Unlocking What Was Cool

Star Wars Games on The GameCube

May the Fourth be with you! It's Star Wars Day and Neil and Mike are celebrating by taking you through six galactic games on the GameCube as well as talking at length about their memories of the franchise that has been a huge part of their lives. The boys are joined by guests Jedi Geek Girl and GameCube Galaxy to go through games such as the Lego Star Wars series, Jedi Outcast, Bounty Hunter, as well as Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. There's so much to talk about today and it's a record long 3.5 hour episode so sit back, relax, grab a carton of blue milk and may the force be with you.

Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

The GameCube was home to a wide variety of Zelda releases like Windwaker, Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time Master Quest and more. But few remember the "other" Zelda game that came out, a multiplayer experience that blended the old with the new, a link to the past meets windwaker. This was Four Swords Adventures, a curious title on the cube that deserves a lot of recognition. Neil and Mike bring on @toonietwirls who like Neil played this game recently and as a single player while friend of the show @cpawx joins to talk about his experience playing this with his friends on their GameBoy Advances in 2004 (link cables sold separately). A unique entry to the Zelda canon that didn't even crack a million copies sold, this is yet another example of Nintendo taking risks in the GameCube era to create new ways to enjoy a franchise.

Shrek Games on The GameCube

WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY SWAMP!? To celebrate 21 years of Shrek Mike & Neil take a look back on the green ogre and keep his memory alive by talking about 4 Shrek Games on the GameCube. That includes the nearly unplayable Shrek Extra Large, Shrek Smash & Crash kart racer, Shrek Super Slam, a smash bros clone that has developed quite the community, and of course Shrek 2 the movie the game. For Shrek 2 friend of the show Kirsten joins the boys to discuss her memories of playing this surprisingly fun movie tie-in. Sit back, relax, and peel back the layers on your onion for episode 93 of the GameCube Was Cool Podcast.

Easter Eggs in Video Games

It's almost easter which means the boys are taking a break and going on their own easter egg hunt, but never fear, Side Mission 9 is here! Mike and Neil discuss the history of easter eggs, what the differences are between easter eggs and references, and talk about some of their earliest memories of discovering some of these secrets in games and other media. Of course there are plenty of fun secrets from GameCube games in here so spoiler alert if you want to go in completely blind to some of these games!

Sonic Heroes & Shadow The Hedgehog

Sonic Heroooooes!! A great theme song for a polarizing game. This week to celebrate the release of Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Mike & Neil look back on Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and even Big the Cat in this fun edition of the GameCube Was Cool. The boys are joined by enemy of the pod Ramon who briefly fills in for Neil after a meltdown, and Marcelo of GameCube Galaxy, an amazing YouTube channel that basically does what this podcast does but in video form! Mike and Neil give some serious consideration to the ramifications of Shadow with a gun and wonder if there really is a 3D Sonic game out there for Neil.

Prince of Persia & Tomb Raider

It's a strange time out there folks. The sands of time seem to have taken hold on this week's episode of the GameCube Was Cool. Listen to Mike & Neil chat about Pitfall, Tomb Raider Legend, and the Prince of Persia trilogy on the GameCube. Ranging from the dark Warrior Within (which you could play on Blackberry?!?) to Two Thrones, to the classic and soon to be remade Sands of Time, the boys look back on the adventure game genre with three series who have all had similar starts but very different continuations. Enjoy this "interesting" episode of the PS2 Was...I mean, The GameCube Was Cool. 

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Part 2

Part 2 of The GameCube Was Cool's Paper Mario celebration has Mike & Neil discussing the game and the franchise with friend of the show Jason as well as Kate Gray, an amazing video game journalist who's written for Nintendo Life, Kotaku, and even did a review of Paper Mario Color Splash for Rolling Stone! There's so much to cover about this wonderful game, the characters, the history, the dialogue, it almost feels like there needs to be a part 3! Maybe one day but for now enjoy Episode 90 Part 2 and tell Nintendo to make this game available digitally please.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Part 1

One of the greatest GameCube games, RPGs, or any game for that matter gets the two-parter treatment here on the GameCube Was Cool. Neil & Mike dive into the world of Paper Mario, from the series' beginnings in Super Mario RPG to the latest entry on Switch. However, none can compare to the beautiful, quirky, original, dark, charming edition that is Thousand Year Door. With brilliant dialogue and astounding visuals, Thousand Year Door did what no one expected, improved on the already near-perfect Paper Mario 64. For Part 1 Neil and Mike bring on friend of the show Kira (@toonietwirls) to hear about how her dad would read the game's dialogue to her when she was a kid, and newcomer Geoff who remembers all the reasons why Nintendo will probably never remake this game again (never forget that noose in Rogueport). Stay tuned for more Paper Mario and more guests on the next episode!

Tiger Woods PGA Tour & Golf Games

Hit the links with The GameCube Was Cool in today's episode all about golf games to celebrate the spring and St. Patrick's day of course! Join Mike, Neil and friends of the show Marty and Harrison to talk about the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series from 2003 to 2006 and how these games have stood the test of time and provided inspiration to the newest 2K additions to the sport. The boys also dive into two "arcade-y" golf game, Swingerz Golf and Outlaw golf, two very much relics of their time but fun to play nonetheless (and a certain famous actor provides the commentator's voice in Outlaw Golf!!). All this is more on episode 89.

Need For Speed & Racing Games

Start your engines!!! It's the Need For Speed episode here at The GameCube Was Cool podcast and Mike & Neil are diving into five NFS games on the cube. Friends of the show Marty, Victor, and Brian are here to celebrate the franchise's long run with Hot Pursuit 2, Most Wanted, Underground 1 and 2, and Carbon. Victor even lets the boys know that they've officially covered 400 GameCube games, only 150 more to go! Other than the Need for Speed games on the docket, Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions and Lotus Challenge are also discussed although listeners probably don't need to pick those up any time soon. See you at the finish line!

Batman Games on The GameCube

While Batman makes his long awaited return to the big screen, Neil and Mike cover the Dark Knight's games for the GameCube as well as reminiscing about their memories of the caped crusader throughout the years. The early 2000s were an interesting time for Batman and we got two very serviceable games based on the animated series in Batman: Vengeance, and Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu, while we also got the Kemco published and developed disaster of Batman Dark Tomorrow, and the spiritual predecessor to the Arkham series with Batman Begins, one of the better movie tie-in games out there. Join the boys and the world's greatest detective on this week's episode.

Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six, & Tom Clancy on The GameCube

A name synonymous with tactical and stealth shooters on the sixth generation of consoles, there were nine Tom Clancy Games released on the GameCube between 2002 and 2006. Three Rainbow Six games including Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield, four Splinter Cell games including Mike's personal favourite, Splinter Cell: Chaos theory, which he believes may be the greatest stealth game ever made, and of course the Ghost Recon series, two not as critically acclaimed games but still an enjoyable experience overall. One experience that wasn't enjoyable was playing The Sum Of All Fears, a badly created movie tie-in that is basically just a Rainbow Six lite. There's no doubting that Tom Clancy knew the importance of video games in portraying these stories and today the boys of The GameCube Was Cool podcast enjoy the worlds he created through those really cool trifocal goggles.

Phantasy Star Online & Skies of Arcadia

The only real online game for the GameCube, the Phantasy Star Online series came over from Sega's failed Dreamcast console to become a mainstay in the cube's library for the past 20 years. Mike & Neil interview guests and PSO enthusiasts Luigi (of Chat of the Wild and Need For Speedrunning podcasts) and Kayak (who runs the GC side of development for the private pso server Schtserv). The boys learn a lot about this game that refuses to die who's community of honestly just really nice people have helped Phantasy Star Online Episode 1, 2 and even C.A.R.D. stay relevant today. Also on this episode are two more Sega creations: Skies of Arcadia Legends, an updated RPG port from the Dreamcast, and Amazing Island, a wacky mix of custom Pokemon type monsters with Mario Party gameplay. Breakout your GameCube keyboard controller and join Mike and Neil on this Sega-filled episode.

Power Rangers, Dragon’s Lair, & Other Adventure Games

This week the boys cover a hodgepodge of games on the GameCube starting with the Power Rangers series: Power Rangers: Dino Thunder where the player controlled dinosaur mechs. They continue to Dinotopia The Sunstone Odysssey (clearly a Dino theme in this episode) as well as the classic arcade game turned to 3D cel shaded gem Dragon's Lair 3D with artwork by Don Bluth (yes, Land Before Time! more dinosaurs). They finish the episode off with Cubix: Robots for Everyone and another underrated gem of a franchise Kao The Kangaroo (pronounced K-O) which is actually getting a new game this year!

Chibi-Robo! & Custom Robo

The GameCube era was a time where Nintendo put their name behind a multitude of games that resulted in some great titles, and others that have been lost to time. In this episode Neil and Mike look back on two Nintendo published, GameCube exclusive "robo" games: Custom Robo; a Gundam style mech game where the robots are very small, and Chibi-Robo; a charming genre-less game of playing as a little robot and trying to make everyone happy. Both games have been largely neglected by Nintendo since their arrival on the cube and the boys want to try and rectify that. Jake, Brian, Matt, and Kira (@toonietwirls) join the episode to share their memories of these games and their frustration that it costs 400 dollars to buy Chibi-Robo today.

Pokémon Colosseum & XD: Gale of Darkness

Gotta catch 'em all! Mike & Neil dive into two Pokemon games for the GameCube that have achieved near legendary status over the past few years. Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness are two games that were polarizing on release but have since found a following as two of many great pokemon spin off series games. The boys are joined by enemy of the pod and friend of the show Ramon and Harrison as well as newcomer Megan to talk about the franchise as a whole and why these games do still hold up today. All this and more on this Pokemon Arceus launch day celebration episode!

Frogger, Tak, and Ty the Tasmanian Tiger

3D platformers ruled the industry in the early 2000s. Spyro, Crash, Mario, the genre was omnipresent and the population ate them up. Though the formula was fading, the GameCube played host to countless platformer games with franchises such as Frogger, Tak and the power of Juju, and Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. Neil & Mike talk about 3 games from each of these franchises for a total of nine game for the cube, that range from okay, to surprisingly very good! Frogger: a classic arcade game that failed to fully make the leap to home consoles in this generation, Tak: a game that eventually became a Nickelodeon cartoon, and Ty the Tasmanian Tiger: a unique foray into the Australian eco-system that recently had two of it's games remade. All this and more on Episode 81 of The GameCube Was Cool Podcast.

Hitman & Stealth Games on The GameCube

Shhhhh. Sneak by the guard and check out today's episode all about stealth games. First up, the first console release of the Hitman series comes in the form of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin that made it's way to the GameCube 20 years ago. Neil & Mike discuss this beloved franchise and how the games somehow seem to keep getting even better as time goes on. Friend of the show Dylan makes an appearance to talk about Silent Assassin as well as his involvement with "Extra Life", a 24 hour gaming session every year to help raise money for Childrens charities. The boys also cover two more stealth genre games: Rogue Ops and Second Sight, the latter is a game made by New Radical Design, makers of TimeSplitters and former Rare employees who created the legendary 007: Golden Eye. All this and more on the stealth episode of The GameCube Was Cool Podcast. 

Party Games on The GameCube!

In the early 2000s franchises were guaranteed three things: a kart racer, a 3D platformer, and of course, a party game. In this episode Mike & Neil look back on party games such as Monopoly Party, Shrek Super Party, Muppets Party Cruise and Disney's Party, many of which were simply Mario Party clones (no Mario Parties covered today). However Pac-Man makes another appearance with Pac-Man fever and Pac-Man VS, the latter was a Nintendo developed game that enables a multiplayer Pac-Man experience! Enjoy this episode celebrating Mike's birthday month with a 7 game party!

2021 Year In Review

2021 is wrapping up and Mike and Neil want to celebrate the new year by looking back on all the things they accomplished this year and all the things to look forward to in 2022. All their favourite games, albums and movies are wrapped up here. 
Not our regular GameCube content, but we want you to get your weekly fix of Mike and Neil (: 
Did Mike complete a full cartwheel? Did Neil land his first kickflip? Find out in Side Mission Part 8 of The GameCube Was Cool Podcast! 

Thank you to everyone for supporting The GameCube Was Cool Podcast this year, on a new year!