The Nintendo Wii is a fun system, but it is notorious for having a lack of top-tier games on a consistent basis. But the Wii also has a GameCube processor built in, so let me give you a nice rundown of some games you could pick up for fairly cheap.

Note that games re-released for the Wii aren’t being considered, so no Resident Evil 4, and no Smash Bros Melee since you still get the same experience with Brawl.

What you need to get started: a GameCube memory card and at least 1 GameCube controller for these games.

So here are my five GameCube game choices:

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker: After Ocarina of Time, the Zelda franchise was in for a rough ride attempting to recreate the magic. When the GameCube was announced, some footage was seen of a possible Zelda game, but a year later we got a much more cartoony Link and all hope was seemingly lost. Despite my reservations, I went out and rented The Wind Waker and found that, oops, the game was beautiful and extremely entertaining. I still stand by my claim that it is a great game, just a bad Zelda game, but it will provide hours of entertainment for anyone who still needs their adventure fix.

Metroid Prime: I was skeptical when I heard about Metroid Prime. “What? A 2D platformer series made into a 3D First-person style game? Outrageous.” I was wrong. Metroid Prime is now my third favorite game of all time. The graphics are impressive and the play control is perfect. PERFECT. I make it a point to play through the game in its entirety at least once every 2 years.

Soul Calibur II: Sure, Soul Calibur is now a franchise on the 360 and PS3, but the second game showed up best on the GameCube since it had Link as a playable character. Everything about the game plays so well, and while no, it may not be considered better than Soul Edge, it’s my favorite. In fact, I’m listening to its soundtrack as I write this.

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