My first revisit of Pikmin in a very long time - my first since playing every other game in the franchise - was one I wasn’t too sure of its outcome before starting. Not only was it my first time not using the Wii’s pointer controls, but Pikmin is a series that has grown much since its original conception. The first was a little clunky even back in the day, so how would it hold up today compared to its more refined follow-ups?
I’m happy to say that it held up exceptionally well. From starting the game again, I was once again enamored by the tone and mystique the first game offers its otherworldly crash landing. I mostly played wearing headphones, and it was my first time hearing much of this music directly into my ears. While later games leaned more on the quirky, adorable nature of the Pikmin, the first game offers something unsettling - a survival story of Captain Olimar trying to recover parts of his ship before his supply of breathable air has gone dry. What was once such a defining tone of the game would later become something entirely different, and while both directions are fitting for the series, there is something special about the first game’s presentation.
The original Pikmin’s gameplay is something that also holds up excellently. While it could stand to have many of the improvements found in later games, such as a lock-on mechanic or more variety amongst the included types of Pikmin to use, the simplicity of the first game is not to disregard. It’s a loop that’s still captivating; you’re exploring three major areas and two smaller ones trying to find all of the missing components of your ship. They can be anywhere: out in the open, behind an obstacle, or even in the belly of a giant beast. To get these parts, you’ll need to order your Pikmin to build bridges, tear down walls, and bring down foes big and small. The puzzle elements of the series isn’t at it’s strongest here (I found that to be a highlight of Pikmin 3 in particular), but it is far from absent. The three original types of Pikmin may not be the most useful past the required water-immunity of blues or high throwing arcs of yellows, but the high damage output of red Pikmin make them the MVP of the first game. You have 30 days to get 30 ship parts… can you do it?
If there’s any point where the first Pikmin game falters, it’s the little things. Pikmin aren’t the smartest creatures. Even matured flower Pikmin trip often and fall behind, and they will follow you to the best of their ability. Unfortunately their best is often falling off of a slope or getting stuck on a wall. While I didn’t experience it here, I don’t want to say with confidence that the Switch port off the game fixed glitches such as Pikmin dying under a bridge. Absolutely a limitation of the time, without a doubt, but I found on revisiting this game that their lackluster ability to follow you correctly is often used by the developers to make the player consider bringing a smaller group, or to prevent a larger group from entering. Power in numbers be damned, sometimes bringing a smaller posse of Pikmin to battle can be a smarter decision! The player being able to go places your Pikmin can’t always go is something the first game’s level design excels at.
Pikmin is an excellent game, even today. It excels at what it aims to do, even if what future games expanded upon improved the formula in more ways than one. In some regards, such as tone and mechanical balance, the original game even outshines its successors. The Switch port of the game is notably bare, unfortunately. This isn’t the same treatment that Metroid Prime got. What we have is a much cleaner presentation of the Wii version of the game, without the Wii version’s excellent controls. Pikmin 3 Deluxe on Switch received tweaks to its mechanics to mechanics to fit the lack of control options. While I adapted quickly to the control stick option, it did take some time compared to how long it took me to adapt to the Wii version, and less options are never ideal. In the end, what we have is the GameCube version’s controls in the Wii version of the game, stretched UI assets and all. While I value the accessibility of the game more than the idea of a more impactful remaster, I can’t help but wish for a bigger update. On the other hand, they DID redo the entire enemy roll at the end of the game! That was a nice surprise. They’ll always be wollywogs to me.
I’m happy to say that it held up exceptionally well. From starting the game again, I was once again enamored by the tone and mystique the first game offers its otherworldly crash landing. I mostly played wearing headphones, and it was my first time hearing much of this music directly into my ears. While later games leaned more on the quirky, adorable nature of the Pikmin, the first game offers something unsettling - a survival story of Captain Olimar trying to recover parts of his ship before his supply of breathable air has gone dry. What was once such a defining tone of the game would later become something entirely different, and while both directions are fitting for the series, there is something special about the first game’s presentation.
The original Pikmin’s gameplay is something that also holds up excellently. While it could stand to have many of the improvements found in later games, such as a lock-on mechanic or more variety amongst the included types of Pikmin to use, the simplicity of the first game is not to disregard. It’s a loop that’s still captivating; you’re exploring three major areas and two smaller ones trying to find all of the missing components of your ship. They can be anywhere: out in the open, behind an obstacle, or even in the belly of a giant beast. To get these parts, you’ll need to order your Pikmin to build bridges, tear down walls, and bring down foes big and small. The puzzle elements of the series isn’t at it’s strongest here (I found that to be a highlight of Pikmin 3 in particular), but it is far from absent. The three original types of Pikmin may not be the most useful past the required water-immunity of blues or high throwing arcs of yellows, but the high damage output of red Pikmin make them the MVP of the first game. You have 30 days to get 30 ship parts… can you do it?
If there’s any point where the first Pikmin game falters, it’s the little things. Pikmin aren’t the smartest creatures. Even matured flower Pikmin trip often and fall behind, and they will follow you to the best of their ability. Unfortunately their best is often falling off of a slope or getting stuck on a wall. While I didn’t experience it here, I don’t want to say with confidence that the Switch port off the game fixed glitches such as Pikmin dying under a bridge. Absolutely a limitation of the time, without a doubt, but I found on revisiting this game that their lackluster ability to follow you correctly is often used by the developers to make the player consider bringing a smaller group, or to prevent a larger group from entering. Power in numbers be damned, sometimes bringing a smaller posse of Pikmin to battle can be a smarter decision! The player being able to go places your Pikmin can’t always go is something the first game’s level design excels at.
Pikmin is an excellent game, even today. It excels at what it aims to do, even if what future games expanded upon improved the formula in more ways than one. In some regards, such as tone and mechanical balance, the original game even outshines its successors. The Switch port of the game is notably bare, unfortunately. This isn’t the same treatment that Metroid Prime got. What we have is a much cleaner presentation of the Wii version of the game, without the Wii version’s excellent controls. Pikmin 3 Deluxe on Switch received tweaks to its mechanics to mechanics to fit the lack of control options. While I adapted quickly to the control stick option, it did take some time compared to how long it took me to adapt to the Wii version, and less options are never ideal. In the end, what we have is the GameCube version’s controls in the Wii version of the game, stretched UI assets and all. While I value the accessibility of the game more than the idea of a more impactful remaster, I can’t help but wish for a bigger update. On the other hand, they DID redo the entire enemy roll at the end of the game! That was a nice surprise. They’ll always be wollywogs to me.