I'm giving this a low 4. It's great for the most part, and it really expands and switches things up compared to the first game. The subterranean levels are both great and annoying, as you're not timed, but if you lose to many pikmin, you're fucked and have to start again if you want to clear the cave completely. And also they don't have the same vibe as the above ground sections.

I love the green gardens, the lovely water effects and the overall presentation, but the subterranean bits are dark and bland. Which is why I assume they didn't go as nuts with those parts for the 3rd game, which seems to be a better balance of 1&2.

I did enjoy this a lot though. And it's neat that there's a nice bit of end game mopping up and new areas to check out as well. Having now played 1-3, I think this is probably the one I'd likely come back to the least, but I still had a good time with the funny wee guys, collecting every day objects and seeing what daft names they come up with, and generally battering anything that moves.

And accidentally drowning so, so many pikmin that I should not be allowed to play any more.