Nintendo Gamecube System
Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life

The GameCube console concentrated on doing just one thing well: playing games. This was also the last time Nintendo put itself in direct competition with Sony and Microsoft in pure spec terms before changing tack with the Wii.

We've compiled a list of the very best GameCube games of all time to help you fill any essential gaps in your collection, or just take a comprehensive trip down memory lane.

We've done this for every Nintendo console, so make sure you check out the best Nintendo DS games, the best 3DS games, the best Game Boy games, and even the 50 best Switch games — each and every one is a fluid list that changes over time.

The 50 Top GameCube Games

50. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (GCN)

A fine multiplatform game to come to GameCube, this was a real looker back in the day and combined a gripping story with stealth gameplay to match. With veteran actor Michael Ironside giving voice to protagonist Sam Fisher, this third entry in the Splinter Cell series is still regarded as one of the very best the GameCube version is still a fine way to play.

49. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (GCN)

48. James Bond 007: Nightfire (GCN)

Arguably Eurocom’s best Bond title, Nightfire is another game that aims for Bond filmic scale and actor talent without the foundation of an actual film or Fleming novel. It's an excellent first-person shooter, with a suitably slick feel and impressively cinematic visuals.

Oh, and it also did a snowmobile section way before Call of Duty, thank you very much. If you’re going to play a Bond game that isn’t N64's GoldenEye, you’d best make sure it’s this one.

47. 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.

46. Resident Evil 2 (GCN)

Squeezing RE2 onto N64 required a Herculean effort, but this is essentially a port of the PlayStation version with very little in the way of bells and whistles. 

The greatness of the base game shines, of course, and arguably makes it worthy of placement here, but anyone expecting a REmake-style overhaul was left sorely disappointed by this barebones version. Resident Evil 2 is a great game, though, however threadbare the presentation.

45. Viewtiful Joe 2 (GCN)

Coming from Clover Studio, Capcom's starry development team behind the likes of Okami and God Hand with members who would go on to form PlatinumGames, this sequel continues movie-obsessed Joe's story as he becomes a superhero and teams up with his girlfriend, Sexy Silvia, to defend humanity from an alien invasion.

Very similar to the first game, Viewtiful Joe 2 oozes style and energy from every pore, although it lacks a co-op multiplayer mode you might expect from a sequel. Still a belter, though.

44. Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness (GCN)

The follow-up to Pokémon Colosseum, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness released in 2005 and had you catching Shadow 'mon and 'purifying' them.

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.

43. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (GCN)

Without an official tie-in game for the prior movie, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers recounts the story of the first two films in the hackiest, slashiest of ways. This GameCube version goes all out on the action, with three different heroes at your disposal and a long list of combos to remember.

While the scope and roster would be beefed up for the sequel, this was just about the coolest retelling of Peter Jackson's coolest movie back in 2002.

42. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (GCN)

Striking a happy balance between the previous two games, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones manages to marry excellent combat and thoughtful platforming perfectly. Ubisoft seemingly listened to criticisms of Warrior Within and decided to give players the best of both worlds — with two protagonists, much-tighter gameplay, and a fantastic setting, The Two Thrones serves as a fantastic end to the trilogy.

41. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (GCN)

A collaborative adventure in the Legend of Zelda mould was something many had dreamt of for a long time, and the Four Swords part of the GBA port of A Link to the Past made the jump to the TV screen here in Four Swords Adventures.

There's a single-player game in there, but the real meat of the experience involved four players hooking their own GBA to a GameCube with the requisite link cable and controlling their Link in a screen-hopping adventure long before Nintendo went asymmetric with the Wii U gamepad.

It's a brilliant co-op Zelda game hampered only by the fact that it required so much kit to function.

40. Killer7 (GCN)

One of the infamous 'Capcom Five', Suda51's Killer7 launched for the GameCube back in 2005 and, in time, became a cult classic. It revolves around the titular group of assassins and a noir-heavy story that delves into governmental conspiracies and murdering lots of folk, naturally. 

It's an acquired taste, that's for sure, thanks to its slightly stilted on-rails, first-person gameplay that blends gunplay and puzzle-solving with eye-catching cel-shaded visuals.

It's an intoxicating mixture and one that makes for an unforgettable slice of video gaming violence and adventure. Even if you don't jibe with it, you certainly won't forget Killer7.

39. Chibi-Robo (GCN)

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.

38. Spider-Man 2 (GCN)

Spider-Man 2 took the basic premise of Treyarch's first Spider-Man movie game and fixed practically everything that was wrong with it. Spidey no longer shot webs into the clouds and magically traversed the sky — each web shot connected to a point on a building in a properly open-world New York, and for the first time swinging around the city just felt right.

The inimitable Bruce Campbell returned for comical narrator duties, and all the leads from the film provide their characters' voices with varying levels of enthusiasm/success. If we're honest, we've always had a soft spot for Maguire's delivery, although some people find it flat.

Regardless of its flaws, the success of that core web-swinging mechanic and the satisfaction derived from simply swinging around the city helped gloss over the bog-standard and repetitive fetch quest gameplay and delivered the finest example of a Spider-Man game available on a Nintendo platform. 

In fact, there's an argument to be made that this game's webslinging wasn't bettered until Insomniac's PS4 entry in the Spider-Man canon a whopping 14 years later, and it still holds up today.

37. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (GCN)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on GameCube takes all the hack-and-slash action of The Two Towers and dials it up to 11. This follow-up boasts an expanded roster, larger levels with interactive environments, Fellowship-wide skill upgrades and, the pièce de résistance, two-player co-op.

It doesn't go all out trying to retell the movie's narrative, but the sword-swinging action is more than capable of mustering up the excitement levels, all the same.

36. TimeSplitters Future Perfect (GCN)

The third entry in the Timesplitters series, this release 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.

35. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (GCN)

This enhanced version of the Dreamcast original might not be everybody's cup of tea, but it throws enough winning elements into the bag to outweigh its less-than-brilliant aspects.

With the multiplayer and the Chao Garden accompanying the main game, there's certainly plenty to do, and it's hard to find a purer expression of 'gotta go fast and-to-hell-with-the-consequences' than this.

In many ways, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle is peak 3D Sonic, then — with everything that entails.

34. Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN)

We're quite partial to the Nintendo 64 entry in the series, but developer Camelot didn't do much wrong when it came to the excellent GameCube iteration, either.

Featuring 16 characters and courses containing Mushroom Kingdom staples such as warp pipes and Chain Chomps, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour takes things up a gear without reinventing the game, making every bunker and green look suitably lovely and introducing some fun extra modes.

Given the dev's history and impressive catalogue of games involving Mario smacking balls of various sizes as hard as possible, MGTT is hardly revolutionary. But there's only so much you can do with golf before it turns into something that isn't really golf anymore. Ultimately, there aren't many better ways to spoil a walk than this.

33. Baten Kaitos Origins (GCN)

The first and only sequel to Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, this offered some gameplay tweaks but didn't fundamentally alter the base experience from the first game. It was released in 2006 when the GameCube was on the very last of its last legs and the developers made the decision not to move it to the upcoming Wii. 

With hindsight, that was an obvious error; Baten Kaitos Origins would have gotten significantly more attention than it found at the time on the then-ailing purple box, even though Wii was backward compatible. Both games are available on Switch in HD remastered form.

Interestingly, this was one of the first games localised by 8-4, the localisation house who would go on to work with Nintendo on the excellent Fire Emblem: Awakening and Xenoblade Chronicles X, among others.

32. Viewtiful Joe (GCN)

Crackling with energy and celluloid action, Viewtiful Joe is a side-on brawler and was one of the fabled 'Capcom Five' exclusives which would end up (for the most part) finding their way to other platforms. 

With an intricate combat system, it skirts into fighter territory with a dusting of VFX (Viewtiful Effects) that change the flow of combat and enable you to chain combos and use strategy to beat your way through Movie Land and rescue film-fanatic Joe's girlfriend.

We haven't heard from Joe in a good long while, but it's hard to think of a character who could fit more snuggly into the Smash Bros. Ultimate roster, coupled with a cheeky Switch remaster of this game and it's sequel, of course. Make it happen, Capcom!

31. Super Mario Sunshine (GCN)

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.

30. Beyond Good & Evil (GCN)

A classy action adventure from Ubisoft and Rayman creator Michel Ancel, Beyond Good and Evil spins a potent yarn of political intrigue, puzzle-solving, and investigation. 

Protagonist Jade must stealthily acquire evidence as she explores the planet of Hillys in an effort to aid the resistance and bring down the DomZ, a bunch of evil aliens suspected of pulling the strings of a military dictatorship that's risen to power. 

The base gameplay is fantastic, but it's the worldbuilding and atmosphere that sets BG&E apart and makes us excited for the prequel that's been in the works for many years.

29. 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 its arch-rivals. 

Fortunately, Sega hit the ground running (or should that be rolling?) on other companies' hardware with Super Monkey Ball, a fantastically surreal and vibrant new series that had you tilting the terrain to guide a monkey in a ball to a goal. Natch.

As it has been for years now, 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.

28. 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.

27. 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 with this, the GameCube original.

26. Super Monkey Ball 2 (GCN)

Super Monkey Ball 2 saw original developer Amusement Vision adding something that was 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! Did the Monkey Ball series really peak with the second game? Quite possibly.

25. 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).

24. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (GCN)

Ubisoft's 3D take on the iconic 2D original spawned several sequels, but arguably none of them had the finesse and focus of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. 

Using the same engine that powered Beyond Good & Evil, a rewind mechanic was sewn into the very fabric of the game which let you unstitch mistakes and gave the Prince a wonderful new gameplay gimmick to play with which felt exceptionally fresh back in 2003. There's an elegance to the gameplay here that got lost in the subsequent entries, where everything went a bit emo.

This was one of several top-notch multiplatform releases which came to GameCube and it's definitely worth winding the clock back and taking another look at, especially as the announced-then-delayed remake seems to be stuck in a loop.

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 — one of the very best ever made, in fact — but he really was the cherry on this rather delicious cake.

22. 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.

21. Tales of Symphonia (GCN)

This entry in Namco's Tales series, Tales of Symphonia, could be fairly described as one of those GameCube RPGs for non-fans of the genre.

The battle system is active and forgoes the static menus you might expect in favour of the 'Multi-Line Linear Motion Battle System' which makes things more dynamic for players who like that sort of thing.

This was the first entry to feature 3D graphics and although the plot might be a little workaday if you're at all familiar with the genre, there's a lot to love here.

The game was also released for PS2 in Japan, and PS3 worldwide, so the Nintendo GameCube isn't the only place to catch up with Lloyd and the gang.

20. Skies of Arcadia Legends (GCN)

If there was a positive to Dreamcast's untimely demise, it was that other consoles benefited from Sega's misfortune. A port of the Dreamcast original, Skies of Arcadia Legends was made by Sega studio Overworks, a starry team of Sega veterans, and was billed as a 'director's cut' of the turn-based JRPG. 

With minor improvements across the board, Skies of Arcadia made exploration a central part of the gameplay as opposed to other games in the genre and fans have been calling for a modern remaster of air pirate Vyse's adventures for a long time, although it's failed to materialise. 

Until it does, the GameCube is the best way to revisit Arcadia.

19. 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 thanks to a relatively slim library of GameCube RPGs.

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.

18. Resident Evil (GCN)

The original Resident Evil was a zombie B-movie classic which cemented the idea of survival horror in the minds of a generation, but also had a gloriously dodgy script and goofy characters that the series steered away from in subsequent entries. 

With REmake Capcom sought to realign the original with the upmarket production values of the later games, and boy did it succeed on that count. A complete overhaul of the PlayStation original, the power of the GameCube was put to use in conjunction with the beautifully repainted static backgrounds that still hold up today to produce a moody, evocative version of the Spencer Mansion we knew. 

With nods to its shlocky past, the game held surprises for veterans who knew the original inside out and arguably represents the best of the classic style, pre-RE4 entries in the venerable Biohazard series. 

For a system which looked so kid-friendly, the GameCube sure had some cracking M-rated games.

17. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (GCN)

The N64 original put an arcade-y spin on Star Wars flight games like X-Wing but its sequel took things to a whole other level.

A GameCube launch title and technical showpiece (alongside Wave Race: Blue Storm), Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader blended original space missions with key moments from the classic trilogy and really showcased the capabilities of the console.

The visuals and audio are still impressive — most impressive — today, and the feeling you get from locking S-foils by squeezing the analogue trigger down to a click and blasting into vast space battles against dozens of enemy fighters is the closest we've come to feeling like we're 'in' the movies.

It's challenging, too. Turns out that finding tiny whining spacecraft against a starfield backdrop is hard (let alone hitting the damned things!), but the tight controls and authentic feel of Factor 5's game make finally nailing that wily TIE worth the effort.

Other games have come close, but Rogue Leader is still the benchmark for flight-based Star Wars games on consoles. Given the chance, we'd jump on an HD re-release faster than a mynock on a power cable. Red Five standing by.

16. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GCN)

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.

15. Animal Crossing (GCN)

It's arguable that this series really came into its own in a portable context with the wonderful Animal Crossing: Wild World on Nintendo DS, but the N64 original nailed most of the systems first time out and this GameCube port of that Japan-only release introduced Animal Crossing's pleasant real-time village antics to the west. 

It's a series that you play a little bit every day and that's much more easily accomplished on a handheld system which you can whip out on the bus or take on your lunch break. It's hard to return to a village tied to a home console these days, but then again it's hard to return to any previous entry once you've become accustomed to the myriad quality-of-life improvements of the next.

 We'll always have the memories, though, and this first taste of village life was sweet.

14. F-Zero GX (GCN)

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.

13. Luigi's Mansion (GCN)

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 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 (which got an HD remaster) and the excellent Luigi's Mansion 3 on Switch, the original has since received the love it deserved and still plays beautifully - whether on GC, 3DS, or Switch 2 via NSO.

12. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (GCN)

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem is a brilliant psychological horror game that blends Resident Evil-style survival horror with Lovecraftian Old World magick and an era-hopping historical narrative to create something quite unique and only available on GameCube.

It may take you a while to get into its spellcasting and unusual mix of styles (and that may be the reason second-hand copies cost mere pennies for so many years), but once it gets under your skin it's a hard game to shake.

The fourth wall-breaking sanity effects always steal the column inches, but the ambitious, dread-soaked story deserves just as much recognition, and whether you're a hardcore horror aficionado or a novice that needs a walkthrough with the lights on, we recommend playing this any which way you can.

11. Pikmin 2 (GCN)

Removing the 30-day time limit that so irked players in the first game, Pikmin 2 expands on the original in every way, creating a larger adventure with more of everything you liked before, plus a host of extra modes (including a surprisingly addictive two-player component). 

Wingman Louie joined Captain Olimar this time around and the game also introduced White and Purple Pikmin, expanding the puzzling possibilities and the options available to you as the diminutive spacemen and their plant-based charges ran around gardens fighting beasties and collecting tasty-looking fruit, discarded objects, and ship pieces.

Some players might miss the tight focus of the original, but this is an excellent sequel and absolutely worth digging up.

10. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GCN)

Often considered to be the weakest entry in the Prime trilogy, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes nevertheless boasts the same brand of explorative first-person action that made the first game such a success, although with an increased difficulty and lacklustre multiplayer mode which took the shine off it for some players.

We'd recommend playing it on Wii with the added bonus of pointer controls if the difficulty is an issue, but however you play, this sequel is still an incredibly good game.

9. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GCN)

Some believe that your favourite Mario Kart game depends on which one you played first, or which you've played the most in multiplayer. This can lead to much contentious debate, but we have wonderful memories of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

While not overflowing with new ideas, the racers were presented as gorgeous fully 3D models for the first time, the two-driver gimmick was extremely satisfying and introduced a new layer of strategy as you switched characters and juggled items, and it has some all-time great courses, including DK Mountain (ah, that little shortcut at the end!) and perennial favourite Baby Park, the hilariously hectic mini-loop.

It might lack a certain je ne sais quoi if you're devoted to other entries in the series, but this remains a chaotic karting classic in our book. We love it.

8. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time / Master Quest (GCN)

'Ura Zelda' - an expanded 'Second Quest' version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time with remixed dungeon elements and other minor alterations - was planned for the ill-fated 64DD console, but thanks to that system's commercial failure, it got shelved. 

Fortunately, GameCube owners would get the chance to play it on this special disc that was available as a pre-order bonus with The Wind Waker (and was actually packaged in that game's box in some regions).

There's not much to say beyond the fact that it gave fans the chance to play previously-unreleased Zelda content, so it's no wonder it ranks so highly in GameCube owners' memories. 

A variation of the Master Quest was later made available in Grezzo's Ocarina port on 3DS, but this is the only way to play it with those classic N64 visuals (albeit with the resolution doubled on GameCube compared to the 64-bit original).

7. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GCN)

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess took the series back to an art style closer to Ocarina of Time, albeit a little earthier and benefiting from the power of the 'Cube.

For many fans, it was the 'realistic' Zelda they'd been pining for after Nintendo took a left turn with The Wind Waker's cel-shading, and although it didn't quite strike all the right notes, it still features some breathtaking dungeons, memorably oddball characters, and a unique atmosphere.

Setting a precedent that Nintendo would later repeat with Breath of the Wild, Twilight Princess straddled generations, bookending the GameCube and launching the Wii with some added waggle and widescreen.

We'd recommend Wii U's HD remaster over this, but if you happen to have a copy of the (now very expensive) GameCube disc to hand, TP still delivers.

6. The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition (GCN)

A promotional disc that was bundled with hardware or made available in a variety of ways to GameCube players across the globe, it's hard to argue with the quality of the games on offer here.

It contains the original Legend of Zelda and Zelda II for NES as well as the N64 entries Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. 

The emulation of the latter two wasn't perfect, but as a means of playing past Zeldas on your shiny new GameCube for the pleasing entry price of $0, it was a very fine collection indeed.

5. Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN)

There's a reason that to this day Super Smash Bros. Melee has a dedicated hardcore following in the fighter community. It wasn't just one of the best multiplayer GameCube games, it's an all-time great across all platforms.

Fans will say it's tighter, faster, and requires more skill than other entries. They'll point to it being far more entertaining to watch than its successors, down to this faster pace. They'll point out its better balance. All compelling arguments for why this remains one of the most popular GameCube games of all time.

More broadly, though, it's a brilliant local multiplayer brawler that sanded the rough edges off the N64 original, added a metric ton of content, and — yes — feels the most balanced of all entries in the series before the roster ballooned.

Smash would continue to grow from here on out, but there's an elegance and purity to the Nintendo GameCube iteration that makes it worth revisiting if you're knee-deep in Ultimate and want to try a different flavour of superstar brawling.

4. Resident Evil 4 (GCN)

Resident Evil 4 was a watershed moment for survival horror Capcom's series. 

Shedding the genre-defining fixed-camera gameplay of the previous titles, it traded a little of that survival horror for a boatload of tight, tense action and not only revitalised the series, but set the blueprint for a decade of third-person actions games. So brilliant was RE4 that it's taken until relatively recently for the series to escape its shadow.

The game was designed with Nintendo's hardware in mind and despite going on to appear on practically every other home console produced since the GameCube, the original system is still one of the best places to play it, with the GameCube controller marrying the design perfectly (although the recent Switch version isn't bad, either). 

The series has had its ups and downs like any other, but it's hard to argue that RE4 isn't the best it's ever been.

3. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN)

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.

2. Metroid Prime (GCN)

Metroid Prime is the kind of game that people say 'shouldn't' have worked. Despite finding the 2D heart of both the Mario and Zelda franchises and transplanting them into 3D, somehow there was extreme scepticism that it could also be done with the Metroid series as well.

Perhaps it was because second-party studio Retro Studios was at the helm rather than Shigeru Miyamoto and his band of wizards at Nintendo HQ, but Retro managed to produce one of the finest games on the system, or indeed any system.

The design, extraordinary atmosphere and sense of exploration and progression of the 2D games all transfer incredibly well into a first-person shooter, and while the Wii version might have added the IR pointer control scheme of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, there's still something to be said for experiencing the original using the controller it was designed for.

With Metroid Prime 4 finally here, now is a great time to rediscover the original and what made it so great. And with the sublime Metroid Prime Remastered, it's never been easier.

1. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (GCN)

The power of GameCube enabled greater fidelity of its paper-based art style than the original, but otherwise Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door stuck closely to the original's blueprint.

It's a wonderfully colourful adventure packed with clever callbacks to the portly plumber's history and the same irreverent spirit which makes so many Mario RPGs refreshingly different from the mascot's platformers. Where other entries have dropped the ball in an area or two, Thousand-Year Door gets everything right; plot, writing, battles, presentation - the lot.

Prices for a GameCube disc have skyrocketed in recent years and given the quality, it's not hard to see why. Treasure your copy if you've got one, and perhaps lend it to a trusted friend who never visited the town of Rogueport.

And if you don't have a copy or a GameCube? Well, that's what the Switch version's for!

That wraps up our pick of the best GameCube games of all time!

Nintendo GameCube FAQ

Whew! Well done for reading this far! To finish things up we'll answer some of the most common questions our readers have about the Nintendo GameCube.

When was the GameCube console released?

Your own particular GameCube release date depended very much on which region of the world you lived in at the time.

Unfortunately, those of us in Europe had to wait almost eight months longer than those in Japan to get our hands on Nintendo's latest hardware!

Here's when the GameCube released in all three of the major gaming regions back in 2001 / 2002:

  • Japan: September 14th 2001
  • US: November 18th 2001
  • Europe: May 3rd 2002

How many GameCube games are there?

According to Wikipedia’s list of GameCube games, a total of 651 Nintendo GameCube games were released during the console’s entire lifespan.

There’s some variation in the number of releases between the Europe, Japan and US territories, but you'll find all GameCube games listed by region on that page.

What were the best multiplayer GameCube games?

The Nintendo GameCube was a fantastically portable system (it even had a little handle for easy transportation), and so it should come as no surprise to learn it was supported by some equally fantastic multiplayer games. Just pick it up, take it to your pal's house and play.

Here's our pick of the best multiplayer GameCube games that made it into this article. Just scroll up if you'd like more detail on each one - we’ve included the rankings to help you find them nice and quickly.

  • #49 - WarioWare, Inc: Mega Party Game$!
  • #30 - TimeSplitters Future Perfect
  • #27 - TimeSplitters 2
  • #16 - Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
  • #6 - Super Smash Bros. Melee

Are there any good four-player GameCube games?

Need a GameCube game to entertain four players in particular? These are the titles that we recommend for the largest multiplayer sessions supported by the console:

  • #49 - WarioWare, Inc: Mega Party Game$!
  • #27 - TimeSplitters 2
  • #16 - Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
  • #6 - Super Smash Bros. Melee

What are the best GameCube exclusive games?

If we're talking about the best GameCube exclusive games that only ever came out on this particular console, we'd pick the following from this collection:

  • #16 - Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
  • #14 - Animal Crossing
  • #12- F-Zero GX
  • #9 - Eternal Darkness

If, on the other hand, you're interested in GameCube games that were exclusive at the time, but then were also released on subsequent Nintendo consoles...

  • #1 - Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
  • #2 - Metroid Prime
  • #3 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
  • #5 - The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition
  • #6 - Super Smash Bros: Mele

In other words, the first five entries from our list of top GameCube games, minus Resident Evil! That's the power of Nintendo's game design magic for you.

Where can you buy GameCube games?

If you’ve dusted off your old Nintendo GameCube and you’re looking for some original boxed games, your best bet is to head to an online marketplace like eBay or Facebook Marketplace.

There you’ll find thriving communities of collectors, but just be ready to pay a premium for some of the rarer or the most popular GameCube games.

Alternatively you can try your local gaming stores for second-hand stock, although this is increasingly difficult to come by as time goes by.

How big are GameCube games?

As you’d expect, the size of an individual Nintendo GameCube game varies greatly between individual titles.

In terms of physical media capacity though, Nintendo chose to release its GameCube console games using the mini-DVD technology.

That puts a maximum file size limit of 1.4 Gigabytes on any given game.

How can I add a game to this article?

Disagree with the ranking? Well, you can do something about it by searching for your favourite games in the box below and voting for them instead!

Note. In order for games to become eligible, they need a minimum of 50 User Ratings in total. Don't forget that you can browse all GameCube games in our massive database too

Until then, check out our Hardware Classics feature on the GameCube for a brief history of the console and then crack out the Wavebirds and enjoy some of the beauties on this list.