Pikmin 3 thoughts:
- Game tries to bring back some semblance of the time limit from 1 but its so generous it might as well not even be there.
- The emphasis on the linear story path makes the exploration aspect of the game much less interesting in my opinion. Due to the generous time limit (and how much the boss fruits give), there's actually not a whole lot of incentive other than completionism to explore and grab as many fruits as possible. Game progress isn't really tied to the main collectibles like in the first two games which is a mistake in my opinion.
- The game is gorgeous. Just walking around in the game and taking in the scenery and nature is really nice.
- The game is way too easy in my opinion. None of the bosses or enemies were particularly difficult, especially with the QOL lock-on and charge features.
- The new charge feature is very satisfying at times but functionality doesn't add anything to combat that the old c-stick hoard controls lacked.
- On the other hand being able to charge all pikmin of one type onto something (i.e. being able to charge all yellow pikmin in your squad onto an electric gate) is a very nice quality of life feature.
- "Go here" adds a lot to the strategy/planning aspect of the game. It feels like you're able to multitask a lot more effectively than you were able to in pikmin 2.
- However I did often find it annoying whenever my captains were separate to multitask only to run into an obstacle that required multiple captains to deal with.
- New pikmin types are better balanced than the ones in pikmin 2. Rock pikmin are kinda like purples if purples weren't overpowered.
- Winged pikmin on the other hand trade combat effectiveness for their incredibly strong utility in carrying objects. While in theory I think this is a good compromise, in practice it makes blue pikmin feel very irrelevant in this game, and they break several puzzles in the game.
- The final trial is pretty cool until you realize you can just clear a path and have Brittany get chased in circles with "Go here". At that point the level just becomes a linear sequence of simple puzzles and combat encounters.
- This is the second time they've tried a final boss that tries to incentivize the use of all types of pikmin with utilization of all hazards in the game that is easily cheesed by doing the exact opposite of what they intended (in pikmin 3, bringing all rock pikmin, in pikmin 2, bringing all yellow pikmin).
- The mission mode content is high quality and a lot of fun. Platinum ranking many of the levels brought feelings of time management stress that I haven't really felt in this series since pikmin 1.
I think this game's biggest strengths is its quality of life and modernization of the controls that makes the gameplay loop feel much more smooth, a lot less fighting over controls in this game than the other games. Main campaign is fun but nothing mind-blowing, and mission mode challenges were a lot of fun.
- Game tries to bring back some semblance of the time limit from 1 but its so generous it might as well not even be there.
- The emphasis on the linear story path makes the exploration aspect of the game much less interesting in my opinion. Due to the generous time limit (and how much the boss fruits give), there's actually not a whole lot of incentive other than completionism to explore and grab as many fruits as possible. Game progress isn't really tied to the main collectibles like in the first two games which is a mistake in my opinion.
- The game is gorgeous. Just walking around in the game and taking in the scenery and nature is really nice.
- The game is way too easy in my opinion. None of the bosses or enemies were particularly difficult, especially with the QOL lock-on and charge features.
- The new charge feature is very satisfying at times but functionality doesn't add anything to combat that the old c-stick hoard controls lacked.
- On the other hand being able to charge all pikmin of one type onto something (i.e. being able to charge all yellow pikmin in your squad onto an electric gate) is a very nice quality of life feature.
- "Go here" adds a lot to the strategy/planning aspect of the game. It feels like you're able to multitask a lot more effectively than you were able to in pikmin 2.
- However I did often find it annoying whenever my captains were separate to multitask only to run into an obstacle that required multiple captains to deal with.
- New pikmin types are better balanced than the ones in pikmin 2. Rock pikmin are kinda like purples if purples weren't overpowered.
- Winged pikmin on the other hand trade combat effectiveness for their incredibly strong utility in carrying objects. While in theory I think this is a good compromise, in practice it makes blue pikmin feel very irrelevant in this game, and they break several puzzles in the game.
- The final trial is pretty cool until you realize you can just clear a path and have Brittany get chased in circles with "Go here". At that point the level just becomes a linear sequence of simple puzzles and combat encounters.
- This is the second time they've tried a final boss that tries to incentivize the use of all types of pikmin with utilization of all hazards in the game that is easily cheesed by doing the exact opposite of what they intended (in pikmin 3, bringing all rock pikmin, in pikmin 2, bringing all yellow pikmin).
- The mission mode content is high quality and a lot of fun. Platinum ranking many of the levels brought feelings of time management stress that I haven't really felt in this series since pikmin 1.
I think this game's biggest strengths is its quality of life and modernization of the controls that makes the gameplay loop feel much more smooth, a lot less fighting over controls in this game than the other games. Main campaign is fun but nothing mind-blowing, and mission mode challenges were a lot of fun.