Considering I didn't play this game on Wii, I suppose an element of my negativity comes from using the clunkier controls of the classic version. Also, the stretched UI on switch isn't ideal. But by the time I made it to this game, I had already finished Pikmin 4 100%, so I was already used to the control scheme, for the most part.
That's not where my problems lie.
Pikmin 1 really didn't age very well? The environments, despite their amazing music and their nice theming, are not designed well against the clunky pikmin squad AI, meaning traversing them ranges from frustrating to infuriating (Distant Spring was my breaking point, but the Forest Naval was my number one offender).
The limited pool of enemies and Pikmin types means theres only so much they can do with what they have, which I could excuse more if it didn't feel like I was fighting my own pikmin to get them to not drown themselves. Or blow themselves up. Or swarm correctly. Or walk along bridges properly.
The short length is held up by its replayability, but I think I only really had fun for the first few hours before it felt like the game was beating me down for doing anything at my own pace

To plagiarize my friend for a moment, I think this game works more as like a tech demo for the better games in the series. It lacks a lot of the personality and polish that make later games in the series really shine, so maybe if this was my first game I played in the franchise, I would like it better. But, since its not, I can only really appreciate it for what it did, not really what it is.

bottom line is I think this game desperately needs a full scale remake.

Probably the most tense in the series. The mechanics for the night mode aren't the most clear, yeah, and the gameplay may be somewhat disconnected, but this was the FNaF game I was most into, personally. Don't get me wrong, the purity of games like 1, 2, and 4 make them strong standouts, but if we're talking memorable scares, I haven't felt nearly as helpless in the other games as I did with pizza sim. The humor is really solid, too, which I appreciate. But dude, without a doubt, the BEST thing about this game is watching your friend accept the sponsorships without asking any questions two days in a row and then panicking on the salvage minigame and quitting out by accident :)

Look I'm gonna be real for a second. This game is like if Genshin Impact had POC characters, and that really sucks when you realize that this is a game about cookies.
The worst thing about being caught in its gacha trap for two years (I left this game a year ago already) was the fact that the art and world of this game have deeply impacted my autism circuits. Not a joke, this franchise (kingdom especially) has some of my favorite art direction of any mobile game ever, and I am deeply inspired by it. I could never download this game again because of what it does to me but I could never let it go because of how it changed me.

I have a gambling addiction now