Nintendo Switch 2 is launching with a long-awaited feature: Nintendo GameCube games are finally coming to Nintendo Switch Online!
The GameCube was one of my very first consoles growing up, and that’s meant I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for that purple cube. Naturally, I’ve been looking forward to digging a little deeper into the system’s library ever since the announcement happened during the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct.
Now that we’re just a couple of weeks out from the new console’s launch and we already have an initial list of confirmed GameCube titles, it seems as good a time as any to share a list of titles that I’d most like to see come to Switch 2 on the Nintendo GameCube Nintendo Classics app.
Which games are definitely coming to Nintendo Switch 2?
When Nintendo revealed GameCube titles were coming in April’s big Switch 2 Direct, the Mario makers revealed there would be three GameCube games available on the Nintendo Classics app.
Below, you can see what these games are (highlighted in bold), plus every single game shown that was advertised as “coming soon” to the service.
- Chibi-Robo!
- Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
- F-Zero GX
- Luigi’s Mansion
- Pokemon Colosseum
- Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
- Soul Calibur II
- Super Mario Strikers
- Super Mario Sunshine
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
It’s certainly not the most exhaustive list, but it’s a decent selection of some major, interesting, rarer, or expensive titles stuck on the system.
That gives me hope Nintendo just might be willing to dig into the GameCube library and give more games a second chance at finding an audience.
The 7 GameCube titles I want on Switch 2
Star Fox Adventures
I know that Star Fox fans don’t have a lot of love for Rare’s action-adventure title, but I do, and this is my list. Born from a merger between a Star Fox sequel and Dinosaur Planet, a game Rare had in development at the time, Star Fox Adventures sees hotshot Arwing pilot Fox McCloud exploring Dinosaur Planet… on foot.
Equipped with a lost staff and accompanied by his pipsqueak triceratops companion, Prince Tricky, Fox sets out on a very different quest to save the various dinosaur races from the evil General Scales. Gameplay is analogous to 3D Zeldas. You explore various regions, solve puzzles, fight enemies, and unlock new powers as you go.
There’s no denying that it’s a vast departure from the franchise’s high-octane space battles, and it features melee combat that will feel limited by today’s standards, but I maintain it’s a solid adventure. Star Fox diehards are probably hoping that Star Fox Assault is the game that makes it to Switch 2, but I’d still love the chance to revisit Dinosaur Planet, if possible.
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Silicon Knights’ Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem likely needs no introduction to horror fans, as this game has endured as a cult favorite from the console, thanks in no small part to its fourth wall-breaking scares.
It’s a story of unknown forces being tangled up in a millennia-old plot and various characters across time, all working to thwart an ancient evil. In between chapters, you’ll take control of protagonist Alex, using the knowledge she learns from these episodes to explore her grandfather’s Rhode Island mansion, trying to figure out what happened to her murdered relative.
Sure, combat will feel clunky by today’s standards, and the freaky “sanity effects” scares that mimicked old TV settings won’t land the same way they would if you were playing 20 years back on a CRT TV. But these elements make Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem a novel enough game that new players should give it a chance.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Despite being an avid Metroidvania fan, I very much prefer the "vania" side of the genre, and have far more experience slaying vampires as the Belmont clan in Castlevania than I do battling space pirates.
But after tackling several Metroid adventures on Switch, thanks to Nintendo Switch Online, Metroid Dread, and Metroid Prime Remastered, I'm keen to see as much of the franchise as possible.
While I’ve since dug into a lot of the 2D adventures, I'm eager to see more of the Prime line, without having to dig out my GameCube and track down a copy on the secondhand market. Multiplayer offering aside, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes comes highly recommended (it’s 92 on MetaCritic) and that’s seemingly down to tougher combat, new weapons, the atmosphere, and the impressive visuals.
Would I prefer to see the rest of the Prime trilogy remastered and brought to Switch? Absolutely, but if not, I'll settle for Echoes on Nintendo Classics.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Look, if Nintendo is seemingly content to never bring the Wii U Zelda ports to the current gen (and Wind Waker is a launch day GameCube Switch 2 release), this will have to do.
Darker in tone than its island-hopping forebear, this 3D action-adventure sees us playing as Link, a humble farmhand fated to save the land from the King of Shadows, Zant, who plunges parts of the realm into perpetual Twilight.
With the help of the impish creature, Midna, and the use of his wolf form, Link explores the far reaches of Hyrule, delving into dungeons, tackling bosses and puzzles, and utilizing various artifacts and powers to save both Hyrule and the Twilight Realm from this invading evil.
The Simpsons: Hit & Run
Before I say anything, I don’t expect this will happen at all. A quick look across the internet will show you a clear appetite for this beloved licensed game to make a comeback… so there must be a reason why it hasn’t.
Nevertheless, it was a classic for many gamers of my generation, and for good reason: It’s essentially GTA: Springfield. Following on from Crazy Taxi riff, The Simpsons: Road Rage, and The Simpsons: Hit & Run moved over to aping Rockstar’s tentpole series.
Taking the form of an extended episode of the show (complete with the show’s writers and voice cast), the game sees players roaming around a sandbox Springfield, primarily from behind the wheel of various vehicles from the show.
Along the way, you'll tackle missions, hunt for secrets and collectables, or earn cash to spend on new cars and outfits. It’s a genuinely funny ride. And, seeing as we’ve never had the sequel or remaster so many of us want, it’d be nice to see it make a comeback on Switch 2.
Wario World
I’ve dipped into the Wario Land series over the years, but until I started working on this list, I must confess I had no idea that Mario’s nemesis had gotten his own quasi-3D platforming adventure on the GameCube — and now I want to play it.
Wario World finds the titular treasure-loving gremlin cozied up inside his castle, atop huge piles of treasure. Well, until a mysterious black jewel comes to life and transforms his treasure into monsters and warps the world around him into some bizarre dimension.
True to his way, Wario sets off to recover his fortune and does so by beating up bad guys and bosses, solving puzzles and sucking up his precious gold. Reviews I’ve read don’t necessarily make it sound like an all-time classic. But this intriguing (if short) adventure is one that’s piqued my interest. Nintendo: do the right thing and bring it back!
Viewtiful Joe
Hideki Kamiya’s bizarre 2.5D cel-shaded beat ‘em up is fascinating stuff. You take control of Joe, an everyday film buff who has to spring into action after a trip to the movies goes wrong.
After a movie villain reaches through the silver screen and kidnaps Joe's girlfriend, Joe enters "Movieland" to rescue her. Here, Joe meets the superhero Captain Blue and is gifted a V-Watch. This device allows him to transform into a superhero who can deploy various “VFX” powers like slowing down or speeding up time as he punches and kicks his way through tons of cartoonish bad guys.
What follows is an amazing beat ‘em up experience unlike anything else I’ve played. Campy and challenging, Viewtiful Joe is a 1-2 punch of beautiful visuals and addictive combat. It’s a sharp and incredibly stylish experience that I’d love to come to Nintendo’s new console.
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