While I appreciate what Pikmin 3 tried to accomplish, I like to think of this game as "Baby's First Pikmin." The gameplay, while still entertaining, feels TOO redefined and dumbed down for my taste. While the new charge command was definitely helpful in combat, having it replace the "Swarm" function overall was a weird choice, as I found it more annoying than useful.
The Rock Pikmin are the Purple Pikmin of this game, except they somehow break the game even more, mainly because of the dumbed-down difficulty. Bulborbs, common enemies that can be challenging when you don't know what to do, are now absolute cakewalks, as they can quickly be defeated even by a few amount of Blue Pikmins, and not even mention the insane damage of the Rock Pikmins.
The game gives you access to 3 total captains to play as, and the best part of the game is easily the cooperative-style puzzles you can solve with your characters. However, the main collectibles of the game, the fruits you find for survival, didn't feel as satisfying to collect as in the other games. When a game about "doing your best to survive off of limited resources" is so easy that you are able to collect 5-7 days' worth of food in a single day of work, it doesn't feel as satisfying to obtain them. There is also no proper "incentive" to collect them because if you've already collected a massive amount of food for extra days, there is no need to hunt every single fruit in an area.
The bosses, while very cinematic, felt very dumbed down, once again feeling too easy to beat with the help of Rock Pikmin, as well as feeling uninspired in terms of design (Except for the Final Boss and the chase, easily the coolest part of the whole game.)
I think the game's biggest letdown is the presentation. The cartoony and wacky charm of the first two games feels absent, as the game aims towards a more "realistic" presentation of the world, which ends up making the game look less interesting. The main ship and the new Onion design feel very "modern Sci-fi movie"-y for my taste, losing the charm that made them unique in the first two games.
The side campaigns with Olimar were the highlight for me, as they were kinda what I was expecting from a Pikmin 3, giving you time missions to complete, and it feels satisfying to earn a Platinum for them.
Overall, while still an enjoyable experience, it felt like a massive downgrade compared to 1 and 2.
The Rock Pikmin are the Purple Pikmin of this game, except they somehow break the game even more, mainly because of the dumbed-down difficulty. Bulborbs, common enemies that can be challenging when you don't know what to do, are now absolute cakewalks, as they can quickly be defeated even by a few amount of Blue Pikmins, and not even mention the insane damage of the Rock Pikmins.
The game gives you access to 3 total captains to play as, and the best part of the game is easily the cooperative-style puzzles you can solve with your characters. However, the main collectibles of the game, the fruits you find for survival, didn't feel as satisfying to collect as in the other games. When a game about "doing your best to survive off of limited resources" is so easy that you are able to collect 5-7 days' worth of food in a single day of work, it doesn't feel as satisfying to obtain them. There is also no proper "incentive" to collect them because if you've already collected a massive amount of food for extra days, there is no need to hunt every single fruit in an area.
The bosses, while very cinematic, felt very dumbed down, once again feeling too easy to beat with the help of Rock Pikmin, as well as feeling uninspired in terms of design (Except for the Final Boss and the chase, easily the coolest part of the whole game.)
I think the game's biggest letdown is the presentation. The cartoony and wacky charm of the first two games feels absent, as the game aims towards a more "realistic" presentation of the world, which ends up making the game look less interesting. The main ship and the new Onion design feel very "modern Sci-fi movie"-y for my taste, losing the charm that made them unique in the first two games.
The side campaigns with Olimar were the highlight for me, as they were kinda what I was expecting from a Pikmin 3, giving you time missions to complete, and it feels satisfying to earn a Platinum for them.
Overall, while still an enjoyable experience, it felt like a massive downgrade compared to 1 and 2.