12) Wario World
This wasn’t Wario’s first starring role, but it was his first 3D adventure. As Wario, you’ll beat your enemies through a handful of levels all the while earning precious treasure! While it was criticized for being a short game, it was still a blast to play. It’s worth noting that the game was developed by the amazing team at Treasure (who you might remember for games like Sin and Punishment, Mischief Makers and Gunstar Heroes).
11) Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Okay, I know what you’re going to say – how could they add this fun game without re-releasing the DK Bongo Drums controllers? Well, it’s unlikely Nintendo’s bringing those Bongo Drums back. And it’s a damn shame, because playing Jungle Beat with those Bongo’s was a fun experience. Nintendo did re-release Jungle Beat on the Wii with motion controls taking the place of the Bongo’s – but it was nowhere near as fun. But if we’re going to get any version, we might have to settle for the Wii version (but we’ll discuss that if we do a Wii Virtual Console list…)
10) Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg
The only Sega game on this list, and I believe the first exclusive game Sega made for a Nintendo console. Keep in mind, this was only a few years after the death of the Dreamcast, so the idea that Sega was making games for a Nintendo console was nothing short of incredible. While Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg wasn’t a commercial success, those of us who did play it definitely enjoyed it. It was a fun platformer with a unique twist (hatching eggs revealed power-ups and other various tools to progress through the game). The game also featured a number of Sega cameos, including a NiGHTS cameo!
9) Pikmin 1 & 2
Pikmin appeared very shortly after the GameCube launch (in fact, GameCube launch title, Luigi’s Mansion, featured a trailer for the upcoming Pikmin). Exploring a strange new world as Captain Olimar, with the lovable Pikmin at his side, the Pikmin games provided players with a new style of real-time strategy that was a ton of fun. The Wii featured re-releases of the first two Pikmin games, but forced players to use motion control. Fans of the original games might appreciate the ability to replay the originals using the GameCube Virtual Console, as they were meant to be played originally.
Click on through to PAGE 4 for the next games on our list…