8. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
One of GameCube’s most memorable launch titles, Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader was a show-piece for the system’s graphical capabilities. The system recreated the look and feel of the original Star Wars trilogy, and the gameplay provided fans of the franchise with one of the best Star Wars titles ever. Adding to the authenticity, LucasArts brought in Denis Lawson, the actor who portrayed Wedge Antilles in the original trilogy, to record new lines exclusively for the game.
Rogue Leader was considered to be a step-up from its N64 predecessor X-Wing Rogue Squadron, but LucasArts struggled to find success a third time. The game was followed up by a sub-par sequel, which attempted to add levels that took place outside of the game’s vehicles. While it was certainly an ambitious concept, the title couldn’t live up to high bar set for the series, and the X-Wing franchise has yet to see another game.
Glad to see Super Monkey Ball so high on the list. (Although I prefer the second one) It’s a shame that Amusement Vision isn’t around anymore, because I really enjoyed what they were doing on the GameCube.
Great list. All are worthy of inclusion. I’m particularly glad to see Skies of Arcadia Legends get some love; it’s a very good RPG and filled a massive hole in the Cube library at the time of its release.
I have long thought Baten Kaitos Origins to be the best of the Cube RPGs — better than Symphonia, better than Arcadia. It gets little love because it was released so late and sold in very few quantities. Even in my own list I left it off, mostly because Symphonia was a more groundbreaking and important RPG, and because its combat was pure awesome.