Loving my Time in Pikmin 4
As we do every year, we are sprucing up your Summer months with articles about vacationing and gaming fun during your holiday. We have fun making these articles, talking about game destinations that seem like a good holiday destination. About summer drinks to pair with your favourite game, about games that are excellent to play on mobile and more.
My Summer Fun article is about little friends in happy colours that make me smile just by looking at their antics. Spread out over two summer holidays, I have been adventuring in Pikmin 4! It’s fun, it’s quirky, has a great sense of humour and is perfect for the entire family, while it’s not too easy for adults like me. This isn’t a review though, I’m just trying to capture the fondness I have for my little friends!
The Dandoori Way
Playing a Pikmin game, I think you have to like little puzzles, but you also have to be fond of management games. In Pikmin 4 the Dandoori challenges are just that: how can you do as much as possible in the most efficient way. It’s not as easy as it sounds, though: I do try to leave groups of my little helpers behind with a task while I go on to the next, but they often get into trouble. They always take the straight route to base, no matter if it passes by a scary animal who loves nothing better than to gobble up Pikmin. And when they do get the job done, they just lounge around afterwards at the airship, waiting patiently for the next orders. A good thing the Idlers Alert is added to my button array, that way I can always call them to me. It’s just that they go to the place where I was when I sounded the alert, and I don’t have time to wait around!
Still, I can’t fault them for it. After all, they are my little buddies. I suspect most people approach the game with a feeling of having expendable resources. When Pikmin dies, they will just make new ones. I try to steel my heart, too, but I just can’t. I often rewind time when I lose too many during a boss fight. Or when I can’t get the last straggling Pikmin to the ship in time, condemning them to being eaten by a giant ladybug. The heart-wrenching cries when you see their little ghosts float away….Rewinding time seems to be just the addition to the game series I had been waiting for.
Those Poor Monsters
I hate to lose any of my Pikmin, their cries really tear at my heart. But on the other hand, what did this mother with three little children do to deserve to have their afternoon stroll in the sun disrupted most brutally? I felt sorry for her because she would have to meet her end and lose her children too. Like when you intrude into one of the dungeons. Everyone was just minding their business until I came along and took them all out!
There are some tough cookies out there too:
Like the Pearly Clamclamp and Groovy Long Legs. Think a large discoball on long legs. He was a tough one to beat, bringing me back to the days of Saturday Night Fever.
Can It Get Any Cuter Than Oatchi?
Take some time while you are adventuring and watch the Pikmin closely, you will see some fun scenes. For example, while the sun was shining warming their little flower on top, it was no bother for them to have to wait while the others worked hard to destroy a barrier. I could see their joy, as 10 of them danced in circles on Oatchi’s back!
Which brings me to Oatchi…can a game character be any cuter? I laughed out loud when we found a photo frame with two real-life dogs in it, and the game remarked how those creatures looked a lot like Oatchi. Well, he does when you overlook the fact that he only has two legs and no nose. It doesn’t matter though, he wormed his way into my heart, just like Moss. I couldn’t help but want to save him too.
There is so much to love in Pikmin 4. Like the Rock Pikmin with their googly eyes and the flying Pikmin with goggles on. Even the monsters are often too cute to slay, like the Giant Breadbug who just wants to steal treasures and bury them. And looks so sweet while doing it.
A Game, Only Nintendo, Can Make
Pikmin 4 is the perfect Nintendo game like only Nintendo can make them: easy to pick up but filled with evolving puzzles and activities. I’ve played it with a sense of wonder and of course, having a fondness for cute things made it even more special!
Do you like our content? Support LadiesGamers on Patreon!
Check out our Tiers and Benefits and join us.