There were many people who skipped out on the Gamecube last console generation. What those people missed is obvious, hits like Wind Waker, Mario Sunshine, Resident Evil 4, and the masterpiece that is Metroid Prime. Gamecube owners most likely played those games, but they probably also ignored countless other titles.

I’m not sure why these games were ignored, maybe it was bad press, maybe they just looked unappealing, or maybe it was just bad timing. Whatever the case, the following 5 games must be given a fair chance by one and all. Don’t forget, they work on that shiny new Wii you have as well.

Chibi-Robo
There’s a word for Chibi-Robo, and that word is ‘charming.’ Loosely translated to Little Robot, Chibi-Robo was probably the last great Gamecube game that came out. You play as a robot-maid named Chibi-Robo. What starts out as a quest to pick up trash and old potato chips, eventually turns into a story about picking up the pieces of a failed marriage.

What people haven’t told you is that the game is essentially designed like a Metroid title. You’re confined to one room, and slowly but surely open up an entire house. There are loads of little crazy secrets, and tons of cool trinkets to collect. I can guarantee that this is the only game where you find a toothbrush that acts as a mop.

Chibi himself steals the show, with quirky animation, and nifty sound effects. Every time Chibi does something, it emits a sort of musical chime, and it all adds to the games charm. When he runs, it harkens back to the original Donkey Kong, where every time Mario stepped it made a sound. It doesn’t have the best graphics, but it’s got the biggest heart.

Beach Spikers
I picked this up a few years ago at Best Buy for $10. I was looking for some cheap thrills and hot girls. What I got was a ridiculously fun game, and a bunch of butch manly women. Seriously, these girls could kick any man’s ass. These are not the double bouncer girly girls of DOA Beach Volleyball. They will hurt you, and they do scream like barbarians.

Sega’s AM2 team put together an amazingly addictive and fun game here. It’s got some really tight controls, and furiously fun multiplayer. It’s easy to pick up, meaning it’s a great game for people who don’t normally play games, and it has some depth for the players who really dig it. It’s one of the few games my wife and I play together, so bonus points right there.

Ikaruga
This game was created just to piss people off. It’s so flipping hard, yet so damn cool. Ikaruga practically resurrected the dying shooter genre (think Gradius or the old Raiden arcade games) with its bullet absorbing game play.

While the concept of switching colors to fight the opposite color isn’t anything new (Treasure did it before in Silhouette Mirage, which wasn’t so hot) it hasn’t been applied to this particular genre before. While not a technical showpiece, it’s graphically rich, with trance inducing streams of bullets flooding the screen. But there is method to the madness, and that is what keeps players coming back for more. If you think it’s a challenge with one player, wait until you try it with another, it’s a whole new ball game.

It’s short and sweet, but if you’re like me, you’ll keep playing and playing.

Pacman VS
We won’t get into the connectivity debate here, but lets say that Pacman VS is a little gem that was over looked because of it’s premise. What we have here is regular old Pacman, but with an awesome twist. Get four people together, three controllers and a GBA SP, oh yeah and one of those GBA to Gamecube cables (believe it or not, I have 3 of those things) and then the fun begins. Someone randomly plays as Pacman, and the other players are the ghosts. The person controlling Pacman does so on the GBA, while the ghost try to catch him on the TV screen. Once someone catches Pacman, they swap controllers and that player becomes Pacman. Whoever gets to the preset score first wins. Sound stupid? It isn’t, and you have no idea what you’re missing out on.

This one might be a little hard to come by as it was given away as a preorder incentive for those that bought certain Namco games the year it came out. It was later bundled with Pacman World 2 for 20 bucks. Or was Pacman World 2 bundled with it? Food for thought my friend.

Pikmin 2
The most main stream of all the games listed here, which was almost why it didn’t make the list. However, I know for a fact that you haven’t played Pikmin 2, and that folks, is why it made the list.

The truth is, I almost didn’t play Pikmin 2 either. When the game came out, I felt that I already had my fill of Pikmin with the original game (which I love, by the way). My Dad however, is a huge Pikmin fan, so I decided it would be a great birthday gift for him. That’s when I realized that Pikmin 2 wasn’t just a good sequel, but an amazing follow up, and a quintessential game that all Gamecube owners should have.

It’s obvious this is the game Nintendo wanted to make when they brain stormed the original Pikmin, but they simply didn’t have the time required to fine tune it. Enter Pikmin 2, a game superior to the original in every way. They got rid of the bad (the time system), and improved on every aspect of the original. The game features ingenious stage design, and highly addictive gameplay, and that is really all that matters here. The best part of the whole Pikmin 2 experience? Right when you think you beat the game, you’re actually only half way through.

The best part about all these games is that you can get them on the cheap. I’ve seen Chibi-Robo for as low as $10 some places, and on eBay I’ve seen the Pacman bundle for as low as a dollar. The only one that could potentially set you back is Ikaruga. You know, it’s one of those “rare” games that fan boys have somehow managed to create some crazy false value around, but I’ve seen it for about $20 several times. I wager you could probably get this whole set for the price of a 360 game.

Now go on, get hunting!