5 Nintendo GameCube RPGs That Are 10/10 Masterpieces

With the PlayStation 2 dominating most of the RPG scene in the early 2000s, the Nintendo GameCube was fighting an uphill battle. Nintendo's refusal to abandon cartridges with the Nintendo 64 made the original PlayStation the RPG destination of choice, and while the GameCube finally left cartridges behind, its smaller disc size compared to the PS2 didn't incentivize many RPG franchises to return.

Even so, some of the best RPGs of the generation ultimately landed on the GameCube. From first-party Nintendo masterpieces to ports of SEGA Dreamcast hits, anyone with a GameCube could easily find hundreds of hours of masterful roleplaying on the system.

Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean

Developer Monolith Soft is best known for the Xenosaga and Xenoblade Chronicles games, but it teamed up with Star Ocean support studio Tri-Crescendo for a very different venture on the GameCube. Rather than traditional turn-based action, Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean spiced things up with a heavy emphasis on cards, which extends outside its combat system.

In Baten Kaitos, items are essentially stored in the form of cards, which can be used in all the ways that items might be (and then some). With over a thousand different cards in play, there's no shortage of possibilities, and some stored cards can even change over time in ways that alter their effects.

Even if cards aren't your thing, Baten Kaitos still has a lot going for it. The story gets interesting as the game progresses, and the aesthetic pleasures of a gorgeous, painterly world and atmospheric soundtrack are hard to deny. The follow-up, Baten Kaitos Origins, might be even better, but even though Origins is a prequel, you'll need to start with the first if you want to have any clue about what's going on in either the story or combat.

Skies of Arcadia was always something special, but this grand RPG adventure wasn't sweeping the nation like Final Fantasy 7. Originally released on the SEGA Dreamcast, Skies of Arcadia simply wasn't as accessible to a wide audience as games on more popular competing platforms.

Luckily, another group of players got to experience it with the GameCube port Skies of Arcadia: Legends, which helped solidify its reputation as a classic. At a time when the RPG scene was changing rapidly, Skies of Arcadia was already a little old-school by the time of its GameCube release, but it works so well within that vogue that it's hard to complain. Legends features some performance upgrades and even new content, but without any of that, it would still be great.

The biggest selling point of Skies of Arcadia is its air pirate concept, which turns the skies into a world of adventure. The story takes a strong cast of characters to a variety of memorable settings, as six different moons each feature their own unique landscapes and cultures. Decades later, this classic is in desperate need of a port to modern systems.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

The original Paper Mario was undeniably one of the Nintendo 64's best RPGs, but it didn't have much competition. Four years later, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door had to prove itself against much more impressive rivals on the GameCube. 20+ years and one acclaimed remake later, it's quite safe to say it succeeded.

Across the board, The Thousand-Year Door takes what made Paper Mario great and kicks it up a notch. Moving beyond the standard Mushroom Kingdom tropes of the first game, The Thousand-Year Door ventures into new creative corners, including some darker concepts (by the standards of the Mario series at least). On a gameplay level, it refines and expands the formula, boasting fun new combat mechanics and an overall increase in variety.

To this day, The Thousand-Year Door remains the gold standard for the Paper Mario series, which has repeatedly shied away from repeating what made the GameCube entry so beloved. Super Paper Mario's twist on the formula is great in its own right, but subsequent games have largely struggled to make the same mark. It's still a fun series, but if you're going to play one Paper Mario game, make it The Thousand-Year Door.

Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance

These days, the Fire Emblem games likely need no introduction. While the tactical roleplaying series was once relatively niche in the West, the smash success of Fire Emblem: Awakening and subsequent entries made it into a household name for Nintendo fans.

Talk to the veterans of the franchise, though, and many will insist that Awakening never touches the heights of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Like virtually every Fire Emblem game, Path of Radiance features plenty of memorable battles and rich strategy. Its true strength, however, lies in its storytelling.

To start with, Path of Radiance protagonist Ike stands a cut above most RPG heroes, with a compelling character arc that takes him from a lowly beginning to his central place in the story. His ascent isn't simply sunshine and rainbows, as Ike also exhibits enough flaws to make him truly human. Compared to the vague blank slates of some Fire Emblem protagonists, Ike is a different breed entirely.

That complexity extends to other characters and situations at large, with a massive cast contributing to a complex web of motivations. Strong pacing and interesting world-building contribute further to the experience, ensuring that anyone who sticks with Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance for long enough will likely fall in love.

Tales Of Symphonia

The Tales series got its start on the Super Nintendo, but by the time Tales of Symphonia rolled around, the series had delivered three consecutive games on the PlayStation. Luckily for GameCube owners, its return to Nintendo platforms came in the form of a masterpiece.

Tales of Symphonia didn't reinvent the wheel, but it built expertly on everything the series had done to that date. In trademark Tales fashion, it features a cutesy anime art style and an action combat system. Although the chibi characters aren't for everyone, the story that lies beneath its cartoon exterior is up there with the genre's best.

Like a great Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest title, Tales of Symphonia blends comedy and tragedy throughout an expansive adventure, and its constant pace of narrative development avoids the repetition of lesser Tales games. Some of its strongest emotional beats play out in memorably dinky cutscenes, but the fantastic score by Motoi Sakuraba helps them to retain a sincere pathos.

Above all else, Tales of Symphonia understands that the details matter. Every town in the game feels truly alive, with unique NPCs, charming interiors, and a goofy Wonder Chef who rewards players for poking around. If the small moments and random discoveries of RPGs tend to be your favorite parts, Tales of Symphonia is as good as it gets.

Tales of Symphonia has been repeatedly ported and remastered, which serves as a testament to its enduring appeal. The GameCube original remains the superior way to play the RPG, though, as every other version features a lower frame rate and various minor problems that were introduced with its Japan-only PlayStation 2 port.