Yes, the GameCube and all Nintendo home consoles are region-locked.
(NES has regions NTSC and two PAL regions, SNES and N64: NTSC/PAL lockout chip and NA/JP lockout is based only on the cart shape. GC and Wii use a separate lockout for each region.)
As for portables, all Game Boy systems are region-free, the DS and DSLite are region-free, DSi is region-locked so any original DS games with DSi enhancement will be region-locked when played on a DSi or 3DS.

to answer your question: a Japanese NTSC Gamecube will work with a USA NTSC TV but it will only run Japanese games. There are ways to unlock the region lock but you really should only buy a Japanese console if you have Japanese games you want to play or for collecting / display purposes.

Can't understand Japanese othe than a few words do no point in owning a Japanese console for me.

Just made 2 new purchases today! Both for $5. First up:

I've never played it, but for only 5 bucks I though eh what the heck.
Also got the classic:

Not a huge fan of it, but I never played it so I thought it'd be fine for 5 bucks.
Nothing amazing but fun games nonetheless.

Both are excellent games, Pokemon Snap really surprised me (im a bit too old for most Pokemon games)

Those slick 3D monstrous moving waves in WaveRace 64 were pretty damn Impressive for the time! Although i never cared too much for the game itself, but it was still a nice N64 showcase nonethelessy'!. How was WR: Blue Storm btw? I played maybe 5 minutes of it during the launch of the cube, but for me Luigi's Mansion especially and Starwars Rogue Squadren II completely overshadowed it.

Faxanadu. Considered getting it on VC until I saw the real thing in a pawn shop, 8 bucks. My NES is in need of a new connector pin though, I'm waiting on it now.

Never played that one unfortunately. The GCN launch game I spent the most time with was Luigi's Mansion. Loved it. Haven't played Rogue Squadren ll either.
EDIT: Holy crud guys! Mega man savin' the world important news! My TV is working! My little brother punched it hard and boom. Perfect picture!! XD Ooohh man I can't wait to get started on SMB 2. Then maybe Paper Mario! I'm going to take my sweet time finishing RE 2 though. It scares the crap outta me and I completely forgot everything, so it's kind of intimidating to go back now.

@Retro

Are you talking about your Toobular Tube TV that was on the flippin' Freddy Krueger Fritz'? Ya, I heard if you give these Tube Tv's a good whack they'll sometimes jump start back into gear again. It was the same deal with one of my larger 32" Sony Triintrons. All of the sudden this green filter-like effect would cover the screen for a few minutes, then it would shift back to normal/white . Some TV repair dude told me to give it a good Will Wonka whack and Kablah! It's actually working again.

I don't use it anymore, since it's He-man History. 'instead' i replaced my main TV with a 42" Plasma & 42" LCD which i switch around. And a 1992' 20" Sony Tube for Retro gaming. I'm still waiting for my Remote to come in the mail, it's killing me harder than Master Higgins tripping over a Trio of Super Snails! I can't wait to play Metroid and relive my 'short lived' Metroid NES experience back when i was 5 in 89' haha.

I could play Metroid on my 3DS, but it's just not the same.....Then again, does Metroid on the NES actually have some sort save feature or Password system? It would be pretty insane if i had to finish the game in one pop if i couldn't.

You're stilling waiting on that remote? That's some koopa troopa snail mail. Sorry to hear it. I know how annoying it can be waiting a long time for a package, especially an important one.
Ah, Metroid NES. I barely beat the game a month or 2 ago. On my 3DS though. It's very hard, be warned. The NES game has a password system, yes. You get one every time you die. It saves all your power ups and what not. You still go all the way back to the beginning of the area you're in with 30 hits of health unfortunately. I can't imagine having to beat it in one run. Even though that's what you're required to do to see Samus in her 8-bit blinding bikini! (Beat it in 2 hours technically, but what ever.) The save states on the 3DS version are a blessing. Good luck beating it on the NES.

Metroid on the NES has a password system.
Though the FDS version has a save feature (and subsequently the "Famicom Mini" Japanese version of the GBA port, since it was based on the FDS version. Unlike the US/EU "Classic NES series" versions and all versions of Zero Mission, including Japanese, which were based on the NES).
Though at least the ZM versions do offer to store one password at a time to the cart's save memory (which it will auto-enter the next time you play).

The thing I'm not sure of... does Metroid still reset your health even if you use the code on controller 2 to make the password screen appear? (I'm not certain, but I think Zelda let you keep your life meter if you used the code to make the save menu appear instead of intentionally getting a Game Over)

today's purchases...

latest arrivals!

Looks like somebody just got back from a nice little semi-RetroAdventure spending spree!
Too bad that poor little unfortunate SNES in the top left corner got dunked in a bucket of deep fried Guts man piss. lol

"Dunk man good!"

BTW, What's the mysterious NES game you picked up that's nicely tucked behind that classic NES sleeve case? And how much did that entire mondolicious Lot cost all together? I'm guessing around $200?

I'd be EXTREMELY impressed if all that came to under $200... A SNES alone (assuming it works) goes for around $70-80 online. Then again, one might be able to find a bargain at a market.

EDIT: Where did you find all that Mk_II, by the way?

I assumed he went to a few Videogame stores & pawn shops and got all of his buys there, because online all of that would obviously cost a fortune.
That aside, i take the $200 guess back. Hell, it would normally cost you that much for an N64 plus an SNES, a few crappy games and what have you on eBay if that.

OH my freaking crap that is awesome. Hey I see an Atari Lynx model ll up there with Batman Returns. Good pick up, how much did yours cost? I purchased one back in January for about $50. If you haven't played a Lynx you MUST play that one you got there. Easily one of the most under appreciated handhelds in the history of handhelds.

Gentleman, i paid slightly less than 70 euro or 91$ for the whole lot. Every year on April 30th or Queens Day my country (Holland) turns into one giant yardsale and thats where i picked it all up. I've had much bigger hauls in previous years

The Lynx (+2 games) was quite expensive at 7,50 euro. The mystery NES game is Nintendo World Cup. Here's a complete list:
Gamecube black console, 2 black controllers, 1 indigo controller, GB player, Nintendo 251 blocks memcard, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Need For Speed - Underground, Super Mario Sunshine, FIFA Football 2004, Mario Smash Football (2 copies), 1080 Avalanche, NBA Street V3 feat. Nintendo All-Stars, Sims 2 - Pets, FIFA Street 2, Mario Kart Double Dash!! + Zelda Collector's Edition, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Super Bust-A-Move All Stars, Mario Party 4 (all CIB).3DS Nintendogs & Cats - Golden Retriever (CIB) Nintendo 64 console, psu, av cable, mem. expansion pak, jumper pak, FIFA 99 (CIB), controller pak Wii Resident Evil 4 (CIB), Red Steel (CIB) SNES dirty console, 2 controllers, psu, AV cable, mint-ish loose console NES Nintendo World Cup Lynx console, Batman, Hockey Gameboy console, Super Mario Land, Super Mario Land 2, Game & Watch Gallery 2, Mario & Yoshi, Snoopy's Magic Show, Blades Of Steel (CIB), Zen - Intergalactic Ninja (CIB), RoboCop (CIB), four cart cases Nintendo DS Pokémon Mystery Dungeon - Explorers Of Time Supervision console, Crystball, Hero Hawk, 1 cart sleeve Gameboy Advance Megaman Zero 3 (bootleg) plus Gamecube carry-all bag, large Mario figure, licensed Black Yoshi, Star and Toadette plushies.

Wow, not bad! I never really got into the whole garage sale thing. I went to a few looking for furniture when my wife and I moved house, and was also on the lookout for video game stuff, but never saw anything worthwhile.

Just got back from the Flea Market, boys. Check out these deals.
Ninja Gaiden ll only $3 I still have to buy the first one!
This one's awesome... Contra only $3! My local Play N Trade was selling it for $24! Pfffffft! Really need to clean it out though. The contacts are a bit yellowed.

I could be wrong but I believe the NES game is Nintendo World Cup.