It is not uncommon to hear players lament the good old days and their Nintendo GameCube. During its height in the early-2000s, the GameCube released volumes of unique and memorable games in all genres, with its RPG lineup being quite strong. While its competitors released systems that could play CDs and DVDs, the GameCube relied on something Nintendo has always prided itself in: fostering memorable gaming experiences.
With a blend of first-party and third-party IP, the GameCube experimented with unique RPGs all its own. Here are the five best ones.
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles was the first title in an epic spin-off series from Square Enix's Final Fantasy franchise. Featuring a group of adventures in an unnamed world, the player could choose from four races during character creation. They guided a caravan along the landscape in search of rare trees that produced myhrr and helped protect the world from the poisonous Miasma threatening its stability.
Crystal Chronicles had a unique fairy-tale quality that emphasized the "Fantasy" of the franchise in a way that was both peaceful and unforgettable. More Crystal Chronicles titles would release for Nintendo DS and Wii, adding another tier to the epic layers of story building up around the franchise.
Tales of Symphonia sees Lloyd Irving and his companions accompanying his friend Collette on a journey to save Sylvarant. Along the way, they discover that their efforts, though beneficial to their own world, could potentially destroy a parallel one. Eventually, the party must travel to this other world and find a way to save them both from destruction.
The fifth installment in Bandai Namco's Tales franchise and was so well-received in Japan that it was ported to PlayStation 2 with additional content. Tales of Symphonia was adapted into manga and novel collections, as well as an anime. It also received a sequel, 2008's Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World for Wii.
Nintendo's Mario franchise has experimented with many genres over the years. From platformer to action, Mario has been on more adventures than any other video game icon. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is one of the most iconic GameCube RPGs because it was chock full of all those quirks that make roleplaying games what they are. From mystery and adventure to secrets and puzzles, Thousand Year Door featured a simplistic turn-based battle model that allowed Mario to dole out some pretty powerful and fancy moves.
Paper Mario games were presented in explorable novel format, and like the first game in the series, this one set a bar others never quite reached. Featuring lots of off-the-cuff humor and plenty of moments designed to break the fourth wall, Thousand Year Door remains one of the most memorable GameCube RPGs.
Originally developed by Snowblind Studios for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance was ported to the GameCube by High Voltage Software. Set in Dungeons & Dragons' Forgotten Realms, it was the very first Baldur's Gate game to ever be released for consoles after years of Mac and PC releases.
Featuring both single and cooperative gameplay, this was also the first real-time game to implement the rules for D&D Third Edition. Dark Alliance had three player characters to choose from, each with a different skillset to spice up gameplay. This game is so beloved that it was re-issued on contemporary console this past May.
Phantasy Star Online began on PCs and later shifted to Sega consoles and GameCube. It was one of the first MMORPGs to be available on consoles, making it a must have right out of the gate. Its split-screen mode allowed players to join up to three others on their adventures, and since there was no headset feature Nintendo developed a special GameCube controller with a keyboard in the middle so players could type messages back and forth while gaming.
One of the great things about Phantasy Star Online was that Episodes 1 & 2 were both full games wrapped up in one package, providing endless hours of adventure and fun. Though the official servers are no longer operational, some still gather to play this iconic RPG on private servers.
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