This Pikmin review is of the “New Play Control! – Pikmin” Wii game.
Pikmin, along with New Play Control: Mario Power Tennis, are the first two games in the “New Play Control!” line of GameCube classics that have been updated to use the Wii’s unique control scheme. As such, the GameCube controller is incompatible with New Play Control: Pikmin. You now control the game by using the Wii Remote to point at the screen (which will move around the cursor) and using the Control Stick on the Nunchuck to move the game’s hero, Captain Olimar (who you may recognize from Super Smash Bros. Brawl), around the environment.
Pikmin was one of several new properties that Nintendo thought up during the Nintendo 64 to GameCube transition era, along with games such as Animal Crossing (a late N64 title that was ported to the GameCube for its American release).
Pikmin was the idea of Nintendo mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto (Shiggy for short), the creator of Mario, Zelda, Nintendogs, Donkey Kong, Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Wii Music and even the Wii Remote & Nunchuck controller. The story goes that Miyamoto came upon the idea of Pikmin while gardening, where he spotted some ants and watched how they worked as a group to pick up and carry heavy objects and take down prey by sheer numbers alone (okay I may be embellishing a little). And thus Pikmin were born! (Apparently named after Shiggy’s dog, Pikku).
So how does a GameCube game released in 2001 but upgraded to make use of the Wii’s controls hold up in 2009?
System: Wii
Also On: GameCube
Wii Release – USA April 30, 2002 – EUR September 13, 2002 – JAP December 25, 2008
GameCube Release – USA December 2, 2001 – EUR June 14, 2002 – JAP October 26, 2001
Genre: Strategy
Players: One Player
Controller: Wii Remote & Nunchuck only. Nunchuck required to play.
Save: 31 Blocks. 3 Save Files. Game saves after the completion of every day.
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Origin: Japan
Rated: E for Everyone (Contains Mild Violence)
Discs: 1 Disc (It’s worth noting that New Play Control: Pikmin has a two-sided cover. Slide your fingers under the plastic covering the box to pull out the paper cover and reverse it for a different cover.)
Pikmin starts off when the game’s protagonist, Captain Olimar, is flying through space in his spaceship (on his vacation) and has a collision with a comet. Careening out of control he crash lands on a strange, alien planet; The pieces of his ship flying to various parts of the unexplored world.
Before too long he comes across a tiny plant like creature that he pulls from the ground and names “Pikmin” after a certain “pik pik” carrot food that he enjoys back home (and which the Pikmin are apparently shaped like). In Pikmin you must use these strange creatures to make it back to your home planet.
The Pikmin are a cross between plants and animals and behave much like ants. They start out as a seed that grows in the ground and will sprout soon after being expelled from an “Onion”, a strange “Pikmin ship” that produces more Pikmin of the same color when it is fed Pikmin Pellet’s or enemies. A Pikmin that has just sprouted will be a Leaf Pikmin. Pikmin will stay as seeds in the ground until they have sprouted and you have pulled them up from the ground, however. Once pulled the Pikmin act as if they are your children, like a chick they will follow Captain Olimar around as if he was their parent, and will do his every bidding.
Thankfully the Pikmin are eager to help him in this endeavor. To control the Pikmin you can call them with a whistle. This is accomplished by using the Wii Remote to point at the screen which moves the cursor around. You can then press the B Button on the Wii Remote with the cursor hovering over Pikmin to call them to you. Holding the B Button longer will select more Pikmin as the cursor expands into a larger circle.
You use the A Button to throw Pikmin, which has to be done individually (yes, one at at time). Although pressing the button really fast will allow you to throw Pikmin quicker. By throwing Pikmin they will automatically do whatever task is set before them.
Those are the primary controls in the game, but there are also a few other tools in your arsenal. Pressing the Directional Pad (D-Pad) in various directions will zoom in or out (Left and Right) so you can see more of the playfield (or less, if you like things bigger) or will give you an overhead perspective by pressing Up. Pressing the Minus Button brings up the Start Menu (allowing you to change Options or Go to Sundown) while pressing the Plus Button brings up the Information Screen.
On the Information screen you can view how many Pikmin you have acquired as well as a break down by color, see the total amount of Pikmin you have, view how many ship pieces you have acquired and see a map of the area, as well as where Ship Pieces are located (represented as a Star on your map) once you have acquired a certain Ship Piece.
You can press the Z Button on the Nunchuck to rotate the camera in the direction Olimar is facing and press the C Button on the Nunchuck to “disband” the Pikmin. This will separate them into different categories and relinquish your control from them. Which means they will stand idle (and turn a dim hue) and won’t move until you touch them (which causes them to get right behind you) or call them with the B Button.
There are five stages in Pikmin and each stage has a certain number of Ship Parts hidden within. The game is also divided into days. You have 30 Days to get 30 ship parts, which amounts to one ship part per day. However you don’t actually have to get all the ship parts to make it off the planet, only certain ones. Albeit, I don’t know what happens if you fail at this endeavor, I imagine the game just ends and you get Game Over. If you do know what happens please educate me by leaving a comment.
Before entering a level you will be on a the World Map Screen where you can see how many ship parts you have collected in each level (represented by Stars). You can also access diaries from previous days and view them at your leisure.
The basic flow of Pikmin is as follows. You will pick a level to land on and will want to immediately get to work because each level has a time gauge at the top of the screen. As you play the day will move from morning to night before play on that day ends and the day is over. So you want to get as much done in a single day as you can. Additionally, you will need to call all the Pikmin to you when time is up or you will lose them (except for Pikmin who are near Onions or your ship), this means that if you don’t hurry, you may have to stop mid-stride as you will lose the Pikmin when the time runs out if you haven’t called them to you.
When you start a level, Pikmin you have collected already will be inside their corresponding Onions. There are three varieties of Pikmin. They come in Red, Yellow and Blue. Red Pikmin are the best fighters and are also impervious to flames. Yellow Pikmin meanwhile are light weight and thus can be thrown further and higher. They also have the ability to pick up and carry bomb rocks which are required to blast certain walls until they crumble. Finally, Blue Pikmin, as you might expect, are able to survive in water where other Pikmin drown.
As you might expect, Flower Pikmin are faster and stronger than other Pikmin and will literally leave Leaf Pikmin in the dust. Leaving Pikmin in the ground when first sprouted by an Onion will allow them to suck the nutrients from the soil and eventually mature into leaves. But you can also find delicious nectar which the Pikmin will suck up in order to instantly be flower-ized.
In order to increase the number of Pikmin you have you will want to collect Pellets. You will find these just laying around on the ground or as flowers which must be broken down. The number displayed on a Pellet tells you how much it is worth, and thus how many Pikmin seeds will be sprouted when you harvest that pellet.
A Pellet can be harvested by throwing a certain number of Pikmin at the Pellet, at which point they will take it back to the base. Once sucked up by the Onion, said Onion will dispel a certain amount of seeds. You can then pluck the Pikmin from the ground to reinforce your troops. If you leave them in the ground they will also change types, although this can be done more easily by pulling up sap for the Pikmin to suck on which will change them instantly into Flowers.
Every object in the game requires a certain number of Pikmin to carry, with larger objects and later ship parts requiring a whole lot of Pikmin to carry. Alternatively to throwing Pikmin you can also command them with Down on the D-Pad which will cause them to go as a group to carry out their task.
Tasks include harvesting and plucking Pikmin, pulling grass to find sap, building bridges to cross gaps, breaking down walls, pushing obstacles, carrying items back to your ship, fighting enemies and searching for Ship Pieces (among a few other random things). As you find more Ship Pieces you’ll unlock additional levels to play. Once a level is opened you can play them in any order, one day at a time.
As you make your way through the game’s environments you will generally have to use the abilities of your Pikmin to navigate through them. For example you may have to build a bridge in order to cross a gap to get a Ship Piece. Or you may have to first throw Pikmin up onto a ledge and then find another way up so you can control them (since you can’t control them from afar). While I wouldn’t say the game contains puzzles per say, it does require some brain power in order to make your way through a stage and find all the Ship Pieces. And once you have found a Ship Piece, you will need to carry it back to your ship before you can acquire it. So you will need to make sure you have cleared the way back of enemies and obstacles.
Enemies will block your path on many occasions and come in a variety of forms from big to small. Each one also does something unique. Frog enemies will leap into the air and literally smash any Pikmin below, killing them instantly (heh heh heh), grub enemies will grab a Pikmin and carry him off to his doom, or eat him right then and there (heh heh heh), flying enemies will scoop up your Pikmin, fly them off and then throw them into the ground (where you’ll need to re-pluck them), bulbous enemies will eat entire groups of Pikmin in one gulp and so on and so forth.
Certain enemies can be taken down easily in a certain manner. For example the large bulbous enemies can be more easily taken out by throwing Pikmin at their back side (instead of their front, where, you know, their giant mouths are), some Pikmin are more susceptible to attacks at the legs or at another weak point. So there is also some strategy in plotting about how to attack an enemy. You’ll also need to be mindful of the enemies attacks, what type of Pikmin you have with you and your numbers. Never go into a fight, especially with a big enemy, unless you have enough troops.
And some enemies breath fire, for example, so you’ll want to make sure you only fight them with Red Pikmin. Flying enemies are harder to hit unless you have Yellow Pikmin, while many enemies are amphibious or water dwellers and must be attacked exclusively with Blue Pikmin.
Thankfully there is a pretty wide variety of enemies and you will see some cool new types as you make your way through the game (such as giant blowfish enemies that will literally blow of your Pikmin’s Flowers, regressing them into Buds or Leafs).
Additionally, you’ll have to fight some pretty massive boss enemies as well. These enemies will require a ton of Pikmin to take out and each have unique ways of taking them down. For example one boss enemy is a giant bird that’ll literally eat up your Pikmin by the mouthfuls! So you will want to do what you can do have the Pikmin follow you in order to get behind his beak and attack him from the rear.
It also helps to only throw a few Pikmin at a time and to call them back when the boss shakes them off or they fall. And it’s these type of encounters that really test your Pikmin mettle and will challenge you. The last boss fight in particular is a dozy and will take more Pikmin than you think you could possibly have to defeat.
The levels in Pikmin are enormous. Don’t be fooled by the first stage which is relatively small. Olimar is just like a Pikmin in the sense that you will feel like an ant when compared to the rest of the stage. And since your view is somewhat restricted it is also easy to get lost or lose your sense of direction back to your ship and Onions. Thankfully you will eventually gain a radar that will show you the locations of ship pieces and you can see where Pikmin are located on your map.
The levels are also varied enough between each other that each level feels unique, different and just as cool as the last. And levels will also introduce new elements into the fold that will make you have to be careful when exploring the new stages. And it’s not just new enemies but also new elements in the environments, such as waterholes that will shoot Olimar up to a ledge or fireholes that will shoot out flames. This makes the later levels much more dynamic as you will have many different elements from fire to water and will really have to make use of all your various Pikmin in order to find the Ship Pieces hidden within the level, many of which will be a long way away from your homebase (your Dolphin ship and Onions) with lots of hazards in between.
Pikmin is a very charming game, is very unique, and is also pretty fun. When you first play you will likely be charmed out of your seat by the super cute noises that the Pikmin make. It is the Pikmin’s own sound effects that goes a long way in making this game a fun and funny experience. You can’t help but to smile or feel a tinge of sorrow when a Pikmin is killed, especially as you see the little ghost effect of the Pikmin’s spirit drifting away and hear its last death cry. In this sense the game is PURE Nintendo and it’s almost like you can feel the hand of Miyamoto crafting the game.
There are also a lot of really cool touches that add a lot to the title. Whenever you discover something new or when you complete a stage you’ll get to read some text of Captain Olimar’s thoughts. These writings are very well written and really help to give this game’s little universe more depth. It also helps to build a somewhat emotional connection to Olimar as he starts talking about subjects outside of his Pikmin discoveries and the planet he’s on, and instead mentions his homeworld and even his own family, as he laments his situation and longs for home.
The journal entries even have little scribbles showing the various things he’s discovered and it is little touches like this that add a lot to the game. Sadly you can’t read the previous discovery notes (which he will make, for example, each time you discover a newly colored Pikmin or when you first see the Onions or when you discover a New Ship Piece) but you can re-read his end-of-the-day journal entries on the Information screen. I also forgot to mention that his remarks on the Ship Pieces are also great. Here’s an example followed by an example of a journal entry:
Gravity Jumper
This anti-gravity device allows the Dolphin to swim gracefully through the sea of stars like… a dolphin.
10 Days From Impact
Deep in the cave I discovered in the forest, I encountered Blue Pikmin. These blue fellows have something resembling gills on their cheeks, and they appear to be amphibious, surviving both in water and on land. The wonders of nature never cease to stun me, even in this alien land!
Graphically, Pikmin does not hold up well. Nor does it look horrible. It simply looks average. The once very detailed textures now look blurry. However the water effects in the game are still pretty amazing. And when you get into a large pool of water the graphics do still impress. Thankfully the game’s charm is as powerful as ever and the graphics still have a unique mixture of earth and space themes that is really interesting and cool.
In that vein, most of the music and sound effects in Pikmin are excellent. The music is really great and somehow perfectly matches what’s happening on-screen. I particularly love the Map Screen music. I don’t know how they nailed this “plant, earth and space” feel but it works very well and makes Pikmin a very unique sounding game. The voices of the Pikmin are also hilarious.
However the game CAN get very grating on the nerves and can also get very repetitive, and this is probably the game’s biggest shortcoming. Pikmin is best in short bursts and not long playthroughs because you are essentially doing the same thing every day in your search for the Ship Pieces and it wears thin after a while. And as cute and charming as the Pikmin and their cries are, they will also get somewhat annoying, especially when you need to pick a whole ton of them in a row (just keep jamming on the A Button and Olimar will move from one to the other when pulling them from the ground until they’re all pulled).
The music and sound effects can also get annoying. The music is generally great, but the loops are too short so after a while you will hear the same thing over and over. Likewise, the sound effects for the fireholes for example are insanely annoying and very loud, overpowering all other sounds to the point where I was jumping for the remote. I also have to say that I HATED the music of the last level, it almost drove me nuts. And once again, it was short so it kept looping as I was trying (and failing) to figure out what to do.
And that’s not the only issue with Pikmin. There are other things that grate on the nerves. One of the most annoying is when you are taking a group of Pikmin up a ramp, a lot of them will fall of the side of the ramp, making it so you have to either just leave them or dismiss the Pikmin you are leading in order to go back for the ones that fell off. I wish the AI was smart enough to not fall off ramps, it’d make the game less frustrating.
The New Wii Controls also feel really tacked on. Pikmin seems like it is a natural choice for the Wii due to the cursor that was previously controlled with the stick, and while that’s true, it didn’t make the transition as smoothly as I would’ve hoped. The biggest issue IMO is that there is no “lock-on” feature for the cursor. This is confusing when you first start playing as you will be overthrowing Pikmin. The key is to look at where the center of the cursor is and that’s where the Pikmin will land. But when fighting enemies for example, they should’ve added a way to lock-on to them.
It also can be hard to target some of the Pikmin at the bottom of the screen. Lastly, I was disappointed that there was not even an attempt at adding Motion Controls to the game. While I understand that it was not their intention and instead it was to simply re-release classic GameCube games on the Wii (a great idea as many gamers missed out on great titles like Pikmin), it still would’ve been cool if they could’ve added a flicking motion to throw Pikmin or say a “sweeping” motion that would call all the Pikmin too you. Ideas like that would’ve been welcome.
Overall Pikmin is a very interesting game although it is somewhat difficult for me to rate. I have to say that while Pikmin is “fun”, the fun can and does wear out and was often replaced with frustration. Oftentimes Pikmin wont’ go where you want them to, will fall of edges of the environment, and other annoying little things that while small, can add up to make your experience less enjoyable. So my recommendation is this. If you have not played Pikmin, then you definitely should pick it up or give it a rent if you are interested in seeing this type of game in action for yourself. It’s charming and has a really cool style that is unlike anything else. However, it is also very short.
While you can replay the game to try and beat it in a quicker time and with better “stats” (less Pikmin killed, more Pikmin harvested, etc.) this basically amounts to nothing more than a high-score competition, as there are no rewards. There is a Challenge Mode that is available once you’ve collected all three colors of Pikmin, but this also is simply a high-scoring challenge where the goal is to harvest as much Pikmin as you can in a single day. It’s only fun for a while but you probably will only play the challenge mode once, and the whole game once, and never really pick it up again except years down the road.
Thus, I must score Pikmin a bit lower than I would have liked. And especially if you have played Pikmin before, then you can totally skip this new entry as it has no new content. I had heard that there was an additional level added, but I did not encounter it in my playthrough. Overall, Pikmin is more charm and style than it is substance. It’s fun in short bursts, and is a great “play half an hour to an hour then stop” game. But it won’t do much for those hardcore gaming Wii owners out there. Except perhaps if you have never played the game and have no idea what to expect.
FUN FACTOR: 7.0
Pikmin is a very charming, interesting, and unique game that is fun in small doses but wears thin the longer you play it. Not recommended for marathon sessions.
Graphics: 6.5
The game doesn’t look all that great, with blurry textures. However the water effects have definitely held up and the game is as charming as ever. Which is what propels this game farther than most who would’ve lost due to the outdated graphics. This game can still win cause of its charm, particularly with youngsters and people of the female variety, who should adore it.
Music & Sound: 7.5
This game has great music for the most part (with the huge exception being the last stage, which would drive a terrorist to kill themselves if you locked them in a room with it) but the music isn’t long enough and thus constantly loops. The Pikmin sounds are hilarious and super cute, but like most of the game can also grate on the nerves after a while. Thankfully the noises they make are varied enough that it won’t bother you that often. I was impressed with the way the music somehow marries the themes of earth and plant (Pikmin, the planet and animals you are on) and space (Captain Olimar, the Map Screen, the Dolphin Ship and the Onions which fly when you leave the planet at the end of each day).
Ingenuity: 7.5
Pikmin is a really unique game. It is a strategy title but you can’t compare it to an RTS or many strategy games that you may know, it is its own unique beast. Which definitely works in its favor. However the so-called “New Play Controls” don’t add anything to the experience.
Replay Value: 5.0
Pikmin is the type of game that the average person will play through once to experience it, and will not play it again until years later if not ever. Maybe perhaps to show a friend or randomly one day for fun. The game is very short (you can probably beat it in 8 hours) and offers no unlockables. The Challenge Mode is really only fun for those who absolutely love the game and will have fun trying to beat their own Pikmin sprouting scores. But most people will probably play one of the Challenge Mode levels once and be done. You can try for higher stats with the main game but overall you are really just artificially extending the game’s life, as there is no reward for doing so.
