Pikmin (Nintendo Gamecube) Review

 (Originally posted on August, 2016)

(2001, Gamecube)

(Though I had access to a disc, the game was played on an emulator.)

Coming as a surprise announcement months before the Gamecube's launch, Pikmin was said to have seeded in Shigeru Miyamoto's imagination while viewing some ants at work. Looking at the colorful little leaf men slapping around giant bulbous frogs, it seems like a typically cute and cartoon like Nintendo game from screen shots, but in motion plays out more like a Savannah documentary, recreating nature's indifferent brutality surprisingly well. You must help your (space)shipwrecked Captain find all his missing vehicle parts in time if he is to get back home. The alien world you're stranded on is filled with the Pikmin, useful creatures whom under Captain Olimar's guidance may not all make it out alive, but still seem to benefit in total population growth when aligning themselves with otherworldly visitors. In turn for providing the necessary muscle to recover your ship's missing parts, dismantle obstacles and defend the Captain, they're able to rapidly multiply by bringing home hard-to-reach nectar pellets and the creepily bobbing corpses of the fascinating creatures everyone must work together to defeat...

Interesting as the game looked, like trying to celebrate someone's birthday on December 24, Pikmin was overshadowed by the epic Super Smash Bros: Melee which came out the very next day. Of course buying Smash was my #1 priority, but I rented Pikmin soon enough. Then rented it again and again, telling myself I better not buy it after already having beat it several times...but that's just what I did. Like a good real time strategy game on the PC, Pikmin gratifies the urge to obsessively plan and micromanage, but condensed in the form of a Nintendo console game, it's far more accessible and less of a commitment. I was having such a good time, I practically forgot the Gamecube didn't even have a Mario yet...

The game explained simply: Land your (barely operable) freight truck in a level: Explore with up to 100 Pikmin at once, battle enemies, tear down obstacles, harvest more Pikmin and locate parts...all done as quickly as if your diminishing air reserves depended on it. The hook of the game is figuring out the most efficient path through a stage on any given day. Like Zelda: Majora's Mask which released a year prior, Pikmin's time limit system is usually appreciated by whomever has experienced it but easily misunderstood by those who haven't yet played. Beautifully transitioning from a peaceful, misty dawn to a brooding sunset of awakening nocturnal predators, the time limit for each day adds a sense of scarcity and urgency which makes success all the more satisfying. Since the 30 separate, 13 minute days you're given is relatively generous and you always have the option to restart the day, only the the most reckless and unskillful of players are at risk of getting the "bad" ending.  In so many instances,  upon making a small blunder that wasted mere seconds, I actually enjoyed the act of immediately restarting that day and wiping that mistake from the game's record and my conscience.

The world you've landed on (Earth...?) is as fun to venture through as it is to conquer. In "The Forest of Hope," upon tearing down a coral-like wall that seals off your landing point, there's a large, beautiful pond with bridges waiting to be assembled and glimpses of higher up areas you can't quite get to yet. Guarding the pond front are tiny mushroom like "dogs" who are vulnerable to surprise attacks, but dangerous once awakened, as they're eager to gobble up Pikmin with their huge mouths. During your battle with these "dwarf Bulborbs," you must be careful to keep your Pikmin away from all the nearby and enticing pellet flowers, as they have a child-like distractibility and tendency to wander off while otherwise being loyal to a fault. Deeper in the level, an area with heavy foliage conceals a swarm of neon beetle-like insects who lack legs but can dive in an out of the ground like dolphins. This just begins to describe the constant wonder and discovery waiting throughout the game's five areas.

Pikmin was a real beauty upon release, as the organic looking textures and strong lighting bested anything on the PS2 at the time. Even better than the tremendous believability of the virtual wilderness was all the strange life that inhabits it. Moving more like an old machine than animal when overheated...you must find a hidden weakness to the rock spitting half beetle/octopus. Though possible to beat with just your captain, you'll benefit greatly from bringing a group of fire-retardant Red Pikmin to the adorable, grumbling pig thingies which use a form of internal combustion to spray fire from their trunks(!). Somewhat hard to find, a peaceful rock giant just wants to safely pound your Pikmin back into the Earth in the name of gardening, but in this harsh world you'll likely take him out anyway. While escaping from the night's chaos into the upper atmosphere, one might reflect on how a Nintendo game of all things can awaken the dark human instinct to go overboard and needlessly loot and plunder strange lands. Often criticized for being a bit short, the game's world, enemies and the questions it can bring up make Pikmin feel far huger than it's code...

A soundtrack that's fun, slightly unnerving and wonderfully memorable ties together the adventure. After a couple of pleasant and encouraging stage themes, it suddenly gets more sinister at the mid-way point. "The Forest Naval" is led by a pair of relaxed yet pronounced acoustic guitars which sound like they're trying to speak of what lurks in all the darkness. "The Distant Spring" conveys a frightening sense of isolation in paradise. It's blissfully peaceful and relaxing, but at the same time you're nowhere near home, making it sound more like the false call of the mythical Siren.  "The Final Trial"  is as if two songs, good and evil are playing at once and having an argument with each other. One part is the awful clown in the fun house waiting to pop out at you, the other half is the determined march of a noble army, each taking turns getting there digs at each other. By the end of the song you're convinced you can beat the game, then the clown comes back louder and more dreadful than ever, before it all starts over.

The main quest is short at 3-5 hours, but for that reason it's also more inviting to replay than it's rich and meaty sequels. Finding a certain ship part also unlocks the challenge mode, where courses are "remixed" with different enemy/item placements and the goal is purely in competing for the high score. I've beat the game literally dozens of times over the years and don't expect this latest run to be my last. Without losing any charm after 15 years, the only complaint against Pikmin is that's it's a bit slow and clunky to control after experiencing the tweaks both sequels have brought. The first Pikmin is the sprout to 2 and 3's bud and flower: an early, integral part of what's currently one of gaming's greatest trilogies.