Glitches in Pikmin 3

This article or section needs to be cleaned up, either its format or general style. Notes: Some of these are not exactly glitches, they're sequence breaks that exploit similar glitches (clipping through terrain, walking on thin ledges). All out of bounds glitches should be moved to its individual article.

To do: Add the glitches that are not related to going out of bounds in this. Care to do so?

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 3. Particularly: Analyze and document these.

This is a collection of glitches possible in Pikmin 3 and Pikmin 3 Deluxe.

Please read the glitch notes before attempting any of these glitches or before adding your own.

Main

Cloning glitch

To do: Confirm the details of the method, and see if there are reasons for the inconsistent caps on the maximum number of cloned Pikmin. Care to do so?

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Demonstration
High	Helpful	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Yes	YouTube video

• Effects: Allows Pikmin to be cloned using an Onion, up to a certain point.
• Prerequisites: Have a Pikmin type you want to clone unlocked and its Onion joined with the Master Onion, and have enough Pikmin to fill the field.
• How to: Take Pikmin of a different type to the one you want to clone out of the Onion until the field is full. Then open the Onion menu, and send some number of Pikmin back to the Onion while taking an equal amount of the desired type out of the Onion. Select OK, and then immediately open the Onion menu again before the Pikmin you sent back enter the Onion. Repeat the process, sending some Pikmin in and taking some Pikmin out, and immediately opening the menu each time. Notice how the number of Pikmin of the type you want to clone in the Onion stays the same as you continue to take them out. Once there are no Pikmin left to send in, you can wait for the Onion animations to finish, and you will have cloned some Pikmin.
• Notes: There is a cap to the maximum number of Pikmin you can have of a type with cloning. This cap is different for each type and varies inconsistently between attempts.
• What would happen normally: The Onion shouldn't be able to send out a greater number of Pikmin of a type than there are inside it.
• Possible explanation: None.

Continuing to play after beating the game

To do: Document more of the effects that this glitch can have, such as how the Koppaite conversations in the S.S. Drake and voyage logs are selected. Care to do so?

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Demonstration
High	Depends	Pikmin 3: No Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Yes	YouTube video

• Effects: Allows the player to continue playing on a save file after completing the main Story Mode on that save file, which has various effects such as disabling most controls.
• Prerequisites: Defeat the final boss and beat the game.
• How to: On the day selection menu after completing Story Mode, an "END" bubble is displayed after the prior day that ended the run, which can't be selected unlike the other days. However, it is possible to select this day in Pikmin 3 Deluxe, via the voyage log viewer accessed by the button in the bottom left. When the player exits the voyage log viewer, the day bubbles will jump to the day the player was last viewing in the voyage log. But whether the "start" button is greyed-out or not won't change, so if the player opens the voyage log on the "END" bubble and goes to, for example the day they defeated the Sandbelching Meerslug and exits, the button will be still greyed-out even though this day should be selectable, and vice-versa, if the player is on a selectable day and exits the voyage log on the "END" bubble, this makes the "END" bubble selectable and will allow the player to go to the day after the day the final boss was defeated.
• Notes: This glitch is only possible on Pikmin 3 Deluxe (as in the Wii U version the voyage log is displayed on the GamePad), and opens up many strange effects. These include the following:

• • Most controls are disabled, which makes it impossible to do most tasks. The only actions that are possible are zooming the mini radar, opening the hint menu, dodging (if the Dodge Whistle has been obtained), opening the pause menu, and opening the KopPad. All menu functions still work, which means the KopPad camera and Go Here! abilities can be used normally. It's also possible to rotate the stick to get out of a Swooping Snitchbug's grip, and to move the camera out of its starting position at the beginning of the day (but not to move the camera normally).
  • At the beginning of the day in the S.S. Drake, there will always be a major story event cutscene where the Koppaites talk, but the topic they talk about will be a minor topic, and the conversation might consist of no text at all.
    • If the Formidable Oak is selected, the objective text on the loading screen will be shown blank, and the Plasm Wraith battle music will play continuously throughout the day even though the boss has been already defeated. (Other areas have no objective so the loading screen is normal, and have normal music also.)
  • The voyage log for the first day after beating the game is one of the four ending voyage logs (that are normally only viewable in the voyage log viewer), and on subsequent days, normal voyage logs are shown, since nothing notable happens on those days unless all the leaders lose their health.
  • On the day selection menu, the days played in this way are added to the list before the "END" bubble, which is always at the end (and is the bubble that must be selected to play the next day). Olimar is shown in the leader icons for the days after beating the game, and some placeholder Japanese text appears when switching days in this period. All the days before beating the game function normally, while all the days after beating the game have the restricted controls.
  • If the player has a save file that has ended the game on day 99, it is possible to access day 100 using this glitch. However, this day acts like any other "post-game" day that was accessed from using this glitch, and will function identically to day 99, as in the juice amount will still show that the player has no bottles of juice remaining. It is impossible to get further, as ending day 100 afterwards will cause a game over.
• What would happen normally: The player is usually unable to continue after beating the Plasm Wraith. The day selection menu shows an "END" bubble after the day that the player has defeated the final boss on, and cannot be selected to land on due to the "start" button being greyed-out, unlike other days. Day 100 is also normally impossible to get to, as there is only enough juice to last up to 99 days.
• Possible explanation: The feature to switch days while viewing the voyage log in not in the original Pikmin 3, and was added in the Deluxe port, which means it's possible the code to update the status of the "Start" button was not included in this feature. The restricted controls may be related to the progress value, which is set to p140 after beating the game, and since it's not intended for the progress value to be at this value during gameplay, it may be the case that controls are disabled to stop the player from continuing.

Counter glitch

In this case, player 1's counter shows no standby bubble for Blue Pikmin, and player 2's shows 3 Red Pikmin on standby, but 0 on the squad.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Other demonstrations
Medium	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Yes	Miiverse post with Brittany having herself on the squad

• Effects: Makes the counter show erroneous numbers or icons, like more Pikmin for standby than the number of Pikmin on the squad, or vice-versa.
• Prerequisites: None.
• How to: There is no concise way to reproduce this glitch, but so far, it was only reported to work on the Quaggled Mireclops and Plasm Wraith mission in co-op mode. Just playing through the mission as normal will be enough for the counter to eventually glitch. Although rarer, it can happen without the Quaggled Mireclops's intervention, and in single-player.
• Notes: The counter returns to normal when the standby Pikmin/leader is switched, or a Pikmin type is added to or removed from the squad. A similar glitch can also happen in Pikmin.
• Possible explanation: None.

Formidable Oak backwards (Pikmin 3)

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Demonstration
Medium	Helpful	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: See here	YouTube video

• Effects: Allows the player to do the Formidable Oak cave backwards, and clear out all enemies before actually encountering the Mysterious Life Form.
• Prerequisites: Have 2 leaders available, have the Dodge Whistle, and have the Formidable Oak unlocked.
• How to: Take one leader and throw them onto the small root to the right of the path leading down into the Plasm Wraith arena. The placement must be perfect or else the glitch will not work. Once there, walk off and to the left, and proceed to walk up the large root of the white tree. Make sure the leader is facing away from the arena, and use a dodge roll to get on top of the rock. From there, simply whistle any Pikmin and the other two leaders and walk inside the cave. The glitch is easier seen than explained, so watch the YouTube video above.
• Notes: It is advised to throw a leader who would be switched to directly (i.e. Brittany throws Charlie, Charlie throws Alph, and Alph throws Brittany) so that the leader thrown on the root can be switched to immediately and they won't fall off. If you exit through the entrance, the cutscenes play with some weird effects, such as the camera being in the wrong place or playing out of order.
• Possible explanation: Although there is a ledge blocking off the exit to the cave, there is no actual barrier blocking off the cave's exit, and it functions just like an entrance. The only invisible wall present is next to the large rock, which is why the Dodge Whistle must be used to get over the rock. By going through the cave backwards, the player can clear out all the obstacles easily without having to worry about the Mysterious Life-Form, and can rescue Olimar from the cave within a few minutes.

Formidable Oak backwards (Pikmin 3 Deluxe)

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Demonstration	Other demonstrations
Medium	Depends	Pikmin 3: See here Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Yes	Twitch clip	Twitter video

• Effects: Allows the player to do the Formidable Oak cave backwards, and clear out all enemies before actually encountering the Mysterious Life Form. If the player activates the Plasm Wraith's fight then enter the oak from the entrance at the top, they will begin controlling two leaders at once. Some things can be done in this state, but most cause the game to crash.
• Prerequisites: Have 2 leaders available and have the Formidable Oak unlocked.
• How to: Have one leader hold another, and walk against the wall to the east of the Onion. You will start walking up the wall. Once high enough, throw the leader out of bounds. Swap to that leader, make your way over the nearby roots, under the walkway that leads to the top, circle the Plasm Wraith's arena from the north, climb up the rock, and when possible, fall onto the pathway that leads out of the oak.
• Notes: This can't be done on the Wii U version on Pikmin 3, as the instructions is slightly different.
• Possible explanation: None.

Immortal held Pikmin

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Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions
High	Helpful	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Yes

• Effects: A Pikmin gets attacked and squeals, but remains unharmed.
• Prerequisites: None.
• How to: Merely hold on to a Pikmin. While holding, the Pikmin cannot be harmed. The leader can be hurt however, which will cause them to drop the Pikmin. If the Pikmin goes underwater and can drown, it will do so.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: During the "being grabbed" state, the Pikmin is ready for several things, such as being thrown, but being hurt is not one of them. The fact that it screams might not be related with handling an attack in that particular state as much as it is handling an attack at any point of the Pikmin's global logic.

Invincible Pikmin

To do: Expand this section to cover how the glitch can be done in more situations than just crushing. Care to do so?

A Red Pikmin fighting a Toady Bloyster underwater without drowning.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Demonstration
High	Helpful	Pikmin 3: Yes, update 1.1.0 and beyond Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Yes	YouTube video

• Effects: Makes Pikmin invincible, able to go underwater, and after thrown, stop reacting to being whistled.
• Prerequisites: Be in an area with a crushing enemy.
• How to: If not done already, update the game (Wii U only). Then, stand next to somewhere where a Pikmin will get crushed and grab it as soon as it gets crushed. Make sure the leader is out of the way, as the Pikmin will die if the leader is damaged, since they will not be able to pick the Pikmin up. If all is done correctly, you should hear the Pikmin squeal even though it is still in your hands. This glitch can also occur by whistling a panicking Pikmin the frame before it enters an animation which leads to its death.
• Notes: While these Pikmin can break underwater walls, they can't do so for electric gates: when thrown at this kind of gate, they will hit it, then stop, then hit it again and then they will then rejoin your party. Oddly enough, when the player throws them on again, they won't do the same.
• Possible explanation: When a Pikmin is crushed, some flags are set to make it invincible. This avoids having the Pikmin get hurt by hazards or other enemies while it's performing its crushing death animation. During this state, Pikmin are also no longer in the group, and so, can't be picked up. But if the player grabs the Pikmin at the same time it gets crushed, it will activate the invincibility flags, but skip the crushing, since the Pikmin is in a state where it cannot be harmed (i.e. grabbed by a leader).

Mysterious Life-Form stuck in segment portal

To do: Test if this glitch can be replicated on the Wii U version, and see if this works with other segment portals. Care to do so?

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions
High	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Unknown Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Yes

• Effects: Causes the Mysterious Life-Form to disappear completely from the dark room.
• Prerequisites: Have unlocked the Formidable Oak and be in the dark room with the lights, and have done the Formidable Oak backwards glitch.
• How to: Open the radar constantly as the Mysterious Life-Form is passing through the segment portal in between the light room and the dark room. When doing so, the Mysterious Life-Form will get stuck in the segment portal, allowing the player to get through the puzzle without being chased.
• Notes: The radar can be opened before the Mysterious Life-Form gets to the segment portal without affecting the glitch. The game can still be played as normal, because once Olimar gets through the segment portal to the outside segment, the Mysterious Life-Form comes through as well in a cutscene.
• What would happen normally: The Mysterious Life-Form should smoothly transition and spawn into the next room alongside the player characters.
• Possible explanation: None.

Aesthetic

Alph empty dialog - Bulborb

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Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions
High	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Unknown

• Effects: Causes Alph to have an empty line of dialogue.
• Prerequisites: Have played for a few game-days, and haven't been to the Garden of Hope in several days.
• How to: After not being to the Garden of Hope in a while, simply walk up to the sleeping Bulborb with Brittany or Charlie. The game will lock-on to the Bulborb automatically, and a text box of dialog for Alph will appear, but he won't say anything.
• Notes: The exact requirements are not known, but being in a day past 15 seems to do the trick.
• Possible explanation: None.

Alph empty dialog - Fire-Breathing Feast

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions
High	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Unknown

• Effects: Causes Alph to have an empty line of dialog.
• Prerequisites: Killing the Armored Mawdad without collecting or going near enough to the Fire-Breathing Feast to trigger a line of dialog from Alph or Brittany, and rescuing Captain Charlie.
• How to: Simply walk up to the Fire-Breathing Feast with Captain Charlie, and an empty line of dialog from Alph will appear.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: None.

Bottom of the map

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Other demonstrations
High	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: No	Radar position for the demonstration image

• Effects: Causes the player to see the solid blue bottom of a segment of the map, with parts obscured by the radar fog.
• Prerequisites: Have reached the Sandbelching Meerslug.
• How to: Deactivate Off-TV Play so you can use the television screen. Go to the Tropical Wilds, open up the radar, and make sure it's in the mode where North points up. Scroll to the segment of the map with the corridor that leads to the Sandbelching Meerslug's arena. Once there, scroll down till you hit the limit. Slowly scroll down and right until you're past that barrier, and start scrolling down and left to slide against another barrier. After that one, scroll left to slide against the third radar barrier. Keep scrolling left slowly, whilst letting the Go Here! icon also move downward on its own. Look at the television screen, and you will eventually see fuzzy blue or gray shapes. You can keep exploring for a bit as you go left, but when you go too far down, or if you scroll too close to the Calcified Crushblat's segment of the map, the game will swap radar models with that segment, ending the glitch.
• Notes: The patterns visible match the radar's fog, indicating that what the player can see is likely the bottom of the map, visible in the Sandbelching Meerslug's corridor segment. On a sunny day, the floor will appear blue, but it will appear gray on a rainy day.
• Possible explanation: None.

Brittany empty dialog - Charlie's path

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Demonstration
High	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Unknown Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Yes	Twitter video

• Effects: Causes Brittany to have an empty line of dialogue.
• Prerequisites: Have not been through the path that Charlie takes on day 1.
• How to: Go near the Spotcaps that Charlie had busted on day 1 as Brittany.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: None.

Confused Pikmin

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Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions
High	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Unknown

• Effects: Pikmin following a leader will attempt to board the S.S. Drake instead of the Master Onion.
• Prerequisites: None.
• How to: Have an inactive leader with Pikmin in their party pass from one segment of an area to another, through the use of the Go Here! command. Then, end the day as they are passing through.
• Notes: An attempt to recreate the glitch has had the Pikmin not return to the landing site automatically. For best results, enter the corridor west of the Twilight River landing site, past the paper bag. Winged Pikmin will reach the Drake before the cutscene ends.
• Possible explanation: During the location transitions, Pikmin and leaders are programmed to follow a strict "follow the leader's path" logic system. This doesn't get cleared when the day is terminated, which results in the Pikmin continuing to blindly follow the leaders when they find themselves at the landing site for the end of the day's cutscene.

Corrupted radar preview

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions
High	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Unknown

• Effects: Shows a corrupted radar on the GamePad for a split second, using the object layout of Twilight Hollow Remix, but with bits and pieces of the Distant Tundra Remix's radar.
• Prerequisites: Have the first downloadable content pack; the one that adds the maps from Tropical Forest Remix to Shaded Garden Remix.
• How to: Set the game up to have Off-TV Play disabled. Enter the Collect Treasure! Mission Mode menu. Without entering any mission's briefing screen, simply pass the cursor from one mission's button to the next, letting the game load the radar preview on the GamePad every time. Go from the Tropical Forest Remix button to the Shaded Garden Remix button in this way. Finally, with the cursor on the Shaded Garden Remix button, hold left so that the cursor speeds to the Tropical Forest Remix button. As you do so, pay attention to the GamePad, and when the game shows the Twilight Hollow Remix radar pattern, it will quickly show a corrupted version of the Silver Lake Remix's radar textures, for a split-second. If you cannot get it to work the first time, try again.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: None.

Deluxe Zoom

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Demonstration
High	Harmless	Pikmin 3: N/A Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Yes	Performing the glitch

• Effects: Shows a corrupt radar; zooms in the title screen
• Prerequisites: Have unlocked at least one of the Side Stories level
• How to: Start a map in Side Stories while in 2-player mode. Cause a Pikmin extinction. Start a replay and watch it till its end. When you go back to the results screen, half of the screen is glitched. When you go back to the title screen, you can see the camera zoomed in.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation:

Drowning cutscene glitch

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions
Medium	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Unknown

• Effects: Shows the fire effect and the water effect overlap incorrectly.
• Prerequisites: Never had a Pikmin drown before.
• How to: Go to the cave with Pyroclasmic Slooches on the Distant Tundra. Let the Slooches draw some trails of fire and get a Pikmin to start drowning. If the positioning and the camera angle line up, the fire trail will appear in the same place as the water from the camera's line of sight, but the two will overlap in odd ways.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: None.

Floating Pikmin with a paper bag

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Demonstration
High	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Unknown	Demonstration of the glitch, at 19:15

• Effects: Has Pikmin floating in the air momentarily during a cutscene.
• Prerequisites: Have a paper bag in its original position.
• How to: When you're behind a paper bag, throw some Pikmin on top of it, and then have other Pikmin push the bag. During the cutscene, the Pikmin that were on the bag will remain in their place, and float in the air when the bag is no longer under them. When the cutscene ends, the Pikmin fall back down.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: During a cutscene like that one, other Pikmin do not move, as to focus exclusively on the movement of the paper bag. This includes vertical movement, so the Pikmin do not fall.

Frozen whistle

Several whistle circles in the sunset cutscene.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Demonstration
High	Harmful	Pikmin 3: No Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Yes	Reddit post

• Effects: Makes player 1's whistle effects stay on screen, makes the third leader copy player 1, and makes the Mysterious Life-Form not appear.
• Prerequisites: Have unlocked the Formidable Oak and have not seen the Mysterious Life-Form.
• How to: This glitch must be done in 2-player mode, on a save file where the cave of the Formidable Oak has been entered but has not been completed. At the start of the day, player 1 must wait at the landing site and player 2 must go with Brittany and the third leader up to Olimar. Charge Pikmin onto Olimar with player 2.
• Notes: After the cutscene, player 1's leader will be teleported to the top of the hill. Any time player 1 uses the whistle, the ring effect will stay on-screen permanently. The third leader that was a part of player 2's squad will do the exact same movements as player 1. The Mysterious Life-Form will not appear, though the space where it would appear can be locked-onto. Other strange effects can occur.
• Possible explanation: None.

Idle Pikmin counter during day end

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Demonstration	Other demonstrations
Medium	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Unknown Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Yes	Twitter video	Twitter video with the execution

• Effects: Makes the idle Pikmin counter appear when the ship's lift-off cutscene begins, just before the fruit and juice screens. The counter stays on-screen throughout the day end state, even when a leader is writing their voyage log entry.
• Prerequisites: None.
• How to: When the sunset warning appears, the letters "Hurry Up!" will show up on-screen. The exact moment they stop animating, pause the game and end the day.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: None.

Infinite boss music

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Demonstration
High	Harmless	Pikmin 3: N/A Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Yes	Twitter video

• Effects: Makes it so the boss music continues playing outside of a boss arena. It will repeat the attack gesture. The music change to mid-day at the Garden of Hope won't update the music, but returning to the arena will.
• Prerequisites: Have an undefeated boss in the area.
• How to: Enable co-op play in Story Mode. Then, have one leader outside the boss arena, and another inside. The leader inside should be attacked and knocked out by the boss.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: None.

Invisible geometry

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions
High	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: No

• Effects: Hides the area's geometry, making only the objects visible.
• Prerequisites: None.
• How to: Enter an area. If you want to see the geometry disappear on a specific part of the area, make sure you're on a different segment than that (e.g. if you want to see the glitch happen in a cave, go outside, and vice-versa). Disable Off-TV Play if it's not already disabled, and use the radar's panning to place the camera on the location you want to see the geometry disappear. Look at the TV screen, press any button that makes a leader perform an action (like ) and at the same time. You should see the world disappear, although the objects stay. You'll quickly be covered by the Home screen, so to get a better look, you can, for instance, go on the web browser and press to show the game on the TV screen. The timing for this is very strict, of only 1 frame, but since you can try again right away if you fail, you should get it to happen quickly.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: When using the panning feature, the game switches geometry models in order to be able to show the player what's in the other parts of the area. When gameplay resumes, it hides all models of the segments of the map the player is not on, and returns the camera to the leaders. Because the camera doesn't go there instantaneously, but takes one or two frames before it's near the leaders, there is a small window where the camera is outside of the segment the leaders are at, but with the geometry hidden.

Invisible Pikmin

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Demonstration
High	Depends	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Unknown	YouTube video

• Effects: Have Pikmin on the field that are invisible. They still behave like normal.
• Prerequisites: Have at least two types of Pikmin unlocked.
• How to: First, get out 100 (or less, although 100 is advised) of the type Pikmin you don't want invisible. Afterwards, go back into the Onion menu and deposit some Pikmin and take out a few of species of Pikmin you want invisible. Now, right as the Pikmin go inside the Onion, use the whistle. If done correctly, there will be a few invisible Pikmin of the type that was originally going to come out of the Onion.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: When a Pikmin is going in the Onion, its model becomes invisible (so it doesn't appear to clip inside the Onion), and only on the next few frames does the Pikmin actually get removed from the field. Whistling a Pikmin in this state will not fix its model, making it remain invisible.

Odd carrying positions

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Demonstration
Low	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Yes	Demonstration of the glitch, at 12:55

• Effects: Makes Pikmin carry an object in a strange position, such as upside-down.
• Prerequisites: None.
• How to: Throw a Pikmin at an object that has fallen down, such as one falling from a Medusal Slurker or in a dirt mound. The timing is difficult, making this glitch hard to do intentionally.
• Notes: The glitch only seems to work on objects that require 1 Pikmin to carry.
• Possible explanation: Once an object, such as a bomb rock, falls down onto the ground, Pikmin will chase after it and pick it up. However, if a Pikmin manages to pick up the object before it reaches its natural position, it accepts that as the natural position of carrying. The Pikmin are told to stick to a specific location and angle relative to the object, which could result in them being placed incorrectly.

Olimar's Comeback ending cutscene cropping

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Demonstration
High	Harmless	All except 1.2.0 (fixed in 1.2.0), only on Switch 2	Reddit post

• Effects: Makes the video cutscene at the end of The Ship Restored play cropped. Only the top-left footage will be visible, though the subtitles will be in the correct spot.
• Prerequisites: None.
• How to: Simply begin the cutscene while the console is in handheld mode. Playing in docked mode will play the cutscene in full. Because the Nintendo Switch Lite is always handheld, this effect always happens on that console. This can no longer be performed on the Switch 2, starting on update 1.2.0, due to the Switch 2 enhancements.
• Notes: To view the cutscene, one only has to finish The Ship Restored, even if they lose all Pikmin or leaders. One easy way to do this is to let a leader bump against the Pyroclasmic Slooch constantly. Swapping console modes midway through will keep the same cropped or full behavior. When played on a Nintendo Switch 2, starting from the 1.2.0 update, the bug will not happen, even when disabling Handheld Mode Boost. This still happens on all Switch 1 consoles.
• Possible explanation: Since the video resolution is smaller on the console's own screen, the video does not play every part of the footage. Normally, the video output would be shrunk to fit the resolution, but that does not happen here. In 1.2.0, the video output was corrected, but only on Switch 2.

Onion cutscene camera glitch

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions
High	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Unknown

• Effects: Causes the player to be able to see unloaded area segment geometry, because the camera fails to move to the segment of the area where the current leader is and the geometry is loaded. Although the geometry won't be visible, some details will still appear, like the Onion's beam, the Pikmin flowers, or the skybox.
• Prerequisites: Be at the location of the Winged Onion or the Blue Onion, with it still entrapped.
• How to: Leave one leader inside a segment of the area that isn't the segment with the Onion, like inside a cave. Have the other leaders at the Onion's location, ready to free it. The idea is to start the Onion cutscene when the leader inside the cave is the active one. For the Winged Onion, the best way is to throw two Rock Pikmin at the Arachnode to bring its health down, let it scuttle and rest, throw three Red Pikmin at it, and quickly change to the leader inside the cave. For the Blue Onion, simply throw three Winged Pikmin at the Flukeweed and switch to the faraway leader before they finish pulling out the Onion. When the Onion's cutscene is over, the game will prepare to go back to the leader that was selected, and will load that segment, and unload the segment of the area where the Onion is. However, the camera will stay in the same spot, meaning you'll be able to see the unloaded geometry. This effect will remain until any controller input is made, or until one of the idle leaders plucks the new sprout and the new Pikmin type introduction cutscene starts. So to maximize the effects, make sure that the leaders are far away from the Onion when you switch out, so that they don't pluck the sprout.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: The Onion cutscenes erroneously do not have code to move the camera to the current leader when they are over, despite having the code to move the radar to the right place, unload and load the correct chunk of the area, etc.

Out-of-bounds Mysterious Life-Form icon

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions
Medium	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: No

• Effects: Shows an enemy bubble far out of bounds.
• Prerequisites: Have the Plasm Wraith's Defeat Bosses! mission in Mission Mode unlocked.
• How to: In the mission selection screen of Defeat Bosses!, highlight the Plasm Wraith's mission, and check the arena's radar map on the GamePad. Pan to the northwest, and you'll spot a second enemy bubble out of bounds.
• Notes: According to the game's files, this is the Mysterious Life-Form's bubble. For some players, it may not be possible to pan the radar off-course like this, since it will be confined to the normal boundaries. It is currently unknown why, though it could be related to a similar glitch that happens within the mission itself.
• Possible explanation: None.

Pikmin out at night

The Pikmin on the bottom-left portion of the screen have been affected by the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions
Medium	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Unknown

• Effects: Makes a Pikmin stay idle during the nighttime cutscene, and then vanish when it's time for takeoff.
• Prerequisites: Have leaf or bud Pikmin in your party.
• How to: Have a drop of nectar on one of the Onion's legs, and have leaf or bud Pikmin with you. The best way to do this is to knock on an Iridescent Flint Beetle when it is near the Onion; this can be done on the Garden of Hope and Twilight River. End the day from the pause menu. The Pikmin in your party will make their way to the Onion's legs, but leaves and buds should stop by the nectar and begin drinking it. When they're done, they'll remain idle on their spot, and the Onion will fly off without them. When that happens, they will vanish instantly.
• Notes: This does not affect the Pikmin count; the Pikmin that go idle are not counted as dead. A similar glitch can also happen in Pikmin, although the method is different.
• Possible explanation: There is no code to handle the case in which a Pikmin going for the Onion would touch a bit of nectar, given the unlikeliness of it happening.

Pikmin with a bomb rock pose

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions
High	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Unknown

• Effects: Makes a Red Pikmin hold its arms out as if holding a bomb rock, without the bomb rock being there.
• Prerequisites: Have access to both bomb rocks and fire geysers.
• How to: Get a Red Pikmin to carry a bomb rock. Then, make the Pikmin walk through a fire geyser while still on your group. The bomb will be dropped and ignited, but the Pikmin will keep its pose.
• Notes: Only the Pikmin's animation is affected. Throwing the Pikmin or dismissing will make its animation return to normal.
• Possible explanation: On the code that handles Pikmin dropping a bomb rock because of the fire, there is no code to update its animation. Other situations in which the Pikmin drops a bomb rock use different code.

Stretched Burrowing Snagret

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions	Demonstration
Medium	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: No	YouTube video

• Effects: Stretches out the Burrowing Snagret's corpse. If it is stretched too much, it becomes invisible.
• Prerequisites: The Early Winged Pikmin glitch has to be done.
• How to: First of all, do the Early Winged Pikmin glitch, so the blue bridge won't be built. Then the paper bag in front of the Winged Onion must be pushed. After that, the Burrowing Snagret must be defeated and its corpse must be carried by 10 Winged Pikmin or more. These Pikmin will be blocked in front of the bridge which is unfinished. Whistle them and order them to carry the Burrowing Snagret again; they will pass above the lilypad with the head of the Snavian but its foot will be stuck to the lily pad. The Winged Pikmin will keep carrying the corpse, and the body between the stuck point and the head will begin stretching as the Pikmin carry it forward. If it is stretched too far, the body will eventually turn invisible. Despite this, the corpse will still be harvested once brought to the Master Onion.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: None.

T-pose Pikmin

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Versions
High	Harmless	Pikmin 3: Yes Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Unknown

• Effects: Shows a Pikmin in a T-pose.
• Prerequisites: None
• How to: Go to a Pikmin sprout and choose to pluck it. Just when the leader's hands make contact with the Pikmin, the creature will be shown in a T-pose (also known as blind pose or reference pose), meaning its arms will be stretched out horizontally. It will also appear at ground level instead of being underground. This lasts only for a single frame. With the KopPad's camera and a secondary leader, it is possible to see it better, especially if you snap a photo.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: When a Pikmin is plucked, its "sprout" object is removed from the world, and its "normal" object is created. It takes one frame for the object's animation to be set, so for a single frame, it uses the default animation pose, which is a T-pose, commonly used during development to make it easier to see and work with the model. This T-pose is