Pikmin (2001)

Note: This is for the Switch remaster version of 1 included in Pikmin 1+2.

Pikmin is a game that can be tough to get into - time limit pressure, fighting with subpar AI, etc. However, putting some time into planning and exploration really highlights the lovely atmosphere and quality elements of this first foray on an undiscovered planet.

The player is Captain Olimar, a shipping company employee stranded on an undiscovered planet after a meteorite hits his ship. Taking advantage of ordering around a mysterious (and adorable) species called Pikmin he must find the parts of his ship before time runs out. Each day lasts a little longer than 13 minutes, initially putting the player in a very rushed position to figure out what to do, how to build up units, and where to go but thankfully 30 days is a long enough time to get things done once the player has a strategy in mind.

That's where the hard part comes in. Pikmin is a VERY repetitive game in that regard, encouraging a lot of exploration and retrying days and figuring out where to go and what to do. Pikmin can be found in little ships called onions, and each day consists of having them go out and bring things back to the onions and ships to build troops and help Olimar get off the planet. They can be called in a group and separated based on their different color/type, as well as directed and thrown at enemies. However, they are easily caught on corners, can fall off of bridges/drown easily, trip, and get distracted by minor obstacles. The balance between precise strategy and Pikmin idiocy is a very difficult one, and is the game's largest flaw.

That said, a well constructed plan and patience over days can help out big time. Luring enemies away from Pikmin carrying a specialized part, transforming Pikmin in flowers to get swimming Pikmin to be able to be tossed up to higher spaces, and the awkward balance of combat that might need a bit of cheesing here and there. Thankfully combat is not a super necessary part of Pikmin, but the amount of resources and clearing an area to farm those into Pikmin can help prepare for battles ahead, as well as some secrets to help bump those troops up.

The atmosphere and charming little creatures of this world might be the biggest draw of Pikmin. Blending realistic, larger than life nature with cute toy-like designs for rocket parts and creatures. The cute little beeps of each Pikmin and their little scrambling behaviors almost make up for their extreme ineptitude. The music is mixes of cute orchestral and synthesized sounds to feel light, airy, and adventurous.

Pikmin 1 is a bold experiment in strategic gameplay, a swing that might be rough to appreciate in spots (there are days you want all your Pikmin to drown out of frustration) but one that can inevitably be improved upon by later entries in the series. I'm excited to see what lies ahead in the next Pikmin!

Recently, I decided to try and beat all four mainline Pikmin games from start to finish, so let's talk about them all.

First of all, it's Pikmin 1. This was the first game I finished, and I had a lot of fun playing through it! It's probably the simplest one out of them all, but probably also the most consistent. I'm not exagerating when I say I don't think I've ever seen a game with a tighter design. The developers had a very specific idea in mind, using this new hardware to control many little creatures at once, and they expertly crafted an entire world all around it. It's just an absolute blast to play through.

The story's quite simple. You play as Olimar, the space equivalent of a truck driver in the far future, who has become stranded on Earth after a meteor destroyed his ship while making a delivery. While stuck here, you'll find the Pikmin, tiny little plant creatures that just love carrying stuff. It's up to you to command all of the Pikmin and rebuild the ship together, and you better be quick because Olimar's Life-support system will only last him for 30 more days.

While there's not much else to this plot, it's still probably the Pikmin game with the strongest writing just because of how much it does with the little dialog it has. Olimar has a description for every ship part, and will share his thought at the end of every day, and uses these snippets to expertly convey the character's background and emotions to the player. All he wants is to see his family, and you really start to feel bad for him towards the end.

This game is Nintendo's take on an RTS, where the core principles of the genre are there, but Nintendo decides to throw some wacky gimmicks into the game to make it stand out. In Pikmin's case, the gimmick is Captain Olimar, who acts as the player character and has to personally command all the pikmin near him. You don't get to build structures, and command your units as an omnipotent commander, you have to personally walk up to the structures, take your pikmin out, and hold their hand until you both get to the enemy you want to attack. It's a very unique interpretation of the genre, and it works wonderfully and perfectly fits the story being told.

As a game, Pikmin 1 is all about management and optimization. You have a finite amount of time to rebuild the ship, and while it might seem stressful at first, there's a fair amount of leeway to repairing your ship to the point where you don't even have to kill the final boss to win. The game introduces this very difficult task and simply asks you to do your best, giving you all the tools you need to finish the job. And once you're finally done with the game? It shows you a screen with your performance for the playthrough. Almost like it's saying "Well done! Let's do better now, ok?". I've seen many people criticize its short length, but I think this is part of the charm, and serves to encourage all players to try a second playthrough of the game.

Pikmin 4 would later introduce the concept of Dandori, which is the art of preparing for a task and executing it in an effective maner. But honestly, Dandori has always been the philosophy for all Pikmin games, including the first one. The game wants you to optimize your route. It wants you to try and get as many ship parts as possible in one day. It wants you to think of the best composition to fight the enemies. But most importantly, it makes all of these tasks fun and entertaining, and even when the game throws a curveball at you and wipes out all your pikmin, you still want to come back and finish the job, because it's fun.

Pikmin 1 does have a few problems, though, and they all come from its gameplay. Nintendo took a huge risk structuring an RTS in this way, and while it's not unplayable or anything, the controls can be very clunky at times. Some of the button choices for your moves are very hard to perform, and your pointer controls will either be great or terrible, and it entirely depends on the version you're playing.

The Dandori aspect also takes a big hit. Try as you might, you just can't be as efficient as you truly want to with the tools Pikmin 1 gives you. Later entries would introduce map commands and multiple captains to alleviate this issue and make optimization easier, but for the time being, it's just not possible. But maybe a remake of this game could fix this issue cough cough foreshadowing!!!

Finally, the presentation. It's good! I don't think the graphics stand out that much nowadays, as the environments just look kinda boring with their mute colors and uninspired themes. However, the developers made up for it by giving us great character and creature designs, all of them being bright and full of personality, as well as an incredibly iconic soundtrack. I've loved Ai no Uta for as long as I can remember and it's not even in the game, that's how good the music is.

IN CONCLUSION: I love this game. It's an incredibly fun game with an equally incredible design, and a game unlike anything i've ever played before. I think the best way to describle this game is smooth, as every single aspect of it flows into the next, making it a blast to follow along until the end, and right when you finish the game you just want to play it over and over again, just to raise your high score. It's so good.

After playing the entire Pikmin franchise, I have to admit that this game is not the best. It has a lot of similarities with Pikmin 3, and objectively speaking, the latter is the better game. But for some reason I just don't find myself missing 3 as much. Sure, this game is not flawless, but a lot of its shortcomings can be attributed to its old age and Nintendo experimenting with the genre, and when I think about the franchise as a whole, this is the one I want to replay the most. 9/10

(Played on Switch via Pikmin 1+2)

Pikmin is an incredibly unique, tightly-designed, and satisfying game.

• Absolutely nails the "dandori" concept. It's designed elegantly and is a complete experience, with virtually no extraneous elements.
• Becoming more efficient within the time limit of a day is addicting and satisfying.
• It is the perfect length. After 1 play-through, I wanted to (and did!) immediately play again using the skills that I learned.
• Punishing, often to hilarious effect, but if you push through it allows you to recover and continue.
• Incredible vibe, graphics have aged very well, has all the Nintendo polish.
• The AI is a little too dumb. Not a huge problem, but I wouldn't attempt a no-death run.
• I love my stupid children.

Pikmin is a creative little Nintendo title from 2001, which I would most broadly describe as a real-time strategy game with puzzle elements. I did not play the original Pikmin when it released, and my introduction to the series would actually be Pikmin 2 a few years later. However, I did get a chance to play this game when it was released on the Wii, and enjoyed it quite a bit. I still find it to be a treat to this day, even though the years have not been kind to its simplistic nature in comparison to its sequels.

Even more than an RTS/Puzzle hybrid, Pikmin is a time and resource management title. You play as Captain Olimar, who has crash-landed on a strange planet and has only 30 days until his life support systems fail. There are 30 ship parts scattered across the game's levels, and you have to find and return them to your ship before the time runs out. At your disposal are the titular friendly plant-like aliens, which help you by fighting enemies, overcoming obstacles and carrying objectives back to your ship.

While I've seen some people describe the 30-day limit as stressful, it's honestly quite a generous window of time to complete all of the game's objectives. Pikmin is quite an easy game in general, which is one of my biggest knocks against the title. While the concept is truly inventive, it doesn't really challenge you at all until its very brief final level. Pikmin is quite a short game as well, and it can be completed in 5 to 6 hours if you're being relatively efficient.

Pikmin's sequels would push the concept forward into much more interesting directions, but the first Pikmin is not a bad title on its own either. I enjoyed it as a delightful appetizer that eased my way into the more challenging Pikmin 2, which I'm playing right now. I'm playing these games as part of the Pikmin 1+2 Switch port, so let's address that too.

This is a very barebones Switch port that doesn't touch up the game at all, other than bumping up the resolution to HD. I was honestly surprised to see how poor the environments look in the first Pikmin, mostly due to low resolution textures and a lack of variety in its environments. Most aggravatingly to me, this remaster does not include the pointer controls that made the Wii version of the games feel like such an upgrade. There are some basic motion controls, but it feels like a less satisfying halfway point. It bums me out, and I wish they would have done something, anything to improve the experience.

It's especially disappointing when compared to the high-quality remaster that Metroid Prime got this year. This collection is a good option if you want a physical copy of the games to add to your collection, but otherwise it's pretty hard to recommend over emulating, or playing the Wii version with its better controls. All that said, Pikmin is not a bad game at all. Despite being so easy, or perhaps because of its simplicity, I find it to be such a relaxing and friendly title that serves as a perfect gateway into the series.

I beat the game in 23 days on my first try on the GameCube version

Then I did it in 14 days on the wii...

This is to say, get the wii version, it's peakmin

I won't review this because it's not a reviewable game by my standards, similar to rayman origins, it's about how you experience it, you can't really review specific aspects since they're so dependent on how much you give to the game.

But if I had to rank the pikgames so far: Pik3>pik1>pik4

Just pik2 left... Oh boy

I tried to play the remaster on the Switch because I've never played the OG. I was doing a'ight, but then I lead like 20 of my Pikmin in a pool of water and they all drowned. And then a bunch got eaten. And this was just the second level.

I don't know if I can handle all these pikmin deaths. :(

I played this game a ton as a kid, but I finally beat it for the first time on Switch. It still holds up pretty well, but it was a bit tough getting readjusted to the controls and mechanics after playing 2 and 3. It was definitely still worth replaying.
Pros

• Super satisfying problem solving and managing time and resources.

• There’s only 3 types of pikmin which are pretty unbalanced. Yellows are so rarely required they are almost pointless.
• I really wish there was a lock on mechanic. It was tough throwing the pikmin exactly where I wanted to, especially when throwing them at small flying enemies.
• The Pikmin AI isn’t great. That’s kind of the point of the game, but it was frustrating they were almost useless without intervention. Like being smarter about dropping/throwing bombs and not standing around watching their friends get attacked and waiting for their turn.
• There aren’t a lot of levels so the game feels pretty short, although this does make for a game where you can try to improve for optimal playtime.

I had only ever played Pikmin 3 before this release. And so I was excited to get the Switch re-release and to be able to play it. It is clearly just a port, not a remaster - it's widescreen, but the graphics are clearly not upgraded. I can't speak to the control differences.

Pikmin is a charming game that throws you in and lets you learn. And for the most part, it's straightforward to figure out what you need to - bosses and tough enemies generally are able to be beaten somewhat straightforwardly, and you can usually trial and error. But on those occasions when you cannot, for the life of you, figure out what to do. And suddenly, the difficulty spikes as you're watching your Pikmin get mercilessly wiped out by a tough boss. Everything has a solution you can figure out, but it can be quite difficult. (To say nothing of the incredibly non-intuitive puzzle in the final level to clear a box blocking you)

I think that it's a basic game, one which was clearly improved upon in the future games, but it is also solid. The game only takes around 8 hours or so to beat, so value for money is maybe a bit lacking - $30 for the Switch re-release is probably a bit overpriced for the game, but the P1+P2 bundle seems more reasonable.

I remember watching an early E3 trailer of Pikmin and instantly feeling like I needed to play this game. So I did. I love the simple introduction to gameplay mechanics and enemies in the game. You are rewarded for your willingness to explore, as well as trial and error, but with restraint.

Learning patterns of enemies and environmental hazards is fun while teaching you the game, as you can fail many times and start over, or you can go about restoring your crashed space ship slow and methodically, like I did. Looking at Pikmin today, it's kind of short and wouldn't necessarily stand out, but in the early millennia this was a great little title for GameCube owners, that I'm sure most people who played it remember very fondly. I know I do.

Pikmin 2 and 3 are among my most favourite games. I was waiting to play the original to complete the set and was already expecting a shorter and less refined experience but what I found was not entirely what I envisioned.

This was the shortest and my least favorite of the three Pikmin games. Not only is the level design and overall concept not as developed as it's successors but it also lacks a significant amount of content compared to the rest. The game is also significantly harder which can be a welcome challenge for veteran Pikmin players like myself but most of the game's difficulty comes from the Pikmin's frustrating and godawful AI as well as some questionable placement of ship parts and enemies. The first Pikmin is hard to recommend over the sequels which are almost flawless in my opinion. Pikmin still has the addictive puzzle-strategy gameplay loop that makes the games worthwhile in the first place but coming back to it after playing those newer games makes the first seem bare in comparison.

If you must play it, I would recommend the Wii version since the Gamecube controls are not ideal for precise aiming. Pikmin has many flaws but overall remains a good game and a Gamecube classic.

I had spent 6.5 hours with Pikmin on the Wii and enjoyed it much less than I hoped ...

Pro:

• interesting mix of realistic textures and cartoony models
• good use of the Wii Remote

Contra:

• irritating pathfinding of the Pikmin (e.g.: they tend to take much longer ways)
• bugs (e.g.: Pikmin or objects get stuck pretty often in environmental models - even with small groups)
• long waiting times

I got this game recommended from several friends, but I guess it is just not for me although I'm a very patient player in general.

I actually wrote a much longer review but lost it to clumsy laptop touchpad presses and the terrible back and forward buttons in chrome. ;_;

When Pikmin first came out, I was quite taken with the adorable little Pikmin. The way they moved around, the adorable little noises they made as they carried out their actions. I was pretty smitten. But I ran out of steam around the 5th day of the game (the game consists of 30 days, each day a 10 minute interval allowing you to explore and complete tasks in an area). Going back to it about 14 years later, the game still holds up pretty well.

The game starts you off as Captain Olimar. Your ship has crash landed on an alien planet and it is up to you to salvage the parts scattered along the planet's surface to rebuild your ship. As you explore the planet you find these adorable carrot/mandrake shaped creatures and decide to call them Pikmin (after a brand of carrots on your homeworld). The Pikmin follow you around like a paternal figure, and obey your commands. They seem to want to help you in your quest to find the parts of your ship.

Pikmin are pretty adorable. Like chibi people or something. They are either red, yellow, or blue, and have a leaf on their 1 antenna which blooms into a flower when they are fully developed. Pikmin develop by eating nutrients found on the planet. Red Pikmin are fireproof and are somewhat stronger, while yellow Pikmin are lighter and can carry bombs. Blue Pikmin have the ability to swim. Utilizing these different characteristics of the Pikmin are the meat of this game. You spend most of your time trying to figure out how to get a bridge built, break down a stone wall, or climb to a ledge in order to get to a ship part just out of reach. So the game is setup like a RTS puzzler.

The ending is pretty cute. After you find all the parts of the ship, you turn and wave goodbye to all your little Pikmin. They turn their heads like puppies, trying to figure out what you are meaning to do with your hand wave. With a sigh of frustration, your character Captain Olimar boards the ship and flies away. Your Pikmin get along with your departure by rushing to attack the first Spotted Bug-eyed thing they see. As you leave the planet, the little onion ships that the Pikmin sprout from follow you.

It is a fun romp, but kinda short. You can finish the game in 9 days if you're well coordinated. That's 9, 10 minute intervals. You can even challenge yourself to try and not lose any Pikmin along the way, a very difficult task that is entirely possible. The game keeps track of all the Pikmin you grow, and all the ones you lose in battle or from the environment. You aren't penalized for any of this other than no longer having those Pikmin, and you always want to have a good supply of them for when you need them.

I would recommend this game to anyone who is interested in puzzle games. It is fun, cute, and pretty short. You can take your sweet time as I did. I finished the game in 21 days. After you beat the game you also unlock Challenge Mode, which allows you to replay any of the areas and try to grow as many Pikmin as you can in a day. I didn't play this mode at all.

So I've been playing through Pikmin. Trying to keep my days productive. You only have 30 days to find all the pieces of the ship to put it back together again. This game has been around for awhile, and honestly it is kind of strange to have Olimar in the Smash games. I didn't think Nintendo was so proud of Olimar.

I just defeated this giant bird thing that pops up from the ground. The first three spots are all clear, so I'm halfway done with 16/30 ship pieces. The pikmin make adorable sounds, and my gf likes watching me play. You kinda have to detach from them otherwise you cant make Ender's Game decisions about whether they ought to live or die.

The two blue circles at the top were little puddles. I had a hard time getting my pikmin to cross the bridge without falling into the puddles. Sure I could have brought blue pikmin only(they can swim), but the red ones are so much stronger than the blue ones.

MS Paint screenshot, cause thats how we roll now ;V