Gaming Retrospective (Part 5)

The N64 well was running dry. To my dismay, it was dying out even though we'd only just gotten it less than a couple years ago. Now, there were new systems in town: The PlayStation 2, the GameCube, and the Xbox. I had a problem. My brother wanted to get a PS2. I wanted a GameCube. As our savings grew, I was increasingly worried that we'd miss out on the Cube and buy the PS2 instead. I needed a way to bring my brother back to Nintendo.

I got my wish in an issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, which I occasionally grabbed off the magazine rack if the issue looked cool (my first issue featured a Pokemon Gold and Silver preview, my second was about the Game Boy Advance, and my third I simply purchased because I wanted something video game-y to read). Anyway, this issue featured a review of Super Smash Brothers Melee, and it sounded like an amazing game. My brother and I had rented and loved the original Smash Brothers, and the glowing reviews of its sequel swayed my brother into wanting a Cube as well. The number one line from the review that we both loved (perhaps because we were both still kids in 2002) was "If the first game made you happy, the sequel will make you crap your pants with glee".

And so we got the Cube, but not with Smash Brothers because the store was out of copies. Our first game was Luigi's Mansion. But we had a problem. A BIG problem. You see, the Cube was our first disc-based system. We didn't know how they worked. We didn't get a memory card.

Ever tried to play a GameCube with no memory card? It's not fun. Ever seen the first twenty minutes of Luigi's Mansion two dozen times? I have. The N64 wound up retaking its position as alpha console, the stunted Cube getting neglected. It wasn't until Christmas of that year that we finally got SSBM and a memory card.

I've played a ton of great games on the Cube, and I might go so far as to call it my favorite system overall. I have more GameCube games than any other type of video game. I continued buying and playing new games for it well into the Wii's appearance.

GB's GameCube Favorites:
-Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Top contender for favorite game of all time)
-Skies of Arcadia Legends (Another contender)
-Super Smash Brothers Melee
-Mortal Kombat Deception
-Animal Crossing
-Kirby Air Ride
-Super Mario Sunshine
-Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
-Mario Kart: Double Dash
-Sonic Adventure 2 Battle
-Sonic Mega Collection (Highly recommended if you don't have a Genesis)
-Lego Star Wars 2