Hands on with Nintendo Classics: GameCube - Preview
I have some very fond memories of the Nintendo GameCube, so with it being included at release of the Nintendo Switch 2, I knew I was going to be playing it. Having the chance to go hands on was something I was keen to do, if only to see how the new version of the controller worked and I am happy to report good things.
Before we talk about the games that I played, I must first talk about the controller. From the moment I held it in my hands, everything felt good. The c-stick had the right texture and stiffness, the shoulder buttons moved down nicely and then stopped with that satisfying click. The spacing between the face buttons was great and of course, it was weighted very nicely. Now the GameCube controller is one I am very familiar with and not because of Super Smash Bros, just because some of my favourite games were released on the little purple console. Once Nintendo released the WaveBird Wireless Controller, I was very much in the camp of no cords on controllers, but of course that first release had no rumble. This one does and it was great to feel in the hand, now I will state that the controller was tethered to the demo station via a charging cable and a security cable, but neither of those got in the way of my playing. The reason for stating about the cables, was in relation to the balance, there was a slight pull down because of those, so I imagine that without that, it would feel so perfectly balanced, that even Thanos would find no issues.
So, the controller is good and while I could not test something like battery life at an event, given Nintendo’s pedigree with that subject, I doubt there will be cause for concern here. But what about the games, well there were four on offer, the three day one releases and Super Mario Strikers. Now no offense to that game or Soul Calibur, but The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and F-Zero GX were what I wanted to play. Thankfully for Zelda, the save file that I was given access to was not right at the start of the game, but it was still on the island. With sword now in hand, I was free to do whatever I could on the little land mass that Link called home, but I of course went straight for the woods where Tetra had fallen. For the most part the game looked really good, it was only when the camera got super close to texture or when text appeared on screen that I could spot the pixels. Is this the best version of the game around, no, but it is nice to see it on Switch in some form.
The other game was F-Zero GX, and I will freely admit that I am horrible at the game, I don’t want to be, but I am. It didn’t take long for me to go flying off the track, but that is par for the course for me, so I wasn’t worried about that. Instead, I was looking at how the game was performing, because the game needs speed to work and I couldn’t see any issues here. Something that was nice, was that the game was already set to widescreen, so it was looking its best. The only thing I could not tell if it was working or not, was the Dolby Pro Logic II, because it was running off a TV for one, but also was in a loud space. However, given that the GameCube app supports widescreen output, I would have to imagine it supports surround sound audio, but that will be a day one test for me.
From the limited time with both games, I can honestly say that things are looking good for the GameCube app. Now looking at some of the other emulators, they did have issues with some games when they were added, but I didn’t see anything here that would be cause for alarm, but I am also a realist. The controller feels good to hold, the games are fun and if Nintendo can release games more often than they have had for other platforms, this could be a great value to your Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription.
Nintendo GameCube will be available on June 5 alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 console, with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX and Soul Calibur II being available at release. The Nintendo GameCube Controller can be bought from Nintendo directly and if ordered before May 20, it will arrive on release day.
