2002 was the best year for Nintendo-fans (Gamecube Edition)
Many people with short-term memories are saying that 2017 may be Nintendo's best year ever. I beg to differ. Back in 2002, Nintendo-fans were treated to the best year of all time. It was filled with new installments in legendary franchises, great third-party support, and all these games featured state-of-the-art graphics, whereas Nintendo Switch's games do not. In this blog-post, I will cover the Gamecube. We're not even covering Game Boy Advance today; that's how great 2002 was. Tune in tomorrow for Game Boy Advance.
On January 13th, 2002 we got the third and final installment of the NBA Courtside series: NBA Courtside 2002. Why is this significant? This is significant because it harkens back to a time when Nintendo tried to cater to more markets than just mindless Nintendo-fanchildren, and took it upon themselves to fund such games. Nintendo purchased a minority-stake in the developer: Left Field Productions, and in turn, Left Field produced the aforementioned NBA Courtside games as well as Excitebike 64. Although I did not purchase NBA Courtside 2002, it was nice having it around. It indicated to us, the new Gamecube-owners, that Nintendo was trying their best to serve all tastes with the Gamecube.
On February 11th, we got the enhanced port of Sonic Adventure 2 titled Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. This blew everyone's minds as this was the first Sonic-game on a Nintendo home-console. Sonic Advance had come out for Game Boy Advance the previous December in Japan. It was Sega and Nintendo - the ultimate rivals, becoming the ultimate team! This was a promising time for Gamecube-owners as well as older gamers who grew up during the 16-bit console-wars. We looked forward to future titles from Sega and Sonic Team.
On February 17th, we got NBA Street. It was a port of the fantastic street-basketball game on the PlayStation 2. I had always wanted to play this game but did not have a PS2; now I could.
On March 11th, we got Spy Hunter. This was an average game, but it was significant because it released simultaneously on Xbox, and Gamecube; PlayStation 2 had received it the previous September.
On March 18th, we got Bloody Roar: Primal Fury. This was an above-average game, and it was significant because it would be only one of two above-average 3D fighting-games on the system: this and Soul Calibur 2.
The very same day, we got Sega Soccer Slam. This was significant because it was a timed exclusive, and it was published by Sega.
On April 30th, the world was blessed with the greatest survival-horror game of all time: Resident Evil. It was a full-blown remake with ridiculously-gorgeous 3D models on insanely-detailed prerendered backgrounds that still hold up to this day. The plan with Capcom and Nintendo was to rerelease every Resident Evil game on the Gamecube, starting with a remake of the first game and culminating in a new game: Resident Evil 4. As we know, this didn't happen, as Resident Evil 4 was ported to PlayStation 2, but at the time, this was a big victory for Nintendo.
On May 27th, we got Lost Kingdoms from From Software. Yes; From Software used to make games that weren't called Dark Souls. I personally did not appreciate how the game used cards in its battle-system, and so I did not buy this game. However, I wish I had. If I, and more Gamecube-owners had given this game a chance, perhaps we would be seeing Dark Souls on Nintendo Switch today.
June 24th brought us the Lovecraftian horror-game from Silicon Knights: Eternal Darkness. This game was significant because it was the first M-rated title ever published by Nintendo. It was nice having another game targeted at older audiences after having played Resident Evil. Unlike Resident Evil, the entire game was rendered in real-time, and it was graphically-impressive in its own way.
July was a slow month in which we got NCAA Football 2003, Ultimate Fighting Championship 2 Tapout Final Spec, and Aggressive Inline. Still, it was nice having ports of games that weren't watered down or a generation behind in graphics.
We kicked off August with Beach Spikers on August 12th. It was a beach-volleyball game designed by the legendary Sega AM2, creators of classics like Space Harrier, Virtua Fighter, and Shenmue. It featured attractive female athletes, but not in a titillating manner. They were far more respectful and non-objectifying, than say, Team Ninja, or Konami with Rumble Roses. Still, having a game like this was very significant because it reinforced the notion that Nintendo wanted to attract older gamers to Gamecube.
On August 25th, we got Super Monkey Ball 2 and Super Mario Sunshine. People say that Super Monkey Ball 2 not as good as the first game, but it was still great, and an exclusive for three years until Super Monkey Ball Deluxe in 2005 came out for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
Super Mario Sunshine was not as revolutionary and mindblowing as Super Mario 64, but it was gorgeous, added complexity with the FLUDD water-pack, had creative levels, and is still the second-best 3D Mario-game ever created. People that dislike it seem unable to control Mario and the camera at the same time, but that doesn't mean the game is bad; it means you are bad at the game. Just because I can't play the piano very well doesn't mean the piano is a bad instrument. It just means I'm not skilled enough to play the piano at a high level.
On September 15th, North America got Animal Forest for the first time, although it was unnecessarily renamed to Animal Crossing. This is still one of the most beloved life-sim game-franchises out there.
On September 22nd, we got Star Fox Adventures, which featured gorgeous graphics and beautiful music. We did not know it at the time, but it was Rare's last game for Nintendo. Nintendo was foolish and shortsighted in letting Rare go. Having Rare during the Nintendo 64 era kept the console afloat, especially in the Western markets.
On September 23rd, we got Capcom vs SNK 2 EO. This was significant because it was the first Capcom fighting-game on a Nintendo home-console since Street Fighter Alpha 2 on SNES in 1996. Having a relevant fighting-game on a Nintendo home-console was a big deal, as opposed to having a port of the old-as-dirt Street Fighter II on Nintendo Switch.
NBA 2K3 came out almost simultaneously on PS2, GC, and XB on October 7th. Graphically, all three versions were similar, which can't be said for the inferior version of NBA 2K18 on NS. In the same month, we also got more annual sports-games like NBA Live 2003, Knockout Kings 2003, and Tiger Woods 2003. Gamers scoff at sports-games, but their existences is a sign of their respective platform's good health.
For gamers, we had the multiplatform Robotech: Battlecry on October 11th, Bloodrayne on October 15th, Timesplitters 2 on October 16th, Mario Party 4 on October 21st, Tony Hawk 4 on October 23rd, and Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II on October 29th. People think that Gamecube didn't have online gaming, but it did. Phantasy Star Online was one of them.
On November 10th, we got Resident Evil Zero, which was a new title in the series. It would only become available on a non-Nintendo system in January of 2015. This was not as enjoyable a game as the first, but it was even more gorgeous.
On the same day, we got Sonic Mega Collection, a chronicle of Sonic 1 through Knuckles, and some bonus-games. Compare this to Sonic Mania. I'd rather have the Genesis-titles than Sonic Mania. Sonic Mania is nice, but not as good as the Genesis-games. In Sonic Mania, the new stages are not as good as the remixed old stages, and some of the later stages are too long.
On November 17th, we got the masterpiece called Metroid Prime. No 3D game has come close to replicating its greatness. It is still the best game among the 3D Metroids. It still looks good today, and the game itself just gets better with age. The more I play it, the more I appreciate it, and the more I marvel at how much they were able to accomplish back in 2002. It eventually became a million-seller, but it still undersold what it should have; it should have sold far more, and moved more Gamecubes than it did. Unfortunately, the world was in love with Halo at the time, and since Metroid Prime wasn't an action-based shooter, it was dismissed by many people. If released in today's climate, it would do far better, which is why I have hope for Metroid Prime 4.
On the same day, we got Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. Mortal Kombat: Deception two years later would become the last Mortal Kombat game that Nintendo would ever get, so it was nice to get a new Mortal Kombat at the time.
On November 20th, we got Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. Nintendo's systems had some of the best Star Wars games like Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader. Back in 2002, Star Wars wasn't as popular and mainstream as it is today. If Gamecube had the exclusives like Rogue Leader in today's climate, it would have helped Gamecube's sales tremendously. Unfortunately, at the time, Star Wars was just a nerdy thing to most people, and so great games like Rogue Leader did not help push system-sales that much.
On December 2nd, we got Evolution Worlds, a compilation of the first two games in the series that started on Dreamcast. I played through the first game on Dreamcast, so I didn't feel like I needed to get this game, but it was nice to have a traditional turn-based RPG from Japan on the system.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, came out on December 7th, action-adventure game Blood Omen 2 on December 9th, and the surprisingly fun 3D hack-and-slash title The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on December 31st.
Japan got Wind Waker on December 13th. If you count that game, Gamecube had new installments to Mario, Metroid, and Zelda in the same year. Star Fox Adventures doesn't count as a new Star Fox game because it wasn't a shooter. Graphically, they were state-of-the-art, whereas Nintendo Switch's games are not. From 2016 to the launch of NS in March, I spent months watching YouTube in 144p, playing nothing but retro games including Nintendo 64's ugly 3D games, and still when I played Breath of the Wild for the first time, its graphics didn't impress me at all. Gamecube's Sunshine, Prime, and Wind Waker also were not ignorantly and erroneously given 10s by every outlet under the sun like Breath of the Wild and Odyssey were.
2017 may eventually be Nintendo's best year financially, but 2002 was by far the better year for us, the gamers. We had a system that was graphically superior to PlayStation 2, and it was getting all the major multiplatform-titles. That would change later on, but for the first year, we were getting those multiplatform-games. It was a great and promising time, whereas you look at E3 of this year, and we got barely anything from AAA third-parties. Eventually, things will probably improve. E3 2018 will be a better time to judge AAA third-party support. If it's a dry desert just like this year was, however, it will be time to relegate NS to a Nintendo + indie machine.
On January 13th, 2002 we got the third and final installment of the NBA Courtside series: NBA Courtside 2002. Why is this significant? This is significant because it harkens back to a time when Nintendo tried to cater to more markets than just mindless Nintendo-fanchildren, and took it upon themselves to fund such games. Nintendo purchased a minority-stake in the developer: Left Field Productions, and in turn, Left Field produced the aforementioned NBA Courtside games as well as Excitebike 64. Although I did not purchase NBA Courtside 2002, it was nice having it around. It indicated to us, the new Gamecube-owners, that Nintendo was trying their best to serve all tastes with the Gamecube.
On February 11th, we got the enhanced port of Sonic Adventure 2 titled Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. This blew everyone's minds as this was the first Sonic-game on a Nintendo home-console. Sonic Advance had come out for Game Boy Advance the previous December in Japan. It was Sega and Nintendo - the ultimate rivals, becoming the ultimate team! This was a promising time for Gamecube-owners as well as older gamers who grew up during the 16-bit console-wars. We looked forward to future titles from Sega and Sonic Team.
On February 17th, we got NBA Street. It was a port of the fantastic street-basketball game on the PlayStation 2. I had always wanted to play this game but did not have a PS2; now I could.
On March 11th, we got Spy Hunter. This was an average game, but it was significant because it released simultaneously on Xbox, and Gamecube; PlayStation 2 had received it the previous September.
On March 18th, we got Bloody Roar: Primal Fury. This was an above-average game, and it was significant because it would be only one of two above-average 3D fighting-games on the system: this and Soul Calibur 2.
The very same day, we got Sega Soccer Slam. This was significant because it was a timed exclusive, and it was published by Sega.
On April 30th, the world was blessed with the greatest survival-horror game of all time: Resident Evil. It was a full-blown remake with ridiculously-gorgeous 3D models on insanely-detailed prerendered backgrounds that still hold up to this day. The plan with Capcom and Nintendo was to rerelease every Resident Evil game on the Gamecube, starting with a remake of the first game and culminating in a new game: Resident Evil 4. As we know, this didn't happen, as Resident Evil 4 was ported to PlayStation 2, but at the time, this was a big victory for Nintendo.
On May 27th, we got Lost Kingdoms from From Software. Yes; From Software used to make games that weren't called Dark Souls. I personally did not appreciate how the game used cards in its battle-system, and so I did not buy this game. However, I wish I had. If I, and more Gamecube-owners had given this game a chance, perhaps we would be seeing Dark Souls on Nintendo Switch today.
June 24th brought us the Lovecraftian horror-game from Silicon Knights: Eternal Darkness. This game was significant because it was the first M-rated title ever published by Nintendo. It was nice having another game targeted at older audiences after having played Resident Evil. Unlike Resident Evil, the entire game was rendered in real-time, and it was graphically-impressive in its own way.
July was a slow month in which we got NCAA Football 2003, Ultimate Fighting Championship 2 Tapout Final Spec, and Aggressive Inline. Still, it was nice having ports of games that weren't watered down or a generation behind in graphics.
We kicked off August with Beach Spikers on August 12th. It was a beach-volleyball game designed by the legendary Sega AM2, creators of classics like Space Harrier, Virtua Fighter, and Shenmue. It featured attractive female athletes, but not in a titillating manner. They were far more respectful and non-objectifying, than say, Team Ninja, or Konami with Rumble Roses. Still, having a game like this was very significant because it reinforced the notion that Nintendo wanted to attract older gamers to Gamecube.
On August 25th, we got Super Monkey Ball 2 and Super Mario Sunshine. People say that Super Monkey Ball 2 not as good as the first game, but it was still great, and an exclusive for three years until Super Monkey Ball Deluxe in 2005 came out for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
Super Mario Sunshine was not as revolutionary and mindblowing as Super Mario 64, but it was gorgeous, added complexity with the FLUDD water-pack, had creative levels, and is still the second-best 3D Mario-game ever created. People that dislike it seem unable to control Mario and the camera at the same time, but that doesn't mean the game is bad; it means you are bad at the game. Just because I can't play the piano very well doesn't mean the piano is a bad instrument. It just means I'm not skilled enough to play the piano at a high level.
On September 15th, North America got Animal Forest for the first time, although it was unnecessarily renamed to Animal Crossing. This is still one of the most beloved life-sim game-franchises out there.
On September 22nd, we got Star Fox Adventures, which featured gorgeous graphics and beautiful music. We did not know it at the time, but it was Rare's last game for Nintendo. Nintendo was foolish and shortsighted in letting Rare go. Having Rare during the Nintendo 64 era kept the console afloat, especially in the Western markets.
On September 23rd, we got Capcom vs SNK 2 EO. This was significant because it was the first Capcom fighting-game on a Nintendo home-console since Street Fighter Alpha 2 on SNES in 1996. Having a relevant fighting-game on a Nintendo home-console was a big deal, as opposed to having a port of the old-as-dirt Street Fighter II on Nintendo Switch.
NBA 2K3 came out almost simultaneously on PS2, GC, and XB on October 7th. Graphically, all three versions were similar, which can't be said for the inferior version of NBA 2K18 on NS. In the same month, we also got more annual sports-games like NBA Live 2003, Knockout Kings 2003, and Tiger Woods 2003. Gamers scoff at sports-games, but their existences is a sign of their respective platform's good health.
For gamers, we had the multiplatform Robotech: Battlecry on October 11th, Bloodrayne on October 15th, Timesplitters 2 on October 16th, Mario Party 4 on October 21st, Tony Hawk 4 on October 23rd, and Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II on October 29th. People think that Gamecube didn't have online gaming, but it did. Phantasy Star Online was one of them.
On November 10th, we got Resident Evil Zero, which was a new title in the series. It would only become available on a non-Nintendo system in January of 2015. This was not as enjoyable a game as the first, but it was even more gorgeous.
On the same day, we got Sonic Mega Collection, a chronicle of Sonic 1 through Knuckles, and some bonus-games. Compare this to Sonic Mania. I'd rather have the Genesis-titles than Sonic Mania. Sonic Mania is nice, but not as good as the Genesis-games. In Sonic Mania, the new stages are not as good as the remixed old stages, and some of the later stages are too long.
On November 17th, we got the masterpiece called Metroid Prime. No 3D game has come close to replicating its greatness. It is still the best game among the 3D Metroids. It still looks good today, and the game itself just gets better with age. The more I play it, the more I appreciate it, and the more I marvel at how much they were able to accomplish back in 2002. It eventually became a million-seller, but it still undersold what it should have; it should have sold far more, and moved more Gamecubes than it did. Unfortunately, the world was in love with Halo at the time, and since Metroid Prime wasn't an action-based shooter, it was dismissed by many people. If released in today's climate, it would do far better, which is why I have hope for Metroid Prime 4.
On the same day, we got Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. Mortal Kombat: Deception two years later would become the last Mortal Kombat game that Nintendo would ever get, so it was nice to get a new Mortal Kombat at the time.
On November 20th, we got Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. Nintendo's systems had some of the best Star Wars games like Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader. Back in 2002, Star Wars wasn't as popular and mainstream as it is today. If Gamecube had the exclusives like Rogue Leader in today's climate, it would have helped Gamecube's sales tremendously. Unfortunately, at the time, Star Wars was just a nerdy thing to most people, and so great games like Rogue Leader did not help push system-sales that much.
On December 2nd, we got Evolution Worlds, a compilation of the first two games in the series that started on Dreamcast. I played through the first game on Dreamcast, so I didn't feel like I needed to get this game, but it was nice to have a traditional turn-based RPG from Japan on the system.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, came out on December 7th, action-adventure game Blood Omen 2 on December 9th, and the surprisingly fun 3D hack-and-slash title The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on December 31st.
Japan got Wind Waker on December 13th. If you count that game, Gamecube had new installments to Mario, Metroid, and Zelda in the same year. Star Fox Adventures doesn't count as a new Star Fox game because it wasn't a shooter. Graphically, they were state-of-the-art, whereas Nintendo Switch's games are not. From 2016 to the launch of NS in March, I spent months watching YouTube in 144p, playing nothing but retro games including Nintendo 64's ugly 3D games, and still when I played Breath of the Wild for the first time, its graphics didn't impress me at all. Gamecube's Sunshine, Prime, and Wind Waker also were not ignorantly and erroneously given 10s by every outlet under the sun like Breath of the Wild and Odyssey were.
2017 may eventually be Nintendo's best year financially, but 2002 was by far the better year for us, the gamers. We had a system that was graphically superior to PlayStation 2, and it was getting all the major multiplatform-titles. That would change later on, but for the first year, we were getting those multiplatform-games. It was a great and promising time, whereas you look at E3 of this year, and we got barely anything from AAA third-parties. Eventually, things will probably improve. E3 2018 will be a better time to judge AAA third-party support. If it's a dry desert just like this year was, however, it will be time to relegate NS to a Nintendo + indie machine.
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