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.
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.