Pikmin, I thought I’d played previously, however, I think I was just getting tricked by the fact that I had played the 3rd entry in the series on the Wii U. I’ve had it in my collection for a while now and like most, was having trouble fitting it into my backlog of contenders to get through. I finally decided to go back to a game that has lured me in with its reputation and lineage in time for the podcast.
I played the GameCube version on original hardware.
At it’s heart its beautifully simple I think. It’s a simple map with multiple tasks that need to be carried out in a certain manner, with certain tools.
The wonder and game comes with the fact that you need to decipher what order to do these tasks correctly. For me the RTS side of things becomes addictive in this respect. Things like building an army, setting up a secure base and venturing out to conquer your enemy bases – collect your space ships pieces, all becomes very satisfying as you tick things off the list and progress forward.
The music is decent, nothing too grand and a few tunes seemed to get close to grinding on me as the hours ticked by of my time spent with them. The exception is the 3rd area however, The Forrest Navel – wonderful little catchy tune this.
The tune that Olimar whistles to control the Pikmin is also very cute, although I kept wanting to finish it in a slightly different tune to what he actually whistles – not sure why, there must be a subliminal tune in my head that starts the same but ends differently.
Olimar’s animations for whistling and dismissing the Pikmin is ever so slightly different, it’s the same whistle, just a different hand gesture – very slick I thought and only noticeable when Olimar’s is facing the camera and zoomed in. Not always noticed, nice attention to detail here though that only the hours spent players may notice.
One odd note is the sound that The Dolphin makes when it takes off after each day, its so weak and soft, it just seems so out of place and I would always notice it.
The controls are interesting, they go against modern instincts to control the Camera with the aptly named ’C’ stick and use a sort of single steer method, which works and by the end of the game you become quite proficient with it’s shortcomings to make use of it – it’s fiddly I feel but it works. I become quite used to pumping the left trigger on the GameCube controller as I would zoom around the landscapes to keep things in perspective.
Some of the more intricate sections require precise, confidant inputs, to which I often found lacking in my own skill to call upon when required. I like to think that after the hours I’d spent with the game I’d have been better under pressure when things got spicy but it would often all go to mush and result in a restart.
Other times where delicate controls are essential, when throwing Pikmin up to high level areas, or guiding them over ledges can be menacing and offer some of the biggest challenges in my patience with the game. Using a sort of combination of walking, whistling and guessing as to how their going to move. Sheep Herding Simulator 3000. Also, selecting a particular Pikmin from your herd, say a Yellow with a bomb can become maddening until, you realise that best way is to dismiss them all then touch the single Pikmin you need and do it that way.
The Pikmin themselves are a pest at times, minds of their own, either running off into grass for amber, or deciding to suddenly go and pick up a pellet or creature carcass to take home is annoying, especially when in combat or under the leadership of a thoughtfully planned out strict mission. This is, I suppose, what it’s all about, they’re Pikmin after all.
Combat, in the end, often came down to sheer brute force. Apart from a few of the larger battles, which required a certain tactic to become victorious.
Often, I would just simply throw as many red Pikmin as I had at the enemy, with my Pikmin Claw technique I would move my left hand so that my thumb would control the Pikmin via a whistle on the C stick, then I could then throw them at breakneck pace at my target. The A button on the GameCube controller is one of the best in the business I think.
The game I feel only really gets going once you unlock the 4th area – Distant Spring. This is when things seemed much less of a cake walk and at times previous to this, seemed a little dull. This is where I had to take a step back and started setting objectives to do within a day and once I’d started planning out my manoeuvres and they were becoming obviously successful, the game became much more rewarding and addictive.
I eventually manged to beat the game with all items collected and 2 days left to spare.
Many Pikmin were lost to bring me this enjoyable experience.