30. Phantasy Star Online: Episode I & II (GCN)

While GameCube had the capacity for online play thanks to an adaptor which plugged into a port on the bottom of the console, very few games supported it. Phantasy Star Online: Episode I & II was the main reason to own the adaptor (as well as the rather brilliant ASCII Keyboard controller which essentially split a standard GameCube controller down the middle and welded keyboard between the two halves). Online RPGs are a dime-a-dozen these days on consoles, but Sonic Team's game was many console gamers' first brush with an online world and it developed a loyal following until Sega shut down servers in 2007.

29. TimeSplitters Future Perfect (GCN)

The third entry in the Timesplitters series, this continued iterating on the multiplayer-focused gameplay from many of the makers of GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark. Future Perfect added a co-op story mode to proceedings as well as enabling players to create outdoor maps in an undated Mapmaker. The game offered GameCube owners another fine dose of deathmatch FPS goodness, although unfortunately they missed out on the online play enjoyed by PS2 and Xbox owners.

28. Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean (GCN)

Co-developer Monolith Soft would go on to have great success on Nintendo systems with the Xenoblade Chronicles games, but this Namco-published JRPG still has its fans and stands out on GameCube thanks to a relatively slim library of RPG titles. Baten Kaitos fused turn-, action- and card-based mechanics into a unique battle system. Playing as an overseeing guardian, the player interacts directly with the characters rather that ‘controlling’ them, which gives it a unique flavour apart from other games in the genre.

27. Super Monkey Ball (GCN)

Times they were a-changing back in the early 2000s and for gamers there was no surer sign than a Nintendo console launching with a game from arch-rivals Sega. Fortunately, Sega hit the ground running (or should that be rolling?) on other companies' hardware with Super Monkey Ball, a fantastically surreal and vibrant series of gauntlets that had you tilting the terrain to guide a monkey in a ball to a goal. It really is all in the title, and while Sega fans might have felt blue at the time, this was a great indication that the company's spirit would live on.

26. Super Monkey Ball 2 (GCN)

From the team behind F-Zero GX, Super Monkey Ball 2 added something that was desperately lacking in the original game - a Story Mode. Yes, if you were wondering how or why these simians were trapped inside transparent balls and being flung around on surreal floating stages, this sequel now provided a much-needed narrative context and Monkey Ball lore was born.

Joking aside, it offered more of the same great gameplay from the original and proved to be just as brilliant a party game. There's nothing not to like!

25. TimeSplitters 2 (GCN)

Developed by Free Radical, a studio formed from several of the people behind N64 Rareware hits GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark, this sequel built on the foundation of the PlayStation original with a more satisfying story, more refinement... and generally more of everything. For Nintendo gamers smarting after Rare joined Microsoft's stable of development studios, Timesplitters 2 offered a thrillingly familiar-feeling multiplayer FPS deathmatch experience which we'd love to see return in some capacity on modern systems, especially handheld hybrid ones produced by Nintendo. Until then, we'll have to make do this the GameCube original.

24. Pikmin (GCN)

Shigeru Miyamoto takes up gardening and before you know it he's cracked out Nintendo's inimitable version of the real-time strategy genre. Featuring for the first time those tiny little plant creatures that you order around in groups to pick up rubbish, harvest fruit, and battle bugs and other beasties, it's disarmingly charming and utterly bloodthirsty at the same time.

You become very protective of the little critters that do your bidding and there's an immense feeling of guilt when you accidentally command a legion into a watery grave or awaken a nest of sleeping monsters that proceed to munch through great swathes of your army. The sequel might have had some great refinements and additions — and did away with the finite time limit — but there's something to be said about the taut design and focus of the original Pikmin. We like it a lot.

23. SoulCalibur II (GCN)

The Dreamcast original SoulCalibur was a momentous fighting game for home consoles that brought arcade-quality visuals into the home that had even the staunchest fanboys on other consoles gawping jealously at Sega's ill-fated system. Fortunately for them, a multiplatform sequel would arrive in 2003 and GameCube got a bonus that made it the definite pick of the bunch. Yes, the impressive visuals and weapon-based brawling was all present and correct, but Nintendo gamers were treated to Link from The Legend of Zelda joining the roster with the Master Sword in hand. That single detail was enough to draw in players who might never have touched it otherwise, and very glad they were, too. Take Link out and it's still an excellent fighting game, but he really was the cherry on this rather delicious cake.

22. The Simpsons Hit & Run (GCN)

Often considered a stone-cold classic, and one of the best-licensed video games ever, The Simpsons Hit & Run takes what Road Rage does and amps it up to eleven, sharing a little bit more DNA with the Grand Theft Auto series than SEGA's manic arcade driver, Crazy Taxi. This is a stone-cold classic, and it seems you agree.

The shock here was just how well the game depicts the Springfield fans know and love from the show, and how well this GTA parody plays. This game feels like a hilarious episode from the show, and every time you go back to it, you'll find something new, and probably get addicted for a few hours. For such a phenomenally successful series, The Simpsons has a pretty inconsistent track record with video games, but this is a genuinely pleasant surprise and a stand-out video game in its own right.

21. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GCN)

Seeing Metal Gear Solid — a game synonymous with Sony's PlayStation — on a Nintendo console was a very welcome, if jarring, experience back in 2004. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes was developed in the main by Silicon Knights, the same studio behind Eternal Darkness, and incorporated aspects of gameplay from Sons of Liberty into the original MGS game. It also boasts obvious graphical upgrades and entirely re-recorded dialogue featuring almost all the original cast. The new additions were generally well-received, although the gameplay additions arguably trivialised some of the original game's difficulty. Still, it's a fine version of a classic and well worth adding to your collection (although tracking it down for a sensible price these days is a mission worthy of Solid Snake himself).