Pikmin 4 - July 2023. Finally.

[Keyboard Koala]

 

 

 

Shigeru Miyamoto appeared briefly during the Nintendo Direct of September 2022 to announce that the fourth game in one of Nintendo's most beloved franchises is finally coming to the Switch. Unfortunately, not much was shown. Fans were shown a tranquil park and a napping bulborb, but even the pikmin themselves were not shown.

 

Technically Pikmin 4 was already announced years ago in September 2015. Back then, Miyamoto said that the game was “close to completion”. It goes without saying, but something clearly happened along the way as it’ll now be eight years later that Pikmin 4 finally launches.

 

 

Meet the pikmin; small, plantlike creatures you can grow, pluck, command, and overpower your enemies with! These curious helpers come in different types - fire is no sweat for red pikmin and the brand-new ice pikmin can freeze enemies and the environment. Use your pikmin’s miniature might (and a bit of strategy) to explore this mysterious planet.

 

And this time you get a dog, too! Oatchi (pronounced oat-chee), resident good boy and dependable partner, can help with things like smashing obstacles and carrying pikmin throughout your adventure. With the miniscule pikmin and a capable canine in tow, no challenge is too big!

 

Debut trailer:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Keyboard Koala]

New trailer feat. Oatchi:

 

 

 

July 27th

[Chthonic Boom]

Thumbnail confirms purple pikmin are back! Yes yes yes welcome back, you are my spirit pikmin. GOTY 2023 confirmed.

[Chthonic Boom]

Okay, so people will probably think I'm a bit weird here, but this is my most anticipated game of the year. Pikmin is up there with Mario and Zelda as tier 1 Nintendo for me, and I'm convinced that this is going to be the best game in the series.

 

Pikmin 1 was a fascinating game, full of imagination but a bit rough around the edges. For Pikmin 2, they took the game, polished it until it gleamed, and just stuffed it to bursting with ideas. What if most of the enemies had multiple different variants? What if some of the cannon beetles spat out boulders that homed in on you, which you could kite around the level to take out other enemies? What if there was a series of procedurally generated underground caverns with their own unique environment and enemies? What if one of your characters would provide recipe tips for cooking every monster that you encountered? What if there was a dynamic score that changed time signature as you switched between the characters, so that the captain had the theme played as a regimented military march and the bumbling sidekick had it played in swing time? What if there was a weird blobby water ghost monster that chased you around a series of levels on a steamroller? It felt like they just did anything and everything they could think of, and it was magnificent.

 

Pikmin 3 was lovely, and wonderfully crafted, but after Pikmin 2 I was a bit sad that it felt more restrained. They've had years to take this and build on it, and the trailer has new monsters, new pikmin types, the caves are back, a weird dog thing, it's just giving me the sense that we could have something brilliantly eccentric on our hands here.

 

I've got myself all worked up here and I think I'm going to have to figure out how to emulate the old games now.

[milko]

Pikmin 3 Deluxe got it's hooks into my kid so well that he had a themed birthday cake and party, and we dug out the GameCube and played the first two. Looking forward to 4, absolutely. 

[thesnwmn]

I enjoyed the original but then I think they added timed aspects at some point right? Which immediately removed any interest I had in playing it. Hopefully this let's me just noodle around without any time stress. Basically respect the players time like Tinykin please.

[the_debaser]

The first one had a timed aspect. I think it was removed from 2 but can’t recall. The third did have a timed aspect, in that if you ran out of food it was game over, but it was really generous with fruit so there wasn’t much danger of that happening. 

[thesnwmn]

You're probably right. Been a long time.

 

But anyway. Please no pressure. Let me play your game for as long as I want.

[HarMGM]

4 hours ago, Chthonic Boom said:

Okay, so people will probably think I'm a bit weird here, but this is my most anticipated game of the year. Pikmin is up there with Mario and Zelda as tier 1 Nintendo for me, and I'm convinced that this is going to be the best game in the series.

I don't think you're being weird at all, as Pikmin 4 has its hooks in me as well. This from someone who had little interest in the 3rd entry and has only played the first 2. The added ice pikmin hint at fun environmental puzzle solving and it seems they've added some light platforming sections. Really interested what they'll be doing with this game in the series.

[BeeJay]

Definitely my most wanted Nintendo game too and probably the only one that'd consider on launch. I've played loads of all 3. I rinsed 3 so much that I got to the point of frustration that I couldn't do some of the later challenges and that left a bitter taste but the main game was amazing from start to finish.

[Popo]

4 hours ago, Chthonic Boom said:

Okay, so people will probably think I'm a bit weird here, but this is my most anticipated game of the year. Pikmin is up there with Mario and Zelda as tier 1 Nintendo for me, and I'm convinced that this is going to be the best game in the series.

 

Pikmin 1 was a fascinating game, full of imagination but a bit rough around the edges. For Pikmin 2, they took the game, polished it until it gleamed, and just stuffed it to bursting with ideas. What if most of the enemies had multiple different variants? What if some of the cannon beetles spat out boulders that homed in on you, which you could kite around the level to take out other enemies? What if there was a series of procedurally generated underground caverns with their own unique environment and enemies? What if one of your characters would provide recipe tips for cooking every monster that you encountered? What if there was a dynamic score that changed time signature as you switched between the characters, so that the captain had the theme played as a regimented military march and the bumbling sidekick had it played in swing time? What if there was a weird blobby water ghost monster that chased you around a series of levels on a steamroller? It felt like they just did anything and everything they could think of, and it was magnificent.

 

Pikmin 3 was lovely, and wonderfully crafted, but after Pikmin 2 I was a bit sad that it felt more restrained. They've had years to take this and build on it, and the trailer has new monsters, new pikmin types, the caves are back, a weird dog thing, it's just giving me the sense that we could have something brilliantly eccentric on our hands here.

 

I've got myself all worked up here and I think I'm going to have to figure out how to emulate the old games now.

You’re making me regret snubbing Pikmin 2 so bad right now. 
 

I’m all I’m for this, 3 DX was a joy. 

[Strafe]

Aside from the dog this just looks like more Pikmin. Not in itself a bad thing but I was hoping for things to be mixed up a bit. Still, early days.

[scottcr]

Yeah, it doesn’t look much different from 3 - if anything, more straightforward with no split party puzzles?
 

although, 3 really was optimised for the game pad and it made it a bit fiddly on switch 

[BeeJay]

1 hour ago, scottcr said:

Yeah, it doesn’t look much different from 3 - if anything, more straightforward with no split party puzzles?
 

although, 3 really was optimised for the game pad and it made it a bit fiddly on switch 

 

I'd love it if they got rid of the split party mechanic. I have no problem with leaving different pikmin doing different activities but I don't want to have to worry about multiple 'leaders'.

[Jackson]

The dog looks like a great change, adding the ability to have everyone cling on and traverse water etc is really cool. I've not felt compelled to play past the first couple hours of any pikmin game though so I'm not sure about preordering this.

[bear]

I'm guessing there's some sort of night time element this time around, why else have all the sparkly stuff show up during the night sequence at the end. Maybe that's how they'll keep the main areas interesting as you progress, defeating foes under the control of Louie each night.

 

If they integrate every sort of Pikmin into the main campaign that could be a big difference compared to three. 

[Popo]

31 minutes ago, bear said:

I'm guessing there's some sort of night time element this time around, why else have all the sparkly stuff show up during the night sequence at the end. Maybe that's how they'll keep the main areas interesting as you progress, defeating foes under the control of Louie each night.

 

If they integrate every sort of Pikmin into the main campaign that could be a big difference compared to three. 

Yes, the red-eyed evil mode for the enemies does seem to suggest some kind of night shift mode.

 

Although if they mess around with the day’s end music I’ll go through the flippin’ roof. 
 

 

[Keyboard Koala]

I just hope Oatchi doesn't die on the way back to his home planet.

[Dr Nookie]

I was a bit concerned by the trailer. 3 on the Switch is so beautifully put together it’s a joy from start to finish - although I hate the final level with a passion. 
And all the extras give it such longevity it’s ridiculous. Love going for those medals. 
 

I thought the dog looked a bit too much tbh, just change for change sake - but then I am an old stick in the mud…

 

Either way more Pikmin can only be a good thing. 

[Chthonic Boom]

On 09/02/2023 at 21:24, Chthonic Boom said:

I've got myself all worked up here and I think I'm going to have to figure out how to emulate the old games now.

 

I've gone back and played through Pikmin 1. It sets down the fundamentals which haven't changed much since, but there's a lot of friction that gets smoothed off in the later games. I remembered it being less polished than the others, but I didn't expect to be quite so irritated at times.

 

Some of this is small quality of life control things (like being able to switch between pikmin types in your group), but a lot of it was just the pikmin being frustratingly unreliable. They'll regularly break away from the group when they see a patch of grass, or some interesting rocks, or an unbudded pellet bud, or they might just fall over and get separated, so a trip across the map feels like herding a bunch of toddlers who need to be watched at all times. The level design doesn't help, with little sticky-outy bits that they can get trapped on, or bridges without rails over water which aren't wide enough for your party, which require careful shepherding. I wasn't keen on the time limit, but ended up finishing comfortably at day 19 out of 30.

 

Surprisingly, there's no signs of the planet being post-apocalyptic earth, which must start to turn up in Pikmin 2. The plot is surprisingly dark though. There's the bad ending, where your ship explodes on takeoff, and the pikmin take Olimar back to their onion and plant him, turning him into one of them. The good ending is also creepy - after you leave, the pikmin start attacking enemies on their own, and the game finishes with a flotilla of onions leaving the planet. Did I just train an army of killers who are now going to sweep across the galaxy eliminating all before them?

 

I'm glad I went back, and overall I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I'd recommend this to anyone who hadn't played a Pikmin game before. On to Pikmin 2 next, which I have very strong nostalgia for, so I'll be interested to see how it holds up.

[b00dles]

I love the pikmin games and glad I didn't bother buying 3 again after playing it on wiiU. 

 

I find them really "pleasant" for want of a better way of putting it and 4 will be day one. 

[Colonel Panic]

I should finish Pikmin 3. I found the final stage really annoying and moved on to something else for a break that has lasted years now.

[Dr Nookie]

2 hours ago, Colonel Panic said:

I should finish Pikmin 3. I found the final stage really annoying and moved on to something else for a break that has lasted years now.

I didn’t enjoy the final level either.  Kids were fine with it though. 
 

tbh we’ve rinsed the extras-side missions and bingo so much it really doesn’t matter. 

[Calashnikov]

On 13/02/2023 at 21:30, Dr Nookie said:

I was a bit concerned by the trailer. 3 on the Switch is so beautifully put together it’s a joy from start to finish - although I hate the final level with a passion. 
And all the extras give it such longevity it’s ridiculous. Love going for those medals. 
 

I thought the dog looked a bit too much tbh, just change for change sake - but then I am an old stick in the mud…

 

Either way more Pikmin can only be a good thing. 

Its been a long time since I played it at release on WiiU, but my memory of the final level was that it was one of the best fucking levels of anything. Total culmination of the entire game.

[Dr Nookie]

27 minutes ago, Calashnikov said:

Its been a long time since I played it at release on WiiU, but my memory of the final level was that it was one of the best fucking levels of anything. Total culmination of the entire game.

It was the gold boss in the tunnels and you had to escape with Olimar and etc etc. I just didn’t really enjoy it at all but I absolutely loved the rest of the game.