Pikmin 3 was the first Pikmin I played and that always bothered me. I'm one of those stingy stubborn assholes who hates playing games out of order. The primary reason for this is I believe there is value in playing a series from start to finish to experience and appreciate how it evolves over time. Obviously going from GTA V to GTA 1 would be like going from the automobile to a coal-powered horse but you can only appreciate the luxuries of the automobile once you've had something to contrast it and see how far we've come. There is literally nothing stopping me from dropping ~$30 on a copy of Red Dead Redemption 2, a game I've heard so many differing opinions on that I'm dying to know where I stand... but I haven't played Red Dead 1 yet. And I don't wanna start with 2 and then play 1 and be spoiled by all the quality of life improvements and gameplay changes. I want to play 1 before 2 to see how much the series has evolved between installments.
Pikmin 1 did have an advantage over Pikmin 3 going in: controls. I was able to cope with the Switch version's normal controller mode but having played so much multiplayer on the Wii U, Wiimote + Nunchuk is the only way to play Pikmin 3. Having my beloved pointer controls back for the Wii version of Pikmin was a pleasant thought... then I started playing. And I realized there was a key component missing: lock-on. The pointer controls aren't for accuracy, they're for speed and ease of movement. Pikmin 3's lock-on helped guarantee you'd actually be getting your little guys to your target. Honestly, between the Wii version of 1 and the Switch version of 3, I prefer 3's stick controls. The lock-on was way more valuable in retrospect. Controlling Olimar in every other aspect felt perfect... but not the Pikmin. Jesus fucking Christ, the Pikmin...
My boy Yahtzee of Zero Punctuation fame described the little plant bois from the third game as too retarded and defenseless and I didn't know what he was talking about. I adored controlling the Pikmin in 3. But then I played 1 and thought maybe he had played the wrong game. The Pikmin in 1 are so fucking aggravating. They fall off ledges easier, are slower, organize into groups worse, and I swear to God they're either deaf or the game glitches out because the whistle would occasionally decide to not work. A little git would catch fire, I'd get it clear within my whistle at least three times, and then it dies. The swarm feature is also for shit. Half the time my squad would just circle me without getting the thing I'm pointing at. Even the act of switching between Pikmin is a hassle. In 3, you press a button on the fly to swap Pikmin types. In 1, you have to hold A, get a Pikmin cocked, and then hit B to swap between types. Super clunky. Also yellow Pikmin being the only ones able to carry bombs when they all have hands and carry stuff all game is incredibly retarded.
The game is also super buggy. Many times I would take a squad of 100 bois out, only to see that several of them had mysteriously disappeared. Then I saw a couple of them clip through bridges and walls and it made perfect sense.
The bosses were very mixed. Either it dies in ten seconds or you have hundreds of your men flattened into the void. Smoky Progg and Bulblax... bastards...
I ended up 100%-ing the game despite my increasing disliking but I do adore the Pikmin gameplay loop. Pikmin 3 is way better but 1 serves as an acceptable way to introduce yourself to the world of Pikmin.
Pikmin 1 did have an advantage over Pikmin 3 going in: controls. I was able to cope with the Switch version's normal controller mode but having played so much multiplayer on the Wii U, Wiimote + Nunchuk is the only way to play Pikmin 3. Having my beloved pointer controls back for the Wii version of Pikmin was a pleasant thought... then I started playing. And I realized there was a key component missing: lock-on. The pointer controls aren't for accuracy, they're for speed and ease of movement. Pikmin 3's lock-on helped guarantee you'd actually be getting your little guys to your target. Honestly, between the Wii version of 1 and the Switch version of 3, I prefer 3's stick controls. The lock-on was way more valuable in retrospect. Controlling Olimar in every other aspect felt perfect... but not the Pikmin. Jesus fucking Christ, the Pikmin...
My boy Yahtzee of Zero Punctuation fame described the little plant bois from the third game as too retarded and defenseless and I didn't know what he was talking about. I adored controlling the Pikmin in 3. But then I played 1 and thought maybe he had played the wrong game. The Pikmin in 1 are so fucking aggravating. They fall off ledges easier, are slower, organize into groups worse, and I swear to God they're either deaf or the game glitches out because the whistle would occasionally decide to not work. A little git would catch fire, I'd get it clear within my whistle at least three times, and then it dies. The swarm feature is also for shit. Half the time my squad would just circle me without getting the thing I'm pointing at. Even the act of switching between Pikmin is a hassle. In 3, you press a button on the fly to swap Pikmin types. In 1, you have to hold A, get a Pikmin cocked, and then hit B to swap between types. Super clunky. Also yellow Pikmin being the only ones able to carry bombs when they all have hands and carry stuff all game is incredibly retarded.
The game is also super buggy. Many times I would take a squad of 100 bois out, only to see that several of them had mysteriously disappeared. Then I saw a couple of them clip through bridges and walls and it made perfect sense.
The bosses were very mixed. Either it dies in ten seconds or you have hundreds of your men flattened into the void. Smoky Progg and Bulblax... bastards...
I ended up 100%-ing the game despite my increasing disliking but I do adore the Pikmin gameplay loop. Pikmin 3 is way better but 1 serves as an acceptable way to introduce yourself to the world of Pikmin.