Pikmin 3 is a game that we were all waiting for but many seem disappointed in what was finally revealed. After the E3 conference, Reggie responded to all the negative emotions by saying, For years so many of you were clamoring for Pikmin 3 and now when it’s finally revealed everyone complains that they didn\’t see any hardcore games at the press conference! But the truth is that Pikmin 3 is a game that can\’t be appreciated on a conference floor. It’s a game that can only be appreciated when you sit down and give it some time and patience. It’s a game of strategy, exploration, and more than anything else, details. Such a game is hard to get excited for in a brief highlight reel or a few screenshots.

But, I think that we can help raise our hype levels for what will probably be an amazing game by taking a closer look at what Pikmin 3 is all about. My hope is that this article will get a few people more interested in Pikmin 3. Also, with the September 13 conference looming we may find out lots more about Pikmin 3.

Pikmin 3 will be a mix between Strategy and Exploration

The first thing to realise is what direction Miyamoto took overall for the game. He said that Pikmin 1 was all about strict rules and strategy. It was about tough challenges and putting on your thinking caps. Pikmin 2 was about exploration and taking your time in discovering the different areas of the world. One gameplay mechanic reflected this contrast: the timer. Pikmin 1 had the timer, while Pikmin 2 ditched it. So, what is Pikmin 3’s overall direction? According to Miyamoto it will be the best of both worlds. On one hand, the game will offer up some really tough challenges. Miyamoto even said you will be a smarter person by the time you finish Pikmin 3. Don\’t be fooled by how cute these Pikmin look, he warned, this is actually a game for hardcore gamers who are looking for a hardcore challenge. So, in this regard, Pikmin 3 will be similar to the original game in the series. However, more than ever, Pikmin 3 will expand upon the variety and exploration found in the game. You will be constantly amazed by the new creatures, environments, and gameplay mechanics you encounter throughout the game. So, Miyamoto is promising that whether you like strategy or exploration, you have a lot to look forward to.

It’s with these two themes of strategy and exploration that we approach the rest of this article. Let’s look at each one individually.

More Personality than Ever

Pikmin 3 is full of personality. In the previous two games, Nintendo couldn\’t offer a personality to the Pikmin other than a hive-mind, group-oriented set of behaviors. The Pikmin acted together as a unit. True, you could launch a solitary Pikmin to go do his own thing, but that wasn\’t reflected in his personality. This was a consequence of the hardware. The Gamecube couldn\’t handle each Pikmin doing its own set of behaviors. However, this time around each individual Pikmin will display personality. Miyamoto said he wants them to have interesting movements of their own that will surprise you. We\’ve already seen in the trailer close-ups of the Pikmin doing little funny things, like leaning on a wall or sitting back and relaxing. Expect groups of Pikmin that follow you around in the game to be a collective of individuals rather than one hive-mind.

This is actually personified in the new approach to the camera. Once again, Miyamoto said that until now Pikmin’s camera has been held back by the Gamecube hardware. But, with the Wii U, the hardware now allows the game to be able to handle both a zoomed-in level of detail, which is so crucial to the personality of the game, and zoomed-out overviews of the entire map, which is crucial to multi-tasking within the strategy of the game. It’s rather interesting to notice how the technology actually allows Miyamoto to add more personality and better strategical elements into a game. One would think that most companies use better hardware just to improve graphics, but Nintendo, admirably, uses technology to further enhance all elements of the game.

For the first time we will get a deeper look at what the race of Pikmin is all about. Miyamoto said: \”Although they look cute, Pikmin are actually kind of scary. We have no idea what they\’re really thinking. They could just come in the middle of the night and carry you away.\” If you ever wanted to get to know these mysterious creatures better, you\’ll get that chance throughout Pikmin 3.

But it’s not just the Pikmin that is getting a bigger focus on individuality, uniqueness, and attention to detail. The rest of the world in Pikmin 3 is also getting this same tender, loving care. The nature looks awesome so far. The texture work is magnificent, as is evident from the frequent close-ups. There are blurs and depth-of-field which create picturesque scenery that’s just begging for a photograph.

But, let’s take a look at the variety of Pikmin, enemies, and environments in the game.

More Variety than Ever

I was going to show all the different types of flowers, mushrooms, and odd plants but this article will get too bogged down with pictures. Instead I\’m going to focus on the Pikmin and the enemies. However, I will show one picture of the fruit, which looks good enough to eat. (Well, not after all those Pikmin touched it.)

For people who love all the different types of Pikmin there are, there will be plenty of surprises in store in Pikmin 3. For starters there will be all all the original Pikmin. Red, who are immune to fire. Yellow Pikmin, who can be thrown higher and are immune to electricity. Blue Pikmin, who are amphibious. Purple Pikmin, who are the best fighters (and pretty fat.) White Pikmin, who are resistant to poison and are also the quickest. What about Bulbmin and Puffmin? Miyamoto didn\’t mention them. However, there are two new types of Pikmin.

Don\’t think that that is all the Pikmin in the game. No, no. Miyamoto assured of us of that. Part of the fun in the game will be discovering all the different types of unique Pikmin that there are.

More Variety of Enemies

Now it’s time to look at the enemies. And there are a lot of them we\’ve seen so far. Of course, there are the common Bulborbs. But, there are a lot more too.

More Strategic Than Ever

Miyamoto promised a ton of new strategy elements that will make the game one of the best strategy games on the market. Here are some of the new gameplay and strategy elements throughout the game. Two major additions to the game are the overall map view and the ability to control four different teams of Pikmin. Both work hand in hand. Instead of having direct control over only one team of Pikmin, there will be four different captains available even in single player mode. Captains can interact with each other or they can split up and do different jobs. This creates a new multi-tasking focus that brings Pikmin’s brand of strategy closer to that of PC strategy games, which rely on plenty of multi-tasking. Helping you to direct your four separate teams is the new zoomed out map on the Wii Gamepad. From a bird’s eye view you will be able to see everything that’s going on at once. The touch screen will allow you to instantly zoom into any area of the map that you need to monitor more closely. This really sounds like a PC strategy game type of gameplay, which is what makes it so amazing that it will also be an adventure with exploration and and tons of close-up details. This isn\’t Starcraft.

Controls are also different in Pikmin 3, with most people who went hands-on saying that they are much improved. You can now perform a roll move, which will make the captain and his/her team of Pikmin all roll out of harm’s way. There’s a new swarm charge-attack move, which sends the Pikmin charging as a group at an enemy when you shake your controller. And one of the best parts of the controls is that you now have sensitive targeting, meaning your targeting is so precise that you can pinpoint exactly which limb of the enemy you want to throw your Pikmin at. This lends itself to the strategy in defeating each enemy. One enemy might be weakened through attacking its eyes, another might be taken down by pummeling its legs, and another might have a specific weak spot on its back. Enemies may also have specific elemental strategies to defeating them. Nintendo already said that there will be both magma and ice enemies which will require specific elemental attacks. And then there are the bosses. Miyamoto said that the bosses will provide you with strategic and action-filled battles. In a sense, this reminds me of enemy and boss battles in the Legend of Zelda series or Metroid Prime. It will probably be very Nintendo-like in this regard.

There are lots of other positive qualities that Pikmin 3 will have, such as bigger focus on action. But, in this article I mainly wanted to focus on the adventure/exploration aspect and the strategy aspect. Pikmin was really a franchise that needed proper technology to do it right. And not that is has that technology we\’re going to see an evolution to the series. See, many people wanted to see Pikmin 3 do something completely new. Something they had never seen before in the series. But, they didn\’t realize that even with the elements Pikmin already had, it could have been so much more. It doesn\’t need some crazy gimmick to make it refreshing game. All it needs is for gamers to give it the chance to prove itself as an incredible maturation of one of Nintendo’s newer franchises.

Expect Pikmin 3 to finally teach you what it means to run around as small as an ant in world that is many times larger than you. Expect Pikmin 3 to borrow the multi-tasking of PC strategy games, the strategic battles and exploration of Zelda, the variety in environments and creature design of the Mario Galaxy series, plus a flair of its own. The main thing is, don\’t underestimate Pikmin 3!

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