Editing Story Mode

Like before, days last only thirteen minutes (though, in {{p3d}} this time can vary depending on which [[difficulty]] the player has chosen). There is no set day limit, but instead a [[juice]] counter. Each fruit produces a certain amount of juice, anywhere from half a cup to three full cups. Each cup is equal to one additional day of exploration. If the player is ever to run out of juice, the game will end, although the player is encouraged to simply return to an earlier day and retry. The player can control 3 leaders at once – the three Koppaites. Along with this, the player can now use [[Go Here!]] to make inactive leaders move to a location automatically. Like previous games, if [[Leader#Leader is down|all three leaders fall]], the day is ended automatically. However, if all Pikmin of one type die, the [[Onion]] will eject a seed immediately after without ending the day, making a [[Pikmin extinction]] impossible by traditional standards. Also unlike previous games, the player is pointed to complete various objectives to progress the story, such as finding another character or reaching a signal.

To complete the game, the player must retrieve the missing [[cosmic-drive key]] from [[Captain Olimar]] so the Koppaites can return to Koppai. Along the way, the player is encouraged to also collect as much fruit as possible.