#17: Pikmin

Platform: Nintendo GameCube
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Release: 03/12/2001

When the GameCube was first getting off the ground in the early years of the new millennium, one of the key things we were promised was a world of imagination. To my mind, certainly, the console delivered. From the quirky Animal Crossing to the charming Wind Waker, the GameCube tried to define itself as being unique, rather than simply assimilate into the new world of high definition graphics and mature storylines. Put simply, with the GameCube, Nintendo tried to give gaming a soul.

Unfortunately, on a sales standpoint, the system failed. In my eyes however, it was a glorious little piece of magic, and it wasn't Nintendo's fault that gaming has become saturated with first person shooters and moronic gamers. I'm glad that the GameCube happened. Perhaps most of all, because the GameCube introduced us to the Pikmin.

The first thing I wondered when I heard about Pikmin was... why does the title sound like Pokemon? Is it an offshoot? I still may not have quite deciphered that eerie similarity, but Pikmin is a unique world all of its own. Your hero, one Captain Olimar, has crash landed on an alien planet (Earth), and must collect all of the pieces of his spaceship to escape.

Unfortunately, the gaffer is pretty useless on his own, and he's about the size of a nickel. So he enlists the services of the titular Pikmin, and the fun begins. Though they each have one of three unique sets of abilities based on their colour, and you must use them correctly in order to solve your goals, one of the fun things about Pikmin is that you have the freedom to control your troops as you see fit.


Will you hover over all 100 out on the field at all times, to oversee their actions? Or will you delegate them to tasks before moving on elsewhere, returning later to find your Pikmin had fallen victim to a hungry monster? Will you utilise an even mix of all three? Or will you load up on your favourite colour? Will you very carefully and tactfully battle ravenous enemies? Or will you simply fling Pikmin haphazardly into the fray? It's up to you.

Shigeru Miyamoto once made the iconic character of Link based on his own adventurous childhood. He decided the lead animal in Star Fox while visiting Fushimi Inari-taisha, the head shrine of Inari. And he envisaged the Pikmin world while watching the actions of ants in his garden. The way the man takes in the world around him is truly special, and Pikmin feels vibrant and alive as a result.

The number of levels is limited, but each feels completely different, and you won't know what to expect next. Each new discovery... each new challenge... The scope of the world feels grand and daunting, and you'd have to be a pretty bland person not to at least appreciate the game's ambitious nature.

The second Pikmin game introduced two new species of Pikmin, a second playable character, and 'dungeons', multi-leveled subworlds full of treasure for you to explore. And though it is indeed a fine game; fuller and more robust than the original, with an increase in difficulty that is simply enormous, the first title still holds my heart.

Primarily, it's because I prefer the level design in Pikmin 1. But also, it's because we got the chance to try out this new experience for the first time. From when we first yanked Pikmin #1 from the dirt, and got that little red sucker to do our bidding, we were ushered into a fresh universe.

I've been waiting far too long for Pikmin 3 to come out. What new imaginative experiences will it offer?