Everything You Didn't Need to Know About the GameCube Menu

[@solidskullz5736]

Back when I was a kid the menu mesmerized me. My little 6 year old mind was just fascinated by a 3D yet clear object and navigating it. I would go to it just to see it sometimes

[@Chubby_Bub]

When you’re a kid transparent and translucent objects are just mystifying

[@Daan_Knobbout]

I found the menu by accident by pushing buttons on startup, and I was convinced there had to be some sick secrets hidden here!

[@damian9303]

The fact that the actual GameCube that came together to make the boot screen folded and stretched apart to give such elegant modes and options compared to the usual graphical interfaces I was usually familiar with…it truly felt like transcending to the future, far different and better than the one we actually ended up in.

[@Toro563]

The Nintendo 3DS menu always amazed me with how sleek and clean it looked, it really felt like you were being transported to another dimension

[@maccamachine]

And all the music they made for the menus like for settings it all went hard

[@Edible132]

The third dimension?

[@chillbizz74]

they all had charm and the Switch has absolutely NOTHING

[@charliekahn4205]

@@Edible132 But somehow more, because every piece of 3DS software had its own fully 3D animated logo that took at least some advantage of the 3D screen.

[@trashtrash2169]

It got even better with updates. The black version of the default menu is the peak of creation.

[@sanikku5]

My favorite type of RelaxAlax video is when Alax goes on a design deep dive (menus or otherwise), so yes, more of these kinds of videos please!

[@the_r4ts]

Menu is what?

[@Trianull]

The reason you can play through Zelda 2 without the disc is that the entire game is loaded into memory. The same thing works with GameCube Animal Crossing (at least when played on Wii, unsure if it works the same on GC) since it was originally an N64 game.

[@imnotshub]

It does work the same on GC! The disc only needs to be inserted when saving/loading a town.

[@dissonanceparadiddle]

I miss this era of design philosophy it was so much fun and slick. Persona Devs please make a console menu

[@desh206]

There is just something about the gamecube menu that is both relaxing and kinda creepy to me,i think is't the cube in the middle of nothing in the dark that makes it a bit scary but the music is't what makes it relaxing as well

[@highmax21xx]

This was very fun. Yes please do more of these!

[@onlyjust7250]

I must say, when you mentioned videogame icons, you made me remember how awesome they can be!

[@saxeladude]

I love videos on menus my personal favorite of yours being the one on Shrek 2. when ever I play a game or watch a movie I like to look through the menus to look for secrets. It's amazing how much depth menus can have and the thrill of discovering something new. Like I can totally see how persona 5 menus are not only appeasing but can just as explorative as mementos. Though it is sad that with streaming movies you don't get to see as much making of segments and practically no menus.

[@UltraNurture]

The GameCube, PS2, and Xbox have great ambient menus that gave them a lot of personality. I’ll never forget seeing the GameCube menu for the first time thinking it didn’t even have one and I was amazed at how calming it was.

[@imnotshub]

Love how all of the menus from that generation were all weirdly abstract too. Gamecube and PS2 are mostly in the void, the Xbox feels like you're inside some kind of mechanical supercomputer, and the Dreamcast really does feel like a light peaceful dream, a stark contrast to its competitors

[@UltraNurture]

@@imnotshub I agree, I think the menus were something that made these consoles stood out to ones before and after them. They've created memories for so many people outside of playing video games.

[@COLSTERYouTube]

I’ve been obsessing over it in the past few weeks so I’m glad someone thinks similarly

[@PeuPater]

I'm genuinely loving these new intro gags

[@colebeck96]

I like NakeyJakey, but I didn't even realize he uploaded a new video becuase this thumbnail is so damn good! Thank you for the content Alax and keep it up!

[@imakecontent2206]

Can't wait for Alax to emerge from the seventh circle of hell for the his entrance in the next video.

[@theicycharmander3324]

Gamecube's disc error screen is so tame compared to the PS2's. Turns all the red to blue and yells at you that something went wrong. Creeped me out as a kid.

[@liam-no2kn]

Didn't even know it was the sped up disk system music, so cool.

[@mirage1049]

Honestly it's so weird comparing this new content to your old FNAF content, five years really passed fast

[@Bit_Boi]

i love videos on UI and menues it why i liked that one video you did about the shrek dvd so much

[@LilacMonarch]

First time I found this menu was because I forgot to close the lid and then I screwed around for the next like half hour instead of playing the game. Also that "progressive scan mode" screen is also used if you have a Wii in 480p (which only requires a component cable, super easy to get and any Wii works) so I see that all the time now. Speaking of the Wii though, I cannot express my sheer disappointment that they didn't put the logo and blurb on the disc channel when you put a GC game in. The Wii games get cool flashy intro things, they could have given the GC games a little love...I mean they did it on the 3DS for DS games at least

[@elitobin]

i cannot get over these new intros, he got that retention on lockdown 🔥🔥

[@robosmith8513]

lets freakin do it dudes. lets get this alax up to 500k subscribers

[@Riggatoni456]

Bro do the scariest console error screens on consoles, Maybe include specifically gaming PC’s too??

[@jumpmadmadness1222]

I like anything that’s about the game cube

[@moonbyulhub6082]

who knew binging alax's videos would summon a new one

[@holyblade12]

"dont be weird" still has "be weird" in it 2:57

[@ToastComix]

I love the random things we get if you did a menu breakdown of Ds and Wii that would be cool (Do they have enough substance for that..?!)

[@BendBern]

My man Alax, you should have mentioned that only NTSC cubes do 480P, PAL ones like mine are stuck on 480I ;__;

[@Cheatscape]

8:39 Is that a Treasure Planet reference?

[@parasyte_exe]

Looking Cool, Alax

[@bread9276]

I had, and almost always used the progressive mode.

[@kazucroco]

I really liked this one

[@HonorJanas]

Description inaccurate. Wii U Console Menu wasn’t talked about.

[@igxrdon7]

It’s gaming cube!

[@nachtdotnet]

He has returned

[@jacobaobert]

the progessive scan mode screen shows up if you play a gamecube game on a wii thats hooked up with an HDMI converter. also if you homebrew a wii u to play gamecube roms, but i recommend you nitnendon't do that

[@mangoseed5487]

I would love if you did a 3ds menu deep dive OH WAIT YOU HAD 3DS ISSUES

[@a_motobug9293]

Do the Dreamcast menu next

[@madden72]

Wii was best, hands down. Channels really felt like being transported to interactive experiences.

[@etherealbladerx8153]

😂 it all points to the fact that people at Nintendo grew up and lost creativity and imagination that they had as a young adult 🫤 im sure there’s some one up there still working past their 60’s

[@coonyman10]

2:36 I could watch that ocean overlay edit of the menu for ages. I think it's a legitimate enhancement to the original design. I love it.

[@Mimi.1001]

It sure is pretty fitting for a Dolphin to swim in. ;)

[@dreyishere]

@@Mimi.1001 I see what you did there. ;)

[@Andre-Time]

0:03 guys it isn’t fake, it’s just that his cosmic powers were so strong it knocked the green screen over

[@PSIUser658]

Guys, I think Alax is having too much Gamecube nostalgia lately. AND I LOVE IT!! As for menu UI, I know you don’t really like it overall, but it would be interesting to hear your take on the 3DS at least in terms of its home menu. I think it was the perfect mix of intuitive but also having the Nintendo charm within it. (Something the Switch does lack a bit) The different 3D title splashes for each of its apps, the little guy from the Internet Settings, the Notes app, the Nintendo Badge Arcade and custom backgrounds. So much material you can cover with it! Loved the new video you slug!

[@mechashadow]

Not like the Thumbnails have been Gamecube purple for years..

[@kingboodude1]

As a kid I didn’t even know that the GameCube had a menu. I always had a disc ready to boot, and it didn’t even occur to me that you could even start it up without a disc, so it blew my mind when I “discovered” the menu for the first time when I booted it up without a disc. I think it was because I had finally ran out of space on the memory card, so hearing that mesmerizing menu music caught me off guard.

[@tech6hutch]

When I was a kid, I didn’t know there was a button to make the disc pop out, I thought you just had to yank it out. It blew my mind when I learned that ~~last year~~.

[@KyletheReflectionist]

​@@tech6hutchWait what!?

[@McDoubleFunny]

dude you nearly gave me a heart attack because I have notifications on for both you and nintendo official, and quickly glancing at my phone I see “gamecube” and “nintendo” . You guys uploaded at the same time 😅

[@toypop96]

There’s another fun fact about the GameCube’s menu; the reflection effect on the logo and the cube on the menu itself is actually a texture, and it’s the same texture file (albeit higher quality) used for shiny stuff in Ocarina of Time, namely the N64 logo when you boot up the game.

[@damian9303]

The N64 logo in that game was hyper glossy, though

[@Sam0Ra1720]

Alax, I think you have singlehandedly made mama luigi and all those old ytp sound effects unironically funny for me again, thank you

[@aHedgerowFrog]

These types of videos really help me appreciate the small, often overlooked, things. Would love to see the NDS covered!

[@Kubasama_]

Man I feel like people forget that the Nintendo DS has games like "100 Classic Books" with its own game cartridge and I gotta wonder what other random non-essential "games" that the Nintendo DS has to offer.

[@zaxstarkaijein]

I'm VERY surprised that RelaxAlax doesn't already have at least 500,000 subs on his channel. I've known of this channel for years now, and it has such great content.

[@KingdomHeartsBrawler]

The Dreamcast menu was the OG of the menus. It really felt like the system of the future (and it honestly still kind of is with how much it pioneered. It was basically the proto-Xbox).

[@Agent1o1.]

The Wii U menu had one of the weirdest and chillest atmosphere I’ve ever seen.

[@KHAce]

As a kid, I was really caught off guard when the Gamecube would go to this esoteric menu screen like "What the heck are you!?" The only games I played for the first few years of my life were SNES and Gamecube games. I hardly knew what a startup screen was, so seeing it turn into this whole menu that you could manage things in was... well, beyond me at the time. It has a lot of personality, and I wish we could recapture a new personality in the next Nintendo system.

[@Maxxieuguu]

I never had a gamecube growing up but seeing videos of this menu always creeped me out.

[@VerbDoesStuff]

You know the real reason we're all micro-obsessed with these little things from our childhoods that don't receive much credit? Because they help us go through our emotions, by digging up old memories, and forgotten ways of reaching our inner child. I mean uh good video Alax i likeded and subscribbled

[@harubutjojo]

I love the GameCube menu but nothing will beat the feeling of turning on your PS2 and getting your ears destroyed by that "BWEEEEAAAAAAAHHHH" sound

[@MoustachioFurioso83]

I think you mean blessed and then soothed by the plunge.

[@Calabari1999]

Video idea? Hmm...didn't you say in your old Dragon Ball FighterZ video that you'd make a vid about you going over a vision of a game like DBFZ, but with My Hero Academia? I'd like to see that. In fact, maybe that's something you should do. Go over your old videos in their ends to see if you said that you'd wanna make a continuation on that topic or sequel to the video. I'm still waiting on the UI video after your old Video Game Menus episode.

[@ggnicklu]

I love how in this dimension there are 2 Alax. The narrator Alax and on screen Alax

[@Vandreand]

I miss it so much

[@ActingandGames]

Alax’s Walter White impression is unironically pretty decent.

[@PrimmsHoodCinema]

Oh yeah. It is a letter G huh? Lol I only ever saw a cube. Fire logo

[@a2lan123]

Hoo boy the videos about menus are back! Those are my favorites on the channel!

[@froggie_oggie]

Really digging the new outro music, and the pacing in your videos only seems to get better

[@ATalkingSock]

I would love more videos on menus.

[@SpinyPuffs]

DID THAT SOCK JUST TALK?!

[@rtyuik7]

8:45(ish) - actually, a lot of earlier disc-based games would do that...even on the same disc, Zelda:OoT will at least let you run around the same Area that youre in (changing scenes would require a Load though, so youd have to close the cover again)...and the PS1 was 'accidentally famous' for a similar feature, where you could load the Level from the game but then swap in a music CD at the right time, and suddenly youre racing in Gran Turismo to a Custom Soundtrack...

[@spadesshock7477]

I had a gamecube for about three years before i knew this menu existed. I found it by accident when i booted the console up without a game. It was amazing. It was like i found something special that i wasn’t supposed to see.

[@maccamachine]

It was amazing I miss when game consoles had aesthetic menus. One of my favorites is the 3DS though and all of the original songs they made for stuff like settings and they all went hard

[@Zach2K]

Consistent Alax is making me very happy

[@kittywar123]

Ey I got picked! Can't wait Alax

[@TheVillageMan95]

9:28 Am I the only one who would laugh whenever that would sound? For some reason it always had me in stitches when I was a kid, to the point where I would deliberately take a GBA game cartridge out of the player just for kicks. XP

[@joshuadarrell5226]

I swear life always be messing with me. My dad's name is frank and my little sisters name is Mariana and when those 2 game cubes popped up with the names my ear bud died and paused right on it. Coincidence?!??!?!....probably.

[@senritsujumpsuit6021]

WiiU is always my fav the shear amount of music per menu an app the whole thing about Miis being everywhere is so comfy

[@derncake722]

I remember when I was little, I borrowed Animal Crossing from a friend and discovered that it was also a game where you could just take the disc out after it initially loads. Gave the game back and just kept playing without a disc til I felt like turning it off.

[@nessexceptless]

Can't wait to see videos on all the other cool console menus. (And the obligatory video shitting on the Switch Menu)

[@jebdeb5181]

I was scared shitless by this menu as a kid, I would rush to turn the GameCube off if I saw the logo start to spin just to avoid it.

[@namuH_1]

The Wii menu always felt so calming to me, sometimes I leave it on in the background just to hear the music.

[@obvfw]

I didn't see the menu that much as a kid, since I always had a disc inserted when I turned it on. So on the rare occasion I did see it, it kinda spooked me. Weird noises, black background, no game. Or maybe I was just a weird child, since I was also afraid of the Warner Bros. logo and alarm clocks.

[@Vizery]

Only alax would make a 10 minute video on menus and I'd watch it all

[@typemasters2871]

I am today years old that I learned that the GameCube logo is also suppose to be a G, not just a cube

[@MasterHand4444]

7:10 I recently started playing Paper Mario TTYD with my best friend and we had no idea what progressive mode was when it popped up. This joke made me pause the video to laugh. I really love how snappy your timing is with the jokes; not too many to where the humor becomes stale, but just enough to where they catch me off guard in the best way possible. Loved this video a lot! Edit: For reference, we're playing the game on a Wii with an HDMI adapter, no emulation, so that may be why the screen came up.

[@damian9303]

Yeah, the message comes up more frequently if you’re playing with component cables on actual GameCube hardware. It’s the difference between an interlaced and progressive scan output.

[@DETahaX]

Sure, I want more Menu videos. Don't forget the N64DD menu.

[@burgergud2804]

Telex alsn uploads makes my day man

[@Neo_X90X]

Sup dude, been waiting for a new video. This was really good.

[@authenticlimeflavor432]

The gamecube has a *progressive* mode??? The woke mob strikes again

[@TaleOfTheToaster]

I was so committed to looking at Save File icons for Wii and GameCube games in the Wii System Memory menu

[@jimmy33music]

1:02 I'm so glad you're back, your editing makes me lmao 😂

[@idunno-.-]

Oh hell yeah, the mario and luigi series has got to be my favorite childhood game experiences. LOVED bowser's inside story, it's so nostalgic for me now.

[@rickydargence5948]

I think you can also play Animal Crossing GC for as long as you like if you remove the disc from the console after loading your town at the start (And not turning off the system).

[@Chubby_Bub]

Yeah, it was originally an N64 game so the actual game is tiny and can be entirely loaded into the GameCube's memory.

[@Repton0]

I love the "appearing in room" intros please keep doing them

[@thezombiefan777]

I remember when I was a kid and my friend had to go home, instead of borrowing his game(his mom wouldn’t let him) we would just pop the disk out and not turn off the game, I always thought it was funny too

[@VieuxCrouton]

Bro I would love to hear your opinions on Star Fox Adventures! I found it to be a really fun game as a kid putting the whole "Star Fox" thing aside, AND it has funny voice lines that you can use for vids! (the biggest example being the shopkeeper)

[@NunofYerbizness]

8:46 Strangely, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat almost Works the exact same way, in that you can still play the game without the disc in the Gamecube; It's just that the game only checks for the disc every time the game needs to load something, like stages. For example, you can play through the entire level of Cloudy Heights without the disc, but then the game'll ask you to put the disc back in the system to play Magma Coliseum, or if you wanna exit the level and head back to the kingdom select screen.

[@ODISeth]

Absolutely loved this, but I’ve gotta wonder which general menu had the most charm: GameCube, or Wii U

[@GunSpyEnthusiast]

i realize it now. relax Alax is what Scott the Woz would be if he refinished puberty.

[@NinHenry]

its awesome baby

[@CodeKirby]

The gamecube started it, the Wii improved it, and the 3DS perfected it. Wii U was kinda just the wii's charm but again

[@JustJulyo]

Nintendo has really spoiled us with things that people wouldn't care for but would suddenly remember it's missing feature settings

[@BiolizardthePrototype]

I spun that cube every time I booted up my Gamecube, whether I needed to or not. I just enjoyed the menu

[@senritsujumpsuit6021]

The ASMR silver of slapping the lid down

[@KloudKomfort]

Best intros ever

[@mazda9624]

8:45 if you remove the Animal Crossing disc at any point after the game has loaded into the menu, literally nothing happens and you can just keep playing the entirety of the game and pass the disc around to your friends with GameCubes in the same room. Also it’s crazy to FINALLY hear someone talk about progressive scan! I wish everyone knew about that feature because some people are *STILL* using composite cables in 2023!! 🤢🤮

[@jacksonlovesnintendo]

GameCube, Wii, and 3DS are my personal favorite Nintendo menus. Wii U is fine, but not quite as good as the others + with Miiverse dead, the most interesting part is basically defunct. DS, DSi, and Switch are all pretty straightforward, which I guess has its own sorta modern, sleek charm, but I prefer the more stylized approach of the first three I listed.

[@Bloxed]

The Gamecube's menu was very special. Only Nintendo would include the console's namesake as the primary characteristic of it's UI. Where are the Stations on the PlayStation UI, Sony?