The Official Nintendo Gamecube Thread

[high voltage]

Looks fun but not like something that could take a lot of weight either most likely.

 

I can understand that for Americans.

[Bill Loguidice]

I can understand that for Americans.

 

I've recently been to Europe. Americans no longer have a monopoly on that.

[Tanooki]

Yeah that tired meme needs to die. It wasn't but a couple years later another global study was done and the UK edged out the US for fattest collective asses and worst eating habits with Europe nipping at it. May want to update your tired puns.

[Mayhem]

Ahem... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/maps-and-graphics/the-most-obese-fattest-countries-in-the-world/

 

USA is only 18th in this list, best hurry up and improve

[Tanooki]

Hah wow, and look at the least fat, it's like the known who's who list of starving people under crappy regimes/leadership lists.

 

 

Anyway how about that Gamecube? Anyone looking to still get that GC to HDMI mod v3? After that foolish girl tripped then jerked when stuck that gamecube on the floor breaking it of MJRs that got some bad press, should have been equal blame in that video too about what broke it. Likely it was the device but an impact like that with force on a hard surface could do it too. The dude was warned after the first and second revision something bad could happen so blame spreads evenly. If v3's plug is snug like a real Nintendo one I want this as I refuse to gut my system and cut into it as I've had it since the day it came out.

 

I got into playing MOH Frontline yesterday. I think all in all it's still a solid game, shows its age just a little bit given how annoying it can be to aim a bit in there (even against European Assault on same system years later) and the fact people can take a good amount of hits randomly and other times not to drop. Great levels, good story, like the design of it, and it even keep the ever popular then OSS agent from the previous PS based outing which is cool too.

[H454]

Hah wow, and look at the least fat, it's like the known who's who list of starving people under crappy regimes/leadership lists.

 

 

Anyway how about that Gamecube? Anyone looking to still get that GC to HDMI mod v3? After that foolish girl tripped then jerked when stuck that gamecube on the floor breaking it of MJRs that got some bad press, should have been equal blame in that video too about what broke it. Likely it was the device but an impact like that with force on a hard surface could do it too. The dude was warned after the first and second revision something bad could happen so blame spreads evenly. If v3's plug is snug like a real Nintendo one I want this as I refuse to gut my system and cut into it as I've had it since the day it came out.

 

I got into playing MOH Frontline yesterday. I think all in all it's still a solid game, shows its age just a little bit given how annoying it can be to aim a bit in there (even against European Assault on same system years later) and the fact people can take a good amount of hits randomly and other times not to drop. Great levels, good story, like the design of it, and it even keep the ever popular then OSS agent from the previous PS based outing which is cool too.

 

Since the digital port isn't used for anything else and the HDMI cable is detachable from the HDMI mod, why not Put a couple small dabs of hot glue on the adapter.

Then is still removable, but semi permanent. Is anyone really taking it off anyways?

[Tanooki]

While in principle I agree with you, I don't think that's also a proper solution as it should suffer from the same design flaw as an original part -- fitting snuggly or else.

[Punisher5.0]

Does anyone know what video standard the digital port supports natively? The only digital video that I can think of for the time was DVI.

[RARusk]

Does anyone know what video standard the digital port supports natively? The only digital video that I can think of for the time was DVI.

I believe it was custom. If it was some kind of standard then it would be easy to create third party digital-to-component video (or RGB and HDMI) cables and not bother with Nintendo's over priced first party brand.

[newtmonkey]

I think I will resurrect this topic, now.  I have somewhat fond memories of the Gamecube; I didn't love it, but it had some charm versus the PS2 and Xbox.  I remember I sent my console over to National Console Supply to have it modded with a physical region switch, so that I could play Japanese games on my US console!

 

For me, this console was a greater disappointment than the N64.  I felt like there was little outside of first/second-party games worth playing on the GC, if you already had a PS2 or Xbox.  The controller was EXCELLENT for certain specific games, but poor for many others imo.

 

ANYWAY

 

Metroid Prime

I decided for some reason to play this recently.  I had this on the GC back in the day, but got about halfway through before I lost interest.  I remember it looking pretty amazing back in the day, and I even went and got once of those "EDTVs" that ran at 480p resolution, just so I could play Gamecube games at their best.  640x480 progressive res at a solid 60 fps; very impressive for that era of console gaming!

 

Anyway, I am now playing it on the Dolphin emulator, as I can't seem to find my Wii console.  It still looks great!  Unlike many games of that era, it looks fantastic running at higher resolution.  I had trouble controlling it with my Xbox One controller, but got a GC-USB adapter and an official Nintendo Smash Brothers GC controller, and now it controls perfectly.

 

This is a great game, and a fantastic successor to Super Metroid, but it's not perfect.  It will always be slower to navigate a polygonal world from first-person perspective compared with a side-scroller, and that can really make the back and forth of Metroid pretty annoying.  The "puzzles" are also a lot more hamfisted than in Super Metroid; I've had two "puzzles" already just in a couple hours where the solution was just to scan four runes in the room; not hard or interesting, just tedious.

 

Having said that, it's an impressive game.  The atmosphere and soundtrack are both perfect.  It also controls really well.  I was surprised at how natural jumping feels, even though there's lots of platforming; the game just gets it right.  Combat relies heavily on auto-aim (you can't even aim while moving), but I'm fine with that, since this is more of an action/adventure than a pure shooter.

[Tanooki]

I'll be joining in on that shortly.  Switch though, the fact that it has proper controls with the aiming/shooting mechanics not wasting that second stick on stupid visors is game changing making it vastly better for the experience.  You won't realize it until mid-late game when you get ganged up on fast moving bobbing around space pirates acting like a FPS bot squad on you.  They dont let up, they can fire and strafe with a lock instantly, you can't, without standing still, juggling the Z zutton top utton and fire button to lock a target and start shooting before moving again.  It hurts, horribly so at the rate you get late into the omega pirate, it's so dumb.  I enjoyed it so much more on Trilogy because of that, but Wii is gone, gone for good, so I'm totally up for the $40 price on that remaster.  I've done 3, barely touched 2 (I got it back recently, to do list) but 1 was the only truly fantastic one.  They crafted such a smartly done world the detail is very very high that even upscaled emulated or otherwise the models are just fantastic, detail, attention close and distant puts it at the top side of GC releases.  Playing even Prime 1 on my HDMI external adapter on the Cube is stunning, Dolphin emulator quality easily.

[roots.genoa]

The GameCube is easily in my top 3 game systems of all time. It was the first Nintendo console I owned for myself only, and the system that made me appreciate a lot of Nintendo licenses since I was a SEGA gamer until then. I didn't manage to go very far in Ocarina of Time for instance, but loved Wind Waker. I've never liked Super Mario 64 (still don't) but loved Super Mario Sunshine at the time, even though I found hard to go back to it on the Switch. It's also on GameCube that I discovered wrestling games for instance. Finally, Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4 are two of my favorite games of all time. I wish more FPS had a good level design like MP, or at least some level design (yeah, I'm looking at you Halo).

 

I often hear the "there was little (...) worth playing on the GC, if you already had a PS2 or Xbox" argument, but I didn't have a PS2 or an Xbox (actually my brother got an Xbox later, but I never liked it very much), and there were several very good multi-platform games (although some were missing, I admit) like TimeSplitters 2, Second Sight, the Def Jam games, Prince of Persia, etc.

[dudeguy]

Of that generation, Gamecube is the system I go back to the most because it's the system that most feels like a game console- unique discs, power cord, cases, button layout, console color, the fact that it only plays games, no movies or music CDs.

 

that said, all 3 of the systems have their quirks and excellent exclusive titles and I cant imagine a world where all 3 of them didnt exist.

[Wayler]

I was wondering why there wasn't any Gamecube talk here, seemed like an odd omission.

6 hours ago, newtmonkey said:

For me, this console was a greater disappointment than the N64.  I felt like there was little outside of first/second-party games worth playing on the GC, if you already had a PS2 or Xbox.  

For me, I skipped the entire sixth generation of consoles at the time because of the horrible failure of N64 and went back to only PC gaming for 8 years. I think that's why the GC failed commercially. Nintendo burned their 3rd party support with N64 and the GC was an innocent victim. The first party games were stellar and unique, but it needed more to be a success. 

 

I don't know what it was but in 2007 I bought the Gamecube on the cheap and started playing consoles again. It quickly became my second favorite console after the SNES. And as I didn't have PS2 or Xbox, I was happy to get the great multi-platform titles on it also. I'm glad I bought most of the must-haves in 2007-2010, the prices are too much now. 

6 hours ago, newtmonkey said:

The controller was EXCELLENT for certain specific games, but poor for many others imo.

I think the GC controller is the best ever made, both in design and functionality, so it would be interesting to hear what genres are problematic in your opinion. I'm not a fighting game fan, but I could see it doesn't have the best button placements and shapes for those titles. 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Wayler

[dudeguy]

1 hour ago, Wayler said:

I was wondering why there wasn't any Gamecube talk here, seemed like an odd omission.

For me, I skipped the entire sixth generation of consoles at the time because of the horrible failure of N64 and went back to only PC gaming for 8 years. I think that's why the GC failed commercially. Nintendo burned their 3rd party support with N64 and the GC was an innocent victim. The first party games were stellar and unique, but it needed more to be a success. 

 

I don't know what it was but in 2007 I bought the Gamecube on the cheap and started playing consoles again. It quickly became my second favorite console after the SNES. And as I didn't have PS2 or Xbox, I was happy to get the great multi-platform titles on it also. I'm glad I bought most of the must-haves in 2007-2010, the prices are too much now. 

I think the GC controller is the best ever made, both in design and functionality, so it would be interesting to hear what genres are problematic in your opinion. I'm not a fighting game fan, but I could see it doesn't have the best button placements and shapes for those titles. 

only issue i had with the controller was the tiny D pad. i use that a lot in fighting games and racing games, two of my main genres

[Tanooki]

I've seen that stupid persons comment @roots.genoa too about the Gamecube having little worth if you have a PS2 or xb already.  It's ignorant troll speak, and given you are of age to have bought that first, odds are you also had internet access and saw just how reprehensible, trolling, and side choosing childish the editors and writers were around that time, hot off their teens being console war couch warriors.  They were more into taking huge bribes, being sucked up to, or getting childish and going over the top.  It wasn't but a few years beyond that time time after time third parties got caught paying off reviews, getting writers punished for being honest, and the rest.  Gamecube in the end, for singularly released titles was damn near if not the superior console.  Sure it was overshadowed with cross platform stuff, but it was pretty neck and neck with PS2 for system only titles that really stood out, and opinion/preference would fit to put a winner out there, that would be Nintendo.

 

How often do you see people lose their minds over PS2 titles only Sony had?  How many of them specifically because some collaborative set of circumstances made them expensive?  Or because people loved them back then and since?  You'll find that list harder to make than a Nintendo one, and while some of the Nintendo ones are costly but others never really rose in cost yet people have still strong feelings and seek them out.  Gamecube was the last dedicated console they made with the highest bar of quality games, quality releases, and ones that truly stand the test of time.  Sure the Wii had a few, the WiiU could have but thankfully was erased by the hybrid Switch.  The system really was the most console of the consoles, it was a traditional system, the last, last that just was about the games, not some multimedia shit show, not for paid services(xbl), not for being a hidden PC in a box which the industry went towards.  Gamecube had(has) class the others lacked in some form or another.

[SlidellMan]

As someone who still owns his GameCube, I still think that system still holds up to this very day. Truth be told, there were a surprising amount of shmups for the system, and not just Ikaruga. You had the first two Shikigami no Shiro games, Chaos Field (which I own), and Radirgy. By the way, I wonder if the GameCube had its own Devil May Cry clones that weren't the two Viewtiful Joe games or the three Prince of Persia titles?

[newtmonkey]

9 hours ago, Wayler said:

I think the GC controller is the best ever made, both in design and functionality, so it would be interesting to hear what genres are problematic in your opinion. I'm not a fighting game fan, but I could see it doesn't have the best button placements and shapes for those titles. 

For me, it's not so much specific genres, but that the controller was designed to be unique when a "standard" had pretty much already taken hold, based on the SNES and PSX controllers.  This is definitely not a problem for the exclusive GC games designed with the controller in mind, of course.  And it's a very solid, comfortable controller to hold and use.

 

The button layout is actually great for fighting games (specifically Soul Calibur II), because you can press the primary action button (A) comfortably with any of the secondary buttons (B, Y, X).  It's a strange layout, however, for any game designed with the SNES/PS controller layout of four buttons in a diamond shape in mind.

 

The biggest issue for me, however, is the dpad, which is definitely not ideal for playing shmups.  Another issue for me is the analog triggers (though less annoying than the dpad).  They are great for racing games, but awkward to use in games that just treat the shoulder buttons as regular buttons, like many of the multiplatform games.

Edited February 13, 2023 by newtmonkey

[newtmonkey]

6 hours ago, Tanooki said:

I've seen that stupid persons comment @roots.genoa too about the Gamecube having little worth if you have a PS2 or xb already.

What is wrong with you lol

Edited February 13, 2023 by newtmonkey

[Wayler]

F-Zero GX.

 

It just blows my mind, that the best racing game ever released for a Nintendo console is made by Sega. Sounds like a parallel universe type of a situation but nope, it exists. And Nintendo haven't touched the franchise ever since on a main console line (apart for a few handheld titles ages ago). It's like Nintendo got their ass handed to them by Sega and just said "thank you, now let's never speak about this again." Such a BS excuse that a new installment would need "a grand new idea", and yet simultaneously churning out a Mario Kart for every console...

 

You would just need one of these:

-Online multiplayer

-Track generator (F-Zero X style) and/or track editor

 

[Tanooki]

Nothing is wrong with me.  I strongly remember ignorant losers making hay about the Gamecube 20 years ago how it didn't have value if you had one of the other systems which was a fantasy, a fanboy fantasy.  If you didn't own a Gamecube you lost out on some of the best games of that cycle of consoles.  It's not too hard to look back at old reviews from the era where some pretty terrible hot takes were thrown around in write ups.  IGN was notorious for knocking GC games down 1-2 full points because it would be the one system that didn't do online multiplayer, yet PS2 got a pass despite barely touching it either.  There just was some rude media disparity, and many people trust what game reviewers told them back then which turned a lot of lies into a lot of false facts.

[newtmonkey]

Well then, welcome to 2023, it is not 20 years ago on the schoolyard anymore.  We can discuss video games like adults now.

[SlidellMan]

You guys would be shocked to hear how much Shigeru Miyamoto hated F-Zero GX and the reason why. GX, in his opinion, was too safe of a sequel. However, I still think Nintendo should give the series another chance. Speaking of futuristic racing games, what are your thoughts on Extreme-G 3, XGRA, and the oft-ignored Tube Slider?

[Wayler]

I guess Shiggy's design philosophy just doesn't include a flow chart, where a brutal yet fair difficulty curve gets combined with amazing visuals and sound. A game that you really have to get into and practice to be able to master it. 

 

4 hours ago, SlidellMan said:

Speaking of futuristic racing games, what are your thoughts on Extreme-G 3, XGRA, and the oft-ignored Tube Slider?

I've had the impression that Tube Slider plays ok but is a poorer version of F-Zero in all aspects, so I haven't tried it. 

 

XGRA is on my radar but of course it has to be insanely expensive on the GC, yet dirt cheap on PS2/Xbox. Reviews have convinced me it's a huge upgrade on G3 but views on this are appreciated. 

[roots.genoa]

9 hours ago, Wayler said:

Such a BS excuse that a new installment would need "a grand new idea", and yet simultaneously churning out a Mario Kart for every console...

Well, there's a very good excuse that every Mario Kart game sells a ton, while every F-Zero game doesn't. Actually there was a very interesting French article about F-Zero and futuristic racers in general, explaining that actually the genre is far from being as popular as hardcore gamers think. One of the shocking parts of the article is that WipEout sold more on the N64 than on PlayStation, which shows it's a 'cult' series but not a commercially successful one. Sad, but true.