Pikmin

"Surprisingly fun for the open-minded."

Its often times that people look at a game, and dismiss it as boring or childish. Even if they play it, they have already decided they don’t like it, so they won’t. This is that type of game. If one is able to overlook the slow-paced, kiddy theme to it, they will discover a game well worth playing. It’s not often these days for a game with so much originality to be released, which is why I would highly recommend at least trying out this game if you are at all interested.

-= REVIEW OVERVIEW =-
*Presentation: 7
*Graphics: 8
*Sound: 7
*Gameplay: 10
*Fun: 10
*Multi-Player: 3
*Replay: 6
*Overall: 9 (not an average)

-= Presentation: 7 =-
The game starts off with a decent cut-scene, but pales in comparison to some of the movie-games out now (final fantasy comes to mind). The menus are simple, and pleasing to the eye. Nothing stands out as being great, but overall just good. 8/10

-= Graphics: 8 =-
The games graphics are great. You have realistic backgrounds, filled with colorful cartoon characters, and it mixes surprisingly well. The game has a sort of motion blur to keep it looking soft and organic. It is extremely impressive when you have 100 little pikmin, your character Olimar, and several enemies being attacked on one screen. Some of the bosses are stunning, and great in size. The animation is wonderful also. While the graphics are nothing too flashy are wonderful, they do compliment this game’s simplistic nature. Very worthy of a great: 8/10

-= Sound: 7 =-
The music, while nothing stands out, is fitting for the game. None of the music is out of place, and it all meshes in with the environment and situations well. The sound effects are cartoonish, and work well also. Its nothing too wonderful, but not bad either: 7/10

-= Gameplay: 10 =-
This is the definition of innovation. Miyamoto is constantly raising the bar in originality, and does not fail in this spectacular classic in the making. The gameplay is so deep, yet so simple, it is accessible to nearly anyone. The main idea is to control your ‘pikmin’ to carry out various tasks, whether it be fighting, carrying, or pushing, among other things, to eventually find all of your ship’s parts that have been scattered around the area from your shuttle crash. The game starts out with only one color of pikmin, and eventually, you will find other colors, which are capable of doing certain things better than others. The game gets more and more difficult and involved as you progress, but it never gets to the point of total frustration. The enemies are all interesting, and challenging, and never over used. You’ll never have to do something over and over again until the point of not caring anymore. Controls are easy to pick up on, and the camera is too. You’ll never find yourself unable to carry out a task due to lousy control or camera. For the level of originality and polish, the gameplay easily deserves a: 10/10

-= Fun: 10 =-
The exciting gameplay, easy pace, and amazing level design/character design make this easily one of the most entertaining games for the GCN in 2001. You won’t be able to put this game down until you complete it, albeit it is admittedly short. This game only lasts for about 10 hours, and in fact, you will have a time limit. If you fail to complete your task, you’ll have to start all over again. The fact that you have a time limit give it some sort of importance to what you are doing, and can give you a real rush when trying to complete the task before sunset. You’ll never find yourself in a dull moment: 10/10

-= Multi-Player: 3 =-
Considering there is no split screen multi-play, its generous that I even gave this a 3. The only multi-player gameplay you will get out of this is taking turns doing the challenge mode, where you try to get the highest number of pikmin in one day. This is lots of fun if you have a friend who is comparable in skill to you, but only fun for a while: Hardly deserves a: 3/10

-= Replay: 6 =-
This game can be played over and over again, especially when competing with friends in the challenge mode. I know people who seriously could just spend hours and hours playing on end. Although there is hardly anything to unlock, you’ll play it again just for the fun. Many, like myself will let the game collect dust, only to open it up in a year for another round. Either way, the game can be completed in a short time, making it easy to replay when your feel like it. Replay is slightly above Average: 6/10

-= Overall: 9 =-
You won’t experience another game like this until 2003, when Pikmin 2 comes out. I recommend to go to your nearest store, or rental shop, and pick this one up if you are still interesting. I know it may not be for the type of person who won’t play anything unless it is rated M or has machine guns, but if you are that type of person why are you still reading???? Go out and play now: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/27/03, Updated 02/27/03