13 Nintendo GameCube games we want to see on the Switch 2
The Nintendo Switch 2 landed in stores across the world on Thursday, and while millions of gamers are busy playing the new Mario Kart World or upgraded versions of Switch classics like Breath of the Wild, there's something new for fans of retro games as well.
New to the Switch 2 is a small library of playable Nintendo GameCube titles, including The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. Adding GameCube games to the Nintendo online library always seemed like a good idea, but it's taken until 2025 for Nintendo to make it happen.
While it's unclear how large the Switch 2 GameCube will eventually be - the Nintendo 64 library is still missing quite a few gems - there are plenty of all-time great games from the GameCube era that deserve a wider audience.
What GameCube games will be available on Switch 2?
The GameCube library launched Thursday with three titles (The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, F-Zero GX and Soul Calibur 2), and Nintendo has already confirmed a few future releases in the GameCube on Switch 2 announce video. Those titles include:
Super Mario Strikers
Super Mario Sunshine
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
Pokemon Colosseum
Luigi's Mansion
Chibi-Robo
13 GameCube classics we want to see on Switch 2
Resident Evil: A jaw-dropping graphical showcase back in 2002, Resident Evil perfected the old-style formula the series had before Resident Evil 4 went the more action-oriented route. - Nick Schwartz
Sonic Adventure 2: Sonic Adventure 2 is simply one of the greatest games ever. There's no reason not to include this. - Mike Sykes
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: How Twilight Princess didn't make the jump to the original Switch from the Wii U is beyond me. Nintendo, it's time. Fans have been asking for years. There's no excuse anymore. - Mary Clarke
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader: The reason many people bought a GameCube at launch back in 2001. Zipping down the Death Star trench was an unbelievable experience. - NS
Star Fox Assault: It's been too long since we've had a Star Fox game, first of all. Second, the Call of Duty/Fortnite formula could work so well here. It'd be a great opportunity for Nintendo to kickstart one of its old IPs. - MS
Star Fox Adventure: Same thing as above, except for we need more adventure games in our lives these days. Star Fox Adventure was vastly underrated. Would love a reboot here. - MS
Super Smash Bros. Melee: Who knows how long the wait will be for a Switch 2 version of Smash, especially as the Switch 1's ultimate is still a very popular game. But Melee has stood the test of time, and is beloved by so many that there's still an active competitive fighting game scene around a game released in 2001. - NS
Super Monkey Ball 2: Super Monkey Ball minigames were the pinnacle of couch party gaming in 2002, and the series has only gone downhill from here. - NS
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes: You'd be right to associate Metal Gear Solid with the PlayStation far more than with any Nintendo console, but GameCube owners got a special treat in 2004 with this exclusive remake of the classic Metal Gear Solid. Plenty of fans of the franchise never got to experience this game. - NS
Viewtiful Joe: I've played a lot of games in my life. Some, I've long forgotten by now. They've faded into the ether of my memory. I'll probably never think of them again. Viewtiful Joe is NOT one of those games. I think about this game a lot. The more I think about it, the more I feel like it was groundbreaking. The art style and animation were replicated for years. This game deserves to be remade. It earned that. - MS
NBA Street: Vol. 2: I'll take the entirety of the EA BIG catalogue, thank you very much, but NBA Street was a perfect streetball formula and would be otherworldly if ever re-released with online multiplayer. - NS
SSX Tricky: We took for granted all the incredible extreme sports games in the mid-2000s, not knowing we'd be in an interminable drought two decades later. From Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 to Aggressive Inline, there were a lot of GameCube gems in the genre, but SSX Tricky was pure fun in a stylish package. - NS
Animal Crossing: Yes, you could just play New Horizons on Switch 2, and yes that's a deeper game with a lot more to do. But the original Animal Crossing has a ton of charm. It'd be a great game to check in on for 15 minutes a day. - NS
How can you play GameCube games on Switch 2?
If you want access to the GameCube library (as well as some of the other classic console libraries, such as the N64 or Game Boy Advance), you'll need to subscribe to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion pass, which costs $49.99 per year.
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