Company Nintendo she has always been extremely careful with her franchises, following the policy of point releases, which is why many fans have to wait a long time for the sequels of their favorite games. Series Pikmin in comparison, for example, with The legend of zelda or Super mario is quite young. The first license plate came out on Gamecube in 2001, and the last, Pikmin 3 for Wii U, in 2013. Talk about a fourth issue was in the air, but to date, it has not materialized. This fall, Nintendo decided to send a re-release of the third part to the shelves for Nintendo Switch… And it is possible that for many who missed both the GameCube and Wii U, it is Pikmin 3 Deluxe that will become a pass to the world of “Pikmins”.
In the plot, the spaceship S, S, Drake with a trinity of unlucky astronauts on board crashes on the uncharted planet PNF-404, where it arrived to study local flora and fauna, as well as search for food sources. Finding themselves in different parts of the celestial body, our heroes suddenly find help in the face of miniature and funny creatures of the picmins, resembling flowers that come to life. The overall design of the game is based on the contrast of scale and style. Most of the living objects in the frame are made in a cartoon manner and are comparable in size to insects, while the surrounding world is made very realistic and crushes with its size. Technically, the Switch version is not far from the original of 2013 and will not amaze you with any beauties. Particularly disappointing is the lack of proper anti-aliasing and image clarity in stationary mode, which makes the portable version looks preferable.
Nevertheless, the visual design still captivates with a soft, color-balanced picture, as well as a clever combination of artistic means, where realism is combined with the classic childishly cute character design for Nintendo games. In terms of music and sound, Pikmin 3 does not stand out from other games of the Japanese company – the characters speak abstract gibberish, the picmins squeak funny, and the calm soundtrack creates a pleasant, light mood of a walk in the fresh air.
Every Nintendo exclusive project carries some kind of extraordinary concept, so it can be quite difficult to explain the essence of Pikmin’s gameplay on your fingers. In terms of mechanics, the game balances at the intersection of several genres: adventure, puzzle and real-time strategy. By controlling the character, you observe the game world from above and can freely move in different directions, however, all sorts of obstacles will block your path – blocks of ice, stones, electric barriers, rivers, alien monsters, and so on. Here the picmins come to the fore. Having found a couple of nice guys on the map, you can call them to you with a special whistle and personally give orders, like units in strategies. To increase the population of your touching army, you need to collect special flowers, or bring the bodies of defeated creatures to the central base, after which the picmins will begin to grow right out of the ground, like a carrot. The higher the number of picmins, the wider the gameplay possibilities become – your subordinates will be able to destroy especially strong walls, gather resources faster, build river crossings and fight more dangerous enemies.
