GameCube Games

December 17, 2004 12:38 PM

For starters, thanks to everyone who responded to my question about taking the gaming system plunge. It was exceptionally helpful to my wife and I: now have the GameCube and accessories hidden safely for next week.

I was wondering if you have suggestions for titles that would be suitable for a first grade girl. The boys are easy, but our daughter likes painting/drawing and character/puzzle games like Spirit (about the animated horse movie) that are based more on helping. Harvest Moon was suggested, but I can't tell if that is too old for her and I can't get a good fix on the plot line. Any suggestions from the community would be much appreciated, thanks!
posted by cgk to sports, hobbies, & recreation (15 comments total)

Animal Crossing.
posted by mealy-mouthed at 12:44 PM on December 17, 2004 [1 favorite has favorites]

Seconding Animal Crossing. So much fun and totally addictive. I had Harvest Moon but I didn't enjoy it at all.
posted by sugarfish at 12:55 PM on December 17, 2004

Neither me nor my girlfriend, both in our twenties, could make heads or tails of Harvest Moon. It took us forever to figure anything else. Thumbs down.

Animal Crossing, on the other hand, is superb. Like the Sims-Lite, and very addictive. The whole family can get involved (well, four of you) as well, which is fun. It's also got some of the best replay value of a game I'm played, so it should hold her interest for a while. The only problem I can think of is that there's a fair amount of reading involved. Thumbs pointed sideways, up if she can read well.
posted by hughbot at 1:03 PM on December 17, 2004

My nieces, all around that age, love everything in the Mario series (I'd recommend Super Mario Sunshine as it's on their Greatest Hits list so it's cheaper) and this weird Spongebob platformer that was GBA only but appears to have updated and ported to everything else to coincide with the recent movie.

As a rule of thumb--one that I've yet to see disproven by either my nieces or nephews--a game that involves characters that they like because of a movie/tv show/book is always fun to them. No matter how hard it is they'll still get a kick out of it, and will soon be able to kick your ass.

I'd also recommend The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. It's a little violent (all video games sort of are I suppose), but it's heroic violence, and there are strong kids as the protagonists.
posted by togdon at 1:17 PM on December 17, 2004

Caveat: I'm not a psychologist or anything. Just some kid.

That said: might I suggest putting everything in one giant box and have the "To:" tag have all their names on it? It's true that there are gender differences, but girls can and do like shooty games just as much as boys. I've gamed with numerous girls over the years, and this could be a good opportunity to make the "you can do anything boys can do" moment for your daughter. Further, your sons don't need to develop any complexes if they want to try out Harvest Moon or whatever.
posted by kavasa at 1:22 PM on December 17, 2004

Pikmin and Pikmin2.

Regarding Animal Crossing, I found it dull, repetitive and overly simple. It's likely a better game for someone your daughter's age. Harvest Moon, on the other hand, kept my interest for a couple of weeks. In fact, I played through the game. It's equally repetitive and in the end had many of the same problems as Animal Crossing. To each their own, of course. They are very similar games. The biggest difference are the plot and how your actions impact later game play. In Harvest Moon, you have to feed your animals, tend your land, talk to people, get married and raise children. You can lose Harvest Moon. Animal Crossing was much more open ended. Both have optional GBA games to expand the game play. Animal Crossing is compatible with the card reader.

Also, rent to own with Netflix style game rentals. You have a variety of options in this category, including GameChoice, GPlay and so on.

Personally, I tend to beat games rather quickly and don't believe much in paying retail for them. I beat Pikmin in less than 24 hours. Pikmin 2 is much more involved, I beat it in three days instead of one. I've never played either again. The same is true for games like THUG, beat in less than 24 hours. However, open ended games like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon can be played for months.

If you buy it for retail and don't like it, you're out of money for the most part. Trading in games is one of the least efficient means of getting value for used games. Even selling a game back the day after a release will see a depreciation of over 50%. The same game will then be resold for $5 cheaper than retail.

With rentals, you'll have a variety of games to try and you just return them when you're done. If you really like it, you can purchase it used from the same companies for some of the cheapest prices available.
posted by sequential at 1:27 PM on December 17, 2004

The more I think about Animal Crossing, the more it seems to be what you daughter would be looking for. You say she likes drawing games, it has a store where you can design your own patterns, to put on everything from your character's clothing to the walls of their house.

Most of the 'quests' so to speak, involve running errands for the people in your village, borrowing a shovel for someone, or returning a book, etc. So the helping aspect is there as well.

The only real downside I can think of is that it's pretty text-heavy.
posted by hughbot at 1:43 PM on December 17, 2004

Yay animal crossing! I know several people in my age group who are addicted to it, too, so watch out, or you might play with it more than her.
posted by u.n. owen at 1:53 PM on December 17, 2004

Pikmin, Pikmin, Pikmin.

Your daughter will love it. Your sons will love it, and, if you play it, you will love it. The game is the exact opposite of everything wrong with most popular games these days. It's not violent, there are no celebrity cameos, and there are no half-naked polygonal "women." Pikmin 1 had this 30 day limit that sort of makes you feel rushed, and some people like that, but Pikmin 2 takes that away. Pikmin 2 is honestly the most relaxing game I've ever played. You want to finish it because it's fun, not because some bomb will blow up the naked lady if you don't.
posted by SAC at 2:48 PM on December 17, 2004

Super Monkey Ball, the Mario Party games and Super Smash Brothers all feature female characters if that is important.
posted by Quartermass at 3:12 PM on December 17, 2004

Super Monkey Ball and Super Monkey Ball 2, very basic controls, a humorous story line, but not too heavy on the text. Both have unlockable party games so you can play as a family. The majority of the games use only the control stick and possibly the A button, but they're fun enough that I still play with my friends on a regular basis.
posted by hindmost at 4:27 PM on December 17, 2004

I would also recommend the family/party games : Wario Ware, the Mario Party series, Super Smash Brothers (mild cartoon violence) and Mario Kart racing. I've always found it a lot more fun to play with friends than to play alone. While the majority of Nintendo's house brand games are children friendly, she may not have that much interest in the style of gameplay unless she's playing with family or friends. Pikmin and Animal Crossing are both excellent, but to truly make the Cube a family console, you need the party games.
posted by hindmost at 4:36 PM on December 17, 2004

My five-year old (boy) loves Mario Kart Double-Dash and Super Monkey Ball 2. We play them both together, and it's a lot of fun. (One of the best parts of Mario Kart is that the three year-old can ride on the back of my kart, throwing bombs every once in a while, and that acts as a natural handicap.)

I just picked up a copy of Mario Toadstool Golf for my oldest to play with Grandpa--my dad's 90, and plays golf 5 days a week, and after watching his grandson play video games for a year, has decided he wants to take the plunge.

Not that I'm a contagious geek, or anything...we do get out and play soccer, tag, etc. Really.
posted by LairBob at 5:45 PM on December 17, 2004

Kids would probably have a lot of fun with Paper Mario, and you would too.

You could also invest in a GBA player for the Cube and tap the GBA's library of kid-friendly games.
posted by selfnoise at 7:24 PM on December 17, 2004

Thanks again everyone for the thoughtful posts! Looks like I can outline holiday and birthday purchases for all of 2005.
posted by cgk at 7:48 PM on December 17, 2004