Unused content in Pikmin 3

has a substantial amount of content in its files that goes completely unused, ranging from textures, enemies, and sound files.

Unused textures
There are quite a few unused and unseen standalone textures in Pikmin 3.

Character icons
There are some unused icons for expressions from Olimar, Louie, and, in, the President. This also includes icons that are unused in the original Pikmin 3, but are used in Pikmin 3 Deluxe. They are all listed here:

Additionally, there is an equally unused version of Olimar's "mad" icon, with inverted colors and a circle in the top-left. This circle contains a number from 1 to 6 depending on expression, but the base character is the same throughout. The icon character is called  internally, where Olimar is   and the President's icons refer to him as.

Bingo Battle icons
There are five Bingo Battle power-up icons that are not present in the final game.

Mini radar icons
In the demo of Pikmin 3 Deluxe, there are unused icons for Olimar, Louie, and a SPERO on the mini radar, but go unused due to it not being included in the Side Stories.

Ship part icon placeholders
In the demo of Pikmin 3 Deluxe, a couple ship part icons are instead placeholders, being red circles with the respective parts' names in white Japanese text.

Badge placeholders
In Pikmin 3 Deluxe, there are several unused badge textures that appear to be placeholders, starting from 1 to 50.

Early data files
There are two textures for what appears to be an early version of the first Bulborb data file.

Test images
There are two unused test images in Pikmin 3 Deluxe files that have no use in-game. One shows what appears to be the Flower Garden results screen, but with two layers of white Japanese text with a red outline, which roughly reads "Delete images if there's no problem". The other has three squares in a format similar to the Side Stories menu, and the roughly translated paragraph mentions The Night Juicer, implying this would contain the three. It also has the same message as the second layer of text on the first one superimposed onto it.

Unseen geography
Although the front of PNF-404 in the area selection screen is visible, there are details on the back of the planet that are completely hidden and unused. This unseen geography can only be viewed by looking at its direct texture.

Unused maps
Various unused maps can also be found in the files.

Early versions
Some early versions of used maps can be found in the files of Pikmin 3 Deluxe. Most of these maps also have what appear to be textures for radar patterns.
 * Near-complete Garden of Hope

A near-finished Garden of Hope, but with some incomplete elements. It is called  internally.


 * Early Garden of Hope

An early version of Garden of Hope can be found in Pikmin 3 Deluxe files, as well as textures for radar patterns of it. It is called  internally. The following changes can be noted:
 * The environments of the elevator platform and Bug-Eyed Crawmad cave segments are swapped (the latter is instead outdoors, while the former is in a sewage system).
 * The segment containing a Pocked Airhead stretches all the way to the Blue Onion section (but is still blocked off).
 * The locations of the cinderblock Louie blows up and the submerged dirt wall in the Yellow Wollywog section appear to be swapped, though with a reinforced wall replacing the cinderblock. The reinforced wall has a gap next to it that can be walked around, presumably for debugging purposes.
 * There are stationary lily pads in the water serving as a pathway leading to the reinforced wall, with an incomplete bridge right above them.
 * The Armored Mawdad arena's stump is attached to the main segment, but the interior loads separately.
 * Because of this, the Armored Mawdad arena corridor is absent.


 * Early The Rustyard

An early version of The Rustyard exists in files.

Test maps
Completely unique test maps can be found in Pikmin 3 Deluxe files too, that presumably served to test certain mechanics. is a square map.
 * "player_00"

A map presumably used to test the Shaggy Long Legs, as it includes one and has the Shaggy Long Legs' internal name,, in its own.
 * "damagumo_map"

Unused enemies
Nearly all the following enemy data can be found in the, referring to unused enemies.

To note is that almost all enemies have a  file that determines how the lock-on works. All used enemies use version 5 of the file format, but some unused enemies use versions 0, 1, or 2. In addition, there is a block of health-related parameters, and it too has a format version. Used enemies use version 8.

Pikmin 2 copies
The following unused enemies exist in the enemies folder, but their model and textures are copies or near-copies of the Pikmin 2 files. They are also roughly the same size they were in that game.


 * Honeywisp


 * It functions identically to its Pikmin 2 counterpart, but despite the textures being the same, it looks more realistic in Pikmin 3. The egg it carries is the same as the regular Pikmin 3 eggs. The only known thing about its behavior is that it flies around and eventually vanishes. Throwing a Pikmin at the egg results in a crash.
 * It has an  file found only in some other unused enemies' data and on the Armored Cannon Larva's data, where it's also presumably unused.
 * It is missing a,  , and a   file, present in most other enemies' data.
 * The lock-on data's format version is 6.


 * Emperor Bulblax


 * Its behavior is very incomplete. It simply repeats its tongue preparation animation constantly.
 * It has an  file found only in some other unused enemies' data and on the Armored Cannon Larva's data, where it's also presumably unused.
 * It is missing a  file, present in most other enemies' data.
 * The lock-on data's format version is 1, and the health parameter data's format version is 2.


 * Wollywog


 * When idling, it repeats its shaking animation constantly, although it causes no damage. This constant shaking is caused by a variable that measures the amount of Pikmin required to activate the shake animation, except this variable is set to zero by default, resulting in it shaking off Pikmin despite none being present. When a leader gets close, it performs its jump attack successfully. Nothing else is functional about it; the corpse of this enemy will crash the game upon being picked up.
 * It is missing a  and   file, present in most other enemies' data.
 * It has an animation for burrowing itself.
 * The lock-on data's format version is 5, and the health parameter data's format version is 6.


 * Breadbug

This enemy's data is missing several files:,  ,  ,  , and. In addition, it has a  file which is just a copy of. Because of this, no parameter information is known about it.

Early enemies
There are also early versions of Pikmin 3 enemies that aren't identical to their Pikmin 2 counterparts, or are of enemies exclusive to Pikmin 3.

Whiptongue Bulborb


In Pikmin 3 Deluxe, an early version of the Whiptongue Bulborb called  can be found in the files, this model, in fact, would originally be in Pikmin 3 that would be released for Wii until the appearance of the Wii U. It has 12 animations: ,   (attacking),   (dying),   (shaking off Pikmin),   (walking),   (swallowing),   (being carried),  ,  ,   (idling),    (shaking off Pikmin while idling), and   (sleeping, which is unused). The following is known from its game files:
 * The lock-on data's format version is unknown, and the health parameter data's format version is 2.

Flighty Joustmite
Also in Pikmin 3 Deluxe, an early version of the Flighty Joustmite can be found.

Desiccated Skitter Leaf
An early version of the Desiccated Skitter Leaf also exists in Pikmin 3 Deluxe.

Hermit Crawmad
An early version of the Hermit Crawmad exists in Pikmin 3 Deluxe files, too.

Armored Cannon Larva variants
The Armored Cannon Larva and Arctic Cannon Larva share the same archive. Inside it are parameter files for every version of the beetle, including unused ones. is the one used for the Armored Cannon Larva, and  corresponds to the Arctic Cannon Larva ( means snow). The unused files are called,  ,   (perhaps for the Decorated Cannon Beetle), and   ( means Lapis Lazuli).

Fiery Blowhog variant


There is unused AI in the game for a Fiery Blowhog variant that shoots out bubbles. This may correspond to an unused early texture for a green variant of the hog found in Pikmin 3 Deluxe.

kakureimo


is a fat leech-like enemy. It has a purple body, yellow stomach along with yellow back stripes, and three green eyes on each side of its small head. Its mouth is circular and filled with jagged teeth, and it has two large antennae on its head. Size-wise, it's around the size of a Bulborb. is the stem of the verb which means "to hide", and  translates to "potato", although it is also part of the word.

When it spawns, it pops out from underneath the ground. When there are no Pikmin or leaders nearby, it waddles around to explore a small area immediately outside of its "home", but if one gets into view, it becomes alarmed and dashes to its original spot, where it burrows underground. After being left alone for a bit, it will reemerge and repeat the cycle. Given unknown rules, it may decide to stay underground until it's left alone, or it will cautiously poke its head out to survey the area. When it burrows, its health is entirely restored. Other than that, some parts of the enemy are unfinished, in that it has no particle effects, some animations are a bit jerky, and parts of its logic are missing, in that Pikmin can latch on to it while it buries and continue to attack it, even through the ground. If Pikmin are used to pick up the unused berry bait object and place berries near the kakureimo, the creature will immediately rush toward the berry and "consume" it. This will cause it to temporarily ignore Pikmin until it is attacked or it notices Pikmin again, in which case it rushes back to its original spot and drops the berry.

Given how it acts the same as the moguraimo, it has a similar name to it, and sports a similar color scheme, it's safe to say that the two creatures are somehow related.

From analysis of the game files, the following can be concluded:


 * It has animations for dying, burrowing, moving, biting, chewing prey, swallowing prey, being carried, noticing prey, chasing prey, looking around, going to its original spot, and three unknown animations:,  , and.
 * The lock-on data's format version is 0, and the health parameter data's format version is 2.
 * It is missing a  and   file, present in most other enemies' data.
 * It has the ability to drop nectar upon death.

moguraimo


This creature bears a strong resemblance to the Ravenous Whiskerpillar from Pikmin 2. The internal name, however, is quite different: it used to be , but is now. Appearance-wise, it is slightly larger than before, and unless the texture mapping of the model is incorrect, its skin is mostly purple; besides that, its eyes are slightly larger, it has antennae, and its namesake whiskers are gone. In terms of behavior, it acts exactly the same as the kakureimo, save for that it will attempt to eat another berry even after eating one. Given how it acts the same as the kakureimo, has a similar name to it, and sports a similar color scheme, it's safe to say that the two creatures are somehow related. However, due to its striking resemblance to an already-existing enemy, the model may just be a placeholder. The following can be observed from the game's files:


 * It has animations for dying, appearing, burrowing, moving, biting, swallowing prey, chewing prey, being carried, noticing prey, looking around, going to its original spot, and the unknown animations,  ,  , and.
 * It is missing a  and   file, present in most other enemies' data.
 * The lock-on data's format version is 1, and the health parameter data's format version is 2.
 * It has the ability to drop nectar upon death.

crystal_maro_frog


Data for a brown version of the standard Wollyhop exists, but with a rock attached to its body. Its internal name is  ("Crystal Wollyhop"), which implies that the rock is made of crystal. It is uncertain where exactly the rock or crystal would be attached to its body. Besides the coloring, it looks roughly the same as the Pikmin 2 Wollyhop. The following can be observed from the files:


 * It has animations for dying, idling, washing its face, moving, turning, jumping, floating, falling, landing, being carried, and an unknown  animation.
 * It is missing a  and   file, present in most other enemies' data.
 * The lock-on data's format version is 5, and the health parameter data's format version is 6.

iwadama


There is a model for the Beady Long Legs as it appears in Pikmin 2, size included, but its circular head is replaced with a large version of one of its feet. Presumably, it would've stomped on the ground using its head as well. With the model are two textures, which are the same as the Pikmin 2 one, but one is tinted blue and the other pink. On the image shown to the right, the Pikmin 2 texture was used for clarity. This creature's internal name is, meaning "rock orb". The Beady Long Legs' old internal name,, is used for the Shaggy Long Legs in Pikmin 3. The following can be noted from the game files:


 * It has an  file found only in some other unused enemies' data and on the Armored Cannon Larva's data, where it's also presumably unused.
 * It has animations for dying, landing, idling, shaking off Pikmin, and attacking.
 * It is missing a  file, present in most other enemies' data.
 * The lock-on data's format version is 1, and the health parameter data's format version is 2.

buriko


Visually, this enemy resembles a fat Male Sheargrub, and is roughly the same size too. The texture that comes with the model is the same as the one in Pikmin 2. However, its internal name,, is the same as the common name for the Swarming Sheargrub in the Japanese release of Pikmin 3, so it is possible it is a prototype version of that enemy or possibly a scrapped male counterpart. The final Swarming Sheargrub shares its data with the Female Sheargrub, whose internal name is.

It moves very quickly, and because of this, it has a hard time catching and eating Pikmin. It cannot damage leaders, and cannot get damaged. Its color mapping isn't set up correctly, so it appears orange when alive, and turns white and purple if defeated with a bomb rock. From examining the game's files, the following can also be noted:


 * It has animations for dying, getting squashed, moving, biting, being carried, idling, swallowing, and two unknown animations called  and.
 * It is missing a,  , and a   file, present in most other enemies' data.
 * The health parameter data's format version is 2.

Other
In addition, the unknown and mostly-empty  "enemy" seems to have been made on accident, created instead of the used   (the Phosbat Pod), and   is a mostly broken and smaller version of   but written using a different romanization system, the Burgeoning Spiderwort. Finally, the fire geyser has parameter files for a  and a   variant, suggesting the planned return of gas pipes and the addition of Bubble Geysers, which would become a reality in the next game.

The file  has what appear to be respawn day paramaters for the game's objects. Inside the list, one can find the entries, which is what the gas pipes in Pikmin 2 are internally called,  , possibly an earlier name for the Scornet (who in the final version have the internal name  ) meaning "swarm subordinate", and  , an alternative spelling of  , which is also present in the file.

Enemies
The following enemies have unused values because they don't appear in Collect Treasure! and/or Battle Enemies! The following enemies have unused Poko values because they don't leave a corpse, so they cannot be brought back to a SPERO. The following enemies have unused values because they don't leave a corpse and they don't appear in Battle Enemies! The following enemies have unused Poko values because they don't appear in Collect Treasure! and don't leave a corpse.
 * The Armored Mawdad and the Vehemoth Phosbat have a value of / each, whereas most other bosses have it set to 0.
 * The Scornet Maestro and Scornet have a value of / each.
 * The Shaggy Long Legs and Baldy Long Legs each have a value of.
 * The Nectarous Dandelfly has a value of /.
 * The Phosbat has a value of.

Fruit
The following fruit have or had unused Poko values because they don't appear in Mission Mode.
 * The Astringent Clump has a value of (unused before Pikmin 3 Deluxe).
 * The Blonde Impostor has a part value of each and a whole value of.
 * The Delectable Bouquet has a value of.
 * The Disguised Delicacy has a part value of each and a whole value of.
 * The Portable Sunset has a value of.
 * The Velvety Dreamdrop has a value of (unused before Pikmin 3 Deluxe).

The following fruit have unused juice values because they don't appear in Story Mode.
 * The Golden Sunseed has a juice value of 0.
 * The Golden Grenade has a juice value of 0.

Unused audio
Several songs exist inside the releases of Pikmin 3, but are unused.

Songs
There is a "good" version of the end of day theme, much like the ones in Pikmin 2.

Same as above, but a "bad" version.

A file similar to the Side Stories selection theme. It was likely to be used for the #|planned inclusion of the Pikmin Short Movies, but was unused due to their inclusion in Pikmin 3 Deluxe being scrapped.

Miscellaneous

 * In Pikmin 3 Deluxe, an unused cue for the golden arachnorb battle theme is in the files.
 * There is also an unedited group of sound files of a human howling, which were likely intended for an enemy.

Unused scenes
Much like in the first game, each Onion was to be found dormant, and had their own "boot up" cutscene. The larger size of the onion seems to be reused for the master onion.

Other

 * There is an unused berry resembling an egg yolk that can be picked up by Pikmin in a similar manner to bomb rocks. The icon for Pikmin holding a berry resembles a tomato, and when the Pikmin holding the berry is thrown at a surface, the berry splats on the floor. These berries can be used with the unused kakureimo and moguraimo enemies, which will "eat" the berries.
 * There is an unique, unused Candypop Bud-like object named . When placed into an area, it appears purple when closed but white when open, and its model derives from the Pikmin 2 Candypop Buds, but with large black sharp tips at the ends of the petals. The meaning of "nama" is unknown, although  can translate to "raw", "unprocessed", or "unpolished". When Pikmin are thrown in, they die, but new seeds do not come out. After five are thrown in, it stops working.
 * Gas pipes were meant to return, as per the object called . Like in Pikmin 2, only White Pikmin can survive the poison.
 * There is a large unused black and white checkered box called . It does nothing at all when spawned and is solid.
 * There is an object called, that was likely used to test textures. One half of it is red with white spots, like the Bulborb or Dwarf Bulborb, while the other is white with blue spots, like the Hairy Bulborb or Snow Bulborb. This is interesting, since the Hairy and Snow Bulborb are absent from this game.
 * There is a model for the Bulbmin in the folder containing all Pikmin and leaders. However, it is exactly the same as its Pikmin 2 model, so it was likely scrapped early in development.
 * There is an early version of the crystal wall in Pikmin 3 Deluxe, with it being made of actual crystal instead of glass.
 * There is also a model for an early Onion in the style of Pikmin and Pikmin 2, albeit black due to having no color information.
 * Pikmin 3 Deluxe always renders the radar, much like how Pikmin 3 does, for use on the GamePad. This can be seen by attempting to use recording programs on Nintendo Switch emulators.