More than 20 years after its release, the GameCube is remembered as one of Nintendo’s worst consoles in terms of sales. During its 7 years of production, it sold just under 22 million units, Nintendo’s second-worst figure behind only the infamous Wii-U.
But that doesn’t mean the GameCube is a bad console, not at all.
Its compact design, good graphics, connection with the Game Boy Advance, and ergonomic controller stood out as its strong points, in addition to its affordable price for that time.
One aspect in which opinions were divided was the format of its games, as Nintendo left aside the cartridges for this console and made the switch to mini discs. A somewhat controversial decision for what their fans were used to, although it is true that with this format they avoided a lot of piracy.
Its lack of popularity was not helped by the enormous success of Sony’s PlayStation 1, which was constantly adding new fans to its ranks. The GameCube was already having a very difficult time with one rival, when Xbox joined the discussion only a few months later, leaving Nintendo’s console in the background.
Because of these factors, Nintendo GameCube games had a discreet passage through the stores at their launch, but the rarest titles have been greatly revalued today, being coveted by fans and collectors alike. So, keep your wallet handy as today we are looking at the
15 Rarest GameCube Games
Digimon Rumble Arena 2 (2004)
- Publisher: Bandai Games
- Genre: Fight
- eBay: used copies go for around $50, while new ones go for over $200.
The Digimon series has always been recognized as Pokemon’s biggest competitor, although the reality is that its games often have elements of their own that make them unique.
The Rumble Arena spin-off is a very good example of this, in which they break away from the creature collecting system and instead, turn to a Super Smash Bros. style fighting game.
The premise is as simple as that, throwing Digimon into a variety of battle arenas inspired by the lore of the series, which has been adapted to other formats such as film and television.
From spectacular power-ups to life-saving bonuses, anything goes in the battles, and they are even more fun if you enjoy them with friends.
Although critics failed to see its virtues, burying the game in oblivion. But they didn’t take into account that Digimon is a beloved series, and thanks to the support of its fans, Rumble Arena 2 is a very rare GameCube game nowadays.
Resident Evil: 10th Anniversary Collection (2006)
- Publisher: Capcom
- Genre: Survival Horror, Action
- eBay: used copies don’t go for more than $200, while sealed copies can be worth up to $500.
Resident Evil is one of those franchises that needs no introduction. Almost 30 years after its creation, it continues to dominate the horror genre with high doses of action and good scares.
Currently, the series is living a second golden age with remakes, but back in the 2000s, it was in the birth of success, in which it spread to countless consoles.
In 2006, to celebrate 10 years since the release of the first Resident Evil on PlayStation, Capcom released a special pack for the GameCube, which included the remake of Resident Evil 1, Resident Evil Zero, and the legendary Resident Evil 4. 3 games that were perfect to welcome new fans to the series.
In these titles, you take control of different characters that for various reasons have to stand up to Umbrella, the evil corporation that has caused much havoc on the planet with its biological weapons.
Although zombies are their best-known creations, they are the least of your problems when you discover what some mutations can reach.
If this bundle was already highly coveted, add to that the fact that it was exclusive to the GameStop chain of stores. Soon after, the units were sold out and today they are still very difficult to get because nobody wants to get rid of a game that contains 3 Resident Evil gems.
NCAA College Basketball 2K3 (2002)
- Publisher: Sega
- Genre: Sports
- eBay: around $200 for used copies, while sealed copies almost reach $900.
Sports games never quite fit into the GameCube catalog, although the few that were released are quite valued today.
The case of NCAA College Basketball 2 is even more special because it was the only game of that series to be released on the GameCube, which also made it the only college basketball game available for that console.
With more than 300 divisions and both classic and customizable tournaments, College Basketball 2K3 is a pleasant experience of what it feels like to be a promising player in this sport in its youth stage, to gain the favor of other schools, and reach the major leagues.
But they made a big mistake in believing that the GameCube audience would give their game a chance. Consequently, the production of units was closed in a short time, so it is quite difficult to find a copy of this game.
Phantasy Star Online: Episode I & II Plus (2003)
- Publisher: Sega
- Genre: MMORPG
- eBay: with less than $100, you can get your hands on a copy in good condition, but you’ll have to spend more than $300 if you want a sealed one.
It may not be very popular today, but at the time, Phantasy Star caused a sensation in the gaming industry, innovating the RPG genre and leading the way for future massively multiplayer games.
After a huge success on their own console, Sega ported these two chapters of the famous Dreamcast RPG to a GameCube version, being the first online game for the console.
Set in Algol star system, you take control of a mercenary of the Hunters, a squad hired by the government that embarks on dangerous missions to unravel mysteries and fight against fearsome creatures from worlds far away.
And to this compelling premise, we must add the online function of both titles, being considered as one of the first MMORPGs in history. Although it had its flaws, this 2X1 game was a great success for Sega.
In addition, this GameCube port has more elements compared to the Dreamcast versions, such as more missions and new game modes.
Undoubtedly, it is a game that is not only valuable for being difficult to find but also for its great quality.
Gotcha Force (2003)
- Publisher: Capcom
- Genre: Third-person shooter
- eBay: in good condition, worth up to $150. Sealed, almost $1000.
With a Pokemon-like collection system and a lot of robot battles, Gotcha Force was aiming to be a big surprise from Capcom, but the game didn’t succeed in North America.
The premise revolves around an alien invasion of Gotcha Borgs called Death Force, evil robots that want to dominate the planet. But a ray of hope for humanity appears when Kou, an adventurous boy, finds G-Red (a little reference to Mazinger Z, don’t you think?), a Borg with whom he forms the Gotcha Force together with his friends.
Now with equal power, the Gotcha Force sets its sights on the Galactic Emperor, the leader of the Death Force.
G-Red won’t be your only companion, since for each combat you win, you’ll get new robots or parts to improve the ones you already have. You’ll have to try hard in the exciting battles to get the 200 Gotcha Borgs available.
However, Gotcha Force did not end up being liked in the West, although it was greatly appreciated in Japan, the home of fighting robots. As time went by, the game gained fans in North America, something that raised its price to unimaginable levels.
Disney Sports Basketball (2003)
- Publisher: Konami
- Genre: Sports
- eBay: used copies don’t go for more than $150, while sealed copies go for $1000.
Space Jam may be much better known, but Disney also wanted to try their hand in the basketball video game pot.
Although this title also belongs to Konami’s Disney Sports series, they got the license for famous characters like Mickey and Donald to… make sports games. It’s not what everyone was expecting but it’s not a bad idea either.
Disney Sports Basketball is everything it claims to be, allowing you to control teams of various characters from Mickey’s universe like Goofy, Daisy, Minnie, and many more, each with their own special abilities.
The basketball tournaments in this title may not be the best in the genre in terms of gameplay, but they are full of Disney humor and fun, and that’s more than enough to give it a chance.
But giving it a chance at launch is one thing gamers didn’t do, because of the bad reviews it had garnered in a short time, plus the GameCube was never the best ground for sports games.
Quite surprising that a product of the biggest entertainment company in history failed in that way, but time took care of catapulting its value. In the end, Disney always wins.
Super Monkey Ball 2-Pack (2001, 2002)
- Publisher: Sega
- Genre: Party Game and Platform
- eBay: used copies don’t go over $120, while sealed copies exceed $1200.
Super Monkey games are silly but at the same time so original. In them, you control a monkey locked in a capsule that is thrown into a series of mazes full of obstacles that you must overcome quickly, to obtain bananas and get extra lives to reach the end of the campaign more comfortably.
Throughout the stages, the difficulty increases, offering increasingly complex scenarios, but the fun never stops. If you get enough points in the main mode, you can unlock the Party Game modes, such as Monkey Races, Monkey Bowling, Monkey Golf, and Monkey Fight.
In short, every existing activity but made by monkeys.
Due to the success of its first two installments, Sega released a pack with Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2, but it wasn’t available for long.
It was quite easy to pretend you had this pack, as each game came on its original cover. The only thing that could prove that two games came in the same pack was just that, having the cardboard sleeve of the pack. And that little detail is why this bundle costs so much nowadays.
Chibi-Robo! (2006)
- Publisher: Bandai
- Genre: Platformer
- eBay: between $200 and $250 for a copy in good condition. Sealed boxes almost reach $1000.
Chibi-Robo for Gamecube puts you in the shoes, or rather, the metal feet of a little drum robot who serves the Sandersons family.
Your duty is to keep the house neat and in full working order, so you get happiness points, improving your position in the world ranking of Chibi-Robos.
In addition, you can also relax for a few moments to explore the house and discover all its secrets, but be careful, your battery may run out if you are not attentive. But if daily chores are not your thing, this title makes up for it with a plot twist that involves time travel and battles against aliens.
The game received good reviews, especially for its sound and aesthetics, which laid the path for a multi-title series. Maybe that’s why the original game is so hard to get today, but come on, we all want a Chibi-Robo!
Skies of Arcadia Legends (2002)
- Publisher: Sega
- Genre: Turn-based RPG
- eBay: in good condition, the game is worth between $200 and $300. Sealed boxes are over $1000.
It may not ring a bell, but Skies of Arcadia is considered one of the best RPGs on the Dreamcast, a console that also had a runaway on the market. Finally, Sega gave up on the Dreamcast, but not before announcing that they would release a port of Skies of Arcadia for GameCube, which arrived in 2002 with the title Legends.
The storyline stars Vyse, a young pirate who, along with his friends, embarks on incredible adventures in his flying ship, intending to stop the Valuan Empire’s plans of mass destruction.
What many do not know about this version is that it is a director’s cut, which includes improvements over the original game, such as more detailed graphics, more fluid movements, and even new missions in the plot.
But of course, for being a port, it was not taken into account by gamers back in the day. Time took care of giving this game the value it deserves since it is not only one of the rarest games in the GameCube collection but a port that improves on the original.
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (2005)
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Genre: Turn-based RPG
- eBay: used editions range from $150-$200, while sealed editions exceed $1500.
The Fire Emblem series has always been one of the most successful in the RPG genre, entering the top rankings alongside Final Fantasy, Xenoblade, and other popular franchises. But Path of Radiance has a special place because it was the first Fire Emblem to leap to 3D, as it did not make an appearance on the Nintendo 64.
In this story, we are located in the Tellius continent, where we take control of a brave mercenary named Ike. In his missions, Ike’s group ends up saving Elincia, the princess of Crimea, a kingdom that was being attacked by the powerful kingdom of Daein.
Ike begins a journey with his companions to defeat the tyrant king of Daein and return Elincia to her throne, but along the way, they discover that the conflict on the continent is darker than they thought.
With its incredible storyline and some new additions to the series, Path of Radiance was a hit in both Japan and North America, but being released late in the GameCube’s lifespan, not everyone was able to buy a copy. Nowadays, it’s not too hard to find, but you have to be willing to pay the price.
Go! Go! Hypergrind (2003)
- Publisher: Atlus
- Genre: Sports, Skating
- eBay: for used games, offers start at $400, while sealed editions go up to $1300.
When we mention skateboarding games, the first thing that comes to mind is the Tony Hawk franchise, and although it dominates the genre, every once in a while a company dares to launch its own attempt. This was the case with Go! Go! Hypergrind, a title from Atlus in collaboration with the animation studio Spümcø, creators of the Ren & Stimpy show.
With all the visual style that entails, the game lets you choose between several cartoon characters who are masters of skateboarding, to impress the Spümcø studio, which within the story is looking for followers for its animated Skate show. Pretty interesting, don’t you think?
Despite all the flashy tricks you could do and the Ren & Stimpy-inspired acid humor, the title was not the success they expected.
Even though it was developed in Japan, it was never released in that territory or Europe, so it was exclusive to North America. With time, some skating fans have rekindled interest in Go! Go! Hypergrind, though it may have many flaws, it’s not lacking in fun.
Metroid Prime/The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Combo 2 Pack (2005)
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Genre: Adventure, FPS/Action-Adventure
- eBay: up to $300 for good condition editions, and around $1500 for sealed editions.
Despite being one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises, you’d never think you’d see Samus Aran and Link in an adventure together (except in Super Smash Bros.), they belong to completely different universes. And while this bundle is no crossover, it’s rather curious that Nintendo brought them together in a move that was a commercial success.
If you’re not familiar with either series or you’re a longtime fan, this pack lets you experience two adventures of very different genres and settings, but just as incredible.
In Metroid Prime, you are an intergalactic bounty hunter fighting space pirates and other monsters in a first-person perspective, the first of the series to do this.
In Zelda: The Wind Maker, you accompany Link on an adventure through a paradisiacal archipelago, where you must save your sister from the clutches of Ganondorf, your archenemy, who threatens to raze the world with the power of the Triforce.
What makes this bundle so special is not only its games but the fact that it was released in a limited edition at Christmas 2005. And it doesn’t end there, because the only way to get it was by buying a new Nintendo Gamecube, in whose box was this bundle. Knowing this, it makes sense that it is so expensive.
The games came packaged in a mixed cover, which gives the bundle its true value, as the discs themselves were the same as the original copies.
Sonic Adventure 2 Pack (2002)
- Publisher: Sega
- Genre: Action-Adventure
- eBay: the used copies don’t go over $200, while the new ones almost reach $2000.
Sega’s famous blue hedgehog didn’t want to be left out of this list either, despite being on a Nintendo console.
We all know and love Sonic games, their frenetic and adrenaline rush is something that will always work in all generations, but the Adventure sub-series holds a special place in the hearts of fans, as it was Sonic’s first step into the world of 3D.
That novelty took the games to the next level, with a much larger and even more realistic world, new game mechanics, and a more complex narrative, although the best part will always be the possibility of playing the story with other characters from Sonic’s universe.
After such success, Sega decided to release Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, both ports of games originally released for the Dreamcast, in a single pack for GameCube users. As was customary for this kind of product, the games came inside a single box, so its cover is what gives it a lot of value today.
Pokemon Box: Ruby & Sapphire (2004)
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Genre: Pokemon Organizer
- eBay: Games in good condition go for over $400, while sealed editions range upwards of $3000.
When it comes to Pokemon, rest assured that it’s going to be worth a lot, even if it’s not a game. Pokemon Box is a software that helps you organize the Pokemon you caught in GBA games, such as Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen, Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire, and Pokemon Emerald.
This system works in conjunction with a GameBoy Advance, and a Game Link cable, so you can store up to 1500 Pokemon in this tool. Whether you want to organize them by game or by category, the possibilities are endless.
Although you can also play in Pokemon Box if you had a copy of Ruby or Sapphire and connect it with a GBA.
If this “game” was already quite peculiar, the fact that it was marketed exclusively at the Pokemon Center in New York makes it even rarer.
Also, included with the purchase were some freebies like Pokemon mugs and a memory card. Although if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on a copy of Pokemon Box these days, it’s unlikely to contain the freebies – those are a real rarity!
Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest (2002)
- Publisher: Nintendo (JP), Atlus (NA)
- Genre: Action-Adventure
- eBay: You can get one in good condition starting at $600, while the sealed ones exceed $4000.
In this title that seeks to simulate the natural selection proposed by Darwin, you control a Cubivore, a cube-shaped creature that has to devour other beasts to mutate and become stronger, as it wants to end the dominance of the Killer Cubivore and thus restore order to its world.
Despite the crude premise, the game’s aesthetics are quite childish and the mechanics are simple and fun.
Throughout the adventure, you must feed your Cubivore so it can mutate, whose system is the most complex in the game, taking some elements from an RPG. Basically, it was the Spore of the early 2000s.
At first, the title was released in Japan under the name Animal Leader, but when it failed to reap the expected sales and reviews, Nintendo refused to distribute it globally. That’s where Atlus enters the conversation, accepting the challenge to popularize the game in North America, renaming it Cubivore.
The thing is that they were not very successful with that goal either, but at least they attracted a community of loyal fans for which the game has a high value today, costing up to a thousand dollars or more. That’s what you call evolving.
With its short and somewhat unknown catalog, the GameCube managed to put together an interesting list of rare games that are worth good money today.
Most of them repeated a pattern of failure at launch and subsequent conversion to a niche game, something quite curious that is very similar to how the GameCube is considered today. Some consider it a disappointment while others consider it underrated, but the only thing we are sure of is that it is a fundamental part of gaming history.
