• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Pikmin 3 |OT| Starvation, Slavery, and Savage Creatures in a Cute, Colorful Package

zlCfzRFei4YHS3rujW


Fantastic game.
Finding the last memo
was a pain til I thought about how many I'd found where.
 

Dr.Hadji

Member
Pikmin3 too good.

One point. The bosses. I feel that they are much more friendly to not destroying a lot of your Pikmin. When I feel I can battle without loosing too many Pikmin, I play around and experiment more. Which is the over all feeling that puts Pikmin3 over the previous two. Not just on the bosses but all of other aspects in the design. The dichotomy between efficiency and keeping your buddies alive that would always tumble into me being an over protective parent in Pikmin1/2. In 3, the balance is actually a balance to me. The pragmatics of the ant like goal checking and whatever personal worth you assign to the wonder of nature, and your minions are layered together so well I never feel the two are at odds.

Again. Too good.
 

zashga

Member
Wrapped up this game today: all fruit, all secret logs. Even went back for the missions. All of that only took ~16 hours, but it was an awesome 16 hours. Absolutely loved the game; hope we don't need to wait ten years for the next one.
 

zroid

Banned
Wrapped up this game today: all fruit, all secret logs. Even went back for the missions. All of that only took ~16 hours, but it was an awesome 16 hours. Absolutely loved the game; hope we don't need to wait ten years for the next one.

My hope is we will see a similar cycle going from Pikmin 3 to 4 as we did going from 1 to 2. I'm beyond excited for the possibilities if they go as balls-out with 4 as they did with 2 in terms of adding cool new stuff to do.

I think Pikmin 3 is dramatically better than Pikmin 1, so 4 should be absolutely amazing. The jury's still out over which of 2 and 3 are better (they each have individual strengths and weaknesses, IMO), although I personally prefer the final product of 3 compared with 2.
 
Wrapped up this game today: all fruit, all secret logs. Even went back for the missions. All of that only took ~16 hours, but it was an awesome 16 hours. Absolutely loved the game; hope we don't need to wait ten years for the next one.

We know Pikmin 3 is DLC enabled (from comments) the question becomes whether Nintendo has a team working on it or not. Hopefully so and hopefully it won't take a year for it to come out like NSMBU.

Maybe this secret code will offer a nice DLC discount... Could be awesome if Nintendo set a precedent that way "Play and enjoy our games, exploriong them fully and we'll give you a discount on future adventures in it".
 
My hope is we will see a similar cycle going from Pikmin 3 to 4 as we did going from 1 to 2. I'm beyond excited for the possibilities if they go as balls-out with 4 as they did with 2 in terms of adding cool new stuff to do.

I think Pikmin 3 is dramatically better than Pikmin 1, so 4 should be absolutely amazing. The jury's still out over which of 2 and 3 are better (they each have individual strengths and weaknesses, IMO), although I personally prefer the final product of 3 compared with 2.

Yeah, I'd love to see what they do with 4, this game just has a charm about it. It's definitely my favorite pikmin game.
 
This feels like the easiest Pikmin game to do a zero-death run in. I've now got access to all areas and all Pikmin types and I'm still rocking a zero-death game. I had to retry a few days due to some mistakes on my end, but not nearly as many times as I found myself doing this in Pikmin 2. Game's a lot more balanced and all of the bosses are quite easy to take out without sacrificing Pikmin. Keep hearing the final area/boss is crazy and people get annihilated there. We'll see!
It is frankly unpossible to beat the final boss without losing any pikmin.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
There is an odd imbalance between some enemies being quite lenient, and some being brutal. Eg some will be chomping on pikmin, but you still have time to attack em and make them drop the pikmin, and they won't die. But some (like the hairy walking thing) can just stomp a pile of pikmin into mush with one wrong move. I just came across one in an area that was quite tight, so the camera wasn't helping, and it squished half my pikmin so I had to restart the day. It is generally a pretty easy enemy too
 
Just finished the game. Although I thought it was a great, unique game I feel this is probably the first Nintendo game I've bought that wasn't worth full price. It's just way too short, there's not enough content.

I finished it in 7 hours 15 minutes. I didn't collect all the fruit but still that is very short for the single player campaign.
And this is my first Pikmin game, I felt like I was going slow because it took a while to figure everything out and then all of a sudden "The End". I wonder why this of all their games took so many years and delays to make. I hope they make some free DLC or something.
 

MadOdorMachine

No additional functions
I just started playing this today. Is there a way to do off-screen play or disable the gamepad instead of constantly having to look back and from it to the TV?
 

Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
Just finished the game. Although I thought it was a great, unique game I feel this is probably the first Nintendo game I've bought that wasn't worth full price. It's just way too short, there's not enough content.

I finished it in 7 hours 15 minutes. I didn't collect all the fruit but still that is very short for the single player campaign.
And this is my first Pikmin game, I felt like I was going slow because it took a while to figure everything out and then all of a sudden "The End". I wonder why this of all their games took so many years and delays to make. I hope they make some free DLC or something.
Are you sure it#s your play time? I'd recommend checking it in the Wii U's statistics, because 7:15 seems really fast to me.
 

zroid

Banned
Just finished the game. Although I thought it was a great, unique game I feel this is probably the first Nintendo game I've bought that wasn't worth full price. It's just way too short, there's not enough content.

I finished it in 7 hours 15 minutes. I didn't collect all the fruit but still that is very short for the single player campaign.
And this is my first Pikmin game, I felt like I was going slow because it took a while to figure everything out and then all of a sudden "The End". I wonder why this of all their games took so many years and delays to make. I hope they make some free DLC or something.

What does it say in your activity log?
 

kubus

Member
7:15 is my clear time from the "final report" screen you get after finishing the game. It probably doesn't count the days you restarted? I'll check the activity log later.
The clear time on the final report is the in-game time when you beat the final boss. So you probably beat him fairly early in the morning. At least, that's what the theory is right now (no one knows for sure).
 
The clear time on the final report is the in-game time when you beat the final boss. So you probably beat him fairly early in the morning. At least, that's what the theory is right now (no one knows for sure).

What? Why would they do this, seems really random...

Well, I still think the game is very short. Could have used some more levels, especially with the time it took to develop.
 

Tom_Cody

Member
This game is a masterpiece. Everything feels perfect. True gaming bliss.

I just fought the Vehemoth Phosbat last night. Wow. This is the promise of Nintendo in HD.
 
Seeing people chime in with Pikmin love is great. This game just oozes class. If I ever make a game even a fraction as polished and tightly put together as this I'll consider my career a success.

Any other devs saw the juicing effect at the end of day and think "what in the flying hell!?" That is basically a dynamic 2D fluid simulation. It's got dynamic mesh and the colours that get poured in do a realistic blend as it swirls about (per-pixel as far as I can tell). These are the kind of tech things Nintendo's engineers do that make it look so easy that you just accept what you see and smile.
 

kubus

Member
What? Why would they do this, seems really random...

Well, I still think the game is very short. Could have used some more levels, especially with the time it took to develop.
Really? I thought it was okay length. I played all Pikmin games and beat Pikmin 3 in 15 hours, without restarting days (according to activity log). Now I'm only 1/3 through Mission Mode and I've clocked 25 hours by now.

I really recommend the mission mode. I'm normally not the one to play challenge modes and time attacks and things like that (in fact, I rarely touch them) but it really clicks for Pikmin 3. There are 3 different modes with each 5 stages but so far I like "Collect treasure!" the most. You have to collect everything in a fairly small stage within a time limit (ranging from 7 to 10 minutes iirc). It's really high paced, very challenging and really fun :). If you have a co-op buddy and a spare Wii Remote around, all challenges can be played co-op as well and it's a blast!
 

jmls1121

Banned
This game is a masterpiece. Everything feels perfect. True gaming bliss.

I just fought the Vehemoth Phosbat last night. Wow. This is the promise of Nintendo in HD.

What amazes me is that Miyamoto and Co. Were able to actually keep engaging gameplay in their first full scale HD game. Other developers have been on the HD twins for 7 years, and their games are still riddles with shortcuts like QTEs and corridor level design.

What an amazing game.
 

jmls1121

Banned
Seeing people chime in with Pikmin love is great. This game just oozes class. If I ever make a game even a fraction as polished and tightly put together as this I'll consider my career a success.

Any other devs saw the juicing effect at the end of day and think "what in the flying hell!?" That is basically a dynamic 2D fluid simulation. It's got dynamic mesh and the colours that get poured in do a realistic blend as it swirls about (per-pixel as far as I can tell). These are the kind of tech things Nintendo's engineers do that make it look so easy that you just accept what you see and smile.

Hardware limitations aside, Nintendo has been lapping other developers in water or "juice" effects since 1996. I would really like to know their secret with this.
 

Chaplain

Member
What amazes me is that Miyamoto and Co. Were able to actually keep engaging gameplay in their first full scale HD game. Other developers have been on the HD twins for 7 years, and their games are still riddles with shortcuts like QTEs and corridor level design.

What an amazing game.

I would like to add that the main thing that Nintendo has over other developers is that gameplay is king. Pikmin 3 gameplay exemplifies the reason I started playing games: fun, fun, fun.
 
I'd be very interested in how many hours you played according to the activity log. I really would.

Just checked. 12:04, so whatever that clear time is, it's not the actual clear time of the game lol.

Really? I thought it was okay length. I played all Pikmin games and beat Pikmin 3 in 15 hours, without restarting days (according to activity log). Now I'm only 1/3 through Mission Mode and I've clocked 25 hours by now.

I really recommend the mission mode. I'm normally not the one to play challenge modes and time attacks and things like that (in fact, I rarely touch them) but it really clicks for Pikmin 3. There are 3 different modes with each 5 stages but so far I like "Collect treasure!" the most. You have to collect everything in a fairly small stage within a time limit (ranging from 7 to 10 minutes iirc). It's really high paced, very challenging and really fun :). If you have a co-op buddy and a spare Wii Remote around, all challenges can be played co-op as well and it's a blast!

Sounds great, I'll try Mission Mode. Is that where you can use the purple and white Pikmin? They are listed in the manual but I haven't encountered them in-game.

I was just talking about the story, which I felt was short. But still, great and charming game, and surprisingly good looking in places, the last desert level was particularly impressive.
 

jmls1121

Banned
how does the co-op work in this game. would love to have the wife use one of the other characters to collect for me

Its split screen and its glorious. I got my non gamer wife involved over the weekend and she made me late to work this morning because she wanted to play a few rounds.

The amount of planning and the low margin of error makes it a really intense and addicting experience.
 
Its split screen and its glorious. I got my non gamer wife involved over the weekend and she made me late to work this morning because she wanted to play a few rounds.

The amount of planning and the low margin of error makes it a really intense and addicting experience.

so I CAN play the campaign mode co-op?!

i really should have read the manual this time
 

zroid

Banned
so I CAN play the campaign mode co-op?!

i really should have read the manual this time

no you can't, just mission mode... :(

Although, playing co-op in the story mode is possible, if one person takes the wiimote+nunchuk, and the other the map. It's actually a very interesting exercise in cooperation if only one person can see the map and has full access to it, while the other needs to execute everything.
 

Haines

Banned
so I CAN play the campaign mode co-op?!

i really should have read the manual this time

Me and my girl played the game coop like this:

I had the controls (wiimote and nunchuck) and she had the map (tabet). It takes a bit of team work and coordination but it was a very rewarding experience.

edit: zeeroid beat me to it and nailed what I was trying to say. Listen to him.
 
no you can't, just mission mode... :(

Although, playing co-op in the story mode is possible, if one person takes the wiimote+nunchuk, and the other the map. It's actually a very interesting exercise in cooperation if only one person can see the map and has full access to it, while the other needs to execute the actions.

Doesn't that pause the game though? My son tries to do this to a point always annoys me as it just pauses the game.

I do, however, have him help me find missing pikmin so they don't die at night
 

zroid

Banned
Doesn't that pause the game though? My son tries to do this to a point always annoys me as it just pauses the game.

I do, however, have him help me find missing pikmin so they don't die at night

Yeah, I didn't mean panning the map while the other person is playing. But you can imagine how the two "players" would need to work together to accomplish all the necessary tasks and plan out the day if only one of the two can see (and pan) the map. It's surprisingly enjoyable.

You can think of it like a three-legged race, where you're taking what one person could do on his own and forcing two people to work together to accomplish the same task. It makes it more challenging, in a way.
 

Haines

Banned
Doesn't that pause the game though? My son tries to do this to a point always annoys me as it just pauses the game.

I do, however, have him help me find missing pikmin so they don't die at night

Only time she would really touch the map and pause is when I would aske her to look for fruit, the next place to go, send a captain back to base to gather pikmin, etc. Its like they are working for you kind of thing....
 
Top Bottom