As The GameCube turns 20, we look back on Nintendo's beloved, maligned, one-of-a kind console

Date:
Sat, 18 Sep 2021 13:00:04 +0000

Description:
Those of us who were lucky enough to own the indigo GameCube formed some wonderful memories along the way here's our pick of the TechRadar team's
best (and worst) anecdotes.

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Another year, another anniversary for the Nintendo GameCube but as it
reaches its 20th year, its hard not to look back wistfully on the console
that formed so many memories for TechRadars staffers, despite its well-known sales woes.

One of the best anecdotes circling on Twitter is of a Nintendo sales meeting attended by its former head of communications, Robert Saunders, who recalls someones brief excitement over sales figures of 39,000 consoles in a single week which turned out to be 39 units instead .

But despite heavy competition from the PS2 and original Xbox consoles around the GameCubes launch, those of us who were lucky enough to own a purple cube and its tiny, spinning game discs formed some wonderful memories along the way.

It was the console that spawned some of the best games of the era, from Wind Waker and Twilight Princess to Super Mario Sunshine, and its only a matter of time before some of the best GameCube games eventually make their way to Nintendo Switch Online (even if the GameBoy gets there first).

With that in mind, weve brought together the highlights of TechRadars nostalgia for the long-discontinued GameCube the good, the bad, and the somewhat drunk. Jess Weatherbed, Computing Writer

I was one of those people who genuinely did walk around the house with my GameCube like it was a little handbag, but given I was only seven years old when it came out I was likely emulating my childhood hero Tinky Winky from the Teletubbies. I even had the snazzy Indigo version.

I have my fond memories of playing Mario Kart: Double Dash and Sonic Heroes, but one that really stands out came many years later when an attractive older boy lent me his copy of Resident Evil (2002 remake). Im a huge coward but desperately wanted him to think I was cool so I forced myself to play through it and gave myself a life-long fear of zombies in the process. Turns out he was gay and I still cant play horror games so I scared myself for nothing. Resident Evil (2002 remake) (Image credit: Nintendo) Henry St Leger, News & Features Editor

Its no exaggeration to say that the GameCube kick started my love for gaming. Id toyed with a couple of older consoles a second-hand N64 from a car boot sale, for one but its the GameCube that pulled me in and started the
day-long sessions that marred so much of my teenage years. Not to mention the times Id buy multiple controllers and invite my friends around to play,
before returning within a week to get my pocket money refunded.

The problem was so bad that I packaged up the little purple box in wrapping paper, so I could sneak it into the car ahead of a family holiday to the South-West coast of England. While the rest of the family were celebrating Christmas in a seaside cottage and spending some quality time together even going for walks and enjoying the countryside, apparently I brought out my
own gift to myself and spent the hours replaying Super Mario Sunshine for the eighth time instead. It did not go down well. Super Mario Sunshine (Image credit: Nintendo) Gerald Lynch, Executive Editor

My first experience with a Nintendo Gamecube was also my first experience
with excessive amounts of alcohol. My pals (very liberal, very understanding) parents had gone out for the day, leaving us with his newly-opened Gamecube and a freshly stocked globe bar. If you want a recipe for disaster, its four teenage boys, a seemingly limitless supply of cans of Fosters beer and Malibu rum liqueur, and the idea that every failed Super Monkey Ball run must be followed by a double shot.

We were 13 or 14 years old. The short term memory was lost, but I remember a pal drinking from a dog bowl alongside said pooch, and another falling down the stairs and bashing a radiator off a wall. I think with his head, but more likely his arse.

Take THAT , Nintendo's family-friendly public image! Resident Evil 4 (Image credit: Capcom) Matt Hanson, Senior Computing Editor

The GameCube almost made me fail university. In my final year, when I should have been studying and writing essays, instead I was repeatedly playing Resident Evil 4 over and over again with my housemate. We couldnt stop. As soon as we finished a play through, wed load the game back up. It actually
got quite worrying, but the game was just so good I still think its one of the best games ever made.

Genuinely creepy and camp and schlocky, its an absolute hoot to play, and the New Game+ implementation, which allows you to start with guns and in-game currency youve acquired from previous playthroughs, keeps on giving you reasons to play. Throw in Mario Kart Double Dash and WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Games!, and that cute looking little purple cube actually was a devious time sink that almost cost me my degree. Thankfully though, I am a genius (as well as being incredibly strong) so I managed to pass. But it was close.
Mario Kart: Double Dash (Image credit: Nintendo) Vic Hood, Gaming Editor

I never had a GameCube. In fact, I only ever encountered one in the wild
once, when I was about 14 and was invited to my then boyfriends friends house for what I thought would be an evening of teenage shenanigans. Instead, I watched as my pubescent beau and his menfolk played Smash Bros. Melee all night not considering I too may want to play and ignored my very existence.

When I think of GameCube, or Smash, I think of the deep-seated resentment I had that night and that Pokmon Colosseum commercial that was never off the bloody TV. Thanks Robert. Hamish Hector, Staff Writer

Despite adoring my GameCube as a kid, I think I only had about three games
for it - but that didnt stop me from burning hundreds of hours into the console as I replayed those discs over and over.

My favorite of them had to be Luigis Mansion, the game where he finally stole the spotlight from his famous brother Mario. In Luigis first solo outing he traded traditional platforming for hunting ghosts in a spooky mansion using a souped-up vacuum cleaner to suck them away. I mustve played it hundreds of times, and to this day if Im ever feeling a little frightened I cant help but reach for the Dyson while humming the Luigis Mansion theme. Luigi's Mansion (Image credit: Nintendo) John McCann, Global Managing Editor

Theres one franchise thats synonymous with the GameCube for me: Mario Party. My university pals and I would spend countless hours battling it out to win stars (and steal them) to be crowned champion.

Our GameCube, controllers and games were pretty much all bought off eBay, as our obsession didnt start until a good five years into the consoles life but picking up my purple box for a steal as the auction closed at 2am on an idle Tuesday morning filled me with joy.

And as for Mario Party we became experts of the mini games in 4, 5, 6 and 7. Sure some of those instalments are better than others, but surrounded by junk food and alcohol in our poorly lit student flat, huddled around a CRT TV as
we witnessed Jas steal yet another star he didnt deserve off one of the rest of us (the least sportsmanlike move in gaming) it was nothing but good
times. Mario Party (Image credit: Nintendo) Adam Vjestica, Senior Gaming Writer

The Nintendo GameCube taught me an important life lesson during my early teenage years: never forget your house keys, especially if youre rushing out to pick up a new console.

A few days after the GameCube launched, my brother and I dashed off to the nearest bus stop as we went in search of our very own purple little cube. Picking up the console was a no-brainer for us; launch titles such as Luigis Mansion and Super Smash Bros. Melee (which is still my favorite in the series to date) meant we were on board from day one, no questions asked.

However, upon returning home on that fateful day giddy with excitement at what was to come an unspeakable pain coursed through our bodies. We quickly realized we were locked out of the house, and to make matters worse, it would be hours before our parents returned.

The wait felt like days. We took turns reading and ogling at the GameCubes
box art to pass the time, chatting about who we were going to main in Smash Bros, and fruitlessly tried to jimmy a few windows open in the hope wed somehow break in. Thankfully, the agonizing wait was all worth it in the end, as the GameCube went on to become one of my favorite consoles of all time. Super Smash Bros. (Image credit: Nintendo) Daryl Baxter, Software & Downloads Writer

After many early mornings and weekends saving up the money for a Gamecube through a paper round, the console was finally mine. I remember buying the GameCube for one reason only to play Super Smash Bros. Melee, the Avengers: Endgame of my childhood, where almost every character I played as in the past would meet up and fight.

It was also the first console that made me realise just how good four-player multiplayer could be, thanks to the four ports included on the console, and the best controller that Nintendo has yet to beat. While three friends and I would huddle together in a bedroom to play Smash Bros. Melee or Mario Kart: Double Dash, it showed just how good Nintendo could be after struggling with the move to 3D with the Nintendo 64. Everything you need to know about the Nintendo Switch OLED



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