The Nintendo GameCube, the little field that would. Nintendo’s fourth house console ran by its share of issues and in the end bought on the decrease finish for a Nintendo system, nevertheless it’s gained fairly a cult following over time (it’s one in all this author’s favourite methods). And why not? It’s bought a very super library of video games, and it’s house to a few of Nintendo’s most artistic, ingenious, and memorable titles but. It’s been particularly nice to see some implausible GameCube titles return on the Swap, giving folks one other probability to expertise some really outstanding video games.
As nice because the GameCube is, nonetheless, it’s actually bought some stinkers. Very similar to any nice console, some builders might look to make one thing to earn a fast buck, thus focusing much less on making an excellent, high quality title firstly. And little doubt, the GameCube is house to some rubbish. Listed below are 10 of the worst Nintendo GameCube video games that we like to hate.
Pokémon Channel
Sure, it might seem to be sacrilege to incorporate any first-party Nintendo recreation on a listing of “dangerous” video games, however even the perfect fall down typically. Pokémon Channel was one in all many experiments from Nintendo and The Pokémon Firm made to purchase in on the hype of the franchise, and it turned out arguably the worst. In it, you play as Pikachu and assist Professor Oak together with his new TV community. Whereas that’s cute on the floor, the issue is that there’s hardly something to do.
A lot of the sport is spent watching TV, which suggests there isn’t actually a ton of interactivity at play right here. Thus, it feels prefer it was solely actually made for the youngest of younger avid gamers. It’s so lackluster within the gameplay division that it makes its predecessor – the additionally polarizing Hey You, Pikachu! – seem like fireworks by comparability. There are much better Pokémon video games to spend your time with, and even with its kid-friendly attraction, this one would possibly go away the youngins a bit of extra bored than something.
Shadow the Hedgehog
The sixth technology of gaming was a rocky one for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Sega’s flagship mascot and system vendor, the as soon as can’t-miss sequence began to take some hits when the writer went third-party and the franchise landed on a number of platforms for the primary time. There are a few video games that would match right here, however Shadow the Hedgehog needs to be the worst of the bunch. Already, a Sonic recreation this “mature” and loaded with weapons felt like an id disaster, however even past that, the sport simply wasn’t superb.
Its largely washed-out, purple-and-grey aesthetic loses the vibrance of earlier entries, and the gameplay is murdered by the completely slippery controls, uncooperative digital camera, and boring stage design. What makes it worse is how the sport requires you to play by it a minimum of 10 occasions with a view to get the complete, “true” ending. Daring of you to imagine I’d need to proceed after ONE playthrough, Shadow the Hedgehog. The Sonic franchise has little doubt bounced again since this, however Shadow the Hedgehog really stays a stinker amongst stinkers on this long-running franchise.
Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly
Sonic the Hedgehog was not the one “mascot platformer” franchise that misplaced its manner in the course of the sixth technology. As a matter of truth, he was joined by one other sequence that was beforehand unique to at least one system: Spyro the Dragon. Whereas the unique PlayStation video games are nonetheless nice enjoyable at present, the sequence actually began to lose itself virtually instantly after it went multiplatform, beginning with Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly. What’s most unlucky about Enter the Dragonfly is what it may’ve been; initially, the sport was set to be content-loaded with the everyday stage of polish Spyro was recognized for having.
As a substitute, writer disagreements and a rushed improvement led to a downsized recreation that was loaded with bugs and poor efficiency. Maybe complaints in regards to the general “extra of the identical” expertise would’ve been quieter if the sport functioned properly, however that wasn’t the case, and it turned a stain on the franchise’s fame. You understand it’s dangerous when Ted Worth, president of Spyro’s unique developer Insomniac Video games, known as the sport an “absolute travesty” in an interview. And whereas he’s had some first rate adventures since (and the Spyro Reignited Trilogy was implausible), the franchise has by no means been the identical since Enter the Dragonfly.
Batman: Darkish Tomorrow
Yep, right here’s the place we get to the enjoyable a part of a listing like this; the sixth technology was house to loads of low-rent licensed video games made for little greater than making a fast buck off of a longtime property. Batman: Darkish Tomorrow is a type of video games, though it’s a bit sadder than a number of the different titles right here. When it was first introduced at E3 2001, it was set to be an open-world Batman recreation that will basically be a precursor to the Batman: Arkham sequence. Whereas a few of developer Kemco’s concepts had been fairly bold, the staff in the end needed to scale the mission down into one thing extra linear… and in addition one thing fairly dangerous.
A lot criticism was lobbied on the recreation’s stage of polish, which is to say that there was none. Controls had been stiff and unresponsive, and the sport was completely affected by bugs. Whereas some reward went to the writing, that wasn’t almost sufficient to avoid wasting this from simply how inconceivably dangerous it was. It may’ve been one thing particular, nevertheless it wasn’t, and there are many well-written Batman video games that additionally occur to be way more enjoyable to play. Save your time and a focus for these, and don’t waste it on video games like this.
Charlie’s Angels
Whereas I attempted my greatest with Batman: Darkish Tomorrow, Charlie’s Angels is a bit of more durable to defend and play the “what if” recreation with. This was a film tie-in recreation primarily based on the 2000 Charlie’s Angels movie…that was launched in 2003. Logic. And like many film tie-in video games launched in that period (and plenty of eras, for that matter), this turned out to be FAR worse than the film it was primarily based on.
It shouldn’t be shocking after I say that ANOTHER licensed movie-based recreation is full of bugs, however even when it wasn’t, Charlie’s Angels nonetheless suffers. It’s horrid to have a look at, the digital camera is completely horrible, and the fight is a joke. It’s particularly dangerous that the GameCube model apparently has a bug the place you may’t progress previous the primary stage until you could have a reminiscence card inserted. Certainly, a technical hitch like that will’ve been seemed over by most builders, however apparently, the first-timers at Neko Leisure couldn’t do it. Don’t waste your time right here.
Nickelodeon Occasion Blast
Yeah, the remainder of this listing is licensed video games. Buckle up. On the floor, Nickelodeon Occasion Blast isn’t a nasty concept: having a enjoyable celebration recreation that crosses over some traditional Nickelodeon franchises seems like a slam dunk. And hey, as a fan of traditional Nickelodeon, there are few issues that sound extra thrilling than a crossover of franchises like Rocket Energy, Jimmy Neutron, Rugrats, and Invader ZIM (with CatDog because the hosts). In the best arms, this might’ve been nice. Sadly, Information Design Interactive has not often been the best arms for any type of recreation, and Nickelodeon Occasion Blast was one other of their lengthy line of shovelware.
Frankly, it’s exhausting to search out many good issues to say in regards to the recreation. It appears hideous, it sounds hideous, it performs hideously… it’s only a poor excuse of a recreation that would’ve been a lot greater than what it was. Sadly, it was dealt with by a developer most recognized for shovelware, and thus, it’s only one title in an extended pile of rubbish. If you’d like something near a superb Nickelodeon celebration recreation, SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Digicam, Pants! is a legitimately enjoyable title that’s nonetheless value your time. In any other case, if you’d like a celebration recreation that crosses over a number of Nickelodeon franchises, hold dreaming…or search for that in a style that isn’t “celebration video games.”
Charlie and the Chocolate Manufacturing unit
Oh, however right here’s the place it will get good; a licensed tie-in to a film that really managed to launch across the similar time because the film…in different phrases, it was rushed to market to get in on the hype. And this time, we’ve got one other Charlie on our listing, however this one didn’t have any Angels. All he had was a large fall into the Chocolate River, à la Augustus Gloop. 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Manufacturing unit stays a film I’ll defend as an excellent adaptation of the ebook, however the online game tie-in…yeah, I bought nothing, there’s no defending right here.
All the pieces that would go improper for a licensed online game went improper right here. Terrible controls and poor stage design boring the sport from the leap, as does its relative misunderstanding of the unique plot. All through the sport, Charlie Bucket is tasked with basically fixing the chocolate manufacturing unit. Positive, the sport must have *some* goal, however doesn’t fixing the manufacturing unit take away the purpose of, you already know…touring it? It’s simply one other case of a licensed recreation that, fairly frankly, didn’t must be made. Polarizing because the movie is, it’s little doubt a greater expertise than enjoying the sport.
Common Studios Theme Park Journey
I do know…sure, this was truly a factor. In 2001, not lengthy after the discharge of the GameCube, somebody thought it was a implausible concept to launch a online game centered round Common Studios Theme Parks. As a lover of such theme parks, this author as soon as thought that sounded fairly nice…earlier than truly seeing the sport in motion. That’s when Common Studios Theme Park Journey began making manner much less sense. Like really, is that this recreation ANYONE’S concept of what a superb Common Studios-based recreation ought to be?
To condense Common Studios Theme Park Journey as greatest as I can, you mainly spend your time choosing up trash across the park to earn factors to go on the rides. Already fairly nugatory, however made even worse by the truth that the rides themselves are nowhere close to as cool as they might’ve been. When you could have nice sights like Again to the Future: The Journey, Jaws, and E.T. Journey, you’d anticipate much more than the mind-numbing minigames thrown haphazardly in your course. In case you had been on the lookout for an opportunity to expertise Common with out having to spend exorbitant quantities of cash for a visit, this is not going to fulfill you…however possibly the Disneyland recreation would possibly?
Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis
Lengthy earlier than Jason Momoa made folks understand Aquaman was cool, DC’s water-based superhero was the butt of many a joke within the comedian ebook world. And positive, possibly a low-rent licensed GameCube online game shouldn’t be held in opposition to a personality THAT closely within the grand scheme of issues…however Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis most actually did him no favors. And actually, I’m working out of artistic and distinctive methods to say, “It is a licensed recreation on the GameCube so there are many points.”
What I can say – and maybe it is a bit unhappy – is that very similar to Batman: Darkish Tomorrow, there’s truly some first rate writing at play right here. It’s only a disgrace then that extra strong DC writing needed to be wasted on a recreation that’s ungodly ranges of repetitive. And in contrast to Batman, Aquaman can’t say he’s had a greater recreation since this, so followers of the character are caught right here in the event that they really need your repair in online game type. Likelihood is, although, that you simply most likely don’t, so it’s greatest to let this one sink to the seabed.
Shrek Tremendous Occasion
Oh boy, right here we go. Pardon the non-public anecdotes right here, however Shrek Tremendous Occasion is a recreation this author has a bit of extra expertise with than he’d prefer to admit. Having mates who truly OWN the sport will try this to you. In consequence, I’ve seen and performed it sufficient occasions that I’ve been modified by it. After I hear my mates ask if I’d prefer to play the sport they affectionately confer with as “Large Head Shrek,” my fight-or-flight instincts kick in.
Typically, I awake in the course of the evening (which for me is 10 AM) in a chilly sweat as a result of I’ve simply had nightmares about “Large Head Shrek.” I turn out to be shaken each time I hear “You are taking the cake, Thelonious!” I’ve stared down dying within the eyes of a smiling man, and his title is Monsieur Hood. Shrek Tremendous Occasion has damaged me in methods I could by no means really recuperate from, and my life has by no means really been the identical since…
Okay, probably not, however the recreation is admittedly dangerous. It’s an utter mess of gross gameplay and completely cursed visuals. Shrek has had quite a lot of online game tie-ins – too many, I’d even argue – and Shrek Tremendous Occasion is simply unbelievably terrible. However in contrast to a number of the different video games on right here, that is one I’d oddly advocate. Maybe Shrek’s meme standing lately trumps my practicality a bit – or possibly my mates have really brainwashed me – but when nothing else, its sheer stupidity would possibly make it value a glance. Seize a few mates, be sure you have some…apple juice…youngsters recreation we’re speaking about right here…and go nuts.
Wait, did I truly simply advocate Shrek Tremendous Occasion? What have I became?
Okay, whereas I’m going ponder absolutely the demon that I’ve turn out to be, what are another actually dangerous GameCube video video games? Tell us within the feedback.