Pikmin

is a series of video games created by Nintendo that started on the Nintendo GameCube in 2001. It has four released main-series games - Pikmin, Pikmin 2, Pikmin 3 and Pikmin 4 and a few spinoffs. The series is about a spaceman called Captain Olimar (and other characters in later games). The characters go to an alien planet known as PNF-404, either through crashes or visits.

Characters

Captain Olimar - Captain Olimar is spaceman who crash lands on the alien planet in the first Pikmin game and meets the Pikmin creatures, and has to fix his ship by collecting ship parts and get off the planet in 30 days, or he'll die. Olimar is a play on the name Mario, Nintendo's mascot, by rearranging the letters in the Japanese pronunciation (which sounds like "Orima" in English, though this is a simplification). Olimar writes about the biological features of every creature encountered in the Notes section or the "Piklopedia" as it is called in Pikmin 2, Pikmin 3 deluxe, Pikmin 4.
Pikmin - The Pikmin are a creature who are mixes between plants and animals and help Captain Olimar. In Pikmin, they come in red, yellow, and blue types. In Pikmin 2, they also come in white and purple types. In Pikmin 3 rock and wing types are introduced, and in Pikmin 4, ice and glow types are introduced.
Louie - Louie joins Olimar in Pikmin 2 and helps him find treasure. Louie's name is based on Luigi, like how Olimar is based on Mario. Louie is gluttonous, and often causes trouble out of his desire for food. In his unlockable notes on the creatures and plants in game, he details how to cook and eat every creature.
President - The President of Captain Olimar's company, who sends him and Louie to find treasure to pay off the company's debt. He appears as a playable character in Pikmin 2 when Louie is missing after finishing paying off the debt.
Alph, Brittany and Charlie - The playable characters in Pikmin 3. They are from a planet called Koppai and come to the planet to get fruits, as Koppai has a famine. 

Setting
Pikmin is set on a planet called PNF-404, which is based on earth, as proven by references to real world objects and maps in the games featuring continents from earth. But, Olimar and other characters are very small, this makes the real world objects seem bigger than they are in real life. 

Gameplay
All four games (not including spin-offs) use real-time strategy gameplay. The player plays as Captain Olimar or other characters, who can command the Pikmin. Olimar gets more pikmin by bringing pellets, a type of plant, and creatures to the Onion (a kind of biological home and ship for the Pikmin). Pikmin will come out of the Onion and get planted in the ground after food is given, and can be pulled out. Olimar can use Pikmin to take stuff (which can be ship parts, treasures or fruits) back to his base, fight creatures, or do other things, such as breaking walls or building bridges.

Games
Main
Pikmin

Pikmin is the first game in the series and came out in 2001 on the Nintendo GameCube. Captain Olimar crashes his spaceship on an alien planet, and meets creatures called Pikmin. He only has 30 days life support, and so he and the Pikmin try to find the pieces of his ship that broke off so he can escape. There are ports of the game on Wii and Switch along with Pikmin 2.

Pikmin 2

Pikmin 2 came out in 2004 for the Nintendo GameCube. Captain Olimar returns to his home, however his company has gone into debt. Olimar has to return with Louie, the new character, to collect treasure in PNF-404. After repaying the debt, Olimar returns to home but forgets Louie. Because of this, Olimar comes back with the President of the company to find Louie and collect the remaining  treasures. The gameplay is similar to Pikmin 1, but has new creatures, purple pikmin, white pikmin, and new areas, along with removing the day limit and adding caves. The game also added games modes of challenge (where the player has to clear the cave by collecting the key and get treasures under a timer) and 2-player battle mode (where two players fight to collect either four yellow marbles first or collect the other player's marble). There are ports of the game on Wii and Switch along with Pikmin 1.

Pikmin 3

Pikmin 3 released in 2013 for the Wii U. It follows the 3 new explorers looking for fruit to save their starving planet, Alph, an engineer, Brittany, a botanist, and Charlie, the captain. There is a remaster titled Pikmin 3 Deluxe. It released in 2021 for the Nintendo Switch.

Pikmin 4

Pikmin 4 was released on July 21, 2023, for the  Nintendo Switch. The game follows a new version of the story of Pikmin 1, here Olimar has a radio and sent a message. Numerous people come to the planet for numerous reasons and become lost like Olimar. The game follows an unnamed character who works for the Rescue corps, the player needs to collect treasure, save castaways and ultimately save Olimar.

Spin-offs
Hey! Pikmin
Hey! Pikmin released in 2017 for the Nintendo 3DS. It has Captain Olimar again. The gameplay is different from other Pikmin games. The game is 2D. Olimar can only use up to ten Pikmin at a time.

Pikmin Bloom
Pikmin Bloom released in 2021 as a mobile game. It uses an AR system. Players run around with their Pikmin followers. Flowers appear where the players run. Pikmin can be used to collect food and other things.

Pikmin Finder

Pikmin Finder released in 2023 as a mobile game. It uses an AR system to display Pikmin the player can interact with.

Other appearances
Pikmin has appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Pikmin has a couple of collectibles of Captain Olimar and the Pikmin. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and games after it, Captain Olimar is a playable character along with his Pikmin. Music, enemies, and an area are also taken from the series for things in Brawl and other Smash games.

References


Category:Post-apocalyptic video games
Category:Puzzle video games
Category:Real-time strategy video games
Category:Science fiction video games
Category:Video game series
Category:Video games developed in Japan