Miniature Heroes (Pikmin (GC))

Member Name: 3rd Rock Satan

Product:	Pikmin (GC)
Date:	02/06/04 (81 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Totally cute, A nice challenge, Lovely graphics and sound

Disadvantages: Totally cute, Quite short

Pikmin are cute. Too cute. There I?ve said it. When playing this game you will become attached to each and everyone of your Pikmin, unless you have a heart of stone that is. You will feel sorry for each one of the little guys that gets eaten, drowns or gets left behind. We have the now legendary Shigeru Miyamoto to thank for this. He is the man behind such gaming icons like Donkey Kong, Link and, of course, our favourite fat plumber Mario. Pikmin sees him taking a slightly different approach into his normal gaming fare and he explores the genre of real time strategy but adds his own personal style.

In Pikmin you take control of little Captain Olimar (and at 2cms for his body and an extra 2 for his little light on top of his space suit, I mean little) who, when flying through space, is hit by a meteorite and he crash lands on a mysterious alien planet. He finds out that he only has thirty days to retrieve his ship parts (yes there are thirty of them) or he falls prey to the poisonous gas of the planet ? namely Oxygen. Finding his ship parts on his own would be a pretty hefty task and so, when wondering around the planet, he meets a Pikmin. He then realises that he can use these little creatures to aid him in his quest to return home.

There are three main types of Pikmin on the planet. The first Pikmin Olimar will encounter are the red variety. These have the ability to attack quicker and harsher against the other kinds and can survive fire attacks. Yellow Pikmin can be thrown faster than other Pikmin and also carry ?Bomb rocks? which help break down barriers or used against enemies. The final type of Pikmin are blue, these can travel through water without drowning. Pikmin are raised via seeds. Seeds can be collected in a number of different ways, from pods in flowers or lying on the ground
or from enemies dead bodies. Pods are then taken to the main hub of each colour Pikmin and then seeds drop down and sprout. Olimar can then uproot each sprout and a Pikmin is created. However if you leave them in the ground Pikmin will mature. From leaf, to bulb and then to flower, giving them faster running ability and attacks. Of course one Pikmin just isn?t enough to defeat some of the enemies on the planet so Olimar can control up to 100 Pikmin at any one time.

Controlling the Pikmin and Olimar may prove daunting at first but the Nintendo control pad is used to great effect in the game. The main control stick is used to control Olimar and tipped slightly it can move the cursor so you know where you are about to throw your Pikmin. To throw Pikmin you get them behind you and press the A button this will then launch them onto an enemy, seed pod or shop part. The A button is also used to pick up a planted Pikmin and pressing it repeatedly will make Olimar automatically go to each planted Pikmin. The B button is used to call your Pikmin with your whistle with can be important if you want to round up large numbers quickly. The C stick is used to control Pikmin more directly, although they will follow you they may spread out too much, by moving the C button the desired way they will immediately group into a narrow line. Also pressing the C stick forward will focus the entire group on a desired object. The X button is used to dismiss Pikmin that are in your command and if there are a number of colours they will group into different ones which is useful if you want to then control a certain type of Pikmin. The Y button is used for Olimar?s monitor and, when picked up, the satellite provides a map so you can see the ship parts in the area. The remaining buttons are used for camera angles. T
;he L button is used for rotating; the R for zoom and the Z button for a birds eye view. Once you get the hang of the controls it is easy to master.

However I did have problems not so much with the controls but with the Pikmin and the paths they choose. Sometimes when controlling a large group a lone Pikmin can sometimes get stuck. This wouldn?t be so bad but if you need a specific number you cant afford to leave one out and because they are so damned cute you?ll want to go get it back anyway. Also a problem can occur when Pikmin run into the path of nectar, while this advances the Pikmin into flower form all Pikmin that come in contact will stop following you and continue to get nectar causing you to stop and blow your whistle to get the group back. A minor gripe but it can slow you down.

As said the aim of the game is to collect the ship parts so Captain Olimar can get back to his wife and kids. However how you go about collecting ship parts and how many you collect is up to you. There are thirty ship parts to find and thirty days to find them but this does not mean that it works out as one per day. Organise your Pikmin well and multi-task and you could get two or three ship parts in a day. Or if you fall prey to enemies or bad timing then you may end up with nothing. This means that you could end up finishing earlier than planned. On the flip side you may not finish at all. Finishing with less than thirty ship parts doesn?t mean failure though and you can complete the game without every single one. You will only have the daytime to collect the ship parts because at night the enemies come out in force. This means there is a strict time limit of around 15 minutes per day. While this adds urgency to your mission it does seriously reduce gameplay time. Like Luigi?s Mansion this is another ?short and sweet? game by Nin
tendo so don?t be thinking that this will last a long time.

There is an added ?Challenge Mode? when you progress in the game. This sees you trying to raise as many Pikmin as possible in each environment you?ve been so far. While it is a nice addition don?t expect it to lengthen the time you spend with the game.

The game is split into five different levels. Each level is only obtainable after getting a certain number of parts so that the ship is upgraded enough to fly further. As with most games each level gets harder in terms of enemies to defeat and obstacles that hinder your way to the ship parts. On the earlier levels you can easily manage to get ship parts using any Pikmin but in later ones you will need to combine all types to successfully achieve getting a part. Although you can choose which level to go back to the game is still set in a fairly linear fashion and, indeed, in the early stages problems arise. For example you could get the first ship part in the first stage the go back there only to find the second is unobtainable because you don?t have the correct Pikmin meaning a day wasted. Although you can easily go back from the last save point it can prove annoying.

The graphics of Pikmin aren?t mind blowing but nor are they meant to be. The graphics suit the environment nicely and are detailed enough to enough distraction when you first start playing the game. The screen is usually full of nice eye-candy to gaze at, from the little Pikmin themselves moving individually with their little legs and leafs bobbing up and down as they run to the way the water trickles in a very realistic way. The enemies are also superbly detailed from the way they move to the way their expressions can change when they attack. There is not a vast range of enemies but each species created is suitably different to the last. Lighting effects are also used well.
As the day progresses it will subtly get darker or lighter depending on the time of day. In the underground level lighting creates a suitable dark and dangerous feel to the place and the fire effects used in this area alone are superbly animated. The only slight grumble about the graphics is the fact that sometimes clipping problems arise and you can see Pikmin sometimes ?walk through? objects but that happens in almost any game and is such a tiny gripe on an otherwise polished looking game.

The sound in the game isn?t too amazing but works well. The effects of you little Pikmin are great, from them getting pulled from the ground to the little sounds they make when picking up an object. The other effects such as the water and noise of the enemies are pretty standard. The music isn?t overbearing and is quite relaxing and it changes during encounters with enemies and when the day comes to a close. Indeed the music was so good that a single released in Japan sold over 1million copies.

It seems that Miyamoto has done it again. Pikmin is once again a familiar enough type of game but different enough to warrant attention from people. While it lasts you?ll become attached to each and every one of the little Pikmin you raise. The game does provide a nice challenge too. I did find that I was able to complete the game very comfortably with days to spare and it did provide some entertaining hours including retries of different levels. If you want something a bit different on the GameCube then Pikmin should suit you. However beware that it will bring out your mothering instincts and when it ends you?ll be longing to meet them again in Pikmin 2.


[8 out of 10]

PIKMIN IS

Different
Yet familiar
Full of cute creatures

PIKMIN IS N
9;T

A normal strategy affair
Going to last an age
Just for Christmas

Summary: