“Pikmin 3 is beautiful, well designed and seriously fun – although I wouldn’t say this is the game to save the Wii U. Most games feel like they are developed for the jaded gamer in all of us – bigger and flashier must mean better! Pikmin is subtle and sweet, allowing you to see the world from new perspectives. Plus you get minions; what more could you want?”
Pikmin 3 begins with a crash landing, leaving Alph, Brittany and the Captain Charlie separated and lost. After a brief tutorial as Charlie, you begin playing as Alph. Gameplay revolves around exploration and fruit acquisition. Over the course of your story you are reunited with your crew members, and eventually gain access to five different types of Pikmin – little flowery creatures- each with their own unique powers and traits.
Pikmin don’t feel particularly expendable in this game – after a ridiculously bad day when I accidentally killed a bunch of them, Charlie observed a moment of silence during the end-of-the-day comment log. Plus, the sound they make when they die is just too sad. I’m not saying I really cared about them or forged an emotional bond, but it was sorta sad when they’d die, especially when it was because of my own idiocy.
Exploration takes place on four main maps, with a fifth map that is a pure quest/final boss/epic Pikmin death-maze. Each area has unique characteristics, letting you use your new Pikmin to discover all kinds of horrifying bosses, enormous fruit, and hidden pathways. I particularly enjoyed the way fruit is named when you get it back to your space ship for analysis – white grapes will forever be Dawn Pustules to me.
You don’t have endless time for exploration, though. Each 15 minute day needs to be used wisely – you will drink a bottle of juice at the end of the day, so it’s important to gather more than you will need for the day in case you don’t find anything the next day. Pikmin that are left behind at the end of the day will be killed by nocturnal predators, so you may need to send one or two of your crew to go round up any stray Pikmin. This helps to give the game a sense of pacing and excitement that might not otherwise be present with simple exploration and scavenging.
I played the game using Wii-mote with nunchuk rather than the GamePad. The controls on the GamePad were clunky and hard to control, whereas the wand was precise and intuitive. While I enjoyed having the GamePad for my map and to send crew around the area (so much multitasking), it just didn’t feel as integrated into the game design. Sure, I could hold the GamePad up to take a picture if I wanted, but why would I want to take a picture? It just seemed like having a tablet on the side for ease of map viewing (and finding my stray Pikmin), rather than an integral part of the game. In fact, when my GamePad needed a charge (because you know the battery life isn’t really ideal), I was still able to play the game with minimal difference.
The story mode is fantastic and engaging, but the game also offers missions and “Bingo Battle”. As you might assume, the missions allow you to focus on fighting or gathering – you need to gather or kill a certain amount to achieve bronze, silver or gold medals for each mission. Bingo Battle is an awesome two player addition. One player uses the Wii-mote while the other uses the GamePad while they try to complete unique bingo cards of fruit and enemies that need to be collected. Plus, there are power-ups that you can use to hinder each other. Definitely a fun option to add a bit of competitive spirit to a highly strategic game.
For all the attention to stunning visuals and impressive gameplay, it appears that the character development was largely ignored. There are a few references to Charlie having a crush on Brittany – something that Alph seems to continually interrupt. However, at the end of most days Brittany would use one of three comments on how much juice was left over. Whether I had five or 25 days worth of juice, she’d refer to it as “a bit of a juice buffer”. There’s more than just a buffer there! This meant that the main characters felt like a means to an end, rather than a key part of the game’s experience.
Last Updated: July 29, 2013
| Pikmin 3 | |
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Pikmin proves that you don't need sex, violence or gimmicks to make an incredible game.
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| Pikmin 3 was reviewed on Wii U | |
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87 /
100
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RinceDAmasterdebata
July 29, 2013 at 15:39
Awesome! Zoe, you did a Goff though 😉 ‘mustm ean better’
Gavin Mannion
July 29, 2013 at 15:43
yeah I just fixed that
Vampyre Squirrel
July 29, 2013 at 15:46
Geoff*
RinceDAmasterdebata
July 29, 2013 at 15:47
SILENCE!
Trevor Davies
July 29, 2013 at 15:53
I think he’s had a few too many MS Pints *point & laugh*
RinceDAmasterdebata
July 29, 2013 at 16:03
Why I ought ta!
Ultimo_Cleric N7
July 29, 2013 at 16:06
*oughta
RinceDAmasterdebata
July 29, 2013 at 16:06
Not in my world 0-O
Ultimo_Cleric N7
July 29, 2013 at 16:09
The world that does not spell correctly?
MWAHAHAHAA!
RinceDAmasterdebata
July 29, 2013 at 16:13
Spelling is for CoD players… 0-O
RinceDAmasterdebata
July 29, 2013 at 15:40
It’s nice to see games like this but to be honest, is it something that will save the WiiU. I don’t think so…
ElimiNathan
July 29, 2013 at 16:43
Nice review
RinceDAmasterdebata
July 29, 2013 at 16:45
Awesome review by the way Zoe!
chiptoon
July 29, 2013 at 17:09
now if only a person could find a copy. Great job by Nintendo South Africa as always.
Adam
July 29, 2013 at 20:47
LAZY GAMER. You exclaim:
“Pikmin proves that you don’t need sex, violence or gimmicks to make an incredible game.
”
INCREDIBLE game! Though you give the game an 85?? Yes, people will say, 85 is fine…but, you know…it’s not…not for a game that many are calling a masterpiece, yet scoring under 90. Yet games like Black Ops 2, you reviewers do NOT call a masterpiece, though you score it over 90! Jeeeees. Let’s be consistent with reviews in relation to scores.
Adam
July 29, 2013 at 21:45
I mean, Lazy Gamer give Toki Tori 2 a 9.0?! So, LG, you are saying Toki Tori 2 is a better game than Pikmin 3 (a game you called INCREDIBLE?!) Your scoring system is WACKED! I started a topic about your wacked scoring on gamefaq.com site!
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/633263-pikmin-3/66852515
Tom Clayson
July 30, 2013 at 23:48
couple of things, surely you could of charged the gamepad and played at the same time, the adapter is pretty damn long and in bingo battle no one has to use the gamepad, i played with two wiimotes and the gamepad in the middle so no- one has an unfair advantage, also the mission mode is two player, just some things you missed.