Unlocking What Was Cool

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - Part 1

Perhaps the most divisive moment in Nintendo's history happened exactly 18 years ago when The Wind Waker was released in North America for the Nintendo GameCube. "Celda" as it was coined at the time was a massive departure from the console and the Zelda series' mature leanings. Despite this the game has gone on to slowly achieve more and more praise as the years have been kind to it's graphics which still hold up incredibly well on the GameCube. Neil & Mike have so much to say about this game that they split this episode in to two parts! Take a trip back in with friends of the show Matt and Ryan who discuss their fond memories of playing this gem and commiserate about how old this game is making us feel. Stay tuned for an even deeper dive into the creation of the game in part 2! This episode was sponsored by Beedle's Shop Ship. Inconveniently located in random areas of the Great Sea. We deal in pretty much anything and everything!

The Legend of Zelda Collections

Episode 41 is dedicated to Zelda, the franchise that has introduced millions of people to video games. Somehow we had through 40 episodes without talking about Tingle. Who could forget the first time they heard the iconic overworld theme or the feeling they had when exploring the worlds Nintendo have given us to explore. We are specifically talking about the 'Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition' and the 'Ocarina of Time Master Quest' on the GameCube. The series turns 35 this year, and we want to celebrate by sharing our memories of adventuring in the land of Hyrule and Termina in Nintendo classics such as Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Mike and Neil sit down to look back on their experience with Zelda. They also discuss the etiquette of free stuff at the side of the road and the real meaning of 'bi-weekly'. We are joined by our friend of the show, Twitch streamer @CPawx to talk about his memories of The Legend of Zelda and his Twitch channel! 

Worms, Army Men, & Battalion Wars

Real Time Strategy and Tactical games have a rich yet unique history and conjure up an incredibly diverse set of games. From Pikmin to StarCraft, to playing Army Men in a sandbox, these types of games are hard to put labels on but you know them when you see them. While these games mostly had their hey-day outside of consoles, the GameCube boasted a couple of long-running franchises such as Worms and Army-Men (no not the Toy Story Army Men although Mike was pretty convinced that they were). Friend of the show Jason Hodgson joins the boys to discuss his memories of growing up with Worms games and the desire to see Worms Armageddon ported to the Switch. Finally Neil gets to talk about one of his favourite hidden gems for the cube, Nintendo-published Batallion Wars, a spin-off of the Advanced Wars series that is an incredible amount of fun.

Open World & M-Rated Games on The GameCube

The GameCube was home to several M-rated games that your parents probably thought would lead you down a life of crime and drugs. On Episode 39 of The GameCube Was Cool, Mike and Neil sit down to talk about some open world and violent games which Nintendo were welcoming to their hardware with open arms in hopes of attracting an older audience. Games like Smugglers Run, True Crime and XIII each had their own levels of success and controversy, and featured developers who went on to develop classic games like Grand Theft Auto, Sleeping Dogs and Assassins Creed. The boys start off this episode by celebrating the show reaching 10,000 downloads and decide what the best shape of strawberry is. 
All this and more in The GameCube Was Cool Podcast! 

Wario Games (feat. RetroWolf88)

WAHHH, BUY MY GAME. Weird, wacky and wonderful. That about sums up Wario, the loveable, fourth-wall breaking greedy nintendo character who's had quite the run with the unique WarioWare games and the hiddden gems of WarioLand and WarioWorld. On Episode 38 Neil and Mike sit down and chat with fellow podcaster, reviewer, and collecting aficionado RetroWolf88 to discuss Wario World, WarioWare Mega Party Game$, and collecting in general giving his take on the best and most efficient methods of creating your very own fully stocked GameCube library. Skip to to 38:05 to hear Neil read the back of WarioWare or Wario himself will "give ya a knuckle sandwich, punk".

Nickelodeon Games on The GameCube

If you grew up in the 80s, 90s or 2000s, Nickelodeon probably has a special place in your catalogue of childhood memories. From it’s vast assortment of classic cartoons, live action sitcoms, gameshows and original movies, the licenses were not shy to create dozens of video game tie-ins, nine of which The GameCube Was Cool Podcast will be covering in this epsiode! The early 2000s video game consoles were home to beloved franchises such as Fairly Odd Parents, Dora the Explorer, Avatar the Last Airbender and Nicktoons Unite. Mike and Neil sit down to rank their favourite Nickelodeon franchises,  share some hot tips for maintaining driveways and discuss the news around the February 2021 Nintendo Direct!
The episode starts off with a bang as Neil reads the back to the cases of all nine games. Skip to 33:29 to when we are joined by friend of the show Dan to talk about Rocket Power and to 48:58 when we are joined by friend of the show Jason to look back on The Rugrats. All this and more in Episode 37 of The GameCube Was Cool Podcast!

The Sims

The franchise that redefined the gaming industry and continues to sell like gangbusters today, The Sims makes it's way to The GameCube Was Cool with five titles! The original game, The Sims 2, and the expansion Pets are all remembered fondly by special guest Anneka who reminisces about "woohooing", making the grim reaper appear, and unexplained guinea pig viruses. More than just a game, the Sims, and SimCity before it completely changed the way people thought about the way video games should be played, paving the way for a whole new casual market of gamers and indirectly leading to the successes of Grand Theft Auto. Neil and Mike bask in the glory of the plum-bob while covering console only games "Bustin' Out" and "the Urbz". Skip to 1:11:20 to hear all of the backs of the cases for this remarkable franchise. 

1080º Avalanche & SSX Games

Winter is here, and snowboarding is all around us! Take a journey back to a time when snowboard games were all the rage while featuring the Juno Award winning Canadian band 'Finger Eleven'. If you were a kid with a home console in the early 2000s, chances are you had a copy. This week we are joined by friends of the show Ali and Branan to share their memories of 1080º Avalanche, SSX 3 and SSX On Tour on the GameCube. Neil may need to re-think his favourite snowboarding game on the Cube, and Mike may finally have found a game he can ski in. Skip to 1:19:30 to hear the back of the case segment to some rad pop punk tunes. 

X-Men Games

Alone you are mighty, together you are legends. Neil, Mike, and Professor X take you back to a time before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, when X-Men reigned over the box-office and the GameCube played host to six games featuring these uncanny mutants. The boys dive into the X-Men Legends series, a precursor to Marvel Ultimate Alliance and regarded as one of the greatest superhero games ever made. Friend of the show Harrison makes another appearance to talk about X-Men Next Dimension, a Dragon Ball Z-like fighter with a massive roster of characters. Listen to hear about Magneto, Nightcrawler, Storm, Kitty Pride, Wolverine and more on this very special episode. Skip to 1:07:19 to have Neil learn that Magneto is once again trying to take over the world.

Medal of Honor & Other Shooters

The late 90s and early 2000s was an important evolution in the military shooter genre in video games and there were only a few franchises treating the source material with real respect and care. Medal of Honor was the pinnacle for retelling the events of World War II while still being somewhat historically accurate and respectful to those who served. Neil and Mike are excited to share their knowledge and memories of playing these games as kids and finding out years later how they share DNA with Spielberg's 1998 film ‘Saving Private Ryan’. Skip ahead to 31:16 to when we are joined by our friend Josh from the Still Loading Podcast to share his memories of the Medal of Honor franchise and what lead to its unfortunate fall from grace after the GameCube generation.

NHL Hockey Games on The GameCube

Hockey is back and so are Mike & Neil on this very special episode of The GameCube Was Cool. There was a time where NHL games had the perfect balance of arcade-y-ness and realism and NHL 2004 seems to embody it like no other. So much so that you can still play and mod the game today! As a special surprise, in-game arena announcer for the NHL series Jon McComb is on the show to take us through his experience working with EA and even gives us a "last minute of play in the third period". Mike & Neil are also joined by friend of the show Marty Thompson and prolific hockey writer and author of Minds Behind The Sports Games, Patrick Hickey Jr. to give their takes on the EA NHL series as well as NHL 2K3. Skip to 16:57 to hear Patrick or to 1:26:20 to hear Jon!

Mario Party Games on The GameCube

Mario. Party. Two words in the english language that immediately conjure up images of happy nostalgic times, or the ending of friendships. Today Mike & Neil dive into the #1 cause of divorce and talk about Mario Parties 4 through 7. The boys detail their own memories of owning some of these games growing up as well as talking about the history of the franchise and what Nintendo will do with the massively successful Super Mario Party for the Switch. Friends of the show Harrison, Nichola, and Jed swing by to discuss who will play Waluigi in his biopic and if that mic for Mario Party 7 ever actually worked for anyone. It's also Mike's birthday so he gets a turn at reading some of the backs of cases. Skip to 1:10:35 to hear details about Toadsworth's final cruise.

Unlocking What Was Cool Trailer

Remember the early 2000s? Remember the GameCube? Remember McDonald's playplaces? Remember nostalgia filled podcasts? Neil and Mike give you your retro fix while talking with some of their favourite people.

Most Anticipated of 2021

The GameCube Was Cool Podcast is taking the rest of December away from their regular content to sit at home and stare at a wall or something. This week Mike and Neil sit down and discuss their goals for 2021, games they are looking forward to and maybe decide once and for all if Candy Canes are the worst candy ever made. 
This year if you downloaded an episode, commented on our social media posts, and or bought a t-shirt, we just wanted to say THANK YOU!!!
We will be back next week on January 7th with our regular GameCube content.

Games & Consoles as Gifts

The GameCube Was Cool Podcast is taking the rest of December away from their regular content to buy more coffee mugs and shovel in snowstorms, because that's what we love to do in Canada.  This week, Mike and Neil sit down to talk about some Christmas memories they have from the years gone by. From when we were in first grade, to gifts we received in our 20s. The boys also kick things off with a little Star Wars talk... Nerds!! We hope you are all having a safe and happy Christmas, all the best and thank you for supporting us this year! 

2020 Year In Review

The GameCube Was Cool Podcast are taking the rest of December away from our regular content to eat cookies and watch Die Hard, so here is Side Mission Part 2! Here is a lookback of our 2020 highlights (yes there were a few)! All our favourite episodes so far, games, albums, movies and TV shows from the year all for your listening enjoyment while you wrap gifts or do some last-minute online shopping. 2020 was a bit of a cluster f***, but we still had a few highlights nevertheless. We started the best GameCube podcast on the internet, and didn't really understand Tenet... There we said it. 
Next week come back for Side Mission Part 3! 

The Polar Express & Other Holiday Games

All aboard!!! Join Mike and Neil as they talk about The 1985 classic book The Polar Express and all of its adaptations, including the poorly received GameCube game from 2004. While the game may not have lived up to the movie its based on, there's still plenty to talk about for this festive episode. The boys talk about their memories associated with The Polar Express and bring up some other Christmas-themed games like Home Alone for the Genesis, Arkham Origins, and Elf Bowling! Who could forget Elf Bowling (also, there's a movie??). Skip to 40:40 to hear Neil read the final back of the case for 2020!

Movie Tie-Ins 2001-2002

Yippee ki yay GameCube lovers. Mike & Neil discuss the finer points of some of the most mediocre games ever made. These are Movie Tie-In games, 9 to be exact, that were released between 2001 and 2002 for the GameCube. In addition to everyone's favourite Christmas movie Die Hard, there are some other 80s movies turned into games such as Top Gun and Rocky. In addition we have some classic 2002 movies such as Minority Report and a few duds like BloodRayne, Reign of Fire, Driven, and The Scorpion King. To round it all out the boys get to talk about the seminal Phill Collins' soundtrack to Tarzan which is unfortunately not in Tarzan Untamed. Skip ahead to 4:40 if you don't feel like hearing Neil read the back to all these cases.

Ribbit King & Strange Games on The GameCube

In a time before Twitch and YouTube, you needed to stumble through games blindly until you found one which was that diamond in the rough. Sometimes, you couldn't rely on Mario or Link to bring you that amazing video game experience. So you would take a risk on the last game blockbuster had that day. If this sounds familiar, you may have played such classics as; Doshin the Giant, Darkened Skye, Dr. Muto, Alien Hominid, Metal Arms or everyone's favourite Frolf game Ribbit King! Mike & Neil and several guests are here this week to cover 6 weird titles on the Nintendo GameCube. Skip to 44:56 to here Josh; host of the 'Still Loading' podcast talk to us about Metal Arms Glitch in the System. Then listen to friend of the show Marty take on the back of the case segment with an avant-garde reading of Ribbit King at 1:40:06. 

James Bond 007: Nightfire

Don't love me, quietly...There's really nothing quite like it: the characters, the levels, the weapons, the story. 007: Nightfire stands the test of time as no other shooter does. An infinitely replayable masterpiece and the game that Mike & Neil have sunk more hours into than anything else in their lives. The time has come to reminisce and rave about this unique and under-appreciated game that often gets overshadowed by the other great James Bond game, N64's GoldenEye (and we know what Mike thinks of the N64). The boys are joined by guests Jason, Nichola, and Mike's cousins Matt & Jeff to discuss what impact Nightfire has had on their lives and how it will always hold a special place in all their hearts. As the longest episode so far with so much to say about this game, Neil's back of the case reading is all the way at 1:26:47.