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06/17/05 Written by Geoff “Raine” Jackson
The Game:
Pikmin is a product of Nintendo’s various attempts to break the mold of designing fun games. Fun and perhaps freaky, Pikmin is a game that can be enjoyed by the young and old. Given its avante garde approach, Pikmin is still surprisingly easy to play on the onset, and is a very rewarding game to get into.
Pikmin doesn’t fit into any particular genre per se, but it is a strategic survival game, allowing the player to use and squander the lives of his pikmin at a whim if he or she so desires, but repeated abuses will eventually result in dire consequences. The game exists in a persistent world, so any achievements, births, and deaths are carried between areas.
However, many gamers will pass this game up simply because of its child-like demeanor. While it is true that the game is a palette full of bright colours, and the mutterings of the pikmin are tiny and adorable, this is merely a sugary frosting over the brutal reality of the game. The pikmin, and your main character, Captain Olimar, are in a struggle for survival, and failure is met only with death, whether by drowning, burning, or even being consumed by one of the worlds many hungry carnivores.
Gameplay:
Pikmin is a simple game to play. Olimar orders the pikmin around using the C-stick of the controller, he can toss pikmin with A, and call pikmin back with the B button. With these simple controls, its up to Olimar to utilize the pikmin to collect all of the parts of his spacecraft before his oxygen supply runs out in 30 days.
The pikmin are an industrious race of tiny plant/animal hybrids. They are divided into three “races,” each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. The red pikmin are immune to fire and deal the most damage in combat, and are the first pikmin that Olimar meets upon planetfall. He later meets yellow pikmin, who are thinner than red pikmin, and possess large ears. They can be thrown higher and farther than normal pikmin, and while they do lack combat prowess, they are the only pikmin able to pick up and use bomb rocks. Blue pikmin are met later on, and are the only pikmin capable of surviving in water, thanks to their mouth-like gills.
As mentioned above, the world exists with some persistence. Olimar only has 30 days to find all the pieces of his ship, and every day roughly corresponds to ten minutes of play time. Any pikmin left out of their protective onion after sunset will be eaten by the world’s nocturnal predators. Often as the player watches helplessly.
While Pikmin is a fun and generally easy game, it is highly unlikely that the player will beat it on the first pass. Managing one hundred pikmin, the maximum that can be in the field at one time, and co-ordinating them all towards varying objectives requires refined finesse, and no small ability at multitasking.
Visuals:
Pikmin is visually a very appealing game. The water and vegetation are done superbly, creating a very realistic environment for Olimar and his pikmin colleagues to traverse.
The various predators are often portrayed in a cartoon style, with exaggerated body parts like mouths, eyes, teeth, etc. This is, perhaps a downfall for the pikmin, as many people will think many of the world’s carnivorous creatures actually appear harmless, and will march their army right in front of what could in fact be a hungry grub-dog.
The animation is also worthy of note in pikmin, as everything moves in a believable fashion, even if its existence is barely believable. Take for example, a blow-hog. This walking blowtorch is the bane of any non-red pikmin, and it lumbers around, rolls of flesh rippling with every waddling step. The pikmin themselves will sway in the wind, and look around curiously when left alone.
Also of note is the progression of time in the world of Pikmin. The lighting changes depending on the time of day, and it is also affected by the location where the Pikmin are currently working. All in all, the graphics in Pikmin make good use of the Gamecube’s facilities, but don’t really challenge the graphical edge.
Audio:
The audio of Pikmin is both simple and fitting for the mood of the game. The pikmin themselves have a diverse vocabulary of mutterings, ranging from joy at finding bomb-rocks or the maturing nectar, to the moaning last breath after being beaten to death by a carnivore. The pikmin will also panic if they begin to drown, letting Olimar know he has precious few seconds before he loses some pikmin to a watery grave.
The other sounds of the game befit an almost child-like atmosphere, but they are never ridiculously cute for the situation. A frog leaping onto your pikmin might make a funny falling noise, but upon landing on the pikmin, there’s a very realistic crunch as the poor souls underneath are crushed.
The sounds of interaction depart from the other noises in that they are more realistic. A hundred pikmin knocking against a wooden barrier sounds pretty much how you would expect it to sound, and walking through water and grass and the like also produce very believable sounds.
Control:
Like almost all Gamecube games, Pikmin’s control layout is designed for simplicity. The A button tosses pikmin, while B calls them back. The C-stick alters the formation of the pikmin relative to Olimar. Most of the other buttons serve to alter camera angles or bring up assorted menus and maps
Replay Value:
Pikmin is not such an easy game that a first time player will get the best possible ending on their first go around. The varying endings make this game replayable until, at last, ultimate victory is achieved, and Olimar takes his completed starship and leaves the planet. However, once the player has finally achieved the best possible ending, there is little else to do in Pikmin, and the game will likely make a permanent residence on the shelf.
However, given the number of game hours required to complete the game, it is a safe bet that most players will be able to squeeze more than 30 hours into Pikmin before beating it completely.
Overall:
Pikmin is a game that could be considered a cult classic. Many people find it very enjoyable, while others can’t get past the child-like nature of the game. It is definitely a rentable game, and I encourage those who are unsure of it to try it out. Those who enjoy micromanaging games, or just the fun of lording over creatures smaller than themselves will probably find this to be a game to their liking.
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