Donkey Konga 1 & 2
The bongo drum peripheral, like many Nintendo peripherals, was used but for a handful of games. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat held the most extensive use of the controller. Regardless, that didn't stop the trio of Donkey Konga games (the third never reached anywhere but Japan) from being drum-banging good times. As the colored circles hover over the impact zone, you use the left and right bongos or both in conjunction to play in time with the music. You are also told to clap during certain parts of the song. Of course, my hands were already rubbed raw, so I just smacked the side of the bongos. With a varied music selection, many modes, and hilarious multi-player action, the Donkey Konga franchise is a great music game to get your heart beating along with the music.
Mega Man X: Command Mission
Mega Man in an RPG? That's like putting Mario in an RPG only not as good! Despite it not being the best RPG on the block, it was extremely commendable that Capcom tried something new with the Mega Man X franchise. Overall, they succeeded with an intriguing story, good old fashioned turn-based combat with three members in your party at the same time, plenty of enemy types and bosses to tackle, and lots of zenny and experience to earn. For RPG-starved Gamecube owners, this game among others was like a breath of fresh air.
Skies of Arcadia Legends
This Dreamcast port with added features such as new boss battles brought with it a lot of hype with the message board Gamecube faithful and scored highly with critics. Unfortunately this didn't bring awesome sales. It doesn't matter though as this game is now deeply sought after and fetches a pretty high price on eBay and other sites of its ilk. There's lots of combat and exploration to be had in this sky high world including airship battles and turn-based affairs. Add in a delectable soundtrack, and you have the makings of a memorable RPG. Yes, the random battles can come as too frequent (and this was actually worse in the Dreamcast version), but overall, Skies of Arcadia Legends is a fantastic and worthy addition to anyone's Cube collection.
Baten Kaitos Origins
Getting about average reviews and coming at the end of the Gamecube's life cycle, Baten Kaitos Origins wasn't your typical turn-based RPG. That just wasn't in the cards. Speaking of cards (did you appreciate my segue?), that was the main focus of the game-- cards. You bought cards, you sold cards, you gained cards through battle and as spoils of war, and you used them for everything from attacking, using magic, and even leveling up. There were over 600 cards to collect in all, and each one taunted you that it wasn't in your collection. This addicting nature added in even more hours to the already long wide-open quest for players to adventure on.
Super Mario Strikers
Some know it as soccer while the rest of the world refers to it as the more understandable name of football. No matter what you call it, Super Mario Strikers takes the sport and kicks it up a few notches. While it didn't sell poorly, it didn't really get a fair shake from critics who called the game lackluster and lacking options. The sequel, Mario Strikers: Charged, definitely changed that by upping the ante with more modes, more items, more characters, and online play thrown in to boot. The original Strikers was a fun local multi-player game with plenty of hectic action and crazy goals. Sure, Mario never ran around the field with his shirt draped over his face, but what can you do?
There goes another edition of Most Overlooked. Stay tuned in the near future for a look at some of the most overlooked Game Boy Advance titles! Did I miss one of your favorites? Let me know in the comments section.
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