Fantasy RPGs abound on the GameCube. I’m predisposed toward Nintendo’s purple powerhouse, so I’ve enjoyed geeking out over the titles below.
What constitutes a good RPG adventure? Is it the battling, tactical puzzles, or unforgettable settings and storylines?
The best GameCube RPGs below are full of all three. Like a baker recognizes good sourdough, we know good RPGs.
So take your shields and proceed to the nearest dungeon to save the planet
27. Evolution Worlds
Evolution Worlds follows, presenting ancient discoveries and a never-ending war to living rooms worldwide.
Evolution fans, the best Dreamcast RPGs. will enjoy this game. The first Evolution game, “The World of Sacred Device,” and the sequel, “Far Off Promise,” are included in this compilation.
You’ve arrived if you like gigantic dungeon crawlers and turn-based fights with nasty weaponry.
26. Tales of Symphonia (2004)
Tales of Symphonia leads our GameCube RPG list. It’s a must-have for PSO, Fire Emblem, and most other RPG enthusiasts!
Symphonia, the 5th “Tales of” title, features legendary characters that aficionados and newbies appreciate. This classic RPG is a good starting point for newcomers.
Tales of Symphonia score? Players control Lloyd, a valiant combatant. Lloyd isn’t an RPG name, but Keith Courage is badass. Never judge a fighter by name!
Lloyd and his pals are trying to defend Sylvarant from evil, but every good deed they do puts a parallel universe in danger!
25. Harvest Moon: Magical Melody (2005)
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody is the 9th best GameCube RPG. Animal Crossing aficionados will love this farm-based RPG.
Are you curious about farm management? Farmer? Probably not. Many of us have never cared for animals or grown crops.
Players compete for agricultural fame as a boy or girl farmer. It’s mostly about caring for animals, but demonstrating that dumb opponent how to grow the tastiest radishes at the local festival will make him grin.
Players can acquire Musical Notes to bring the Harvest Sprites back to town by maintaining the farm, befriending animals, and beating that idiot rival in competitions.
Banjo and Kazooie inspired them.
24. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (2005)
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is the 8th best GameCube RPG! It’s the third Fire Emblem game Western gamers got and a must-own classic.
Japanese gamers may not care about the 9th game in the series. Path of Radiance, my first home console game, was amazing.
Here, gamers who like strategy and pencil-moving figures will fit in. It’s Stratego, Chess, Risk, and D&D fantasy.
The first 3D Fire Emblem was great. The novel is wonderful yet long and involves characters like Ashnard and Elincia in Daein, a Beorc nation.
23. Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance (2001)
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is like my nerdy friend Josh’s D&D campaigns in video game form. He looks like an orc and wears a cape, which may help you understand.
Baldur’s Gate is for magic, demons, and steel-slashing fans. surprisingly similar to D&D. The Dungeons and Dragons third edition rules are used in “The Realms” setting.
The first BG game for home consoles is gloomy, thrilling, and full of tremendous magic and hack/slash gameplay.
Players can customize a character like in other good RPGs. Real-time combat at Baldur’s Gate prevents evil from conquering another benign world.
Play co-op or solo in this magical and powerful narrative. It’s a great GameCube RPG and deserves to be on this list!
22. Skies of Arcadia Legends (2002)
Skies of Arcadia is a gorgeous game full of my favorites. Monsters, spacecraft, and an adventure-ready music!
Many Dreamcast gamers first played this game. The GameCube version is a beefed-up directors cut with reduced loading times, more content, and new features.
Skies of Arcadia has powerful weapons. Add the open-world action we’re used to, and you’ve got an excellent game that’s hard to put down.
I said it was a directors cut. The GameCube port offers superior graphics and frame rate. The makers added side quests to convince Dreamcast aficionados to buy the latest edition.
21. Gladius (2003)
We know LucasArts and their spectacular games. For nerds like us, Gladius is one of the best GameCube RPGs.
How many games train gladiators to kill opponents for eternal glory? That phrase should sell this game without my help!
The game follows a gladiator training school in Imperia, Italy, where recruits want their faces on lunchboxes and t-shirts, and a fantasy school in Nordagh, apparently a Nordic kingdom.
Inter-school bake-offs are impossible because one school hates the other.
20. Lost Kingdoms (2002)
Card collecting and monster summoning will appeal to Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh fans.
This classic RPG lets players explore exotic worlds with Princess Katia, fighting and collecting strange beasts.
This game’s underappreciated. After playing Lost Kingdoms, my friends all bought it.
Princess Katia is the only one who can save Argwyll from a dreadful creature. She can’t fight, but her guardian monsters and demons deliver fast retribution.
Summoning creatures in this game never gets old, and elemental traits like fire beating wood but not water keep players on their toes.
This game has many intriguing locales to explore. Play alone or with a friend to discover who has the strongest monster horde!
19. Poke Colosseum (2003)
Pokemon Legends Arceus fans should play Pokemon Colosseum! This RPG adventure combines our favorite Pokemon Gameboy games with a new and fascinating premise.
We’ve all tried to catch another trainer’s Pokemon for fun and received the warning. In Pokemon Colosseum, catching other people’s Pokemon—or freeing and stealing them—is the goal!
Reformed “Team Snagem” member Wes is controlled by players. He abandoned the organization, but he still retains their snagging device and uses it to free Shadow Pokemon instead of Snagem.
After writing “snag” so much, it doesn’t feel genuine!
18. Baten Kaitos: Origins (2006)
Origins, a prequel that expands on the world introduced in the first Baten Kaitos game, was released two years after the first game.
In comparison to its predecessor, it has various mechanical upgrades, including a more efficient card battle system.
Additionally, the voice acting has improved a little bit, and the characters have undergone deeper character development.
BK: Origins would have beaten the first game in terms of graphics and soundtrack if it weren’t for the massive reuse of first-game locations and resources.
This will feel like a gem if you’ve never played the original, though.
17. LOTR: The Third Age (2004)
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age had to top this list of the best GameCube RPGs since I feel LOTR is a documentary.
Though it’s fictional, it’s my favorite story. This game is a complete fantasy, like the novels and movies.
Turn-based battles in Tolkien’s realm may be the best gaming experience ever.
Why is The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age the finest GameCube RPG? Players fight through new locations like the Fellowship characters.
Gamers may also play big battles and classic scenes from the film.
The coolest part: you can save or destroy Middle Earth! Fight for Sauron or Middle Earth’s freedom. In any Star Wars game, Darth Vader is the best!
Fight the Balrog, defend Helm’s Deep, and join the greatest story!
16. Luigi’s Mansion
Luigi’s Mansion’s GameCube launch was surprising. Instead of Mario, people got his brother. The game also shunned platformers for Ghostbusters-style anime survival horror.
Luigi searches a creepy mansion seeking Mario, who has disappeared. Luigi must search the mansion with his ghost-catching vacuum to discover his brother’s fate.
The game’s distinctive Mario Bros.-style play makes it stand out, even though it wasn’t initially warmly received.
Add fantastic presentation and Nintendo charm, and you have a brilliant little game that shows how well Nintendo can revitalize its long-running properties.
15. TimeSplitters 2
TimeSplitters 2, the strongest entry in the series and the swansong of GoldenEye 007’s outstanding developers, was not a GameCube exclusive but was one of the best FPS games on the platform or any other format.
This game design masterpiece was heavily multiplayer-focused yet included a superb story mode that was stylish and challenging.
TS2 remains one of the most smooth and engrossing FPS games, and its split-screen local multiplayer is among the best.
14. Zelda Collector’s Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Edition is a GameCube compilation of various older Zelda games.
The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Ocarina of Time (with the remixed, Master dungeons option), Majora’s Mask, a Zelda retrospective, and a 20-minute Wind Waker demo are included.
The Wind Waker pre-order disc only has Ocarina of Time.
Any Zelda fan needs this DVD, which contains four Zelda games, including Ocarina of Time.
13. Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat
This is perhaps Donkey Kong’s most original game. The major control method—bongo drums—changed it from a normal DK platformer.
DK may jump by striking left, right, or both drums. DK clapped after tapping sides. Drums were the most fun, but a GameCube pad worked too.
It was a GameCube favorite with bongo drum controls that was score-based and hard to find.
12. Killer7
An often-listed game. Suda 51’s stylish classic was available on the PlayStation 2, but the crew of mad assassins started on the GameCube, which has better graphics and no slowdown (which plagued the PS2 version).
On-rails gameplay, shooting gallery action, and a weird, multi-layered tale created a memorable adventure that fans still discuss.
Killer7 is Suda 51’s best game.
11. Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
Rogue Leader, one of the GameCube’s top launch titles, was a multi-level space warfare game where players played as Luke Skywalker, Wedge Antilles, and Darth Vader.
X-Wing, Y-Wing, Snow Speeder, Millennium Falcon, and Vader’s TIE fighter were available to fly in escort, search and destroy, and dogfight missions.
10. The Thousand-Year Door
This GameCube RPG is Mario’s greatest.
The Thousand Year Door, set in a flat, 2D paper world, is unlike most Mario games, and its turn-based combat, while similar to many JRPGs, is unique and challenging, with timed button push abilities.
The battle audience that reacts to the action, badge-based ability system, and paper-folding powers show Mario’s flexibility beyond platforming.
Mario travels and meets allies. Secrets and dangerous boss fights are abundant in this friendly-looking RPG.
9. Twin Snakes: Metal Gear Solid
This GameCube port of Metal Gear Solid, which made the Sony PlayStation a big threat, was a great game.
It enhanced the original game’s graphics and cut scenes and added aspects from Sons of Liberty, the PS2 sequel. It worked since MGS2 ran on GameCube.
Twin Snakes felt drastically different due to the new game engine, which tightened enemy AI and controls. The basic game and locales were the same as the first.
8. Super Mario Sunshine
The GameCube, a Nintendo console, had no Mario games. Super Mario Sunshine was the system’s closest Mario game.
This 3D Mario sees the plumber clean up the Delfino holiday resort after a dark doppelgänger attacked it, leaving Mario to bear the blame.
Mario employed his backpack-mounted FLUDD device (Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device) to clean up the island.
The FLUDD concept and clean-up gameplay gave the game a fresh take on Super Mario 64, which reviews liked. One of the best Mario games, it has Nintendo’s trademark flawless design.
7. Beyond Good and Evil
Like Killer7, this game is multi-platform and fantastic, making it a must-try.
The GameCube joined the PS2 and Xbox in playing this classic game, and while it wasn’t particularly different, it was one of the GameCube’s best games.
It’s a testament to the game that it could rival and even surpass Nintendo’s world-beating game design, but it did, resulting in a fantastic third-person adventure with character and playability.
6. Pikmin 2
This straight sequel improved on the original Pikmin.
Pikmin 2’s real-time strategic gameplay adds additional Pikmin kinds and the ability to control multiple groups of animals, expanding gaming options.
Players use Pikmin to find and defeat enemies. Pikmin may build structures and disperse into groups for more complicated tactics and puzzles.
The game has co-op, single-player, and multiplayer modes. A GameCube classic that outdid the original in practically every way.
5. Resident Evil
Resident Evil, which popularized survival horror, was spectacular on GameCube.
The game’s environments were pre-rendered, but their quality and subtle animations made it the best Capcom horror game.
Visuals, audio, and cutscenes were remade from the original game.
New opponents and areas of the estate grounds were added, including the terrible crimson undead and Lisa Trevor.
4. Double-Dash Mario Kart
Since its Super Nintendo debut, the Mario Kart series has sold well, and Double Dash on the GameCube was no exception.
The game added a dual-character system to the addictive kart racing formula and sold well.
The driver and weapon thrower could switch at any time. In multiplayer, both players could share a kart, making this a unique and interesting feature.
The GameCube’s power made it the best-looking Mario Kart yet, and the tight track designs, power-ups, and best racing multiplayer made it a classic, if not Nintendo’s most revolutionary step with a major series.
3. FZGX
Despite Mario Kart, F-Zero was a Super Nintendo classic. Its reintroduction to the GameCube was crucial since it created one of the hardest and quickest racing games ever, if you can locate it.
The game contained a story mode, grand prix, battle, and a customization toolset, and tracks had loops, twists, and roller coaster-like patterns.
Many gamers avoided the game due to its difficulty, but GameCube racers will enjoy it.
2. Arcadia Legends Skies
Legends was a GameCube port of the Dreamcast version. This version added content and tweaked gameplay.
New discoveries, narratives, and the wanted system were added. This launched a series of increasingly severe boss bouts with wanted pirates, far harder than the main story.
Skies of Arcadia, a fantastic RPG with on-foot exploration, turn-based battles, and huge ship-to-ship conflicts, was finest on the GameCube, even if the audio was compressed to fit on a single disc.
1. Sanity’s Requiem
Eternal Darkness, an underrated survival horror game, was a commercial failure.
After uncovering a mysterious book, Alexandra Roivas fights supernatural forces in a nightmare. The player controls multiple characters in each historical period of this fight.
The game’s sanity mechanism, which scared players in various ways, was its highlight. Camera distortions, audio hits, and graphical glitches were used as sanity dropped.
Blue screen problem warnings and save game corruption threats broke the fourth wall to deceive players. Brilliantly different.
