198k)
Video Editor: Alex Winters (@MrSteakFace)
#GameCube #Nintendo #WaveRace
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[@Dzzy123]

I'm glad you mentioned Wave Race: Blue Storm. It's one of my favourite racing games ever. The water and weather effects were really good for the time, and I liked changing the weather to get different wave heights. Some shortcuts wouldn't be available depending on the weather. I also think that it had a nice learning curve to the controls. If it had online play, I could see it becoming very competitive with a good set of players. I hate that we haven't gotten a new one in over 20 years.

[@devingiles6597]

I agree. I wish Nintendo should make a new Wave Race game for the Nintendo Switch.

[@nellitheretrogamer8666]

I loved Baten Kaitos, it was my favorite Gamecube game. It also had a great battle music, one of the best tunes ever heard in a game. I wish the game would be remade for modern systems. And, yeah, it did have a wicked plot twist. I think I have played only two games that had better plot twists, KOTOR and Outcast.

[@TheGregoryodd]

As someone who put plenty of hours into Wave Race 64, never knew there was a GameCube entry, or, tbh, that it started on the Gameboy in 1992! Good work as always!

[@CuCuz305]

Seriously, how could you not know about the NGC entry? That blows my mind.

[@rodrigopimentel9380]

Wow!! Impressive!! Blue Storm is a classic. Play it right now!! You wil surelly love it

[@Thewordisfunkadelic]

I never knew about the GameCube and gb entry either up until I bought them both last week in a pawnshop.

[@TumoFiji]

Great list! I have Odama, Geist, Wave Race: Blue Storm, Beach Spikers, and Pac-Man Vs. in my collection and your assessment is spot on for those titles. Unique, fun and still hold up today! Cheers

[@JusticeJudge]

Nice to see Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution get some recognition that it deserves the game was brilliant and fun with suprising good variety of decks you could make with the small card pool, everyone once in a while i'll boot it back up have fun creating decks. It was me and my little sisters go to game when we wanted to play a co-op multiplayer game, it created a lot of inside jokes and was a blast everytime we played it and we made it a tradition to play it at every christmas for a good number of years.

[@blinxman4956]

The GameCube has some of the best first party line-ups.

[@joshuahuq]

Why does nobody ever talk about Custom Robo!? It's the most fun, chaotic, and critically-underrated first-party game in the entire GameCube Library!!

[@Phresh1Kyd2]

Came in the comments to say this. Still play that game now. That game had a nice story to it as well

[@markkoetsier6475]

Or on the subject of Robos... where's Chibi-Robo?

[@fruitlion8]

Lost Kingdoms, Wave Race, 1080 and Sonic Riders stand out in my mind

[@RamadaArtist]

"Everyone loves cubes." Say that to the enemies of Solid Snake.

[@wyzeguy6]

As a Gamecube lad, I loved seeing this list. Personally, Baten Kaitos was a favourite of mine1

[@ObamaTheHedgehog]

Great list, actually stuff people haven't heard of

[@DjFIL007]

Great list. Kururin Squash (and its GBA games) are some of my "hidden gem" favorites of all time... still play them on a regular basis, along with Beach Spikers (another great game). Odama was super unique too, but admittedly didn't play it very far.

[@wisdomisse]

Baten Kaitos is one of my fave games of all time - so fun to see it get some love!

[@DatGuy_83]

The only thing missing was Doshin the Giant. Also, I still own my disk copy of Cubivore. Love that game

[@SECONDQUEST]

I sold my copy for 350$. One of the best investments I've made. Now I'm selling Metal Warriors for $500. I love this bubble

[@jordandean6172]

Billy Hatcher was amazing, hope it’s on the list

[@MadDogReed97]

Glad you mentioned Geist, that was a badass game

[@plentyofpaper]

Wow. I made a point of picking up any Game Cube game that seemed interesting and unique. I've played 7 out of these 10. The exceptions being Beach Spikers Volleyball, Kururin Squash and Cubivore (although I always wanted to play Cubivore.) From the list, Baten Kaitos is a legit good game, as is its prequel. The rest of the list are range from not good to OK. But they've all earned a right to exist by offering something unique to the industry.

[@newageBoundhippie]

Kururin is pronounced koo-roo-rin for future reference. also worth mentioning for hidden Gamecube gems: Chibi-Robo ( still the best entry in the series....Nintendo should go back to it ) Giftpia Doshin the Giant P.N.03 Custom Robo: Battle Revolution ( though the subtitle is only used in Japan as it's the 4th game in the series )

[@bradleymcavoy3432]

I know its not a GameCube exclusive but SSX 3 is Awesome on it! I like it more than the PS2 version. 😉

[@Frokken]

I'm surprised Ultimate Muscle: Legends vs Next Generation didn't make the list. It's a highly underrated 3D Arena Fighter like DBZ Budokai

[@Cotivity]

The list was running out of steam, so you had to go big and by #1 jfc, you succeeded. I was in stitches!

[@musclebear]

Remember buying a gamecube and spending a summer playing wave race was such a great summer

[@adams4244]

I like how your video's resolution options include 720p50. Like...what? Is this the 1998 European CRT setting?

[@SeveredLegs]

Baten Kaitos was AWESOME. There are flaws but if you loved PSX RPG's, you will love this one, as it feels like a souped up version of those classics. The music is some of the best you will ever hear, and you will remember the locations very well after you finish the game. The card system isn't like tabletop card games at all and isn't hard to learn. One simple thing is you don't need to equip weapons/armor/etc. How it works is the cards in your deck are your offense/defense cards and they are shuffled for each battle. You select cards quickly, but are rewarded for elemental or numerical sequences in the cards. Traditional story with a fun twist. Some of the puzzles later in the game are annoying, and I just used a walkthrough to get through them quickly (I'm a grown-ass man that simply isn't going to sit and figure that out). The only thing that I consider 'bad' is the voice acting, which you will almost certainly want to disable in the menu as soon as possible. If you want to relive the good 'ol days with an oldschool RPG that feels new...-ish? This is the game. I tried playing the prequel "Origins" but got bored pretty quick. "Eternal Wings" is the winner of the two.

[@putowtin]

My Gamecube sits proudly next to my Series S and PS4, but tips for titles I don't have are always appreciated :D

[@kokotheclown2588]

For me Ultimate muscle legends vs new generation it’s mad underrated if u like wrestling like me it’s a blast

[@MadDogReed97]

Also glad to see battalion wars. Also another good one that should’ve been in this list is chili robo

[@GhibliNova]

GT Cube I think is the best racing game that isn't F-Zero or Mario Kart for anyone looking for a racing game with real cars

[@maximillionroivas3893]

I still have all these games except for that Kurukururiin game. Cubivore is definitely fun. I would also add *Chaos Field* and *Tube Slider* and *Gotcha Force* to the list. 👍

[@mrkarbon]

Beach Spikers is superb and i play it even today… very addictive.

[@mckenziejoy3019]

You guys are awesome fav video game channel, my only suggestion is to show the box art with the games (the 8bit is dope too I’m just saying put It somewhere ) if not it’s all good I’ll still keep watching , can always just google the box art 👍🏾

[@babeno3606]

I still have my copy of Eternal Darkness. I love that game

[@solaire8723]

i just left a comment about it too. That games the best game on the system. What a masterpiece.

[@solaire8723]

I know a lot of people likely know this game but the best game on Gamecube imo is Eternal darkness Sanity's Requiem. It's still a must play. The scripting reminds me of Legacy of Kain. It's absolutely brilliant

[@bobcharlotte8724]

I ADORE WaveRace 64 and was so pumped for the GC version but as soon as I booted it up I knew something was wrong... I dunno what it was and still dont know what it is but have tried many times to get into it and just cant. Weird.

[@unknown_pleasures1948]

Agreed

[@M1XART]

It's the freaking handling and the fact that Blue Storm only has 6-8 good tracks. All the variations included are total waste of time.

[@M1XART]

Cubivore is direct N64 -port. Nothing more. These may sound like obvious choices, but are often dismissed: *Sonic Mega Collection. *R: Racing Evolution. *Simpsons Hit & Run. *XGIII. *XGRA. *Star Wars: Reber Strike. *The Legend Of Zelda Collector's Edition PROMOTIONAL DISC.

[@jordans4827]

You are funny !!! Great video.

[@Alucard-A-La-Carte]

A lot of people make fun of that little handle that could, but honestly? My friends in high school carted that console to one another's houses by that handle, and later in the dorms in college, and it was quite handy!

[@stoozdee]

You take that canary back outside the mine right now, Benjamin Potter.

[@Xizfu]

Battalion Wars is slept on so hard

[@darklordyianni4463]

GameCube had quite a few gems, actually.

[@danielbradshaw1724]

I'm surprised doshin the giant isn't on this list?

[@sjspirtos]

My favorite, even with it glitches is Billy Hatcher.

[@jonassehlstedt5791]

Since I just saw Scott the Woz's new GameCube episode I jokingly thought "Geist" when I saw the title of this video. But jokes on me because you put it in there, you magnificent bastards!

[@LGF18]

I am a volleyball player for most of my life and Beach Spikers is by far the best volleyball game ever made to this day.

[@MoneyHoneyBunny]

Someone likes weird card games lol! Funny seeing 2 of them in a row here. And yeah Geist was great, a poltergeist game!? hell yea! Ive never seen Batallion wars though. LOVE advanced wars though, seriously great games. And wtf there was a Virtua volleyball game? Damn yo! Wonder if it had real athletes, Misty May and Kerri Walsh anyone!?

[@ryancraig110]

I'm kind of upset that they didn't include the super robot wars game for the game cube but did include a volleyball game

[@McHaro0079]

Maybe because GC is region locked?

[@ryancraig110]

@@McHaro0079 that doesn't matter they already put a Japanese exclusive game in the list that's region locked to you know hell there is even a fan translation there is no excuse to not put it on the list

[@RMK245]

It easy to miss stuff sometime, If they were to do a top 5/10 GC japanese import, It be a good candidate for sure on that list

[@ststriker]

Geist looks like it could be the spiritual (no pun intended... well maybe) successor to Avenging Spirit.

[@Edgel-in6bs]

You're right for all. Just a shame they're so bloody expensive!

[@michaelrichardson5562]

Love the cube 💙 ❤️

[@CrowTRobot]

Great list! I would add Kirby’s Air Ride- a game that I overlooked as something for kids. Then I found City Trials.

[@alienboy1322]

Kirby Air Ride is such an underrated gem.

[@deafomega]

Kinda surprised you didnt mention Lost Kingdoms 1 and 2

[@residentrump3271]

Ikr? I didn't play the sequel, but I loved the first game

[@melodycote3735]

Wave race is a classic

[@edgyswordsmanmanga4051]

What’re the background songs at 1:10 and 2:17?

[@segue2ant395]

Counterpoint: the handle wasn't massive, your hands were just smaller.

[@Becauseimbrian]

Do a list on Gameboy games you can play forever without competing!

[@weston407]

haven't started it yet but if I hear Eternal Darkness called a "hidden gem" again i'm gonna scream - everyone constantly creams their jeans over that game, it's hardly a hidden gem

[@dianeprima8031]

Another great video. Don't forget to subscribe to Nintendo Life for more. "That's more than enough waffling, let's dive right into things." Thanks Alex!

[@joeydecesari8211]

Geist is such an underrated gem

[@fresnokila3]

Didn't know Baten Kaitos was hidden ha! I beat both games every once in a while on my Wii (Gamecube died). I still hate that chicken you fight at the beginning of disc 2 though.

[@Spacething7474]

if theres no odama then this list is pointless YES ITS THERE!!!!

[@KyleS.1987]

Thanks Odama

[@Spacething7474]

@@KyleS.1987 #ThanksOdama what do ya think Odama's last name is?

[@catriamflockentanz]

2:50 Do Androids (or any Robots I suppose) count as part of the "Fauna"? 10:23 We actually know from the Instruction Booklet of the first GBA outing that they are supposed to be penguins. You are forgiven for not noticing though. They don't look more "penguinely" than any other anthropomorphized bird would...

[@stevenohlson5476]

Phantasy star online, best GameCube game ever.

[@SECONDQUEST]

Odama is really fun ACTUALLY

[@chchedda]

I missed out of some of these gems. Wish I still had my GameCube 😢

[@thomasgrieve1924]

Buy a Mame arcade console

[@RMK245]

If anything there always emu

[@nopenop1495]

Baten Kaitos Origins was the last exclusive GameCube game, not Odama.

[@foilbaby6759]

I've got the pill popping aspect of Pac-Man down

[@themissinfowar6629]

I can’t believe Phantasy Star has ANY fans

[@panterxbeats]

Batan kaitos real af

[@ianriggers]

The GameCube was alright it had Mario Kart Double dash on it!

[@metabeedude-i-rock5827]

Gotcha force.....need I say more?

[@dianeprima8031]

Exactly

[@glassesman15]

You Get A Like When Billy Hatch be named . . .

[@rad55]

There is a severe lack of Ashton in this video

[@trippyboi91]

Killer 7.

[@kylevanbeek2109]

To bad cubivore will run you an arm and a leg to buy in the wild. Let alone is stupid rare to find. I've seen it 2x and both times like 500 usd. Had the chance to play it once long ago when games weren't cool or collectable.

[@DuckAlertBeats]

It's like the PAL days of old with you boys 50hz ahoy. It's certainly nostalgic, I'll give you that :) ... Seriously why though? Even the very smoothest of games are reduced to a stuttery experience with your videos! 😰

[@eN1X]

You didn't touch on Chibi Robo and that is a travesty

[@PhoeniksStorm]

Gamecube was the very first console that i owned. Even if n64 will be my all time favourite. Gamecube will have a special place in my heart

[@luca91274]

Wave Race a hidden gem ? lol, launch title, hidden gem if you started being interested in gamecube in 2010 not 2001

[@brerkris]

No Killer7?

[@CasepbX]

These games are only hidden gems if you have no idea what a Gamecube is... Seriously Wave Race? A first party Nintendo launch game? Might as well say Luigi's Mansion and Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2 are also hidden gems...

[@MartynAndStuff]

*cough* Chibi-Robo *cough*

[@wantsome-zs5sq]

The Gamecube had Kururin Squash the PS2 had the Silent Hill series. Collecting for the Gamecube is pathetic. I have all 25 games worth playing on the Gamecube.

[@billcook4768]

PSO 3 is a fantastic card fighting game that just didn’t belong in the PSO universe.

[@Nbflowers1989]

Like spike everyone!

[@cloud9savagehenry]

XG2

[@cavauro]

niche mario

[@beyerrkluva1]

"offputtingly sexualized" It's downright hilarious how KZbinrs nowadays have to act like they are absolutely disgusted at the sight of digital boobies.

[@Spacething7474]

smh its pronounced "kuu-kuu-rin" coocoorin

[@aliensweathands]

👽

[@charlyy1337]

Wave race was not a hidden gem lol ffs.

[@HarryOsborneAS31]

Wave Race is not a hidden gem lol

[@jeremyjmusic]

Disappointing that you didn’t mention that Cubivore was called Animal Leader in Japan *and* that it was never released in Europe/The UK. I imported the Japanese version back in the day ! It was even more confusing when you don’t speak Japanese 😅😂

[@robin1741]

Star Fox Adventures is a really nice game. noone talks about

[@tmawd20]

"Off-puttingly sexualized" Why are British commentators so scared of hot women? XD

[@ObamaTheHedgehog]

Because the way they sexualize is generally cringe

[@ddgnp1057]

@@ObamaTheHedgehog The fact that there's 3 DOA Extreme games sort of begs to differ on that.

[@KyleS.1987]

I enjoy a good tiddy game, but I can certainly see how others would find it off-putting. It's no big mystery, really. If you're in the target audience, it rocks; if you're not, it's creepy and perverted. As a Nier evangelist, it can be *really* tough to convince people there's more to the game than a sexy android in a short skirt.

[@Spacething7474]

@@ddgnp1057 and none of them are good lol

[@waterheart95]

The common reason is mindless fan service makes them uncomfortable. So as a counter reaction they called it either weird or at worse gross. Now the real crazy ones actually think it's harmful to actual women and they have issues distinguishing between reality and fantasy. Also if you like it, you are a questionable person. This also applies to mainstream game journalists a lot of the time. Also see this with a lot of youtubers also.

[@zuokia]

Worst console

[@MichaelShulski]

What no Starfox Adventures? Really?