You’ll be able to play classic GameCube games on Nintendo Switch 2 the same day the console launches on June 5. That’s a sentence that still doesn’t feel quite real to me, but as someone who grew up playing the boxy purple wonder, I’m glad that it’s true.
As part of a recent trip to Paris for a Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on event (check out my full Nintendo Switch 2 impressions), I had the chance to play a couple of these GameCube classics via the newly rebranded Nintendo Classics library on Nintendo Switch Online. And I came away pretty impressed by their implementation, noticing significant improvements to the emulation over the Nintendo 64 library in particular.
Image quality, input responsiveness, and the general game selection are all winners here. However I did experience one performance-related issue specific to one game that I do hope can be addressed before launch. But otherwise, I think it’s safe to say that Switch 2’s GameCube support will be off to a strong start.
Return of the king(s)
Before getting into the meat of things, I’ll begin off with what you can expect from Nintendo Switch Online’s GameCube library on Switch 2.
Three games will be available at launch on June 5: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Soul Calibur 2, and F-Zero GX. We can also expect games like Super Mario Strikers, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Chibi-Robo, Pokémon Colosseum, and more to arrive later.
I’m very happy with these choices, as the initial three all featured in my personal game picks when I wrote about which titles I’d like to see in a Switch 2 GameCube library before their Nintendo Direct announcement.
The GameCube Nintendo Classics library will be available exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2, as part of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack tier. Games can be played solo and in local or online multiplayer (but you will still be dealing with split screen view for the latter in some cases). Save states and full controller rebinding are also supported.
Pondering my cube
So let’s move onto the games, then. At the event, I was able to try out Soul Calibur 2, handily one of the best fighting games of all time, and F-Zero GX – a childhood favorite and arguably one of the best racing games ever made.
What immediately struck me with both games was their incredible image quality on Nintendo Switch 2. I don’t know what emulation solution Nintendo is working with here, but the games looked incredibly clean even on a larger display.
What’s more, both games were capable of outputting a 16:9 widescreen image on GameCube and that option remains in their Switch 2 versions. There’s no weird, unaligned cropping either, and they look just as good here as they do in their pixel-perfect 4:3 aspect ratio.
I’ll need more testing on this front to make extra sure, but I also didn’t register any notable input lag in both games. Given Soul Calibur 2 and F-Zero GX’s respective genres and super-precise gameplay, this is something Nintendo simply had to get right, and it does seem like the work has been put in to allow for as seamless a play experience as possible.
Who up gaming they cube?
As I alluded to earlier, I do have one slight concern when it comes to performance. Soul Calibur 2 was pretty spotless, aside from a slight hitch when loading the start of one battle. F-Zero GX was more of a worry, as there were multiple hiccups throughout the handful of races I played.
Upon reflection, I don’t necessarily think this is a framerate issue as I initially assumed. Nintendo Switch Online requires an online connection, and the number of stalls at the event could have had an impact on overall connection quality, thus leading to the odd hitch.
I think this may be the case now, as F-Zero GX was something of a miracle game for its time. It pretty reliably ran at a steady 60fps even with its gorgeous visuals and busy 30-car playing field. Your mileage will probably vary on your own home connection, but it’s something to keep in mind, nonetheless.
In closing, I think GameCube games overall have found safe harbor on Nintendo Switch 2. Games like F-Zero GX and the GameCube version of Soul Calibur 2 have not been made available on modern hardware, and the same goes for the vast majority of announced GameCube titles coming to NSO in the future. Hopefully, we’ll get much more than what was teased at the Nintendo Direct, especially given the impressively sharp image quality.