9 GameCube Games That Made Couch Co-Op Feel Like an Event

Why It Matters

These games illustrate how hardware design and diverse co‑op titles can drive social gaming, a model still relevant for modern consoles and streaming platforms.

Key Takeaways

• Four controller ports made couch co‑op effortless
• Mario Kart: Double Dash! introduced LAN party capability
• Link cable games required extra hardware, boosting event feel
• Super Smash Bros. Melee popularized team battle co‑op
• Varied genres showed GameCube’s versatile multiplayer design

Pulse Analysis

The Nintendo GameCube’s architecture was uniquely suited to local multiplayer long before online gaming became mainstream. By providing four native controller ports, the console eliminated the need for split‑screen adapters or extra peripherals, allowing friends to plug in and play instantly. This hardware advantage, combined with a modest price point, positioned the GameCube as the go‑to machine for weekend gaming sessions in the early 2000s. Developers quickly embraced the setup, designing titles that leveraged simultaneous play rather than alternating turns, which turned ordinary living‑room gatherings into competitive or cooperative events.

The nine games featured in the list showcase the breadth of co‑op experiences the GameCube supported. First‑person shooters such as Serious Sam: Next Encounter proved that fast‑paced action could thrive with a buddy on the same screen, while RPGs like Tales of Symphonia and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles demonstrated seamless party management through link‑cable integration. Sports titles—including Mario Power Tennis, Super Mario Strikers, and Mario Kart: Double Dash!—added chaotic fun with power‑ups and LAN capabilities, and Super Smash Bros. Melee cemented team‑battle modes as a staple of competitive play. This genre diversity kept the console appealing to a wide audience.

Modern developers can learn from the GameCube’s co‑op formula. Prioritizing easy‑to‑connect hardware and designing games around shared-screen interaction creates a social glue that streaming services and online matchmaking often cannot replicate. The emphasis on local teamwork also encourages repeat play, fostering community bonds that translate into brand loyalty. As the industry pivots toward hybrid experiences—combining online and couch play—revisiting the GameCube’s approach offers a blueprint for building titles that feel like events, not just sessions, driving both engagement and long‑term revenue.

9 GameCube Games That Made Couch Co-Op Feel Like an Event

By Daniel Trock · Published Feb 13, 2026, 3:03 PM EST

When I was a kid, both my friends and I all owned GameCubes. Some of us also had PS2s, and I think one of them had an Xbox, but when any of us were at someone’s house, the GameCube always came out first and foremost. The PS2 may have had the best broad‑scope appeal of the sixth generation, but when it came to party games, including those you could play co‑op, the cube was the place to be. It certainly didn’t hurt that the GameCube was cheaper than the Xbox and had four controller ports natively, which helped to make it more accessible.

We’re focusing on games with a built‑in co‑op element, rather than anything you unofficially declared with friends, like forming alliances in Mario Party.

---

9  Serious Sam: Next Encounter

Let’s Get Serious

Released: April 12, 2004

ESRB: M (For Mature 17+)

Developer: Climax Studios

Publisher: Global Star Software

Franchise: Serious Sam

Platforms: PlayStation 2, GameCube

Genres: FPS, Action

While the Xbox was arguably the poster child of console first‑person shooters in the sixth generation, the GameCube was no slouch in that department either. There were a handful of quality shooters to be found, made comfortable to play by the controller’s analog triggers. One of my favorites to play with a friend was Serious Sam: Next Encounter.

I have one particularly fond memory of blazing through this game with a friend on a forgotten Saturday, the two of us glued to the screen well into the wee hours. We had to turn the volume down around 1:00 AM due to the aforementioned screaming dudes, but it was totally worth the sleep deprivation.

---

8  Tales of Symphonia

A Tag‑Team Fantasy Adventure

During most of Tales of Symphonia’s gameplay, player one is in exclusive control, moving around the overworld and solving puzzles in dungeons. When combat starts, you have control over one of your four party members, while the rest are CPU‑controlled. At any time during combat, though, three other players can plug in and assume direct control of the rest of the party. It was surprisingly seamless, so if anyone didn’t want to play anymore, they could drop back out at their leisure.

---

7  X‑Men Legends

Holding Out for Several Heroes

Released: September 21, 2004

ESRB: T (Blood, Violence)

Developers: Raven Software, Barking Lizards Technologies

Publisher: Activision

Multiplayer: Local Multiplayer

Franchise: X‑Men

Platforms: GameCube, PS2, Xbox (Original), N‑Gage

Genre: Action RPG

How Long To Beat: 20 Hours

Games that center around large teams of protagonists tend to lend themselves naturally well to co‑op frameworks. After all, if you’re only playing X‑Men Legends by yourself, you’ll probably just stick exclusively to your favorite heroic mutant, but with a full squad, everyone gets time to shine.

Every character on your team gains experience independently, so having four players in action at once ensures you can get four of your favorite X‑Men up to snuff in rapid order. In addition to the campaign, there’s a Skirmish mode where you and your team can take on endless waves of enemies to set a high score, just for the fun of it.

---

6  Mario Power Tennis

Can One Court Fit This Much Tennis?

The original Mario Tennis on the N64 was a more or less straightforward tennis game, just with Mario characters. For the game’s sequel on the GameCube, though, Nintendo and Camelot got a little wackier with it, while still preserving the game’s inherent multiplayer and co‑op design. The result was Mario Power Tennis.

While the overall tennis mechanics remain the same, the introduction of offensive and defensive power shots both increase the overall game tempo and make it a little more exciting. It’s a wonderful moment of friendship when your partner is about to miss a return, only for you to fly in with a defensive shot and keep things going.

---

5  Super Mario Strikers

There’s No “I” in Soccer

I don’t pay much mind to soccer normally, but then again, I don’t pay much mind to most sports. If there were a concrete way to get anyone interested in nearly any sport, it’s to add Mario to it, and Super Mario Strikers is no exception.

Super Mario Strikers is a combat soccer game with the expected rules of soccer; get the ball, kick it into the other team’s goal, and don’t eat dirt, though with the added fun of wacky field hazards and explosive super shots. One player can control a single captain and several sidekick characters by tagging between them, but up to four players can assume direct control of every character on a team. Ergo, you can have a traditional one‑on‑one match between two players, but you can also have a co‑op match with two players per team, three players versus one player, or even all four players together against CPUs.

Besides the exhibition matches, you can also apply this same co‑op format to playing through the Cups. If you’ve got a full four‑footie fan crew, the lot of you can take on the tournament together, working your way up to the toughest Super Team CPUs. All the fun of soccer with far less likelihood of a soccer riot.

---

4  Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles

Worth Investing in Link Cables For

Released: February 9, 2004

ESRB: Teen (Fantasy Violence)

Developer: The Game Designers Studio

Publisher: Nintendo

Multiplayer: Local Multiplayer

Franchise: Final Fantasy

Number of Players: 1‑4

Platform: Nintendo GameCube

Genre: Action RPG

How Long To Beat: 21 Hours

Local Co‑Op Support: Yes

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is a dungeon‑crawling RPG with a wholly unique setting and story from any other Final Fantasy game before or after. Up to four players can play at once, each with their own inventories and abilities, though for some reason, everyone besides player one needed to connect with a Game Boy Advance and a Link Cable. I guess the reason for this is so everyone and their abilities don’t need to be displayed on‑screen at once, which… I feel as though could’ve been facilitated more easily, but whatever.

Odd design choices, it is a fantastic game, and a lot of fun to play with friends, assuming you had three friends with Link Cables. Hey, nothing makes co‑op feel like an event like a required accessory.

---

3  The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

One Link, Divided by Four

Speaking of Link Cables, if you wanted another good reason to invest in a set of the things, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures was a good impetus. In fact, this game actually came bundled with one Link Cable, so it was a good place to get started if you didn’t already have a cable of your own, and a fun co‑op game besides.

Four Swords Adventures, specifically its main adventure mode, is sort of a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords on the GBA, in which four differently‑colored Links go on a little adventure to defeat the evil Shadow Link. While all four Links can be controlled in formation by one player, up to three players can join in with GBAs and Link cables to control a Link of their choice. This actually makes the game a lot easier, as all four Links can move simultaneously and independently instead of having to individually move them one at a time for puzzles.

---

2  Mario Kart: Double Dash!

I’m Gonna Take You for a Ride

Mario Kart has always been one of the de‑facto party games, Nintendo‑made or otherwise. Of course, outside of battle mode, Mario Kart is not usually meant to be played co‑op; it is meant to be played with fiery vengeance in one’s heart for everyone around you. One of the first major exceptions to this came about with Mario Kart: Double Dash.

Fun fact: Double Dash was one of the few GameCube games that supported LAN play, in which several GameCubes could be networked together for simultaneous play. At max, up to 16 players could play simultaneously, broken up into eight pairs. Now that’s a team‑building exercise.

---

1  Super Smash Bros. Melee

Flexible Melee

The first Super Smash Bros. on the N64 established the two main multiplayer modes, Free‑for‑All and Team Battle, the latter of which was a go‑to choice for those who wanted some co‑op action. The GameCube’s beloved launch title, Super Smash Bros. Melee, continued this tradition, naturally, though with more than a few extra wrinkles thrown in to make things more interesting.

Up to four players can segment off into teams in Team Battle, designated by up to three different colors. Team Battle can be played with the usual stock or time battle rules, though you can also apply it to both the new Coin Battle mode, as well as the Special Melee modes that have unique and wild modifiers like Super Sudden Death or Giant Melee.