Metroid Prime is my first ever Metroid game, honestly. Yes, when I had a SNES, I missed out on Super Metroid, but I didn't even know about Metroid at all until Smash Bros., and I of course didn't know Samus was a woman until I saw it saying "she" and "her" and eventually seeing an image of her without her helmet. Despite not having that original Metroid NES shock, I was still very surprised, but thought it was awesome that a woman could have a cool suit of armor and kick some serious ass with it. I would love to place Prime 2 or 3 here, but 3 is a Wii title, and even though I love 2 more, the first Prime still has a special place in my heart. I love exploring areas with new weapons or new abilities and obtaining all of the secrets, all of the Missile Expansions, the Energy Tanks, it's just a lot of fun and it's always fun to go back and replay it now and again.
This game needs some kind of sequel or something, and I don't want to hear that "Wario Land: Shake It!" (Or "Shake Dimension," for those of you out in Europe) was the sequel, as it's still a Wario Land title. Wario World may be really short but it has that Wario-esque humor that I love seeing, from him laughing at you on the Pause Menu, to just punching enemies and throwing them, and to using his big mouth to literally inhale coins. And in a fun twist, the levels are nice and big, with exploration being a nice element to it, and in some cases, returning to an earlier part of the level after activating something further in. I don't know, it's just a super fun experience, and if you haven't tried this game out, definitely consider it, you'll have a blast!
Yes, I hear all of you typing madly at your keyboards or tablets or phones, but hear me out. Yes, Shadow the Hedgehog is not an amazing game by many standards. The plot can be really dumb, some characters aren't very memorable, and they put too much emphasis on making Shadow appeal to the teen player, which they did by giving him the ability to use guns and by making him swear (Although let's face it, damn isn't that bad by any standards these days, and his one time use of the word hell is forgotten about really. There's a lot worse he could be saying.). Despite this, I looked forward to the game, and much like Sonic 06 after it, I still love this game. The path system is something I love, as games that change based on your choices, no matter how minimal, really appeal to me. And I do have to give them credit, with all of the levels and different ways to reach endings, they have a total of 360 unique path combinations to take, and all with fun little titles too. Seriously, 360. If you ever want to fully complete the game, then do 1 path a day and spend literally a year finishing it. I would love doing that one day, honestly. Like if I can ever manage to do YouTube stuff one day, I'd love to do that with Shadow. But anyways, back on topic, this game is still fun to me, no matter how silly it can be at times.
Did you really think I'd let Pokémon slip by? Me, of all people? But really, I feel bad for myself because I was tricked by an ex friend ages ago, being told that XD is just like Colosseum before it. So I held off, but I still wanted it, so a year later I finally got it. And I should have realized that "just like Coloseeum" should have been thought of as a sequel or have similar gameplay mechanics, not just a carbon copy, because it's not one. Sure the overall idea and region are the same: Use a Snag Machine on your arm to steal Shadow Pokémon from the Cipher Organization as you travel the Orre region. Otherwise, new characters, new story, etc., and it all builds on what made Colosseum so fun. One of the best things is having items for the ability to evolve your Eevee into Umbreon and Espeon to compensate for a lack of proper day and night. They could have simply use a Moon Stone or Sun Stone, for all intents and purposes, but nah, they have to drive the happiness mechanic into your skull first (I really don't like happiness-based evolutions. The concept is fine, it's just really annoying and tedious at times, is all.). But all the same, this is definitely a game worth your time, and if you enjoyed Colosseum, you'll love XD.
And finally, the only game on here that deserves the number 1 spot, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. This game, singlehandedly, makes me happy every time I play it, from its fast-paced fun, to the Chao system, the music, everything. The 2 stories, and finally a 3rd one, were the foundation of my love for "choice" mechanics in games, as the choice here is the choice of story, and you end up defeating the other side, before the 3rd story makes them all work together. I have so many memories with this, from the hours of Chao Garden stuff, to hunting down the Emblems, to hunting down new power-ups like the Mystic Melody for every character, and Knuckles' Sunglasses, which let you find hidden items invisible to the naked eye, and Rouge has her own version as well. Seriously, I never knew about Knuckles' Sunglasses until I messed around in Meteor Herd, and I literally face-palmed myself when I found them, exclaiming "They were here this whole time!?" Ah.. good times...
But that's all for 5 of my favorite GameCube games. Like I said before, I might make a part 2 to this one day, but we'll see. Until then, have an awesome day and stay warm, because the weather's getting colder. Over here, we're getting some seriously chilly days on Friday and Saturday and I am not looking forward to them, not one bit. But thanks so much for reading, I appreciate every moment you spend towards this blog, and I will see you later! :D
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