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In the past, I've never really been that interested in the Pikmin series. Gameplay footage from the first two games never managed to hold my interest. However, something about Pikmin 3 intrigued me. I couldn't tell what, but after watching many gameplay trailers, I decided to take the plunge and buy Pikmin 3. And it was worth it. I discovered that I had been missing out on a series full of charm and top-notch gameplay, and Pikmin 3 is well-worth your time and money.
*STORY*
Pikmin 3 revolves around the adventures of three space explorers: Alph, Brittany, and Captain Charlie of the S.S. Drake. Their home planet, Koppai, is in the middle of a food crisis. They send the three to a remote planet named PNF-404 to gather fruit for their starving home planet. However, the S.S. Drake crash lands on the surface of PNF-404, and the three crew members are separated. The story then begins to revolve around three major plot points: 1) The crew must reunite, 2) The crew must find fruit to bring back to Koppai and to keep themselves fed, and 3) The crew must find the cosmic drive key, a crucial part of the ship that they need in order to return to Koppai. The story is quite gripping and there is a major plot twist later on in the game. This is honestly one of the few times where the story kept me fully interested and gripped until the end, and I commend Nintendo for doing that.
*GAMEPLAY*
The core gameplay of Pikmin 3 revolves around the player throwing their Pikmin to achieve various tasks. The Pikmin are the key to everything, as you must perform every task using the Pikmin, whether it be fighting enemies or collecting a piece of fruit. The game uses a "Day" system, and each day lasts about 15 minutes. At the end of each day, you must have all of your Pikmin gathered up or else you risk losing them. As such, Pikmin 3 really stresses time management and multitasking as key gameplay elements. You can control each of the three characters separately, allowing you to split up the work amongst them. However, I found it to be easier to simply keep the three characters together at all times and to only multitask when it is absolutely necessary. Nonetheless, time management will always be a crucial part of the experience, and you must decide whether you have enough time to complete a certain task before the day is up or if it would be more worthwhile to complete the task the next day.
Pikmin 3 makes use of five different Pikmin types. The Red, Blue, and Yellow Pikmin return from the previous two installments, whereas the Rock and Winged Pikmin are new additions. The Red Pikmin are resistant to fire, the Blue Pikmin can survive in water (keep in mind that water is fatal to all other Pikmin types), the Yellow Pikmin are able to conduct electricity, the Rock Pikmin can smash through crystals, and the Winged Pikmin can traverse all different types of landscapes. There isn't one Pikmin type that feels underused, and the balance between them is perfect. While each Pikmin type has their advantages, you will need to use all five types in order to fully explore the game world and collect everything there is to collect.
On the surface, Pikmin 3 isn't overly challenging. The real difficulty comes from your ability to assess a situation and determine the best way to complete a task without costing too many of your Pikmin. This is the true challenge that Pikmin 3 presents, as you want to end the game with as few Pikmin deaths as possible.
Finally, Pikmin 3 presents several different control schemes, however, the Wii Remote and Nunchuck combination stands out as the definitive way to experience the game. The Wii Remote and Nunchuck combination allows for more precise aiming and it allows you to run away and aim behind you at the same time. This may not sound like an important feature, but it is very crucial to the gameplay.
*LEVEL DESIGN*
Pikmin 3 contains five different areas for the player to explore. While this may not seem like much, each area is vast and contains a large variety of different environments, including caves, underwater caverns, and more. The main goal for each area is to find and defeat the boss battle, which will allow you to move on to the next area. In order to reach the boss battle, you must perform several tasks, such as building bridges and pushing ramps into place. In addition, the fruit contained in each area is meticulously placed, and in many cases will require you to think and determine the best way to recover it without costing too many of your Pikmin.
Speaking of the boss battles, they are appropriately huge and challenging to defeat. Each boss is unique and each has their own weakness. Exploiting that weakness often involves using a specific Pikmin type. The boss battles really do a great job in providing a sense of fear and stress, as you don't want to lose any of your Pikmin. As such, finally defeating the boss provides such an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment that you can't wait to find the next one and give it justice.
*SINGLE PLAYER*
Pikmin 3 provides a very solid single player experience. This is primarily because there really is no rush to finish the main adventure, and you can take however long you want, so long as you have enough food in your food supply. This really caters to all gamers, including the speed gamer and the gamer that likes to take their time and fully uncover everything Pikmin 3 has to offer. In addition, you do not have to collect every piece of fruit in order to finish the game. This really makes Pikmin 3 accessible to everyone, and I'm really glad Nintendo took that extra step to make this game available to all gamers.
*MULTIPLAYER*
Pikmin 3 also provides two multiplayer modes: the cooperative Mission Mode and the competitive Bingo Battle. In Mission Mode, you and your friend must collect as much treasure as possible within a certain timeframe, usually ranging between five to eight minutes. Mission Mode is a fantastic addition and the co-op is fantastic and it works perfectly. In fact, the splitscreen co-op works so well that it makes me wonder why Nintendo didn't include co-op in the main adventure. It would be a lot of fun to play through the main adventure with a friend, and it is a missed opportunity.
Bingo Battle, on the other hand, is pure insanity, chaos, and fun. In a nutshell, Bingo Battle dumps the two players in a small arena filled to the brim with enemies, fruits, and collectables. Using a small squad of Pikmin, you must collect the items you need in order to complete your Bingo card. In addition, you can sabotage the other player by taking the item they may need to complete their card.
Overall, the multiplayer modes offered here are a lot of fun, but it leaves me wishing that Nintendo had incorporated some type of online play. Even if it was limited to online play with your registered Wii U friends, any form of online play is better than none.
*GAMEPAD INTEGRATION*
Even though the Wii Remote and Nunchuck combination is the ideal way to play Pikmin 3, the GamePad is still absolutely necessary to experience the game to its fullest. The GamePad constantly displays a map of the area. The map shows you the location of every piece of fruit in the area, the location of the other characters, and the location of all of your Pikmin. This is extremely essential, especially when the day is drawing to a close and you must gather all of your Pikmin. The "Go Here" feature built into the GamePad is perhaps the most important tool in the whole game. You can use your finger to drag to any location on the map and click the "Go Here" button. Your squad will automatically head to that location. This is extremely important, especially while you are multitasking. Off-TV Play is also available, but keep in mind that you must control the game using the GamePad while in Off-TV Play. Overall, the GamePad is put to good use in Pikmin 3, and it shows how the GamePad can be essential to the gaming experience.
*GRAPHICS & SOUND*
Pikmin 3 is a simply beautiful looking game. The environments are so lush and realistic looking that you would almost believe the developers simply filmed the environment outside and added the characters, Pikmin, and enemies in later. Every now and then, there will be a day where it rains in the game, and this also exemplifies how realistic the game looks. The environment looks appropriately wet and you can even see raindrops falling from the various plants. That being said, not everything is perfect. The ground textures look dated and out of place when compared to the rest of the environment, and there have been several rare and minor instances where the game lagged. These small complaints aside, Pikmin 3 is one of the best looking games on Wii U.
In addition, the music for Pikmin 3 is wonderful. For the most part, it is very calm and relaxing, but it slowly becomes more upbeat and rambunctious as you start to battle an enemy. There are also moments where the music slowly fades out, indicating that something big and bad is about to appear. Essentially, the soundtrack is very atmospheric and it works hand-in-hand with the graphics to provide that sense of realism that the game is trying to achieve, and honestly, it succeeds.
*VERDICT*
In the end, Pikmin 3 is a fantastic game. The gameplay is top-notch and it plays marvelously, and the atmospheric graphics and soundtrack are just the icing on the cake. Despite a few minor nitpickings with the multiplayer modes, I can safely say that Pikmin 3 is a must-have for any Wii U owner that may be looking for a great strategy game.
STORY: 10/10
GAMEPLAY: 10/10
LEVEL DESIGN: 10/10
SINGLE PLAYER: 10/10
MULTIPLAYER: 8/10
GAMEPAD INTEGRATION: 10/10
GRAPHICS & SOUND: 9/10
FINAL SCORE (not an average): 9/10
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J
like an increased focus on plot and characters and sort ...
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 21, 2015Corey Van Eunen
A Pikmin is a Pikmin no matter how small.
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on September 8, 2013
Tim
Product was Perfect!! And Shipping was amazingly FAST!!
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on December 7, 2018
