If I have been to talk to you what the defining gaming console of 2023 has been so considerably, what would you say? The Xbox Collection X, with its shock drop of Hi-Fi Hurry? The PlayStation 5, with the guarantee of future exclusives like Ultimate Fantasy XVI and Marvel’s Spider-Person 2? Or perhaps the Nintendo Change, with six many years of significant income leading us to the doorstep of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?
Although all of individuals are admirable alternatives, it is crystal clear to me that the defining console of 2023 is none other than the Nintendo GameCube, which is finally receiving the really like and admiration it justifies immediately after above two many years many thanks to a lot of of its most legendary games receiving remastered, remade, and rediscovered by a fashionable audience.
It is constantly felt like the GameCube received missing in the shuffle of its very own gargantuan console era. The PlayStation 2 was a international phenomenon and remains the bestselling console ever at 158 million units. Its checklist of classics places it in a rarefied environment – defining entries in the Grand Theft Vehicle, Metal Gear Strong, Silent Hill, Last Fantasy, Persona, God of War, and Kingdom Hearts franchises, together with personal masterpieces like Okami, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and Katamari Damacy.
And on the other stop of the spectrum, whilst the Xbox did not have the depth of Sony’s library, the 1st two Halo game titles redefined the FPS genre on consoles and served revolutionize on the internet play into the ubiquity that we have currently.
But while the GameCube experienced a lot heading for it – terrific installments in Nintendo’s biggest franchises, a superb and groundbreaking controller in the WaveBird, and a neat li’l manage – it was overshadowed by both of those of its contemporaries, as properly as the tidal wave that arrived later on in the Wii. Supporters of it like myself are ride or die, but in the grand scheme of factors, it would seem to have gotten a bit missing to time.
That is — right up until now.
In the AAA space, the very first quarter of this yr has been defined by remakes and remasters. A few of the most important and most celebrated online games of 2023 have been new can take on old experiences. When the Useless Room remake kicked points off in January, Metroid Primary Remastered’s surprise fall outlined February, and Resident Evil 4’s remake seems to be just about every bit as profitable as what Capcom realized with Resident Evil 2. And would you look at that – if you just take a glance at Metacritic’s highest-rated GameCube game titles ever, you will see Metroid Primary at the top rated with a 97 and Resident Evil 4 just powering it with a 96.
Of class, RE4 would finally land on really a great deal every console less than the sunlight, but equally it and Metroid Primary are video games I nevertheless deeply affiliate with my first playthroughs on the GameCube. What the console’s library lacked in quantity, it most unquestionably produced up for in high quality.
But the GameCube enjoy in 2023 does not quit at these two online games. This calendar year also observed Tales of Symphonia hit Change, PlayStation 4, and Xbox 1, however the remaster is a little bit tough around the edges. We have the Baten Kaitos game titles coming back later on this summer time, along with the most recent installment in the Pikmin series, which was 1 of the GameCube’s defining new franchises.
Digging even a bit deeper, this year’s Fire Emblem Have interaction felt like a celebration of the series’s record, which a whole lot of individuals in the West to start with learned via Marth and Roy in Tremendous Smash Bros. Melee, as well as the superb Fireplace Emblem: Path of Radiance. And with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on the horizon, weirdos like myself are revisiting basic Zelda entries, including Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, both equally of which initially debuted on the GCN. Aspect note – Nintendo, please permit me place my unfortunate old Wii U out of its misery and launch the High definition variations of these two on Swap.
On best of all of that, there is even now a treasure trove of GameCube video games that I’d appreciate to see make a comeback in some form. Paper Mario: The Thousand-12 months Door could possibly be the pinnacle of Mario’s RPG historical past, Skies of Arcadia Legends produced one of the ideal Dreamcast video games even greater, Rogue Chief is a best-tier Star Wars sport, Viewtiful Joe was Clover at its very best, rumors go on to swirl that F-Zero GX could return, and Wario Planet proved at the time again that greed is fantastic. And although a lot of men and women affiliate the console with loved ones-welcoming video games, classics like Killer 7 and Everlasting Darkness had been some of the defining M-rated experiences of the era.
The query right here is how we’d see some of these game titles return. Could they be standalone remasters, or is there a likelihood that Nintendo expands its Switch On the net choices? We have not long ago observed Sport Boy and Match Boy Advance get added to the assistance, but would they be eager to force it even additional? Potentially this is something Nintendo is conserving for the abide by-up to the Switch, which has to be coming eventually… appropriate?
Alongside all of this, it feels like we’re in a moment in which a whole lot of new online games are becoming described as having a type of “GameCube energy” to them. Hi-Fi Hurry is a primary case in point of one particular of this year’s most important surprises that felt like it channeled an aesthetic and layout sensibility that would’ve match appropriate at dwelling in the Dreamcast / GameCube early ‘00s era of matters like Viewtiful Joe and the Capcom 5. And this helps make perception, presented that there is an complete new technology of developers who grew up with people and are now earning video games of their individual. It’s not dissimilar to the 8-bit retro growth we noticed in video games like Shovel Knight final decade.
So though the GameCube could possibly not have arrive out on best of its own console generation, it is crystal clear that its legacy is alive and nicely in 2023, not only in the genuine video games on their own, but in how the console would go on to influence an fully new era of creators.