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RTTP Pikmin 3 Deluxe for Nintendo Switch

(Returned to the party)
Raccoon

Raccoon

Fox Brigade
Pronouns
He/Him
606517-Pikmin3DeluxeSwitchreview.jpg


Ah, Pikmin 3. I often consider this to be the first video game for which I was truly hyped. I had been aware of Mario Kart 7, Nintendo Land, and LEGO City Undercover before it, but it wasn't until 13 year old Raccoon was exposed to the wonderful world of Pikmin 3 that he became truly obsessed with a game prior to its release.

That was many years ago now, but it hasn't even been two since the Nintendo Switch port, Pikmin 3 Deluxe, was released. I bought it the day it came out and started playing on its new easier difficulty mode, but I didn't finish the game until February of the next year. At some point since then I started a new file on the normal difficulty, annoyingly labelled "Hard," and for a long time it languished. I returned to the game for a very silly reason. I always sort my games by playtime on Nintendo Switch, and I sometimes use this screen as an indication of my habits and what games I have neglected. For a long time Pikmin 3 Deluxe has been towards the end of my third row of games, but after the Splatfest its position was threatened. This foolish compulsion drove me to play the game more, and as I quickly fell back in love with the game I decided to finish this second file before the launch of Splatoon 3. Mission accomplished!

Now, allow me tell you all how I have always sought to play Pikmin 3. First, if a Pikmin dies, even a single one, I restart the day. I simply cannot allow one of Miyamoto-sama's precious children to die. Second, in Deluxe at least, I collect every fruit before finishing the game. This ensures that the people of Koppai will experience maximum prosperity, as well ensuring that I experience maximum gameplay. With many daily resets, I ultimately succeeded in these goals in both files.

Pikmin-3-Deluxe---Nintendo-Switch


Note that the above image is not my screenshot, as I again stress that I would never allow the above situation to occur.

Having just finished the game again, I was struck by how much I love this game. Earlier this summer I played it daily every day before dawn for a week (long story), so I suppose those groggy memories did not rekindle my love. Playing it now in normal amounts at normal times like a normal person, I was able to fully embrace the brilliance of Pikmin and immerse myself in the endlessly endearing world of 3.

In addition to replaying the main story, I also finally finished the Side Stories, new to Deluxe and, as far as I know, developed by the company that did the port, Japanese developer Eighting. I have in the past criticized the work done by Eighting for this game, but having now finished the new content I cannot deny that it does a few clever things, especially given that the new missions re-use the existing maps. I remain unconvinced by the prospect of a future game being led by the studio, but I concede that it is worthless to judge their potential based on the work done here.

Incidentally, here is a clip of me just barely missing out on full completion of one of these missions. Had I thrown more Pikmin at the load I may have succeeded, but I was clearly paralyzed by the tense moment.




In conclusion, my love for Pikmin 3 is back in full force, perhaps stronger than ever before, and I am excited to endorse it to others in the future. A hypothetical sequel has regained its footing as my most anticipated game from Nintendo. I pray nightly that it is happening, and I hope it is a triumphant display of the level design and art capabilities of Nintendo EPD. If Nintendo launches new and more powerful hardware in the near future, I hope that Pikmin acts as an early technical showcase as 3 was for Wii U.

Well, what do you all think? Are you Pikmin 3 enjoyers like myself, or are you a bit cooler on it? What direction would you like a new Pikmin game to take? And, most importantly, who is your favorite of the game's three main captains? I hope to read all of this and more in this weird and somewhat awkward thread. I hope to add more to it at some point, but for now I feel that I've rambled enough. Below is my final report for my second file's completion.

 
One of Nintendo’s all-time greats. It takes everything wonderful about Pikmin and perfects it.

It also makes the case that any single player game can find a good multiplayer mode.

I’m not sure what I would love to see in Pikmin 4 but I am game for whatever they want to throw at me.
 
I had a great time revisiting Pikmin 3 on Switch. I also dug into its challenge mode and the DLC which I didn't touch on Wii U. It's just a joy honestly, Pikmin is a very simple game to play but it's so much fun learning the ins and outs of each map and managing your Pikmin and captains to accomplish as many things as efficiently as possible.
 
I've recently been replaying some of the missions I haven't yet gotten a full platinum medal yet, but I can't quite convince myself to replay the story mode just yet.

Almost as if I'm waiting for an excuse to replay and finish the first two games before I hop back in. It's a shame the game itself feels so short in the first place; even by making sure to volleyball fruit it just barely feels long enough to be considered a full game, and the last boss always disappointed me a little because I expected there to be more challenge trying to run through the caves
 
0
Pikmin 3 is the free game I got with a Mario Kart Purchase back in the Wii U days, and shamefully I still have not gotten around to playing it, despite loving Pikmin 1 and 2. I really need to remedy that mistake.
 
Pikmin 3 is the only Pikmin game I have beaten, and I truly loved it. I still remember how that game looked to me back in 2013, what a stunner. One of the better uses of the GamePad too, where I used Wii Remote and Nunchuck play in conjunction with using the GamePad as the map and the captain sender.

I got the Switch port, meaning to play it coop with my partner, but we never got around to it. Maybe at some point? So many games, man.
 
Not a single mention of Bingo Battle?!

I absolutely adore Pikmin 3, but especially for Bingo Battle. It’s truly one of the best multiplayer experiences out there! I only wish there were more options for Bingo Battle in Pikmin 3 Deluxe, like local wireless and online play support, and particularly the option to allow each player to choose their own control scheme; all the people I know who will play Bingo Battle with me don’t use gyro controls, while I exclusively use gyro controls, so one of us ends up having to be handicapped by using a control scheme we don’t like, which is obviously not ideal.
 
Tye said:
Not a single mention of Bingo Battle?!

I absolutely adore Pikmin 3, but especially for Bingo Battle. It’s truly one of the best multiplayer experiences out there! I only wish there were more options for Bingo Battle in Pikmin 3 Deluxe, like local wireless and online play support, and particularly the option to allow each player to choose their own control scheme; all the people I know who will play Bingo Battle with me don’t use gyro controls, while I exclusively use gyro controls, so one of us ends up having to be handicapped by using a control scheme we don’t like, which is obviously not ideal.
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...I should play Bingo Battle
 
My hope is that Hiroyuki Kimura or someone else is ready to advocate for the series as Miyamoto begins to approach retirement, so we can continue to see more of it (the only other projects Kimura produces are the 2D Mario titles, including Mario Maker). It's something fun and new that I felt was hampered by being a new unknown single-player IP where its original release and both of its mainline sequels happened on Nintendo's worst-selling hardware platforms.
TheGreatMightyPoo said:
Pikmin 3 is a top 3 Wii U game.

A shame the remaster couldn’t have been done better but it’s still Pikmin 3.
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Well, as I've said elsewhere, Pikmin 3 went from barely selling 1.27M with the original release to being the best-selling game in the franchise with Deluxe (2.23M), 40% more sales than the original Pikmin on GC (which was the best-selling game in the series prior at 1.6M) or 630K more units. It nearly doubled the sales of the Wii U release so far. And this was with near-zero marketing compared to other releases. Considering that Pikmin wasn't a new IP and significantly lacked visibility over its entire life, I think that's some solid franchise growth. I'd be eager to see what happens with a new game in the franchise.
 
Raccoon said:
...I should play Bingo Battle
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You should!! Just gotta make sure you play it with the right person (i.e. someone who also knows the ins and outs of Pikmin), otherwise it’s probably gonna be totally one-sided and not too fun, lol.

But yeah, I’m kind of a Bingo Battle super fan like Bill Trinen, lol. It’s just so good! My partner and I get really competitive with it, haha. I wish Bingo Battle was more popular because it’d be amazing if there were actual Bingo Battle competitions and such.
 
I absolutely love Pikmin 3. I played it for the first time earlier this year and I probably have it rated as the second most enjoyable video game I've played in 2022 behind Hades. To my untrained eyes it still appears to be one of the best looking games Nintendo has released even to this day, despite the fact that they've barely touched the visuals since it's original Wii U release in 2013; the atmosphere & feel of the game is just so charming and comforting too, plus the gameplay itself has such an addictive quality and "very Nintendo" uniqueness about it that you can't really find anywhere else. As someone who hadn't touched Pikmin since the gamecube days I knew I always wanted to go back and try the series again at some point, but I was pleasantly surprised at just how much I fell in love with this game. It already feels like the type of 'comfort game' I can see myself revisiting often.
 
It would be already amazing with the adventure mode alone. However the mission mode and bingo mode are just chef kiss.

Pikmin 3 didn't need to be so good.
 
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I feel like I'm one of the only people who neither love, nor don't hate the Pikmin series.

I enjoyed 3, especially since I got for free with Mariokart 8. It was one hell of a deal for a teen with little money. I can't say I particularly fell in love with it, but I beat it and it's an enjoyable experience. I also played 1 and bits of 2. The series is okay. But I think it's really cool how many other people love it, and would like to see another game.

I guess I just committed an internet sin.
 
0
Ah yes... I also totally played the game with your style...



Kidding aside, I absolutely fell in love with Pikmin, it was my first approach to the series and it became immediately one of my favourite nintendo franchises for its stark originality. I completed it 100% and I have to say that the side content was another surprise, I loved the additional challenge it posed compared to the main campaign.
 
Pikmin 4 better have proper online support and other cool additions like a level editor.
 
0
I played a bit of Pikmin 3 and enjoyed it, same with the Deluxe demo. It seems like exactly the kind of game I enjoy (unique, nature, mini creatures etc) but I never played more because I don't like the time limit thing. I get why it's in the game and think it is a fitting mechanic in general but not really for me. One day I will get over it play it though!!
 
DustinWretch said:
Pikmin 3 is the free game I got with a Mario Kart Purchase back in the Wii U days, and shamefully I still have not gotten around to playing it, despite loving Pikmin 1 and 2. I really need to remedy that mistake.
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Same way i got it. Finished it, great game...but 100% connected to the stylus for me,no idea if i would like the gameplay with a different controll method.
Tye said:
You should!! Just gotta make sure you play it with the right person (i.e. someone who also knows the ins and outs of Pikmin), otherwise it’s probably gonna be totally one-sided and not too fun, lol.

But yeah, I’m kind of a Bingo Battle super fan like Bill Trinen, lol. It’s just so good! My partner and I get really competitive with it, haha. I wish Bingo Battle was more popular because it’d be amazing if there were actual Bingo Battle competitions and such.
Click to expand...
Like with so many nintendo multiplayer modes for usually single player experience: no chance for me to find someone to play it.
Generally i have to say, nintendo multiplayers that are not mario kart smash or maybe party are worthless to me because i have nobody for them.
(Makes multiplayer zelda games frustrating)
 
Raccoon said:
Well, what do you all think?
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0 death final report is giving me gaming envy

I'm a Pikmin butcher who needs to reset more

I actually have nightmares about a giant Pikmin who lands on Koppai intent on revenge for my poor leadership skills

If any Pikmin are reading this, I did it all for Brittany

Pikmin 4 wishlist: 4k fruit, photo mode that's pausable so I can waste even more time lining up the perfect shot, online co-op & multiplayer

VelvetMonkey said:
Ah yes... I also totally played the game with your style...
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The Bulborb collective Yeah!ed this post
 
I feel like there's an opportunity to add something really special to Pikmin 4, other than the obvious features already mentioned.

Perhaps some sort of deep environmental physics system like in BotW - melting ice with fire, or freezing water to traverse a pond, or poisoning an enemy's food source to avoid engaging them directly.

Another interesting addition could be deformable terrain, allowing custom tunnels to be dug, and used to get around the map without alerting enemies above ground. The tradeoff would be different enemies underground, or other obstacles, such as the time to dig the tunnel having a significant impact on your schedule.

Anything that would enrich the game by enabling creative new play styles and emergent interactions with enemies. I mean it's not like their AI is particularly deep in the first place, so they could be programmed with simple reactions to danger, confusion and so forth.
And how about exploring not just underground, but inside the bodies of huge new enemies, whether dead or alive! Too gruesome? We already find certain treasures this way, it's just not presented as explicitly.

Control of your squad would require tightening and possibly enhancing with new commands for these interactions to remain fun rather than frustrating, but if implemented cleverly they have potential to be thrilling, and could raise the bar for gameplay in all future Pikmin games.
 
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efyu_lemonardo said:
Another interesting addition could be deformable terrain, allowing custom tunnels to be dug, and used to get around the map without alerting enemies above ground. The tradeoff would be different enemies underground, or other obstacles, such as the time to dig the tunnel having a significant impact on your schedule.
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Wile playing 3 I was very impressed by the deforming terrain in the boss arenas, which may be simple but do carry precedent for the idea

VelvetMonkey said:
Ah yes... I also totally played the game with your style...

Click to expand...

this reminded me of one of my other clips, coincidentally also captioned whoopsie

 
I didn’t appreciate the game on Wii U because I was salty that it took away the sprawling dungeons from Pikmin 2.

When I rediscovered it on Switch, I adored it. No game in the series handles nearly as well, even if they have other advantages.

And the juice!
 
Raccoon making me feel ancient.

Little me was excited for Super Mario Bros after seeing it on his school friends’s NES.
 
I've been thinking a lot about the structure of future Pikmin games and I feel like there needs to be some kind of middle ground between the level based gameplay and some kind of more open playground with permanent progression. Little King's Story has always been a game that I thought they should look at for inspiration. However, the more I play of Pikmin 3 the stronger I feel about retaining separate stages and to not dilute their puzzle-like design with an open world approach. Instead, I think the next one could be about the Hocotatians setting up an outpost that you have to expand between the "actual" levels. But the outpost itself is also set in a large sprawling stage that you gradually unlock more of as you get new Pikmin types and equipment.
 
maniacmaison said:
Is this a good game to play with my boyfriend? I'm looking for good coop that is not Overcooked and I like how this one looks.
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Pikmin 3 Deluxe’s co-op has made single-player Pikmin decidedly less fun. My girlfriend and I played through it and we had an absolute blast. It works shockingly well and I cannot recommend it enough.
 
Much like I said in the Pikmin 4 speculation thread earlier this year, I'd earnestly love to explore more of the nocturnal fauna of the planet. A diurnal army in the daylight against sleeping creatures is one thing, but traversing with the same amount now that all the bulborbs are awake and hiding to ambush you would raise the fear factor a great deal and I think it would be interesting to see how they can explore that.

Derachi said:
Pikmin 3 Deluxe’s co-op has made single-player Pikmin decidedly less fun. My girlfriend and I played through it and we had an absolute blast. It works shockingly well and I cannot recommend it enough.
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Ahh, I wish my girlfriend got into it more 😋 She does appreciate the art aesthetic and thinks it cute, but the controls were her undoing and put it down before Alph found the ship.
 
God, when I was 13 the game I was hyped for was Super Mario 64. It's not like I'm old, either - how are you fuckers so young?

Anyway, Pikmin 3 is a legitimate masterpiece, and a significant course correction after the dungeon-diving mis-step that was Pikmin 2.

As an original Wii U connoisseur (lol) it was part of the great golden Nintendo software development renaissance that occurred between 2013 and 2017 and which didn't sell great at the time but ultimately drove the success of the Switch. It felt like Nintendo's struggles at that time made them pull out ALL the stops in terms of both quality, and catering to their hardcore fans.

I really feel that in terms of pure game design quality, Pikmin is Nintendo's most under-appreciated series. Everything about it works. It takes incredibly complicated gameplay systems and makes them feel simple. In that context Pikmin 4 being announced and then forever delayed is a damn curse, but I do hope that when it comes we can see that time spent in the level designs and polish. And that it's significantly longer than Pikmin 3, which felt like it needed one more area before the last boss.

And I hope Pikmin 4 is for the next Switch, because Pikmin is a game where the higher resolution certainly matters. One of the curses of each title is some low quality ground / environment textures - I'd hope they clean that up as well. Despite that each game looks astonishing.


Much like I said in the Pikmin 4 speculation thread earlier this year, I'd earnestly love to explore more of the nocturnal fauna of the planet. A diurnal army in the daylight against sleeping creatures is one thing, but traversing with the same amount now that all the bulborbs are awake and hiding to ambush you would raise the fear factor a great deal and I think it would be interesting to see how they can explore that.
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This is a terrific idea.
 
good game/10, still split between this and the first one as my favourite pikmin game but this game is truly wonderful. Pikmin is awesome and more people should give it a chance.
 
Pikmin 3 has some of my favorite boss design in all of gaming. The battles against the Quaggled Mireclops and the Scornet Maestro are some of my favorites.
 
jnWake said:
Pikmin 3 has some of my favorite boss design in all of gaming. The battles against the Quaggled Mireclops and the Scornet Maestro are some of my favorites.
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You're absolutely correct but holy shit did I hate the Quaggled Mireclops. On this playthrough it wound up being the first time I used the ultra-spicy spray
 
Raccoon said:
You're absolutely correct but holy shit did I hate the Quaggled Mireclops. On this playthrough it wound up being the first time I used the ultra-spicy spray
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Quaggled Mireclops without losing any Pikmin sounds pretty tough.
 
jnWake said:
Quaggled Mireclops without losing any Pikmin sounds pretty tough.
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The strategy that worked for me was a swarm of Winged Pikmin with the spray. They stay out of the water and, arguably more importantly, can swarm the beast's bulb

I found online that with some animation manipulation the boss can be defeated in under a minute this way
 
I think future titles in the series should return to the sense of weirdness Pikmin 2 had. Pikmin 3 attempts to bring back some seriousness to the story but it kinda falls flat in comparison to Pikmin 1 in my opinion. Regardless, I flip-flop between which game I consider the best in the trilogy constantly which probably speaks to the quality of the franchise and how unique each of the games are.
 
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