So...my local game shop, which I consider to follow in the same spirit of GOG (i.e., making old console games and consoles available to those of archaic taste) had a sale and I picked up a Gamecube, all the prerequisite peripherals, and a copy of Metroid Prime for twenty five bucks. I've already found the rare Legend of Zelda heritage collection (LOZ, LOZ2, LOZ:OOT, and LOZ:MM), Paper Mario, Pikmin, and Metroid Prime Echoes to go with it. Now I'm wondering...anyone else have any recommendations? This place can get me pretty much anything I want if I'm patient enough, I've just always been a fan of the PS2, Metroid, and Zelda (the latter two of which I first played on the GBA). I basically made this first shopping list by browsing IGN's top 25 Gamecube games and dredging up memories of playing Ocarina of Time for the N64 - I know very little about the Nintendo franchises other than this.
Oh, and Metroid Prime is possibly one of the absolute best first person shooter / atmospheric suspense / space marine games I've ever played. Umm...not that there are THAT many that fit in that category...
So anyway...I just wanted to share my excitement, but I suppose I can make this a question - are there any CONSOLE SPECIFIC Gamecube games that I just shouldn't pass up? Thanks in advance!

Being a Gamecube enthusiast myself (I love my little purple oven) these are my picks:
* Tales of Symphonia (one of the best RPGs I ever played on a console... surpassed only by Chrono Trigger, I think)
* Resident Evil 4 (not really exclusive, but this is by far the best version out of the four that exist out there...)
* Amazing Island (a combination of several different styles... it's monter raising, mini-gaming, with a really innovative free monster design element)
* Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean (whenever somebody tells me they are playing an "epic" game I call their bluff with this title... it's weird and absurdly complex... but a game never to be forgotten and actually worth the experience)
* The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (some people will tell you Twilight Princess is better... I won't. I find TP quite boring, actually)
* Mario Superstar Baseball (I came in with VERY low expectations, and guess what, it's an awesome hybrid of adventure and baseball)
Also, SSX3 is to me one of the best games ever, and the other ports don't do the game justice, I think.

I think the local shop has that Baten Kaitos game for $5 - and thank you for all the suggestions! I'll pass on Wind Waker for the moment, though - with the original four waiting for me to play (or in OOT's case, to REplay) I doubt I"ll need another Zelda soon, heh. And come to think of it, I -think- they had Amazing Island - so yes, some great suggestions there!

If you like the style of no more heroes you can get killer 7 wich is made by the same team.

Thank you for the suggestion - I am not exactly sure what either of those are, I have some vague recollection of reading about Killer 7 once...I think it's something along the lines of Hitman, yes? I'm not fond of playing the villain in games...there's something far more satisfying about smashing evil in the face and gloating self-righteously afterwards :D

Cant tell you much about the game but if I remember correctly you play 7 assassin each with a diferent gameplay mechanic. I also forgot to mention Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem one of my favorite GC games of all time. Its a horror RE type game with a story that goes trough different characters. It has this chtulhu mythos vibe.

Yes very good suggestion and a GC exclusive title. Same devs that made Twin Snakes.

Ooh...lots of nice looking ones there. Unfortunately, most of 'em seem a bit pricey...one quick question - I have Viewtiful Joe for the PS2, any reason to get it on the Gamecube? And with Link as the special character on SC2 for the GC....yeah. That's going at the top of my list as a must-buy :D

I don't believe so. I'm not aware of any difference other than the controller which feels more natural on the Cube. Then again thats probably because I played it first on the Cube. There is also Viewtiful Joe Red Hot Rumble which is a fun Super Smash Bros style game featuring VJ characters.

You say they can get anything? Does that include imports? If so, the best game on the GameCube was by far GiFTPiA. Only saw release in Japan though (most likely due to its content).
It was an "alternative" RPG and damn near brilliant.

Yes, they can get literally anything...but I'm actually afraid to go look that up on the college internet here...do I even want to know what 'alternative' means in this case? :o

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem - This game is great but I thought it would have been a masterpiece if the combat/action would have been done better. Some people will say that it is a masterpiece anyway.
LoZ: Twilight Princess - If you need a Zelda fix later and don't feel like swinging your hands around like you're using a power glove (shudder), then buy this game on the gamecube. It was developed for the gamecube anyway, not the Wii. And yes, I do think it was better than Wind Waker.
If you like Mega Man or are looking for another retro fix, try the Mega Man Anniversary Collection. It got ripped on for not having the audio remixes in the gamecube version, but I thought that having the original audio was a good thing (a la original Star Wars movies vs. digitally remastered movies).

It means, no combat. But some of the characters may be a little too risque for NOA (such as the gay couple...) which is why it never got a release in the West (despite being localized).