Two Lists of 20 Games That I Would Want/Expect to See if Nintendo Added GameCube Games to Switch Online
As Nintendo grows its Nintendo Switch Online and Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass libraries of old games, I thought it’d be fun to dream a little. What if Nintendo added GameCube games to the service? First, the GameCube library would almost certainly be part of NSO + EP meaning you have to spend more, but with more and more games it becomes more and more worth it. That being said, I decided to put together two lists of GameCube games that should be added if they were ever launched.
The first list is going to be my own personal wishlist with some reasons as to why I want them and the second list will be the top 20 games according to Metacritic for the GameCube. I’m sure they’re pretty different. I do want to say that while I love Super Smash Bros. Melee, I decided to not include it on my list because the N64 version of Super Smash Bros. isn’t available either and because I like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate enough to not care about having Melee even though I know there’s a pretty large community for Melee. I recognize it’s good and important, but I decided to leave it off of my list. Also, I thought it would be funny and pretty on-brand for Nintendo to bring us Donkey Konga, but in the end I decided it would be a bit too much because of the need for the awesome bongos.
My Wishlist
Mario Kart: Double Dash
This is my favorite Mario Kart! It had a streamlined interface for selecting characters and karts, the cast was awesome, each character had a unique item, and you could swap character positions so you could strategize which weapon to use.
Luigi’s Mansion
I haven’t played it, but the third entry is a lot of fun and this is a great way to have a Mario-adjacent game on the roster.
Pokémon Colosseum/Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
I never played Gale of Darkness, but Pokémon Colosseum was fantastic fun. It was a dark and gritty Pokémon game where you started with Espeon and Umbreon and could use Pokémon from your GBA games. My only complaint is that everything is a double battle.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Paper Mario games are always fun, so this was an easy pick.
Star Fox Adventures
I’ve heard really good things about this game and this would be a great opportunity.
Sonic Adventure/Sonic Adventure 2/Sonic Heroes
They’re Sonic games. Do I need to say more? I’ve really wanted to go back and play more Sonic games and this would be a fantastic way for me and others to do that.
Pikmin
With Pikmin 4 coming out, it’d be great to see where it all started.
Super Mario Strikers
I loved this game! The current Mario Strikers game just isn’t the same and I really want to go back to this one. Please!?
F-Zero GX
I have a lot of fond memories of playing this one with friends. It’s a great racing game and Nintendo needs to bring F-Zero back!
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent
This is my personal favorite James Bond game. It’s a unique story where you play an ex-MI6 agent and it’s a lot of fun. I loved the multiplayer action and the fact that your goldeneye gave you various powers/abilities to really add a unique spin to FPS games, especially for the time.
Kirby Air Ride
This is an underrated racing game in my opinion. It’s a lot of fun and easy to pick up, but it does require a lot of practice to master.
Custom Robo
Custom Robo is a game that I always wanted to play, but never had the opportunity. Please, Nintendo, make this dream happen!
Digimon Rumble Arena 2
Super Smash Bros. with Digimon!
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure/Ocarina of Time Master Quest/Wind Waker/Twilight Princess
I love Zelda. My number one pick would be Four Swords Adventure and have it modified so you can still do the multiplayer game without the GBA connections and you’ve got a winner. However, all the other games are fantastic as well and would most likely be included at launch.
Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights
I’d love to see some more love for Scooby-Doo video games.
SSX Tricky
I freaking love SSX Tricky! I played the PS2 version of this so much with my friends, so let’s bring it to the Switch.
Timesplitters
This is a classic FPS that many remember fondly. I only played it once at a friend’s house, but remember having a lot of fun.
Ultimate Spider-Man
Ultimate Spider-Man is so much fun to play and it looks great, especially for being a GameCube game. Plus, those Venom levels were a fantastic break.
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom
I’m a sucker for Yu-Gi-Oh!, but Falsebound Kingdom was also not what you would expect. Instead of playing the card game, it’s more of like an RTS game where you send monsters to go fight on a battlefield. I only played it once but it was fun and unique.
Zoids: Battle Legends
This is a fantastic game (sort of). Zoids is awesome and you get to battle robot animals. A few years ago I got this game for my wife and we had a blast. It does have some weak points and I’d love a remaster/remake for modern consoles, but I’d love an NSO release.
Metacritic’s Top 20 GameCube Games
Metroid Prime
Resident Evil 4
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition
Madden NFL 2004
SoulCalibur II
NFL 2K3
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
SSX 3
Madden NFL 2003
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Mario Sunshine
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
Resident Evil (2002)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time / Master Quest
NCAA Football 2003
This list has amazing titles, some of which were on the rough draft of my list like Resident Evil and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. We even have some overlap like the Zelda games although I cheated a bit and lumped them together. I thought about removing the licensed sports games because I doubt they’d actually be added, but figured they earned their spots as they are the highest rated games according to Metacritic. What games would you like to see added if Nintendo puts the GameCube library on NSO?