Pikmin

Review by Trent Dickerson
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Pikmin. Despite the fact that another game also shares the letters P, K, M, and N created by Miyamoto, this game indeed qualify's under the one rule that all of Shiggy's games have always followed: it must be unique. And this game is DEFNITELY unique. Many question the truth of whether or not gaming god, Shigeru Miyamoto, truly got the idea for this game from the garden in his very own backyard. This is in fact true.
The story is this: You are Captain Olimar, navigator of the stars in your ship, the Dolphin(coincidence?), in which you carry small freight and minerals across the galaxy. Lately, you've been working really hard and decide to take a vacation on your own. The night before you leave, your wife makes you your favorite soup for dinner, which contains three large onions and dozens of tiny red, yellow, and blue carrots; a favorite dish on your homeworld of Hocotate.
The journey starts out well. However, after having a small premonition about your ship crashing, you quickly ignore and go to make yourself a cup of tea, only to have the Dolphin be hit by a large asteroid. You hit your head on the console, and black out. The next thing you know, you wake up on a strange planet. You soon discover that the Dolphin has lost a lot of parts, many required to leave the planet's atmosphere. And this isn't even the bad part! The worst part is that this strange planet contains an element known as oxygen, something very deadly to your people! Your life-support system built in to your spacesuit only has enough battery power to last 30 days, of which by then you must repair your ship ad leave.
You decide to begins recording your experiences in your journal, which is an excellent idea, as you soon discover a onion-shaped structure with three legs. Near it, you find a turnip- looking creature which seems to follow you everywhere you go, as well as do what you say. These creatures, which you have dubbed "Pikmin", are sure to help you in your quest to rebuild your ship.
There are three different colors of Pikmin. The red, the first of which you discover, are the only ones resistant to fire. The yellow, the second you encounter, can jumper higher than other Pikmin as well as carry Bomb Rocks. Finally, there are the blue Pikmin, which are the only ones that can swim. The Pikmin come from the onion-shaped structures, however, it is they do not appear automatically. To creare more Pikmin, you must either bring the numbered pellets from the flowers to the Onion, or bring the carcass of a defeated creature to your Onion. The bigger the creature, the more Pikmin you'll get in return. And to make things even sweeter, if you bring a pellet to the Onion the same color as the pellet and the Pikmin, you'll get twice as many as the pellet number.
You can have as many as 100 Pikmin on the field. However, that does not mean you cannot have more Pikmin "planted" in the ground as well. In addition to being three different colors of Pikmin, there are also three different types of Pikmin. Leaf, Bud, and Flower. Flower Pikmin are the fastest of all three types and can be created by either leaving them "planted" in the ground long enough, or by feeding them the nectar from nearby plants. Flower Pikmin may, however, revert to Leaf Pikmin when damaged by an enemy.
After recovering the engine in the first environment, you can travel within the planet's atmosphere to its many areas, whether it be a lush forest or a vast ocean. Pikmin aren't exactly the most intelligent creatures in the universe, therefore you must be very, VERY careful in giving your orders. For example, if you want order them from point A to point B, and there is a lake in between, unless they are blue Pikmin, they will all drown unless you pick them up and throw them to land. YOU may know they can't swim, but THEY don't, they will literally blindly follow you everywhere you go or want them to go unless they are idle.
The 5 environments of the planet include The Impact Site, The Forest pf Hope, The Forest Navel, The Distant Spring, and the Final Trial. And from they all look, it DOES look like one big garden. The graphics are indeed beautiful. Whether it be the realistic ripples in the water, or the extremely detailed creatures in the game. And the creatures in this game are not only detailed, but are most certainly original. Whether it be a seagull- looking creature that pops out of the ground, a ladybug-like creature, or a fire-breathing ant-eater looking monster, everything in this game in spectacular.
Another thing about this game that is truly great is the sound. The multiple noises of the Pikmin, which include everything from screaming to cheering, not only does it add to the uniqueness of the game, they really help you know what's going on in the game. Whether it be the munching sounds of the monsters, the screaing of the Pikmin as they die, or as they run in fear, it's really helpful. And the soundtrack is simply awesome.
The pace at which this game is simple and relaxing. At first, you have only a couple Pikmin dragging a part back to the Dolphin, but by the time you get to the 5th level, you'll have to have figured out how to correctly coordinate at least three teams, which might include one knocking down a gate, one carrying a ship part, and another attacking an enemy with Captain Olimar. Figuring out how to correctly do all this "multitasking" is truly the meat and potatoes of this game.
The game may look "cute" or "kiddy", but the truth of the matter is that the game is actually very complex and can quickly become a handful. I'm not sure what drew me to this game, as I don't really like RTS console games. It's the absolute opposite of my favorite types of games, being adventure and RPGs, but perhaps it's simply the fact that this game came from the genius mind of Shigeru "Shiggy" Miyamoto. This game has so much replay value, as you can do anything in just about any order. As luck would have it, in a recent interview with Shiggy, it appears that he is already working on Pikmin 2, which is expected out sometime in 2003. According the the article, Miyamoto wants to replace Mario with Pikmin as Nintendo's lead mascot. While one could question why Miyamoto would want to do this, it certainly explains the "Nintendo Difference".

My Score: 9 out of 10
Advantages: 3 different colors of Pikmin, 3 different types of Pikmin, beautiful graphics, sound sets the mood, definitely an original idea, infinite replay value.
Disadvantages: Not enough levels, only worth about 15 hours of gameplay, some may think it looks "kiddy".