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Pikmin 3 is a real time strategy game for the Wii U. A sequel to Pikmin 2, it is the first new game in the Pikmin series in eight years. It was officially revealed at Nintendo's 2012 E3 conference on June 5th, 2012. The game would get a worldwide release during summer 2013. In 2016, the game recieved a Nintendo Selects edition outside of Japan. An enhanced port titled Pikmin 3 Deluxe was released on the Nintendo Switch on October 30th, 2020. As a result, the original version was removed off the Wii U eShop worldwide on August 8th, 2020[1].


Plot[]

On a planet named Koppai, its people have a food shortage as they are bad at planning. They send out probes called SPEROS to find a planet that has edible matter. One spero comes back with reports of a planet rich in fruit which they name PNF-404, which is actually the planet that the Pikmin and other creatures inhabit. (This planet also looks incredibly similar to Planet Earth, which can also be said about the other Pikmin games.) They send Alph, Brittany and Captain Charlie to investigate. However, while landing, an accident happens which causes the 3 Koppains to fall to the planet below. Charlie wakes up in Distant Tundra and finds the Yellow Pikmin. He and the Yellow Pikmin go in to a cave, but Charlie is captured by the Vehemoth Phosbat. Alph awakens in a pool of water and finds Red Pikmin and rescues their Onion. He finds the Drake (the spaceship that the three Koppains used to navigate space,) and contacts Brittany who is revealed to be fine (and gluttonous). Alph rescues Brittany and some Rock Pikmin with their Onion, which fuses with the Red Onion. Tracing a signal to a cave, the crew fight and kill the Armoured Mawdad which, upon defeat, spits out an old phone which Alph uses to boost the Drake's communication system/GPS. On the way to Distant Tundra, the Drake hits a rock, which causes Brittany to fall in a cave. Brittany finds Yellow Pikmin and uses them to escape the cave where she reunites with Alph. Later, they fight the Vehemoth Phosbat which, after being defeated, spits out Charlie. Charlie finds out that Captain Olimar has their Cosmic Drive Key (which the three Koppains need in order to get back to Koppai,) which fell out in the accident. After some time, Alph gets a transmission from Louie, which they mistake for Olimar. They rescue the unconscious Louie and take him back to the Drake. The next day however, Louie runs off with all the crew's food supplies, which the player would have accumulated for a long time, and the crew give chase. After defeating a giant tree monster, the crew find Louie (knocked out again), and Louie tells the crew that the tree monster was responsibly for the wreckage of the Hocotate Ship. After finding Olimar's location, the crew head there and find Olimar and a strange liquid-like gold biological lifeform, which the crew defeats in an epic final battle. Olimar apologizes for all the trouble he caused and gives them the Cosmic Drive Key. Charlie offers Olimar a ride home, which Olimar accepts. The game ends with the crew heading to both Hocotate and Koppai, having ended the food shortage for the latter depending on how much fruit they accumulated.

Gameplay[]

"Players can play using Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk-based controls or the Wii U GamePad controller. With new intuitive controls that make it possible to aim at objects directly, players can command their tiny, yet powerful, squads in different ways."

Pikmin 3 screenshot 3

The GamePad acts as an overhead map and radar to track Pikmin movements in real time. Players can slide a finger across the touch screen to quickly switch between areas, giving greater flexibility in commanding multiple groups of Pikmin. You can also touch sceen to throw the Pikmin. The greater processing and HD capabilities of the Wii U console are put to extensive use, resulting in a more intricately designed world, enhanced ant-like movement of the Pikmin and precisely detailed overhead views for enabling easier strategic use of the Pikmin. After completing a stage, the replay feature allows players the option to review their results using the GamePad and TV. Fast-forward, rewind or pause while assessing the previous mission to decide on other paths. In addition to the five original types of Pikmin encountered in previous games, the new Rock Pikmin and Winged Pikmin bring strategically new abilities and are able to crack hard outer shells of enemies and break through solid barriers. 

Mission Mode[]

Mission Mode challenges players to complete a certain task within a time limit with a better score for finishing earlier. There are 3 types of Missions; Collect Treasure, Battle Enemies and Defeat Bosses. This mode can be played in co-op with separate leaderboards.

Bingo Battle[]

Bingo Battle is a multiplayer mode. Each player gets a bingo card of things in the stage and the goal is collect 4 objects in a row.

DLC[]

The DLC for this game was additional maps for Mission Mode. There are three DLC packs the player can buy. The first one was for Mission Mode: Collect Treasure! which was $1.99, and had six missions. The second one was for Mission Mode: Battle Enemies! which was $1.99 and had six missions with the last one which had 4 stages both for Mission Mode: Battle Enemies! and Mission Mode: Collect Treasure! and costed $4.99.

Content[]

Regular Enemies[]

Mini Bosses[]

Bosses[]

Areas[]

Development[]

A sequel to Pikmin 2 for the GameCube had been heavily rumoured, and many thought that the game would be shown in video form and possibly even demo form during Nintendo's E3 2008 showing. Many were disappointed and even surprised that it wasn't present, though Miyamoto 100% confirmed during a roundtable event that the Pikmin team were hard at work on another title. In an interview on Nintendo's Official Latin American Magizine, Miyamoto confirmed Pikmin 3 was Wii exclusive. He also said that Pikmin 3 was "Working extremely well with the Wii's controls". During E3 of 2011, at Nintendo's roundtable meeting, it was confirmed that Pikmin 3 will no longer be for the Wii, but for the newly announced Wii U. Miyamoto was reported to have said "I think that's the perfect system for Pikmin. So we're going to make it for that.[2]

Reception[]

Pikmin 3 received "generally favorable" reviews getting a metascore of 87/100 based on 79 critics.[3]

Gallery[]

  Main article: Pikmin 3/gallery

External links[]

References[]

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi9sgpK_ESo
  2. Plunkett, Luke (June 7, 2011) "Pikmin Is Coming to the Wii U"
    http://kotaku.com/5809742/
    Published by: Kotaku

  3. Metascore of Pikmin 3Metacritic, Retrieved February 14, 2020
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