The 10 Weirdest GameCube Games
“Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg” (2003)
Sega is no stranger to weird games, but “Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg” is certainly one of its oddest. It follows the aptly named hero as he’s sucked into Morning Land, a magical world populated by chickens that is currently under attack by an army of crows led by the villain Dark Raven. Donning a special chicken suit, Billy pushes around giant eggs, which can be used to attack and other features, but which must also be hatched to beat levels or gain items. Yeah, we’d say that fits the bill. As weird as it was, “Billy Hatcher” was actually pretty fun. Unfortunately, it was also a poor seller, meaning many didn’t get a chance to experience this odd duc- I mean, ‘chicken’ of a game.
“Geist” (2005)
Prior to the Switch, it was usually odd to see a Mature game on a Nintendo platform, let alone one that Nintendo published itself. “Geist” was a rare FPS exclusive, following scientist-turned-spirit John Raimi who tries to recover his body. At the core of the conflict is an organization using special ghost-making tech in an attempt to possess world leaders. Things get even weirder and more chaotic when a rift opens, spilling monsters into the real world. The main villain is even possessed by a demon; it seems the developers wanted to check as many occult boxes as they could. Unfortunately, the GameCube wasn’t exactly the best fit for “Geist,” with its controls and framerate being frequent points of criticism.
“Amazing Island” (2004)
Another oddity published by Sega, “Amazing Island” tasks the player with defending a magical world from an evil spirit known as the Black Evil. How do you defend this island? By building creatures and playing mini-games of course! Players customize monsters in a variety of ways, including body type, clothing, and stats. Depending on how you customize them, different monsters will be better at different mini-games. You’d think that a fantasy game about monsters fighting evil would feature combat. Instead, you’ll play variations on basketball, dead man’s volley, and… “Beyblade?” The base game is already weird, made even stranger depending on how wild you want your creations to look.
“Gotcha Force” (2003)
If you threw “Transformers,” anime, and gacha games into a blender, the result would be this action title from Capcom. The game begins when a young boy named Kou finds a Gotcha Borg, a miniature robot who crash lands on Earth. Together, the two form a team with other kids and tiny bots to stop an invasion of evil robots called the Death Force. As you continue, you’ll unlock different Gotcha Borgs to add to your team. The arena combat is fun though simplistic; different bots come with different attributes and abilities. The premise sounds like it came from a child, playing with their action figures while imagining a world-ending threat. It sold poorly, however, meaning most kids at the time didn’t even get to play it.
“Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure” (2001)
While clearly not as out there in its concept as others, we consider this promotional tie-in weird simply for the fact that it exists at all. Set in Universal Studios Japan, it tasks players with collecting tickets to enter various attractions, which take the form of mini-games. There was no way it could match the excitement levels of rides based on “Back to the Future” and “Jurassic Park.” But the developers could’ve definitely tried harder than this. When you weren’t playing dull mini-games or experiencing the mind-numbing monotony of scavenger-hunting through a digital theme park, you could also take a quiz on Universal’s movies. Needless to say, critics were not kind to it.
“Chibi-Robo!” (2005)
“Chibi-Robo!” is a cult classic that earned itself a few handheld sequels. As fondly remembered as it is, it’s also one of the GameCube’s weirdest games. You play as a tiny, cute robot, hence the name, who tries to make the lives of the family whose house he lives in better. Whether you’re throwing away trash or cleaning a stain, your main goal is earn Happy Points by completing tasks. Along the way, you’ll help out other toys around the house. While that may sound exceptionally boring, the developers managed to make household chores fun. It’s an adorable game that will fill you with joy and a sense of productivity while your own to-do list goes unchecked.
“Darkened Skye” (2002)
Brand tie-in games are mostly a thing of the past, but every single one of them is weird. On paper, and on screen, “Darkened Skye” seems and sounds like your average fantasy action-adventure game. A young woman searches for her missing mother with a comedic relief companion (in this case, a gargoyle) and rebels against an evil wizard. Pretty par for the course. However, she performs her magic with Skittles. Different colored Skittles result in surprisingly varied spells, including fireballs, lightning, shrinking, and floating. We guess the developers really took the “taste the rainbow” slogan to heart. Why do Skittles exist in a medieval fantasy world? We couldn’t tell you, but at least the game doesn’t take itself too seriously.
“Odama” (2006)
Famed Japanese game designer Yoot Saito seems to only want to work on the most unusual games he can think of. While nothing will likely ever top the strangeness of “Seaman,” the GameCube’s “Odama” is weird in a different way. It’s a tactical warfare game set in feudal Japan, focusing on a general out to avenge his father’s death. However, you won’t be slicing through troops yourself, because “Odama” is actually a pinball game. Yep, you use flippers to send a giant ball called an Odama into enemy factions, crushing whatever it comes into contact with. It also came packaged with a microphone so you could tell your troops to get out of the Odama’s way or attack others. There is literally no other RTS game like it.
“Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest” (2002)
We’ve played as some strange characters in our time, yet most of them surprisingly can’t compare with a cube. In “Cubivore,” you begin as a newly born cube-shaped pig whose purpose is to overthrow a powerful group of colorless beasts. While the land was once lush with wildlife, it’s dying as these villains consume all. To defeat them you’ll have to do some consuming of your own. Most of the gameplay revolves around eating other Cubivores and mutating to grow stronger. When you can’t progress any further, you’re meant to mate so that your offspring can gain additional features to continue. It’s one of the most unconventional lessons on the concept of “Survival of the Fittest” and Evolution we’ve ever heard of.
“Go! Go! Hypergrind” (2003)
Every single aspect of this Atlus-published skateboarding game is hilariously bizarre. Players choose between several cartoon characters competing for a shot to star in a new cartoon. Both the studio that worked on the art design and the one holding the in-game competition is Spümcø of “Ren & Stimpy.” While you’re trying to earn points by stringing tricks together, you’re also tested by how cartoonishly violent you can hurt yourself. Whether it wants you to set yourself on fire, flatten yourself, or get decapitated, each round is a perpetual strand of chaotic moments and zany shenanigans. Everything from the gameplay to the wacky character designs to the outlandish levels is completely and utterly unique. And it’s also weird as Hell.