I Just Got My First GameCube, What Do I Need to Know?

[Games Retrospect]

I just purchased a GameCube through Facebook Marketplace and I'm really happy with the lot that I got. But I've never owned the console (it was never really popular where I live,) so I don't know much about it. I just watched some videos, but I'd like to know about some of the best games, hidden gems, accessories to take into account and so on. To be completely honest, I'm not even thinking about getting anything else because I spent more than I should have on the lot, but I'd like to know more about the GameCube because it looks like a fantastic system. Just for the purposes of sharing, I got the indigo system, the AV cable, the power brick with the cable, two memory cards that appear to be Chinese knockoffs and ten games. Here's the list:

 

• FIFA 07
• Wind Waker
• Twilight Princess
• Medal of Honor: Frontline
• Starfox Adventures
• Resident Evil
• Resident Evil Zero
• Super Mario Sunshine

[Punisher5.0]

If you have Gameboy-GBA games then it would be worth it to pick up a Gameboy player.

[Tanooki]

For now Id get an original reliable one. Preferably the black memory card 251 for good space. Then Id slow down and play those. Second and third. If you want more ease of play get the Nintendos wireless wave bird controller and receiver. Also if you dont want to tolerate SD visuals and the rear had the digital port get the carby branded $75 hdmi adapter and remote. The quality output is PC emulator quality and clarity.

 

Beyond that best recommendation Racketboy does excellent lists both for gems and low price too for the bests. Go there you wont regret it.

[Games Retrospect]

For now Id get an original reliable one. Preferably the black memory card 251 for good space. Then Id slow down and play those. Second and third. If you want more ease of play get the Nintendos wireless wave bird controller and receiver. Also if you dont want to tolerate SD visuals and the rear had the digital port get the carby branded $75 hdmi adapter and remote. The quality output is PC emulator quality and clarity.

 

Beyond that best recommendation Racketboy does excellent lists both for gems and low price too for the bests. Go there you wont regret it.

Yes, I'll see what I find when it comes to memory cards. They are quite hard to get here. I've never seen the actual Wavebird controller around, but I've seen Chinese wireless controllers that try to do the same thing. I assume they suck. I have both connections in the back and I had no idea that cable existed, but man, they are expensive. I mean, I bought the whole lot for around $50. I'll do some research though just to look at some videos and see it in action. Thanks a lot!

[boxpressed]

I just got my first GC too. I still use the Wii to play GC games bc of the component out.

 

If you like Star Wars, get Rogue Leader II. It doesn't emulate well on Dolphin, so original hardware is the best way to play it. I love playing it with a projector on a 120" screen. Makes the Death Star battle really fun!

[+Cafeman]

Don't get wireless unless you find a good Wavebird for an affordable price. There are GameCube extension cords for the wired controllers, they aren't expensive and you only need one or two. I use a component av cable, much improved image and colors compared to using composite RCA cables.

[Games Retrospect]

I just got my first GC too. I still use the Wii to play GC games bc of the component out.

 

If you like Star Wars, get Rogue Leader II. It doesn't emulate well on Dolphin, so original hardware is the best way to play it. I love playing it with a projector on a 120" screen. Makes the Death Star battle really fun!

I'm actually considering playing GC games on my Wii as well. I also use component and that console's already hooked up anyway. I plan to use my GameCube on special occasions on the CRT in my living room and to take to family reunions to play Super Smash or something multiplayer. I watched some videos about Rogue Leader, it looks great!

[Games Retrospect]

Don't get wireless unless you find a good Wavebird for an affordable price. There are GameCube extension cords for the wired controllers, they aren't expensive and you only need one or two. I use a component av cable, much improved image and colors compared to using composite RCA cables.

I knew about the component cables. I also heard they are prohibitively expensive because they sold them only through the official Nintendo online store or something and they are incredibly rare. As far as I know no one has been able to replicate the chip that's inside them so the only solution is getting those cables.

[derFunkenstein]

I knew about the component cables. I also heard they are prohibitively expensive because they sold them only through the official Nintendo online store or something and they are incredibly rare. As far as I know no one has been able to replicate the chip that's inside them so the only solution is getting those cables.

The EON Mk2 can convert the digital signal for Wii-style component cables (even at $150 thats less than the official cables you mention) but if you have an HDMI-equipped display the Carby is the cheaper route. Unless youre playing on a CRT with YPbPr (which the Mk2 can drive with the aforementioned Wii cables) is go Carby and HDMI.

 

Really wish the Wii could do HDMI without an ADC or a complex internal mod. Oh well.

[+Cafeman]

You got some good games in that lot. Rogue Leader and Rebel Strike were fantastic Star Wars games BITD. I loved Metroid Prime and F Zero too. The Sonic Adventure games were ported to GCN. Personally I enjoyed the Pitfall game, in fact I finally played through the whole game and beat it just a few months ago! I also enjoyed Beyond Good and Evil. Enjoy your cube.

[+wongojack]

Viewtiful Joe was an exclusive for the GC when it released and won several game of the year awards. People don't talk about it much anymore, but it is 'Classic Cube.'

 

There were 4 other Capcom games developed for the Cube around the same time and were all originally exclusives. P.N.03, Dead Phoenix, RE4, and Killer 7. I've only really played RE4 out of those.

 

Another exclusive game that I have yet to track down easily is Eternal Darkness Sanity's Requiem.

[CMR]

Wario World is an underated gem. It also has great ports of some dreamcast games like Sonic Adventure and Ikaruga.

[Flojomojo]

http://www.racketboy.com/retro/nintendo/gamecube

[Tanooki]

Ok I'm on my PC not my phone so an update and explaination.

 

 

#1 You're right the component cables are very prohibitively expensive at over $300USD.

 

DerFUnk there pointed out the GC EON device, it's overpriced, you're paying too much at $150 from them unless you need that specific extra feature their v2 device has over the original which was $150 too. They (ZeldaXPro at $100 and Carby at $75) all provide the same HDMI output if that is all you want alone. See here: https://insurrectionindustries.com/product/carby-version-2black/

 

#2 I mentioned racketboy, thankfully the post above by Flojo I hit LIKE on, that's what i was talking about, read that, learn it, see what looks good using youtube long play gameplay raw clips, no stupid reviews, no lame chatting dimwits over the audio.

 

 

#3 I'd love to give you real game choices, but I'd need from you games you love/hate genres you love/hate then a list is possible.

 

 

#4 Are you interested in running Japanese or PAL games? Research this device exact model number too 'Freeloader v1.06' Datel made it, known better for their action replay cheat toys. This you run first, a prompt pops, then put in your non-US disc -- 99% of the time it works, a few games get wonky bugs like Mr Driller from Japan where it will jack up save data for the memory card. A nice thing is if you play JP games you can co-store them on a US memory card. PAL though, you need to dedicate a card. I figured this out a few years back as stunningly for this area I found PAL Doshin the Giant at one shop, knew the disc was at another, put them together and it was a fun time and the former owner included his PAL memory card with it too as a bonus. So I can also suggest non-US titles.

Edited March 15, 2019 by Tanooki

[Games Retrospect]

Ok I'm on my PC not my phone so an update and explaination.

 

 

#1 You're right the component cables are very prohibitively expensive at over $300USD.

 

DerFUnk there pointed out the GC EON device, it's overpriced, you're paying too much at $150 from them unless you need that specific extra feature their v2 device has over the original which was $150 too. They (ZeldaXPro at $100 and Carby at $75) all provide the same HDMI output if that is all you want alone. See here: https://insurrectionindustries.com/product/carby-version-2black/

 

#2 I mentioned racketboy, thankfully the post above by Flojo I hit LIKE on, that's what i was talking about, read that, learn it, see what looks good using youtube long play gameplay raw clips, no stupid reviews, no lame chatting dimwits over the audio.

 

 

#3 I'd love to give you real game choices, but I'd need from you games you love/hate genres you love/hate then a list is possible.

 

 

#4 Are you interested in running Japanese or PAL games? Research this device exact model number too 'Freeloader v1.06' Datel made it, known better for their action replay cheat toys. This you run first, a prompt pops, then put in your non-US disc -- 99% of the time it works, a few games get wonky bugs like Mr Driller from Japan where it will jack up save data for the memory card. A nice thing is if you play JP games you can co-store them on a US memory card. PAL though, you need to dedicate a card. I figured this out a few years back as stunningly for this area I found PAL Doshin the Giant at one shop, knew the disc was at another, put them together and it was a fun time and the former owner included his PAL memory card with it too as a bonus. So I can also suggest non-US titles.

Thanks a lot for the update! Here are some quick answers/comments about what you mention above.

 

1) I'd love to use the component cables, but for what I paid for the console, I'm not going to spend that much money on what's essentially an accessory. I'll probably play my GamCube through composite on my flat screen Toshiba and hopefully that'll be okay or I'm going to play on my 32-inch LCD on the Wii that has component. Either way is fine by me as long as I get to play those amazing games.

 

2) I did some research and checked out most of the GameCube links on that site. They were extremely helpful. I also watched a bunch of videos, including some videos that encouraged me to clean my controllers and I don't regret that at all. I wish I could open the console as well and clean it, but the screwdriver I need hasn't arrived yet.

 

3) My favorite genres include JRPGs and Japanese games in general. I like Capcom and Square Enix games, for example. I'm also making a conscious effort to play more Nintendo. I ignored that company for way too long (Nintendo doesn't have a presence where I live.) I have a wishlist for the GameCube that includes Mario Kart Double Dash, Eternal Darkness, F-Zero, Luigi's Mansion and the Star Wars games, but to be honest I'm not dying to play any of those games because I already have way too many games I haven't even check out yet. Also, Smash Melee should be arriving next week, so we'll see about that.

 

4) I'm not that interested in that yet, but it sounds cool. I'd love to get a GameBoy player at some point, though I've heard it can be expensive if you want the software as well.

[Tanooki]

Well to add to #1 -- I'd tell you to research and reconsider. No matter how nice your TV the old RCA cables truly murder the quality of what that digital jack on your Cube can do. I was not a believer until I really watched some hi def videos and picture captures enough to attempt a try. Once I had it though damn it was like using the game on the Windows/Android Dolphin emulator. An example the best i can give you, Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2. Look into it. I will give a couple examples. The opening sequence of the game shows a squadron of x-wings and other heading across the screen with one getting very close. The detail on SD is fine, you can make out much of the higher level detail and it's nice and smooth, a little RCA fuzzy but really still a high point. With the adapter though, the detail gets insane. You can see the patterns of the rivets on panels, panel seams, scorch marks tapered off on the metal, the spray of the red paint along the side of the x-wing and so on down to the pilot and stuff in the cockpit. Another would be the famous Hoth sequence with the speeder, I'll just focus on that craft. On SD TVs much like with black/white checkered(small) coats you get this wavy line or rainbow spazz out stuff as it can't properly decipher it as a limitation, so you can see it, it's weird and you can kind of see how it reacts to moving. On the HD adapter you can see every crystal clear independent fan blade and the way they pivot and move as you tip the snowspeeder around. The list I could go on, but the detail makes the GC seem like a lower polygonal WiiU level system, but in games that are more artistic (Zelda, Dragons Lair 3D), cartoony (Mario, other mascots), or even tactically lower polygon due to the space (like star wars) it isn't noticed so the depth is nuts. For $75 it's worth the experiment.

 

#2 Good move, and yeah clean it well, also get a bit of canned air for the fan blades/housing as it's nastiest and harder to get into the clean. The board and the rest too really since it's so layered and combat due to the cube shape of it.

 

#3 Tales of Symphonia is a must, also FF Crystal Chronicles would be highly advisable too. Skies of Arcadia Legends as well though it can get a bit more pricey but so worthy for JRPG too. Capcom has their (to the era) entire Resident Evil library on there from the past and that period (Zero and 4) in their finest form of the time, and to perhaps some still outside of HD. Capcom also had SNK vs Capcom 2 which is an amazing traditional fighter. You won't find a whole lot from Square, there are some, just wiki it and see how you feel as it was a period they kind of were aloof about Nintendo consoles while hammering out repeated GBA titles. I would note despite your backlog, you'd be foolish not to get your not dying to play games other than maybe Mario Kart as the ED/FZ/SWRS2 games are undeniably must haves.

 

When you get if you get around to #4, try the wikipedia, gc game list, sort by JP to the top and see what is only in their region and/or in the PAL area you'll find some really amazing stuff, some that's just inexcusable for not having a US release like Doshin, NIntendo Puzzle Collection, Gundam vs Z-Gundam, Castle of Shikigami 2, and some of those Hudson Select titles (there are 4, I've got Star Soldier and Bonk, Lode Runner kind of sucks sold that and Adventure Island I don't have yet and it's solid.)

[youxia]

I could write half a page too, but long story short is this: GC is another console from the SD era and its games were made with a CRT TV in mind. If you have one - and I seem to recall you do - I'd much rather stick even with composite than move into HDMI territory. This move might yield bit more detail but will also look terrible, exactly like raw unfiltered PC emulator version without shaders would. Jagged lines & blocky pixels everywhere....eg for one of the most beautiful games ever - which is the RE remake - an which looks like a half old film/half painting on my CRT it's nearly sacrilegious to the modern route.

 

Sure, the situation with the cables is a bit of a clusterf**k, but I think you can get a cheap S-Video cable, if your CRT can take it. The Wii is als oa great option. It can connect to a CRT via component/SCART on the cheap and it's got native 1:1 GC "emulation".

[boxpressed]

I admit that I don't know much about the GC, but I don't understand why a Wii with component cables isn't the most popular method of playing GC games. I get it that you can't use the GB Player, but is that it?

[Newsdee]

Eternal Darkness is amazing. It may have aged a bit but it had an atmosphere that I haven't seen in anything that came after.

 

IIRC the GC version of Animal Crossing has NES games built in. I played just because of that and was really dissappointed when they removed them in the sequel.

 

Pikmin is a weird but fun game.

[derFunkenstein]

I admit that I don't know much about the GC, but I don't understand why a Wii with component cables isn't the most popular method of playing GC games. I get it that you can't use the GB Player, but is that it?

 

 

Yeah, I don't get this either, because that's also my assessment. I skipped the GameCube and got a backward-compatible Wii last summer.

[Games Retrospect]

Well to add to #1 -- I'd tell you to research and reconsider. No matter how nice your TV the old RCA cables truly murder the quality of what that digital jack on your Cube can do. I was not a believer until I really watched some hi def videos and picture captures enough to attempt a try. Once I had it though damn it was like using the game on the Windows/Android Dolphin emulator. An example the best i can give you, Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2. Look into it. I will give a couple examples. The opening sequence of the game shows a squadron of x-wings and other heading across the screen with one getting very close. The detail on SD is fine, you can make out much of the higher level detail and it's nice and smooth, a little RCA fuzzy but really still a high point. With the adapter though, the detail gets insane. You can see the patterns of the rivets on panels, panel seams, scorch marks tapered off on the metal, the spray of the red paint along the side of the x-wing and so on down to the pilot and stuff in the cockpit. Another would be the famous Hoth sequence with the speeder, I'll just focus on that craft. On SD TVs much like with black/white checkered(small) coats you get this wavy line or rainbow spazz out stuff as it can't properly decipher it as a limitation, so you can see it, it's weird and you can kind of see how it reacts to moving. On the HD adapter you can see every crystal clear independent fan blade and the way they pivot and move as you tip the snowspeeder around. The list I could go on, but the detail makes the GC seem like a lower polygonal WiiU level system, but in games that are more artistic (Zelda, Dragons Lair 3D), cartoony (Mario, other mascots), or even tactically lower polygon due to the space (like star wars) it isn't noticed so the depth is nuts. For $75 it's worth the experiment.

 

#2 Good move, and yeah clean it well, also get a bit of canned air for the fan blades/housing as it's nastiest and harder to get into the clean. The board and the rest too really since it's so layered and combat due to the cube shape of it.

 

#3 Tales of Symphonia is a must, also FF Crystal Chronicles would be highly advisable too. Skies of Arcadia Legends as well though it can get a bit more pricey but so worthy for JRPG too. Capcom has their (to the era) entire Resident Evil library on there from the past and that period (Zero and 4) in their finest form of the time, and to perhaps some still outside of HD. Capcom also had SNK vs Capcom 2 which is an amazing traditional fighter. You won't find a whole lot from Square, there are some, just wiki it and see how you feel as it was a period they kind of were aloof about Nintendo consoles while hammering out repeated GBA titles. I would note despite your backlog, you'd be foolish not to get your not dying to play games other than maybe Mario Kart as the ED/FZ/SWRS2 games are undeniably must haves.

 

When you get if you get around to #4, try the wikipedia, gc game list, sort by JP to the top and see what is only in their region and/or in the PAL area you'll find some really amazing stuff, some that's just inexcusable for not having a US release like Doshin, NIntendo Puzzle Collection, Gundam vs Z-Gundam, Castle of Shikigami 2, and some of those Hudson Select titles (there are 4, I've got Star Soldier and Bonk, Lode Runner kind of sucks sold that and Adventure Island I don't have yet and it's solid.)

 

Sorry for the long reply, but you spent so much time addressing each of my questions that i think it'd be nice to offer some sort of response.

 

1) Regarding the HD adapter, it's not that I'm against it anything. But Amazon doesn't ship here officially so I need to buy it somewhere else (like eBay) and then pay exorbitant fees so that it even makes it inside the country. Another possibility is contacting someone who travels from the US to my country and pay that person for the accessory. Not exactly an easy process. I think for now, I'm not going to get it, but your explanation sounds awesome, I'll definitely visit some sites and watch some videos to see a proper comparison.

 

2) Opening and re-assembling a GameCube seems like a puzzle in and of itself, but I think cleaning used systems is a must. I'm glad with the controller I just refurbished, it looks brand new and cleaning it really made a difference. Now I won't feel bad when I take those to a friends house to play Smash Bros or something.

 

3) Correct me if I'm worng, but I heard there's an improved version of Tales of Symphonia on the PS2. Which one should I get? I watched a Metal Jesus video and he recommended it and his footage looked really good. I recently found out that pretty much every RE game was available on the Cube. I'd love to go back to the original trilogy at some point, but I have no idea if those games were well received or not. In the case of both the original remake and Zero, I know people love those games. Instead of getting the HD remasters, I might as well check these out. I miss classic RE. I forgot to mention that I really like fighting games, so Capcom vs. SNK 2 is a game I'll definitely check into. I know Soulcalibur 2 has Link, but I don't know if it's worth getting that game for that alone. A friend had the PS2 version with Heihachi on it and we played that game to death. We loved it!

 

4) I'll look into those imports. It's not a priority, but I rather get some weird Japanese game that's awesome, that a run-of-the-mill Western-released title.

[Games Retrospect]

I could write half a page too, but long story short is this: GC is another console from the SD era and its games were made with a CRT TV in mind. If you have one - and I seem to recall you do - I'd much rather stick even with composite than move into HDMI territory. This move might yield bit more detail but will also look terrible, exactly like raw unfiltered PC emulator version without shaders would. Jagged lines & blocky pixels everywhere....eg for one of the most beautiful games ever - which is the RE remake - an which looks like a half old film/half painting on my CRT it's nearly sacrilegious to the modern route.

 

Sure, the situation with the cables is a bit of a clusterf**k, but I think you can get a cheap S-Video cable, if your CRT can take it. The Wii is als oa great option. It can connect to a CRT via component/SCART on the cheap and it's got native 1:1 GC "emulation".

I do have a CRT. Nothing fancy of anything, I have a 21-inch Toshiba that's flat screened. A guy at the local TV repair shop gave it to me for free because nobody picked it up in years and he didn't have enough space to keep it. I just tested the console yet again yesterday and I played The Legend of Zelda: Four Sword Adventures for like 2 minutes. To me, it looked fantastic.

 

My Wii on the other hand, is on my 32-inch LED connected through component. Probably not the best move, but that's my main TV and I play longer games there. As soon as I get a space of my own for all my video games and stuff, I'll probably set up my HD consoles on the LED and my SD consoles on the CRT. It's going to be sort of a headache, but I love moving stuff around when it means you're going to improve your gaming experience.

[0078265317]

I got a black memory card at goodwill for 2 dollars.

[Tanooki]

Well ok I can see that.

 

#1 - Yup ebay sucks. Not sure where you are but the Carby is sold direct from their site, so maybe they will ship direct to you for $75 + whatever.

 

#2 - It's actually not that bad at least to slide the shell itself off the thing. I wouldn't want to disassemble it entirely either. My intent was just to pop that top and use canned air to blow any dust off the boards and the fans/vents, that's it, that'll be the biggest help to keep it clean so it stays cooler and ventilates better.

 

#3 - Downgrade that PS2 game, nothing about it is worthwhile. If you want the upgrade, there is a HD release on modern PCs and PS3 as it came out a few years back. That is definitely worthwhile, but the PS2 version is not. Yes every RE game from RE1 to 4/Zero came out on the Gamecube. They took the work they did on the Dreamcast era releases and bumped it up a notch, made a few more tweaks to make them the best versions possible at that time. Only now with these total remasters of the first 2 out are they really getting topped. They did for once remove the asinine ribbon system so you can save and not be stuck leaving it on or losing work due to the limited ribbons around. If you liked SC2 on the PS2, then yes for Link it is worth it as reviews of the time felt he was the most natural and best addition that fit well with the rest. An odd suggestion but it is SF2 like enough, Godzilla Destroy all Monsters. Also there are many others with some MK games, Naruto fighters, Viewtiful Joe Red Hot Rumble, DBZ Budokai and more. You shouldn't have a problem.

 

#4 - That's how I felt after lucking into PAL Doshin and the Freeloader 1.06. Those I listed as stuff not to miss, that's what I currently have or had (dumped Lode Runner.) I'm considering others, just haven't bothered yet as i'm not currently into playing GC stuff as I'm tied up with Switch, Virtual Boy and local PS1 finds.