Unlocking What Was Cool

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

From the creative mind of Hideo Kojima fused with the development talent of Silicon Knights comes a remake of the 1998 Playstation classic Metal Gear Solid. Nintendo fans can finally experience Solid Snake's first adventure in the 3D space on the iconic Shadow Moses island.  Completely rebuilt from the ground up with all new graphics, cutscenes, voice acting and gameplay improvements from Metal Gear Solid 2. Twin Snakes is a one of a kind experience on the GameCube and Nintendo consoles in general. Join the boys as they dive into this game, hide in their box, and talk to friends of the show Kira and Tristan to uncover the history of this unique GameCube title, and of course reminisce about the Psycho Mantis boss fight.

 

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Beyond Good & Evil

A charming tale of deep space whimsy with aliens, conspiracy theories, and a badass journalist/photographer with a pig companion. Sound familiar? Probably not considering this game was an immediate commercial failure in the mid days of the GameCube in 2003. However in the last two decades its image has reformed and is considered to be one of the premiere games from this generation. Mike & Neil bring on friend of the show ToonieTwirls to discuss the game, its legacy, and if we'll ever actually get to see a Beyond Good & Evil 2. Just say when Jade!

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Pixar Games on The GameCube

It's time to chat about the golden age of Pixar. The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, and Cars (yes even Cars). Some absolutely amazing movies here, not so much with the games. All developed by THQ, these titles were all mediocre at best. Other than the very interesting and surprisingly fun Cars which had an amazing open world experience of Radiator Springs and some solid driving. Meanwhile The Incredibles couldn't wait 15 years and decided to make a video game sequel to the original movie, Rise of the Underminer with the John Ratzenburger reprising his role! Mike & Neil bring on friends of the show Kirsten and Ramon for a great time talking about growing up with some of the greatest animated movies ever made. 

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Cartoon Network Games on The GameCube

It's September and that means it's time to go back to school, and what better way to celebrate (or lament) then to talk about some after school cartoons on the GameCube Was Cool! Mike & Neil look back at some of the favourite series from Cartoon Network like Codename: Kids Next Door, the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Samurai Jack, Ed Edd and Eddy and The Power Puff Girls! Unfortunately we did not get a Dexter's Lab game on the Cube but the boys are still holding out hope. Dive into the early 2000s in a big way with these sub-par games but timeless cartoons!

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Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat

It's time to bang the drum...extremely fast! In Nintendo's first true Donkey Kong game in six years they decided to combine the success of the bongo peripheral with traditional platforming in one of the most ambitious and strangest games on the GameCube. Mike and Neil take a look back at this game and talk about how it's success in 2005 has given way to a pretty empty period in DK's lifecycle. Friends of the show Kyra and Spenny join the pod to talk about the big ape and lament that his friends Diddy, Lanky, and the rest of the kong crew are conspicuously absent in this entry! Grab some bongos and enjoy the final kong game for the Cube.

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The Under $100 GameCube Game Challenge

Collecting for the GameCube is an expensive endeavor, but this week on The GameCube Was Cool Podcast Mike and Neil sit down and search the internet for cheap GameCube games. They each have $100.00 to spend on as many 'good' games as possible. Who will come out with the best assortment of games? Tune in and find out!

Mike Interviews Neil

Inside the GameCube Studio Mike is interviewing a very special guest, the one and only, Neil! host of The GameCube Was Cool Podcast. He's joining the show for an exclusive interview about love, life, being a teenager at bayside high and choosing games for a desert island. Tune in and find out all you need to know about the world's most interesting GameCube related man.

Neil Interviews Mike

Quiet on the set! Mike, host of The GameCube Was Cool Podcast (#1 Gamecube podcast on the internet) has been invited to Neil's super secret podcast talk show for an exclusive interview. What new secrets about Mike will Neil uncover about his best friend of 21 years? Tune in and find out! 

Extreme Sports Games on The GameCube

BMX, Snowboarding, Motocross and even Scootering (yes, scootering in 2003). All this and more you can find here on part 2 of The GameCube Was Cool's extreme sports series featuring friends of the show Ali, Gavin, and even Marty, back to finally talk about Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure. The boys journey back to a time where Jackass reigned supreme and the antics of this world were prevalent in games such as FreeStyle MetalX, SX Superstar, and a Shrek meets tony hawk meets scootering game called Whirl Tour. Join Mike & Neil for a great time and hit the rails in episode 107.

Mario Superstar Baseball

Play ball! It's a beautiful day for a ball game here on the GameCube Was Cool. Our third "radio" edition on 97.8 KUHB FM. Mario Superstar Baseball is quite the unique entry for the Mario Sports franchise, an amazing in depth game with an equally amazing community who keeps this game alive with stats and online play. Lucky enough one of the members of this community, @littlecoaks joins the boys to talk about the game and the community that has formed around it. With 32 characters in this game there's so many permutations making this game one of the most complex and deep sport games on the GameCube. 

SpongeBob Games on The GameCube

Who lives in a GameCube under the sea? With five games on the console SpongeBob and pals certainly made a lasting impact on the system. Battle for Bikini Bottom being probably the most well known thanks to the new remake and the speedrunning community that basically willed it into existence (as explained by friend of the show Luigi in his part). But there were four more games including the amazing party game Lights, Camera, Pants! (as remembered by other friend of the show Anneka), the fantastic movie tie-in, as well as Revenge of the Flying Dutchman and Creature from the Krusty Krab. Each one had it's own charm and went well above and beyond what licensed video games can normally achieve. Enjoy this extra long episode and listen to Mike & Neil talk about a cartoon that has gone on to shape them for the rest of their lives.

Winnie-the-Pooh & Kids Games on The GameCube

Join Mike & Neil for a rumbly tumbly adventure through the 100 Acre Wood to talk about two Winnie the Pooh games as well as a Curious George cel-shaded movie tie-in and a Franklin the turtle game that somehow did not release on the GameCube in North America. The boys talk about their memories with Winnie-the-Pooh, are shocked at the fact that he and his band of misfit animals are the fourth largest media franchise in the world, and give some love to Jim Cummings' great voice work. They of course discuss the movie tie-in game that's not really a movie tie-in; Piglet's Big Game which plays like an early Captain Toad game. Unfortunately the Franklin game doesn't quite live up to the memes but you'll have to listen to find out why! 

Harry Potter Games

You're a wizard Harry!! Celebrating 25 years of Harry Potter with five games on the GameCube, including a Quidditch spinoff. This generation of consoles was lucky enough to play home to one of the most influential book and movie series of all time. Mike & Neil dive into their memories of the games but more importantly the franchise itself, and reminisce how kids would stand outside bookstores for midnight releases of the next chapter in the wizarding world. Joining the boys is friend of the show Chelsey from the Caesar Sunday podcast to chat about her favourite series (and visiting harry potter world in Florida). Grab your Nimbus 2000 and fly on over for this magical ride!

Star Fox: Assault

To celebrate Star Fox 64 turning 25 years old this week Neil and Mike are looking back on the second Star Fox entry in the GameCube's library. Assault never won over the critics but it many moments of sheer greatness that brought fans back into the franchise after experiencing a Star Fox game that was really just Star Fox in name only. Guests of the week are Luigi from the Chat of the Wild podcast and newcomer Bill Barber, co-host of the Gaming and Collecting Podcast. They talk about their memories of Assault as well as things they loved and things they really wish would have been improved upon in newer releases. Love it or hate it Star Fox assault is arguably the last good Star Fox game, but hopefully won't be for long.

 

Celebrating 100 Episodes!

After 100 episodes of talking about the GameCube Neil and Mike are gonna sit back, relax, and talk about themselves for an hour. Relive the last 2 years and some of their favourite moments from these episodes and some news on what the future of the GameCube Was Cool looks like! Stick around to the end of the episode to hear a mashup of some of the best jokes, moments, and stupid gags that appeared on this podcast over the last 100 episodes. Enjoy!

Super Mario Strikers

Episode 100 is here! Neil and Mike can't believe that 100 episodes have passed by and are thrilled to talk about one of the best sports games of all time for this very special episode. Joining the boys to talk about Super Mario Strikers are friends of the show Matt, Will and Jason who discuss their memories of playing Strikers and it's sequel back in the day as well as talking about their excitement for the new entry which was an amazing surprise. From the makers of NHL Hitz Strikers certainly shared the fast and furious action and violence from that series and became known as a unique entry in the Mario pantheon with some of the greatest cover art of all time.

Disney Games on The GameCube

To celebrate 99 years of Disney Mike & Neil are joined by Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Minnie and many more classic Disney characters on this week's episode. However these characters can't quite save many of these mediocre to downright awful games, many of which were exclusive to the GameCube. One of these games, Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse was played by friend of the show Emma who takes the boys through what it was like to play a point and click game with a controller. Donald Duck games like Goin' Quackers and PK Out of the Shadows appear in this episode as well as Disney Sports entries like Football and Basketball. While we watch Disney buy up all the good content Mike & Neil take us through a very strange era for Disney in the early 2000s.

Rayman & 3D Platformers on The GameCube

The greatest no-limbed character in the history of video games graces the podcast today with Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc and Rayman Arena. The boys discuss their memories with the character and his later entry games Origins and Legends. They also discuss the Don Bluth produced I-Ninja, an amazingly underrated and funny 3D platformer with the voice of Billy West and Scaler, a strange but fun game that seems to have been lost with time. Rekindle the nostalgia of the 3D platform era with this episode of The GameCube Was Cool.

Donkey Konga & DDR Mario Mix

The early 2000s were the golden age of rhythm and music games and the GameCube couldn't escape their grasp on pop culture. Before Guitar Hero and Rock Band though there was Donkey Konga! The amazingly fun rhythm game played by hitting some awesome bongo peripherals and throwing some claps in there too! Join Mike, Neil and friend of the show Kyra to talk about some of their favourite memories and tracks from these two (three if you count Japan) games. The boys also talk about the rise and fall of DDR with Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix, a Mad Catz clone: MC Groovz, and last but not least from Harmonix comes Karaokes Revolution Party, not quite Guitar Hero but in terms of gameplay and aesthetics, as close as the GameCube was going to get.

Turok & Futuristic Shooters on The GameCube

In this era of gaming there were shooters aplenty and of course Turok, the great dinosaur hunter game is celebrating 25 years as a franchise. Unfortunately this was not the best entry into the series and ended up being it's death blow. The boys also talk with friend of the show Dan about a few other shooters such as Red Faction II and Serious Sam, both very interesting franchises that they'd love to see get a second life on the Switch. To round out the episode Neil & Mike also talk about one of the few run & gun games on the Cube, BlowOut as well as an IO Interactive game that isn't Hitman: Freedom Fighters, an alternate history game who's plot is well worth the price of admission. All this and more on episode 96!