Gaming has been a source of entertainment for people of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures for a long time now. It’s an enticing gateway that introduces gamers to an immersively adventurous world, where you are challenged with a number of exciting quests, ultimately putting your critical thinking and problem-solving skills to good use.
Gaming had successfully managed to establish itself back in the days in their early peak era, that is, the 90s and 2000s. Hence, it’s not wrong to say that many adults today grew up playing consoles like Nintendo 64, Gameboy, and none other than GameCube.
GameCube was known for its extensive game library, which improved the overall gaming experience, as gamers could choose from a variety of different options easily available to them.
They’re still quite popular and loved by the adults as they give them a feeling of nostalgia.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the best underrated GameCube games that were overlooked and didn’t receive the appreciation they truly deserved.
So, let’s get into it!
What Are Some of the Best Underrated Games For Adults?
Before we delve into this fascinating topic, it is worthwhile to have a summarized data table containing the games and some germane information we’ll be discussing.
| Name of GameCube Game | Publisher | Year of Release |
| Geist | n-Space | 2005 |
| Metal Arms | Vivendi Universal Game | 2003 |
| Chibi-Robo | Nintendo | 2003 |
| Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble | Nintendo | 2005 |
It’s fair to admit that there are more games than the ones listed above. But, for now, it’s worthwhile to discuss the major ones only:
- Geist.
- Metal Arms.
- Chibi-Robo.
- Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble.
Geist
It’s a first-person shooter game that was published by n-space in 2005. It’s regarded as one of the most underrated GameCube games, which failed to earn much more success than was anticipated but still deserved to be on the renowned list of games.
It’s comprised of a rather dark and catastrophic theme, being an adventurous gameplay, where you get to participate in shooting guns against a number of enemies and monsters.
In this game, you role-play a ghost or a spirit after your own character is killed, and you can transform yourself into several spirits to fight off the obstacles that you will be given to face and then directly unlock secrets and mysteries revolving around the clues which will guide you towards the mission, of finding an actual body which is hidden somewhere and saving a friend from a similar tragedy.
It’s also somewhat of a horror game, where you get to see ghostly figures, haunted hallways, and abandoned buildings, but it is unique in its own way.
However, due to the lack of good shooter mechanics and game technology, it failed to capture the attention of the gamers, and earn the praise it deserved.
Metal Arms
Metal Arms is a third-person shooter game published by Vivendi Universal Game in 2003.
It is an extraterrestrial gameplay, yet with quirky, humorous lines, that involves intense battles, fierce shooting, and adventurous quests to tackle. It depicts an intuitive battle between good and bad as you role-play a robot named Glitch and fight off a robot army ruled by a tyrant robot aimed at destruction and unreasonable combats.
There are truckloads of puzzles and obstacles that you will have to face, one after the other. You get to choose from a variety of weapons to fight off your enemy robots.
This is a perfect fit for those who have a love for playing with powerful gadgets in an engaging action environment.
However, it also failed to be among the top games because of technical issues, along with not-so-good texture and graphics, which are major missing parts. Also, it doesn’t come up with a smooth strategy-based control design to navigate through the chaotic situations in the game, which is annoying for gamers.
Chibi-Robo
Chibi-Robo was published by Nintendo in 2003 and had a very light-hearted and emotional gameplay plot.
It’s based on a lovably cute robot as a main character, who struggles to survive in a family, going through tough times, specifically financial instability.
You role-play Chibi-Robot in such a way that you become a source of help for the family. His chores involve running around the house to keep it neat and tidy and other housework to generate points for helping out and promoting a feeling of happiness for the family.
The robot is aimed to keep those around him happy, which delivers a good practical lesson for the gamers for real-life application: to always try your best to keep your parents and siblings happy and stress-free!
However, it’s saddening to claim the fact that though the game had an amazing plot, it couldn’t be a success and had a record of poor sales, but still, it’s out of a quaint storybook and truly underrated.
Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble
This game was published by Nintendo and released in 2005 and was namely an underrated game. It was the last of the Viewtiful Joe series, but it couldn’t make it to the mainstream.
It’s a fast-paced and mission-based game, best suited for multiplayer modes, set out in a vibrant and extremely engaging environment, which adds to its entertaining realm.
In this game, you are engaged in an immersive battle where you fight off your enemies, even using sonic attack moves, unravel mysteries, and win prizes. Each time you win a combat, a hero at the end of the game.
What Are Some of the Underrated Puzzle Games?
Puzzle games are enjoyed by all gamers, no matter what their age is. It is because they are immensely engaging, interactive, and even addicting at times. So let’s have a look at the underrated GameCube puzzle games.
- Tetris Attack.
- Killer 7.
- Eternal Darkness Sanity’s Requiem.
Tetris Attack
Tetris Attack is a simple yet engaging puzzle game published by the SNES, released in 1996, based on the other related game, which is Yoshi’s Island.
You have to arrange vividly colored boxes in rows and columns while preventing the boxes from reaching the very top of the screen. It starts off being slow but quickly becomes a fast-paced game to test your skills. No wonder it can be addicting, especially for a group of friends playing together.
It’s essentially comprised of collective modes such as Survival Mode and Time Trial etc., which gives the gamer a variety of gaming options to choose from based on what they like.
However, despite being an attractive-looking game, it didn’t fetch what had been anticipated.
Still, it deserved better, as even study games involving the Tetris Effect can help with trauma disorders.
Killer 7
Killer 7 was released in 2005 and was published by Capcom. It’s also an action game but comprises a variety of challenging puzzles to solve.
However, it wasn’t recognized for what it was back when it was initially released and didn’t receive a positive reception as it managed to achieve in recent years.
In this game, there are seven characters, which are termed assassins, whom you role-play. Each one has its unique ability, showcasing exotic characteristics and fighting moves with an array of selective weapons.
This game presents you with many puzzles to solve along your ventures, and you have to figure out clues hiding within the comprehensive passages and design a strategic plot plan for the missions.
It does have limitations to its very own navigation system and is named one of the underrated GameCube games!
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem:
It’s an action-based game but is a collection of puzzles, which makes it super fascinating. Published by Nintendo and released in 2002. It’s a mind-blowing psychological thriller with exciting puzzles to solve and has a horror-based theme.
Gamers have to role-play 12 different characters and to continue their journey, they’re presented with comprehension passages to help guide them through it, and they solve the puzzle, testing their problem-solving skills.
The game requires you to read thoroughly and make accurate decisions to unravel the hidden rewards for each mission and puzzle. This certainly improves your cognitive abilities and exercises your problem-tackling skills too.
However, the game itself is somewhat cumbersome, with seemingly endless quests, a complicated plot, and many other additional elements combined, putting way too much pressure on a gamer.
Still, it is worth it, as it is the game that offers every gaming element and storyline that excites us all in one single masterpiece.
Conclusion
- Gaming has been among the most socially evolving sources of entertainment for people of all ages for years and years now. No wonder many adults grew up to be fans of gaming from the early days of its peak success.
- There’s still a huge fandom for retro video games, namely GameCube games, which offer a very vast and exclusively extensive game library to select games from to play.
- However, there are many underrated GameCube games that were worthy of praise and admiration but were refrained from that. Some of them are namely; Geist, Metal Arm, Chibi-Robo, and Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble.
- There are obviously other underrated GameCube games since puzzle games have many benefits to offer. Those were worth mentioning, such as Killer 7, Tetris Attack, and Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem.