#also the reason why pikmin 3 (and to a certain extent 4) feel easy is because he's already played the previous games

[genderqueer-miharu]

I really think we need to make it illegal for people to say "the game is too easy" in a videogame review/critique

[extra-vertebrae]

Picked up Pikmin 4 earlier in the year and just finished it this weekend. I recently grabbed the Pikmin bundle off of the eShop since I had never played the first, and replayed Pikmin 3 in anticipation for a continued story. Held off on replaying Pikmin 2 because it sits as a genuine watermark for me from back in the GC days, and I didn't want to set up a bar for disappointment.

Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed in 4. I was really hoping that we'd get some answers on the recurring appearances of the Phantasms, or something about why every time these diminutive people visit earth, their ships blow up in the atmosphere, guaranteeing a crash and encounter with the Pikmin. Assuming engineering incompetence isn't the reason, I always held the idea that Pikmin are ultimately a least a partially parasitic species (in part inspired by the existence of Bulbmin) that requires some level of external intervention / action to survive, and are, to a certain extent, the reason Olimar and others repeatedly crash land on the planet. At the end of Pikmin 3, the credits show the Pikmin watching the sky as the Koppaites leave, only to immediately turn and head away as a falling star - likely another pilot - streaks to earth. The Pikmin understand what they're seeing to enough of a degree that they anticipate help - help that they need and ensures their advancement up the local food chain.

Anyways, narratively P4 didn't provide much in terms of answers, which is a shame. The game itself is good! I did find the boss / treasure reuse to be a little... disheartening? I'm personally not fond of "memory lanes" / "'memberberries"; the trend of rehashes of Green Hill and Chemical Plant Zone in Sonic titles have absolutely soured me on stuff like this in games. Difficulty wise, P4 felt... easy overall. However, to be fair on this aspect I did make relatively liberal use of the Rewind function in a few areas. I did really like the Dandori challenges; these were really great - I absolutely sunk quite lot of time into getting platinum scores. I would love a Challenge aspect that is the caves + treasures + their bosses, fully respawned, with or without a timer. Clearing out a floor is pretty easy and it's really unfortunate that there's no reason to go back afterwards. The final cave is easily the best in the game, and I wish there were more caves like it. The Empress Bulblax encounter in that absolutely tiny room was Good Shit(tm) and the final boss was A+.

I want to be as fair as possible, though - P4 feels easy because I started with P2, and there are aspects to P2 that are rightly improved on in P4. There's lock-on, there's charge, no instant hazard death outside of bombs and pits. These are good changes for the series overall. Also, Oatchi is great.

Also, really, really happy with Piklopedia is back! Really missed it in P3, also stoked that if you want, you can replay any boss on the spot. Outside of narrative, my only true gripe is the best upgrade for Oatchi being locked to, essentially, after the game is finished, when there is no reason or true chance to use it.

Hoping that P5 might have more on the Phantasms. In P2 the Phantasm is a very interesting gimmick that put the purple Pikmin to proper use. P3 rose a lot of questions about the Phantasms - it felt like it wasn't an "accident" or some kind of afterthought that the Gold Phantasm was the final boss. The Phantasms technically only appear as a memory lane encounter in P4. I suppose we'll see in... 10 years? In the meantime, I'll replay P2 - see how rosy those glasses really are, and maybe try a sort of "minimum Pikmin" run for P4 to spice it up for myself.