I still have the "post game" (AKA the last two areas after saving Olimar) to go, but with Baldur's Gate 3 taking over my life (just WAIT for that gushing review to come), I feel that it may be a bit before I come back to Pikmin 4 to fully complete it. That being said, I feel that I have experienced enough of this game to give it a proper review.
Pikmin is a series I have always been fond of. I've played every entry since they released, and gave all of them an 8/10 thus far. Each entry excels in certain areas, like how Pikmin 1 has the best atmosphere, or how Pikmin 2 has a more relaxed nature while still being challenging, or how Pikmin 3 really perfected the RTS elements of the game with the usage of the Wii U gamepad. Pikmin 4 had a lot to live up to in my eyes, but never did I expect it to actually be, in my opinion at least, the best entry in the franchise to date.
The game has been streamlined in a lot of ways, ways that may even turn off veterans of the franchise. Instead of being able to farm 100s of Pikmin from the get go, you can only have a certain number of Pikmin on you at a time, and only three types can be out on the field at once. You must find and collect Onions for each Pikmin type, some of which you won't even get until the post game. All of these things sound like a nuisance on paper, yet it actually feels really rewarding. I at first was turned off from this idea initially, but when I got used to how the game was now structured, I found it to be a great way to streamline the experience.
The environments may be my favorite of any Pikmin game. Its always been not-so-subtle that Olimar and his pals are really exploring Earth at a very very small scale, but this game truly takes that idea and runs with it. Its so cool to be exploring someone's front yard, the small cove near their home, or even their actual house. Its helps give Pikmin even more charm, which is something that I didn't even know was possible until now.
Every single Pikmin type is in this game, which is both good and bad. It does cause some Pikmin types to not have as much of a purpose, such as the Winged Pikmin, who I feel really don't have much use in this game's environments outside of a few of the caves. However, for the most part, the different types of Pikmin get their use. The brand new Pikmin type in this game is the Ice Pikmin, which may be the most OP Pikmin type ever with their incredible freezing ability for combat.
Oatchi is also a great edition for the game as well. Not only does he allow you to have even more options in combat, getting treasures, and more. Hes such a fantastic edition to the game. I was always using him in some way, whether it was as a way to carry treasures I didn't have enough Pikmin for, to charge into enemies and bosses to get all my Pikmin on them at once, or even just to run around with all my Pikmin riding on him so they were all together.
The caves come back from Pikmin 2, but this time they are specifically designed levels rather than completely random. Some caves are really short, some are a bit on the long side, but they all provide great puzzles and challenges. Its also the best way to get more Pikmin types before you can get their onion, though it can be a bit frustrating to have to keep revisiting them in order to farm some of the tougher to find Pikmin before the post game.
There are also night time missions in this game, which are a good bit of fun, tho they are on the easy side. A tower-defense Pikmin experience is actually pretty fun, moreso than I thought it would be. It can be a bit of a grind to do every single mission in this mode, especially because you only get to cure one of the leafling survivors per mission you complete, but its still decently entertaining.
Now I haven't mentioned the story yet, which if you have read a lot of my reviews before is usually very important to me. The story here may be the weakest offering that the series has had to date, in my opinion. I do love that you get to make your own character in this rescue squad, and the character interactions were pretty entertaining. However, the game's story feels very lacking. The game is also incredibly short as well, especially if you're not going for 100%. I know the Pikmin games tend to be on the shorter end, but this game felt especially short for the main story. There is a very substantial post-game though, with another story scenario, two full sized areas with their own treasures and caves, a challenge mode which unlocks Onions for the more difficult to find Pikmin, and more. But in terms of the central story, I found that it was lacking in the same charm or urgency as the other titles.
Even with the lacking story, I believe Pikmin 4 is the best that the series has to offer so far. While the other games in the series each have their own strong and weak points, I feel that Pikmin 4 irons out most of them, aside from the narrative experience. Its great fun, and way more addicting than I ever thought it could be. If you've never played Pikmin before, I'd say this is the perfect time to jump in, especially with the ports of 1 & 2 and 3 Deluxe on the system as well.
Pikmin is a series I have always been fond of. I've played every entry since they released, and gave all of them an 8/10 thus far. Each entry excels in certain areas, like how Pikmin 1 has the best atmosphere, or how Pikmin 2 has a more relaxed nature while still being challenging, or how Pikmin 3 really perfected the RTS elements of the game with the usage of the Wii U gamepad. Pikmin 4 had a lot to live up to in my eyes, but never did I expect it to actually be, in my opinion at least, the best entry in the franchise to date.
The game has been streamlined in a lot of ways, ways that may even turn off veterans of the franchise. Instead of being able to farm 100s of Pikmin from the get go, you can only have a certain number of Pikmin on you at a time, and only three types can be out on the field at once. You must find and collect Onions for each Pikmin type, some of which you won't even get until the post game. All of these things sound like a nuisance on paper, yet it actually feels really rewarding. I at first was turned off from this idea initially, but when I got used to how the game was now structured, I found it to be a great way to streamline the experience.
The environments may be my favorite of any Pikmin game. Its always been not-so-subtle that Olimar and his pals are really exploring Earth at a very very small scale, but this game truly takes that idea and runs with it. Its so cool to be exploring someone's front yard, the small cove near their home, or even their actual house. Its helps give Pikmin even more charm, which is something that I didn't even know was possible until now.
Every single Pikmin type is in this game, which is both good and bad. It does cause some Pikmin types to not have as much of a purpose, such as the Winged Pikmin, who I feel really don't have much use in this game's environments outside of a few of the caves. However, for the most part, the different types of Pikmin get their use. The brand new Pikmin type in this game is the Ice Pikmin, which may be the most OP Pikmin type ever with their incredible freezing ability for combat.
Oatchi is also a great edition for the game as well. Not only does he allow you to have even more options in combat, getting treasures, and more. Hes such a fantastic edition to the game. I was always using him in some way, whether it was as a way to carry treasures I didn't have enough Pikmin for, to charge into enemies and bosses to get all my Pikmin on them at once, or even just to run around with all my Pikmin riding on him so they were all together.
The caves come back from Pikmin 2, but this time they are specifically designed levels rather than completely random. Some caves are really short, some are a bit on the long side, but they all provide great puzzles and challenges. Its also the best way to get more Pikmin types before you can get their onion, though it can be a bit frustrating to have to keep revisiting them in order to farm some of the tougher to find Pikmin before the post game.
There are also night time missions in this game, which are a good bit of fun, tho they are on the easy side. A tower-defense Pikmin experience is actually pretty fun, moreso than I thought it would be. It can be a bit of a grind to do every single mission in this mode, especially because you only get to cure one of the leafling survivors per mission you complete, but its still decently entertaining.
Now I haven't mentioned the story yet, which if you have read a lot of my reviews before is usually very important to me. The story here may be the weakest offering that the series has had to date, in my opinion. I do love that you get to make your own character in this rescue squad, and the character interactions were pretty entertaining. However, the game's story feels very lacking. The game is also incredibly short as well, especially if you're not going for 100%. I know the Pikmin games tend to be on the shorter end, but this game felt especially short for the main story. There is a very substantial post-game though, with another story scenario, two full sized areas with their own treasures and caves, a challenge mode which unlocks Onions for the more difficult to find Pikmin, and more. But in terms of the central story, I found that it was lacking in the same charm or urgency as the other titles.
Even with the lacking story, I believe Pikmin 4 is the best that the series has to offer so far. While the other games in the series each have their own strong and weak points, I feel that Pikmin 4 irons out most of them, aside from the narrative experience. Its great fun, and way more addicting than I ever thought it could be. If you've never played Pikmin before, I'd say this is the perfect time to jump in, especially with the ports of 1 & 2 and 3 Deluxe on the system as well.