#sixth gen

So in my opinion, the best time for gaming was the sixth generation. While it didn't have the console war narratives of the fourth and seventh gens, it was an era that I don't think we'll ever see again. You had four console platforms, one of which would die this gen in the Dreamcast and another being a new hat thrown in the ring with Xbox. You had a roughly equal technological strength across each platform with some exceptions here and there. And finally you had a plethora first party games that many people still talk about to this day.

But despite all that, this gen is mostly marked by being the groundwork of what would come next. With Xbox pioneering online play and expanding it with the 360, the Playstation 2's success leading to botched launch and eventual recovery of the Playstation 3, and Nintendo choosing to no longer compete in terms of power and instead focusing on experiences you could get with their hardware with the Wii. And speaking of Nintendo, that leads me to something I've been thinking about for the past few days. Despite it being the lowest selling Nintendo console pre the Wii U and there being some jawdroppingly amazing games on the switch, there's still a reverence people have for the purple lunchbox. And even a bit of a desire to return to it.

So I ask myself why?

Well the short and most easy answer is quite simple: the kids who grew up playing games on the gamecube and have their tastes shaped by those games are now the ones participating in games media discussion through things like YouTube and IGN. As opposed to the people who grew up with the SNES who were mostly contributing to games discourse at the time. So naturally those influenced by the gamecube then are going to hold a reverence for it now and platform it as that.

But I didn't really think that covered everything. It felt a bit too easy of an answer. And I personally believe that the hand wave nature of "its nostalgia" doesn't really answer anything. Now I want the preface this, I am not a gaming historian. I am not here to impart some grand social analysis on what the gaming landscape of 2004 was like. This is more me as an individual looking into what I think of the generation that I was apart of (yes my first REAL home consoles were the Xbox and GameCube) and how its still so relevant in our current era.

After racking my brain about this for the last few days I think I've come to somewhat of an answer.

The most important thing is the games themselves. Which I think can be broken down into three core aspects.

First, there's something to be said with how these first and second party Nintendo games related to the ones being released on the GBA. Because the GBA is a whole different beast, but to summarize during that type you can see a somewhat clear distinction between the games that were coming out on the GBA by Nintendo vs the games that were coming out on the GameCube by Nintendo. If you were interested in a more traditional Mario (Super Mario Bros Advanced) or Kirby (Nightmare in Dreamland) or Metroid (Metroid Fusion) or Zelda (Oracle of Ages and Seasons) you could find all of those on a GBA. Meanwhile on the GameCube, you got something like Mario Sunshine, the second ever 3D Mario game that took Mario out of the mushroom kingdom and strapped a brand new water contraption to his back. Kirby was doing a driving game mixed with combat In Kirby's Air Ride. Metroid Prime reinvented the way Metroid could be played with an emphasis on exploring and uncovering secrets in a first person POV. And Zelda gave us another 3D Zelda after Ocarina of Time which has an art style that was brand new for the series and involved this massive sea to go out an explore.

You also had spin offs like Pokemon Colosseum, probably the first pokemon game on console with an in-depth story that is basically nothing like what we had on the handheld mainline titles. Pokemon always felt like this "place that could really exist in the real world but with fantastical creatures." Meanwhile Colosseum is JRPG AF. You're first location is a diner made out of an abandoned training the desert then you proceed to a pristine oasis city while you're dressed like a cyberpunk protagonist. Like yeah sure Orre Region is supposed to be based on Arizona, but I sure don't remember it ever looking like this the last time I visited. Then, there was something like Battalion Wars, which took the turn based strategy and sorta anime sorta western cartoony Advanced Wars and instead made an almost G.I. Joe-esque real-time strategy and third person shooter game. Some the GBA could definitely not handle. What about Double Dash? Mario Kart has basically never returned to the "two person, one kart" formula.

I know it probably sounds pretty mundane now that we live in a world with like the switch and sequels to these games, but you have to remember that at the time there really wasn't anything like it. Its probably why things like Wind Waker and Sunshine cause a bit of a love it or hate it divide. They were both a departure and yet so unique. In fact, with the switch now, we don't really get that identity distinction of handheld title vs console title anymore.

As much as the Switch is an absolute juggernaut of a seller with some incredible games. I can't very much say there has been anything really released on it that seems overtly strange or non traditional. Like, we aren't using bongos to play a Donkey Kong game with none of the country games. Switch is practically one of the most orthodox systems there is in terms of the type of franchise entries we got with Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild. And please note, that doesn't mean I'm saying these are bad or boring games, they're amazing. Its just that they certainly are what you'd expect out of these types of titles with some innovations.

The second big thing worth noting is also the amount of games that got people introduced to a particular Nintendo franchise of on this system. GameCube is one of those consoles that practically every franchise of Nintendo's got a new entry on. Fire Emblem Path of Radiance was the first Fire Emblem on home console outside of Japan. Along with Custom Robo. Games from the N64 like Wave Rave and 1080 got sequels. And it was the beginning of franchises that are now Nintendo staples like Pikmin and Animal Crossing (Yes I know Animal crossing is technically originally an N64 game and the gamecube is an enhanced version of that). And of course the big one that was Smash Bros Melee. While Smash 64 was by no means unsuccessful, it really is Melee that people think of when they thing of smash. Some of the most iconic stages come from here, it has one of the best opening sequences, and it expanded the roster of fighters that for some (for better or worse) people perceive as Nintendo royalty. Even going as far to make characters like Marth and Roy recognizable despite their games never being brought over.

That's also not including things like Star Fox and F-Zero which had things like story modes with full cutscenes and, in the case of Star Fox, actually taking them out of their vehicle and introducing people to the world who may just not be into that sort of vehicle only gameplay. And characters like Luigi and Wario who basically icons in their own rights, were pushed into staring roles in their own 3D games. And while I know I've focused on first and second party Nintendo games the most in this post, I do want to acknowledge that the GameCube's history third party saw Sega titles on a Nintendo platform for the first time like Sonic and Crazy Taxi. Or Metal Gear which had made its new home on Playstation had their own original entry on gamecube.

Lots of Nintendo discourse these days can be boiled down to a few key points, but biggest one of them all in my opinion is how Nintendo does make a new entry of *insert game here*. Now there are of course multiple factors for this, and the Switch does indeed have entries of some more obscure Nintendo IP, they are still sorta drowned out by this absence of certain franchises many perceive as inseparable to the brand. With many of those going MIA around the gamecube in terms of home releases.

Finally there's number three, the GameCube just had bizarre and new IP that never got a sequel. Like as much as it sounds like I'm looking at the GameCube with rose tinted glasses, its worth remembering that this was a low point for Nintendo in terms of profitability. This pushed them to do things unconviental in the first place. Like investing in a western studio to make Metroid Prime, but it also got them to work with others to make new IP. Chibi Robo was developed by skip and had practically the same Miyamoto-like charm of Mario and Pikmin. Nintendo also published two M-Rated games that they'd own, Eternal Darkness and Geist. Something that we really don't and probably will ever see.

Sure Nintendo has exclusivity to Bayonetta, but that's still mostly a Platinum thing and isn't their IP. And each console has basically introduced a new staple franchise like Wii giving us Xenoblade and the Wii U giving us Splatoon. Not to sound like I am poopooing the switch or anything, but when I think of big brand new Nintendo IP's that were released on Switch, the ones that the most notable is Arms, Snipper Clips, and Astral Chain. I understand now Nintendo is willing to let its IP to second parties so we could get something like Cadence of Hyrule or Fire Emblem Warriors, but we really haven't seen much new Nintendo IP in the seven years its been alive as opposed to the gamecube's. Not helped by the fact there's a bunch of these single entry gamecube IP still stuck on that system.

Stepping away from the software, I wanted to talk about the hardware next. Like I said at the beginning, this generation every system was roughly equal in graphical power. And while gamecube had its limits especially in terms of being able to play DVDs and its proprietary discs, you were more likely than not going to get an equal performance out of most third party games. As opposed to now where I'm pretty sure your Switch would try and fry itself it tried to play something like Elden Ring. Now Im not saying graphics are everything, Nintendo has basically made their thing good games with limited hardware and often avoid the hyper detailed immersion of Sony and Microsoft, but there was a time where you could confidently expect something third party to come to Nintendo and expect it to run as well as the others. Now if something third party comes to a Nintendo system with a version for Xbox and Playstation, its practically a dice role to see if it turns out like another Mortal Kombat 1. At this point in time I almost exclusively own two consoles of any generation, a playstation or xbox to play third party games as well as their own first party offerings, and a Nintendo for their first parties and maybe the occasionally indie title. For the most part if you only had a GameCube as a kid you were only really missing out on the competitions first parties.

And look, I think people's obsession with graphics is kinda nuts. Afterwhile, it doesn't really matter if your horse has realistic testicle physics. But its no secret that Switch being underpowered has limited the potential is games can run at. And while Im not saying it needs to compete with a PS5 in terms of power, having seven years of a system that's only really as strong as a PS3, I can see why people are very much clamoring for an upgrade.

Also on a more minor side, but this is something hardware related I do think there is a bit of a uniqueness in the controller. While the D-pad was stiff and the c stick not really utilized, outside of the wii, this has one of the most unique layouts for the face buttons. with the l and R triggers having a satisfying squeeze. when you hold them down. While the Wii blended motion controls with the nunchuck, its worth noting that it was made with someone more casual in mind. Made to play games by people usually not into games. I think we struck gold with the joy cons as a concept, which can be individual controllers are just combined for a standard controller layout and having the IR pointer built in, with the switch, but it is hard to forget what a gamecube controller feels like compared to its contemporaries. This is one I definitely chalk up to nostalgia.

But yeah, that's kinda what I thought overall. While the Switch is a great system with some stellar games, its pretty hard to deny why the GameCube is so memorable. Everything on it feels different from any other point in Nintendo history. There wasn't even a really unifying mechanic of the wii and its motion controls. Every entry feels like something familiar but also a different. I don't think we'll ever have a moment where Nintendo reinvents a franchise like with Metroid Prime. I don't think we'll ever see Nintendo release a hard M rated game with Eternal Darkness. And we might not even see new entries for some series like custom robo or chibi robo period. Now handheld franchises are basically blended together with the home console, so you'll almost always see mainline pokemon on the TV screen rather than a pokemon game made expressly for handheld and one made expressly home console. I truly is an era that if you grew up with it and even if you didn't, you'll probably never see one like it again, and man what a time was it to be a gamer.