Can you survive the mansion you’re trapped in filled with zombies, giant snakes, and other baddies who are just trying to kill you?  Well, if you can, you’re in luck because the famous survival horror franchise just got remade for the Nintendo GameCube.  When this game came out it was a really big deal because, even though this isn’t the first Resident Evil game for a Nintendo console, it was a unique version of the first game that didn’t release on any of the contemporary competitors.  Many of the aspects that scared fans of the original were changed as well as the visuals and the audio.  Everything about this version was a treat for GameCube owners everywhere.  Luckily it has been ported to every system under the sun now, so it’s not like Twin Snakes where it’s trapped on the system. 

Visuals:

Playing this game decades later I’m still surprised with how certain scenes look in the game. Compared to the original, this version looks breathtaking!  You will get creepy dutch angles, zombies banging on windows, lightning flashes, moody lighting.  It just looks incredible.  The cutscenes, on the other hand, are severely dated.  The CGI is low resolution and the character models look very of that era.  Again, compared to the original, this version is a masterpiece.  Compared to decades later, it’s a little bit stunted.  But it really isn’t a bad thing.  It doesn’t detract from the game.

Audio:

You know, I could have sworn the voice acting was better but it still just sounds just as bad as the original.  They’ve changed some of the dialog to get rid of the campyness but have just replaced it with equally bad takes.  Everyone sounds wooden and like they’re talking to a wall.  Where it really shines is the atmosphere.  Like I said about the visuals, the scenes of this game are just dripping with creaks, groans, thunder, scary sounds, etc. that just invite your imagination to run wild.  

Completion:

I’m pretty sure I beat this game back when it came out.  I’d have to check my records, but I’m working through it again and I am still loving how everything looks.  Sure, there are rose tinted glasses effecting an honest take, but it still is gorgeous.  The camera angles, with the lighting, and the revamped Jill model bring the game to a whole different level.  I’m pretty sure this is why it is still being released on modern consoles because it holds up.  Currently I just saved Richard and am working to a confrontation with a big fucking snake, but we will see how long I keep playing it.

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In what would be the start of a series of games and Samus’s first outing in a 3D adventure and, not to mention, a shift into the first person perspective, Metroid Prime brings back the legendary bounty hunter to a new audience.  You will traverse the world of Tallon IV as you try to get to the bottom of why the race of the Chozo was wiped out by a meteor.  Along the way you’ll get new powerups and weapons to help you progress through the world.  In the end you’ll come face to face with the titular metroids who corrupt the enemies to make them even more formidable.  This is also set in between the events of Metroid and Metroid II.

Visuals:

As I stated before, Metroid Prime is a shift to the first person perspective but unlike other games of the genre this is an actual perspective from the eyes of Samus.  Every now and then you will see effects that show a reflection of your face behind the glass.  Condensation will build up when you go through steam vents and, sometimes, your view will become scrambled due to some enemies.  The game is gorgeous for the time with the world looking immensely detailed and varied with the enemies reflecting these biomes.  No two zones look identical.

Audio:

Even the music and sound effects of this game are super unique.  You don’t get the typical music you would get of this era but instead you get what seems like digital jazz.  The songs are reinterpretations of the traditional music but they seem to fit the worlds they inhabit.  Of note is the Space Pirates theme which pops up all the time when they appear and it is a banger.  Some other little cool aspects is, like the visuals, you’ll hear Samus grunt, groan, and scream when she experiences damage.  It’s really immersive.

Completion:

I FINISHED THIS GAME!  Back on December 12, 2004, a little over two years after the game was released, I beat the game with 91% completion.  It was really an awesome experience and was nothing like we had seen at the time.  It really stands to reason how much of an impact the game has had on UI design where a lot of the shooters released after use the same type of first person perspective in which you are actually seeing from their eyes.  After over 20 years I can really say I love everything about this game.  The music, visuals, and the tone.  It’s no wonder the prime franchise endures well after two decades.

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A remake of Metal Gear Solid, which came out for the Sony PlayStation, co-developed by Konami, Nintendo, and Silicon Knights for the Nintendo GameCube.  It took the same type of graphics and mechanics used for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty for the Sony PlayStation 2 and tried its hardest to emulate it.  Some things work while others don’t.  Unfortunately, the GameCube controller didn’t have as many buttons as either the PS1 or PS2 so some concessions were made.  Either way, this game is the only time MGS1 was ever remade for any other system and that’s pretty cool.

Visuals:

While this game does look pretty good, there is something that just makes it still look kind of inferior to MGS2 for some reason.  The character models don’t look as detailed, the facial animations are kind of weird, and everything just seems to be of low detail.  The cutscenes have also been remade due to the incorporation of Ryuhei Kitamura being brought in to direct the action sequences.  These really do crazy things with Snake and his acrobatics but it’s appealing to some people, I suppose.  I wasn’t one of them.

Audio:

Most of the audio is kept verbatim with what was done 6 years prior.  Some of the lines have changed and Cyborg Ninja was completely recast, which is a shame, but everything else is there.  You have talked about “Bothersome flies”, “Pineapples”, and “Alaskan Field Mice” all there.  The music has also been reworked to be more in line with MGS2 as well with it being much more dramatic.

Completion:

I FINISHED THIS GAME!* Back in 2005.  The things I’m typing are my thoughts on the game from that time period and, even firing it back up again to get the screenshots, I still feel the same.  The game just feels a little bit off.  It was cool to play this game on the GameCube and knowing, even 20 years later as of 2025, that it’s the only way to play it is still a trip.  Seeing the cutscenes being redone and the graphics trying to be on par with MGS2 was a sight to behold.  I just wish more was done for this system because, although cool it exists, I would still much rather play the original MGS1 anyday over this version.

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It’s a golf game for the Nintendo GameCube.  That’s about all the setup there should be but if you need more, here it is.  You take control of either Tiger Woods or a bunch of random characters and can play a multitude of different golf games.  Do you like to see who gets the lowest score?  CHECK!  Actually, I don’t know what else there is since usually that’s the only game mode we used to play.  The courses are also out there in that they can be famous ones or just crazy Scottish Highlands with hundreds of feet in drop.  Could these be real?  Maybe, but I’m guessing they’re not.

Visuals:

Maybe I have rose tinted glasses on, but I think this game still looks good.  You have to set your expectations low since this is a game from 2002 but for what it is it does it really well.  The characters all look like they’re supposed to look and the courses all have their own unique style to them you’ll start dreading when jungles or ruins pop up.  The game does also add some little visual touches to the hits by channeling The Matrix or Happy Gilmore which were contemporaries at the time.

Audio:

I have mixed feelings about this one.  This was the time when Electronic Arts was putting EA Trax in everything so you get a hodgepodge of random rap rock from that time period which really doesn’t fit so, long ago, I turned it off.  Only to replace it with my GOOD rap rock of that time period.  Very hypocritical.  The rest of the sounds are really well.  I love the crowd noises they make as well as the ambient sounds of the courses.  The commentary is alright and repetitive but you’ll start blocking it out after a while.

Completion:

You wouldn’t think you could complete a sports game but I feel I’ve done it.  My created character is maxed out and has millions in the bank because he can’t buy anymore.  I’ve hit holes in one, eagles, etc. so I really don’t have any worlds to conquer.  Yet, I keep coming back to this game for a quick 18 because it is so good.  My friends and I used to play this all the time back in college so there is that nostalgia but I feel this is just a really good golf game.

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Ikaruga is an extremely hard vertical space shooter game developed by Treasure, originally released for the Sega Dreamcast, then ported to the Nintendo GameCube and, golly, it has always been fucking hard.  You switch between polarities of black or white and, based on the color of the ships you’re shooting, can either inflict normal or double damage.  Also, upon explosion, the ships shoot colored bullets back at you.  You’ll absorb the same color and die from a different color.  It’s hard hard hard.  It’s been hard for over 20 years.

Visuals:

I would say this game is a visual treat but I really can’t pay attention to what is going on in the game other than watching bullets coming at me.  I can’t tell you what’s happening in the background, what the ship designs look like, etc. because everything for me is condensed to the small bottom sector of the screen.  From what I can see it does look beautiful, even if it’s from the Dreamcast/GameCube era.  

Audio:

This is something I can actually pay attention to because the soundtrack and everything audio about this game is fucking rad.  The soundtrack amps you up enough to be like “I’m gonna fuckin do it!” to immediately being humbled by your first explosion, then second, third, and then the robot asking to to Continue digs the knife even deeper.  All of that culminates to the sound of, what I can describe, as a “zombie explosion” when you run out of continues.  Other than that, though, all the explosions from the ships to the boss’s ultimate demise just are top notch.

Completion:

I bought this game for the GameCube from Wal-Mart back in 2003 and still cannot ever get past the second stage.  There must be something wrong with me because I always keep coming back to the game over and over again.  I bought it again for the Xbox 360 in 2008 and still can’t do it.  It’s never going to happen as I get older and my reflexes deteriorate.  Either way, it’s been a hell of a ride.

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Luigi has won a mansion…for a concert he didn’t enter…and it’s all his. Mario is also missing, but that’s besides the point. When you get to the mansion you are made aware it’s full of ghosts, a strange scientist, and relics of Mario! You use your trusty vacuum cleaner and Game Boy Horror to help you capture all the ghosts and rescue Mario.

Audio:

This game has atmosphere. Luigi is humming the entire time, depending on his health, the songs are all remixes of each other in different locations, and everything is just so goddamned unique it’s genius. There is, what seems, to be kind of a low quality to some of the mixes but I’m not sure if it was done intentionally or what but it does add to the charm. Even from the very beginning, the game just tells you what kind of game it is…

Completion:

I FINISHED THIS GAME! There was just something so charming about it, even though I could never really wrap my head around the controls, that made me want to beat it. Luigi is such a scaredy cat and his exclamations ARE HILARIOUS. It’s a very satisfying game and really should not have gotten the hate it did when it released back in 2001. We were just more fickle then, I suppose. I love it now, doe!

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Don’t get me wrong, I loved RE4 to death when it came out and then loved it even more when it re-released for the Wii. Now, though, this game just looks about as interesting as a girlfriend you’ve had for 2 years.

Visuals:

Chalk this up to the game being four years old but that is really no excuse, the game is ugly. Graphics don’t make a game but, in a visual medium, they do matter plenty. When you still have games, like The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker [2003] or Star Wars: Rogue Leader [2001], that are still quite beautiful, RE4 just becomes painful to sit through again. There are some visually stunning effects that pop out among the muddy waters though. When in Salazar’s Castle, the molten [lava?] heat and lighting effects are amazing but it comes to an end quickly when you solve the puzzle and are thrown on another boring landmass.

Controls:

RE4’s [and in part RE5’s] controls are something I never had a problem with. They may not allow run and gun gameplay, but in this context it makes sense. When the enemies are walking at you, rather menacingly, strafing in circles, headshotting them, would take all the dread out of it. Knowing that I have to position myself and carefully choose my shots make me be more aware of my surroundings rather than run in circles. It also makes sense in real life since running and shooting a moving target, some 20 yards out, in the head is pretty difficult to do.

Legacy:

Where RE4 really shows its impact is what it has done for the industry since release. The over the shoulder view has become a staple in many action titles now like Gears of War, Wanted: Weapons of Fate and Dead Space. Making cutscenes interactive was also something fresh that RE4 did that has appeared in many games now.

Unfortunately for RE4, the games that were inspired by it have refined what it means to be an action game. Flanking enemies in RE4 and RE5 are borderline retarded in comparison to the Locust while the ability to cover, that has become standard now, is a step above hiding in a corner and pointing at windows. Bosses have also become more intricate in modern games compared to what this franchise has done. Boses now require strategy to take down compared to the “keep shooting him till he’s dead” mantra that the franchise has gone off of for over a decade.

One other blemish on RE4’s legacy is Capcom. The developer/publisher felt the need to constantly whore out the game many times with the version for GameCube, the expanded PlayStation 2 version and the re-released expanded Wii version. It also paved the way for the quick rehash that has plagued the system of previous generation games getting released a second time with “new Wii controls” which add nothing but a gimmicky waggle control for a game that was never intended for such a thing. I’ll admit that the Wii version rocked.

Point?

Resident Evil 4 was a game that many claimed was one of the greatest games ever made [it’s still slightly below BioShock on GameRankings]. I see fault in this because, like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, it has been usurped by the next of kin. Resident Evil 5, much like the aforementioned Wind Waker, took what made it’s predecessor unique and made it even better. While RE4 is a great game and should be played, don’t let nostalgia overcome you.

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