Pikmin

"What an interesting game..."

Well, for those who don't know, Pikmin is an Action/Real Time Strategy hybrid created by Nintendo mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto.

It has you playing as Captain Olimar, who is stranded on a strange planet after his ship is hit my a meteor. He only has 30 days to collect the 30 parts of his spaceship that he needs to be able to return home safely before the battery to his life-support system runs out.

Needless to say, the story won't win any points for originality, but this isn't a story driven game. What it is, though, is a lot of fun.

Graphics
The game's visuals really are a treat. The texture quality is very good, with everything wonderfully detailed. The way the water ripples and moves really looks fantastic.

The environments are HUGE. I absolutely love all the work that has gone into the look of each level of the game. The design and everything just wowed me. The garden look of the levels is fantastic.

The models for the Pikmin and Captain Olimar himself aren't out of this world, but they get the job done. Their animation is very good and fluid. The same can be said about the enemies that you will face throughout the game. The designs are really creative, and their animations go without a hitch.

Overall, the game looks wonderful. The game runs at a consistent frame rate, with no slowdown 99% of the time (I've only encountered it once).

Sound
The game's sound is kind of what you'd expect. The music is nice and peaceful. The sound effects are standard fare. All the enemy creatures have their own weird sounds, as do the Pikmin. You'll instantly know when you Pikmin are in trouble from the sounds that they make, and you'll hate to hear your foes chomping down on them.

The game's music is pretty good, and the sound effects get the job done.

Gameplay
Ah, gameplay, the most important part of any game. The graphics and sound mean nothing if the game isn't fun to play, and trust me, this is where Pikmin really shines.

Unlike other Real Time Strategy games, you actually control a character, not just move a cursor around. You pick the Pikmin that you grow, throw them, guide them, make them perform tasks, and attack enemies, with the greatest of ease. You can divide Pikmin into separate groups, dismiss them, and direct them towards the next task that needs to be done quickly. The only thing I had a hard time accessing was the Pikmin that were currently carrying a certain item (you'll know what I'm talking about once you play).

Controls are very good, easy to use, and very responsive. You perform a great many of your tasks with the ''A'' button. Now, this may sound bad, but it really makes things a lot easier to do. You can direct the Pikmin with the ''C-Stick,'' call them towards you with ''B'', and dismiss them with ''X''. It's all really quite intuitive.

As for the way the actual game is played, it's quite simple: You need to gather your 30 ship parts in 30 in-game days. However, doing so is much more complicated than what it sounds.

The time limit really makes you wonder which way is the best to go about doing things.

Also, you have three different kinds of Pikmin: Red, Blue, and Yellow. I'll let you discover what strengths and weaknesses they have. Each one is vital in getting Olimar's parts, and performing different tasks.

Of course, you'll need the Pikmin first. You grow them by letting them take Pellets or defeated enemies back to their ''Onion'' (which is just the place where you can store or deposit them). Don't think that you can just make a huge army of Pikmin and destroy everything in your path. Nope, you have a 100-Pikmin limit. This adds a couple more layers of strategy to the mix: How many of each color of Pikmin should I take? Should I have them build a bridge? Or maybe tear down a wall? All of this is crucial, since you have a time limit. If you don't have all your Pikmin back in their respective Onions by nightfall, you'll lose them. Time is everything.

In order to move ship parts, you need to assign your Pikmin to do so. You can tell how many you'll need by a number which is shown when at least one Pikmin is trying to move it. However, locating the parts can be quite the task sometimes, and even if you do find them, you'll need to make a path back to the spaceship for them to travel. Also, if you didn't take care of all the enemies, they can still attack your Pikmin while they are carrying back the ship parts. As you can see, the game can get quite complex at times.

The game really is fun, without getting too complex or tedious.
Replayability

Unfortunately, the game is a bit short. With only 30 game days, the game is over just as it things really get started. In fact, you may finish the game before you get to the thirtieth day (I finished the game on Day 26 my first time through the game).

Of course, there is another mode you get after getting all the ship parts in a stage: Challenge Mode. The goal of this mode is to grow as many Pikmin as you can in a single day. It really is quite fun, but doesn't add a whole lot to the overall game.

Overall
I think Pikmin is fantastic. I absolutely love this game. The graphics and sound are awesome, the controls are simple, and the game is just a blast to play. It can also be quite challenging at times. The only thing I don't like about the game is how short it is. Other than that though, I think it's worth a purchase. I don't regret buying it, and neither should you.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/22/02, Updated 01/22/02