Pikmin 4 is a rare and delightful treasure. This peculiar franchise is one of the more niche in Nintendo’s portfolio and as such we get blessed with new mainline entries only once every ten years. It contains a mix of elements that seem somewhat at odds: adorable art direction and hilariously weird little guys that make it too cute to market to a traditional action gamer, paired with a thoughtful yet frantic real time strategy game starring a tiny astronaut and his alien allies collecting giant fruits and real world trinkets to power their stranded spaceship. Too cute for teens, too challenging for little kids, and not aimed at adults from a surface level glance, Pikmin exists within a very specific segment of the gaming marketplace.
Original character designer Junji Morii said he “wanted the designs to not just be cute, but also give a sense of eeriness, or some emotional weight.” Miyamoto says he took inspiration by watching a bunch of arthouse indie movies that “you wouldn’t find in regular video stores.” While the series is adorable and cute, there is a detectable level of thoughtful, mature artistic inspiration fueling the concept. (1)
It must also be mentioned how disturbing it is when your Pikmin die by being eaten, drowning, catching on fire, or in any other horrifying manner. When I played the first game at ten years old back in 2001, I immediately bounced off once I witnessed my Pikmin squeal to death when a Bulborb ate them alive. Miyamoto himself acknowledges that this element has probably kept the series from attaining greater popularity:
I get that people find it more difficult when death is a factor. But I think the franchise’s strength lies in its relationship with mortality. If something is irreversible, you need to figure out a way to prevent undesired things from happening. (2)
One of the first ways you will likely see your Pikmin die
The commitment to this broader existential philosophy in a game that appears childish and cute on the surface is just one more example of what makes the series so peculiar and special. The player can still bask in child-like joy and beauty, without losing a grip on the unavoidable realities of life.
Miyamoto claims his original inspiration was watching ants in his garden, and wondered what it might look like if the ants were tiny little people instead (3). Playing Pikmin transports you to a world with the calming and tranquil aesthetic of a beautiful garden, and then inserts a series of challenges and dangers within it to puzzle your way through. While there are occasional moments of chaotic frenzy fighting against certain enemies and racing to beat sundown, the general feeling of playing Pikmin is meditative focus. The slightly spacey soundtrack trickles along in the background while you order your adorable little soldiers around to complete their tasks. It’s a perfect yin & yang balance of tranquility and pressure.
Returning to the mechanics, real time strategy gameplay on consoles has been attempted countless times since the peak popularity of games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, and Warcraft, often to middling results. It’s under-discussed just how successfully Nintendo managed to crack the code on real time strategy using intuitive controller inputs to flow between character movement, Pikmin type selection, and cursor aiming. Commanding your Pikmin is appropriately stressful, but the controls never feel like they get in the way.
Pikmin 4 also introduces new variations on the core gameplay loop. The levels themselves serve as overworlds, filled with a vast array of obstacles to overcome as you explore. Within those overworlds, there are numerous multi-level caves that contain challenges tailored to specific Pikmin counts and varieties. There are also ingenious “Dandori” levels, where you have limited time and Pikmin to most efficiently complete the level (Dandori is a Japanese word that can be roughly translated to “The Procedure for carrying out a plan). These Dandori levels successfully harness the strategic depth of the game design, providing pointed challenges throughout the games where other rogue space ship captains praise you for your exceptional planning with quirky dialogue.
Combat is more than just a numbers game thanks to the wide variety of Pikmin types you collect throughout the campaign. Aside from elemental strengths and weaknesses, Yellow Pikmin can be tossed higher for flying enemies, Rock Pikmin can smash shells and do more damage on impact, and Ice Pikmin can freeze enemies solid, and more. This keeps combat encounters from feeling repetitive and adds another layer of depth to your planning at the start of each in game day.
I never grew tired of arriving in a new environment and setting my Pikmin about their tasks. Deducing the best order of operations that balances efficiency and safety is endlessly satisfying and pleasurable. The audio effects of little Pikmin feet scurrying about, or the “hup…hup…hup” as they carry fruits and trinkets back to your base add to the joy.
One last shout out has to be given to Oachi, the dog-like alien companion who adds a new batch of traversal and combat mechanics to the game. Aside from being obscenely cute, he helps make combat feel more manageable against some of the tougher enemies. Plus, if you let the game idle for a little while, you can watch him and your Pikmin play around together, which is in the running for best idle animation of all time.
Pikmin is for an audience of refined gaming connoisseurs. People who appreciate the tranquil beauty of the game world and soundtrack, the joys of the supremely cute character and enemy designs, and the zen-like satisfaction of watching (and hearing) Pikmin execute a well laid plan. It’s a series that deserves far more love and attention in a rapidly consolidated gaming landscape desperate for original ideas.
1: Ronaghan, Neal. 6 Things We Learned About Pikmin's Development. Nintendo World Report, 2023. Nintendo World Report, http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/64323/6-things-we-learned-about-pikmins-development.
2: Robinson, Andy. Shigeru Miyamoto explains why he thinks Pikmin game sales haven’t ‘exploded’. Video Games Chronicle, 2023, https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/shigeru-miyamoto-explains-why-he-thinks-pikmin-game-sales-havent-exploded/.
3: LeJacq, Yannick. Pikmin Has The Best Origin Story. Kotaku, 2014. Kotaku, https://kotaku.com/pikmin-has-the-best-origin-story-1657571859.
