The Nintendo GameCube is a system that many people love, but very few ever bought it. The system came in a distant 3rd place in the 6th generation console wars, but would nevertheless gain a hardcore following. One of the things that held back the system was the use of proprietary mini DVDs that could only hold 1.46 GB of data. In comparison, the Playstation 2 and Xbox can both use regular DVDs that can hold between 4.7 and 8.5.
This was reflected in the GameCube’s relative lack of role-playing games, which often required a lot of memory. That said, the GameCube wasn’t entirely lacking in the genre, having some great action RPGs in particular. Over time, many of these have been forgotten by the gaming community at large. However, these overlooked action RPGs on the GameCube deserve a second chance. Not all of them are necessarily good, but they are all interesting and worth checking out.
10 Summoner: A goddess reborn
a port of Caller 2 for PC and PS2, A reborn goddess is a fairly solid action RPG that may not do anything special with the genre, but still does what it does well enough to be worth checking out.
20 years after the events of the first Summoner game, players take control of the eponymous reborn goddess along with a group of other party members as they set out to restore the sacred tree of Eleh. The result is a fun odyssey through various fantasy locations.
9 Phantasy Star Online Episodes I & II
A port of the innovative Sega Dreamcast titles, Fantasy Star Online was a pioneer of online gaming on consoles. The GameCube version bundled both episodes and added the ability to play offline with up to 4 players in split screen mode. This makes the GameCube edition the best version by far.
Although somewhat gravel-heavy, PCO is still a fun and addictive action RPG, especially when you play it with friends. Exploring the beautiful world of Ragol is an absolute joy, as is taking on the various monsters that inhabit it with friends.
8 Hunter: the reckoning
Based on the series of table-top role-playing games set in the World of Darkness by White Wolf, Hunter: the reckoning casts players into the role of monster hunters living in the modern world. This game is admittedly more action than RPG, with only light stat management and a heavy emphasis on hack and slash gameplay.
While not the deepest game ever, the gameplay is very satisfying as players mow down supernatural treasures. The story is also quite engaging, as exaggerated as it may be. Overall, this is a really fun game that should be played by anyone who likes good hack and slash games.
7 X-Men Legends
While it may not enjoy as much fame as the sequel, the original is X-Men Legends still holds its own and remains an excellent action RPG to this day. Set in the X-Men comic book universe, this game has players hack and slash their way through different levels fighting against the brotherhood of mutants and the GRSO.
The gameplay is very similar to Diablo’s, except that instead of swords and magic spells, its adamantium claws and optical blasts. All in all, this was a great game that helped set a new standard for superhero action games.
6 X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse
A cult classic of the 6th console generation, X-Men Legends 2 managed to build on the foundations laid by its predecessor to create one of the greatest superhero games of all time. In addition, X-Men, Rise of the Apocalypse also allows players to take control of members of the brotherhood of mutants.
Mixing and matching the varied skills of the different mutants is half the fun of this game, and the other half is the excellent hack and slash dungeon crawling gameplay. The art style can be a bit off-putting, though, as characters look like unbranded versions of the actors from the X-Men movies with tougher builds. However, this should not discourage potential players from playing this excellent action RPG.
5 Virtua Quest
Virtua Quest is something of a strange spin-off from Sega’s venerable Virtua Fighter series. Players take on the role of a gamer named Sei, who must fight his way through a virtual world. To do this, he must occasionally fight the cast of the Virtua Fighter series, and after they are defeated, he can learn one of their signature moves.
Part of what ruins this game is the controls, which make the vast move sets of Virtua Fighter and condense them on just two attack buttons. As a result, the whole game turns into a boring button masher with janky gameplay. Mediocre at best, Virtua Quest was criticized by critics at the time. Still, this game is somewhat interesting because there is clearly a strong vision in the game, just one that fails at what it tries to do.
4 dark sky
dark sky is without a doubt one of the strangest licensed games of all time. While it may not be immediately obvious, this is actually a promotional Skittles game. The player collects Skittles to cast spells and the plot involves completing the rainbow. Apparently the game designers had a blast making this game, and it definitely shows.
The game contains a lot of ironic humor and often breaks the fourth wall. The gameplay itself is unfortunately rather mediocre, with frustrating puzzles and annoying encounters with enemies. Still, this game is worth checking out for its humor and the obvious sense of passion that permeates what could otherwise have been nothing more than a soulless cash grab.
3 Lost Kingdoms
Lost Kingdoms is an early game from FromSoftware before the studio went big with the souls series. This game is very unconventional for an action RPG. This is because players do not attack enemies directly.
Instead, the player maneuvers around in real time while playing cards that summon demons which then attack. While not great, this card-based combat is actually fairly nuanced and has some hidden depth to it. Overall, it’s a pretty good game, albeit quite short.
2 Lost Kingdoms 2
An iterative sequel, Lost Kingdoms 2 plays much the same as the original with minor changes and refinements in gameplay and presentation. For starters, there are no more random encounters and no more fighting enemies on a separate screen.
The gameplay is generally more polished and the card battles are deeper. The game now also has some hilariously awful voice acting during cutscenes. The game is still quite short, but solid nonetheless. A clear step further than the original.
1 Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
Not many people could fully experience this game at the time due to the requirement to use the Game Boy Advance to GameCube connection cable. Those who have had a rather bizarre view of a Final Fantasy game. In a world ravaged by a deadly Miasma, players join a crystal caravan.
This is an annual journey to restore the energy of the crystals and keep the Miasma at bay. The second screen on the Game Boy Advance is used by each player to keep track of their character’s information. Overall, it’s a very fun game with friends for those who can set everything up. It’s just a shame that so few have ever experienced it in its intended form.
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