With a little help from my little friends

In my 30 years of playing video games, yeah, I’m old, I have never actually played a Pikmin game before. To the Nintendo crowd, that may be blasphemy, but I just never got around to playing them. Well, I can finally say I’ve played a Pikmin game now. I’m glad I did. It’s a fun, and quite different experience.

Pikmin 3 originally released on the Wii U back in 2013 and was pretty well received back then. We now get the “Deluxe” edition for the Switch that adds a few extra things and allows players to play on their TV or in portable mode for a more versatile version of the game.

MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: Switch

Players take on the role of three space explorers that land on a mysterious planet full of foreign life. This includes Pikmin. These little creatures follow the main characters around and help in certain areas. Certain Pikmin are better at certain things or can withstand particular elements. The red Pikmin can resist fire, while the yellow Pikmin can conduct electricity. This all plays a big part in both the exploration and the puzzle solving of the game itself. Pikmin 3 has an overlying task for the player to accomplish, but they must keep in mind that since these explorers are stranded on this planet, they need to secure food that will last them each day. They gather fruits that will give them a certain amount of juice that will sustain them. So, it is important to not only progress the story, but to keep up the exploration to make sure they find enough fruit to last them through the next few days. Each day is timed, and players are allowed to do whatever they wish during the day, but once night falls, it’s time to go back to the ship and eat. No one wants to be caught without food for the day, so it is a nice balance of story progression while keeping other things in mind while doing tasks.

In the Deluxe edition of the game, there is a two-player co-op mode that has been added to the campaign that allows for split-screen play. There is also a new epilogue to the game featuring Captain Olimar. This is like a level to level agility test. While the main campaign does have a survival timer, there’s plenty of fruit to find and keep stock of, with Olimar, this feels like a speed run and a test of multitasking. It was a big change of pace that almost makes the main campaign feel like the tutorial for this portion. It’s nice to see this at least, even if I was more of a slower paced player.

It both looks and plays fantastic. I loved the feel of everything including the controls. Sure, there were a few times I would throw a Pikmin and it would get stuck on the edge of a platform, but it was never a game breaker. The look and style of the game was spot on too. It has a cutesy look to it and it really shines both on the TV and in handheld mode.

Fans of the series should really pick this one up, and from the stories I heard from players of the previous games, it sounds like this is one of the best ones for newcomers. I would have to agree. I had no idea how to play this game, but I was in, and addicted to the timer within an hour of booting it up for the first time. This is one Switch game I think anyone should add to their library.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Good
  • Great style and gameplay
  • Fun mechanics
  • Timer adds just enough urgency
Bad
  • The epilogue can be almost too frantic
9
Excellent
Written by
Drew is the Community Manager here at ZTGD and his accent simply woos the ladies. His rage is only surpassed by the great one himself and no one should stand between him and his Twizzlers.