Switch 2 The Past

Whether you're a true head and picked this up day one, or like Mike, you acquired this in your favourite cereal box, Chris Sawyer's Roller Coaster Tycoon is maybe one of the most perfect games ever made. Beautiful isometric graphics, insane amounts of customization, and with basically no bugs, this is a game that can be played by anyone, anywhere, all the time. Mike & Neil are joined by some friends of the show including Josh from the Still Loading podcast to talk about their memories of this title and of course the most efficient way to drown your guests. Sit back, relax, put on your panda costume, and enjoy the ride.

For today The GameCube Was Cool lives on in the form of our first revisited episode, looking back at one of the greatest launch titles ever, Luigi's Mansion. We first talked about this game all the way back in May 2020 in our second ever episode and it's time to do Mario's brother justice now that we've had three years to hone our craft. We reminisce about that second episode, talk about what's changed since, and bring on two extraordinary guests Kira @toonietwirls and enemy of the pod Ramon to discuss their memories first picking up this survival/horror title with a Nintendo spin. And we're also celebrating 10 years since Dark Moon was released! Enjoy this foray back into us talking about the greatest console of all time.

Thirty years ago Rivers Cuomo wrote the songs along with his fellow bandmates that would become their first self-titled record, later labeled The Blue Album by fans and critics alike because the decided to make about a dozen other coloured self titled albums. Present day Weezer may be a far cry from 90s Weezer and basically have evolved into full meme form at this point but that won't stop Mike & Neil from covering them in their first album retrospective for Unlocking What Was Cool. Hear us talk about Buddy Holly, Say It Ain't So, and how cringe No One Else is today. Whether you take your car or your board to work, we hope you enjoy this episode. And if you're a patreon subscriber head over there to hear the episode with the tracks from the album included!

Ladies and Gentlemen, WE ARE BACK! After a much needed vacation it's time to dive into some non-GameCube related media, starting with Kirby's best outing on the Wii (which evidently was supposed to be a GameCube game). Going with the "returning" themes of the episode, this game felt right to be our first to cover with the new format, as well as the deluxe edition being released on switch this week! We also bring back friend of the show and Kirby enthusiast Jake to talk about his memories playing this game in college and why multiplayer is where this game shines the most. Thanks for tuning in and welcome to Unlocking What Was Cool!

So it's come to this. The final episode. The GameCube is officially cool after hearing Neil read all 555 back of the cases and we couldn't be happier to send this era of the podcast off with a bang with...Madden 08? Yup, the last official release on the cube came in August of 2007 with this NFL title. But this episode is so much more than just a football game, it's about our two and a half years of podcasting, looking back on all our memories, some fun stats, and some really interesting stuff we've learned about the GameCube along the way. We'll be back in March with new content (yes even some GameCube content) but until then, enjoy the final episode of The GameCube Was Cool and thank you so much for all the support. This is our absolute favourite thing in the world to do and we couldn't have done it without you.

As the GameCube library dwindles 2006 and 2007 gave us many, many movie tie-ins. Happy Feet, The Ant Bully, Open Season, Barnyard, Surf's Up, Flushed Away, and Meet The Robinsons are the games Neil and Mike have the pleasure (or sometimes displeasure) of talking about on this penultimate episode. The story here is that most of these games are okay, but in reality, they probably never needed to be made in the first place. Alas this was the golden era of the movie tie-in and literally everything needed a game. There are some fun inclusions here like Surf's Up being a pretty fun and rare surfing sim on the GameCube, Barnyard turning out to be a pretty cool pseudo Open World game, and Meet the Robinsons being a Jimmy Neutron clone. All this and more on the second last episode of The GameCube Was Cool!

It's time for the final AAA release on the Nintendo GameCube. Twilight Princess, the original dual console release for the Zelda franchise, always seems to be the dark horse (or dark wolf) of the series. Through a bundled release with the Wii where the screen got flipped to make Link right handed, to the Wii U remastered version, Twilight Princess seems to always fly under the radar. Neil and Mike discuss why this installment may be one of the greatest games ever made, with an incredible story, great characters, and subtle innovation on gameplay. Joining the boys are friends of the show Cam (@Cpawx), Kira (@toonietwirls) and Tristian (@tristanpantarotto). Bring your master sword and join us for the final Zelda episode of the show!

As the end nears for the GameCube's library Mike and Neil look back on 7 movie tie-in games for the cube. Including the stand out Over The Hedge which has some amazing golf cart vehicular combat that friend of the show Anneka comes on to talk about. Chronicles of Narnia, Robots, Ice Age 2, Madagascar, and Chicken Little round out the list of the many, many late GameCube games which also happened to be movie tie-ins. For the most part they're fun titles who's movies really didn't have enough game-y elements for a video game to be made of them, but hey, this was the mid 2000s where literally everything had to have a game (yes, even the Bee movie!). 

And of course you can check out some GameCube Was Cool Podcast merch here at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/neil-gilbert?ref_id=26916

To celebrate 50 years of Pong being released Mike & Neil are going WAY back into the annals of video game history to talk about some legacy collections on the GameCube. Starting with Pinball Hall of Fame which is yup, a collection of pinball tables played virtually. We bring on friend of the show Luigi to discuss Pinball and the Midway Arcade Treasures series and discover how interconnected Pinball, Bally, Williams, Atari, and Midway all were in the 1980s. Next up is the Namco Museum series featuring friend of the show Christian to dive back into his memories of these games. Finally Jedi Geek Girl joins us once again, this time to talk about Gauntlet Dark Legacy, a very unique game on the GameCube that is of course set within the arcade classic Gauntlet series. All this and more on episode 121 of The GameCube Was Cool!

And of course you can check out some GameCube Was Cool Podcast merch here at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/neil-gilbert?ref_id=26916

Happy 35th birthday to the Blue Bomber! As Mega-Man aka Rockman turns 35 and is looking to put a downpayment on his new home Neil and Mike look back at four Mega-Man games on the GameCube. Two legacy collections, Mega Man X: Collection and Mega Man: Anniversary Collection as well an exclusive game, Network Transmission and a spinoff of the Mega Man X series, Command Mission. The boys are joined by The GameCube Galaxy host Marcello to talk about these games and what it was like growing up with Mega Man and how these older SNES games have stood the test of time in terms of art style and game play. 

And of course you can check out some GameCube Was Cool Podcast merch here at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/neil-gilbert?ref_id=26916