In the era where Microsoft and Sony were the only focus of the console war, Nintendo was the odd man out. Trying desperately to squeeze itself into the picture, however, in spite of some very good first party titles, it lacked support. Support that even its predecessor enjoyed more. Their console was nothing short of a colossal failure while the others thrived. Companies put titles on the two elites, the Gamecube was left picking the bread crumbs from the dinner table. How was Nintendo going to etch itself back into play in the Gamecube years when the online support was nothing short pathetic? Nintendo would need somethings unique to the system that would make it a must-buy. One of such things they unveiled was the GC-GBA connection.
This connection allowed the Gamecube and the GBA to communicate with each other that could result in some more interesting gameplay opportunities. This concept isn't totally new though, as the N64 had the GB pak before though that wholely delved only in mere data transfers. Being able to directly link the two systems had tremendous potential and Nintendo was in a unique position in the industry to make it happen.
To utilize this feature, you obviously needed the Gamecube, at least a GBA unit, the cable that would hook the GBA into the controller port of the GC, and frequently, both GC and GBA titles. Adding all up, you had a ridiculous number of requirements to take advantage of this system. That said, such setup could result in some good potential, that may produce a fresh kind of play.
When the titles unfolded with this feature, a lot of application was downright rubbish. Football games that display score stats totally underused the potential. Hooking both products to unlock levels is another form of underuse. Primarily in both cases, the only form of use that happens is data transferring. There is no actual interaction that is now capable by connecting the GBA. Mini-games is a form of interaction, but totally from a GBA perspective. What is missed in this is the GC spectrum. All of them are totally useless ideas. The true intriguing point of the feature was new gameplay, not shoe-horn usage. The people who implemented these features had been nothing short of lazy.
In my opinion, the GC-GBA connection play is always supplemental to the GC game. It's not required to own this, but with such a feature, it creates a new dynamism to the GC game. Only two games I've played have ever done this effectively. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and Legend of Zelda Windwaker, with Splinter Cell coming out on top.
A lot of people scorn and ridicule the "exclusive" feature of the Cube version, but what I feel isn't recognized with Redstorm's effort is that this was the first Splinter Cell that allowed two people to play the game cooperatively. The GBA connection allowed for disarming mines, taking control of guns, checking out enemies in the map and others. It was an invaluable tool, and under the hands of another player, it resulted in a kind of communication that was not in any of the other versions. It made the game experience different from the lone single-player affair of other releases of Splinter Cell. Granted it was not perfect, but the first effort was truly a good addition to an already well-executed product.
Windwaker employed a similar take with Tingle, the Rupee hungry gremlin that assisted Link through the use of different spells and abilities. Tingle may not be the most charismatic of characters, but the gameplay addition was welcome and was not overpowering. And the use of Tingle did not necessarily make the game ridiculously easy, though he does help at the hands of someone who knows how to make it work.
These are intriguing new gameplay additions resulted by it. But at times, this kind of focus goes overboard with the likes of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Not only was the single player totally a lonesome and ultimately boring affair, the multiplayer needed at least two GBAs and two connections to make it accessible. The kind of communication in multiplayer indeed makes for quite a different form of cooperation, but this kind of hardware requirement makes the product extremely inaccessible. To make matters worse, the GBA connection use on the single player mode is totally devoid of any sort of cooperative gameplay at all. FFCC had turned this feature from a supplement to a requirement, and that ultimately is a design mistake.
Looking forward to the Wii and DS, I am yet again dismayed by the lack of use of such potential. Using the DS as a controller and replacing the Wii controls is utterly not a good idea. The DS is capable of some very interesting potentials given the hardware capabilities. Would it be possible to have a rally game where the Wii player drives the car and the DS acts as a co-driver calling out the pace notes and perhaps even writing its own notes? Or how about a Formula One title where the DS formulates the team strategy while the Wii player focuses on the wheel? There could be special implementations such as when you have a Wii strategy game and the DS performs some interesting part of the game, perhaps acting as an adviser.
Hardware requirements are reduced but not totally lost. The requirement of the Wii and DS units still makes it somewhat a difficult requirement, but without the cable requirements obviously makes it more accessible. Please, give the time to think about this feature. Let's not waste a good opportunity for interesting gameplay, unlike the failure the GC-GBA connection was.
This connection allowed the Gamecube and the GBA to communicate with each other that could result in some more interesting gameplay opportunities. This concept isn't totally new though, as the N64 had the GB pak before though that wholely delved only in mere data transfers. Being able to directly link the two systems had tremendous potential and Nintendo was in a unique position in the industry to make it happen.
To utilize this feature, you obviously needed the Gamecube, at least a GBA unit, the cable that would hook the GBA into the controller port of the GC, and frequently, both GC and GBA titles. Adding all up, you had a ridiculous number of requirements to take advantage of this system. That said, such setup could result in some good potential, that may produce a fresh kind of play.
When the titles unfolded with this feature, a lot of application was downright rubbish. Football games that display score stats totally underused the potential. Hooking both products to unlock levels is another form of underuse. Primarily in both cases, the only form of use that happens is data transferring. There is no actual interaction that is now capable by connecting the GBA. Mini-games is a form of interaction, but totally from a GBA perspective. What is missed in this is the GC spectrum. All of them are totally useless ideas. The true intriguing point of the feature was new gameplay, not shoe-horn usage. The people who implemented these features had been nothing short of lazy.
In my opinion, the GC-GBA connection play is always supplemental to the GC game. It's not required to own this, but with such a feature, it creates a new dynamism to the GC game. Only two games I've played have ever done this effectively. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and Legend of Zelda Windwaker, with Splinter Cell coming out on top.
A lot of people scorn and ridicule the "exclusive" feature of the Cube version, but what I feel isn't recognized with Redstorm's effort is that this was the first Splinter Cell that allowed two people to play the game cooperatively. The GBA connection allowed for disarming mines, taking control of guns, checking out enemies in the map and others. It was an invaluable tool, and under the hands of another player, it resulted in a kind of communication that was not in any of the other versions. It made the game experience different from the lone single-player affair of other releases of Splinter Cell. Granted it was not perfect, but the first effort was truly a good addition to an already well-executed product.
Windwaker employed a similar take with Tingle, the Rupee hungry gremlin that assisted Link through the use of different spells and abilities. Tingle may not be the most charismatic of characters, but the gameplay addition was welcome and was not overpowering. And the use of Tingle did not necessarily make the game ridiculously easy, though he does help at the hands of someone who knows how to make it work.
These are intriguing new gameplay additions resulted by it. But at times, this kind of focus goes overboard with the likes of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Not only was the single player totally a lonesome and ultimately boring affair, the multiplayer needed at least two GBAs and two connections to make it accessible. The kind of communication in multiplayer indeed makes for quite a different form of cooperation, but this kind of hardware requirement makes the product extremely inaccessible. To make matters worse, the GBA connection use on the single player mode is totally devoid of any sort of cooperative gameplay at all. FFCC had turned this feature from a supplement to a requirement, and that ultimately is a design mistake.
Looking forward to the Wii and DS, I am yet again dismayed by the lack of use of such potential. Using the DS as a controller and replacing the Wii controls is utterly not a good idea. The DS is capable of some very interesting potentials given the hardware capabilities. Would it be possible to have a rally game where the Wii player drives the car and the DS acts as a co-driver calling out the pace notes and perhaps even writing its own notes? Or how about a Formula One title where the DS formulates the team strategy while the Wii player focuses on the wheel? There could be special implementations such as when you have a Wii strategy game and the DS performs some interesting part of the game, perhaps acting as an adviser.
Hardware requirements are reduced but not totally lost. The requirement of the Wii and DS units still makes it somewhat a difficult requirement, but without the cable requirements obviously makes it more accessible. Please, give the time to think about this feature. Let's not waste a good opportunity for interesting gameplay, unlike the failure the GC-GBA connection was.
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