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[Oblivion]

What you're talking about is thematic variation, which is something Mario 64 did have. But Mario Sunshine had FAR more variety in level design and things you could do. Bianco Hills is possibly one of the most interactive Mario levels ever created. The depth and ability to do so many things isn't achieved in other Mario titles. Same goes for Ricco Harbor, a simply grand and awe-inspiring obstacle course. Looking at the massive network of fences, swinging poles and trampolines gave me a Mario orgasm. Sure, Sunshine lacks the thematic variation, but that is a pretty transparent and superficial way to judge a game. Echoes is far superior to Prime despite the presence of wacky thematic varation.

Yes, I meant the thematic variation. Thank you. But aside from that, there's also the fact that there were no magical items. Those 3 powerups for the Fludd didn't really do it for me. But like I said, I like the game, but it just didn't feel like a Mario game. Come on, dude even Miyamoto said he was disappointed with SMS. Why can't you?

 

[jaundicejuice]

I'll say this much, the Gamecube has managed to stay hooked up to my television a lot longer than the N64 did. The overall quality of the first party titles has taken a bit of a nose dive in my opinion, I wasn't looking to see the wheel re-invented with every game Nintendo released, but in some cases they simply didn't even equal past efforts. But increased third party support, providing a bit more variety in the systems library compared to the N64's, balanced that out.

That said, I still view it as somewhat of a disappointment. Iwata has prattled on about diminshing returns in a couple of his ramblings, that's what I feel I've been getting with Nintendo consoles the last two generations compared to the SNES and NES.

 

[blazinglazers]

I agree that GC had one of the best games of this generation, RE4, without which I would have never touched it. And I was an avid SNES & N64er. If only it had a BK... or even a good Mario.

Oh, and respect to 3DO and TG16, may their brief bright lights burn forever in our hearts.

Darkhorse one-off consoles for life.

 

[Farmboy]

In the favor of N64:
-Mario Kart 64 is good while MKDD is a plague on the series.
-Star Fox 64 is good while SFA is a plague on the series.
-Yoshi's Story may not have been perfect, but at least it existed. There was no equivalent 2D platformer on the Cube.

I'm not too fond of MK64, but I guess it is better than DD!! Yoshi's Story, however, was inexcusably poor. The Cube got DK: Jungle Beat (as you mention), which is vastly superior. And on the subject of sorely missed old school gaming, the Cube actually received a 2D Zelda game, which was thoroughly worthwhile.

On the subject of Mario Sunshine, put me in the camp of folks that actually prefer less-but-bigger levels. I also kinda the idea of thematic unity (and do feel that the levels themselves offered plenty of variety), but whoever greenlighted the Pianti character designs should be fired (at). Also, the game was needlessly lineair when compared to SM64 (less shines available at any given time, less places to go when you were 'stuck'). Other than that, though: great stuff.

 

[Lindsay]

shrug. even devout nintendo fans should prefer n64 to gamecube -- the gamecube library is fattened by multiplatform 3rd party stuff, but n64 has the better nintendo games.

and gamecube over genesis? come on.

N64 puked. I only owned 3 games for it and they were all POKéMON related. I played some others but all were crap. Agree with the Genny > GC though especially with Sega Channel involved.

 

[SA-X]

One thing people seem to be forgetting about Mario 64 vs. Mario Sunshine: Blue coin collecting sucked ass. At least the red coins were usually in the same area of a level, and you could get a billion yellow coins by just killing random enemies, but the blue coin collection stuff they added in Mario Sunshine was the last straw.

And Mario 64 not only had better level variety, but better overall level design also. Wet-dry-world, lethal lava land, etc. crap all over Mario Sunshine's levels. Just compare Big Boo's Haunt to that haunted hotel in Mario Sunshine and tell me Mario Sunshine has better level design.

Mario 64 > Mario Sunshine.

 

[bumpkin]

Preach on, brother Grug!

 

[Leatherface]

I love my GC. It has a ton of charm and a lot of nice games that I'm extremely glad I played. No gamer should go without one IMO.

 

[Speevy]

For having Pikmin 2, Animal Crossing, F-Zero GX, DK Jungle Beat, and Resident Evil 4, I'll always think of the Cube somewhat fondly.

 

[Shinobi]

Gamecube deserved to do better

Sony and microsofts marketing muscle and money did a good job of keeping nintendo at bay this gen.

:lol You say this as if Nintendo had no cash to spend...

 

[MightyHedgehog]

And I think the Saturn sucked as a non-fighting game fan. God, its version of Resident Evil was just horrible.

Deep Fear, man. That character, Mookie, and the awfully-written and delivered dialogue made that game. Seriously, though, there were lots of great, non-fighting titles to pick through...but this is off-topic, anyway.

 

[Striek]

You say this as if Nintendo had no cash to spend...

Not spending it is as good as not having it.

PlayStation >>> PlayStation 2

Just felt like saying, although S-E had arguably better output on PSOne, nearly every other company shines on PS2.

 

[AniHawk]

Eh, I liked the Gamecube. Just good memories like being wowed by Star Wars Rogue Squadron II's graphics (and stuff like the Death Star trench run), or playing Super Smash Bros. Melee with my buddies every single day after school (until we moved 30 miles away).

I really liked The Wind Waker, but it was a poor followup to OoT and MM (though storywise, I consider it superior, and as far as the overall world goes, I found it much more ...enchanting, I suppose is the word. The cartoony look really paid off in the end.

I also loved Ocarina of Time Master Quest, and it gave me an excuse to replay my favorite game ever with new stuff. It was a nice little (free) treat that I often forget. Gamecube was also the reason we got an upgraded Skies of Arcadia, the best RPG this gen.

Hmm... and then there's not much else until 2004. Super Mario Sunshine was alright, but not groundbreaking (though the FLUDDless sections were great). Metroid Prime was pretty overrated and boring. FFCC sucked. ToS was alright.

Pikmin 2 was pretty damn fantastic though. A high point of the generation for me. Too bad it was so overlooked. Same with Paper Mario 2, but to a lesser extent.

Resident Evil 4 was a surprise. I didn't think it'd be THAT great. Certainly one of my favorite games of the gen. Hell, maybe my favorite one period, we'll see how Twilight Princess does.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance was really good too... despite some undeveloped characters. I wish Nintendo uses that form of FMV in future games. It was quite good.

Compared to the N64, it doesn't really seem like a great system. There was something for that thing all the damn time, it seemed. However, looking back, it was basically me getting a game whenever I could afford one, or whenever a gift-giving event rolled around, so the immense drought didn't really bother me so much. If I had the disposable income I do now, I probably would've bought a PSX and made it my second system.

So anyway..

 

[captainbiotch]

The N64 was an amazing console for me, and I was predominately a PC gamer before then. That nintendo died when Iwata took over.

The GC was an abortion in single player content. It was the best multiplayer(split screen) console this gen, but that doesn't add up to much. Nintendo handhelds kick ass though.

 

[Shinobi]

Not spending it is as good as not having it.

Well that's Nintendo's fucking problem...to suggest Sony and MS squeezed them out is just ridiculous.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

N64 and Gamecube were both pretty disappointing(N64 being a complete and utter disapointment to me).

And who was it that put the Genesis in that category?

The Genesis could stomp both the N64 and Gamecube libraries combined, with one region tied behind it's back.

 

[radioheadrule83]

The N64 was an amazing console for me, and I was predominately a PC gamer before then. That nintendo died when Iwata took over.

The GC was an abortion in single player content. It was the best multiplayer(split screen) console this gen, but that doesn't add up to much. Nintendo handhelds kick ass though.

Iwata wasn't president of the Nintendo that released the Gamecube. The first hardware released under him was GBA SP.

 

[jarrod]

Just felt like saying, although S-E had arguably better output on PSOne, nearly every other company shines on PS2.

I dunno, I also think Capcom, Namco and Konami were doing better on PSone overall. I guess SEGA wasn't tho.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Just felt like saying, although S-E had arguably better output on PSOne, nearly every other company shines on PS2.

Yep, specifically Atlus who's become my favorite RPG publisher. Event though the system started out kind of slow with RPG's it looks like its about to give the PSone a big kick in the ass when it comes to that genre too.

 

[radioheadrule83]

It was the cheapest and it had:
Metroid Prime
Viewtiful Joe
Donkey Konga
DK Jungle Beat
Resident Evil 0, 1/remake, 2 and 4 (all the good ones basically)
Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes (were it not for the soundtrack it would be the definitive version.. its still pretty damned good anyway)
Super Monkey Ball 1/2 (<< best offline multiplayer party game this gen)
Wario Ware Mega Party Games
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (with Free Ocarina of Time)
Zelda collection (Majoras Mask)

It has a software library more than 3 times the size of N64. Hell it even has at least 2 of N64s best games. How could the N64 be better? Its not.

Rose. Tinted. Glasses.

 

[GitarooMan]

It was the cheapest and it had:
Metroid Prime
Viewtiful Joe
Donkey Konga
DK Jungle Beat
Resident Evil 0, 1/remake, 2 and 4 (all the good ones basically)
Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes (were it not for the soundtrack it would be the definitive version.. its still pretty damned good anyway)
Super Monkey Ball 1/2 (<< best offline multiplayer party game this gen)
Wario Ware Mega Party Games
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (with Free Ocarina of Time)
Zelda collection (Majoras Mask)

It has a software library more than 3 times the size of N64. Hell it even has at least 2 of N64s best games. How could the N64 be better? Its not.

Rose. Tinted. Glasses.

Mario 64
Zelda: OOT
Zelda: Majora's Mask
Wave Rave 64
Jet Force Gemini
Banjo-Kazooie
Goldeneye
Perfect Dark
Diddy Kong Racing
Starfox 64
Beetle Adventure Racing
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Excitebike 64
International Superstar Soccer
F-Zero X
Pilotwings 64
etc...

See, I can make lists too As I said before, for multi-console owners the GC larger library was largely irrelevent because the ports were generally not as good as Xbox ports. There's no rose tinted glasses here, those games above alone beat the GC in my mind

 

[Sunski]

All I know is that I liked the N64 and I loved the Gamecube.

Also Wave Race BS > Wave Race 64 (once you realised the handling was different and got over it!)

 

[evilromero]

All I know is that I liked the N64 and I loved the Gamecube.

Also Wave Race BS > Wave Race 64 (once you realised the handling was different and got over it!)

I agree with this. Blue Storm was my most played launch game (even more than Monkey Ball, Luigi's Mansion and Star Wars [fucking awesome launch]). In my opinion Blue Storm also had the better soundtrack, multiplayer mode and level design.

See, I can make lists too As I said before, for multi-console owners the GC larger library was largely irrelevent because the ports were generally not as good as Xbox ports. There's no rose tinted glasses here, those games above alone beat the GC in my mind

I'm sorry for the being the Nintendo advocate here (call me what you want, but I do feel the Cube is unfairly cast in a poor light just because of the N64-effect[limited library, poor 3rd party support]), but this shit needs to be put into perspective a little better. For one, how does the Xbox having better ports change the quality and quantity of the Cube library? It doesn't. In fact, with most games you can't even tell the difference and with others the Cube is actually better (Beyond Good & Evil, Prince of Persia). The fact is Cube had a good flow of solid 3rd party game and the N64 did not.

And Mario 64 not only had better level variety, but better overall level design also. Wet-dry-world, lethal lava land, etc. crap all over Mario Sunshine's levels. Just compare Big Boo's Haunt to that haunted hotel in Mario Sunshine and tell me Mario Sunshine has better level design.

I personally disagree. I will say the Hotel Delfino level was by far the weakest of all the Sunshine locales (possibly the only weak link). Mario 64 had its fair share of poorly designed levels (Wet Dry World, etc). Sunshine still has the best Mario levels when you compare the two (in terms of things to do, sub-levels). While it is a matter of opinion I stand behind my claims knowing that I've spent way more hours than I should with both titles. Sunshine's Bianco Hills, Ricco Harbo and Gelato Beach slightly edge out Mario 64's first three IMO.

 

[dlobro1080]

Someone mentioned "the event games" that N64 had that put it over the top, and I 100% agree. It really felt like there was always a game coming down the line that you had to have, or at least take notice of: Mario 64, Turok, Goldeneye, Star Fox 64, Zelda OOT, Mario Kart 64, Smash Bros, F-Zero X, etc.

More or less, those "wow" games have been missing from the GC lineup. While F-Zero GX, Mario Sunshine, Star Fox Assault are all GOOD games, they're really just updates of old franchises and not reimaginings.

 

[GitarooMan]

I'm sorry for the being the Nintendo advocate here (call me what you want, but I do feel the Cube is unfairly cast in a poor light just because of the N64-effect[limited library, poor 3rd party support]), but this shit needs to be put into perspective a little better. For one, how does the Xbox having better ports change the quality and quantity of the Cube library? It doesn't. In fact, with most games you can't even tell the difference and with others the Cube is actually better (Beyond Good & Evil, Prince of Persia). The fact is Cube had a good flow of solid 3rd party game and the N64 did not.

Why is it being a non-Nintendo advocate to like one Nintendo system more than another? My point is simply that I think that consoles should be judged in a multi-console context. To me, one of the pluses of the Xbox is that it had 5.1 support and 480p support for nearly every game (and yes, I know plenty of GC games were 480p) and most of the ports were superior. To look at a system in a vacuum is incorrect IMO. I disagree that you can't tell the difference on most ports, but I do agree that a few ports were better on GC (but not many). But sports games is a great example of where GC was irrelevent if you owned and Xbox and PS2.

I'll say again what I said before, the GC delievered more for the Nintendo-loyal single console owners because of the greater third-party support, but delivered less for multi-console owners than N64 because of the inferior first and second party libraries in relation to the N64

 

[Lindsay]

Why do people hate Hotel Delfino? Place is like a small funhouse with all the secret passages and stuffs.

 

[shpankey]

um...I don't know. It's the least satsifying modern console. It's hard to see the kick ass aspect. I guess it was supposed to represent a mindshare victory for Nintendo and that failed big. At least they didn't lose money as a company even if it probably did a lot to shave off their customer base. Hurrah!

well put

 

[evilromero]

Why do people hate Hotel Delfino? Place is like a small funhouse with all the secret passages and stuffs.

I agree. I enjoyed Delfino but I can understand the criticism against the level- it just wasn't an obstacle course like the other. It was definitely a different approach to platforming. And for me, it was an opportunity to interact with the mario universe like never before. Plus it really felt like one of those surreal dreams you experience when you're caught in the mario world.

um...I don't know. It's the least satsifying modern console. It's hard to see the kick ass aspect. I guess it was supposed to represent a mindshare victory for Nintendo and that failed big. At least they didn't lose money as a company even if it probably did a lot to shave off their customer base. Hurrah!

Statements like this bother me because I share a completely opposite perspective but you treat it as a matter of fact. I think many of my friends who also own Cubes and purchase titles regularly would agree with me. The kick ass aspect comes from my girlfriend actually enjoying games that Nintendo develops such as Pikmin and Wind Waker. Otherwise she wouldn't come close to my PS2 or Xbox. Neither systems offer something for a non-gamer like herself (that's her feelings, not mine). And then there's Animal Crossing, Mario Party 4 and of course Mario Golf, which was a game even my game-fearing parents warmed up to. So when YOU say it's the least satisfying I guess my follow-up question would be, what was your experience with the Cube? Because I truly (and honestly) would say the same thing about the Xbox, and to a certain extent the PS2. Will I get blasted for that? Sure, because both are accepted as systems that offer a wealth of gaming choices. And to be fair I own quite a bit of PS2 and Xbox software. But did I really enjoy any of those choices to the extent to which I enjoyed the Cube's selection? No. And that is my personal preference. You can't convince me that I didn't have fun spending hundreds of hours on Mario Golf because it didn't emply some advanced swinging technique or that 1080: A just wasn't as good as the original. And it wasn't warm fuzy nostalgia that kept me up till 3am for a week playing Mario Sunshine. That might have been the overriding reason for the initial purchase but it was the game's brilliance that captivated me. I feel like I owe it to myself to argue on the Cube's behalf because it is a system that is misrepresented on the forums. And I'm guessing it'll continue to be misrepresented simply because of some negative momentum created either by Nintendo's N64 efforts or bitter attitudes resulting from some variable I can't discover.

 

[Musashi Wins!]

Statements like this bother me because I share a completely opposite perspective but you treat it as a matter of fact. I think many of my friends who also own Cubes and purchase titles regularly would agree with me. The kick ass aspect comes from my girlfriend actually enjoying games that Nintendo develops such as Pikmin and Wind Waker. Otherwise she wouldn't come close to my PS2 or Xbox. Neither systems offer something for a non-gamer like herself (that's her feelings, not mine). And then there's Animal Crossing, Mario Party 4 and of course Mario Golf, which was a game even my game-fearing parents warmed up to. So when YOU say it's the least satisfying I guess my follow-up question would be, what was your experience with the Cube? Because I truly (and honestly) would say the same thing about the Xbox, and to a certain extent the PS2. Will I get blasted for that? Sure, because both are accepted as systems that offer a wealth of gaming choices. And to be fair I own quite a bit of PS2 and Xbox software. But did I really enjoy any of those choices to the extent to which I enjoyed the Cube's selection? No. And that is my personal preference. You can't convince me that I didn't have fun spending hundreds of hours on Mario Golf because it didn't emply some advanced swinging technique or that 1080: A just wasn't as good as the original. And it wasn't warm fuzy nostalgia that kept me up till 3am for a week playing Mario Sunshine. That might have been the overriding reason for the initial purchase but it was the game's brilliance that captivated me. I feel like I owe it to myself to argue on the Cube's behalf because it is a system that is misrepresented on the forums. And I'm guessing it'll continue to be misrepresented simply because of some negative momentum created either by Nintendo's N64 efforts or bitter attitudes resulting from some variable I can't discover.

If anything, the Gamecube is overrepresented on forums. And of course I wouldn't deny your opinion. It doesn't bother me that you enjoyed it, I'm glad! I think it's a failure in the market and personally, to me as a gamer - though I had enjoyment with a few games on it to be sure. There are people who like basically any game that gets mentioned on GAF and I have no idea whether it's fuzzy nostalgia or what it is that gives them satisfaction. I don't think there is any objective standard for such things. I do know that there is something besides the games themselves that most people on GAF seem to support when it comes to their game companies, and that's interesting in and of itself, but doesn't make me like certain games any more personally. I like Nintendo, I've been playing their games for 20 years, the DS makes me excited for them...but personally I found the GameCube superfulous.

 

[Oblivion]

I'm sorry for the being the Nintendo advocate here (call me what you want, but I do feel the Cube is unfairly cast in a poor light just because of the N64-effect[limited library, poor 3rd party support]), but this shit needs to be put into perspective a little better. For one, how does the Xbox having better ports change the quality and quantity of the Cube library? It doesn't. In fact, with most games you can't even tell the difference and with others the Cube is actually better (Beyond Good & Evil, Prince of Persia). The fact is Cube had a good flow of solid 3rd party game and the N64 did not.

I own a PS2 and Xbox along with my GC, and hell, even I wouldn't get a multiplatform third party title, minus a few exceptions (PoP, SCII, VJ). Many of the ports were indeed inferior on the GC, and that meant the only thing to look forward to on the GC were exclusives. Since Nintendo hasn't been having the best third party relations, we had to count on Nintendo providing compelling software. And Nintendo fucked up too many times this time around. And stop thinking we're "blinded by nostalgia" or "wearing rose tinted glasse". If that were true, I wouldn't be orgasmulating to the new Zelda. Not to mention I think SSBM is superior to SSB 64, as well as Mario Power Tennis and Toadstool Tour.

 

[Error Macro]

1080 needs to be in the top list. It's better than the original.

And whoever says MKDD is worse than MK64 needs to be taken out to pasture and shot.

 

[Oblivion]

And whoever says MKDD is worse than MK64 needs to be taken out to pasture and shot.

I'm afraid that part's true, homeslice.

 

[Musashi Wins!]

1080 is embarassing. Horrid.

 

[Barry Lightning]

For a console that many deem a failure, the Gamecube kicked ass

 

[monkeyrun]

I think you are all gay...

My opinion is right, your opinion is wrong.

 

[choplifter]

Gamecube was / is by far my favorite Nintendo system. not even the Super NES was as enjoyable as Gamecube, and I am greatly looking forward to Zelda Twilight Princess. might get an extra Cube just to make sure I can play Zelda TP without stopping my brother from playing the rest of my Gamecube games

 

[Apenheul]

I mainly use my GameCube to play gba games

 

[dog$]

I think you are all gay...

My opinion is right, your opinion is wrong.

Oh my stars.

The only thing the Gamecube is to me is that one system that has FZero GX and a bunch of other games I either could get on other systems or don't care about. Would've been nice if Unity didn't die.

 

[Sunski]

1080 is embarassing. Horrid.

Which one? I never played the 64 version but I loved Avalanche. And the actual avalanche levels were a great adrenalin rush - Just a shame there wasn't more of them/harder ones.

In my opinion Mario 64 > SMS (but SMS still great). OoT = WW (For different reasons). Wave Race BS > Wave Race 64. Mario Sports Cube > Mario Sports 64. SSBM > SSB 64. Mario Kart dd > Mario Kart 64 - Yet that is for fun value and not for "feel" as the DD racers do feel like they are running on ice and not wheels.

Everyone's opinion is different of course.

 

[margcho]

and it was the last to break on g4tv....

 

[cvxfreak]

Deep Fear, man. That character, Mookie, and the awfully-written and delivered dialogue made that game. Seriously, though, there were lots of great, non-fighting titles to pick through...but this is off-topic, anyway.

Admittedly I largely ignored the system for most of its heydey. But next time I'm in Japan I'll make it a priority to pick up a Japanese Saturn and some Japanese Saturn software. And Deep Fear.

 

[Baron Aloha]

The Gamecube is a better system than the N64 IMO. Sure, there weren't as many ground breaking games like Mario 64 or whatever but there are more than enough good/great games to make up for it. Metroid Prime and RE4 are better than anything on the N64 IMO.

And whoever says MKDD is worse than MK64 needs to be taken out to pasture and shot.

I'm with you. I can understand why people like Mario 64 better than SMS (I'm one of those people). I can understand why people like OOT more than WW (I personally liked WW more but I can understand why people would prefer OOT). But I seriously do not understand why people love MK64 so much. I thought MK64 was crap even when it first came out. It just wasn't anywhere near as good as the SNES version. I think MKDD is way better. I actually think its the best game in the entire series (I haven't played the DS one yet though). I absolutely loved the fact that you could swap drivers and stock up on items and I loved the special moves that each driver had (Toad and Toadette FTW!). Single player was a blast. It was way better than MK64's single player...especially on the higher difficulty settings. Multiplayer was also pretty good (I'm kind of partial to the SNES version's multiplayer myself).

IMO....MKDD > MKSC > MK > MK64