Pikmin 3 brings back the brilliantly cute planetary exploration and survival game with a bang as a new set of galactic travellers crash land on the Nintendo Wii U. Created by the gurus at Nintendo, the third outing for the Pikmin tribes is, as you’d expect, the most impressive looking since the game’s initial launch for the Gamecube way back in 2001/2, using the advanced HD graphics and processing power that the Wii U has under its sleek finish.
While the strategy game has come a long way since its first two incarnations on the Gamecube, it still encapsulates the same addictive concepts. It’s not been seen for a while, with no significant take up of the franchise on the Wii with the exception of the a re-release of the originals, so Pikmin 3 is definitely a welcome return to the game for fans.
Storyline:
The storyline is fairly simple, although it does spawn some brilliant gameplay. Three intrepid space travellers crash land on a distant planet as they search for new sources of food for their home planet of Koppai. During the crash they’re separated and have to each discover the wonderful delight of getting help from the local wildlife, the Pikmin. The ship is still able to fly into orbit to keep the team safe during the predator filled nights, but with the craft’s hyper drive key missing, they’re stuck on planet with a diminishing supply of reserves.
Though the story has moved on slightly from its Olimar featuring predecessor, it still utilises the the same overarching plot of a crash landing, the discovery of the Pikmin and the need to use their skills to get your ship back up to speed. While this does lend itself to the continuity aspect of the series, there’s definitely scope for the storyline to be developed further with new ways of looking at the game dynamic, but that hasn’t been the case with Pikmin 3. If there’s a Wii U based Pikmin 4 we’d hope that they go beyond the simple confines to create something even more epic than the original concept like a planetary invasion to fend off with the help of the Pikmin or a flower based cry for help.
Characters:
The game starts with the three voyagers, Alph, the ship’s engineer, a botanist called Brittany and Captain Charlie, as they discover the planet PNF-404 from the comfort of their exploration ship, the SS Drake. When the ship crashes as it attempts to land to investigate, the three are separated and you begin the game as the plucky Alph to try to rebuild the ship, find his missing crew members and hunt enough fruit to make it through the long cold nights in outer orbit.
Each of the three characters are cute and amusing and they work well with the introduction of the varying plantlike Pikmin sub-species that ranges from the hard-battling and flame retardant reds, to the hard, heavy and powerful rock Pikmin and the high flying and deep digging yellow.
You also quickly discover that you’re not the only intelligent life form on the planet either, but we’ll leave the spoilers out and let you discover the truth behind the planet for yourself.
Gameplay:
When you start the game, you’re eased into the concept of the strategy based gameplay through a tutorial process in which the ship explains new things and abilities that you discover. The overarching game concept sees you take in the help of the varying sub-species of Pikmin to progress through the story. You can call them to your side, hurl them into battle with the planet’s big mean nasties, get them to take care of constructing bridges or taring down barriers to make it through the levels, collect flower pellets and dead monster carcasses to increase their numbers and pick up the planet’s supersized fruit to keep you in stock of life giving juice.
It’s a winning formula that’s as addictive now as it was when it first appeared. There’s little to fault in terms of the gameplay and the addition of the daily timer, the need to find fruit to stay alive and the importance of getting your Pikmin back to camp at the end of the day creates a real sense of urgency and efficiency in the game.
The use of the gamepad makes it easy to move the characters throughout the game and on the whole it’s seamless. The only exception is when you take on flying creatures, which are much more difficult to pinpoint with your Pikmin target. A simple solution to this would be The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD style enemy targeting.
The gamepad also gives you an easy way to view the whole map with the touch screen display, as well as providing off TV play if there’s a few dibs on the goggle box.
As well as the main storyline game options, there’s also a missions options where you can take on challenges that include collecting treasure, battling enemies and going toe to toe with the big bosses of the game. The final option is called Bingo Battle and it’s another challenge based game as you race another of your explorer characters find enemies and fruit shown on a bingo card and get them back to your onion fastest.
Graphics:
Graphically the game is literally beautiful as it uses the power of the Nintendo’s first HD console to create a lushly detailed landscape and objects. You’ve only got to get a whiff of a piece of fruit to be taken aback by how real they look. While the marooned crew and Pikmin are animated with fairly basic features, the planet’s enemies are very impressive, especially the big monstrous bosses you’ll have to face.
The only real negative is that the game hasn’t taken full advantage of the potential of cut scene animation to add to the experience of the game. The end of day review scenes could have had a lot more impact visually, although in all fairness it does maintain a unique style. Take a look at the trailer below to see for yourself.
Music and Sound:
The music is a continuation of the lush graphics, adding to the sense of being out in the wilderness, varying dependent on the nature of your surroundings. The in-game sound effects are pretty spot on too, with the classic Pikmin in flight whoop as well as enemy attacks. The downside is that the game hasn’t fully explored the capabilities of voiced characters in exchange for the old warbles overlaying text creeping their way across the screen, which stands in stark contrast to the sheer modern day quality of the graphics.
Overall review:
In short, the overall Tuppence take on Pikmin 3 is that it’s another amazing release for the Nintendo Wii U. While the potential of better cut scene cinematography and voiced characters would have gone a long way to make the game a bit more of a glittering experience, their omission takes nothing away from the sheer fruit addicted sweetness of the gameplay.
Pikmin 3 review: 4.4/5
