Pikmin 3 definitely scratches a pikmin itch and fine tunes some of the mechanics that need fine tuning from the first two games, but it feels almost too forgiving and loses a bit of the intensity that the first two brought. I played on "Hard" mode and it was incredibly easy, only losing large groups of pikmin to certain bosses (and I do think the bosses are fun, but they almost got Mario-fied in this game). They introduced the flying and rock pikmin which I felt were fun additions, but neither are really used too much apart from an obstacle here and there. I think having a pointer on the radar that says "go here" makes this game lose a bit of that exploration element which I loved so much in the first two. Everything really was right where it told you it was, so it felt like I blazed through it way too quickly. Ultimately, it's still Pikmin and the charm is still there so I had a pretty fun time. Excited to play through Pikmin 4 when I get around to it.