On this date in 2003, I received a Nintendo GameCube for Christmas – a gift that shaped my childhood and lifelong love of gaming.
As I’ve written on this site multiple times before, many moments throughout my childhood were instrumental in establishing my lifelong passion and interests that show up in what I have written about as an adult, both on here and during my writing career in Chicago.
Therefore it shouldn’t come as any surprise that baseball and video games are the two topics that dominate when it comes to content on this website, two longtime interests that predate just about anything else I’ve grown deeply engrossed in during my life.
While my love for video games and the Super Mario series in particular traces back all the way to my birth, as there was always an SNES in the house, receiving the GameCube as a seven-year-old felt like traversing into a greatly immersive world that only my imagination had crafted before.
Already having a Nintedo 64 that I received late in the console’s lifespan, several things about the GameCube drew me in immediately, establishing a bias I admit I carry to this day in favoring the GameCube over its arguably more influential predecessor.
I had received two games along with the console for Christmas – Luigi’s Mansion and Super Mario Sunshine. As a 7-year-old who really only figured out games I was already familiar with, I struggled to get anything started in Sunshine while I tabled Luigi’s Mansion until that summer, when I became friends with another kid who was familiar with the game.
Eager to test out my new toy with something I had a level of familiarity with, I convinced my father to take me to Walmart a week or so later to pick up Super Smash Bros. Melee, as I had the game’s predecessor for Nintendo 64 and a loose idea of what I was getting into.
Melee was the flagship title for the console, and a game that instantly became my favorite throughout much of 2004. The graphical improvements from the N64 appeared to be absolutely massive, while the controller and control scheme felt much more natural and intuitive, especially for a child.
While there’s an alternate universe where my childhood friend and I learned of the existence of the competitive Melee scene that still flourishes to this day and committed to that, the GameCube had several more titles that would lead me to form a lifelong sentimental attachment to the console.
Chief among these titles is Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the fourth installment in the Mario Kart series and a game packed with quality-of-life improvements that made the game feel much more complete and fun to play than its predecessor in Mario Kart 64, a game that solidified the series’ reputation as a party staple.
What’s amazing about the GameCube is the sheer depth of its library – while you can stack up plenty of unremarkable non-exclusive titles that probably play better on the PlayStation 2 or Xbox, the GameCube’s wide selection of exclusive games has become a paramount feature of the console’s legacy.
Many of these exclusive titles are games I’m entirely unfamiliar with, as I either have never owned them or only purchased them recently in my days as a collector. Titles like Pikmin, Pikmin 2, Kirby Air Ride, F-Zero GX, Animal Crossing, Metroid Prime and the four Mario Party games released for the GameCube are all games I’m unfamiliar with, among several others.
Plenty of other games helped fill whatever void was left from missing out on a handful of the system’s most recognizable titles, with perhaps my favorite game ever in Tales of Symphonia being the primary catalyst behind my eternal affinity for the console.
Having played the game essentially continuously from a month after its release in July 2004 to today, the game introduced me to Japanese RPGs while embarking on a story that felt unpredictable, riveting and emotional.
While much of the story’s impact on me is likely due to my very young age when playing through the game, the title stands out as a meaningful release for the console, having led to a handful of re-releases of the game while serving as one of the system’s lone JRPGs in an era where the PlayStation 2 boasted dozens.
That also isn’t even to mention Mario Superstar Baseball, a hilariously in-depth and detailed baseball simulator featuring a stacked roster of Mario characters and a single-player campaign mode that greatly increases replay value – standing out as the finest Mario sports title in my opinion.
I can certainly write forever about how much I love the GameCube and what the games meant to me as a kid and as an adult for that matter, but the appeal and allure of the console goes far beyond the games released and the aesthetically pleasing graphics that go along with it.
Making the visually appealing games possible is the visually appealing console itself, which took a radically different approach compared to its two primary competitors in Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Microsoft’s Xbox.
Contrasting from the bulky, dark, computer-like appearance the PS2 and Xbox offered at release, the GameCube was everything but – compact, portable, sleek and colorful – with its initial release offering the console in both indigo and black, the former being a noticeable departure from the appearance of previous consoles, even considering the N64 Funtastic series.
Later on in the console’s lifespan, the GameCube was also offered in a limited edition platinum color, while the Japanese audience was also given the option of a “Spice Orange” colored system. While this was a step back compared to the large selections seen in the N64 Funtastic series, it also offered for more streamlined advertising while focusing on the games themselves.
From receiving the GameCube on Christmas in 2003 through the end of the console’s lifespan, I used the system extensively – and have had several bouts of doing the same as an adult looking for a healthy dose of nostalgia.
Even after receiving the backwards compatible Wii for Christmas in the year of its release in 2006, the GameCube still held and holds certain advantages over its successor in my opinion. In addition to having a slightly stronger selection of first-party titles overall, the graphical improvements from the GameCube to the Wii are almost unnoticeable, which greatly differed from the vast improvements seen in Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 at the time.
Additionally, the Wii’s motion control scheme wore off to me as a novelty relatively quickly, even as a child. While Wii Sports is objectively a timeless blast, trying to play through Super Mario Galaxy with finnicky motion controls can be frustrating, even if those controls enhance the immersiveness of the game itself.
This was of course something Nintendo appeared to perfect on the Switch and Switch 2, which allow for the option of motion controls in many titles while a wired or Pro controller can help get the job done for those who prefer a more traditional gaming experience.
And maybe that’s what makes the GameCube stand out to me so much after all these years – it was the last time Nintendo offered a straightforward traditional gaming experience on their home console. While the Wii U had aspects that certainly tried to draw in more hardcore gamers who were more likely to lean towards PlayStation or Xbox, the console’s confusing advertising and lack of third-party support doomed much of its potential.
Nintendo continues to deliver on excellent first-party titles, a trend I expect will continue for as long as the flagship company makes games. Yet when it comes to the combination of a sleek looking console, comfortable controller and seemingly endless library of lauded first-party titles, the GameCube still stands alone.
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