Pikmin is seriously the most underrated Nintendo series of all time. There really is no other game like it out there, the satisfaction of taking down massive enemies with your mob of pikmin that you've painstakingly generated opening the way to a treasure that you can successfully carry is so satisfying. On the other hand this game is like a horror game. One misstep and your entire squad could be wiped out in an instant. I finished in just over 9 hours and the ending was funny, but the open world aspect kinda prevented any final boss encounter because each cave had its own boss which was a massive undertaking in their own right. I liked how Pikmin 2 got rid of the time limit, but at the same time it removed a whole layer of urgency that Pikmin 1 demanded and also made each encounter more intense. Still a very fun game and really glad I got to play it.

Love the new pikmin types, and the new areas. The idea of the semi-randomized dungeons were excellent and offered a great challenge. Most of the new enemies and bosses were a delight to figure out. The difficulty increase to this game is dramatic and most of the time it felt great. Trying to slowly figure out a boss or stress-fully working through many layers of a dungeon to keep a healthy amount of pikmin for a boss felt wonderful. However, for all the great new ideas this game is held up almost entirely by how hard it is to easily and safely separate pikmin when trying to do pikmin specific tasks. All the late game dungeons have very specific hazards that will near instantly kill all but 1 pikmin type and it is often incredibly frustrating trying to grab only that type of pikmin.

The caves single-handedly ruined my enjoyment of Pikmin 2. They started out as fun diversions from the regular gameplay, but once I realized most of the game’s content is in them, they began to drag. The later caves amplified this feeling as they were much longer and kept recycling the same enemies and hazards without iterating on any type of challenge. Some asshole also decided to make enemies, bombs, and rocks fall from the ceiling in some caves. This alone would be enough to convince me these were thrown together just to spite players, but I believe there’s a bigger issue at hand: the player is not pressured in an engaging way.

The inability to reproduce Pikmin underground initially seemed like a good stressor, except you can take as much time as you want with these often brutal challenges. When combined with the game saving every floor, the caves had a lethargic pace where I would reload my save file when losing more than a few Pikmin. I had no idea how long each cave would be, so why not reset when things inevitably go awry? Annoyingly, Nintendo did not include the save reload option from Pikmin 1, requiring me to close and reopen the game every time I wanted to try again. The randomly generated map and enemy placements often made treasure rage-inducing to acquire, so much so I had to take a week-long break before completion. The Submerged Castle was the only cave I found enjoyable and challenging. Being forced to use a specific Pikmin to eliminate obstacles and collect treasure before an invincible foe showed up was an excellent change of pace and brought back the first game’s urgency without feeling unfair. Its five-floor count also ensured it never overstayed its welcome.

The above-ground sections were fine, but they felt like a means to a miserable end with the abundance of caves. I can only hope they are better in Pikmin 4. They’re a good idea, but I hate the execution here. Definitely a one and done experience.

In 2023, I triumphed over a childhood fear. Games with timers slashed onto me a mental scar that were never healed until playing through Pikmin and Majora's Mask.

There was a weight lifted off my shoulders. Genuinely, too. In both my gaming and everyday life, I felt I could take any time related problem headed my way. A fog was now cleared.

Having a newfound confidence and developing a bit of a taste for time based challenges now, I've decided to continue my forray into the Pikmin series with Pikmin 2. I've heard in the past the game was somewhat divisive amongst the Pikmin loyalists, but I wasn't sure what I'd find going in.

After having played it, my finding is that Pikmin 2 is... kind of unnecessary as a sequel? I'm glad of it's existence, if not to simply provide more Pikmin style gameplay with new mechanics, but some of the additions feel as though they're unrealized in their potential.

Louie, while a charming character in his own bumbling way, serves very little to the overall gameplay. It's not as if multi-tasking as a feature is useless, it's just I never found myself absolutely needing to utilize this feature.

I could imagine puzzle like labyrinths laid out similar to the elaborate final puzzle of Pikmin 1, needing the player to swap between different Pikmin types as well as between Louie and Olimar. This could take up the main levels you'd traverse and fill out the entirety of the game, but this was never seen anywhere within the game. At least, not on a rudimentary playthrough.

Pikmin 2 is primarily an asset flip style of sequel, so it makes sense as to why this wasn't implemented. You'd have to build on top of iterations of the original game's levels, and would also had to change said levels so drastically to the point that they mind as well be creating brand new ones. Still, there feels like there's missed potential here.

Same could be said about the dungeons. While I enjoy tackling these randomly generated mazes, they leave me wanting more. They're set up as endurance gauntlets, but I would have rather these dungeons contain floors that contained preset puzzles, perhaps alternating every other floor. This to me would not only keep the style of the original game more intact, but would help dungeons feel more engaging.

What also makes the game less engaging is the distinct lack of a timer. Strange coming from the guy who was traumatized by a mere clock ticking down, I know, but I've grown to deeply appreciate the time limit. Call it masochism, call it whatever you'd like, but this element brought a distinct feel and an immense sense of tension to the game, all of which feels lost within the sequel.

All of this isn't to say that Pikmin 2 isn't a worthwhile time, because it most certainly is! Instead, this is meant to exemplify the problems that may occur when designing a game with reusing assets: you can only build on top of what systems and assets existed before.

I've much enjoyed the quality of life changes brought within Pikmin 2. Controlling your squad has never felt better, and being able to organize which group you'd like to take is a godsend! The new Pikmin bring about new advantages and gimmicks to make themselves useful, adding more to your arsenal of tools and boosting the amount of decisions you'll be making.

The dungeons are just endurance gauntlets yes, but they still hold that push and pull struggle for survival that makes Pikmin engaging. Collecting everything within a dungeon feels massively rewarding, especially with some of the later dungeons.

Despite the tension being lost from the absence of a time limit, having the gameplay become more relaxed changes how you approach the game. The tone I could see creating a much smoother experience to experiment within the systems of Pikmin. I personally feel that experimentation is a part of the original's design and it does not feel as punishing due to reseting a day being encouraged, but this circumnavigates those who are still in fear of that hard time limit.

Areas are now remixed slightly, making it exciting to see what new has changed since the first game. Environments now have different seasons, which brings this world more to life. Though the tone may be gone, the serenity is still held intact.

There's much to love about Pikmin 2, but I could see why the divisiveness is present within the community at large. Pikmin 2 doesn't break the mold as much as it fans the flames of the original's originality.

This doesn't make Pikmin 2 a bad nor necessarily a flawed game, but a game that doesn't stand out as much as it could. It's ideas are unrefined from what they may have been capable of achieving, but with what's within the game itself, Pikmin 2 ends up being an enjoyable time within it's own right.

This game is very bullshit.



BUT,

I can't help but let it sit on the top of my Pikmin list. The Hocotate Freight Ship is the best character this series has ever added, Louie is so fucking funny, everything this game does just makes me happy and I can't explain how

Amazing experience. Disgustingly difficult, but that's exactly what I loved the most. It's not hard to get to the credits, but the thing is, the real game begins after that. And it's been a long time since a game has put me on edge so many times, this is really one of the hardest games I've ever played, but in a good way. When Nintendo feels like it, they're godlike at making insanely difficult post-game challenges and here they REALLY felt like it. I 100%'d the game and enjoyed every second of it.

I also loved the characterisation done in the enemy and treasure logs, for both Olimar and Louie. Louie you crazy bastard.

There are some things that make Pikmin 2 better than its predecessor. I like the new Pikmin types and the quality-of-life improvements. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first game. The caves, while a nice change of pace at first, become incredibly tedious and repetitious as you progress. I also found no interest in collecting more treasures than was needed to complete the game.

I don't mind some additional challenge in a game like this, but I found Pikmin 2 to be a more stressful experience than a relaxing one.

Le deuxième opus de la saga Pikmin, l'ambiance atypique est toujours là grâce notamment aux musiques.
Dans cette suite plusieurs nouveautés, on était rajouté, les plus notables étant les deux nouveaux types de Pikmins ainsi que les donjons. La limite de temps est elle aussi est supprimés, ce qui ne rend pas pour autant le jeu plus facile au contraire, les donjons apporte un véritable challenge ainsi qu'une utilisation plus judicieuse des Pikmins (limités à 100).
Une suite réussie, car elle garde l'esprit du premier jeu et développe ses idées.

My appreciation of Pikmin 2 is the definition of dichotomy. I love what it adds to the Pikmin formula as much as I hate its sheer excess. I love its spunk and hate its rough edges. The only way I could love this game more is if it had been cut in half.

The first half is a fun romp of collecting, battling and exploring strange new territory. The new environments are far more ineresting to explore, with stronger theming than in the first game, so much so that I hardly noticed how most of them ARE from the first game, heavily revamped and tweaked. The game is at its best aboveground in my opinion, in these wonderfully realised pockets of natural beauty.

The debt mechanic is a fun twist, expanding on the themes of man's relationship with nature and the value of individual Pikmin lives in the first game in a literal sense. The caves are an awesome idea and I loved venturing through these smaller, self contained challenges to find goodies.

The addition of a second Captain to control is another welcome addition (though the mechanic is very limited in this entry) and the Piklopedia alone is enough to solidify this game's importance to the series.

Unfortunately, the second half is where the experience really starts to dip. The regular stress of Pikmin management is compounded by harder enemies, deadlier hazards and random elements that evoke fanmade kaizo content in ways that seem very out of place in an official Nintendo game.

The little foilables of the games controls that were tolerable in safer areas become infuriating hindrances that only serve to make Pikmin 2's gameplay even more painful. The becomes a marathon of cave after cave, each more demanding than the last. It was a struggle to finish this game, but finish it I did with 100% completion.

I have played Pikmin 2 since and like the first game it has grown on me with the benefit of experience. I have no desire to complete it ever again.

There are good ideas here and an edge that the series has lacked since. This game demands a lot of you and while that might be too much for my tastes, I can see the appeal for certain players.

For me at least, it sits as my least favourite Pikmin title, but that by no means makes it a bad game. Just an unforgiving one.

Really funny how in this game they gave more personality to the Pikmin by making them make little noises when they walk around and react more, but along with that Nintendo has manifested the true embodiment of evil itself in this game by dropping unwarranted bombs out of the sky on you and enemies that will wipe out your entire squad in half a second like Nintendo themselves is punishing you for even thinking of playing this game while they scream in horror and you see their spirits leave their bodies and float up into little Pikmin heaven. This game is awesome thank you Nintendo.

I was having fun until I entered Cavern of Chaos. I can't think of any other time I have been this stressed in a videogame. Not even with Waterwraith and this is my first time with this game. I thought it was my fault since I want the 100% and I didn't want to lose any pikmin so I kept resetting until I got the level clear (or if I lost less than 5) but god I'm so tired.

That said I love the game: better controls that the first game and I enjoy picking up the treasures more than the ship's parts but I liked Olimar's notes and thoughts at the end of each day so not having that here feels like the game lacks something more... personal. Although we get those messages from the president and later from different family members which are not really the same but they are a nice touch since we don't get to meet them personally :)

Pikmin 2 is a wholehearted step above its predecessor. Pikmin 2 introduces new pikmin, new enemies, and a brand new gameplay loop, all of which work super well.

A testament to Pikmin 2's design is the two reused overworld maps. In topography, they are the same as Pikmin 1. However, their more busy design lends itself beautifully, replacing simple affairs under a time limit with very involved areas geared towards exploring at a slower rate.

However, while I see the vision, and respect it fully, this game is easily the most stressful I have ever played. Pikmin 2 introduces dungeons, multi-floor affairs where you go down each floor, collecting treasures, and defeating a boss at the end. These are the only places you can get the new Purple and White Pikmin (a decision that grew on me given how powerful they are), and Pikmin accrual in general is VERY limited. If Pikmin die, which is bound to happen, you have to deal with it.

I am not going to mince words, Pikmin 2's dungeons killed my enjoyment for Pikmin 2. I liked the original game's (and the overworld of 2 to an extent) gameplay loop of managing time and resources to get the most done by the end of the day. Overworld Pikmin tests your time management in a very clever and well executed way. Dungeon Pikmin throws this out the window. I can deal with how brutal the dungeons are. They are patently a great test of skill for the player when it comes to dealing with enemies while trying to take minimal to no casualties. In one dungeon, I had too many blue pikmin die, meaning I had one too few blue pikmin to move this treasure in the water, so I had to redo the dungeon and play smarter to make sure I got it.

What made me loathe dungeons was how long they are. Dungeons in this game are absolute slogs with no time limit. Some dungeons took half an hour, while most took a good hour of neurotically maneuvering Pikmin to neutralize threats safely and get every treasure, for if you miss a treasure, that's another run through the whole dungeon. The amount of time these dungeons commanded ran counter to what I believe made Pikmin 1 great in the first place, and all that time spent in dungeons wore down at my patience and made me despise them.

I got about halfway through the game, and knowing I had some evil dungeons ahead of me had me very worried. For the sake of not driving myself crazy, I had to put this game down. I commend it for what it is, I really do, and I see the hype. However the tedium of the dungeons stressed me out to the point where the game was feeling less like a fun experience that I wanted to engage with, and more like a stressful chore.

prior to playing pikmin 2, i had only heard undying praise for it. i knew that it was a fan favorite--not a single peep about it being known as hit or miss. i absolutely adored pikmin 1, so needless to say i was overjoyed to continue experiencing these wonderfully unique games, unaware of the fact that this is the most divisive title in the series

initially, i was intrigued by the lack of the time limit that shaped the first entry's gameplay loop, but i soon realized that the absence of this feature gave me no motivation to keep moving forward--something i found to be an essential part of the first game. however, i don't think that adding a time limit to any or all parts of the game would magically improve it, as the lack of one goes hand in hand with the problems i have with its core design

where pikmin 1 chose to combine micromanagement with skillfully crafted level design, pikmin 2 takes a bold 180 and introduces dungeon-crawling. the caves are an interesting addition and quite exciting at first, having some structure but being largely characterized by random elements. nevertheless, their soulless nature quickly shows itself.

speaking as a big fan of roguelikes and games with roguelike elements, the randomness of pikmin 2's caves feels more like a shallow attempt to change the gameplay loop for the sake of change rather than a well-thought-out, meaningful shift that (better) suits the gameplay. pikmin 1 resonated with me because it has such elegantly crafted level design. both games allow for multiple solutions to the same problem but random enemy placement and level layouts feel at odds with the groundwork that the first game laid out.

the caves, especially the later ones (namely the dream den), drag on for far too long and are a great example of why i think that quantity hardly equates to quality within games.

the strong focus on caves robbed the overworld of its charm, and the lack of a time limit took away my incentive to collect (albeit cool) treasure, at least past the milestone of repaying the entirety of the debt.

towards the end of my playthrough, i was constantly audibly frustrated and desperate to move onto 3, a sharp contrast to my experience with the latter half of 1. the final boss was especially exhausting, as i beat it on my first try but it dragged on for what felt like hours

i think that the dynamic music, addition of boss music, and improvements to quality of life are all great. i love purple and white pikmin they are so soooo silly but pikmin 2 is probably the most disappointing game i've ever played because i had such high hopes for it after becoming completely enamored with 1. it polishes up some jank and adds some neat new stuff but it also strips away what makes the first game so engaging to me

i respect this game's attempts to innovate on the pikmin formula, especially when so many game series prefer to play it safe and fear taking risks, but new doesn't always equal good/better. i can kinda see the appeal of this game's design and its chaotic nature but i guess they thought it was new year's eve because they totally dropped the baaaaaaaaall

I don't know. Mechanically, Pikmin 2 is the better game, but overall I think I enjoyed my experience with Pikmin 1 more.

At the beginning, I was really enjoying this game. The Pikmin controlled way better, the addition of another captain made management more fun (but fuck you Louie), and I loved the change from ship parts to real world objects. It really adds to the world building and I love all the little Nintendo easter eggs. I truly thought this was going to be my favourite in the series, but as I kept playing I quickly realized how much more the caves took a priority over the overworld in terms of core gameplay and finding treasures.

This was my main gripe I had with Pikmin 4 as I found the caves, while at first were cool, became stale pretty quickly. I would much rather explore the overworld than these damp, dark caves that all look the same. The RNG factor was also something I wasn't a huge fan of as there were a handful of times where I would have 50 of my Pikmin insta-killed by an enemy due spawning right next to it. Fuck you Gatling Groink.

But as much as I complain about the caves, it's still Pikmin. I love exploring this mysterious world with my army of colourful little shits. Now onto Pikmin 3.