One of the more unique and curious entries in the Pokémon franchise, Pokémon Colosseum not only thrusts you into the role of an established trainer, but you're also tasked with snagging Pokémon from your opponents instead of catching them out in the field.
It's a bold choice that we feel likely wouldn't go down so well in a mainline title, but feels right at home in this oddball spin-off. Friends can get together and take part in tournaments, and Colosseum let you link up the Game Boy Advance titles so you could trade to your heart's content.
We'd love to see this spin-off series make a return, but in the meantime this will be playable on Switch 2.
Proving that there's little that the portly plumber can't turn his hand (or foot) to, Next Level Games' Mario Smash Football (or Super Mario Strikers in the US) offered solid soccer action in a colourful package with Mushroom Kingdom residents brightening up the beautiful game and adding a little flair and excitement to proceedings - no nil-nil draws here!
The polar opposite of the simulation style that 'proper' football games were going for, this is a fast-paced five-a-side frenzy that did well enough to get a similarly satisfying sequel on Wii. Now playable on Switch 2, here's a fun fact: it started out life as a soccer-platformer hybrid in the prototype stage.
The follow-up to Pokémon Colosseum Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
Using the GBA-GC link cable, it was possible to connect any of the Game Boy Advance mainline entries to XD for battling and trading and, although it didn't change things significantly from its predecessor, it still provided a decent 3D Pokémon experience before the mainline games went into the third dimension.
Chibi-Robo is difficult to describe because it doesn't neatly fit into any particular category or genre. It's part-platformer, part-adventure, part-amiable helper game which mixes in elements of Toy Story as you work to help the Sanderson family solve their everyday problems.
The eponymous altruistic robot himself is a charming little chap who's starred in several games since this GameCube introduction (and he also has the most devastatingly cute amiibo imaginable), but he's never quite reached the heights of his debut here. Lovely.
Mario's decades-long run of hit after hit after hit is incredible when you think about it. The expectations each new mainline entry creates are astronomically high and we're continually gobsmacked that, more often than not, those expectations are surpassed with the next one.
Available on Switch if you have a copy of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Super Mario Sunshine lacks the immaculate polish we've come to expect from the Mario series thanks to its rushed development. However, there's a unique charm and brilliance to its mechanics and setting which make it an underdog Mario game, and who doesn't love one of those ?
As a direct sequel to Super Mario 64, it is not the genre-defining classic everyone hoped for. However, decades later we can look back and appreciate the many things Sunshine does superbly. The Sunshine Defence Force may be overcompensating — it's certainly got its flaws — but at the very least, it's still very good in our eyes.
The joyful, bouncing Isle Delfino theme alone makes it worth revisiting, so if you've skipped this entry in Mario's back catalogue, don't let its reputation put you off.
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
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 — one of the very best ever made, in fact — but he really was the cherry on this rather delicious cake.
Had it been released now, Luigi's Mansion would arguably be lauded for the charming and affectionate genre parody it is and its short length would arguably be an asset in an era when we have more games than time to play them.
As a launch game for GameCube, though, it wasn't what gamers were expecting in 2002 after the genre-defining Super Mario 64 launched Nintendo's previous console.
It took a while to be appreciated after the initial bafflement that it wasn't a Mario platformer, but after a 3DS sequel (not to mention the HD remaster ) and the excellent Luigi's Mansion 3 on Switch, it's safe to say the original has since received the appropriate levels of love, and it still plays beautifully.
The first home console Fire Emblem to be released in the West — and only the third to be localised — GameCube's Path of Radiance introduced us to Ike, leader of the Greil Mercenaries and rocker of a blue barnet.
The game was the first in the series to feature fully 3D graphics, and features (in our opinion ) the strongest story of any game in the series.
Ike would go on to join the fight in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and gain notoriety there before returning in the Wii sequel to this game, Radiant Dawn. Unfortunately, this luminary pair of home-console Emblems aren't too easy to find physically these days, with both of them still exclusive to their original hardware and fetching eye-watering prices on the secondhand market.
By modern standards, Path of Radiance is lacking somewhat when it comes to presentation, but how we'd love to be able to play it anew without having to crack out the 'Cube! Good news that it'll soon be easily accessible on Switch 2, then. We like Ike.
While debate forever rages as to whether the N64 entry or its Sega-developed GameCube sequel is better, we can all agree that both games are rather special in their own right.
F-Zero GX 's story mode helps paint a picture of the 'F-universe' and those cutscenes featuring Captain Falcon and the gang sure add some pizzazz. The series also certainly never looked better than on GameCube.
The breakneck speed and brutal difficulty might put some people off, but racing doesn't get much purer than this, and seeing as this was the last full-blown retail entry from the franchise to come to a home console, this is still arguably the hottest take on F-Zero going. Track it down.
Given the 'Cel-da' controversy that blighted the game at its initial reveal, it's fitting that The Wind Waker has come to be so loved and admired over time.
Where other games of the era struggle under the weight of modern high-definition scrutiny, Toon Link's maiden voyage looks almost as fresh as the day we first set out from Outset Isle to discover what had happened to the Hyrule we once knew.
It's not without flaws (and the HD remake on Wii U addressed many of them) but thinking back, we don't dwell on the repetitive wind conducting, the infamous Triforce shard hunt, or Tingle's sea chart extortion. No, it's the rainbow colours of the tempestuous ocean, the breezy panpipes of Dragon Roost, and the salty self-reflection our voyages brought about that stick in the memory.
Beneath the surface, it's very much a continuation of the 3D Zelda template laid down in Ocarina of Time, but there's undeniable magic in The Wind Waker, and despite its imperfections, it's still one of our very favourites of the series.
So there you go: all GameCube games on Switch 2. A fine little selection, wouldn't you agree?
Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life GameCube Nintendo Switch 2 Online FAQ
Finally, we answer some common questions Nintendo Life readers have about the GameCube games on Switch 2.
Are there any other GameCube games on Switch (2)?
Super Mario Sunshine is included in Super Mario 3D All-Stars if you have a copy (it was a limited-time release, although it's still easy to find physical versions).
Elsewhere, the excellent Metroid Prime was remastered for Switch in the even-more-excellent (and predictably titled) Metroid Prime Remastered . Likewise, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door brought the classic RPG to Switch and is therefore playable on Switch 2.
Other GameCube games on Switch 2 (not part of NSO) include the first two Pikmin games , Baten Kaitos 1 and 2 , REmake and RE4 , Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom , Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy , and Tales of Symphonia .
How can I change the ranking in this article?
This is a dynamic, real-time ranking compiled via the User Ratings awarded by Nintendo Life readers.
You can add (or even change) your User Ratings for every game you've played at any time, even after publication. Try searching for your favourite Switch 2 GameCube games in the box below and rate them to influence the order.
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3 Months 12 Months + EXPANSION PACK (12 Months) Image: Gavin Lane / Nintendo Life Let us know your thoughts below. New games added to the service will appear here, too. And if you're after a full list of every Nintendo Switch Online retro game currently available, we're happy to oblige.
