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refinedpet · 14 days ago

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Alright it's time to bitch about how horribly difficulty is handled in Pikmin 3 Deluxe

So Pikmin 3 on the Wii U is considered to be easier than Pikmin 1 & 2, so at the time of release for 3DX on Switch, it was considered the easiest game in the series.

I never found that too much of a problem though, I still find the game enjoyable even if I wish it were harder.

So when we heard that 3DX was gonna have 3 difficulty options, Normal, Hard & Ultra Spicy. I was super excited, harder Pikmin is what I want, and having diffrent difficulties means you can have that without making it too hard for beginners.

Pre release we saw the Difficulties described as

Normal: For those new or rusty

Hard: For those with experience

Ultra Spicy: Only for those who consider themselves Pikmin Masters

And now let me explain why that's complete BS.

I'm gonna be comparing each of them to the Wii U original over each other because it really gets the point home. And let me remind you that Wii U 3 was already considered easy.

Let's start with Enemy Health! In Normal Mode enemies were given less health compared to the Original, the most drastic cases being enemies that could get one shot anyway with skill so, weird, but okay, very unnecessary. Then Hard has most enemies with twice as much health compared to Normal. And Ultra Spicy has higher health for some enemies than even that.

So you might think "Okay so they made enemies harder to kill." And, no. Hard is still overall lower than on Wii U and Ultra Spicy is ultimately comparable to the Wii U version, I don't know each enemies exact HP value, but as someone who's played both versions alot, there's functionally no difference and enemies still go down easier than 1 & 2 (a reminder Ultra Spicy is for "Pikmin Masters")

And that's the only change done to enemies, which in Base 3, we're already far less deadly and aggressive compared to the first two games. Maybe it would've been a good idea to make it so normal was like 3, and then the harder difficulties made it so more Pikmin would get eaten per bite? Or enemies swallowed faster, or attacked more often, or anything to make them functionally different? Because while Normal is easier here, it's ultimately the difference of money enemies dying in 2 seconds instead of 4.

So, enemies aren't really effected meaningfully, what else did they do to make it harder? Well they gave the Captains more health in Normal Mode, that's an alright change, make it so beginners have to worry less about that aspect, and I bet in harder difficulties you'd need to be extra careful- oh, they just. Kept it the same as Wii U even on Ultra Spicy.

Well, now fruit only gives half as much juice on the hardest difficulty, and the same on the other two.

Which I will admit, does make it so there's like 2 days you need to maybe worry about getting fruit instead of none. But as someone who frequently ends the game with 30-40+ extra juice rations, this just means your buffer will be smaller and still exist.

They also made the Day Duration 18 minutes instead of the usual 13 on normal. This also, doesn't make the game easier and moreso less fun since time management is kinda the whole point and 13 is plenty. And of course, on Hard and Ultra Spicy it stays at 13 like the original.

Now, they added Nectar Eggs in the Garden of Hope for Normal and Hard, making it easier to flower Pikmin. And then you get none in Ultra Spicy... and the original. Another case of Hard being easier than the Wii U version.

Okay so, what else?

Well, in Normal they change the drowning time for Pikmin from 6 seconds to 11, then keep it 6 in hard and make it 3 seconds in Ultra Spicy.

This is, the most meaningful change to increasing the difficulty made from the Wii U version to the "Only for Pikmin Masters" Mode.

So, Normal is less fun 3, Hard is easier 3 and Ultra Spicy is just 3 with a more strict (still very forgiving) time limit?

You'd probably think "At least you can just pick hard and get the original difficulty then"

But no, because there's one last change. In Ultra Spicy, your Pikmin Cap is 60 instead of 100.

This just makes the game less fun, there's no enemies strong enough that the difference of Pikmin will matter, most go down easy with 20 or less even on Ultra Spicy. And it just means you can multi task less which makes the game less fun.

So, Normal is less fun, Hard is Easier and Ultra-Spicy is effectively the same but made less fun. Reminder again, Base Pikmin 3 was already considered easy.

So there's no way to experience the games original difficulty. Your only real option is playing an Easier version that's pretending to be a hard mode.

Okay, now because it's easy to say "Well clearly you know and care too much about Pikmin" (true) "is this actually better for newcomers though?"

Well when Pikmin 3DX came out, I had two of my closest friends play it as their first Pikmin game.

I told both "Hey play on Hard, it's basically the Wii U versions difficulty, Normal will just be less fun"

One of them listened and one of them didn't.

The one who played on Hard said "That was still so easy I'm glad I listened to you" and then it tried Normal was was shocked by how much less fun it was

The other, played on Normal then immediately did a Hard playthrough and said to me "This is way more fun than Normal, I should've just started on Hard. The days being shorter makes the game flow better"

Inconclusion: I think Pikmin 3 Deluxe is perhaps one of the worst excuses for difficulty settings in a game. Not is the original difficulty not still available, but what's left is 3 that all in some way make the game less enjoyable to varying degrees. This is while also adding Lock on, which already makes the game easier.

This is made worse by the advertising of said difficulties. I'm reminded of Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn. They changed the difficulties in English from

Normal -> Easy

Hard -> Normal

Making alot of people pick the games hard mode when they just want to play at the base difficulty, resulting in them having less fun with it.

Pimmin 3 Deluxe does the same in the opposite direction, except it's not a Translation error.

Making two modes for experienced players be easier than the existing version of your game and pretending they're difficult doesn't help anyone.

As I demonstrated, both people who I know that played 3DX as their first Pikmin found Hard to be a much better base line experience and neither found it challenging.

Personally, I replay Pikmin 3 on Wii U still when I wanna go through again. I love alot of the QoL Changes in 3DX, and I think the game is a fine way to play Pikmin 3. I think it's a great example about why it's important to give options in a re-release that are comparable to the original

#skyla.ramble #I'm sorry this is so long #Pikmin #Pikmin 3 #Pikmin 3 Deluxe #I think it took longer to write this than it takes to beat Pikmin 1

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descenacre · 1 year ago

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On the way back to my ship, the previous sunset, I had discovered the location of a vital component to my Dolphin.

Today, I set out to retrieve my Gravity Jumper. As I set off, I was of an unusually cheerful humor, I felt my anxieties wash from my mind as I absorbed the beauty of this planet.

The Pikmin and I passed underneath a grand veil of thorns, a particularly prickly obstacle I had yet to learn to tackle. They were too sharp for me or the other Pikmin to break apart, which made them quite a frustrating impediment that led to nothing but costly detours.

But then, as if a response to my problem, on my way to the part, I discovered a new type of pikmin in distress!

Their Onion was trapped within a giant egg, surrounded by the same thorns! Yet it seemed as though these Pikmin might be unfazed by these bristles, as they naively whacked away at their roots to no effect.

I directed the Pikmin, and threw them to its Gall in order to focus their strength, and it was finally pulled down, freed from its captivity--although, unlike the other Onions I'd encountered, this one did not activate immediately upon my approach.

It instead retracted its legs, and promptly fell to the ground, dormant like a rock. Did it sense the incoming danger?

My confusion was interrupted by a grand, transparent beast unlike anything I had ever seen! Could this be what terrified the Onion?

It appeared as though it's form was part of another dimension entirely...in the spatial sense, that is, though it had otherworldly looks to match.

I attempted to knock it from the sky, but it floated, unconcerned, just out of reach of even my Yellow Pikmin.

It started to lash out, with a brightly colored whip like tongue! I feared for my newfound friends, but quickly discovered the beast could not handle their prickly nature, and spat them out immediately!

I quickly ordered the Pikmin to pull the beast from the sky, and despite it's incredible scale, the creature appeared almost weightless, near powerless to wrestle itself away from just a few Pikmin!

In its vulnerable state, I destroyed the egg sac that lay on its back, and the beast seemed to lose its tether to this world, fading into nothingness.

With the specter gone, the Thorned Onion quickly awakened, and I was finally able to take down the massive Thorned Gate and retrieve my Gravity Jumper.

What an exhilarating world! Even the most delicate of beasts have their bite.

#pikmin #fan pikmin #pikmin echo #pikmin boss

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sirwow · 1 year ago

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How did chacho lose an arm?

No more drawings today but instead I’ll use this ask as a bit more of a longer explanation of how Chacho even got in the situation Iv been drawing him in.

Chacho in the first part of WC had gone to 404 with Zack for more treasure and seeing as he had to be saved by corps Louie and Olimar, it didn’t exactly go as planned. When he was forced home to Hocotate with no treasure or ship in hand, his wife was done with all of his crap to say the least. She divorced him and took back the company that she majority owned n so Chacho was left with some pocket pokos and the Freight ship from 2.

He was unsure what to do for awhile (outside of begging to be taken back) as there was now a patrol and arrest on sight around 404 if someone didn’t have a permit to be there. His desperation and greed got the better of him though when money really started to disappear n decided to go anyways. He snuck by authorities to reach 404 only to be stranded after crashing (due to harbinger being desperate himself for pawns).

Without any crew and not exactly doing well mentally, Chacho took out most his yelling and demands out on the Pikmin. Pikmin quickly stopped being very cooperative with him as a result and now he was out of a work force too. This is until Glow Pikmin seemed to take a special interest in helping him despite the yelling. He quickly switched to a nocturnal sleep schedule to fit them n within two weeks of becoming the boss of the glow pikmin, Chacho had a new friend knocking at the break of night.

Harbinger found Chacho’s rejection of normal pikmin for the glow pikmin inciting so decided to jump at the opportunity. Harbinger offered Chacho a deal that he would continue what he was doing (feeding the glow pikmin and growing them) and Harbinger would make sure he never starved and would have the power of harbinger at his fingertips- literally. Harbinger also slipped in a few of his old underlings were causing troubles to the glow pikmin. Chacho Accepted and became the left hand of Harbinger, his diet becoming purely glow sap and his left arm covered with the same substance Harbinger was made of.

Chacho when faced with team 404 though was quickly dismantled in most night fights against them much to harbingers annoyance. When he failed for the 10th time, Harbinger decided Chacho was out of his usefulness, blowing off his wraith arm and leaving him for dead. Team 404 though took pity (mostly olimar) on him and turned him into a leafling to save his life. Due to still passively having some sap effects in him even if most all was removed with his arm, he became a leafling but retained his mind and memory- even if it was slowly slipping away.

#sirask #pikmin wraiths call #pikmin au

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c7thetumbler · 11 months ago

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Quick Game reviews: 2023 (Part 1!)

Hey everyone! Apologies for the screenshots stolen from google; at the point I compiled most of this I deleted my Xitter account and didn't have the screenshots I typically share from there.

Additionally, since Tumblr has a 30 image limit this is going to be split into 2 parts! How exciting.

Let's get it goin

This group of 8 games were beat in the first week of 2023! Do not set such goals; games are made to be fun on your own time and turning it into a job is a lot like seeing how the sausage is made. But I digress;

Tinykin (Steam)

A very fun 3D puzzle-platformer collectathon. It has many pikmin-like elements in that you control a bunch of little guys to carry, push, or interact with various objects in fun ways, but I would hesitate to call it a full Pikmin like game because they really serve as collectibles which when you have enough of let you access certain areas. There's really not strategy element to it. But, it's still a fun 3D platformer, and I recommend it

Super Kiwi 64 (Steam)

This is a weird one. Another 3D platformer that will last you at most 1 hour, Super Kiwi 64 is an unsettling but intriguing little experience where you navigate a number of levels with challenges and items to collect. I say unsettling because the music has a very mysterious vibe, and the environments go from the bright forest above to some almost liminal, dark areas devoid of interactable characters and littered with strange skeletons and glyphs. It was interesting; I would say pick it up on sale if you're looking for a chill hour of playtime, but it's also only $3, so you do you

Toree 2 (Steam)

Another retro 3D platformer that's more like the PS1 era, Toree 2 is focused on quick, optimizable movements and levels design to be speedrun and 100%'d. This one is also only an hour, but also only a buck to play! Keeping with the unsettling theme, it's levels are nostalgic and bright, but the main antagonist seems to be drawing on some glitchy, bizarre power that causes some strange effects to happen in levels. It's a small but fun nostalgic experience that it's difficult and a well done series of levels

Toree 3D (Steam)

Same review as above, the sequel! Sure, the 3D may lead you to believe it's different mechanically, but it was already 3D so it's really just more of the same.

Dead Estate: Bombs Away Update (Steam)

This update added a new character, some new enemies, and some alternate rooms. Again, my Dead Estate recommendation is high for those who are into the rogue-like, top down arcade shooters, and this free update was more goodness to complete, though BOSS can very easily be broken with a number of explosion-based items.

Mechanibot (Steam)

Is this auto chess? I don't know what auto chess is as a genre. kids these days

Mechnibot is a top down tower defense like game with rogue-like elements. You start off as mechanibot, a tiny robot who has been tasked to fix the sun and has a number of robots to choose from. Robots act as "towers" that grant certain effects depending on their type and description, and can even have multiple types and effects. Your job is to keep these robots alive and attacking by frantically running around and placing them in and out of danger. You get money for each wave, which can be spent on given options at the end of each wave to upgrade robots, get new ones, and some upgrades for yourself as well. It's a lot of fun, a good 8 hours of content and replayable. Try out the demo and see if it's for you

Minit Fun Racer (Steam)

Another short game! This is a spin-off from Minit, and is much more arcade like. You start off on your little bike and have to avoid all the obstacles and collect coins to get to the end. You won't be able to progress very far for a while, so you get upgrade to last longer and get some upgrades for your scooter until you eventually can. Took me about an hour and a half to get all the achievements, but there was surprisingly a lot of cute hidden stuff along the way. Again, a fun arcadey experience with lots of charm for almost nothing.

Chico and the Magic Orchards DX (Steam)

This one was fun! I was on a big GameBoy kick this year, and the DX for this actually came out I was playing it. It was a little aggravating with some of the boss fights, but overall I had a fun time playing it! Recommended for a nice little nostalgic GBC puzzle game, would definitely be best on a portable console.

A Little to the Left (Switch DL)

I wanted to play more simple games, and this one seemed like a lot of fun as a recommendation from a friend. It's a little short, but it speaks to me as someone who hops between obsessing over doing things perfectly and finding it difficult todo anything at all. I especially like the way there are multiple solutions for several puzzles, which when compared with another player let you understand the different ways people can "organize" the same thing. A casual puzzle game that's worth a try, though don't expect hours and hours of entertainment from it

Game & Watch Gallery 3 (Switch NSO: Game Boy Color)

I owned Game & Watch Gallery 2 as a young'un, and remember playing it endlessly so it was nice to give this one a go when the GB/C update for Nintendo Switch Online Dropped. As the third entry, it contains a lot less common Game & Watch games, but the modern spin on them using Mario characters gives it a lot of personality. Honestly, I'm surprised we don't see more of these games remade in recent Mario Parties as homages or just high score games you can do.

If you've never played a Game & Watch Gallery, I'd give this one a try as its fun, addicting little bites of gameplay are very enjoyable and there's loads of unlockable bonuses to keep your attention, but if you find you don't like a game or two in it it can be a slog to get the 1000 points to finish the whole game.

Wario Land 3 (Switch NSO: Game Boy Color)

For those unfamiliar with the Wario Land series (and yet somehow found me?), it's a very fun series of platformers which focus more on puzzle solving/execution than your typical Mario platformer. Wario Land 3 specifically took Wario Land 2's "Impossible to get a game over" formula and ran with it, also making this a fun little Metroidvania in the process. It's definitely among my favorite in the sereis, though it's held back by an obsession with its own mini-golf game which it has you play one every level (every level has 4 exits). Overall it's a great entry in Mario spinoffs and a very fun time, but be prepared to be frustrated by some pretty annoying jumps and a silly mini game

Super Mario Land 2: The 6 Golden Coins (Switch NSO: Game Boy)

I have a love-hate relationship with this one. I never got to play it fully when I was a kid, but returning back to it I loved it. But it's way, waaaaaay too short. With 6 worlds with 2-3 levels tops, and with a frustratingly focused screen due to the resolution of the original Screen, it's not got a lot of staying power. Would love to see it as a pallette in Super Mario Maker 3 though.

It's fun, but short. Don't expect to spend a lot of time with this, but hey; you're probably playing this as NSO sub or for free online so no loss with this classic

WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ (Switch NSO: Game Boy Advance)

The original WarioWare! It's fun, but again pretty short. Worthj a play if you've never tried out a WW game before, but the best WarioWare portable experience is Going to be WarioWare Gold on the 3DS and the more recent switch escapades. Additionally, this doesn't have the Wario World functionality, which obviously it can't but that was part of the reason I played it back in the day. Good for some random fun, doesn't stand out as an experience vs the more recent WarioWares

Dead Estate: Heaven & Hell update

This is the update the game needed; it drastically improved the floor spawning algorithm, added a lot more interesting playstyles for each character, and added more enemies and gimmicks to keep you replaying over and over again. There are more updates past this that improve the game further, but with this I can whole-heartedly recommend this as a very fun and addictive rogue-like.

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (Steam)

What a wonderful April Fools game. My favorite game dev pranks are the one where they just silently drop a whole-ass spinoff.

A wonderful jaunt in the Sonic Universe! It's no secret that I love Sonic, and I've been keeping up with the IDW comic series (it's very good) since it started releasing a few years back and it's a wonderful fleshing out of characters and side-stories that main Sonic games will never address. This murder-mystery + special stage minigame was written and produced by the same writes on the IDW comics, and it's a very fun experience to see them get to make an interactive game with some humor while still getting to keep and flesh out the characters we never really get to see in Sonic Games. I highly recommend this for any Sonic fan, and hope this means we'll be seeing more in the way of sonic spin-offs in the future.

...

Also the IDW comic series is great! It takes a little to start with the first arc, but after that it's all I want out of a Sonic Comic. Tangle and Whisper are also cool as hell.

Lunistice (Steam)

This was a fun albeit short3D platformer, also looking like a PS1 original. I unfortunately didn't 100% it so I didn't finish the story and get the nuances of it, but as a platformer it was a fun romp. I'd recommend it as a fun labor of love, but not as something you can really dig your teeth into

Pizza Tower (Steam)

This game is really good! Feels great, first time in a while I've been like "Oh this is fun but really hard, I don't think I'll get good enough to 100% it" and then slowly but surely decided to. The only issue is some kinda old racist tropes being used in the western world which they really didn't need, but gameplay, visually, and musically this is a masterpiece. An essential part of any platformer fan's collection to have tried.

... If only they hadn't added more achievements I'd still have it 100%'d on Steam

Super Mario Bros. Peach's Adventure (SNES Classic romhack)

I saw this in a bit on Vinny's fullsauce channel about weird Mario hacks, and the only premise for this being weird was that Peach's design is nonstandard. It became apparent when he started playing that actually a ton of work and love went into it, so for the sake of the bit he moved on. I Proceeded to hack my SNES Classic so I could play this and boy was it worth it.

This romhack is adorable! IT's full of collectible's, has really fun levels, tons of references for any longtime Mario fan, and carries a nice aesthetic of the original SMB but with SMW's features so it's looks like a really amazing Mario Maker game. I loved it!

Across-Stitch (Itch.io)

It's Picross, but with colors! I'm a big running fan of Nintendo Picross games, and this came up on my recommended on itch so I decided to give it a try. Very fun, has a lot of puzzles, and is just a fun time waster. I got it on itch (linked), but honestly it'd be perfect for my phone had I done that

PAC-MAN CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION 2 (Steam)

So this one's kinda weird; Pac-man CE was one of my favorite games on the 360 (I didn't have many), and I thought the sequel would be it but just better since they'd solve the scoring problems. It was actually just like more of the same but with some different styles of play, and I found myself getting tired of it pretty fast. I have nostalgic memories of 1 so I'm probably looking at it with rose-tinted goggles, but this is a very passable arcade experience.

STEREOGRAM (itch.io)

I cannot in good conscience recommend you play this game, as looking at both screen this closely to do the stereogram and crossing your eyes for extended periods of time can cause permanent damage to your eyesight.

... But as a concept it was really neat! I did beat it with frequtn 5 minute breaks, and it only took a couple hours. Very basic metroidvania with fixed rooms to make the effect work.

Charm Studies (itch.io)

A very cute mixed visual novel and picross game! I like picross and this caught my eye, so I gave it a shot. Fun, but a bit short. But also free! Maybe try it out if you're not sure about picross yourself

Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut

Longtime C7 fans will know I like Shantae quite a lot. And have an unhealthy amount of Shantae Merch. So when my Sister was visiting and I was feeling particularly self-conscious about playing games over the mic with friends, I decided to whip out this classic and finally 100% it. Shantae holds a special place in my heart for me, because I grew up an incredible prude with absolutely no interest in the kind of scandalous things that friends were starting to bring up. Whenever they tried to get me to watch Anime and watch stuff that had some fanservice, I felt wildly uncomfortable just because I didn't know how to process what I was seeing (and had undiagnosed anxiety and ADHD issues).

Shantae was the first time I saw something "suggestive" (read: cute girls in light outfits) tied with a style of gameplay I liked, and allowed me to kind of stop hating myself whenever these things came up. With this being a DSi game, meaning I could download it with nobody knowing I did, and the rave reviews it was getting by being one of the first DSi games available, I finally decided to purchase it. I loved the series ever since!

Getting back to this play-session, I decided to revisit this classic (my first experience with the series) and play it 100% with all the bells and whistles, including speedrun achievements. I got them all! For people who know what Shantae is, this is an essential entry into the series and a contender for top 3. If you've not played a Shantae game but like Metroidvania's, this or the recently released Seven Sirens are the best starting points

And yes, just to brag, that screenshot of the steam stats does mean I got the worst ending last and optimized my playtime.

My personal Shantae tier list, best to worst

Seven Sirens

Risky's Revenge tied with Pirate's Curse

Half-Genie Hero

Shantae GBC

Risky's Revolution, an unfinished GBA game in the series, was also announced to be resurrected and releasing next year, which is rad!

.. Anyway, onto another topic

TUNIC (Steam, played over steam link on the TV with a Controller away from the internet)

This was a hard one to get into, but a very fun one once I got the difficulty barrier and begun understanding the games' mechanics. I did end up getting the best ending, but not 100% all the achievements since that would've required more playthroughs, and the magic of figuring out the world would've been gone.

The use of the manuals, sudden realizations of mechanics, and really fun moments with some beautiful areas and items to figure out make this a wonderful game. Some of the bossess are.. not great, but on the whole I highly recommend this experience to people who want to feel what it was like in pre-internet days, having to solve a game's puzzles by charting out the world and coming to a deep understanding of its mechanics to find all the secrets. If you're easily frustrated or aren't a fan of 2D Zelda though, this is a pass

Cult of the Lamb (Steam)

This was one I was not expecting to get into. I saw it and thought "Hmm, I like games with a base-building aspect to them sometimes but a lot of the time that really gets in the way of the actual game." And to be honest, there were a few moments where juggling the two kinda did. Additionally, and this is a personal taste thing, the visuals of Don't Starve kinda don't appeal to me, so seeing a more cutesy version of that wasn't something I thought I'd love

... But this game is phenomenal! An incredibly fun rogue-lite game that mixes with base and resource management in a way that doesn't actually exclude someone who would like one over the other!

This was another one I 100% after a LOT of playtime and attempts at damageless bosses, but it was very worth it.

LEGO Builder's Journey (Steam)

I've been on Lego for the past few years, and this seemed like a fun little game that wasn't tied to any existing franchise so I gave it a go. It's an environmental puzzle game, where each micro-level has its own little puzzle where you need to figure out which pieces interact to (most of the time) get your little 1x1x2 lego guy to the other end of the stage.

It's very cute, and while a bit short ended up being the perfect length for this kinda game. The only thing I'd put against it is my computer had a rough time running it because they really wanted all the shaders and reflections to look great, so keep that in mind.

The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap (Switch Online)

This is a weird one. I could've sworn I loved this game as a kid, and in fact this is what got me into 2D Zelda's because it was so much fun! Revisiting it though, I find it's one of the weaker entries in the series. The visuals look great, the story is as charming as you'd expect, and as someone who was really into windwaker and picked this up I was hooked, however it is by far one of the most tedious Zelda's I've played. The Dungeons are all relatively straightforward; while some offer an interesting mechanic from being small and making you think how larger objects affect the world, they still felt very linear.

Additionally, I had no idea just how grindy this game was at the time in comparison! Tons of the sidequests and rewards are visible fomr your first pass in an area, so as a result every time you get a new item you're tempted to go back and see if helps. The NPCs often block places as an obstacle that just move after a while (or a result of kinstone fusing), which made the game a lot more frustrating to remember things by. Kinstones themselves are annoying to find and even worse to use, as NPCs will randomly decide if they want to fuse or not. So to get everything you need to frequently visit and revisit the same places and NPCs over and over again, with no way of knowing if that random person has something you need to fuse with or is actually just a random person.

Additionally the figure collection, something I adored in WindWaker despite it being ridiculously grindy there too, has been reduced to a Gacha machine. A heart piece is locked behind collecting them all, which means for 100% completion you have to collect ALL the figurines, including ones only available after you clear your file, making the final heart piece effectively useless. Worse, the act of collecting them is a gargantuan time sink; it takes loads of time to go through dialog, even more to collect the rupees you need, and the "chance" system doesn't quite work how you'd expect. With me cheating to get 999 rupees in gambling all the time and going through all the prompts to get all these, it took me 3 hours. That's quadrupled at least if you play the game properly.

Never 100% this game, but as far as 2D zelda's go this is definitely not a terrible entry; just a bit uninspired. I'd recommend ALTTP, ALBW, or Link's Awakening over this myself.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)

I would have some fun screenshots but deleted my twitter so they're gone now, oh well.

I'm not gonna go too far in depth on this one; It's breath of the Wild but >2x larger with some wild building mechanics and a really good story. A fantastic game that may see age as the open-world genre gets saturated, but quite frankly one of the best games you'll ever see on the switch.

Annalynn (Switch)

I followed the artist on Twitter (when I still had one) and really liked the retro feel of it. It's a fun classic arcade game, however like some of those classic arcade games I found myself frustrated by its difficulty while still not grasping the hardest nuances of its mechanics enough to get good at it. It's fun, but I'd see if it's for you by watching the videos first.

Part 2 coming later today!

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windmill-ghost · 1 year ago

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I generally like the idea of the leaflings having the attributes of similarly-colored pikmin... I think it also tends to be kind of weird and malleable, with traits differing from person to person. My thoughts:

Blue-- often have gills and other features adapted for swimming. some have a low body temperature and cold-weather adaptations.

Orange-- usually have the traits of yellow pikmin, with sturdy, rubbery leaves that resist electricity. surprisingly chuckable. every so often one will have stinging hairs.

Purple-- often unnaturally dense and unusually strong, though not always both. hairlike feelers and poor eyesight are also common.

Pink-- flying is rare, but many have vestigal wings. also might have other insect-like traits

Green-- how weird, a unique color... I don't think these are actually related to glow pikmin. without any hints about what their gimmick would be, I think that they're green to facilitate the most effective photosynthesis, and can indicate that the person was in critical condition when they were converted. they are physically robust, have a fast moving speed, and are near impossible to tire.

#wg speaks

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gamebunny-advance · 1 year ago

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Weird Pikmin 4 Thing/Speculation

I don't really count this as a spoiler, so read at your own risk, but it looks like certain castaways have different hair/suit colors on different playthroughs. Of immediate memory, Molly, Alpin and his brother, Grace, and Chewy all had different hair colors in my game from other LPs I saw.

I'm not quite sure what's causing it though. At first, I suspected that maybe it changes depending on your suit color, but literally every person I've watched play this game has used a different suit color, so I can't confirm that theory.

(Light spoilers ahead)

My alternate theory depends on whether all the castaways that can have random colors are also all leaflings. It could be that leaflings are cured in a set-order, but their colors are dependent on the order you rescue them in. For example, if you don't do the first dandori challenge in the Sun-Speckled Terrace, which is hosted by a pink leafling, will Dash, seemingly always the first leafling cured, still have pink hair?

Edit:

It seems I'm partially correct, but I still need to do more testing.

First correction is that Dash is not always the first leafling rescued, and besides that I confused him with a different castaway, and he wasn't even pink in my main game. In my game he was purple, but in my test file he was blue. Furthermore, other leaflings that I rescued in the test file always shared their hair color with the leafling cured, so there's at least some correlation there.

Second, Corgwin and Jin, two other leaflings and hosts of the Dandori Challenge/Battle practice, were purple and pink respectively in both save files. I'll need to test if they still appear if I don't rescue any pink or purple leaflings. Similarly, will it be impossible to save Bernard if you don't get any purple leaflings, or will his hair change color too?

Edit 2:

Corgwin and Jin can be any color, as I found an LP where their Jin was blue.

I did a test of rescuing and curing every possible leafling except a single purple leafling to see if the game would give me Bernard, but it seems like you do need at least 1 purple leafling for him to be rescued and unlock Hero's Hideaway.

So I'm gonna put a stamp on it: Every single leafling castaway has the possibility of being different colors and are rescued in a set order, except Bernard, who must be revived from a purple leafling. I haven't yet determined if the order you rescue the leaflings in as any effect on what color they'll be, or if the castaways have a preferred color and will be revived from those color leaflings if they're available.

Edit 3:

Okay, here's my latest observation about this.

Typically, all castaways will wear suits that match their hair color. For example, the purple haired Schnauz also wears a purple suit. This is true unless the player's suit color would have matched the castaway. For example, the green haired Dalmo will wear a red suit if the player character's suit is green. This changes even if the player changes their suit color through Puddle mid-game. It appears that whenever there is a suit color conflict, then the suit will default to red.

There are a handful of exceptions to this rule, notably characters with red hair will not wear red suits unless forced to if the player's suit color matches their default.

For example, the red heads Vonda, Kaia, and Osa by default wear pink, purple, and orange suits respectively, even if the player's suit is not red. This was likely done to set them apart from Olimar/the Red Leafling, whose suit has red accents and/or were chosen around the idea that the "canon" Rescue Corps color is red, and thus can't be shared with any castaway. However, these exceptions will still follow the first rule if their default color is being used by the player. For example, Vonda will wear red if the player wears pink.

With that in mind, it's probably safe to say that in most cases, the leafling castaways' "canon" hair color would be the same color as their suit, as this is always consistent.

I've still yet to test if the castaways will use up their "canon" color leaflings if they're available, although I believe this may be false as I recall that someone had once rescued Chowder and Alpin together, whose suits are blue and pink respectively, but interestingly their hair colors were swapped as pink and blue.

Edit 4:

I can now confirm that leaflings will not use their "canon" color, even if that color leafling is available.

I rescued almost all leaflings in the first 3 areas. By the time I started curing leaflings, I had a single green leafling and several pink and purple ones, but Dash, who has a green suit, still got rescued as a purple leafling. Unfortunately, I can't remember if said purple leafling is the first one I rescued on this file (though I'm positive that it was the leafling taken by Olimar in the Sun-Speckled Terrace, so there's a high likelihood that it was), so I still can't determine if the order you rescue leaflings in changes the castaways' hair color, or if their default colors just don't match their suits the same way the regular castaways' do.

Edit 5:

Alright, I think I can more or less confirm that leafling castaway hair colors correspond to the order you rescue them in except the early game where if a purple leafling is available before you rescue Bernard, then the game will use them all up until Bernard is rescued, after which all other castaway colors should be in rescue order.

#gbunny plays #pikmin 4 #i'll try to test that theory eventually #but that's a *lot* of game to replay to find that out #but i guess in this case 100%ing an area isn't necessary so it should be relatively quick

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c-digital-being · 1 year ago

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Finally posting something here

Some Pikmin type concepts I came up with, plus a peachy flower color kinda going off 4's yellow

I'll add their abilities and stuff below (Warning: Kinda Long)

Techmin:

Are made by the captains / crew with materials based on their research of Pikmin, both to help them on PNF-404, and possibly to take back to their home planet(s) as helpers

Can be upgraded with more materials to be stronger, carry more, etc., with a lot of upgrades being unlocked by getting lots of Pikmin for the captains / crew to research, like getting a bunch of Reds unlocks a fire resist upgrade

Starts with a slower speed (can be upgraded but they're never super speedy)

Cannot grow buds / flowers due to being artificial

(Would probably be in a game without dogs like Oatchi and Moss, kinda a different take on their concept (even though I came up with Techmin before they were a thing lol))

Claw Pikmin:

Claws on each hand, as well as spikes around the head

Stabs their claws into enemies when latching onto them, doing a bit of impact damage and making it harder for them to be shaken off

Can cut through things like vines and threads, found as a new type of wall and/or on enemies as a kind of armor

Attack buff (Either equal to Reds / 1.5x, or half their buff / 1.25x, not sure)

Faster digging speed

Slower carry speed due to their claws making transport kinda awkward for them

Usually only found in caves (they're partially ground / earth themed so I think this would make sense)

Slime Pikmin (& Globmin):

Made of semi-translucent, sticky slime

Can repair broken structures like ramps and bridges by using their slime bodies to fix holes and such, like how Ice Pikmin freeze water

10 Slime Pikmin can combine to make a larger Pikmin, which I like to call a Globmin, which looks like a bigger Pikmin with a slime drip on their antenna / stem (they don't do buds or flowers since that would be complicated), as well as noticeably bigger hands, which makes them do pretty big damage and carry as 12 Pikmin, but they're kinda slow and if killed, most of the Slime Pikmin that made it die (you'd probably get like 1-2 back)

Slows down an enemy's movements and attacks when latched on due to their slime making it harder to move, effect gets stronger with more Slime Pikmin

Grass Pikmin:

Body is covered in fuzzy grass

Can collect spores, seeds, etc. from plants in their fuzz and grow them elsewhere, some plants are more combat-focused and can be used basically anywhere, like a Venus flytrap-like plant, while others are more exploration-focused and can only be used in certain spots, like climbable vines or those flower bridge things in 4

Can camouflage your squad to hide them from enemies like those hiding spots, a bigger squad needs more Grass Pikmin to hide it

(Kinda want like another ability or something for these guys, but for now this is all I got)

And that's everything! Thanks for reading this far! If you've got a question about these guys or an idea for an ability or something, feel free to let me know!

#pikmin #pikmin 4 #custom pikmin #fanmade pikmin #art #artists on tumblr #c!'s doodles

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riverdrifter · 10 months ago

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River Listens To: Mayfair Watchers Society - Episodes 1 & 2

Hi! It's been a while since I've posted here. I burnt out a bit on Creatures of the Deep, but I have still been playing Pikmin 4. However, I found that the way I was logging my gameplay was extremely difficult to keep up with for a game that I really enjoy getting immersed in. So, I'll likely be retiring the more encyclopedic style of posts. I'm not sure what I'll do in lieu of that, but I've been using letterboxd, Goodreads, and StoryGraph a lot and enjoying it. I'm going to port my reviews on there over to this blog so I can have everything in one place, just not yet. I'm in a bit of a slump, and I could really use a dreary horror listening session to hopefully get it out of my system.

That's where this show comes in! I'd already listened up to Society Proceedings, but I hadn't logged any of my listening, which I'd like to do this time. I've also forgotten a good deal, so I'd prefer to relisten and write down my feelings so I don't forget again. Since we have 28 episodes as of now, I'll be taking them on 2 at a time. Spoilers under the cut!

🚌 Episode 1: The Woman on the Bus

This is a very strong start to a very good show. I'm quickly remembering what I loved so much about it on my first listen. Let's start with the characters.

First of all, the central character of the episode being called Val was a hell of a jumpscare. I have a good friend with that name, and I know her ass would NOT be in this situation. The conflict is driven by Val not wanting to accept a ride from her friend, Lou, lest she feel like a mooch. She sheepishly reveals that she flunked the of driver's test and wouldn't trust herself to drive enough to retake it. This is what the kids would call a Big Mood. I am not driving any time in the foreseeable future, and I'm glad when people who feel similarly keep themselves off the road. I'm definitely not shy about accepting rides, though. I especially wouldn't turn down a ride if I were alone on an unfamiliar street at night, and ESPECIALLY not if I started hearing screaming. In fact, I'd probably tell my friend to get right the fuck over there right now, and then I'd hide until they got there.

This is what's brilliant: Val's sensibilities and flaws are what get her into trouble, something which I know I really liked about this show the first time I listened. It's very human to be so stubborn about excepting help that you get yourself into a worse situation than you were in in the first place. Every time she makes another bad decision, I felt like I could understand what led her to that conclusion. She also has effortless chemistry with her friend up until the tension starts rising, at which point he gets a little shitty with her. This is also done well. Not only does it amp up the stress, but you really get the sense that these are people with lives and feelings beyond the span of this episode. (Well, they were.)

Now, let's talk about what's probably the main appeal of this show for most people: the horror. I think the writing and the horror go hand in hand here, and it's done beautifully. Like, the dialogue is a seamless part of what makes the episode scary; when the characters are in denial, that's when the dread starts really seeping in. I found the following line to be especially effective:

"I felt her eyes on me, like the heat when you open up the oven door."

The dialogue isn't all that's good about the horror, though. Of course the design of the monster of the week is amazing; this show is based on the works of and creatively directed by Trevor freaking Henderson. I remember just about exploding when I first heard that we'd be getting a podcast themed around his work. The sound design is also incredible. Early in the episode, Lou asks Val to be quiet because he thought he heard something, but he dismisses it as her paranoia wearing off on him. But we, the listeners, can hear it too: a faint jingling, like chains rattling, a second set of footsteps, and dry, croaking breathing, like someone is struggling to keep up. And as soon as this episode's anomaly gets on the bus, you hear it again, getting louder and louder the closer she gets. It's subtle, but not too subtle; I noticed it easily without headphones and with a beanie over my ears. Then there's the escalation of threat on Lou's end of the phone as Val frantically rings to request a stop... God, it's so effective.

That's about all I have to say! This was a lot more than I thought I'd have to talk about over just one episode. I haven't really addressed the plot directly; I think the premise of "person has a dream, person later experiences that dream in real life" is as solid as ever. But this is all that came to mind while listening. We'll see how much I blab about the next one!

✂️ Episode 2: Scissors

Oh boy. If I already yapped about the first episode, I dread how long this post is going to be, because my notes for this one are twice as long. Let's just dive right in.

Right from the beginning, there's some good subtle environment building at play with the fact that this is a suburban Neighborhood Watch group, but not one too bougie to have guns. Now, I know some people have a dinky little pistol they keep in the safe just in case, but these people have rifles and shotguns. Combined with the fact that one of the members, Liz, sprained her wrist in a hunting accident, we get the feel for what specific type of middle-of-nowhere small town this is. This is strengthened later by the mention that one of their prominent playground parks borders the woods. There's a lot of little details like this that help us get a good vibe check of Mayfair as a place.

I also think the characters in this episode were pretty fun. I did have to reference the transcript at times to tell if it was Ed or Simon who was talking, but that could've been a skill issue on my part. Clem is a classic Stanley from The Office type. He's a good no-nonsense guy to have in this bunch. Simon is the opposite, trying to keep things light by making jokes that might not be situationally appropriate, but he's not a total asshole. You can tell, especially by the end of the episode, that he cares about his fellow Watch members. He seems to be on friendly terms with Ed's wife, commenting on a brisket she made and how she can have a foul mouth at times.

While Simon stuck out to me the most this episode, Liz comes up in second place. Liz is interesting to me because she always asks for permission to take the floor; this could just be her personality, or it could be because she's the only woman in a room of men. So you have this shy-ish, relatively soft-spoken suburban mom who would rather the council say "poop" than "shit", but she also injured her wrist in a hunting accident. People say the character work in this show isn't very good, but I find that there's a good deal of depth to people like Liz if you're willing to read between the lines. As far as one-off characters go, at least.

Ed is probably my least favorite of this episode's cast, despite being the subject of a for-fun crack theory which I'll detail later. However, just because I wasn't that into him doesn't mean I didn't think he had interesting character stuff going on. There's this implied distance with his wife, Abby, who has some sort of police rank that was probably stated and I just didn't catch it. But he talks about how she isn't home long enough to reassure his terrified kids. I get the sense that he, too, feels like a terrified kid in this situation; maybe if he had more time with his wife, he wouldn't dissolve into paranoia and finger pointing so quickly. By the end of the episode, he has a low enough value of himself to want to go out guns blazing against this scissor-wielding threat.

That said, I'm not sure if his rapid mental decline is his own cross to bear, or if this episode's anomaly has some sort of psychic AoE ability. Other town members are said to be at each other's throats as the situation escalates, with one going as far as to beat up another man. Clem remarks that he probably just needed something to punch, but I'm still uncertain whether this illustrates an effect of the thing with the scissors, or if people are just going nuts because they're so scared and stressed. I don't fault the episode for this ambiguity. I think it's better left unconfirmed either way.

I'd like to defend this episode's story as well. I've heard people say that it leaves things too open-ended, or that it was lazy to leave it on a hang, but I don't think there's anything uncertain about what happens at the end. The typical roll-call structure is broken up by the distinct lack of Ed's voice. There's this uncomfortable silence, a clear elephant in the room. Now, if those criticisms are directed at not knowing what happens next, that's more understandable. I think I've just come to terms with the structure of these monster of the week-type shows, and it's something I really enjoy.

Let's get into some things I've noticed that I wanted to point out. This is a joke that Lou made to Val in the last episode:

"Oh, yeah. Like that time you saw that weird black van parked outside your house, so you stayed up in your living room all night watching the John Wick trilogy and holding a kitchen knife?"

In this episode, there's a lengthy aside about an unidentified car going up and down the streets. This one is notably a "dark, mid-sized sedan"; not quite the same as a van. So I'm not trying to assert that these are the same vehicle or something. But we do have multiple instances now where suspicious vehicles have been mentioned, and I don't think the sedan had to do with the anomaly of this episode. This is something I'll put a pin in to see if it comes up again.

This is a different thing I noticed. Clem mentions an incident in which two teens went to the Hayward Textile Mill to record "YouTube nonsense", supposedly saw a ghost, and then one of them was injured by falling through the floorboards on their way out. This is, in fact, an event we see in a future episode! I like things like this that reward second listens.

Now, here's where I get into my crack theory that I don't really believe in, but I think is a really funny way to read the episode: Simon and Abby are having an affair. We have the aforementioned comments implying closeness between the two. When Simon says that the suburb's parents are "either working, playing squash, or havin' affairs", he points out being a squash man himself. This could be read as intentional misdirection if you are unhinged. Ed is in paranoia and denial about everything, and when he makes excuses for his wife, he says, "We need to find compromises sometimes." This could be the language of a couple who have gone through cheating incidents and are working through it. Again, I don't think this is true. It's clear within the content of the episode that Simon does just genuinely care about Ed and his family. It's just something I had fun tinhatting about during my listen.

To wrap up this episode's lengthy segment, here are miscellaneous comments from my notes, lightning-round-style:

Suburb-typical ableism towards those perceived as mentally unsound! Let's go /j

NOT THE 2016 MURDER CLOWNS REFERENCE.

Is people blaming sounds on washing machines going to become a running gag?

All in all, I think this was a good episode. It's not as effective in the horror department as the first one, but that was a really strong start, so I'll try not to fault future episodes too much if they fall short of its mark.

#river listens to #mayfair watchers society #podcasts #trevor henderson #long post #journal

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vo-kopen · 1 year ago

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So Pikmin Four comes out to today, and I wrote a quick little fanfic to celebrate

I wrote it months ago and only did minor editing since, heck, the title is a wip but whatever. The premise behind it was the only Pikmin game I can play is Pikmin bloom. (I can’t lead these critters to battle or quests, I would be devastated when my incompetence got them killed) and I finally got the third kind of decor Pikmin based off the weather. With that wide brimmed hat of a flower, I began to design a Pikmin OC, then I incorporated some speculation about Pikmin extinction, and pretty soon I had a story with some themes. So yeah, it’s pretty short, and I hope y’all enjoy. Tagging @wildmin and @thefingerfuckingfemalefury, I hope y’all enjoy this little story about a tiny community. Also here’s art of the OC, ignore that one pixel that haunts me.

…

Observations of a Colony

It has been theorized by Hocotatian and Koppaite researchers alike that Pikmin are missing a key part of the lifecycle. When Pikmin are sprouted by their Onions, they are unable to pluck themselves from the earth. No amount of Pikmin seem capable of pulling a seedling from the soil, and without being able to pluck themselves, they lack and ability to reproduce. They can feed an Onion to produce more Pikmin, but those Pikmin will remain buried, unable to effectively be born.

Some researchers believe the Mamuta once would pluck Pikmin, given that they will plant Pikmin in the soil if they catch them. But if they once possessed this behavior, they no longer practice it. And without a way for a Pikmin colony to replenish their numbers, their population dwindles. It is possible that within our generation, most breeds of Pikmin will go extinct.

But some Pikmin may survive, as one population of Blue Pikmin has developed an unusual strategy for reproducing.

…

It is morning on PNF-404. A blue Onion descends from the clouds, the bulbous plant extending its four stems to dock with the soil. Blue Pikmin begin to descend from their living nest, each are roughly 33 mm long, with two arms, two legs, a head and torso, and a stem ending in either a leaf, a bud, or a flower. These are the characteristics of all Blue Pikmin, though these are still unusual. Atop their heads are upside-down flowers, worn almost like wide-brimmed hats, while ponchos made of two large petals hang over their torsos.

As they filed out from the Onion, one Pikmin hung back, staring up at the towering trees surrounding their home. The forest was humid, thick mist filled the atmosphere and puddles covered the forest floor. Dew lingered on the many leaves of the massive trees, the forest almost glistened.

This Pikmin we will refer to as “Brim,” given their large hat. Though, unlike the other Blue Pikmin in this group, they wore mittens and boots made of petal scraps. The reason for this unique behavior became evident as they stepped forward, and a glob of mud splattered their thigh. Brim immediately shuddered and began to frantically wipe off the gunk, cringing at the texture.

Brim suffered from overstimulation, certain sensations like mud and other textures stressed them greatly, so they wore makeshift mittens and boots to try to avoid touching the gunk. It mostly worked, as long as they were careful where they stepped.

Another Blue Pikmin hummed at them, and Brim startled before wadding through the forest towards their fellow. The two of them hurried to the base of a dead tree, one that had been jabbed with chunks of crystals. The Pikmin began to climb up the crystal handholds, heading towards the lowest branch of the tree.

The two of them began to crawl down the branch, coming down to a curved twig. The two of them hummed out a tune as they pushed and shoved at the twig, straining the brittle wood until it snapped off, falling to the forest floor.

Brim and the other Pikmin began to climb back down, as five other Blue Pikmin heaved up the twig and began carrying it over to the Onion. They too hummed out. Melody as they hauled the thing over their heads.

At the base of the Onion’s landing site was a single seedling, they had been planted a few days ago, and now were blooming. The five Pikmin carried the twig over to the seedling, before digging the wood into the ground. As it stood there two other Pikmin ran up, carrying a long blade of grass over their head.

Brim and their fellow had joined up with the group, and the nine Blue Pikmin got to work. The blade of grass was draped over the twig before one end was tied to the seedling’s stem. Then the group hurried to the other end of the blade of grass and began to heave, turning the twig and grass into a rudimentary pulley.

The simple machine strained as the nine of them hummed out a “work song.” The troupe yanked on the grass as the seedling it was tied to wiggled in the soil, before at last the new Pikmin was plucked from the earth. The new Blue Pikmin fell on their backside from the force of the tug. Three of the older Blue Pikmin wadded over to them and began humming a tune at them, and the newly plucked seedling began to match the trio’s tone.

Their pulleys were primitive tools, but despite their simplistic nature those tools had enabled the Blue Pikmin to pluck themselves, giving them the chance to survive. We do not know for certain where this behavior began, but there is a suspicion based on earlier research.

Brim wandered away as five other Blue Pikmin began to head off into the muddy forest, searching for prey. Brim instead bent over and scooped up an acorn cap, and began to carry it through the swampy terrain.

They crept around the puddles, taking long winding paths to avoid wadding in deep mud. Brim hummed to themself, though their song was less musical than the “work songs,” more frantic and uneven. As they walked their large eyes searched around, both to keep themself clean and to search for food. The Onion must be fed to create new Blue Pikmin, and the Pikmin needed nectar to bloom.

As Brim walked there winced as a splash sounded behind them. They turned to see a pink shriveled creature charging them, and they let out a whimper before scrambling away.

This was a female Himeagea mandibulos, or more commonly a Sheargrub. As a member of the Mandiblard family her legs and wings had atrophied completely, giving her a larval appearance. Female Sheargrubs were harmless to Pikmin, but they did enjoy pursuing them. And Brim for their part sprinted away.

Their feet splashed against the mud as they ran, splattering their thighs. Brim whimpered once more, and the acorn cap was dropped from their mittens as they began to try to wipe off the much even as they still ran.

The Sheargrub was undeterred and continued the chase, squirming across the ground. She drew closer and closer, whatever Brim feared about her drove them to wail. Finally, Brim relented and dived for a puddle, leaping into the water.

Brim shivered at the cold temperature, but they were a Blue Pikmin. And as a Blue Pikmin, they were the only type of Pikmin capable of swimming. And indeed they kicked their feet and began to stroke across the puddle, even as the Sheargrub cautiously follows.

The Blue Pikmin resurfaced on the other side, dripping wet. They shook themselves off, flicking water from their leaf, before resuming wading through the mud. They moved slowly and cautiously, trying to have only their booties get soaked by the muck. As they squirmed they looked back, the Sheargrub was not adapted for the water, only recently had a mutation begun to spread letting them survive in the water at all. But even with her limited speed, she was keeping pace with them navigating the mud.

Finally, the mud drew shallow, and Brim began to trot. Their purser still was trudging through the water, so the gap was now widening between them. As Brim looked ahead their eyes widened, they had not realized where they were.

A stump lay before them, one with a hole dug under one side of it. In front of it was a ramp made of sticks and rocks, allowing a Pikmin to climb on top of it.

Brim climbed up the ramp cautiously, their mittens flapping at their side. They had been here before, most of their colony had. Underneath the stump was a chamber containing a Violet Candypop Bud. A strange plant, the Candypops had unusual effects on Pikmin, though the effect varied based on color.

They reached the top of the ramp, coming to a small false Onion made of stacked twigs. As they drew near there was a heaving grunt, and a Purple Pikmin walked out of the crude nest.

Purple Pikmin were among the biggest type of Pikmin yet observed, able to carry much more than any other known Pikmin and do far more damage. They were bulbous with large heads and bodies and had tendrils growing out of the sides of their heads. This one had once been a Blue Pikmin but had chosen to dive into the Violet Candypop and change their type. This barred them from their former Onion and cut them off from the puddles of the forest, so they depended on supplies from the Blue Pikmin.

The Pikmin not only was big but was dressed in armor. Unlike the petal clothes of Brim, the Purple Pikmin wore the shell of a large Acorn for armor, and its cap as their helmet. They were a protector of this stump and they were dressed to drive away the weaker beasts of the forest. For the sake of clarity, they will hence be referred to as “Sentry.”

Brim whimpered and hummed at the Purple Pikmin, but Sentry only shook their head and pointed behind them. The Sheargrub was wandering around now, waiting at the base of the ramp.

The Blue Pikmin flinched and began rubbing their skin, pointing back at the Sheargrub. Sentry shook their head in disagreement and rubbed their chest armor. Brim winced, looking back at her.

Sentry tapped the stump with their foot and pointed down at The remnant of the tree. Carved into the stump was a crude picture of a Red Pikmin. Red Pikmin were the same height as Blue Pikmin but lacked the gills and mouth of the latter, instead, Red Pikmin had long thin noses. This particular Red Pikmin had a large spiky nut stuck hanging on their stem, giving them almost a shell. Their torso was slanted and it looked like their arms extended into long legs.

Seasons ago, researchers observed a Red Pikmin in a meadow that had sprouted through a chestnut, the seed weighing them down and barring them from their Onion. They relied on twigs as makeshift crutches to support the weight of the nut and mostly were ignored by their fellow Red Pikmin, left to fend for themself.

Whether or not this carving referred to the subject dubbed "Spiky," was difficult to say. Onions could land almost anywhere on the planet, these Blue Pikmin might have encountered Spiky and the Red Pikmin could have left an impression on them. Some speculated Spiky’s use of crutches as leverage to support their chestnut’s weight was what inspired this colony to develop their pulleys. Of course, they were very different tools, but the possibility was worth considering.

Others also suggested it might be the basis behind this colony wearing something akin to clothes, given Spiky’s shell was capable of shielding them from blows from predators. Sentry’s acorn armor certainly born a resemblance to Spiky’s chestnut.

Whatever was said, Brim relented, Sentry reached over to them and heaved them into their arms. With a step the Purple Pikmin chucked them, hurling Brim at the top of the Sheargrub. The Sheargrub immediately whimpered and fell limp, even as Brim scrambled off her and begins wiping nothing tangible off their skin.

The Sheargrub was killed by the impact, as identified early they are utterly harmless to Pikmin. Brim seemed to shudder as they reached their mittens over to the Sheargrub’s stubby mandibles and began to tug, dragging her across the forest floor.

She would not offer the Onion much food, she could only fuel one or two seedlings. Still, it was better than nothing and she was light enough that Brim was able to carry her carcass back to the Onion by themself. It would be a long trek, but they would make it before nightfall.

As Brim dragged the corpse around a puddle, Sentry stared after them, before turning back at the carving. Pikmin had long been known to sing when idle in groups, but this carving was a new form of artwork. And this site seemed to be significant to the colony, given Sentry’s permanent home here guarding it.

Sentry shook their head and lumbered back into their hut, sitting on a pebble as a crude seat. As they settled in, Brim continued to drag the carcass, making sure only their gloves touched the corpse.

The Pikmin of this colony had made several strides, and whether or not it was inspired or invented by Spiky it was clear they had developed a culture of revering a quadruped and shelled Pikmin. Perhaps that is why Brim was free to wear gloves and keep to themself, a neurodivergent Pikmin might be more accepted if an effectively disabled Pikmin was a cultural hero.

Either way, this colony was one of the few Pikmin colonies that were able to pluck seedlings, and because of that, they had a better chance of passing on their lineage than most Pikmin. Perhaps in time, most Pikmin would engage in these behaviors. But for now, this Onion and its Pikmin were an oddity among their species and one that we hope to continue to study in the future.

#pikmin #brim the blue pikmin #my art

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dullanyan · 1 year ago

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finally beat pikmin 4 :}

spoilers under the cut as i ramble.

first off: my complaints.

biggest issue thats on my mind rn since it was effecting me just now in the final fight: if i throw my pikmin but they arent too far from me, they just come back to me??? i was trying to put them on a ledge so the final boss' heat wave wouldnt kill them. bc some of them like the purples werent thrown far, they kept coming back. that feature kind of sucks!

second: not sure why they made bootleg versions of pikmin 3 captains. i get why they werent in the game (though, they couldve been castaways with a side quest of gathering all the fruit treasures but, whatever) but i dont get why they needed bootleg versions. nelle couldve been an entirely different looking npc, yknow? one of them was even alph's brother...

third: caves werent nearly as long. aside from the final cave being 20 floors (and just like a boss rush for the most part, but also there were some like that in 2 so its fine) every cave was like 1-5 floors. i wouldve appreciated longer caves.. its definitely a possibility since you can choose which sublevel to go to after leaving a cave, so u dont have to do a long one entirely over.

also, the "only 3 pikmin at a time" was a little annoying. im glad you can have more than 3 types in a cave, at least, but you cant bring more than 3 with you which sucks. i get putting a limit, but i think a good limit wouldve been 5. 20 of each to have 100, like pikmin 2 and 3! also probably wouldve let caves be more interesting with more varieties to bring.

just a nitpick at this point but i don't quite understand the "existing enemy but just larger with no visual difference aside from size" trend. sovereign bulblax is slightly visually different, so i can accept that. but the jumbo bulborb and blowhogs, aside from different movesets, were just scaled up models. i think doing something to make them look a little different wouldve been nice, even if it was just a color difference or smth.

final complaint: i love glow pikmin but why must they replace bulbmin :{

the glow seeds are nice... but bulbmin are so everything to me. reserving glowmin 2 night time only and bulbmin in select caves wouldve been nice. i get it but also. i miss them....

---

ANYWAYS. complaints out of the way.

i thought i wouldnt like the "basically back to 1 captain" thing, but it was actually pretty good! oatchi is basically like a captain as well but with more capabilities, so i think it was pretty good. the upgrade system was also real nice imo!! with your character, oatchi and the onions, it was neat. it gives a better feeling of progression, and doesnt make things TOO easy from the beginning, getting as many red pikmin as possible to kill everything.

also i wasnt sold on the series reboot thing, but i think it works fine. i get having to reboot it to integrate the dogs into the story! (i still want to believe pikmin 3 will happen in this timeline sort of. i doubt olimar and louie would be present, but yknow.)

im also happy there were so many areas, and even with ~230 (239?) treasure types, i liked that there were a lot of repeats. without having to make so many different models, we got a ton of treasure to pick up.

the old bosses brought back were fun, too!! submerged castle 2 was really intense and fun. a little unsure why baldy long legs was back, but not shaggy... are they all permanently hairless now?

overall very good game. im not sure if its going to dethrone 2 as my favorite, but its certainly my 2nd fav! (3 being 3rd, 1 being 4th. 1 is very janky and unforgiving, so its just not as fun.)

the platforming elements brought in with the introduction of oatchi were really good. pikmin platforming.. its very cool and works really well! i was worried abt it, but honestly it wasnt too overdone, but not neglected at all. and better than pikmin sidescroller.

at this point, all i can hope for is maybe some free updates for the future... if not, hopefully a substantial dlc that would feel worth paying for. (the dlc for pikmin 3 was kind of a joke.)

dandori stages and battles, as well as night mode were kind of hard for me to adjust to, but once i got it figured out it was really satisfying. still not a big fan of vs dandori, but somehow i managed to at least get bronze and silver on the last 2 on my first try. night mode... that final stage was. a bit much. 2 proggs, 3 emperors i think it was? and a long legs??? it felt a little ridiculous, and i DID have to look up a guide, but i got it.

overall probably a 9/10 for me (even pikmin 2 isnt a 10/10, dont worry). its definitely the longest of pikmin games which i love, i was hoping for a super long game and it delivered pretty well! i think i spent close to 50 hours playing just one file to 100% completion. much better than the few hours you can spend playing pikmin 3.

now im going to start a new file, this time doing a no death run. i only lost 14 pikmin total, so i absolutely can do it!!

#mawcie.txt #now i can return to looking at the pikmin tags #pikmin #LONG under the cut

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