The GameCube was a great little console with some truly exceptional games. While its design may have been divisive, the library of games that was released on it blended a truly strong third-party lineup with Nintendo’s stellar first-party titles.
Alas, for whatever reason, some of these absolute gems never got the sequel they truly deserved, and to this day, we still find ourselves longing for that surprise announcement that they’ve been brought back from the dead. If Shenmue can be resurrected, then these 5 GameCube games that never got the sequel they truly deserved should be, too.
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
Eternal Darkness holds a unique accolade in the sense that it was the first ever M-rated game published by Nintendo. For the most part, the game played out like a Resident Evil title, with third-person combat and puzzles to solve as you progress through the game.
But when the second chapter of the game begins, Eternal Darkness ups the ante by introducing its sanity meter. Whenever the player is spotted by an enemy, the green bar will decrease. When the meter gets too low, the game will quite literally start to play tricks on you.
These range from skewed camera angles and heads of statues following the character through the world to bleeding walls and ceilings, thinking you’ve walked into a new room only to actually still be in the one you thought you’d left.
These things really added to the atmosphere, but the Sanity’s Requiem wasn’t done there, with TV and GameCube ‘errors’ and ‘glitches’ simulated to break the fourth wall. It’s stuff that was way ahead of its time and made the whole experience an unforgettable one.
Star Fox Adventures
While Star Fox may be most commonly associated with aerial dogfights in Arwings, Star Fox Adventures saw Fox McLoud set out on foot to save Dinosaur Planet from destruction.
Featuring a little dino companion in the form of Prince Tricky and a mysterious blue fox called Krystal, the game was an action-adventure not too dissimilar from Ocarina of Time. It had varied areas to explore, engaging third-person combat, and even some Arwing sections thrown in for good measure.
Sure, Fox’s visit to Dinosaur Planet felt a little out of place for the series, but the general action-adventure gameplay actually worked pretty well. While Star Fox Assault would turn the balance of Adventures on its head with a more vehicle-heavy approach to gameplay, Nintendo has never deemed a Star Fox return to the action-adventure genre one worthy of its time.
Given that the Star Fox series is sadly relegated to a new release every blue moon (if that), and an unquenchable thirst for first-party Nintendo content, a return to the genre might not be a bad thing at all. We’d absolutely be down to go on a space adventure visiting different planets with the Star Fox crew once more. C’mon, Nintendo, make it happen.
SEGA Soccer Slam
SEGA Soccer Slam is a game very near and dear to my heart. I have fond memories of dividing up the various teams between my brother and me and having hours-long showdowns to see who would reign supreme. It’s football… sorry, soccer for you Yankee-doodles, but without the rules, super shots, and a colorful cast of characters, each with their own unique celebrations and personalities that you just don’t see nowadays.
It was a chaotic, fast-paced goal-fest and – despite the somewhat questionable accents for the various players – had a lot to love about it. A prime example of the arcadey sports party games that have fallen by the wayside in recent years, SEGA Soccer Slam deserves a true sequel with new teams, improved mechanics, customization options, and online multiplayer to bring it into the modern day.
We can’t imagine it ever happening, but a young lad from ol’ Blighty can dream.
Killer7
If you do any reading around the internet about Killer7, you’ll notice that everyone comes away from playing it saying the same thing: it’s wholly unique, imaginative, and wrapped up in a zany wrapper that makes it one of the strangest and most memorable experiences you can play in games.
Even now, 17 years after its initial release on GameCube and PS2, the FPS-cross-puzzler-cross-third-person-exploration game is a confounding experience. With a modern lick of paint, a new game in the series could make for a rather fantastic shooter.