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lividria · 5 months ago

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Pikmin Theory: The Sparkly Wraith

⚠️CONTENT WARNING: HEY! PIKMIN⚠️

This post is huge, so I'm just putting the entire thing under the cut.

Preamble

So, during my Pikmin hyperfixation, which I can't even tell if it's over or not, really, I was getting really into trying to solve Pikmin lore, and never really got to put the pieces together. The reason? I watched DazzReviews' decade-old video about Umibozu Theory. No offense to the guy, I used to watch his other videos, but that fucking theory gave me one of the worst headaches of my life with how horrible it was and how little sense the points made. It made me feel physical pain. So, naturally, when I saw references to the theory start popping up in the wild, I just... Gave up. I've been avoiding Pikmin lore theorizing like the plague ever since, because, like, I don't want that to happen again. But then I realized I can't escape it, even if I tried, and I know that because I just saw it brought up in passing. Again. I know there's modern updates of the theory to get it up to date to Pikmin 4, but I'm not checking them to see if they hurt my head too.

Meanwhile, I brought this up in a previous post, but one of my friends around this time started making terrible Nintendo game ideas as part of a long-term troll him, me and another friend have been planning for a while now, and I... Got way too into the Pikmin ideas for it. I was trying to come up with really dumb lore, using all the dumb trivia I've learned, and instead via divine revelation was given this theory. I thought I got myself out, but this has pulled me back in. I probably could've left all of this out, but it's a funny story, so...

I have at least one other big theory for Pikmin lore, so I may type that up some time, too.

Part 1: Prerequisite Knowledge/Assumptions

This is assuming you're at least familiar with all 5 Pikmin games and what happens in them. In other words, spoilers. But you've had years to figure this all out, I don't need to say that.

I don't know yet if this will be all too relevant, but I'm working under the assumption that the timeline is 1 -> 2 -> 4 -> 3 -> Hey!. The Koppai food crisis is mentioned to be incoming in 4, and the Treasure Catalog entries for the music box treasure with Pikmin 3's title theme imply that the game's events haven't happened yet, especially Olimar's. In Pikmin 3, Hocotate Freight's almost bankrupt again, Olimar's using the Hocotate Ship, and the S.S. Dolphin's seemingly been sold... Again (They probably bought it back in-between Pikmin 2 & 4 with the newfound company wealth), and Olimar mentions wanting to buy it again, and then he has the S.S. Dolphin II in Hey!, where he also recognizes the Pikmin 3 Pikmin, meaning it's either after 4 or 3, so there you go. No, I don't have an explanation for how Pikmin 2's globes imply PNF-404 looks like present-day Earth, when Pikmin 3 has Pangaea Proxima, or a couple other inconsistencies (The Voyage Logs do seem to be non-chronological, iirc the "I'm so very tired..." log with a picture of Hero's Hideaway appears before Olimar goes there, and Olimar was keeping logs in Pikmin 1 & 2 that we may also be seeing to explain why he's seemingly unfamiliar with things like Pikmin & Onions, so like... Other stuff besides those), you'll have to figure that out for yourself.

Speaking of Pangaea Proxima, yea, if you look at the map in Pikmin 3's area select, you'll see it's actually based on a speculative map of what the world will look like in roughly 300 million years, and it's named Pangaea Proxima... I think there was another name, Pangaea Ultima or something, but I prefer Proxima. The only difference is the Formidable Oak's placement, when it's not supposed to be there in the actual map. So that gives us a time placement for when the games are taking place, and humans went extinct... At some point. No, I don't know why Hero's Hideaway indicates recent habitation, or how all of the treasures are perfectly preserved, you'll have to figure that out for yourself. Or, more accurately, for me.

Anyways, Sparklium. A bizarre material that doesn't have mass, but is found in... Basically every object you can think of? All of the treasures in Pikmin 4 & Hey! Pikmin, but are primarily found in metallic objects. It also seems to manifest as gold nuggets, though it can also be red, rainbow, or an acorn... Wait, how can it be an object if it has no mass? Anyways, it can be used as fuel, and doesn't seem to ever run out, as you don't spend it in either game, you keep it all, and there's a ship part called a Sparklium Converter that... Converts Sparklium to usable fuel, I guess, and for some reason when it's lodged into the Leech Hydroe, that makes it incredibly angry. The solidified Sparklium primarily appears in Sparklium Springs, lakes of water with an inexplicable rainbow aura shooting up into the sky where Sparklium nuggets will periodically spill everywhere.

We don't know if those are on PNF-404, but they're definitely on the Hey! Pikmin planet, which was also home to a human civilization comparable to our own that is also gone now... Which doesn't make sense, if we're talking space colonization, but whatever. I've named this planet Heihei, because... Hey!, and also it's a word for Chicken in another language, which is funny. Heihei also shares wildlife with PNF-404, for some reason, somehow including Pikmin when you can assume that if Leafling dogs can't leave the planet, Pikmin shouldn't be able to either, but that's for you to figure out for yourself.

Also, someone did the math on all of the people who have crashed on PNF-404 because of the asteroids around it, and it's over 20 crashes. The only people who have gotten there without interruption have been Olimar & the President returning for Louie in Pikmin 2, Olimar and Louie returning to PNF-404 for more treasure in Olimar's Assignment and again to fix the Hocotate Ship in Olimar's Comeback, and Pom (Is it common knowledge that's the community name for the Pikmin 4 protagonist? Just in case, that's who Pom is.) coming to save the Rescue Corps (and everyone else).

Speaking of the Rescue Corps, you can unlock diary entries from the past that imply the little people are descendants of humanity after some sort of apocalypse drove them underground:

"The surface! We made it at last! Finally, we can begin making a fresh start here on this planet. Of course, it will take many long months and years before what we've built here will be anything like what we once had. But we won't be alone. Our beloved dogs will be by our side as we walk this long, difficult road."

"Many years have passed since we first began to make this land our new home. Still, we need more time to complete our environmental adaptations. In the meantime, we must survive so that, one day, we can pass down this new history to our children, and pass down the ways we've learned to rescue and protect everyone. One day we will live here in peace."

""Beyond the sky itself there lies a beautiful blue planet." Those words have been passed down from captain to captain, calling to each of us. I can't imagine what sort of place this blue planet might be, but it's said to be home to even more dogs and folks that we have here. One day, I hope to fly beyond the sky...and into space."

I'm probably forgetting something, I'll figure it out as I write out the actual theory.

Part 2: The Shining Demon

Humanity somehow went extinct on at least two different planets, and Sparklium is also absolutely everywhere on those two planets. The Sparklium Springs' rainbow aura is... Uh... Strange, that's not how things work, it looks otherworldly, and Sparklium is inexplicably spilling out of it, and they all have water. We already know about some otherworldly being associated with water: The Water Wraith. Them and a couple other instances (Glow Pikmin, the Smoky Progg and Gloom are the first things that come to mind) show that there's some esoteric unexplainable property of the Pikmin universe allowing for strange, almost paranormal things to occur.

I don't have a clean transition into this, but hear me out: There's a supernatural entity of some sort that I'm naming the Shining Demon, that somehow threatened humanity on all of it's planets, so the people got together and broke it apart into Sparklium, and sealed all of it away in the Sparklium Springs of Heihei, probably in some sort of extradimensional space (Fun fact, there's a random reference to the "Master of Dimension X" in a Pikmin 2 sales pitch that goes unexplained, so I'll refer to this as Dimension X from now on just to use the name), with that rainbow aura over the water being the magic seal. However, over time, the seal began to fade, and the Sparklium began to spill out, and integrate into all of the objects around the planet, probably spreading to PNF-404 when people went from one planet to the other, or there's unseen PNF-404 Sparklium Springs, either or.

It's safe to assume that the Sparklium Converter has Sparklium in it, and you know what it does to the Leech Hydroe. That thing was so aggressive, it was the final boss, and one of two bosses that give you any semblance of challenge in Hey! Pikmin. It's also shown to be in living (or previously living) treasures such as fruit, meat and fossils, and just about any other kind of object you can think of, so the Sparklium could've either gotten into animals & plants to make them aggressive towards humans, or gotten directly into humans to kill them from the inside, or something.

Now, where else could it go from there? You know how it's primarily in metal objects, especially in Hey! Pikmin? What object has strange properties in the Pikmin series that's made of tons of metal? THE ASTEROIDS. And if the Pikmin people are descendants of the humanity that the Shining Demon hated so much it drove to extinction, and it's in control of the things it's inside, AND Sparklium is used as a fuel source and is thus also in the spaceships, then you can put two and two together and assume that it's crashing people to get them stuck in it's territory where it can kill them to finish the job.

But, if it was originally a living being, if you were to put enough Sparklium together in one place, could it not form together once again? That's exactly what it did.

Part 3: Fool's Gold

The Plasm Wraith is a fragment of the Shining Demon. I mean, come on. Not only does it look like gold, it's Elemental Plasms are based on Cubic Pyrite. Fool's Gold. Olimar is demonstrated to be a fool, having been scammed multiple times if you read the Pikmin 1 Ship Part descriptions, and thinks that the Plasm Wraith is gold, which is why he goes to collect it, even when Louie is apprehensive, because he enjoys treasure hunting a foolish amount now.

In the Pikmin 3 Deluxe Piklopedia, Olimar speculates that the hole in the Plasm Wraith's face is a "manifested psychic wound". If it was torn apart and sealed in the Sparklium Springs, then magic or esoteric shit of some sort was already involved, so that could've been from when people were trying to kill it directly. Also, it makes sense that the psychic wound is where it's "head" is.

Remember in Part 1 where I mentioned 3 out of the 4 times people were allowed to come to PNF-404 without being attacked were Olimar? At this point, I think the Plasm Wraith, or more accurately the Sparkly Wraith, piece of the Shining Demon, recognizes that for whatever reason Olimar keeps coming back and putting a ton of Sparklium in one place, so it's just... Letting him come so that it can keep taking shots at him, and he literally walks right up to it. Why wouldn't it want him to put all of the Sparklium in one place? It'd help it form into another Plasm Wraith. It hasn't done that yet, I guess because he never gets enough together, but still, it's possible.

Also, you know how the Plasm Wraith seems to be caressing Olimar when the Koppaites arrive at the Formidable Oak? Two possibilities:

It likes him now, because it views him as an instrument it can manipulate to get back in one piece, so it just kinda... "Takes care of him". I don't know what it was planning to do, since Olimar was there, for like, at least a week.

It wants to figure out how to get into him like it might've gotten into the humans and all the other objects. Olimar's sealed up in a spacesuit, which it might view as foreign, so it's really curious about him... And wants to learn how to penetrate the suit, so that it can kill/control the current descendants of humanity. Speaking of...

If you check the Pikmin 3 Deluxe Piklopedia, Louie ate the Plasm Wraith. And a lot of other stuff, including the animals we know the Shining Demon might be in control of because of the Leech Hydroe, treasure in Pikmin 4 which I've established has Sparklium in it... Whoopsie. That'd explain why he progressively starts talking less, as Olimar mentions in Pikmin 3, and starts lashing out more and more... Then again, that unused cutscene has Louie reveal he believed he was kidnapped by the Koppaites, so, I don't know. Is that still canon if it was removed? Whatever.

Side tangent here, Louie wasn't controlling the Titan Dweevil, because if he was, he would've been able to control the Scornet Maestro to stop it from eating/attacking/kidnapping him, because that's also a bug. The Titan Dweevil probably just liked Louie's antenna, or something, as it likes shiny objects, and Louie's sociopathy and uncaring demeanor towards animals (He eats EVERYTHING which requires killing everything) rubs off on it when Olimar comes back, plus potential feelings of betrayal or anger or whatever, because the Volatile Dweevils mimic the behavior of the objects they carry so the Titan Dweevil might to, but all of that influence would've been accidental, as he's unconscious. He did, however, use the Ancient Sirehound to lash out intentionally, even after hearing Olimar's voice. Got it? Got it.

By the way, you know how in Pikmin 4 the Pikmin 3 fruits return, and have Sparklium in them? And the Koppaites bring all of that back home to eat? Shit. (I stole this from the Umibozu Theory video I complained about earlier, and I'm not sorry.)

I don't have a good conclusion here, just like how I didn't have a good start. Just... Deal with it.

Part 4: TL;DR

Sparklium is actually a fragment of an esoteric entity I've named the Shining Demon that tried to kill off humanity, that was sealed away in the Sparklium Springs by humanity, only for the seals to gradually begin fading and begin releasing Sparklium that then infects all sorts of objects and creatures, which it then used to kill humanity. However, some humans survived, escaped underground, and evolved into the small people we see in Pikmin over 300 million years, and are constantly attacked by the asteroids around PNF-404 and the Hey! Pikmin planet that have Sparklium in them, in an attempt to get them into it's territory to kill them off and finish the job.

The Plasm Wraith is a lot of this Sparklium fused together into a living being, much weaker than the Shining Demon, and Olimar's idiocy directly benefits it by hoarding tons of Sparklium, so it captures him and either wants to use him to further it's own goals or wants to figure out how to break through his spacesuit so it can kill everyone it can via it's Sparklium infection, and it's also potentially infected Louie due to him consuming Sparklium, as well as the Koppaite trio and potentially the rest of Koppai.

I don't know where the Water Wraith fits in here, but it may have some connection to the Sparklium Springs, I guess.

#pikmin #plasm wraith #pikmin theory #pikmin lore #this entire post is a mess

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john-pikmin · 4 months ago

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what is the heaviest/lightest item in pikmin

There are 2 treasures that are tied for heaviest item, These are the:

Doomsday Apparatus

Weight 1kg

Found in the Wistful Wild area in Pikmin 2

It requires 100 purple Pikmin to carry

It is worth 3000 Pokos

Golden Vaulting Table

Weight 1kg

Found in the Primordial Thicket area in Pikmin 4

It also requires 100 purple Pikmin to carry

It is worth 1000 Sparklium

The lightest treasures all require 1 Pikmin to carry. These are the:

Arboreal Frippery

Weight unknown (can be assumed 1g)

Found in the Shower Room cave of Pikmin 2’s Perplexing Pool

Requires 1 Pikmin to carry, no carrying number appears above and only 1 Pikmin can carry this at a time

It is worth 10 Pokos

Science Project

Weight unknown (can be assumed 1g)

Found in the Snagret Hole cave of Pikmin 2’s Awakening Wood

Requires 1 Pikmin to carry, no carrying number appears above and only 1 Pikmin can carry this at a time

It is worth 20 Pokos

Leviathan Feather

Weight unknown (can be assumed 1g)

Found in the Snagret Hole cave of Pikmin 2’s Awakening Wood

Requires 1 Pikmin to carry, no carrying number appears above and only 1 Pikmin can carry this at a time

It is worth 10 Pokos

Thanks for the question, there are some other items I could have listed, but they don’t count as treasures.

#nintendo #pikmin 4 #pikmin 2 #pikmin #treasure #pikmin trivia #pikmin facts #purple pikmin

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gamebunny-advance · 1 year ago

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Pikmin 4 Planet Generalizations

I added this to the big Pikmin 4 Character Trivia post, but I know most people aren't going to be checking for updates on that (btw, there's been a few, so check that out if you're interested).

These are observations I've made about similarities between castaways from the same planet. Since Pikmin has made a habit of saying that certain traits are inherent to specific races/planets, such as the Koppaites' inability to plan and being picky eaters and the Hocotatians' preference for vegetables and seeking treasure, it may be safe to say that similarities found between castaways from the same planet might be reflective of their respective races.

However, this is all speculative on my part. Do not take any of the following as fact.

I also haven't included any castaways/planets where there was only 1 castaway to get info from since unless they explicitly said so, there's no way to determine what traits are theirs and what could be attributed to their race/culture. Info like that would be a part of the main trivia post.

Sozor (Dalmo, Grace, Horatio)

Have anti-social personalities. Dalmo prefers creatures to people, Grace seems disinterested in society as a whole, and Horatio is inept at social interactions (compared to other castaways).

Flukuey (Jin, Molly, Dash, Patch)

Have unstable professions and/or are adventure seekers. Jin is an explorer, Molly is a streamer of limited success, Dash is a spelunker from a well off-family, and Patch is unemployed but purposefully puts himself in dangerous situations for the thrill.

Ooji (Francois, Kingsly)

Love flowers/plant life. Francois studies plant-life, and Kingsly is a florist. Given that Ooji is also said to have "lush jungles," flora may be very important to everyday life on the planet.

Koodgio (Lapi, Boris)

Artistic types. Lapi is a painter and Boris is an author.

Siguray (Shnauz, Kit, Osa)

Interested in the qualities and history of materials and items. Shnauz appraises treasure, Kit is interested in minerals, and Osa is interested in archeology.

The following are castaways where it's difficult to determine if their similar traits would be found in their race due to other factors:

Ogura (Sy, Pitunia)

Both are interested in studying the onion and their environmental factors surrounding it, but both are also a part of the Research Task Force, a group made of individuals that are interested in studying the planet in general, so it's hard to say if this would be something inherent to all Ogurains, or if they just happen to have a mutual interest in this area of study.

Enohee (Ren, Frise, Muggs, Wolfgang)

3 of the 4 are a part of the same TV crew, so would have common interests by default. Arguably all 4 are interested in entertainment as Ren was on a cooking show, so TV might be a very important industry to Enohee.

Neechki (Kaia, Sheeba, Keesh, Mika, Chewy)

4 of the 5 are in the same club and would have similar interests by default (and even then, Mika admits that she knows very little about planetary science), and Chewy has little in common with the rest of them. However, Chewy notes that Sheeba also resembles her boss, so it's possible that the "small" body type is very common (but not exclusive) to Neechikians.

Nijo (Santi, Bernard)

Both became pilots and were prone to changing jobs frequently, but their "Dynamic Duo" shtick of always being a part of each other's lives is played as a joke, so their similar lives/interests may not have anything to do with their race/culture.

Planets where I couldn't identify a common thread:

Enohay (Puddle, Vonda, Bernise)

I would have said creative/artistic fields due to Puddle being a stylist and Vonda being a singer, but I don't think a fortune-teller really falls under that umbrella. Perhaps they're all "dramatic"?

Conohan (Twyla, Chowder, Alpin, Fawks, Beaux)

They all have different professions and interests, two are siblings, and none have especially similar personality traits. In a sense, I suppose this would imply that Conohan is a very diverse planet.

Ohri (Yonny, Dingo)

Neither seems to have much in common with the other aside from being in the Rescue Corps.

Giya (Shepherd, Collin, Russ)

Another diverse group of only rescue officers. However, given the stark difference between Collin's and Russ's financial situations, there are implications that Giya has significant class inequality.

#gbunny writes #pikmin #pikmin 4 #i don't know how to tag this #headcanons #i guess? since i can't prove any of this i can't call it trivia

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myz-wykkyd · 5 months ago

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Rosalie Wilde Masterpost

6/3/2024: Masterpost for one of my main ocs, Rosalie Wilde! Though primarily used for farming sim related content, Rosalie is a multiverse oc with many aus. Below the cut you will find basic information about her and her various universes, a list of tags, completed memes, trivia, and other content relating to her.

BASICS Full Name: Rosalie Wilde

Rowdy Rose (MLP)

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: Adult | 28 Date of Birth: February 14th | Spring 14th, PY 70 (MTAS) Place of Birth: Verse Dependent | Sandrock (MTAS) Occupation: Verse Dependent

Privateer (Red Rising)

Captain of the Lady's Secret (Red Rising, Pikmin)

Space Explorer (Pikmin)

Builder (MTAS)

Farmer / Rancher (MTAS, MLP, Pikmin, DND, Pokemon)

Paladin/Warlock (DnD)

Species: Verse Dependent

Human (Farming Sims, MTAS, Pokemon)

Pink (Red Rising)

Sheep (CoTL)

Koppaite (Pikmin)

Half-Elf (DnD)

Height: 5’3" (160 cm) Weight: ~145 lbs Body Type: Feminine, athletic. Surprisingly strong. Eye Color: Seafoam Green Hair Color: Pink

PERSONALITY & SKILLS MBTI: ENFJ | The Protagonist Written Description:

Possessed with a beguiling combination of grace and grit. Rosalie exudes an air of sophistication, with the comportment one would expect from a lady who grew up in high society. She is highly intelligent, well-initiated in matters of social etiquette, and her manners are immaculate- or at least, they are most of the time. However, despite her feminine bearing, there’s a certain, rough edge to everything she does that hints at her adventurous spirit. For all her elegance, Rosalie has a wild side that can't be tamed.

A fiery young woman whose adaptability and resourcefulness make her a force to be reckoned with in any realm she sets her sights on, which has served her well in life considering her propensity for diving into every challenge that presents itself head first. But even when faced with failure her determination and never-give-up attitude means she always finds a way to recover from her mistakes- and turn a dire situation back in her favor.

Down-to-earth, resourceful, and dependable, Rosalie is a hard-worker who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty.

She has a comically quick temper- and her fearsomeness during these moments have earned her a reputation for being quite frightening. Those who know her best would consider it understandable, but not all together warranted. Because while her anger is something to fear, it only flares in moments it’s truly warranted- generally in the face of cruelty, injustice, arrogance, or laziness. In such circumstances, Rosalie never hesitates to speak her mind, stand up for what’s right and swiftly ensure that the perpetrators correct their mistake. She has an incredible wit and is quick to deliver biting comebacks. When it comes down to it, she’s a surprisingly skilled fighter.

While her headstrong nature rubs some people the wrong way, it's impossible to ignore that her actions stem from a fierce desire to protect others. Though she’s admired for her bravery, occasionally she can be perceived as stubborn.

Her feistiness ironically belies a warm, affable disposition. At her core, Rosalie is a charming young woman who is full of life and spirit- and her infectious energy lifts the spirits of all those around her.

Rosalie is known to have a fondness for animals and the environment, she cherishes children, and is a supportive and understanding friend who cares deeply about her loved ones. She is often the first person to offer support to those who appear to be struggling, and is not afraid to sacrifice her own time or comfort to help those she cares about without ever expecting anything in return.

RELATIONSHIPS Father: Russel Wilde (MTAS) Mother: Winona Wilde (MTAS) Siblings: Unnamed Half-Brother (MTAS) Other Relatives: - Theodore (Stepfather; MTAS)

Closest Friends: - WIP

Notable Partners:

Logan (MTAS)

Owen (MTAS)

Kjeld (Multiverse) | Owned by r0b0tak @ DA

NOTES

WIP

ROSALIE'S TAGS

oc: rosalie wilde

art: rosalie wilde

oc inspo: rosalie wilde

ship: rosalie x logan

ship: rosalie x owen

ship: rosalie x kjeld

ALTERNATE UNIVERSES & TIMELINES

au: rosalie wilde (mtas)

au: rosalie wilde (MLP)

au: rosalie wilde (pokemon)

au: rosalie wilde (pikmin)

au: rosalie wilde (red rising)

au: rosalie wilde (cyberpunk)

au: rosalie wilde (dnd)

au: rosalie wilde (minecraft)

au: rosalie wilde (cult of the lamb)

CHARACTER SHEETS & MEMES

Primary Reference

My OC in Symbolism (OLD)

Character Inspiration (OLD)

(General) Rosalie Questions 1

(General) Rosalie Questions 2

(MTAS) Rosalie Questions 1

(MTAS) Rosalie Questions 2

META & PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

WIP

VIDEOS & CLIPS

WIP

#oc: rosalie wilde

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sunsquish-official · 3 months ago

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Pikmin Fact of the Day: Humanity eventually became the many peoples of space in the series(I.E, Hocotatians, Koppaites, Giyans, etc.)

If you take a peek at the rescue logs left by the previous captains of the Rescue Corps, you will get lore about how the rescue corps came to be..and in some of the later ones there are hints dropped that imply that humanity eventually reached for the stars..and left to inhabit different planets. As the generations passed, they changed physically. And eventually, we got the Giyans.

#Sunsquis squishes #Pikmin trivia of the day

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anderjak · 1 year ago

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i'm just gonna be a hyperfocusing goober for today, so let me have this

so i really like the pikmin games. for the longest time, i was no good at them, because my brain was a disorganized mess. however, by god, i tried, mostly because there is something inherently infectious about the core of this franchise that hits right on a mechanical point, and i mean this about every game (except Hey! Pikmin, because we all kinda quietly agreed we wouldn't talk about that one, which, hey? c'mon. it's good. it's just a weird spin-off.)

so, lemme talk about each game, and how the developer decided to approach each title.

it's a long one, and i don't expect anyone to be, like, hanging on to every word, but I CARE A LOT ABOUT STUFF LIKE THIS OKAY

okay you got warned so here you go:

pikmin 1 was a launch-window game that popped in a little under a month after the release of the simultaneously maligned and dearly beloved Gamecube. those of you with a big ol' trivia brain will remember that the old Super Mario 128 rumors, including its tech demo of all the li'l marios running around to show off the Gamecube's processing power, would act as the seed idea for what would eventually become Pikmin: The Game. alongside the bizarre and fun Super Mario Sunshine and Luigi's Mansion, it was one of those games that showcased how early on Nintendo didn't really consider itself in competition with Sony or the newcomer Microsoft, cuz, like, who was making a game like pikmin. nobody in major publishing and development, that's for sure.

it's a simple concept: you're a li'l guy leading 100 li'ler guys around to collect ship parts from your very destroyed spaceship that got you there in the first place. natch, the nature of the world is largely out to kill you and all your diminuitive minions. whereas Overlord would take this concept for the purpose of murdering everything in sight and generally causing chaos (which would itself be the seed idea for a PS Vita game built on the inbetween point of Overlord and Pikmin, and it was aggressively okay), Pikmin was more about structure and strategy and planning and, on occasion, taking a chill moment to build up your numbers to lick your wounds and make up your losses.

taking its camera angle low to the grass to present the mundane as gigantic was an inspired move, clearly showcased by just how lush the world was for its time, and how simple a concept it is to make the everyday seem larger than life and fantastical. y'know, like Honey I Shrunk The Kids, but you're managing a hundred kindergarteners who are all weirdly just obedient enough that you can have 'em fetch stuff for your own singular ends. (who doesn't envy that JUST a little?)

add to that the three different pikmin suited for different situations, and you have a game with some nice, unexpected complexity. your bog-standard rank-and-file red pikmin have the added benefit, apart from being adorable, of being completely and utterly fire resistant, and are the strongest attackers in the game. yellow pikmin have great big ears and are lightning-proofed, alongside being incredibly chuckable, able to reach areas others cannot. blue pikmin, however, can handle water just fine, able to walk underneath as easily as on land. each areas' challenges are built around ensuring you have and use the right pikmin for the job, as sending the wrong pikmin can mean that heart-breaking death rattle that everyone wants to avoid.

the game was notoriously short -- one could spend about eight hours on first play if they figure out the controls and strategies early on -- and so for many, it acted as a neat launch window novelty. for me, the concept carried it for multiple playthrough attempts; as terrible as i was at it, the core mechanics, limited though they were, seemed primed for teasing out a near-limitless well of ideas. and, well, clearly, that novelty continued for many, as it would get a sequel not too terribly long after.

one thing to point out is, with its short length, it actually has an in-game timer -- not just the day cycle, where you gotta get yourself and your li'ler guys aboard your respective ships before sunset, but also a 30-day timer. if you couldn't manage to collect the critical parts in time, it's game over, buddy. try again.

it's semi-roguelite in that way; it was perfectly possible to beef it so terribly that you weren't guaranteed to wind up finishing in time. however, the game… really isn't terribly tough, so most managed pretty well. the 30-day limit felt like an arbitrary limitation, especially on additional playthroughs, which, apparently, Nintendo agreed with.

enter Pikmin 2. now, for the record: i don't… love this game. however, how it approaches being a sequel is utterly fascinating to me, as I think I understand why it chose to handle its new mechanics.

gone is the day timer, and new is the extra partner: Louie. with the ability to swap between two leaders or have them work in concert, multitasking became the backbone of this game… well, I mean, in theory. we also swap ship parts for treasure, as the crux of the game is paying off Olimar's employer's massive, crippling debt. thankfully, you have all the time in the world, because Hocotate Freight, the aforementioned employer, doesn't have continual interest applied to their loan. weird. but acceptable. (god, can you imagine a constantly ballooning debt goal to clear for this? someone mod the GC original, I wanna know how impossible it would be.)

there's also new pikmin: purple pikmin, who are large, can shake the earth when they're tossed (thus doing quite a bit of damage as an opening gambit), and have the strength of ten pikmin when carrying stuff; and white pikmin, which are tiny, great at finding and digging up hidden treasure, and also they'll fucking kill you if you eat one, being highly poisonous. they're also heavily poison-resistant, so feel free to send these tiny children into gaseous areas free of worry. balancing out when to yoink out these new ones -- which can only be created from specialty flowers where you exchange one of your core three pikmin, rather than growing them naturally -- becomes an additional hazard, so it's easy to be incredibly precious with these new types.

alongside that, bombs are added, which can be exclusively carried by Yellow pikmin. great for blowing up stone walls, and great for blowing up a nasty enemy in your way if you're not too precious about those bombs -- which do go away if you collect 'em all, and you gotta wait another day to pick up more.*

(note: it's been pointed out that bomb rocks were a Pikmin 1 feature, not 2; also, electricity wasn't really a feature in Pikmin 1 at all! thanks to folks tagging for this correction, though it's funny how inconsistent the games are about these sorts of things -- not that it's a huge deal.)

what's also added… are dungeons and a mission mode. dungeons, in theory, are fascinating, as they are sectioned off portions of the game meant to challenge the player. while the overworld segments are largely identical to the first game in basic scope -- one of the areas is even reused, though much expanded -- the dungeons add an honestly overwhelming amount of content.

these bits are interesting: you can't get more pikmin, so if you lose one, that's it (with, like, one technical exception). all enemies picked up after defeat are converted into a pittance of in-game currency. thankfully, the timer of the overworld is completely absent, For Reasons. (and thank goodness for that.) you're down there to find new treasure and maybe the occasional ship or suit part, get into scraps, and that's it.

i'd sort of figured, three years after the original's release, they took the claim that the first game was too short and too easy to heart, as this feels much more of a white-knuckle game. dungeons also feature unique enemies not found elsewhere, including that motherfucker the WaterWraith, an invincible steamroller that chases after one of your two leaders relentlessly. i hate this guy so much as he is sorta representative of the issues i have with this game.

now, this game was critically acclaimed, and for good reason: it was more of a really neat idea for a game, expanded with new stuff that made it highly replayable. what's not to love? however, an issue i kept running into is that there are two hundred plus treasures in the game to find, and, after eight hours (roughly the length of Pikmin 1 on first play), you'll be in good shape if you get half that. there are a lot of dungeons, and you can hit the game's first clear condition well before you've even found a good handful of dungeons.

since each treasure has a set amount of currency attached to it, you would naturally (and, largely incorrectly) assume the most dangerous dungeons hold within them the most lucrative treasure. in reality, it's a pure numbers game: most treasure, save for in the final dungeon, are worth a fairly small amount that still adds up quick. instead, the deepest dungeons, which ironically are also the most dangerous for many reasons, hold the most potential for treasure, and these bits… i will be honest, wear me out.

the volume and frequency of these dungeons do an interesting thing to a game that is otherwise fairly short and concise: it brings about fatigue. it puts a quantity-over-quality aspect to the game that works in its detriment, though the designs of these dungeons, by and large, are tight and concise, with just enough randomness to make even samey-looking areas still feel just fresh enough. you don't always start in the same area on each floor, and enemies aren't consistently laid out in set positions.

this is probably the only game in the series so far that instills in me a sense of dread when I reach a new dungeon, and it has a lot to do with pikmin 1: each day has a set length that's easy to predict, and dungeons throw a huge wrench in that. you don't know how deep things go until you're done, so you wind up setting aside time some other day to tackle them -- and you should do it that way! because those dungeons will chew you up and spit you out if you let 'em!

anyway it's great and i don't like it. you should play it. just don't go in expecting the experience to have the same satisfying loop as Pikmin 1, because it does, but it does so in sneaky, exhausting ways if you aren't prepared. it's a game meant for replays, where the first play is the worst.

now i get to talk about how much i fucking love Pikmin 3.

gone are dungeons, for the most part, and we wind up with a game much more in line with the original. the narrative is more front-and-center, focusing on three squad members who reunite after getting separated during a crash landing, and are trying to find a way off the planet while also conveniently harvesting the planet of its fruit and seeds. the central macguffin is juice: every time you collect a piece of fruit, it's converted to juice to be placed in a growing stockade of vials, each one giving a whole day's sustenance shared amongst the whole squad. rather than a hard deadline, your task is merely to make sure you don't eat more than you gather, changing the first game's hard time deadline into a more casual affair where each day can be taken on its own. considering you'll ultimately wind up with more juice containers than there are pieces of fruit to gather, it's a decidedly less stressful affair.

new pikmin naturally are added here, including rock pikmin -- craggy li'l guys great for dropping on enemies, and especially good at breaking glass and crystal -- and flying pikmin -- the only other type capable of moving over water alongside blue ones, and capable of uprooting the strange pink vines which have grown all over the place. unlike pikmin 2, these new types can be grown the same way as the standard three, and they had the big brain genius move of combining all the sources of pikmin, the Onions, into one device, making team management and composition infinitely easier.

the name of the game for Pikmin 3 really is sanding down all the friction of the first two, and making a modern entry that felt like it was learning how to provide more fun with better, more intuitive controls and more complex tasks. the world is filled with more puzzles, so the game provides a new Charge, which sends all pikmin in a group toward your target, and the ability to swap between entire teams of pikmin without accidentally tossing an errant one. GAME CHANGER. you can also send your other squad members out on their own on automated paths (one-way, sadly) so you can stay on the move at all times.

with the dungeons gone, Pikmin 3 isn't a particularly long game -- though Mission mode returns, as well as mission-like Side-Stories starring Olimar and Louie from Pikmin 1 and 2, going over the events before and after the main game in a bit of a comedy duo-style cheap excuse to play some tightly constructed timed missions that are frankly more fun than they have any right to be. it's a generally well constructed package which seeks to fatten up its stores with a variety of modes rather than attempting to pack in everything all in the story, which works massively to the game's benefit and maintains its core loop incredibly well.

its final dungeon is also worthy of note: while it is a dungeon in all ways similar to Pikmin 2, it maintains its time crunch, and adopts a roguelite mechanic of maintaining your progress, even if you fail and have to retreat. any shortcut created is retained in future plays.

i mentioned the WaterWraith in Pikmin 2 earlier, and while there is a similar creature here that I won't spoil (you should play pikmin 3, it rules), the rules and conditions are very different. while it's ever-present and looming, it more acts as a slow timer to keep you mobile. it can crawl up walls you can't, and take shortcuts otherwise unavailable to you, but it isn't particularly keen on killing you, just impeding your progress. it can be damaged and stunned temporarily, but it's utterly unkillable during this dungeon phase.

with those two elements, I figured out why I didn't have a great time with Pikmin 2, and it really just has to do with very different goals. Pikmin 3's final area is a dungeon in a lot of ways, with a focus on time management, multitasking, and puzzle-solving, but it mostly acts as a stress-test for the skills you've learned so far. meanwhile, Pikmin 2's dungeons almost feel like you have to flip a switch in your brain: you can move as slow as you want, which means the game is allowed to crank up the difficulty and create some unique challenges not faced anywhere else. pikmin 3's final area is a test of everything you learned: pikmin 2's dungeons are a new skillset you have to build on the fly.

and I suppose this is where my friction is with 2: it feels like two otherwise very good games smashed together, without as much consideration toward maintaining the skills and understandings developed over casual play between those two modes. if you're like me and keep going into pikmin 2 with the thought, "oh boy! more pikmin!" you'll get your face smashed into the floor. fun! and pikmin 3 simply isn't that kind of experience: it has its own goals which feel distinct from both, and it also makes me realize how good Pikmin 2 is, even if it's my least favorite so far, for one simple reason:

it is its own game. much like pikmin 1 and 3 are their own games. they each hold an interesting "spirit" of the core mechanics, and try to find new challenges and interest which make them feel less like subtle iterations and more like distinct flavors. they're all ice cream, but sometimes you're in the mood for chocolate, vanilla, or rocky road.

but what if you want butterscotch in a waffle cone

pikmin 4 ain't out yet. but it DOES have a fairly extensive demo containing the first portion of the game, and hoo boy does it take some liberties. somewhat similarly to 3, you don't play as Olimar or Louie, but a whole new crew, out to rescue folks who landed on the planet… only for your ship to crash and now you need rescuing. the game takes a more "survival" approach even when compared to Pikmin 3, but not in a resource management way; instead, it's more like a base builder-lite, with iterative upgrades and unlocking features which alter your play in micro- and macrocosmic ways.

this entry allows you to create and name your own li'l guy, and even drops the other squad mates as functional on-field components in favor of a dog who is less capable as a squad member and more capable as a transportation/assault vehicle. seriously, Oatchi rules. there's a home base where time doesn't move and you can talk to all the folks you rescue and navigate menus exchanging gathered resources for new abilities, gear, and more. it sounds intense, but honestly, it's all boiled down into accessible and simple systems that are pretty easy to read and interface with.

they also weirdly changed the camera; gone is the more isometric approach in favor of something closer to a third-person shooter, though it never quite feels like, say, Gears of War. while you can zoom out for a nice top-down approach, I kinda love how this game handles its camera: everything feels way more massive and intimate at the same time, and with the upgraded visuals (even beyond Pikmin 3), everything's got that umami that Nintendo is known for when they apply their efforts to, say, food or nature. they're alarmingly good at it, and it's weird.

however, they also did something i got scared of initially: dungeons are back. and in much the same form as they used to be. sssssort of.

the thing is, they did a lot of quality of life upgrades, allowing you to select which pikmin you want at the entrance before diving in, and not requiring you have everyone in arm's reach before moving on. the dungeons also feel, so far, more like puzzle areas than combat zones, so in spite of the timer being eradicated for this one (it's still around for the regular overworld segments), I haven't gotten the inclination that this title is going to commit some of the same exceptional and unique challenge that Pikmin 2's dungeons offer.

what's more, they're also used for transportation: many dungeons lead you to new areas in the overworld that are otherwise inaccessible, which means dungeons are no longer just a conveyance for weird enemy bullshit or an excuse to get a whole bunch of treasure (though you very much collect treasure in this one, much like 2). the added functionality and lessened reliance on combat makes 4 feel cozier initially, and, while the controls are still Nintendo Weird (seriously, they will never be satisfied making a control scheme that everyone is satisfied with, because they will never let us remap things ourselves, the fools), they largely stay simple and more than get the job done.

it's an experience that, unlike pikmin 2, made me immediately go, "oh, i canNOT treat this like pikmin 1." i was constantly reevaluating my relationship with the game and what it was expecting of me, and, by the end of the demo, i was more enraptured with the idea of sitting and enjoying the experience longterm than i was prior.

i don't know how well the final product will shape up: i'm worried about dungeons because i do not like pikmin 2 very much, and i worry that the upgrade systems will feel needlessly tacked on and make the game feel arbitrarily longer than it should be. i worry it'll be a much longer game than it needs to be! however, its core loop comes off as far more satisfying, and the new systems like gathering castaways and fellow crew members, building bridges with your own materials instead of relying on clearing paths to arbitrary piles of shards, and Oatchi are all things i want to keep playing with.

more than i think any game prior in the franchise, Pikmin 4 feels like a toybox. however, it's gonna live or die based on how readily it lets you play with its toolset, and if it doesn't strike the right balance, it's going to falter in a lot of the same ways as most weird experiments Nintendo's done to its flagship franchises: otherwise fine but ultimately creating unnecessary friction between itself and the players it hopes to please.

#bloggerjak #gamerjak #this one is a really long one #this is how i achieve better mental health

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