Crystal wall



Crystal walls are a type of gate in and  that require Rock Pikmin to break. In Pikmin 3, the gate itself is made of a piece of glass (identified as "crystal") stuck between 2 clamps, and will crack as Rock Pikmin hit it. Once enough damage has occurred, the wall will shatter altogether rather than break gradually or sink in the ground. The cracks are split in quadrants, and once a quadrant has been damaged enough, the whole structure breaks. As such, hitting the same quadrant repeatedly will take the wall down faster than hitting several quadrants. Although uncertain, it appears that all crystal walls in story mode take 24 direct hits to break if the same quadrant is hit every time, and 28 direct hits if a different quadrant is hit each time. Any crystal gate needs 2 bomb rock explosions in order to shatter, regardless of health value. In, there are 3 designs of this wall: one with the standard dark rusted metal on the sides, one with much lighter rusted metal, and one with rust-free metal. In Pikmin 4, the glass comprising the gate is now similar in appearance to crystals such as crystal nodules. Crystal walls in Pikmin 4 act as one surface instead of being split into four quadrants, and damage is the same regardless of location struck. It is the only destructible gate that Oatchi is incapable of demolishing by himself.

In a prerelease version of Pikmin 3, this gate was called a "crystallized wall". It may have been changed at some point in the game's development to shorten and simplify it.

Locations

 * Pikmin 3
 * Garden of Hope: One beside where Rock Pikmin are first discovered, one guarding access to Brittany, and one by the landing site.
 * Distant Tundra: One near the two Pyroclasmic Slooches, one of which holds a Sunseed Berry, and one near the bomb rocks by the Spotty Bulbear.
 * Formidable Oak: One near a pathway containing an iron ball.
 * Creature Hunting: Two crystal walls can be destroyed to access to the Calcified Crushblats, with neither being strictly necessary.
 * Team Monster Hunt: A crystal wall appears next to Olimar's starting position.
 * Another Part Found: A crystal wall defends a dirt mound with some bomb rocks.
 * Pikmin 4