Ho Ho Ho Ho! Get ready for the 12 Days of Saturn Merry Virtua Xmas! This is all a big present for me and gives me a big excuse to do reviews on whatever console I want because it's Christmas! Ho Ho Ho Ho Hoooooooly crap I'm crazy! This small feature and series of reviews is to celebrate a special bunch of consoles, featuring The Sega Saturn very prominently! What we're going to be looking at is what I consider the true Gaming Tri-Force (yes I use the term Tri-force for any 3's in gaming, See Also The Saturn Tri-Force and the Konami Triforce (Simpsons, X-men and TMNT).).
The best way to put this is that it's just going to be Christmas wrapped with gaming wrapped with Sega Saturn wrapped with happiness and joy and there will be no bounds or leagues to speak of. Today, we're talking about some very special consoles. The Sega Saturn reigns supreme over all of these consoles as the #1 in the Gaming Triforce.
Now, one game console that has neither of these has only gotten one single article about it on Sega sites EVER and that seems extremely biased because it is a Nintendo Console, namely the Nintendo Gamecube. I have stated that the Gamecube has been considered the successor to the Sega Dreamcast, and someone countered that it is actually the Xbox. That could very well be in someone else's world, but the Xbox was where my old gaming partner branched off into, I went straight to Gamecube.
This was a very slow process, as the Gamecubes only lasted for a little while for the most part in my life. I would grab one and somehow, I'd lose it. This happened for two of them, but thankfully, I bought them dirt cheap as it was the 2010's and the gaming market was so dead, the economy was practically giving them away. This was also when I got my Sega Saturn for 60, my Sega Dreamcast for 80 and my Nintendo Gamecube for about 75.
The Gamecube was lost, once to moving and once to being sold. Then, a miracle occurred and a man sold me his for 25 dollars. Not wanting to look a gifthorse in the mouth, we settled and the little lunchbox was mine. The collection was also quite easily obtained through luck. Let's face it, I've gotten very, very lucky in some of my pickups. There were some monumental finds, though I don't really like to kiss and tell on this because I hate it when people boast so hard about their huge finds. So, instead, this will turn into The Nintendo Gamecube Top Ten List of Virtua Neptune! The Extravaganza continues!
The Gamecube is yet another underrated, under appreciated game system that I treasure more than a great deal of the others. The difference being that this is one of Nintendo's underrated systems, as opposed to the Dreamcast or the Saturn. This was not done on purpose, mind you. I don't go out, looking for game systems to love out of the thought process of "This doesn't get enough love". It's simply a thought process of how much I enjoy playing the games and what brings back the best memories as a result. To that end, the Gamecube has a marvelous library with a ton of games that range over a great number of Nintendo Franchises as well as Sega Franchises.If the Dreamcast is the sequel to the Saturn, then the Gamecube is a worthy successor to the Dreamcast, as it continues a great deal of its games. This does nothing to take away from the Playstation 2, as that is a marvelous machine in its own right, but the Gamecube seemed more like it was trying to have fun rather than come out with the most cutting edge games.
As said before, this library is vast and full of great titles that have continued on to later consoles. Even when the Gamecube didn't gain its deserved notoriety, many of the titles that it originated went on to have many sequels. This is a list of the games that I loved and definitely deserve a second or even third try, if you have not already done so. Have a look!
10. Super Mario Sunshine
We start our list off strong with a very enjoyable title that didn't get a great deal of love from the fanbase when it first came out. It was contrasted negatively with the smash hit success of Super Mario 64 and said that the gameplay just wasn't up to par with the franchise as a whole. Thankfully, this game has aged quite well with the passing years and people have come out calling it their favorite Mario game of all time. It's definitely not the best Mario game in my opinion, but it is still a fantastic title for the Gamecube. The water blaster mechanics take a little while to get used to, but it's still rather intuitive once you get the hang of it and figure out where to shoot the badguys and when. The story is interesting and the graphics are sublime. It was definitely a step in the right direction, it just needed an audience that could appreciate it.
9. Naruto Clash of Ninja 2
Despite its certain flaws, this game is just all around fun. Yes, the fighting mechanics can be considered somewhat overly simple and it has some problems with control here and there. Still, the instinct to unlock all of the characters and get them into the arena is strong. If you love this anime in its early, purest form then this title is a must have for any collector. It is a distinct improvement over the first title and it features a great deal more characters that you will recognize. The survival course and the mini-games are a fun little distraction too.
8. Soul Calibur 2
Arguably the best in the entire franchise and it is very hard to say otherwise. While the first Dreamcast title did it great justice, this was the step up that the franchise needed to bring it to true greatness. The controls are fluid, the fighting styles are unique and the gameplay is beautiful. The graphics, voice acting, sound design, all of it just culminates into a beautiful experience that you can't deny make up some of the best fighting games. All of your favorite characters are back from the first ones, and all of them have some unique changes but that never makes them unrecognizable. This is where the entire franchise piqued and the fact that the Gamecube version received Link as a playable fighter only adds to its novelty.
7. Star Fox Assault
If you loved the first game and the 64 game, then Star Fox Assault is a natural progression of awesome. While some of the options didn't translate well to the franchise, it is still far and away the high flying action that you come to expect from this game. We get to see Fox and his gang come back in a big way to fight the chaos that threatens this galaxy. The graphics take a huge leap, as does the multiplayer elements in the ways of gameplay and framerates. While the ground levels were lauded at the time of release, those levels were probably the ones that aged the least well as time went on. Star Fox was always better when it was high flying adventures.
6. Resident Evil 4
This was the title that truly got me into Resident Evil as a franchise. I had played the other titles in the past but none of them had captured me quite like this one, as it seemed far more accessible. This also meant that this is the first title without tank controls and had a much simpler design. Since then I have grown to appreciate many titles in RE, but this one remains one of my absolute favorites. It was the elements of the gloomy, gray atmosphere and the semi-dead villagers you have to face throughout the runtime. The various monsters, giants, zombie fish and many other elements just worked in its favor along with the humor that it had. Resident Evil 4 is a gem in this collection and no collection is complete without it!
5. Super Smash Bros Melee
How do you perfect a game? This is how you perfect a game. More characters, tighter controls, better graphics and using the first to leap off of while adhering to what made it great in the first place. This was a breakout title for its time and the best in the franchise for many years to come. Some still consider it the best, no matter how many sequels have been released for subsequent systems. Melee was the game that popularized game tournaments for years to come. Even when the Wii version was released, game conventions still used Melee to test their true skill! It brought forth characters to the game that are still there today and it continues to stay a great title among all of the others.
4. Luigi's Mansion
The launch title that took everyone by surprise. Everyone expected it to be a Mario title, and it technically was. Though, not in the same way they thought. Luigi's Mansion is a departure from the norm in so many ways. Instead of a platformer, it's a hunting game with very strange mechanics on par with the Ghostbusters franchise. It is a dark, gothic and goofy title that has all kinds of charm that can be appreciated to this day. Luigi is a lot of fun to play as and it's only made better by the appearance of so many different types of ghosts, not just Boos. If your collection lacks this title, then your collection is lacking something that made the system stand out among its peers.
3. Spider-man 2
This title is a serious exception to all others of its kind. Both a Spider-man game and a movie tie-in, this should have been a disastrous mess! It is still a beloved title to this day! The controls may have aged a little poorly but all in all, this is still one game that you can pick up at any point and just get lost in it. From the pizza side mission to any mugging mission or going against the grain to work on the main objective, it doesn't matter, you're going to have fun! The fighting mechanics and the swinging mechanics are what bring this title to a whole other level of enjoyment. If you are a web-head, this is a brilliant addition to your game collection.
2. Sonic Gems Collection
This can be considered a cop out for many reasons, and I'll accept that. However, if Sonic CD and Sonic R in the same collection isn't enough to detail my love for this collection, then any number of the additional games in it should be enough to make my claim. This allowed me to play a ton of Sonic games that I didn't even know existed before. I'd owned a Gamegear for like two months before the battery life crapped out and I never got to try a lot of them. The mere fact that it has Tails exclusive games is enough to keep my interest up for a good long while. It is also a great way to keep backwards compatibility for all of these titles so that none of them fade away completely. Plus, Sonic the Fighters is just stupid fun, I don't care how bad it is.
1. Metroid Prime
How Prime became a favorite among Nintendo Enthusiasts is not surprising at all. What is surprising is how long it took this game to reach full appreciation levels. As many detractors as there are saying it's not a true Metroid title, there are four times as many people who claim that this is where Metroid shines the brightest. You truly feel like you are stepping into the shoes of Samus and going on adventures on different planets. Yes, the mazes are a bit of a frantic search from time to time, but the game is interesting enough and action packed enough to hold you in its mesmerizing gaze for hours upon hours. This is the title that truly made me get into this system and it was a serious surprise how astonishing it truly was.
