Game: Pikmin™ 3 Deluxe
Genre: Adventure, Action, Strategy, Multiplayer
System: Nintendo Switch
Developers | Publishers: Nintendo
Age Rating: EU 3 | US E10+
Price: EU $59,99 | US $59.99 | UK £59.99
Release Date: October 30th 2020
No review code used, I purchased the game myself.
Pikmin 3 was originally released in 2013 for the Wii U. Nintendo in their infinite wisdom have now decided the time is right to spruce up Pikmin 3. They have added new side story missions and more. And of course, released the game on the Nintendo Switch as a Deluxe version. I have previously played Pikmin when it was first released years ago and I loved the game. I have now bought the game on the Switch, yes I know spending money on a game I’ve played before, tut tut, but hey what can I say? I’m a sucker for Pikmin!
Delightful Strategy
Pikmin 3 Deluxe is a delightful strategy adventure well worth a second chance on Nintendo’s more popular platform. Millions of players especially younger players have likely never even been aware of its existence. But now is their chance to fall in love with Pikmin like many players have done before them.
Pikmin is one of Nintendo’s more unusual franchises, in Pikmin Deluxe players command a diverse army of plant-like creatures to murder wildlife, gather fruit and solve all sorts of puzzles across an unknown planet!
Crew of Three
As the story goes, the Pikmin 3’s crew is on a mission to find food for their home planet, Koppai. Their search leads them to planet PNF-404, a dead ringer for Earth that happens to be filled with delicious fruit, isn’t that lucky for them!
Alph, Brittany and Charlie prepare to land, but their ship crashes in the process. The three explorers are separated, and it’s up to you to reunite them. And fill their ship’s pantry with food, and help them make their way home. It’s a tall order, but they have a few hundred helping hands in the shape of Pikmin. They befriend the Pikmin who assist them in combat, solving puzzles, and in amassing resources.
You can also split your crew into three squads, each led by one of the crew and send them across the map to where you require them. Or you can try out the entire story mode in two player co-op for the first time.
Pikmin can be directed to accomplish various tasks, such as building bridges, destroying barriers, collecting fruit and defeating enemies. When pikmin carry fruit back to your ship, it’s converted into precious juice. Your crew consumes one tank of juice each night, so you need to make sure you have a good amount stockpiled.
Different Coloured Pikmin
Pikmin come in various colors and different physical features that signify their special abilities or immunities to hazards. For example, Red Pikmin are immune to fire and can fight harder, Yellow Pikmin are immune to electricity and can be thrown farther, and Blue Pikmin are immune to water.
Alongside the returning red, yellow, and blue Pikmin from previous Pikmin games, Pikmin 3 Deluxe has two Pikmin types that where introduced into the game in the original Wii U version. Rock Pikmin, which can destroy tough barriers, and are immune to being crushed by heavy objects, and pink-colored Winged Pikmin, which can attack airborne enemies, carry items through the air, and travel over water. The newish Pikmin, Rock and Flying, add enough interesting strategy that they don’t feel like unnecessary or strange additions.
Please Don’t Kill The Pikmin
Because Pikmin are small and weak, they can easily be killed by hazards or devoured by enemies when misdirected or left unattended. If you’re like me and don’t like to lose the wee critters there is a replay day option. Which comes in very useful if you have an accidental mass killing of Pikmin, oops! You can only explore with Pikmin during daylight, one day at a time. You begin each day at sunrise and need to finish all tasks and re-collect all stray Pikmin before sunset.
Pikmin 3 Deluxe lends itself to bite-size chunks of play and never really feels like it’s on a time limit, though technically it is. Previous games in the series had a real limit, and made you worry about the clock, but Pikmin 3 Deluxe is far less concerned with the a looming deadline, as your only limit is how much fruit you can gather to convert into juice.
A Few Changes
Another change is you can now call all Pikmin back to the ship near the end of a day. They all still need time to travel back to the ship, but this saves the last-minute trips to help an errant Pikmin across the world. Radar has also changed. The top-down look that would happen on the TV while you looked at the Wii U GamePad is gone, but in its place is more flexibility in how you zoom in and out on the map. The overall control and gameplay tweaks make it substantially different.
New Modes To Play
Instead of one difficulty setting, Pikmin Deluxe now has three difficulty settings available: Normal, Hard, and Ultra-Spicy. Ultra-Spicy is indeed challenging, while Normal is a much more of a stroll through the park.
This deluxe version of the Pikmin 3 game includes new side-story missions, a prologue and an epilogue to the story featuring Olimar and Loui, the original stars of the first two Pikmin games. The downside to these missions is that they are basically just new timed versions of mission mode. They’re not new areas to explore, it’s just a different variation of the levels you have already seen. While it is nice to have a little bit more Pikmin to play with, it’s not all that engrossing.
Bingo Battle returns and this mode throws two players on a map, racing to get fruit and items to complete a bingo card. Sadly this Norma no mates never gets to try this mode out as none of my real life friends are gamers.
The ease of play has been enhanced for younger players with lock-on targeting system, enemy balancing changes, and optional hints and a direction arrow to follow if you get lost.
Visuals and Controls
Controls have been adjusted to suit the Nintendo Switch, the lock-on system has been changed. This adds in more places to lock onto as well as just making it easier to bounce between items and enemies. The charge system is mapped to a button, which actually makes it way more easy to execute I think. And I definitely used the charge function more in this Deluxe version than I did on the WiiU.
I think the new control system works really well. I didn’t have any problems in getting used to it as it felt pretty natural from the start of the game.
Visually, Pikmin Deluxe is lovely on the Nintendo Switch. Full of vibrant colours and a world alive with all sorts of creatures. The game looks great in either handheld mode or on the larger TV screen. If that is your preferred method of play you won’t be disappointed by the visuals.
Conclusion
Pikmin™ 3 Deluxe is just as great as it was when it was first released on the WiiU. Released at the perfect time to entice a new generation of budding gamers into the wonderful world of the tiny Pikmin.
I can imagine lots of very happy families playing Pikmin together this year at Christmas, it will make a fantastic family game to play. In fact, Pikmin is a fantastic game for anyone to play and enjoy immensely.
Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up. 