Game Debate #106: Pikmin

[Reed Rothchild | 9,642]

[Lynda Monica | 350]

One of the best games Nintendo ever made. The first game is so perfect as a stand alone story that its own sequels struggle to add anything meaningful to it. If you consider yourself a fan of Nintendo, you owe it to yourself to play the first Pikmin.

Edited June 16, 2022 by Lynda Monica

[Makar | 1,964]

Only reason I didn’t give it a 10 is because that’s what I’d give Pikmin 2.  I guess I love treasure hunting, 5 different kinds of pikmin, and multiplayer battles a bit more than searching for lost ship parts. All 3 pikmin games are excellent though. Haven’t played through Hey Pikmin yet on the 3DS. 

[RH | 5,014]

I've never seen more than screenshots and commercial footage of these games.  I'm not throwing shade on it, but there's just nothing about the aesthetic or what I see that makes me want to play this.  Regardless, of all the first-party Nintendo franchises, this is probably the one I know the least about and since it's Nintendo, I do want to give it a try some day.

I honestly couldn't tell you what it's about with certainty.  To me, it looks like a mild puzzle-platform with a bit of "Lemmings" mixed in.  Is that a reasonable description?

[rdrunner | 425]

6/10 - Had it, tried it, sold it.  This really isn't my type of game at all.  I'm sure it's fine if given more time, but I just didn't have the patience for it.

Edited June 16, 2022 by rdrunner

[TDIRunner | 2,794]

Never played it, but I voted for it to be next because I wanted to see what others have to say about it.  

[docile tapeworm | 4,206]

46 minutes ago, rdrunner said:

6/10 - Had it, tried it, sold it.  This really isn't my type of game at all.  I'm sure it's fine if given more time, but I just didn't have the patience for it.

Same.

[A_Feisty_Pickle | 244]

I think it's a fun, quick playthrough (maybe 10 hours?). I don't think it's a "have to play" game but fun to pop in for a playthrough every few years. It does make me a little depressed throwing my plant friends to their death though... 7/10 for me. 

[Makar | 1,964]

2 hours ago, RH said:

I've never seen more than screenshots and commercial footage of these games.  I'm not throwing shade on it, but there's just nothing about the aesthetic or what I see that makes me want to play this.  Regardless, of all the first-party Nintendo franchises, this is probably the one I know the least about and since it's Nintendo, I do want to give it a try some day.

I honestly couldn't tell you what it's about with certainty.  To me, it looks like a mild puzzle-platform with a bit of "Lemmings" mixed in.  Is that a reasonable description?

“Real time strategy and puzzle game”. That’s the description I saw online. My description would be that but in the first one you crash land onto a foreign planet and have to recover your ships pieces that broke off upon entry so that you can get off the planet. You encounter creatures called pikmin who you control and they help you recover parts and beat enemies. It’s more of a task management style game especially since you only have 30 in game days to get your ship’s 30 pieces. You build things with your pikmin, battle enemies, gather resources that turn into more pikmin, solve puzzles, and explore quite a bit. Each of the 3 pikmin have different abilities too and you can bring a max of 100 pikmin with you at a time. It’s a solid game throughout. 

[JamesRobot | 5,846]

Kinda want to play it but never owned a cube.  I think I mighta downloaded a Pikmin 3 demo on the Switch though.

[nrslam | 477]

A personal favorite of mine and the only console game series that'll get my wife to put down her tablet. If Nintendo ever wants to sell us a Switch (or whatever comes after it), they'll need to make a new Pikmin.

10/10.

[Makar | 1,964]

1 hour ago, JamesRobot said:

Kinda want to play it but never owned a cube.  I think I mighta downloaded a Pikmin 3 demo on the Switch though.

They did put the first 2 on the Wii as well if you have a Wii or Wii U. The pikmin 3 demo is really good in terms of demos. 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,642]

Haven't played it, no route towards owning it, but I have 2 and loved 3.  I'd certainly like to add 1 to the list someday.

[Tanooki | 4,958]

I gave it a 7, wish I could have done a 6.5.  The game has a great concept, great general mechanics, but it has a few glaring annoying bits to it I think needed a little more time to bake.  The game is a bit blander compared to the sequel where they really ironed out the odd stuff that ended up being kind of annoying around time, but also the fact the radar is relatively broken and borderline useless which really hurts with the time limits imposed not just per stage, but the overall game.  Again, more or less good mechanics, fun concept, neat environments, and a really good but just not solid first attempt.  6.5 (ran up to a 7)/10  -- Honestly I'd recommend skipping it for the sequel which did the whole concept dramatically better and removed the issues too.

[twiztor | 856]

played this via the Wii probably 10+ years ago. couldn't really get into it. don't know if it was the gameplay, the motion controls, or just that i wasn't in the mood for the type of game. have since picked up the GCN release and regularly think about giving it another run. maybe 2023.

[Makar | 1,964]

6 hours ago, Tanooki said:

I gave it a 7, wish I could have done a 6.5.  The game has a great concept, great general mechanics, but it has a few glaring annoying bits to it I think needed a little more time to bake.  The game is a bit blander compared to the sequel where they really ironed out the odd stuff that ended up being kind of annoying around time, but also the fact the radar is relatively broken and borderline useless which really hurts with the time limits imposed not just per stage, but the overall game.  Again, more or less good mechanics, fun concept, neat environments, and a really good but just not solid first attempt.  6.5 (ran up to a 7)/10  -- Honestly I'd recommend skipping it for the sequel which did the whole concept dramatically better and removed the issues too.

This is why I gave it a 9. I regularly go back and replay 2 but I don’t replay 1 too often. 

[Webhead123 | 691]

Haven't played it and, honestly, not terribly interested. I'm sure it's a fine game but...I don't know, those kinds of puzzle games don't often appeal to me after the initial novelty wears off.

[Sumez | 3,014]

Pik min means "my dick" in Danish

 

11/10

Edited June 17, 2022 by Sumez

[AstralSoul | 503]

Fantastic game, debates between a 9 and 10. Ultimately gave it a 9 but it's a near perfect game,I think the only negative is that the game ends after 30 days in-game regardless of whether you got the parts or not. Otherwise such an amazing game, all 3 main series games are amazing. Even Hey Pikmin was pretty fun on the 3DS. Probably one of Nintendo's most charming series.

[OptOut | 8,895]

I think it's a really good game, but kinda short, feels like they could have done a lot more with the concept, which I guess they did with the second one.

Still have to play the 3rd, but it doesn't really feel like a full price title sort of game to me, I'll wait till I can find it cheaper.

7 outa.

[Jeevan | 9,024]

gave it a 9, love the pikmin franchise, beat 3 this year on switch.  still need to go back and play 1 and 2 again.

[jonebone | 1,308]

First entry 8, 2nd entry took series to 9. Looking forward to 4 one day.