FEATURES | GameCube Ports We Like to See Appear on Nintendo Switch

A RECENT leak in the upcoming release of three generations of 3D Super Mario compilation, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, led to the discovery of working custom emulators that is actually running the game and not a port.

YouTuber Modern Vintage Games and NintendoLife via OatmealDome stated that the compilation is indeed each running on custom Nintendo emulators on the Switch. 

To no one's surprise, this only confirms an observation by Digital Foundry two years earlier when they went about testing Super Mario Galaxy on the NVIDIA Shield that was only available in the China market

As the NintendoLife article  puts it:

So what are the takeaways from our Super Mario Galaxy testing on Tegra X1? First of all, the fact it's an Nvidia/Nintendo partnership confirms that a highly potent, optimised Wii emulator specifically designed for ARM processors and Nvidia Maxwell GPU technology exists - and Dolphin aside, it's the only example of a Wii emulator in existence at all. Secondly, even if performance on Android can't quite match the throughput of original Wii hardware running at 480p, it's still a long way beyond the excellent Dolphin achieves running on the same Nvidia hardware. This isn't a slight on the Dolphin team's excellent work; rather that Nintendo really knows its own hardware, and has clearly collaborated closely with Nvidia in getting this Android release to run as well as it does.

Beyond that, we're moving more into speculation territory, but the quality of the emulation and the effort put into it seems rather extreme when the end result is a limited release of four games (Super Mario Galaxy, Punchout, Zelda: Twilight Princess, New Super Mario Bros. Wii) only available in one territory, where Shield sales are likely to be microscopic. The undeniable reality is that Wii - and by extension, GameCube - emulation is possible on Switch and the Shield emulator seen here is a compelling proof of concept. We'll be taking a closer look at all of the available titles soon, with a focus on hardware utilisation, how the emulator copes without the bespoke Wiimote controller and how performance holds up on the other games. But right now, all of the evidence points to the existence of a Tegra X1 emulator that's more than fit for purpose for Nintendo Switch - and based on what we've seen here, the results for both docked and mobile play should be absolutely fantastic.

Seeing as though that Gamecube games were backwards compatible with the Wii system, it kinda opens the question of what Gamecube games we would like to see appear on the Nintendo Switch next. Since there's aren't that many, we believe that these games are a perfect fit for Nintendo’s hybrid console: 

Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes

Eternal Darkness

Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II

Skies of Arcadia Legend

Paper Mario The Thousand-Year Door

Fire Emblem Path of Radiance

Geist

Soul Calibur II 

While the GameCube wasn't the resounding success that Nintendo had hoped for when it was released in the early 2000s. It did, however, churned out some of the greatest games courtesy of Nintendo and other third-party developers. Let's hope these games will finally see the limelight once again!

Geeks Republika