I've always preferred Nintendo's more niche IPs over their mainstream titles. Mario and Zelda are great games sure, but their creativity feels a bit more tame, in comparison to games like Chibi-Robo, Rhythm Heaven, and of course Pikmin. Nintendo's continued trend this generation to revitalize these niche games brings us to Pikmin 4, the long-rumored-in-development follow-up to 2013's sequel, which was also a surprise to see after such a long wait from its previous entry (despite it being on one of Nintendo's poorest-selling hardware). Admittedly, I was skeptical after hearing this game was finally arriving, while also doing my usual thing of avoiding as much information on a game before launch, because Nintendo has been 3-1 on delivering incredible games in this series.
Pikmin 4 is not only an absolutely brilliant revival, but arguably the best entry in the series, and I wholeheartdly say this as someone thinks Pikmin 2 was peak for the franchise's game design. The Pikmin series as a whole is an easy recommendation from me, because it's one of those where each game is different in its own nature. The first game was about time management and strategy, the second was about dungeon-crawling, and the third was about commanding a trio of characters. Pikmin 4 feels like the culmination of all three of these, mostly taking cues from Pikmin 2, but also cranks its scale and mechanics beyond the previous games with more strategy, more gameplay challenges (including a welcome tower-defense mode), and more objectives overall. In an surprising way, this feels like the jump from God Of War III to 2018's soft reboot, right down to the freedom of the camera alone.
As mentioned however, each entry in this series feels different, and Pikmin 4 is no exception. While most of the changes are great, from the improved AI and more friendly checkpoint system, some are quite odd... but again, I can't really call them flaws when the series has been like this for years. Limiting the pikmin types that you can bring overworld adds a bit more thinking and planning, the lock-on can be a bit too sticky at times, and the lack of any kind of photo mode is truly disappointing when Pikmin 3 had it. One personal issue I had was the commanding of your companion Oatchi, although it seems to be more of a skill issue for me. This dog is clearly supposed to be your second character to command alongside the player, but I found myself confused as to how to match the seamless switching similar to that in Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3, making the Dandori Challenges especially tricky because of the complexity to multitask.
The only other thing that confused a long-time fan like me are the story retcons that are seemingly at play here. I obviously won't go into details, but it is a tad bit confusing to pinpoint where and when the whole narrative takes place, as it has comparisons to previous stories but with differing factors. I get it if Nintendo wants to simply use this to tell the story differently than what was told 20 years ago (because they did that for the recent Zelda games too), but then what was the whole point of releasing Pikmin 1+2 on Switch prior? Just seems like an odd move for veterans and newcomers who are invested in the world.
Pikmin 4 is a simply brilliant sequel that surprised the hell out of me, and it is definitely a good entry point for newcomers and revitalization for fans looking for more challenge. It improves on what came before it in top-notch ways, maintaining Nintendo's more niche creativity in a higher budget. Treasure-hunting is just as fun as it was in Pikmin 2, and now with all the improvements made to strategy and AI, it's a lot less frustrating. Among all of this, content galore, solid puzzle designs, and some awesome surprises along the way. And with its length being nearly twice as long as any from the original trilogy, it is another Nintendo Switch exclusive worth your time and money. Another fantastic product from Nintendo EPD.
Embrace Dandori.
Pikmin 4 is not only an absolutely brilliant revival, but arguably the best entry in the series, and I wholeheartdly say this as someone thinks Pikmin 2 was peak for the franchise's game design. The Pikmin series as a whole is an easy recommendation from me, because it's one of those where each game is different in its own nature. The first game was about time management and strategy, the second was about dungeon-crawling, and the third was about commanding a trio of characters. Pikmin 4 feels like the culmination of all three of these, mostly taking cues from Pikmin 2, but also cranks its scale and mechanics beyond the previous games with more strategy, more gameplay challenges (including a welcome tower-defense mode), and more objectives overall. In an surprising way, this feels like the jump from God Of War III to 2018's soft reboot, right down to the freedom of the camera alone.
As mentioned however, each entry in this series feels different, and Pikmin 4 is no exception. While most of the changes are great, from the improved AI and more friendly checkpoint system, some are quite odd... but again, I can't really call them flaws when the series has been like this for years. Limiting the pikmin types that you can bring overworld adds a bit more thinking and planning, the lock-on can be a bit too sticky at times, and the lack of any kind of photo mode is truly disappointing when Pikmin 3 had it. One personal issue I had was the commanding of your companion Oatchi, although it seems to be more of a skill issue for me. This dog is clearly supposed to be your second character to command alongside the player, but I found myself confused as to how to match the seamless switching similar to that in Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3, making the Dandori Challenges especially tricky because of the complexity to multitask.
The only other thing that confused a long-time fan like me are the story retcons that are seemingly at play here. I obviously won't go into details, but it is a tad bit confusing to pinpoint where and when the whole narrative takes place, as it has comparisons to previous stories but with differing factors. I get it if Nintendo wants to simply use this to tell the story differently than what was told 20 years ago (because they did that for the recent Zelda games too), but then what was the whole point of releasing Pikmin 1+2 on Switch prior? Just seems like an odd move for veterans and newcomers who are invested in the world.
Pikmin 4 is a simply brilliant sequel that surprised the hell out of me, and it is definitely a good entry point for newcomers and revitalization for fans looking for more challenge. It improves on what came before it in top-notch ways, maintaining Nintendo's more niche creativity in a higher budget. Treasure-hunting is just as fun as it was in Pikmin 2, and now with all the improvements made to strategy and AI, it's a lot less frustrating. Among all of this, content galore, solid puzzle designs, and some awesome surprises along the way. And with its length being nearly twice as long as any from the original trilogy, it is another Nintendo Switch exclusive worth your time and money. Another fantastic product from Nintendo EPD.
Embrace Dandori.