So without further ado, let’s get started...
Nintendo Software Technology gripped tightly to 1080° Avalanche's wayward development and created a title that surpassed expectations, forging a game with its own approach to the genre, sitting between the realism of 1080° Snowboarding and the extravagance of SSX 3.
It stuck to the N64 foundations, still focusing on speed and one-on-one versus racing, yet the tight, creative course design, gameplay-changing shortcuts and coin-collecting time trials combined to present a polished GCN game. Intuitive controls made tricks accessible and encouraged gamers to take risks to build the empowering boost bar.
It looks great, and a short, but quality selection of licensed bands combines with similar attention spent on sound effects, which provide an aural treat.
It's arguable that this series really came into its own in a portable context with the wonderful Animal Crossing: Wild World on Nintendo DS, but the N64 original nailed most of the systems first time out and this GameCube port of that Japan-only release introduced Animal Crossing's pleasant real-time village antics to the west.
It's a series that you play a little bit every day and that's much more easily accomplished on a handheld system which you can whip out on the bus or take on your lunch break. It's hard to return to a village tied to a home console these days, but then again it's hard to return to any previous entry once you've become accustomed to the myriad quality-of-life improvements of the next.
We'll always have the memories, though, and this first taste of village life was sweet.
Honestly, we're genuinely surprised that Sega never did anything with Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg beyond the original GameCube title. Sure, it wasn't a critical darling, and nor did it sell particularly well, but it's definitely one of those "if you know, you know" kinda games.
It's gained a small, yet dedicated cult following in the years since its release in 2003, and like Smash Bros. Melee, few can think of the GameCube without also referencing Billy Hatcher.
Let's give it a second chance on NSO. You never know, it might prompt Sega to do the unthinkable and greenlight a sequel.
Despite the frequency with which we do it, crashing your car in a video game is usually a sign of failure, but developers Criterion injected the Burnout games with high-risk thrills that rewarded you with boost for being cavalier, and made bad driving a virtue with its addictive 'Crash' mode.
This sequel improved on the original in almost every way and is this a blast to (crash and) burn through today. We're still sad that Burnout 3: Takedown never made it to the GameCube, but the second entry is still an absolute corker, and we'd love to try it out again on Switch 2.
After Nintendo manufactured the DK Bongos, the company supported them with a surprising number of releases. Donkey Konga predated Guitar Hero by a year, just before music-loving gamers' households were filled to the roof with plastic guitars and bulky drum kits.
The rhythm-based premise is old-hat nowadays, but Donkey Konga works very well and, provided you've got the requisite number of bongos, makes for an excellent party game for up to four players.
Of course, the bongos would be key to a new release on NSO, but if Nintendo can bring back its core line--up of controllers again, then why not the DK bongos?
The first 'mainline' DK game following the end of Rare's stewardship of the character, and an under-appreciated gem from director Yoshiaki Koizumi and the EAD Tokyo team that would go on to make Super Mario Galaxy, Nintendo is at its best when it's doing something no one else would do — and a platformer you play with a pair of bongos is something you're unlikely to find elsewhere.
Yes, you control Donkey Kong Jungle Beat using arguably the best/silliest official controller ever made. You can play with a standard GameCube pad if you want, but it's best to keep the neighbours awake with this one. You move DK by hitting the drums or clapping, which is detected by the bongos' in-built mic, bounding through the 2.5D levels collecting bananas, bashing baddies, and building combos to score 'beats'.
It's short, but brilliant fun and is superior to the (still excellent) Wii Remote-controlled New Play Control! version because bongos beat motion controls. Always.
Doshin The Giant is a wholly unique and pleasingly confusing experience.
Balancing working hard and being loved alongside doing things quickly but being hated — as well as random natural disasters — allows for a degree of tactics in an otherwise super chilled-out game. Villagers can have unreasonable demands that often contradict their neighbour's, who is standing two metres away, but that’s the price you pay for having such heavy responsibilities. It’s showing some signs of age in its visuals, but the terraforming mechanics alone are still impressively modern, and make Doshin the Giant a great game to play even today.
To be honest, we'd love to see Doshin the Giant on NSO if only to see how happy it would make our esteemed video producer, Alex.
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem is a brilliant psychological horror game that blends Resident Evil-style survival horror with Lovecraftian Old World magick and an era-hopping historical narrative to create something quite unique and only available on GameCube.
It may take you a while to get into its spellcasting and unusual mix of styles (and that may be the reason second-hand copies cost mere pennies for so many years), but once it gets under your skin it's a hard game to shake.
The fourth wall-breaking sanity effects always steal the column inches, but the ambitious, dread-soaked story deserves just as much recognition, and whether you're a hardcore horror aficionado or a novice that needs a walkthrough with the lights on, we recommend playing this any which way you can. We're not expecting a full-blown remaster anytime soon, so let's at least give it a second chance on NSO.
One of the infamous 'Capcom Five', Suda51's Killer7 launched for the GameCube back in 2005 and, in time, became a cult classic. It revolves around the titular group of assassins and a noir-heavy story that delves into governmental conspiracies and murdering lots of folk, naturally.
It's an acquired taste, that's for sure, thanks to its slightly stilted on-rails, first-person gameplay that blends gunplay and puzzle-solving with eye-catching cel-shaded visuals.
It's an intoxicating mixture and one that makes for an unforgettable slice of video gaming violence and adventure. Even if you don't jibe with it, you certainly won't forget Killer7.
'Simple' needn’t equate to 'dull', and GameCube racer Kirby Air Ride features a fair amount of multiplayer fun in each of its three game modes. In fact, it might be the perfect way to introduce small kids and/or non-gaming spouses to the delights of race-based video games if you're not a fan of Mario Kart (which Kirby remains inexplicably absent from).
However, if you’re an adult looking for a game to play alone, or a hardcore racer looking for something that demands a higher level of strategy and skill, you'd be better off hitching a ride with Mario or Captain Falcon instead.
Given that creator Masahiro Sakurai is launching an official Switch 2 sequel, Kirby Air Riders, later this year, we reckon Nintendo would be wise to let fans and newcomers dip their toes into the original before splashing out on the new game.
We've already got the Kuru Kuru Kururin on the GBA NSO app, so it only makes sense that the Japan-only Kururin Squash! gets added to the upcoming GameCube line-up. The basic premise is the same: simply make your way through maze-like levels within a ship that's constantly spinning.
We say "basic", but the gameplay of Kururin Squash! can get incredibly tense as you arrive at some of the later, more complex levels. Patience and precision will be needed, but it should make for a nice change of pace after the chaos of, say, F-Zero GX.
Your favourite Mario Kart game tends to depend very much on which one you played first, or which one you've played the most in multiplayer. This can lead to much contentious debate, but we have wonderful memories of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! despite it often getting short shrift from many.
While not overflowing with new ideas, the racers were presented as gorgeous fully 3D models for the first time, the two-driver gimmick was extremely satisfying and introduced a new layer of strategy as you switched characters and juggled items, and it has some great courses, including DK Mountain (ah, that little shortcut at the end!) and perennial favourite Baby Park, the hilariously hectic mini-course.
With Mario Kart World headlining the Switch 2 launch line-up, we can't imagine Nintendo adding Double Dash!! to NSO any time soon, but given the right amount of space, we think both titles have a good chance to thrive on Switch 2.
We're quite partial to the Nintendo 64 entry in the series, but developer Camelot didn't do much wrong when it came to the excellent GameCube iteration, either.
Featuring 16 characters and courses containing Mushroom Kingdom staples such as warp pipes and Chain Chomps, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour takes things up a gear without reinventing the game, making every bunker and green look suitably lovely and introducing some fun extra modes.
Given the dev's history and impressive catalogue of games involving Mario smacking balls of various sizes as hard as possible, MGTT is hardly revolutionary. But there's only so much you can do with golf before it turns into something that isn't really golf anymore. Ultimately, there aren't many better ways to spoil a walk than this.
A lot of folks view Toadstool Tour as the very best Mario Golf entry, and with Super Rush on Switch largely failing to ignite some enthusiasm, adding the GameCube entry to NSO would be the perfect remedy.
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes was developed in the main by Silicon Knights, the same studio behind Eternal Darkness, and incorporated aspects of gameplay from Sons of Liberty into the original MGS game.
It also boasts obvious graphical upgrades and entirely re-recorded dialogue featuring almost all the original cast. The new additions were generally well-received, although the gameplay additions arguably trivialised some of the original game's difficulty.
With the original PS1 classic now available on Switch, we can't see Twin Snakes coming to NSO any time soon, but it would undoubtedly be a fascinating glimpse into a title that many consider to be a flawed, but immensely enjoyable gem.
Phew! That's the Ms out of the way. Turn the page (or, well, click below) to see even more games we'd love to see on Switch 2 NSO.
