PixlBit

Number 21

Pikmin was a new IP from Nintendo when the Gamecube came out. It’s probably one of the more stranger games Nintendo has ever made. The game is a real time strategy game that has a gardening theme to it with the point of the game being survival and escape. The game was a hit that Nintendo made a sequel that brought a lot of new features, fixed problems the original game had, and packed a lot of content. While the previous game was about survival and escape, this one was about collecting as much as you can.

In the first game Captain Olimar accidentally crashes on the planet the game takes place in, but we’ll call it Earth because that’s what it looks like. Olimar’s ship was damaged during the crash and a lot of the ships important components were scattered around the planet. You had 30 days to retrieve all the parts in order to escape, if not Olimar’s suit will fail in 30 days and he’ll die from oxygen poisoning. That game had 3 different endings depending on how much parts you managed to collect.

Pikmin 2 has Olimar return to his home planet Hocotate. Upon his return, he learns that the company he works for, Hocotate Freight is in serious debt. The president of the company then learns that a souveneir Olimar brought back was worth a lot. The president of the company then sends Olimar and newcomer Louie (whose to blame for the companie’s debt) back to the Distant Planet to collect treasure to pay off the debt. And thus Pikmin 2 begins.

 

         
I’ve played all 3 Pikmin games but 2 is clearly my favorite of the bunch. The game fixed some of the things that annoyed people, the most important one being the 30 day time limit from the first game. This gives you more freedom to explore areas and enjoy the game. Sure, you got a mission to do but you can work to it at your own pace. A new addition to the game is Louie.

In the first game, you could only do so much in a day, you had to really manage your time wisely and plan ahead. Often you were either collecting a new part or fighting enemies so you had to choose which to do first or which to avoid. Aside from that you had to make sure enemies didn’t eat your Pikmin while delivering a part to the ship. It was difficult, but now you can multitask better with Louie at your side. You can either collect treasure with Olimar and fight enemies with Louie or vice-versa. It’s also a useful thing since any Pikmin with either Olimar or Louie don’t get left behind at the end of the day. Yes, any Pikmin left behind at the end of the day get’s eaten by Earth’s predatory creatures.

              

New things added to the games are new Pikmin types called White Pikmin and Purple Pikmin. White Pikmin can survive in poison and find buried treasure. They are also the fastest Pikmin. The Purple Pikmin are the strongest, and they take less Pikmin to carry things. Let’s say a treasure takes 10 Pikmin to carry, instead of using 10 red Pikmin, you only need one Purple Pikmin to carry it. They are the slowest of the bunch but they are also the strongest with a chance of making an enemy flinch. These Pikmin are pretty rare and only appear in certain areas which I'll talk about in a bit. So you have to be careful not to lose too much.

                    

One of the new things they added and probably my favorite are grottoes, which are underground dungeons with multiple floors. Time doesn’t pass in these dungeons. You see, in the Pikmin games, there is a day and night cycle, and you have from morning to sunset to complete tasks. You have to use that time to get things done, you only have till sunset, so you have to manage your time efficiently. Well that time get’s thrown out the window inside a grotto. You’ll be spending most of your time inside. The time it takes to complete one varies, it could take you from 15 minutes to almost 2-3 hours, or even a week if you play it in short bursts. Yes they are that long. But what’s in them? Treasure. Treasure and enemies. Strong enemies.

At the end of each grotto lies a boss, you’ll have to be ready because the bosses in grottoes are unlike anything you’ve seen in the game. If you defeat a boss, you get a new upgrade for Olimar and Louie. They range from new suits to withstand elemental attacks and hazards to a longer range whistle and more. Also there's a special Pikmin type in grottoes called Bulbmin which are Pikmin that look like a Chappy (Bulborb in America) and they can survive any elemental attack. Thing is once you complete a grotto you can't take them with you.

             

The grotto designs are rather interesting. They could range from your generic underground theme to some that are bizarre. Like you could be in a garden with sunlight, or a playroom, or more. Yes, all of this in an underground grotto. Also, before you enter a grotto, it shows up what Pikmin are recommended to take with you, so it warns you before you enter. One of my favorites is where you’re only allowed to bring Blue Pikmin. You enter it thinking it’s a normal grotto, then suddenly this thing drops down from the ceiling and it’s this enemy that travels in something that looks like they pulled out from the Flintstones. And this chases you through the whole grotto on every floor and you can’t attack it. And you have to pick up treasure while it’s on your tail. It’s like a game of survival with your only options are run and reach the end of the floor to move on to the next floor, or tough it out and collect everything while trying to survive. One thing I also would like to point out is that this is one of the few Nintendo games that has items from the real world, like Duracell batteries to Snapple bottlecaps. Interesting but further proving that you're on Earth.

              

At the end of each day, you see your results from the day. It shows you all the treasure you collected and how much money you need to pay off the debt. You also get messages from the president of Hocotate Freight congradulating you for the progress you've made. You also get messages from Olimar's children or Luioe's grandma. You also see all the Pikmin you've gained or lost in the day. Afterwards you go back to the map select screen and you can do a few things before you decide to head back to a location. You can see the enemies you've defeated and a description of them by Olimar and/or Louie as well as treasure descriptions by the ship. Although Louie just talks about ways to cook and eat the enemies.

There’s also a challenge mode for 2 players that you could unlock after you find a certain item in the main mode. Challenges involve collecting treasure in a certain amount of time, to defeating enemies with preset number of Pikmin. It’s fun but wish the main story had a 2-player mode since it makes a lot of sense.

That aside, it’s my favorite in the series. It’s fun, it’s challenging, it isn’t afraid to throw something new at you, and most important of all, no 30 day time limit. You can play this at your own pace. You wont get penalized for taking too long which is nice. It’s one of Nintendo’s most interesting games, and it’s worth a play. Besides, Hocotate Freight needs all the help it can get to get out of debt.

           

So, have you ever played Pikmin 2? Have you ever played any of the Pikmin games? Thanks for reading and later.