Co-op is an absolute game changer for Pikmin 3, maybe the single best thing they could've added and frankly I'm surprised it wasn't in the original version. I do think it's the weakest of the three main Pikmin games, but I still love it quite a bit. The cast of characters is great and varied, I love their dynamic, but I do miss Olimar and it's a shame that he's primarily a macguffin rather than a character in this one. At least he's got plenty of data files and the new side missions. I think Pikmin 3 mainly suffers from being just a bit short... I was excited to see if the world would open up a bit more when we got blue Pikmin, but you get them so late that they're pretty much just the cleanup crew for a game that's rapidly approaching its conclusion. The final mission was also super tense and fun, so it's a shame that it's actually a normal timed scenario with a typical day-night cycle... really takes you out of the chase when nighttime hits and you just sorta abandon Olimar only to find that he's just miraculously fine the next day. Really should've put the Pikmin 2 cave mechanic in that last level to make it a one day event... maybe that was just too hard to manage for a solo player, requiring it to be done in one attempt.

On a side note, the side content is excellent. Bingo Battle, the mission mode, and the new Olimar storyline... it's amazing how much all of it adds to the overall package. Hell of a game, and to make it even better, the Piklopedia is back! The writing is always so charming and fun in Pikmin, so adding in more of it is absolutely what I wanted out of this port.