Pikmin

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For the game series, see Pikmin (series).

Pikmin
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Shigefumi Hino Masamichi Abe Shigeru Miyamoto
Platform(s)	Nintendo GameCube
Release date	JPN October 26, 2001 NA December 3, 2001 EU June 14, 2002
Genre(s)	Real-time strategy
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone (E) PEGI: 3+ OFLC: G8+
Media	1 × GameCube Optical Disc
System requirements	19 Memory Card blocks

Pikmin (ピクミン, Pikumin^?) is a real-time strategy video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube video game console in 2001. Pikmin is the first game in the Pikmin series of video games, designed by Shigeru Miyamoto. Pikmin was released on October 26, 2001 in Japan, December 3, 2001 in North America, and June 15, 2002 in Europe. The sequel, Pikmin 2, was released in 2004. The image song, "Ai No Uta" by Strawberry Flower, appeared in the Japanese commercials for the game, but soon became an unexpected hit song, eventually eclipsing Pikmin's sales. As of March 31, 2002, Pikmin has sold over one million copies.^[1]

The game Pikmin is a 3D, top-down, strategy game, with the player controlling Captain Olimar (known in Japan as Captain "Orima", an anagram kana spelling of "Mario") from a third-person viewpoint. Olimar is in turn followed by the Pikmin, whom he directs.

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Locating ship parts 1.2 Time restraint 1.3 Pikmin types 1.4 Pikmin behavior 1.5 Challenge Mode 1.6 Plot 2 Development 3 Reaction 3.1 Awards 4 Sequel 5 References in other games 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Gameplay

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The basis of game play in Pikmin is to retrieve ship parts by using the three varieties of Pikmin available in different combinations. Olimar discovers a tricolored plant-animal hybrid that willingly follows his orders and helps him recover ship parts. He names these creatures "Pikmin" after "Pikpik carrots" (A vegetable that is shaped similarly to a Pikmin). Each color has its own weaknesses and strengths, and all three colors must be used in order to complete the game. This is not the case for every ship part, however. There are some missions and some ship parts that can be retrieved with only two colors of Pikmin, and in some cases, a large monochromatic army of a single shade is enough to capture the needed part. There are standard obstacles present, such as water and fire, to which the blue and red Pikmin, respectively, are immune. Red Pikmin also are more aggressive and have excellent attack ability. In addition, yellow Pikmin can be thrown higher and farther than the other two colors, and also can carry explosive bomb rocks to attack enemies or destroy obstacles.

[edit] Locating ship parts

In retrieving ship parts, there are generally three steps. The first is to locate the part and scout its location, noting any obstacles Pikmin may need to remove or any enemies which must be defeated. The second step is in selecting the appropriate numbers and colors of Pikmin needed to complete the tasks. This must be done with some care, as only 100 Pikmin may exist outside the Onions at any given time. The third step is to secure the part, which is usually in a difficult to reach location or held by a powerful enemy. After securing the part, it can be brought back. All 30 parts are retrieved in this manner.

[edit] Time restraint

Time in the game is divided into 30 days. With the exception of the first day, which lasts until the player finds the first ship part (the engine), all days in the game are about 13 minutes in length. At the end of the day, all Pikmin must be immediately rounded up, work halted, and Olimar must return with the Pikmin to the ship. The reason for this is that many of the creatures which inhabit the Pikmin's planet are nocturnal predators and eat all Pikmin that are left behind on the survace.

[edit] Pikmin types

The basic physical characteristics of Pikmin are somewhat of a mystery, as very few clues are given by the physical elements present in the Pikmin's environment. To us, the Pikmin are very short, standing at only one inch or so tall. Pikmin are very simple physically, consisting of little more than a head, slender body, two arms and two legs, all four of which are very thin. Pikmin have tiny little hands and feet. Pikmin facial features are somewhat odd. All Pikmin have two disproportionately large eyes, with round, black pupils. On top of the heads of all Pikmin are plant-like sprouts, which are either topped by a leaf, bud, or flower. The flower is the most developed stage of Pikmin; flower Pikmin move faster and attack more strongly than leaf or bud Pikmin. Each variety of Pikmin have their own unique facial feature. Red Pikmin have pointed noses, Yellow Pikmin have large pointed ears and Blue Pikmin have gills resembling a mouth.

[edit] Pikmin behavior

Pikmin are very social creatures, seemingly interacting with other Pikmin of all colors if left alone, but focus their attention entirely on Olimar when called into active duty. Pikmin naturally form groups within their own color, but cooperate well with Pikmin of another color, though all pikmin are colorblind. If allowed to separate into groups during periods of inactivity, they separate along color lines, but do not object to being placed all together. Pikmin live in special homes which Olimar names Onions, since they bear a passing resemblance to the Earth vegetable. Each Onion is color specific, and Pikmin are never seen entering an Onion of a color different from their own. Pikmin reproduce (or replicate depending on how one looks at it) by bringing colored pellets or the carcasses of defeated enemies to their Onion. The Onion then lifts the object inside with a ray of light, takes the nutrients for seeds, and produces seeds, from which new Pikmin sprout. Onions only produce seeds that match their own color, and the number of seeds produced is dependent on the object being converted. If 100 Pikmin are in the field, the seeds will be stored inside, where they will mature to the basic leaf Pikmin.

[edit] Challenge Mode

Apart from the main gameplay, Pikmin also contains a Challenge Mode that is unlocked once Olimar gets all 3 types of Pikmin. Each of the five levels in the main game is available for play. The object of Challenge Mode is to grow the greatest number of Pikmin in one day as is possible. The number of creatures in Challenge Mode is significantly greater than in the main game, and their distribution is changed as well. Although discovering new areas in the main game opens them for Challenge Mode play, Challenge Mode does not affect gameplay in the main story mode in any way. There is still a 100 Pikmin limit.

[edit] Plot

In Pikmin, the main character is Captain Olimar, an astronaut from the planet Hocotate. The story starts when Olimar is taking a intergalatic vacation in outer space. However, during his flight, an asteroid hits his spaceship, the S.S. Dolphin (a reference to the Nintendo GameCube's codename, "Project Dolphin"), and it crashes on a planet unknown to him: Earth. Parts of the spaceship fall off as it plummets to the ground.

When he regains consciousness, Olimar finds out that the planet's atmosphere contains oxygen, which is poisonous to people from Hocotate, and he can stay on the planet for only 30 days before his life support system stops functioning. Olimar must retrieve many of the spaceship parts so he can rebuild his spaceship and return to Hocotate. Although Olimar initially states in his journal entries that he needs all 30 parts, as the game moves on it is hinted at that some parts might not be actually necessary to lift off, and, indeed, one can win the game without said parts.

To help Olimar are indigenous creatures called Pikmin, which are nearly extinct and unable to survive in the environment without his leadership when he arrives. As this element of symbiosis develops, Olimar discovers parts of his ship and travels across the Pikmin Planet,which is assumed to be Earth. The game has three endings depending upon how successful the player is, ending if either the 30 days are up or if he or she collects all 30 parts.

The worst ending happens if Olimar does not collect the 25 necessary parts within 30 days. He attempts to fly off the planet, however the Dolphin plummets back down and crashes. Olimar's life support system fails and he breathes the planet's oxygen, which most likely kills him. The Pikmin take his body to the Onion and he gets sucked in. A Pikmin seed is spit out and sprouts, however this Pikmin is half Olimar. The average ending happens if Olimar collects the 25 necessary parts within 30 days, but is missing one or more of the five unnecessary parts. He attempts to fly off the planet and succeeds. This ending is sort of sad as Olimar is in a rush to leave since his life support system is failing. The best ending happens if Olimar collects all 30 parts. He flies off the planet as the Pikmin watch him. Onions of various colors (not just red, blue, and yellow, but green, light blue, black, and other colors) fly up into the planet's atmosphere in a farewell and the original Pikmin are seen fighting a Bulborb on their own.

Some believe that the planet Olimar crash-landed on is in fact the planet Earth, with further debate that it takes place in the future, where humans have become extinct and alien creatures have taken over the earth or the native animals further evolved. This is disputed, however. There are some suggestions of it, though, in the form of discarded human objects (cans, cardboard boxes, etc.) in the field. It can be said however, that the people of Hocotate are very small, as these objects are often more than twice Olimar's size. Further, the instruction manual describes Olimar as being about the size of a quarter (or from a Japanese perspective, a 100 yen piece; or even in the UK version, a 50 pence piece). Others think that the planet in Pikmin is Earth, but seen from the perspective of an alien visitor. There is evidence stating that the planet is not Earth, but more evidence is given in Pikmin 2 to suggest that the planet is Earth in that the treasures collected are mostly human-made objects, such as a Duracell battery and a 7-Up bottle cap. Two treasures are parts of a globe. Furthermore, in the video sequences serving as introduction to the game, the ship can be seen hurtling toward a continent that looks remarkably like Africa.

[edit] Development

According to an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto in the June/July 2002 issue of Nickelodeon Magazine, the tiny creatures featured in the game, called 'Pikmin', are named after Shigeru Miyamoto's shetland sheepdog, Pikku.

During the Game Developers Conference 2007, Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned that most of the elements of Mario 128 were incorporated into the Pikmin game.

[edit] Reaction

IGN gave Pikmin a 9.1, or "Outstanding," rating, impressed by the use of textures and orchestration. The gameplay was noted for being fun for players of many different experience levels. ^[2] The game was heavily faulted for the requirement to complete the game in 30 game days. This was changed in Pikmin 2, one of the reasons Pikmin 2 was more critically acclaimed.^[3] Pikmin 2 also featured a co-op multiplayer experience that was also considered a noticeable improvement. IGN's Matt Casamassina stated in his own review of the game that "Pikmin 2 is better than its predecessor in just about every way."

[edit] Awards

• E3 2001 Game Critics Awards: Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game^[4]
• 2001 Japan Media Arts Festival: Excellence Award for Interactive Art

[edit] Sequel

Pikmin 2 was widely considered an improvement on the original. Pikmin 2 came out in 2004 and features the same basic idea with some new added multiplayer modes, 2 new Pikmin colors, caves, many more beasts and Bosses,and no limit to the amount of days allowed in single-player mode.^[5]

[edit] References in other games

In the game Nintendogs for the Nintendo DS, a bulborb can be seen in one of the shops.

In Animal Crossing: Wild World, a furniture item called the Pikmin can be obtained. It is a rectangular plant pot with dirt inside. Three Pikmin stalks can be seen. A red one with a Flower on the right, a blue one with a leaf on the left, and a yellow one with a bud in the middle.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Pikmin website
• Pikmin at Nintendo.com (archives of the original at the Internet Archive)
• Pikmin at GameFAQs
• Pikmin at MobyGames
• Pikipedia-A Wikia Wiki

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