10 GameCube Games that Would Be Perfect for Nintendo Switch Online

Once the Nintendo Switch Online Classics started rolling out, I was hoping Nintendo GameCube titles would be added to the service someday. Now that they are, I feel like waiting for new games to be added is just as tedious as the wait for them to get on there in the first place.

It's almost been a year since the GameCube games were added alongside the release of the Switch 2. And yet, we only have nine games to play out of the extensive and memorable library we all love. Let's look at some of the games that should be added to Switch Online sooner rather than later.

10 Pokémon Colosseum

Basically the Smoking Gun for How Confusing This Drip Feed Is

Yes, Pokémon Colosseum was one of the first games announced for the GameCube classics lineup, but it's like I said. It's almost been a year, and the last two games haven't hit the service yet. To add insult to injury, for Pokémon Day, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness was added back in March. Pokémon XD is the sequel, and while it might be fine on its own, there are tons of moments that and make way more sense after playing Colosseum.

This has me wondering where Pokémon Colosseum is, and when it'll be added even more. It's so strange that its sequel was both revealed and added first. There may be a small problem they're trying to fix, though. Pokémon Colosseum was one of the first games to always use doubles format for battles, and there's a glitch where you can get infinite Pokéballs. By using your first Pokémon's turn to throw a Pokéball, then using the second Pokémon's turn to swap its placement in your bag, you'll avoid using a Pokéball in your bag all together.

That's a pretty big, game-changing glitch, so it'd make sense if this is what's keeping Colosseum off the service for now, but still. I just want to play one of my all-time favorite Pokémon games.

9 Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

The All But Forgotten Sequel GameCube Classics Needs

No matter if you felt like it was exactly how you expected it to play back when it was a pipe dream or if Miles annoyed you on a whole new level, we still live in a world where Metroid Prime 4 exists. It's out now, and it was even one of the big holiday releases for the Switch 2. Yet, as Fox McCloud and Yoshi have plenty of synergy towards new releases and re-releases, Metroid Prime 4 came and went. There's a remaster players can pick up to enjoy the first Metroid Prime on Switch, but there's another game that needs more attention.

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is a sequel that improves on everything the original did. Its story sees Samus discovering a dying planet that birthed a "dark" version of itself when a meteorite struck. Echoes also introduced Dark Samus, who went on to be Samus' Echo Fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. There's a lot to enjoy with Echoes, and it would have great potential on NSO. After all, the game has been trapped in the Wii's trilogy re-release since 2009 for hardly any real good reason.

8 Super Mario Sunshine

I Need a Vacation On Isle Delfino, And I Need It Bad

In a perfect world, Super Mario Sunshine would be on NSO already. Just like its weird collisions at times, it seems to have slid off the platform and fallen into a pit somewhere as tons of other Mario stuff happened instead. Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel got a ton of spotlight thanks to the new movie, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder just got a Switch 2 edition.

Unlike Pokémon Colosseum, though, there's no real prominent glitches that might be keeping Sunshine off the service for now. Super Mario's 40th anniversary celebrations are ending soon, and there's no sign of it getting added even though it's been confirmed since the GameCube Classics were announced. So, what gives?

I care about where Sunshine is despite its flaws because I just miss it a lot. It might not have been perfect, but it was my favorite way to experience Mario on the GameCube. Occasionally I get an itch to go back. An itch Nintendo just hasn't been letting me scratch.

7 Harvest Moon: Magical Melody

The Perfect Harvest Moon Game For GameCube Classics

I'm sure someone's looking at that title up there and wondering why I say Harvest Moon: Magical Melody should be on NSO and not Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. You may already have your answer there, though, depending on what game you thought of first. Not only has A Wonderful Life recently gotten a modern remake, but adding the Wonderful Life games would mean two games get added instead of one, if Nintendo wanted to be fair.

Magical Melody on the GameCube came with the ability to choose your gender built-in and didn't release two different copies all together for it, which means one game can be added instead of two. That means that, to match how Harvest Moon and Harvest Moon 64 are on the Nintendo Classics service already, Magical Melody is the best option.

6 Star Fox Adventures

We Just Need a Different Star Fox Game On Switch, Please

It's great that there's a new Star Fox game coming to Switch, but it really sucks that it's just Star Fox 64 again. Technically, Star Fox is on the Switch twice over. SF64 itself was a reboot of Star Fox for SNES, and both games are on NSO already. We can't keep going back to Star Fox 2 when we want something different.

Nintendo has acknowledged the existence of Star Fox Adventures, which has made people realize that Adventures would be a great fit with all the obscure, hard-to-buy GameCube games already available. There's not only a demand, but a need as Nintendo focuses on making Star Fox relevant after The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

It may be the black sheep of the Star Fox series, with how Nintendo's treated it over the years, but letting it shine now would be great for people who missed it the first time around. It's me. I'm people.

5 Mario Party 5

Bring Back the Capsule Machine-Based Mayhem

The Switch has become a certified Mario Party machine at this point. All the Nintendo 64 Mario Party games are on the Nintendo 64 Classics, and we have Super Mario Party, Mario Party Superstars, and Mario Party Jamboree all on the same console. And here I am, arguing that we should add at least one more. No, I haven't lost my mind. I just really love Mario Party 5.

In the fifth Mario Party, you play on different types of board "dreams," guided by the Star Spirits from Paper Mario. Capsules replace standard items, but they allow you to use all kinds of different capsules on the board permanently. It changes the game fundamentally if you use enough of them every round.

If we're being honest, we should expect all the Mario Parties to make their way to NSO eventually. If I was in charge of picking only one, though, I would absolutely pick Mario Party 5.

4 Rayman Arena

All-In-One, One-For-All

Ubisoft has already given Nintendo the green light to add Rayman 2: The Great Escape to Nintendo 64 Classics. This means there's a high chance that another Rayman game will get added to the service. While I could use this space to argue for Rayman 3, there's a demand for that already. Instead, I think Rayman Arena should also get it's time to shine.

Rayman Arena is considered a racing game, but it also has some battle modes all wrapped up with Rayman platforming and style. Of course, this means it's extremely silly, but gorgeous to look at and fun to play.

It's also incredibly weird and has a lot of differences across each individual version of Rayman Arena. As a result, it didn't review very well on launch, but nostalgia plays a huge part in how we all choose what games to play on the NSO titles anyway. There's nothing wrong with having another interesting game to try, and Rayman Arena certainly falls in that category.

3 Tales of Symphonia

We Have To Go Back

Nintendo and Bandai Namco have a very good relationship as companies that almost exclusively benefit their customers. Bamco has helped out with games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Kirby Air Riders. It's even tossed out obscure old titles onto the Classics service.

This puts Nintendo in a very good position to add Tales of Symphonia to the Nintendo GameCube Classics lineup. Symphonia was an iconic GameCube game back in the day and is one of the most popular Tales of games out of the entire franchise. The GameCube version is one of the best ways to play the game, so having it on the service almost feels like a must.

The GameCube version is a better way to play it than the remastered version that released on PS3, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S in 2023, as sad as that is. It's pretty tragic that such a great game has so few ways to experience it properly, and I could see NSO being a much more accessible way to play Tales of Symphonia, and it would be a big draw to the service.

2 Ribbit King

Putting The 'Cult' In GameCube Classics

One trend across all the NSO offerings is that some of the games are unexpected. They're not always going to be top hits, and sometimes, that can breathe life into a forgotten or cult classic title. For many people, Ribbit King might tilt a few heads if it was announced for the GameCube Classics, but I know a handful of die-hard fans that would love to see it get added to a modern console.

In Ribbit King, you play a game called Frolf - golf, but with frogs. You use a hammer instead of a club to hit the frogs, and they'll jump and knock into bubbles and obstacles that help add points to your score. You also get points for getting the frog to the hole of the course in the fewest strokes.

Ribbit King and its courses are as wacky as a game from 2003 could be, and those sorts of games are very rare these days. If Nintendo needs to find GameCube games to add outside all the licensed and third-party games, Ribbit King is a safe bet from Bandai Namco, and it would be a welcome one at that.

The Odds Are Low, But Not Zero

It's 2002. The Dreamcast has died; may it rest in peace. Sega only has one option, and that's to port all of its games to other consoles. This was how Skies of Arcadia found new life as Skies of Arcadia Legends on Nintendo GameCube.

The best way to describe the pull that Skies of Arcadia has on its die-hard fans is very similar to how Xenoblade Chronicles players felt about the game being trapped on the Wii until it was finally brought back on the 3DS. When all the other Dreamcast favorites have been re-released or remastered, Skies of Arcadia has always been left behind.

Yet, Nintendo has a deal with Sega to release the Sega Genesis games on NSO. Sega seems allergic to letting Skies of Arcadia out of the vault, but if there was ever a perfect window of opportunity, it'd be now. Skies of Arcadia would be an incredible addition to the lineup for RPG fans, Sega fans, and it's about sky pirates. There's a lot to love if this miracle ever happens.