Cute scary space aliens in your backyard.

Pikmin is a game where you play as Captain Olimar. Who conveniently crashes into a asteroid and hits the planet PNF-404. From there he has to recollect the 30 parts of his ship in 30 days with the help of the pikmin. Or else his air supply will run out.

Pikmin is a weird game. It manages to have a calm comforting atmosphere in a hostile alien world. The familiar environments contrast with the odd wildlife and some of the dark aspects.

I like the creature designs a ton. They can be cute but also a little creepy. The designs are similar to real world bugs or plants yet still pose a threat. The game finds a great middle ground between appealing and off putting.

The world in general is the core reason why I love the game so much. Exploring this unknown alien planet was a joy similar to something like metroid. Yet it’s all the similarities and differences to earth is really what made it special.

The serene calming music also greatly adds to this games vibe and creates this sense of wonder when exploring the areas.

All the areas are nice as they contrast well with each other. Forest of hope feels like a grassy area taking place in a garden or backyard. Forrest navel is this dark gloomy area with a fall atmosphere in a cave. and finally distant spring is a tropical area with lots of water and some sand.

One infamous part of this game is when your pikmin die. Seeing their ghost and hearing a cry is saddening but what’s interesting is how often death appears in this game. Most enemies will leave their corpse when dying which is disturbing because most nintendo enemies will just disappear. Also you can carry their corpses to your ship to get more pikmin. Death is literally a important part of this game and it’s mainly what I meant by the “Dark Aspects.” Again it’s to further immerse yourself in the wildlife of the world.

Finally the gameplay is really great. I mentioned before exploring is great but the combat and gathering with the pikmin is extremely unique too. It’s like various real time strategy games with you controlling a big army along side you. Yet you have to actively grow and protect your pikmin creating a nice bond. The time limit is nice creating tension and some good planning on the player. Finally there’s sort of a puzzle aspect to planning out your routes and figuring out the most efficient ways of getting the ship parts. The game is also very short but replayable which is how I prefer it.

So overall this is one of the best games nintendo ever made and a personal favorite of mine. Good comfort game.

Also lead to my favorite Oneyplays series that’s a plus too.

https://youtu.be/5qtL6fDJhg8

5/5 gamecube classic.