I was reading about how this game was born out of a tech demo to show off the Gamecube’s capabilities, it got me missing the days when the jump to next gen meant developers doing wild and imaginative things mechanically that couldn’t have been done before, not just prettier graphics. Simple and direct, it delivers a quick burst of it’s unique gameplay loop and doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. It does suffer from a bit of jank though, the Pikmin AI can frankly be completely braindead at times with them getting stuck on walls and corners at the best of times, and diving into lakes to their deaths en mass at the worst. I definitely spoiled myself a bit by playing Pikmin 3 first with all it’s quality of life. Still, this series’ uniquely serene yet hectic gameplay loop is one of a kind, and holds up even in it’s most basic form.