Released on October 26th, 2001, Pikmin was a new IP for Nintendo's launch window of its new console of the time, the GameCube. As a unique and interesting take on the real-time strategy (RTS) genre, the game follows the exploits of a space pilot, Captain Olimar, whose ship crashes on an unknown planet. The planet's oxygen atmosphere is ironically lethal to our hero's species, and the ship is found to be in major disrepair. Players will only have 30 days to find the ship's 30 missing ship parts before running out of air supply and succumbing to a terrible fate. The little astronaut's only hope in completing this tall task is the fortunate discovery of these plant-like creatures he dubs Pikmin. The Pikmin flock to Captain Olimar whose leadership helps these playful, unorganized creatures perform impressive feats as a collective whole, such as carrying heavy objects, tearing down towering walls, or defeating menacing wildlife.
Throughout the journey, players will discover more types of Pikmin (Red, Yellow, and Blue) and their unique attributes that accompany each. A lot of the joy found in this game can come from making these discoveries and figuring out how to make use of them as they explore these strange terrains and forge paths to reach the missing ship parts. This is easier said than done though, as time is always a looming factor, not only in regards to the limited air supply, but with each passing day as the sun sets. Players must retreat back to their ship with their Pikmin before night falls and dangerous nocturnal creatures come about. This added pressure makes efficiency just as important as finding the ship parts, as there may be faster means to a solution if players put in the effort to build a bridge or tear down a wall. Not every ship part is needed to beat the game, though players can achieve various endings depending how many parts are collected. Thanks to this interesting mechanic and the many ways in which players can approach any particular scenario, Pikmin offers tons of replayability for greater completion and speed-runs.
Three years later, the GameCube would see the return of the Pikmin in its sequel, Pikmin 2. Upon escaping from the hostile planet in the first game, Captain Olimar returns home to discover his line of employment has racked up an immense debt. However, a souvenir brought back from Olimar's travel is discovered to be rather valuable treasure. So Olimar partners up with co-pilot Louie as they return to the escaped planet, this time as treasure hunters. More well prepared for this adventure, this game has less pressure on time to leisurely explore the world. The game instead shifts focus more on exploration and unique enemies, such as with subterranean caves / labyrinths where time is in fact suspended until returning to the surface. These gauntlets prove to be real challenges as the greatest treasures and foes lie in wait at the bottom of these multi-leveled structures, questioning the player if they have the resources to keep diving deeper or if they should make an early escape. The treasures found in this game also have an amusing charm as they are all seemingly normal bits of junk, like rubber ducks or alkaline batteries, but are instead given rather hilarious names due to their unknown origin to these space explorers.
As with the original, there are more new Pikmin to discover (Purple and White), both with unique abilities and more varied uses. The addition of a second controllable character (Louie) also allows for some unique puzzles and more efficient gameplay, as players divide and conquer tasks between the two leaders. Cooperative gameplay was experimented during development, but ultimately was decided against as it went against certain game design decisions. As such, multiplayer was implemented instead in a fun separate competitive mode, pitting opposing captains together in a race to collect treasure and/or defeat the opposing player's army of Pikmin.
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| A look at all the Pikmin across the three Pikmin games so far. |
While the first two entries in this series had garnered a small, but passionate following, it wouldn't be until 2013 that we saw the next game in the series, Pikmin 3, finally come to light. The main reason for this delay had been that the Wii-U's HD graphical capabilities and unique control scheme seemed to be a better fit for this series, so development shifted over to this upcoming new console of the time. Admittedly, Pikmin 3 is a truly gorgeous game with its superbly detailed and fully realized environments, which is a likely reason why they added the ability to take photos in game at any time. In this installment, players take control of three new space pilots of a new species, whose home planet is on the brink of starvation due to lack of planning and constraint. Fortunately, they discover the Pikmin's planet to have a wealth of cultivable food. As they set off to obtain this bounty, their ship becomes damaged and crash-lands (a common theme to be sure). Now the players must reunite the separated space pilots, find their needed cosmic drive to escape, and collect enough deliciously rendered HD fruit to save their home planet in the process. Each day spent on the planet requires some consumption of the collected fruit. In this way, Pikmin 3 strikes a happy balance between a moderate amount of time pressure to find and maintain enough food, but still enough freedom to explore at a somewhat relaxed pace.
As the tradition continues, there are more new Pikmin to discover (Rock and Winged), with more unique abilities and uses. And with three controllable characters now, puzzles and multitasking require great degrees of coordination and forethought. Although, the Wii-U gamepad does help tremendously in better keeping track of such with the use of the map functionality on this second screen experience. It may be a little tricky at times to focus on both screens at once, but you eventually develop a knack for when and where to shift your attention. And similar to Pikmin 2, this game features the same competitive multiplayer mode, along with a cooperative challenge mode, though still separate from the main campaign.
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| Behold the beautiful visuals of an HD Pikmin 3, complete with lens focus and lighting effects. Even the spaceship is constructed with amazing detail now. |
The Pikmin series has since experimented with narrative animated shorts and the recent, luke-warm 2D platforming adventure Hey! Pikmin. However, fear not as the core franchise has not been forgotten. In fact, this past E3 2017, Miyamoto has reconfirmed that the next installment is under development and is progressing. What new ideas will be brought into this next entry? Personally, I would find it interesting if we could explore and discover the terrors and wonders of the night that we always run from. Whatever may come, it may be worth dusting off these older Pikmin games while you wait. After all, as the game design encourages and challenges, you may find new and improved ways to excel and perform in this lively and unique world.
Fun Fact: In Pikmin 2, if your leader has 20 of each type of Pikmin with him, the Pikmin will begin singing / humming while following your leader. The song they sing is in fact called Ai no Uta, which is a song used in a Japanese commercial for the first game. By great surprise, this single for the commercial became so popular in Japan, it actually outsold the game itself.
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