Tag: Pikmin

Pikmin 3 – Rock Pikmin & Brittany

It’s day 3 in the world of Pikmin 3, and I blasted off to the Garden of Hope. Playing as Alph, I walked past an electric fence I can’t get past yet. I only have red Pikmin at this point; they’re immune to fire, but not electricity. I soon found where my fellow space explorer Brittany was trapped, but I couldn’t reach her due to a crystal wall in the way. I had no choice but to continue exploring.

I soon came across a strange flying creature that appeared to have something inside of it. I threw my red Pikmin up at it, eventually defeating it. Its contents fell out…they’re rock Pikmin! They’re strong and heavy enough to break through crystal. So I returned to where Brittany was trapped and used the rock Pikmin to break through and free her.

p3-crystalWith Brittany free, I was now able to split up into separate groups. By having Alph throw Brittany and some Pikmin onto a ledge, she was in turn able to throw Pikmin up even higher to reach a lemon. Us aliens really like the fruit juice, you see. To advance further, I needed my Pikmin to assemble a bridge. Some of the pieces were in plain sight, while others were trapped inside a crystal. Naturally, I needed to use rock Pikmin to break through the crystal to reach them. After the bridge was assembled, I then came across some enemies that spew fire. I knew I had to bring only my red Pikmin into this battle.

p3-fireAfter that, I spotted some new pieces that needed to be assembled to make another bridge. Unfortunately, the day was starting to come to a close, so I had to round up all my Pikmin before the sun went down.

I am slowly getting accustomed to the controls and I’m having a lot of fun with the game. Next time, I need to give it a longer play session. But for now, here is a gameplay video showing most of today’s action:

Pikmin 3

It’s been nine long years since Pikmin 2 was released, and finally, Pikmin fans have a new game to play. Pikmin 3 has just been released for Wii U and I picked it up today. Once I put the disc in, it downloads and installs an update. That took several minutes, and then I started watching the opening sequence. The first thing that struck me is that the characters speak gibberish. Is Nintendo still stuck in the days of Banjo-Kazooie on N64? Maybe it’s just me, but I’d prefer actual language over “Arry, arry? Oo too roo umplin, wah wah.”

Pikmin 3 - Charlie screenshotAnyway, you start out as Captain Charlie. Your team has three characters, but all three begin the game in separate locations after a crash landing. Charlie stumbles onto yellow Pikmin very early on. You make your way through a snowy area, using Pikmin to clear away mushrooms that block your path.

p3-yellowAfter Charlie reaches a certain point, you switch to controlling Alph instead. He finds red Pikmin at his location. Much as in earlier games, you will order the Pikmin to build bridges, destroy walls, push boxes, and defeat enemies. And when need be, run for your life.

p3-redYou can control the game with a Wii remote and nunchuk, or you can use the Wii U gamepad. So far, I’ve only tried it with the gamepad. It seemed like gamepad controls would be most similiar to the controls of the original GameCube games, which used two sticks. Unfortunately, Nintendo hasn’t tried to keep the same control scheme. I’m used to pressing B to whistle for Pikmin, and now I have to use ZR. And the right stick is not used for directing the Pikmin like it was in the GameCube games, so the controls are going to take me a while to get used to. So far, I haven’t seen an option to customize the gamepad controls.

But controls aside, I am enjoying the game so far. I’ve only played two “days” of gameplay, and the first day is just a tutorial, so I’ve barely scratched the surface.  I’m looking forward to delving deeper into the game in the weeks ahead. I’ll be sure to update my progress from time to time, so be sure to check back!

Pikmin

With Pikmin 3 coming up for Wii U this summer, I thought it would be a good time to go back and play some of the original Pikmin on Nintendo GameCube.

I started up a new game and I took control of Captain Olimar. After crash landing on a strange planet, he conveniently finds an “Onion” full of plant-like creatures named Pikmin that seemingly exist only to help him. By commanding these Pikmin and assigning them to various tasks, Olimar must recover the missing pieces of his spaceship within 30 days. Of course there are enemies to fight, abilities to learn, and puzzles to solve along the way.

Pikmin screenshot (original GameCube game)You start the game just with red Pikmin, but you’ll soon discover yellow and blue Pikmin as well. The red Pikmin are fireproof, which are particularly useful against fire-breathing enemies. The yellow Pikmin are lighter, which allows Olimar to throw them to higher locations that other Pikmin can’t reach. They can also use explosive rocks (bombs essentially) to break down particularly strong walls. The blue Pikmin have the ability to walk through water, which is extremely useful in some worlds.

Pikmin screenshot (original GameCube game)Even today, the game is just as fun and addictive as it was years ago. The pleasant surroundings and peaceful music make the world of Pikmin a good place to escape to. And it’s also amusing to see the little Pikmin all working together to carry a large enemy back to their ship. Here’s a gameplay video showing a few minutes of gameplay: