I got this game when I was in elementary school, there was this kid who would sporadically come to school, his name was Brandon. and he was usually wearing some kind of brightly colored long sleeved shirt. We got along really well, I never saw him during school, he was only ever at the after school club, for kids whose parents worked late. One day I brought my Pokemon card binder to school, and Brandon told me about this Pikmin game, trying to sell me on it so he could get one of my holos. We agreed on a trade, and the next day, I walked away with a Gamecube game, while he walked away with some crappy Swallot card or something.
When I got home, I waited till everyone went to sleep, I was nervous that my mom would be pissed that I picked up some game without her permission. I remember playing it in the dark living room, with nothing but the buzz of the CRT and the fans of the console. Despite Brandon's recommendation, I couldn't get into it, the game made me anxious, with the timer and the dying Pikmin, I felt like I was playing the game incorrectly.
I went back to school, hoping to see Brandon again and get some tips, but I never saw him again. Nobody ever mentioned him again, felt like nobody even knew him to begin with. I eventually sold the game, my family didn't have much money, so if we wanted new games, that was the way to get them. For years, Pikmin would stay in the back of my head, I loved the concept, world, and aesthetic of the series, but I always thought I was too stupid to understand how to play it.
But that changed, I finally beat this game, and while the game was a lot of fun (a good proof of concept for the rest of the series), I honestly think that without Brandon and his enigmatic vibe, I wouldn't like this game as much as I do. There are a lot of games that I grew up with that came from strange characters in my life, they can either make or break the experience for me, but in this case, it worked. Pikmin 1's atmosphere is mysterious and isolating, it truly makes you feel alien and lost. Even after I beat the game and got all of the parts, I feel like I never truly understood the planet and its rules, I was just able to interpret it.
TL;DR : Brandon Peterson, if you're reading this, I don't know what kind of shit you were going through, but I hope you're doing okay now. I get it dude, I finally understand what you saw in this game, and I'd love to know if you still feel the same way about it.
When I got home, I waited till everyone went to sleep, I was nervous that my mom would be pissed that I picked up some game without her permission. I remember playing it in the dark living room, with nothing but the buzz of the CRT and the fans of the console. Despite Brandon's recommendation, I couldn't get into it, the game made me anxious, with the timer and the dying Pikmin, I felt like I was playing the game incorrectly.
I went back to school, hoping to see Brandon again and get some tips, but I never saw him again. Nobody ever mentioned him again, felt like nobody even knew him to begin with. I eventually sold the game, my family didn't have much money, so if we wanted new games, that was the way to get them. For years, Pikmin would stay in the back of my head, I loved the concept, world, and aesthetic of the series, but I always thought I was too stupid to understand how to play it.
But that changed, I finally beat this game, and while the game was a lot of fun (a good proof of concept for the rest of the series), I honestly think that without Brandon and his enigmatic vibe, I wouldn't like this game as much as I do. There are a lot of games that I grew up with that came from strange characters in my life, they can either make or break the experience for me, but in this case, it worked. Pikmin 1's atmosphere is mysterious and isolating, it truly makes you feel alien and lost. Even after I beat the game and got all of the parts, I feel like I never truly understood the planet and its rules, I was just able to interpret it.
TL;DR : Brandon Peterson, if you're reading this, I don't know what kind of shit you were going through, but I hope you're doing okay now. I get it dude, I finally understand what you saw in this game, and I'd love to know if you still feel the same way about it.