Pikmin series
The Pikmin series is a video game series developed by Nintendo EAD that focuses on using Pikmin to perform various tasks. It currently consists of three games: Pikmin, Pikmin 2, and Pikmin 3. Pikmin and Pikmin 2 have counterparts in the New Play Control! range on Wii.
Media
Main games
- Pikmin – Olimar must gather thirty ship parts before his life-support system fails.
- Pikmin 2 – Olimar and Louie must gather treasures to repay Hocotate Freight's debt.
- Pikmin 3 – Alph, Brittany and Charlie must gather fruits in order to solve Koppai's hunger problem.
Pikmin 4
"Pikmin 4" is the tentative name for the next main game in the Pikmin series. Not much information is currently known about the project, other than it has been confirmed, and currently, it is "very close to completion". On January 5th, 2015, Smosh Games uploaded an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, in which he confirmed that Pikmin 4 was being developed.[1] On September 7th, 2015, Eurogamer unveiled that, in an exclusive interview, Shigeru Miyamoto once again confirmed the development of the game, and claimed that it was nearing completion.[2] Finally, in an interview uploaded by YOGSCAST Kim, Takashi Tezuka states that "(...)It's consistently Pikmin, but this year it's definitely the fox, the falcon, the rabbit & the frog", hinting that the company's greatest focus for 2015 is Star Fox, and so, that Pikmin 4 might release at a later year.[3]
Secondary media
Three short movies have been made by Nintendo about the Pikmin series, but their canon is debatable. The Nintendo Land attraction called Pikmin Adventure is about the Pikmin franchise, but does not belong to the Pikmin canon.
Main characters
- Captain Olimar – main character of the first two games, and original discoverer of the Pikmin.
- Louie – Olimar's partner during his voyage in Pikmin 2.
- The President – president of Hocotate Freight, the company Olimar works for, and alternate partner in Pikmin 2.
- Alph – one of the explorers in Pikmin 3, the ship's main engineer.
- Brittany – one of the explorers in Pikmin 3, a botanist.
- Captain Charlie – one of the explorers in Pikmin 3, the captain.
Reception and sales
All three games have been scored well by critics. Pikmin 2 scores generally higher than Pikmin (e.g. scores of 90[4] and 89[5] on review aggregator Metacritic, respectively). Pikmin 3 scores were closer to those of Pikmin 2.[6] The total number of sales for the series is approximately 4.3 million as of September 2013.[7]
In other games
- Main article: Pikmin in other media.
Elements from the series also play parts in a number of other Nintendo games, most notably Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U, in which Olimar is a playable character, as well as two Pikmin stages – Distant Planet and Garden of Hope. There are also multiple soundtracks and trophies.
Pikmin have made cameo appearances in games like WarioWare: Smooth Moves and the Nintendo DSi/3DS software transfer animation, while Pikmin-themed items have appeared in Nintendogs and the Animal Crossing series.
See also
References
- ^ YouTube video of the interview with Smosh Games in which Shigeru Miyamoto reveals the development of Pikmin 4
- ^ Pikmin 4 in development and "very close to completion" on Eurogamer
- ^ YouTube video with the interview with YOGSCAST Kim in which Takashi Tezuka hints at a post-2015 release for Pikmin 4 (at 11:55)
- ^ Pikmin 2 on Metacritic
- ^ Pikmin on Metacritic
- ^ Pikmin 3 on Metacritic
- ^ Pikmin games search on VGChartz