Discussion Reimagining Pikmin 1: What Pikmin types would you choose?

[correojon]

After playing the awesome Pikmin 4 I've fallen prey to a Pikmin fever and have spent the last month replaying all the series. I've enjoyed all of them, but if I had to choose one it would probably be Pikmin 1. I've seen a lot of people that think the same, but everyone also says that it's very rough to play and that it would benefit a lot from a remake that includes a lot of the QoL improvements the series has introduced, through the years, like better camera control, better Pikmin AI so they don't get stuck in corners or fall to the water from the sides of bridges, improvements on selecting and switching different Pikmin types...

But what if we could go one stop further? What if Nintendo decided to reimagine Pikmin 1 and introduce improvements on the core game design itself? For example, it's pretty obvious that Yellow Pikmins were a bit underwhelming when compared to Reds and Blues in Pikmin1: Reds were great fighters and immune to fire hazards and enemies, while Blues unlocked huge parts of the maps due to being able to breathe underwater. Conversely Yellows could be thrown high and carry bombs, which weren't as useful in comparison. Pikmin 2 improved on this by adding electrical hazards and making Yellows immune to them. So maybe a Pikmin 1 reimagining could use this version of Yellow Pikmins and alter a bit the maps to feature electrical barriers and enemies.

Why stop there? There are also Purple, White, Rock, Winged and Ice Pikmin that introduce new abilities and situations....maybe we could change the basic Pikmin selection?

So, after this long introduction, here is the premise for this thread:

What 3 or at most 4 Pikmin types would you choose for a reimagining of Pikmin 1?

Some premises:

• Only 1 captain.
• No Oatchi or other supporting characters.
• Only 3 or at most 4 different Pikmin types.
• You can use any of the existing Pikmin types (red, blue, yellow, purple, white, winged, rock, ice and glow), modify them or define your own completely new Pikmin types.
• The game will be about trying to retrieve 30 ship parts in 30 days from 3/4 separated areas.
• You can decide how building works: Piles of materials like in 3, general purpose materials like in 4, no materials at all like in 1...
• You can decide how bombs work: Only one Pikmin type can use them, the Captain can use them, they can be saved between areas...
• The areas can be redesigned to accomodate the new Pikmin types you decide to use (for example, remove water, add electrical barriers...).

My Pikmin selection would be:

1. Red 2.0: Good fighter when latched, good for taking down barriers, immune to fire. In this version they are also specially good at digging and they will get a x5 strength boost if set on fire (that is, one burning Red can carry things that require 5 Pikmin).
2. Winged 2.0: Can fly over water, take shortcuts, and are very good at fighting airborne enemies, but they are very weak otherwise. They also take much longer to destroy barriers and in this version they can be thrown specially high.
3. Rock 2.0: They deal a lot of damage when thrown, but can't latch on to enemies. They can shatter glass and can roll on themselves, making them the fastest on ground.

In this case, building works like in Pikmin 3 and bombs need to be gathered by Pikmin, but they can only be used by the Captain and they can't be taken out of the area where they are found.
In my reimaging every Pikmin is very good on some aspect, but they all require some special circumstances to truly shine. Winged Pikmins can fly over low walls and carry things much quicker than the rest thanks to these shortcuts, but if there is a ground path available then Rocks are better because they move faster. But if there is fire or fiery enemies closeby, then Reds are much better, specially if you have to carry big items that require many Pikmin.

So, what Pikmin types would you choose?

 

[Síriocaz]

Purples have to be in the equation.

Blues are mandatory because water and I have always been fascinated by the whites' speed, kinda wish Nintendo buffed that aspect of theirs a tad more in 4, I think you could create some interesting puzzles with them. In 2 they're also the only type that can dig out buried objects, so I would grant them back this ability to them to make them more dependable.

A remake of 1 with purples, blues and whites wouldn't quite be Pikmin 1, though, but I like the idea.

 

[correojon]

That's a very good mix, some of my favourites challenges in Pikmin involve Whites and Purples: Whites are great to quickly transport piles of nuggets (or anything really), while Purples are awesome fighters and can carry huge pieces of fruit/treasure on their own, but they are the slowest so they penalize you a lot if you misuse them (specially in challenges or in a setting like Pikmin 1 where time is critical). Their a very interesting combo that can be used for some clever puzzles.