This game is so good I had to do a review of my own for it. The Wii U has finally received a worth while game. The Wii U has been getting slammed lately for it’s lack of 1st party games, or any good games for that matter, but games like Pikmin 3 certainly make the wait worth while. Hopefully this is the start of a very good out pour of games from Nintendo.
The Pikmin series has always been a very interesting series, the original game came in the form of a Mario tech demo idea. It started off with the tech demo at Space world 2000. The demo was to show the processing power of the Gamecube, The demo was called Mario 128. The demo had 128 Mario’s walking around and dismantling a Mario sprite made of blocks and carrying the individual pieces around. The demo was originally made to show that the Gamecube is powerful enough to support many AI sprites at once. Eventually, Miyamoto asked his team to create a game nothing like Mario and we got this series.
The first thing to do is figure out if you’re going to play with the Gamepad, Pro controller or the Wii Remote. I gave all of them a try, even though the great feature about the Gamepad is that you have a complete map right in front of you and of course you can play directly of the Wii U Gamepad away from the TV screen, what it lacks though is flexibility. Example, with the Wii U Gamepad you must stand still and take aim and the launch a Pikmin. This can be a very helpful gesture for those intense moments. With the Wii remote you can shoot and run and have the Gamepad on the side for as your map, the stand that came with the Wii U comes in handy here.
The game is similar to the predecessors with a small twist. Instead of collecting valuable items you are presented with a task of collecting food for a starving planet. 3 space pilots, Alph, Britanny and Charlie, set out to the planet to collect the food. when they arrive, the ship goes through some issues and the pilots are separated, thus we are tasked with getting everyone back together. We then are introduced with the different colored Pikmin one color at a time.
Each colored Pikmin represents a different ability. example, the Red Pikmin are able ti withstand fire, Yellow are able to stand a electricity and one new Pikmin introduced is the Rock Pikmin, able to take down glass walls. There is many more different colored Pikmin not mentioned that you discover as you progress through the game. Aside from the different colors all Pikmin are able to attack other creatures that can then be taken back to their pod or “Onion”. the Pikmin are “born” from the Onion as the other creatures or pellets that show a number are introduced to the Onion. Pikmin are all stored in the Onion when night tie falls in order to escape the night time predators.
The game is created to present you with puzzles and give you a sense of accomplishment once you solve a puzzle within a certain time limit. You are free to visit the same stage various times to make sure you get all the food sources from the stage. The Pikmin are there to help you accomplish this. The stages all have some sort of boss. The bosses all come with an extreme challenge. Previous players of the series will NOT be disappointed.
The game does a great job of taking a new player through the controls, it makes the new and experienced player to the series feel welcomed. The game has a series of Data cards left over from the previous planets visitor, Captain Olimar. He leaves instructions for other visitors so that they know how to use the Pikmin.
The scenery and the music in this great is outstanding! It really does a great job of catching the correct lights and colors in the correct and appropriate times and areas. The music from Pikmin has always been great and this new installment doesn’t disappoint.
I really wish this game was a launch game, i believe that the game and the system would have been very successful if this would have been a launch title. Alas, that never happened, but with time comes rewards and i feel that this game was a huge reward for my patience. Overall if you own a Wii U and haven’t played or purchased this game, I have one question for you… What’s wrong with you! Pick it up! Also, if you want to follow my adventure of Pikmin 3 please feel free to check out this Let’s Play! Also above is the first episode, segment hosted by yours truly!