@Shadowlink

As someone who never played Pikmin 1 or 2, I would totally be down for a progression like that for Pikmin 4. Same kind of assets but whole new story/adventure/content. As for your leader boards question, no clue.

@Shadowlink
No, there are no friend leaderboards, which sucks ball sack.

Pikmin 4 will happen, I have faith. The friend leaderboards should come in an update soon (this is me assuming Nintendo has thought to include this since almost any sort of score-based games on other platforms always incorporate a "friend filter" just look at Nano Assault, one of the first eShop Wii U games). Plus they already updated the scoreboards in a previous update, showing the highest global score (which always depresses me).

As for controls, I used the gamepad exclusively in the beginning. I had used the nunchuk+wiimote in the NPC Pikmin 2 for Wii so I had an idea of what to expect. Sadly, they changed some of the functions of the buttons in the controls for Pikmin 3. Instead of swarming with the push of a d-pad button (I forget which) in NPCP2, in Pikmin 3 you have to lock onto a creature/object with Z and then shake the nunchuk enough for it to register you shook it and they attack. I have had numerous occasions where they did not do what I intended and I lost many (pikmin) lives. This could be due to the fact I was too far away from the enemy/object when I shook the nunchuk or something else, I don't know. Not ideal.

That being said, the nunchuk+wiimote plus setup is far superior to the gamepad (by itself). Being able to point at almost anywhere on the screen instantaneously is so much more intuitive than using a analog stick. It's like PC gamers comparing playing FPS with a mouse to playing with a dual analog controller. You do get used to the analog stick if that's all you know, but trying the pointer controls will change your life. It's so much more precise and easy to throw your dudes exactly where you want them in less time.

For Mission mode, you have to use the gamepad in some form in order to multi-task. There's no other way to send a character to a specific location. This is only if you are really into clearing these levels, the beginning ones are easy enough but the later ones will make you throw your controllers (all three of them) across the room in disgust. I usually play with the pad sitting next to me and the second you touch the screen it pauses the game and let's you take a gander around the map. It switches from each controls on the fly like was mentioned before, which is super slick. You can tell the developers wanted to let players switch things up quickly with no slow down to the game.

I hope for Pikmin 4 they can incorporate some customizable control options as far as bombarding (that's what I call the "swarming" move) and other moves. I also want a full-fledged co-op mode incorporated into the main game somehow. Oh and online play would be so easy to include, bingo battle in its current form is unplayable without another human.

@Marsh

Yeah, I'm having a little trouble with the swarming too.

It works well enough when I slow down and make sure I've locked on properly. But many times in the heat of the moment, my guys will just sit there idle instead. But that seems to be an issue with the lock-on mechanic itself rather than the dismissal/swarm command, so I would assume it holds for both control styles.

..Is there maybe a distance issue? Do you have to be close to the locked on object in order to swarm as opposed to idling?

@anon_mastermind

Boo.


...Maybe we should make a leaderboard thread.

Making some real ground in Pikmin this week. I'm really enjoying it (except for the part where that BASTARD just stole all of my juice!!! )

But yeah, gotten into a real groove where I'm having a lot more fun with the game as far as multi-tasking goes. For a while there, it felt like I wasn't getting squat done in a day's time. But the last couple of nights, I've had plenty of occasions where I got a lot of things accomplished and it was still only midday. It's a great feeling when it all works out as you planned.

I also have to say that I am in agreement with the consensus on the control scheme to use. Using the Wii-mote and nunchuk feels great when controlling your squad, and I don't think I'd want to control them any differently. But having the Game Pad there off to the side, to plan out where you want to send each team member and their mini-squad, that's also really a big part of having everything play out smoothly. I like going over the map when starting a new day, deciding where I need to go, assigning a group of Pikmin to one of the team members and sending them on their way, and then doing that for the rest of the group. It's definitely the best of both worlds. I feel like I've got a much greater sense of control over the operation than I would with just the Game Pad or just the Wii-mote, and it really hasn't felt clunky or disruptive at all. It feels like the ideal way to manage everything.

Now, time to restock on fruit!

I finished Super Mario 3D World last night, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is still a few weeks off, I think it is finally time. Months after it released, I am finally going to sit down to the sequel of one of my favorite Gamecube games.

Pikmin 3.

TONIGHT!

/EDIT Uh... about the intro... if their planet is on the brink of starving and they travel for 279,000 light years um... that means their planet will be long dead and gone by the time they get back. Unless they have found a way to travel ridiculously faster than the speed of light.

ANYWAY...

3 hours straight. Heck yeah! Hooked yet again!

It's a little sad knowing that the story mode is a lot shorter than Pikmin 2's, but on the other hand I don't have much time nowadays anyway, so between story and challenge and such I'll probably get a good couple of months of play out of this sucker.

SUCH AN AWESOME FRANCHISE. Even if it does basically involve exploiting semi-intelligent natives.

Played a bunch more earlier. Went on a massive fruit-finding mission now that I've gotten all of the Pikmin types, and that was a lot of fun; I've cleared 3 of the areas of fruit (and found a few more secret files along the way), got about 8 more left to go. Haven't really pursued Louie yet, been mostly focused on building dat juice buffer back up! I enjoy just splitting up the group and exploring different areas of the same world at once, not really concerned on which path is the "right" one as far as story progression. Every area that you can explore is very worthwhile. I'm finding that the more I play, the more fun I'm having; the time spent playing it has been very rewarding.

@Zero

...They're basically plants..

Do you weep for the plankton, too?

Finished the game last night. Collected all of the fruit, and ended up with 7 secret files I think. Took me 58 days...the last level/final boss was really crazy (in an awesome way), but it also took me about 7 or 8 days to get it right. If I were to do it over again now that I know what I'm supposed to do, I probably could have done it in 2 or 3.

Great game! I'm totally in on this series now. I'll have to check out 1 and 2 sometime.

@TheBigG753If you can find a copy of Pikmin 2, grab it up. Glad I still have my NGC version. That game is one of the meatiest Nintendo games ever!

@Mr_Mustache Plants that can run around and have a language and work together um... BUILD SPACESHIPS.

I'm only being half serious here, but Pikmin definitely has some elements of colonialism to me... land on a planet that is already inhabited to take its resources, convince yourself that it is ok to exploit the natives because they are "lesser" beings than you, and then let them do the majority of work / dying while reaping none of the rewards. I'd say they are essentially animals so it isn't a huge deal but they definitely seem a step above animals, what with the whole somehow having their own spaceships thing.

It's ok though... I still love you Pikmin!

@Zero

Actually, it's implied that the Pikmin were at the bottom of the foodchain, nay nearly extinct, untill the space people came and taught them how to work together to defeat their enemies.


So surely they got something out of it.

@Shadowlink

Just what an Australian would say.

@Shadowlink Yep, sounds exactly like the justifications for colonialism! Those silly savages would have destroyed themselves without us there to whip them into shape!

@Jargon
@Zero

When you take off at the end of the day, and they aren't in your protection, they die.

If you weren't there (at all), wouldn't they be eaten CONSTANTLY?
And if you just leave them alone, they're lunch. Where is their "fight or flight" instinct? They do NOTHING.

Whats to say about that?

..

Anyway, glad you like it.

Man I'm really loving this game. I don't know if it will reach Pikmin 2's lofty heights, but I'd say it definitely tops the first one.

It's not that there is a whole lot new per se so far (though rock pikmin are fun) but everything seems to have a real context behind it now. Instead of exploring just for treasure, it feels like a real adventure, first hunting down your teammates and now (I presume) hunting down a certain someone. And the fruit adds this element of feeling like you have to constantly stay on top of things without the strict 30 day limit of the first Pikmin.

Speaking of, does fruit regenerate? That is to say, will there always be fruit to find if I want to do some thorough exploring, or will I reach a point where I will have to finish the game or run out?

Oh, and man it is a pretty game. It's nice to see what good graphics + environments that actually get me excited can look like. I'm sure that I've played a lot of PS3 games that technically look better, but I can't recall too many that actually brought me this same kind of joy.

@Zero

As I understand it, there's enough fruit in the game to give you a total of 99 days worth of play. That's more than enough though.

Fruit does not regenerate, there is set amount. It's not as grand as Pikmin 2 in terms of scope/content, but it's a near perfect blend of the previous two games.

@Zero

Glad you're liking it! I'm curious what you'll think of the revamped Mission Mode--I'm still playing it months later to get all the platinums, I find it quite challenging and addictive. Really pushes one's Pikmin skill to tha limit.

I think I was most impressed by the rain effects. Everything looks so slippery, and it's even nicer when you've got the light from the explorers' helmets, etc reflecting off the slick surfaces.