The Nintendo GameCube launched on September 14th, 2001 in Japan, and only two months later the United States would get Nintendo's latest console. It was met with mixed results, and after following one of our nation's greatest tragedies, sales were not great. From the very beginning, there was so much working against this little guy. Itౠ was designed with graphical power comparable to the PlayStation 2, its direct competitor. While the GameCube eventually caught up to its original projection in sales, the PS2 went on the be the best-selling console of all time. This was a bleak time in Nintendo history.
That being said, this console rocks AND rolls! It had a pretty solid lifespan, and in hindsight, a lot of gamers remember this tiny blue baby, fondly. For all of its quirks, we can't really imagine what life would be like without the Nintendo GameCube. So mꦡany games originated on this machine and would go on to greatness in future consoles. But, boy... did the Nintendo GameCube stir up quite a controversy.
Below is a list of 25 pictures from the Nintendo GameCube era that make gamers shutter with memories of unfulfilled wishes and broken promises. This neat little toy-box was a hotbed of risky innovation that some Nintendo fans would call TRICKERY. Whether it was bad communication or g🔯enuine surprises, we fought Nintendo on these decisions the whole way. Some of these entries had a unique and positive outcome! Though some had 🐽a negative impact that left us scratching our heads and mourning our wallets.
25 ꩲ The Broken Mechanics Of Super Mario Sun🐠shine
Super Mario 64 was arguably one of the greatest games of all time. It was revolutionary and paved the way for a slew of amazing 3D platforming adventure games. The f🤡ollow up was highly anti𒊎cipated, and it was important that they got it right.
Many would say they got it wrong; way wrong.
The first thing you notice when firing up old Super Mario Sunshine is the F.L.U.D.D. mechanic, which straps a clunky water-shooting apparatus to your back. If you don't like it, too bad; it's with you for the whole game. Between that and a world map that looked the same level to level, most people were very disappo🌸inted.
24 💟 How Did Anyone Hold This Controller?
When the console was announced, fans were eagerly waiting for the reveal of𝕴 Nintendo's new controller. What is it going to look like? How will it innovate? The N64's controller was a big gamble, but I think most people would agree that it paid off. At least,🔯 it worked for that particular console.
The Nintendo GameCube controller decided to firmly plant its feet in two camps; quirky Nintendo look and modern gaming controller look. Thus, the controller arguably served no camp completely. While this is still the standard Super Smash Bros. preferred☂ controller type, almost no one prefers it for any othℱer game.
23 The🔯 Problem With Disney Games 𒐪
You probably bought this as a Christmas gift for any diehard skateboarding fanatic who was too young for the blood and cussing of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. This would also explain why the receiver of this gift now hates you forever. This game carefully illustrates what would happen you let Goofy redesign a perfectly good skateboarding game. It's junky and full of game-stopping glitches. This was back in an era when we thought that kids' games didn't have to be as 🐭good as adult games. This might be true, but they have to at least work!
22 ౠ The Disappointment Of Sonic Adventure DX
You would think that a game that bears the tagline "Director's Cut" might have looked into the problems and issues with the original to make appropriate changes. You know... like a director might? Whelp, Sonic Adventure DX did nothing 𝔉of the sort, which was crazy for SEGA's f♎irst foot in the Nintendo door.
Simply put, thi🦂s is a bad port of an already bad Sonic game for the SEGA Dreamcast. Sure, you might have fond memories of the game, for either console. That's totally fine! But, when a publisher promises something by literally putting it on the box we expect the game to reflect that. Trust broken!
21 Didn't Feel Lꦆike Visiting A Theme Park
The frame rate? Bad. The graphics? Bad. The feeling like you got to go to Universal Studios without ✤leaving your couc𝕴h? Impossibly bad!
The problem with Universal Studios Theme Park Adventure was that it showcased a gnarly representation of a beloved the🐻me park with last generation graphics. It's very cynical. People wanted to feel something close to experiencing the park. This isn't a bad idea either, since most people don't live in a city with access to Universal Studios. It would be nice to see a real attempt at this.
20 ꦰ A Lesser Pokémon Game
We want a home console version of Pokémon, and we want it yesterday! Especially during the GameCube life cycle! What we got (over and over again) were iterations of Pokémon Colosseum. Essentially, it was just the battle mechanic from Pokémon without much of a story or traversing. That being said, this game is actually pretty good and inspired other great games like Pokkén Tournament for both Nintendo Switch and Wii U. Aꩵfter seeing this release, we learned not to expect a Pokémon game ꧅for a home console anytime soon.
19 A Shadow Of What Could Have Been ℱ
Anytime you find yourself feeling ungrateful for the Arkham Asylum series, just go ahead and turn on Batman Dark Tomorrow. This game is a mess from top to bottom, but it's so close to the kind of thing that 𒈔Rocksteady would later nail with their next-gen trilogy that it makes you sad for it. It has terrible controls, and you have to control this terrible game repetitively in missions that feel like pranks. Was this game designed by the Joker? No, because the Joker is funny, and this game anything but funny.
18 A Stran෴ge Direction For Metroid
One of the things that the Nintendo GameCube did right was turning the fan favorite Super Metroid into a third person action adventure game. Somehow, it ♛main🦂tained everything we loved about the 2D version but heightened it and adapted it for 3D.
Then the second game came out... and it was the exact same game.
It doesn't happen very often with Nintendo titles, but Metroid Prime 2: Echoes was very similar to the original game with very little improvements. Had it been a notable improvement there might not have been such a longꦆ gap between the third title and today.
17 𓃲 The Disappointing Wireless Controller
What a deal! You're telling me you can play video games cordless? Well, sign me up! Wait, what are these "channels" for? Why ✤isn't this working?
If any of the emotions expressed above sound familiar then you might have owned/operated a WaveBird. While this controller was an amazing innovation in wireless tech, it would be years before ♓wireless controllers would be perfected. Meanwhile, these WaveBirds live in our memory as a barely working piece of Nintendo history, whose promise over shadowed its capabilities.
16 𒅌 A Strange Tie-In ⭕
Even if you were looking for a budget game to "pick at" while you were waiting for your real paycheck to arrive, this would have been a dire choice. Charlie's Angels for the Nintendo GameCube isn't jus🐼t a bad game, it's one of the worst games ever made, according to . Even the PS2 and XBOX versions of the game out performed their little Nintendo cousin. Being that the film was also pretty bad, we probably should have expected this.