GameCube 10 years ago

[danholo]

I just realized it's 10 years since I bought my GameCube during my prolonged stay in the US. I probably got it late March/April. I arrived in the US in March at least. I wanted to get a way to kill time to keep me from getting lonely and bored and it didn't make snese to get another PS2, which was I had bought in Finland earlier that year. I remember it being a great year for the GC: Zelda: WW (the first game I ever pre-ordered and I got that Ocarina of Time/Master Quest disc), Metroid Prime, Tales of Symphonia (JP, could hardly understand what was going on but damn it was fun) and Soul Calibur 2 were hogging up most of my time. Playing as Link was a blast (who didn't play with him mainly?! ) and the music was wonderful and atmospheric... I just got SC5 and while it's quite good it doesn't even come close. It must be the nostalgia.

At the time I worked in NYC as an office gopher and couldn't wait to get back home after after 8h work + 1.5 hour commute to play. I just checked out some videos and it hit me how much I actually spent time on it... The GBA SP was also released, and I had gotten the GBA only a few months earlier at the airport on my way to the States. I couldn't resist. I could finally play with the lights off! The GBA library was also expanding with great titles and that's when I got most of mine. Megaman Zero and Golden Sun come initially to mind. Metroid Fusion I bought with the original GBA. Probably 20 GBA titles I got that year, maybe more. I remember going almost every day after work to Toys R' Us at Times Square which was the most convenient for me to check out something to buy. As a game store it was really well stocked. I even remember playing the GBA in the toilet at work for prolonged periods of time, avoiding my boss. Never got caught I think. (Probably got hemorrhoids though...) Not only that the GameBoy Player was released for the GC which made GBA gaming more enjoyable.

Can't imagine it was ten years ago. Time flies. I was 19 at the time. Now I'm trying to get back to my GameCube but I can't for the dear of me find my controllers, or GBPlayer disc... It's like a part of my collection has vanished!!! I feel incomplete. At least my GC Component cables are intact and working... And that silly Hori GamePad. Ugh. I want to play and until I hopefully find a box with the rest of my goodies, I am looking to buy a controller. They are surprisingly pricey. I find a GC itself to be cheaper in comparison! Oy... Does anybody have experience on those clone controllers that are about a fiver?

So, anyone else got memories from back then? It was a great year for gaming for me. Maybe it was a DC or PS2 year for you but it was truly a year that console shined, although it remained far second to PS2. Good times.

(Sorry if this belongs to the Retro area, just thought this might be pretty "general".)

[charlesr]

The GC was my first import console (apart from a US Gameboy which doesn't really count). Japan version from lik-sang (RIP) with a US switch.

I still have huge amounts of tat like hori pad and gbplayer. I probably have bb adapater too.....

Just recently started Luigi's mansion, with a 2nd play through of Beyond Good and Evil waiting in the wings.

[danholo]

I never actually played Luigi's Mansion. There were just too many other games to get that were more interesting. It seems to have a soft spot among collectors. Why?

[rmoxon]

Luigi's mansion is a very fun and original game. Upon release it didn't get great reviews but the only major complaint that the game has ever received is that it is too short. It still plays fantastic to this day. Good to see the sequel is getting great early reviews, might inspire some people who didn't originally play it to give the first game a look.

[Charlie]

Yeah, Luigi's Mansion is a lovely little game. If I'm honest I was disappointed with it ten years ago, but only because I was expecting a proper sequel to Mario 64, then Mario Sunshine came along and I was disappointed again. But taken on it's own, Luigi's Mansion is a fun experience and, like all Nintendo's best games, kindles in the player a sense of childlike wonder and curiosity.

Fond memories of the Cube in general though, Super Monkey Ball, Rogue Squadron, F-Zero GX, Animal Crossing, Resi 4, Super Smash Bros, it was home to some great games and one of the best controllers of all time in the Wavebird.

[Kit]

Rogue Squadron

Ah, Rogue Squadron II.

Still to this day, one of the best looking games you can get on the Cube.

[danholo]

I need to get that. Never played it.

[danholo]

Oh man... I just tried out some SC2 and played with Link and beat the Normal Arcade game and the disc could not be read. Bummer. The disc was pretty worn out. I hope it's that instead of the machine.

[PaTaito]

I remember that 3 month period when mario sunshine, starfox adventures, and metroid prime hit...

Probably the most exciting time in videogame history for me, outside of finally getting a snes mario world console set as a kid.

[sj33]

As strange as it sounds, one of the things I really liked about the GameCube was the Wavebird. It was the first wireless controller I'd ever used that actually worked well (not relying on infa-red), and quite special in the days before wireless controllers were the norm.

It's still my controller of choice on the Wii, much better than the Classic Controller in my opinion. I wouldn't play Sonic Colours any other way.

[mekanor]

The cube is my favourite ever console. The design/look of the console itself has not been bettered and d-pad aside I think the cube controller is flawless, I honestly don't know why Nintendo doesn't just release updated versions of it as their classic controller.

[Sketcz]

I wish I'd never sold Cubivore.

[wakka]

I loved the Gamecube big time, but what was up with the button layout on the pad?! I wasn't cool with that. And the C-stick being a smaller 'nub' felt like a style-over-substance choice to me. It did look cool though and it was EXTREMELY comfortable.

[Junko]

It's all about teh Billy Hatcher

[Zaki]

Try playing these games on the Dolphin emulator, they look stunning on a high spec rig!