Pikmin 3 Review

   For my birthday this year, my grandmother pre-ordered Pikmin 3 for Wii U (thank you Meema), which I have been eagerly awaiting for several months. I was very excited for the game, especially because it came in the mail one day late, and I had the opportunity to read many reviews before it arrived at our house. When I first opened the game, I noticed the very amazing cover, which immediately sent my expectations soaring to their peak. As you turn on the game, you are treated to a fully narrated cutscene, showing what events that led up to your new adventure.

The premise of the game revolves around three explorers sent out from a starving planet called Koppai, to find a new food source on a planet called PNF-404. As the three explorers near their destination, there is a malfunction in their ship which causes it to crash. As the ship goes down, the three explorers bail out of the ship in special suits that enable them to fall thousands of feet.

I won’t spoil any of the story here, as it is quite compelling, unlike the bland storytelling in the original Pikmin title. The three explorers land in different parts of a huge world, and about 1/3 of the game is spent trying to reunite the
 three intrepid aliens. The three explorers are named Alph, Brittany, and Charlie, and they all have completely different personalities. The beginning of the game is vaguely reminiscent of the original Pikmin, and you can read my original review of the game here. The discovery of the Pikmin themselves is also very similar in this game, so I suggest reading my plot summary on the original review, or you may not understand some of the Pikmin terminology that I will reference in this review.

Alph is seen by most as the main protagonist, and is the engineer on the team. He is quiet, cautious, analytical, but still very brave. Even though you can play as all three of the explorers, I tend to play as Alph most of the time. Alph is also the most relatable character in my opinion, because he seems so real, and not as comical as the other characters. He can also keep a level head in any situation.

Brittany is my second most played character. She plays the role of a botanist, and tends to make more discoveries than the other characters. She is also very self-centered, and does not seem to like the other explorers very much.

Charlie is my least played character. You find him stranded in a cave about 1/3 of the way through the game. He is significantly bigger than the other characters, and has a very Santa Claus-like personality. I find it hard to relate to him, because he is so different from the other characters.

Now that you know the characters, I will delve deeper into the gameplay mechanics that will make your time with Pikmin 3 a blast. In case you didn’t read my original review, here’s a quick recap. Pikmin are small creatures that inhabit PNF 404, and come up to about waist height on the three explorers. They live in a special spaceship/plant called an Onion, which is able to produce more Pikmin seeds, keeping the Pikmin race from going extinct. The Onions absorb nutrients from a special food called a Pellet. Pellets can be brought back to the Onion in order to make more seeds. The Onion can also absorb nutrients from dead animals, but it is mostly the Pellets that will keep your Pikmin going. The explorers can throw Pikmin at different objects in the world such as walls, Pellets, enemies, and fruit. The Pikmin will then start to interact with the objects in front of them. They will tear down walls, carry Pellets to the Onion, fight ferocious enemies, and carry fruit back to your ship, among many, MANY other things. The amount of actions programmed into the Pikmin is astounding, and they can do almost anything that you could find useful.

Fruit is an essential part of Pikmin 3. In order to survive on PNF 404, your explorers will need to drink one glass of fruit juice per day. You need to find fruit in order to make the fruit juice, which is scattered throughout the huge world. You will spend much of your time scouring the world for fruit in order to feed the hungry explorers, and sometimes you may have just barely enough juice to move on.

One major strong point in the game is its graphics. The game is modeled and shaded very well, with HD textures in abundance. Most of the plants and fruit in the game look completely photorealistic, and even cartoony enemies look very polished. I personally think that the graphics in Pikmin 3 are the best on Wii U, and easily beat 90% of the games on competing consoles.

The game has far too many AMAZING features for me to list here, but I will mention some of them briefly. One of the most unused features in Pikmin 3 is the camera. The game has a built in camera system, which allows you to take pictures of anything in the world. These pictures are taken from the Pikmin’s point of view, so that you can really capture action from a different angle. This makes battles even more intense, as you are looking up at enemies, instead of  looking from a top down perspective.

Another cool feature is the three explorer mechanic. At any point during the game, you can switch between Alph, Brittany, and Charlie. This allows you to multitask by switching between three different Pikmin squads. For example, Charlie can monitor Pikmin as they carry fruit, Alph can pick the Pikmin, and Brittany can find more fruit by exploring the world.

Finally, I have to mention the multiplayer modes. First, is the Mission mode. Mission mode can be played alone, or with another player in co-op mode. The goal in Mission mode is to gather as many resources as you can in a certain time frame. Its best played in co-op mode, as you can work together to maximize your efficiency. One player can collect Pellets, while the other player finds fruit and slays enemies.

Bingo Battle

The best multiplayer mode is called Bingo Battle mode. This mode is by far the most original multiplayer I have ever seen. In this mode, two players take Pikmin squads and compete for resources. You goal is to collect the resources on your bingo card, and when you collect four resources in a row, your team wins. For example, the red team may have to collect a pear, a peach, an orange, and some grapes in order to win, while the blue team may have to collect an apple, grapes, a strawberry, and a starfruit in order to win. As the grapes appear on both bingo cards, the grapes will become the target of both teams, and a Pikmin brawl may ensue. This happens when one team throws its Pikmin at the other team, and the Pikmin fight each other in a ferocious battle. Sometimes the loser’s only option is to run away, as his Pikmin are lost in swarm of enemy Pikmin and mercilessly beaten into submission. Some Pikmin may chose to follow you in this case, but others will stay behind and sacrifice themselves for the cause. When Pikmin die, a small ghost rises into the sky, making the player feel terrible and also making you fight harder to avenge the fallen soldiers. This power struggle always ends in laughs, and is always a great time for all ages.

In all, I have to rate Pikmin 3 a perfect 10/10, not just because of its engaging characters, gameplay, and adorable creatures, but also for its outstanding multiplayer, which I know will last me far longer than any single player experience.

THANK YOU MEEMA!