The 15 Best GameCube Games Of All Time

#9 – Metroid Prime

Oh, Metroid, how we miss you. Rarely has a series undergone so many drastic changes–from a platformer in Super Metroid to a first-person shooter in Metroid Prime to a sort of shooter/dungeon crawler in Metroid Prime: Federation Force. The shift from platformer to action/adventure/shooter was met with skepticism at first, but Metroid Prime delivered. It kept the familiar gameplay elements of collecting suit upgrades, an open-ended world linked by tunnels, and some platforming and simply threw them into 3D and first-person, giving Samus more exploration freedom and combat options than ever.

Metroid Prime follows Samus’s exploration of Tallon IV, where ancient Chozo Ruins hide a deadly secret. You’ll need to continuously upgrade your suit, weapons, and abilities to explore everything Tallon IV has to offer, which means returning to older areas to unlock doors you couldn’t before. You’ll face off against new enemies and old ones, including a certain flying space pirate you have a grudge against.

By successfully translating an already excellent game into a newer, more modern format, Metroid Prime ensured it would be remembered, and longed for, to this very day.

Next: 8 - Mario Kart: Double Dash