Worst GameCube Games
“Tube Slider” (2003)
Tube Slider, as far as game titles go, isn’t particularly memorable or creative. Yes, it’s an apt description for a racing game that very much sees you racing through tubes; but there’s no pizazz, no punch, no excitement for a game that is supposed to be brimming with breakneck speeds and intense, edge of your seat races. Set in a sci-fi world, Tube Slider has players choose from various hovercraft, spaceship-like vehicles to race with, in and around a host of futuristic locales. While it’s technically the best game on this list, that’s really not saying much. In an attempt to compete with the subgenre juggernaut, F-Zero, Tube Slider fails to deliver blistering speed and challenge given the fact that you can’t even fall off the track, since, well, you are stuck in a tube.
“Amazing Island” (2004)
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Easily one of the most bizarre and bonkers games on the GameCube, Amazing Island, on paper sounds like quite the winner. Create and customize your own unique monsters? Check. Tons of mini games to use your unique monster in? Check. A dark fantastical tale about stopping an evil power? Check. Well, what sounds good on paper doesn’t, unfortunately, transfer to engaging moment to moment gameplay. I don’t want to miss giving credit where credit is due since Amazing Island does offer charm and creativity in spades, it’s just it doesn’t provide much beyond that. Sort of like a one trick pony, Amazing Island sells you with a great premise but doesn’t actually deliver on the goods past some very short-lived fun. While there is some fun in creating a fully customizable creature, critics really didn’t enjoy how lacking the package is as a whole.
“Big Air Freestyle” (2002)
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What’s more fun than barreling around mud-soaked corners and pulling off insane, gravity-defying tricks on a motocross bike? Well, if Big Air Freestyle has anything to do with it, apparently many other things are much more enjoyable. One of the rare sports-adjacent platform exclusives on the GameCube, Big Air Freestyle might sound intriguing and thrilling but this couldn’t be farther from the truth if the game’s critical reception is anything to go by. The game touts pulling off crazy tricks in massive arenas with tons of hazards strewn about to up the ante. In addition, intense “bite your nails” races set across various tracks are also on offer. Unfortunately, none of it actually feels good to play, nor does it even look good while playing it. To the game’s favor, it does have a plethora of various modes to sample but when the actual moment to moment gameplay feels like a chore, then it’s likely worth skipping out altogether.
“Gotcha Force” (2003)
Gosh darnit, it pains me to have Gotcha Force on this list, not because I have any personal feelings or attachments, but because I know it has become something of a cult classic over the years, with fans really loving the game. But, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t bring it up here as one of the less enjoyable GameCube exclusive games; so, bear with me. For the uninitiated, Gotcha Force is a third-person action shooter game where you can build unique toy-like robots who duke it out across various, colorful arenas. To simplify things, players use a Gotcha Borg and its respective GF power in battles, both in the story mode and the multiplayer mode. While the charm and customizability is there, many critics panned the game for being too repetitive and linear, never changing up the core formula throughout the duration of the game.
“Pokémon Channel” (2003)
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Why, oh why did someone at the Pokémon Company greenlight a quote, unquote game about Pokémon television? Oh, that’s right…because everyone will still likely buy it. This strange and utterly baffling “game” makes no sense at all, especially since it’s hard to decipher what type of audience it’s even for. As you might have gleaned from the game’s title, you end up choosing various Pokémon channels to watch where you can sort of interact with the various pocket monsters. The epitome of both a soulless experience and a cash grab, this game offers very little, if any actual gameplay to keep players immersed, apart from a few disparate mini game-type elements. IGN put it best when they said, and I’m quoting them directly: “Makes watching TV boring.”
“Disney’s Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse” (2002)
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Disney’s Magical Mirror starring Mickey Mouse takes cues from point-and-click adventure games to provide an experience where our titular mouse is off in dreamland when a dastardly ghost decides to capture an alternate, ethereal version of Mickey, much to his chagrin. Taking place in an otherworldly mansion, the game does manage to provide some simple fun through its various puzzles, scenarios, and Disney gags, but, more often than not, feels like a chore to play. On a side note and speaking from personal experience, I fondly remember playing this game and really enjoyed the music and whimsy. However, as a full package, it’s no surprise that the critical reception wasn’t all that favorable given the game’s lackluster nature.
“Disney’s Hide and Sneak” (2003)
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Disney’s Hide and Sneak is such a bizarre game and is most certainly a product of its time. Very much marketed as a kids game, Hide and Sneak sees players take control of Mickey or Minnie, trying to rescue the other after an alien named Lu-Lu captures one of them (depending on which mouse you choose to play as) because, apparently, aliens are fans of all things Disney as well. Coming as no shock, the actual gameplay here revolves around hiding and sneaking through various locales such as ancient ruins, a warehouse-looking place, a museum, and more. There is certainly an air of charm to this game, especially for Disney fans, but this adventure game really doesn’t provide any tangible fun. Sure, there are some puzzle elements here and there to spice things up, but critics ultimately didn’t enjoy the sheer monotony and tediousness of the game.
“Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom” (2002)
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Eschewing what makes Yu-Gi-Oh! so darn popular, namely the card-battling, GameCube-exclusive The Falsebound Kingdom puts an emphasis on strategy and role-playing gameplay. This, in and of itself, isn’t a bad thing. However, in the case of this game, it just doesn’t flow all that well, even for fans of the anime. The game relies heavily on two different storylines with the gameplay revolving around teams of Marshals. These teams consist of Duel Monsters who each have their own health pool and attacks. Like other strategy games, each team has a set number of moves and abilities that need to be tactically used in order to come out on top. As many critics noted, the game just doesn’t lean into the source material all that well, on top of plenty of technical hiccups. The Falsebound Kingdom takes a decidedly simple approach to the strategy genre but fails to capture the attention of Yu-Gi-Oh! fans who would be better off just enjoy the collectible cards.
“MC Groovz Dance Craze” (2004)
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MC Groovz Dance Craze tries really, really hard to be cool and hip but ends up stumbling over itself around every corner. Heck, even the game’s title has a “Z” in the word “grooves” so you know it’s gonna be awesome, right? Simply put, no. The mid-2000s had plentiful offerings in the music and rhythm game space to test your mettle, but sadly, MC Groovz Dance Craze isn’t one worthy of your time and attention, mostly because the game’s central mechanics; timing and rhythm, whereby you must line up arrows in the cardinal directions to the beat of the music, rarely even works. That sounds concerning to me and it should to you too. Created by the third-party peripheral manufacturer, Mad Catz, Dance Craze features some popular licensed songs of the time but the game failed to capture on this with any sort of enticing gameplay, or even gameplay that keeps up with the beat.
“Monsters Inc. Scream Arena” (2002)
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Do you like sports, specifically dodgeball? Do you like Monsters Inc.? If you happen to like this incredibly niche concept then you might be interested in Monsters Inc. Scream Arena. However, given how lackluster, repetitive, and boring this game is, you are probably better off just dressing up in your Halloween costume and throwing rubber balls at a wall instead. Monsters Inc. Scream Arena is not a good game, even for fans of the source material. You are thrown into multiple mini games that all consist of the same game and premise; dodgeball. Nothing more, nothing less. Some critics enjoyed the game’s charm and various characters but most simply lambasted the game, considering it didn’t try hard to please anyone.