With an entire console generation separating the third Pikmin game from its predecessors, it should be the far superior experience, both mechanically and graphically—and to some extent, it is. Pikmin 3 returns to the fundamentals of the first game, zigging where the second game chose to zag. Focus is once again placed on resource management and overworld puzzles, revolving its central collectibles around a survival-based narrative in order to reinforce and incentivize the mission of optimal minute-to-minute gameplay. The mechanics have been refined since the last entry, with more tools at your disposal to command and delegate Pikmin, all of which have been practically begging to be implemented since the first game. The story is a lot more involved this time around as well, expanding our knowledge of the Pikmin world with the introduction of new intrepid explorers from a different planet than we’ve thus far known, as well as an official name for the Pikmin’s Earth-analogue homeworld, PNF-404. The stakes are raised with this increased emphasis on narrative, placing not just your own survival on the line, but that of your entire planet should you fail to accrue enough resources to return with. However, just as with many of the game’s other expanded ambitions, there remains a disconnect between conception and execution.
The outsized threat of Pikmin 3’s story should be more effective than the relative simplicity of its predecessors, but it lacks the inherent link between gameplay and narrative payoff the first two games made imperative. While the accrual of fruit in lieu of ship parts as the game’s central survival resource feels like a sound substitute initially, the fact that it has no practical bearing on the mission’s success makes the task feel empty, which is only worsened by the absolute lack of tension it provides as an incentivizing time limit. It’s obvious that Pikmin 3 was designed to be less overtly challenging than the previous games: dampening the difficulty of an already lenient hard limit, trivializing the lethality of every elemental hazard, as well as tempering the regularity of hostile enemies in addition to giving you more tools to deal with them. In a vacuum, none of these changes are inherently bad, and on the whole, decreasing the barrier for access is good. But when combined, all these elements hamper the essence of accomplishment that comes with overcoming the central obstacles of the series’ ethos.
The more technical changes and refinements are, however, one of the game’s most constructive additions. While at first I bemoaned the absence of the swarming feature so vital to controlling your squad of Pikmin in the first two games, the lock-on and charge mechanics introduced here proved such a godsend that I hardly missed what was once my main means of controlling squadrons. This was further helped by the universally improved AI of the Pikmin, which are now programmed to pursue more logical routes and follow the player in such a way that large groups get stuck significantly less often behind unwieldy ramps and other obstacles. These are all vital improvements which prove to be even more significant when considered alongside yet another intuitive new feature expanded upon after the introduction of multiple captain characters in Pikmin 2. Without all these quality of life changes, it’s unlikely the ability to direct captains with squads of Pikmin to and from various objectives would be as seamless and assistive as it is. Despite the evolving complexity of all these systems at play, each one building off every improvement prior games and subsequent re-releases have added to the experience, Pikmin 3 makes its mechanics as practicable as can be—which is critical considering how involved and dispersed the game’s myriad puzzles and obstacles for progression often can be.
The overworld challenges of Pikmin 3 echo the sprawling, frequently multifaceted undertakings prevalent in gathering the first game’s pivotal objectives. You employ the array of Pikmin at your disposal to build bridges, dismantle barriers, and retrieve items from otherwise inaccessible areas. Pikmin 3 expands the scope of these environmental puzzles through a handful of new mechanics, some of which directly tie into the unique power set of the two new Pikmin types. Rock and Winged Pikmin offer the player a host of new interactions between the environment and the enemies thanks to the particular set of powers they hold, which prove mostly balanced despite how disproportionately advantageous they often end up being over the other types available. Glass barriers and an immunity to crushing provide plenty of use cases for Rock Pikmin in the game, while Winged Pikmin prove invaluable for their ability to reach and transport objects with far more ease than even the nimble Yellow Pikmin previously could. They’re even adept in numerous combat scenarios despite an inferior damage output, by virtue of how quickly they’re able to overwhelm targets with the lock on and charge mechanics of the game. Fortunately, the distinct advantages of these new Pikmin types are never so overwhelming to outright invalidate any of the other variants, but even so their utility is such that you feel compelled to keep a squadron of them in your party regardless of whether the obstacle you’re tackling will require their assistance.
Undoubtedly, the most significant benefit to Pikmin 3’s delayed follow up to its GameCube predecessors is the massive uptick in graphical quality the Wii U allowed for in rendering the adventure’s idyllic scenery. The four bespoke areas to explore are distinguished via seasonal theming, with the fall and summer spaces being especially distinctive thanks to their complementary layouts providing more memorable interactions. The other two perhaps suffer from being the introductory areas of the game, with large sections made initially inaccessible thanks to your limited abilities to affect the environment. They’re also, however, more confusing to navigate due to the bizarrely dissected nature of the map layout. Various sections in each area of Pikmin 3 are kept separate from the central landing area you start out in, typically signposted by some kind of transitionary tunnel or cave entrance depicted on the map with an accompanying directional arrow. The disconnected nature of these layouts is already a little confusing, but it’s often made worse by its portrayal on the map screen, making each area look something like an archipelago with all its scattered parts. Some of the spaces aren’t even functional, operating as scenic hallways between sections with no ability to even turn the camera, let alone interact with the space in any meaningful way. These liminal passageways are primarily reserved for the interim between the exploration spaces and the boss arenas, signifying a kind of grandiosity looming on the other side. For the most part, though, these dramatic preludes are all pomp, as nearly all the boss fights in this game—and indeed, combat interactions as a whole—prove significantly underwhelming.
In spite of how the mechanics of Pikmin 3 universally improve combat interactions as a whole, additional changes result in a sense of general dissatisfaction in all but a few select encounters. The main bosses of the game best exemplify this duality, but the sentiment extends to regular enemies and minibosses as well. Bosses tend to have heavily forecasted attack patterns followed by a period of vulnerability. This isn’t poor design in and of itself, and is actually something of a good template for boss designs in general, but the monotonous and obvious signposting for these fights make them a terrible bore, as your strategy boils down to little more than evading obvious attacks and simply bum-rushing the boss when their defenses are down. There’s never a sense of uncertainty, or threat, thanks to their inability to kill any more than five of your Pikmin with any of their easily avoided attacks. The only exception here is the Quaggled Mireclops, an intimidating titan disguised as an earthen mound, whose stomps are disorienting and extremely deadly if you don’t maneuver carefully. It has a number of elemental components to it that make the fight more interesting, giving you an added obstacle to overcome should you wish to take on the boss with your more powerful, but more vulnerable, Pikmin types. It’s also the only fight where the build up sees some kind of impactful payoff within the bout, as you mount the creature’s back after bringing it to its knees to attack its exposed head. Even the final boss falls short of the spectacle it promises, albeit more so due to the excess of its execution rather than any particular let down in challenge. In theory, it’s a sound finale that tests all the skills and abilities you’ve thus far honed exploring the world and gathering its resources, but the drawn-out nature of the climax constantly undercuts the tension of the fight, due to the day timer still being in play.
The disappointments of the game are never so much as to be wholly negative, though. While the many changes made to shear off some of the series’ more unnecessary difficulties have ironically made the game too easy now, the overall experience remains a positive and rewarding one. The more vivid world and involved story are welcome evolutions for the series, and one should hardly complain about the vastly improved interactions the game retains on a mechanical level. Pikmin 3 wavers in consideration only when measured against the unique strengths its predecessors maintain contrary to the refinements present in this more elegant entry. In actuality, Pikmin 3 is a relatively brief experience most comparable to the first game, in terms of objectives, structure, and overall strengths. But it sets itself apart still thanks to its strong mechanics, its more robust narrative, and distinct visual theming throughout. It comes up short in enough places that the overall experience is likely to leave a less distinct impression than its forebears, but it remains a charming, immersive adventure that comfortably improves and consolidates the Pikmin formula into a newly accessible, and still fulfilling, project with boundless potential.
The outsized threat of Pikmin 3’s story should be more effective than the relative simplicity of its predecessors, but it lacks the inherent link between gameplay and narrative payoff the first two games made imperative. While the accrual of fruit in lieu of ship parts as the game’s central survival resource feels like a sound substitute initially, the fact that it has no practical bearing on the mission’s success makes the task feel empty, which is only worsened by the absolute lack of tension it provides as an incentivizing time limit. It’s obvious that Pikmin 3 was designed to be less overtly challenging than the previous games: dampening the difficulty of an already lenient hard limit, trivializing the lethality of every elemental hazard, as well as tempering the regularity of hostile enemies in addition to giving you more tools to deal with them. In a vacuum, none of these changes are inherently bad, and on the whole, decreasing the barrier for access is good. But when combined, all these elements hamper the essence of accomplishment that comes with overcoming the central obstacles of the series’ ethos.
The more technical changes and refinements are, however, one of the game’s most constructive additions. While at first I bemoaned the absence of the swarming feature so vital to controlling your squad of Pikmin in the first two games, the lock-on and charge mechanics introduced here proved such a godsend that I hardly missed what was once my main means of controlling squadrons. This was further helped by the universally improved AI of the Pikmin, which are now programmed to pursue more logical routes and follow the player in such a way that large groups get stuck significantly less often behind unwieldy ramps and other obstacles. These are all vital improvements which prove to be even more significant when considered alongside yet another intuitive new feature expanded upon after the introduction of multiple captain characters in Pikmin 2. Without all these quality of life changes, it’s unlikely the ability to direct captains with squads of Pikmin to and from various objectives would be as seamless and assistive as it is. Despite the evolving complexity of all these systems at play, each one building off every improvement prior games and subsequent re-releases have added to the experience, Pikmin 3 makes its mechanics as practicable as can be—which is critical considering how involved and dispersed the game’s myriad puzzles and obstacles for progression often can be.
The overworld challenges of Pikmin 3 echo the sprawling, frequently multifaceted undertakings prevalent in gathering the first game’s pivotal objectives. You employ the array of Pikmin at your disposal to build bridges, dismantle barriers, and retrieve items from otherwise inaccessible areas. Pikmin 3 expands the scope of these environmental puzzles through a handful of new mechanics, some of which directly tie into the unique power set of the two new Pikmin types. Rock and Winged Pikmin offer the player a host of new interactions between the environment and the enemies thanks to the particular set of powers they hold, which prove mostly balanced despite how disproportionately advantageous they often end up being over the other types available. Glass barriers and an immunity to crushing provide plenty of use cases for Rock Pikmin in the game, while Winged Pikmin prove invaluable for their ability to reach and transport objects with far more ease than even the nimble Yellow Pikmin previously could. They’re even adept in numerous combat scenarios despite an inferior damage output, by virtue of how quickly they’re able to overwhelm targets with the lock on and charge mechanics of the game. Fortunately, the distinct advantages of these new Pikmin types are never so overwhelming to outright invalidate any of the other variants, but even so their utility is such that you feel compelled to keep a squadron of them in your party regardless of whether the obstacle you’re tackling will require their assistance.
Undoubtedly, the most significant benefit to Pikmin 3’s delayed follow up to its GameCube predecessors is the massive uptick in graphical quality the Wii U allowed for in rendering the adventure’s idyllic scenery. The four bespoke areas to explore are distinguished via seasonal theming, with the fall and summer spaces being especially distinctive thanks to their complementary layouts providing more memorable interactions. The other two perhaps suffer from being the introductory areas of the game, with large sections made initially inaccessible thanks to your limited abilities to affect the environment. They’re also, however, more confusing to navigate due to the bizarrely dissected nature of the map layout. Various sections in each area of Pikmin 3 are kept separate from the central landing area you start out in, typically signposted by some kind of transitionary tunnel or cave entrance depicted on the map with an accompanying directional arrow. The disconnected nature of these layouts is already a little confusing, but it’s often made worse by its portrayal on the map screen, making each area look something like an archipelago with all its scattered parts. Some of the spaces aren’t even functional, operating as scenic hallways between sections with no ability to even turn the camera, let alone interact with the space in any meaningful way. These liminal passageways are primarily reserved for the interim between the exploration spaces and the boss arenas, signifying a kind of grandiosity looming on the other side. For the most part, though, these dramatic preludes are all pomp, as nearly all the boss fights in this game—and indeed, combat interactions as a whole—prove significantly underwhelming.
In spite of how the mechanics of Pikmin 3 universally improve combat interactions as a whole, additional changes result in a sense of general dissatisfaction in all but a few select encounters. The main bosses of the game best exemplify this duality, but the sentiment extends to regular enemies and minibosses as well. Bosses tend to have heavily forecasted attack patterns followed by a period of vulnerability. This isn’t poor design in and of itself, and is actually something of a good template for boss designs in general, but the monotonous and obvious signposting for these fights make them a terrible bore, as your strategy boils down to little more than evading obvious attacks and simply bum-rushing the boss when their defenses are down. There’s never a sense of uncertainty, or threat, thanks to their inability to kill any more than five of your Pikmin with any of their easily avoided attacks. The only exception here is the Quaggled Mireclops, an intimidating titan disguised as an earthen mound, whose stomps are disorienting and extremely deadly if you don’t maneuver carefully. It has a number of elemental components to it that make the fight more interesting, giving you an added obstacle to overcome should you wish to take on the boss with your more powerful, but more vulnerable, Pikmin types. It’s also the only fight where the build up sees some kind of impactful payoff within the bout, as you mount the creature’s back after bringing it to its knees to attack its exposed head. Even the final boss falls short of the spectacle it promises, albeit more so due to the excess of its execution rather than any particular let down in challenge. In theory, it’s a sound finale that tests all the skills and abilities you’ve thus far honed exploring the world and gathering its resources, but the drawn-out nature of the climax constantly undercuts the tension of the fight, due to the day timer still being in play.
The disappointments of the game are never so much as to be wholly negative, though. While the many changes made to shear off some of the series’ more unnecessary difficulties have ironically made the game too easy now, the overall experience remains a positive and rewarding one. The more vivid world and involved story are welcome evolutions for the series, and one should hardly complain about the vastly improved interactions the game retains on a mechanical level. Pikmin 3 wavers in consideration only when measured against the unique strengths its predecessors maintain contrary to the refinements present in this more elegant entry. In actuality, Pikmin 3 is a relatively brief experience most comparable to the first game, in terms of objectives, structure, and overall strengths. But it sets itself apart still thanks to its strong mechanics, its more robust narrative, and distinct visual theming throughout. It comes up short in enough places that the overall experience is likely to leave a less distinct impression than its forebears, but it remains a charming, immersive adventure that comfortably improves and consolidates the Pikmin formula into a newly accessible, and still fulfilling, project with boundless potential.