Controls

The Pikmin games have a variety of controls used to control the game's menus, leaders, camera and gameplay mechanics. These controls come in the form of button presses and releases, analog stick tilts, Wii Remote pointer movements and touchscreen touches.

In-game controls
The following is a list of controls for when the player is controlling a leader on an area or cave, for each game.

Pikmin
The first title in the franchise is played on the GameCube, and hence, with the GameCube controller. The New Play Control! Pikmin version is played using the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk, and most button inputs are edited accordingly. In the Nintendo Switch port, the controls are more faithful to the GameCube version than ''New Play Control! Pikmin'', though the inputs themselves are very similar to.

Pikmin 2
The sequel retains many of the controls from the first game, but with some additions and changes. Like the first game, the original GameCube version is played using a GameCube controller, the New Play Control! Pikmin 2 version is played with the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk, and the Nintendo Switch version uses a control scheme similar to.

Pikmin 3
Pikmin 3 allows for four ways to control the game. The player can use the the GamePad's buttons, the Wii Remote + Nunchuk, the Wii U Pro Controller, or, as of version 2.0.0, the GamePad's touchscreen; the latter is known as "Stylus Mode". The Wii Classic Controller is not supported. When the player uses a control from a controller different from the one they're currently using, a message will appear on-screen saying the main controller has changed, and the player is then allowed to use that controller from there on out. The exception to this is.

In addition, the player can toggle Off-TV Play with. While Off-TV Play mode is on, the TV screen will display some Pikmin moving from right to left on a black screen, with the message "Look at the GamePad." on the bottom. Given that with Off-TV Play off, the player uses the TV screen as the main gameplay view-port and the GamePad as the radar, the player will need to use to toggle between gameplay view and radar view, if Off-TV Play is on.

If the player wishes to play with the Wii Remote and Off-TV Play, they must point the Wii Remote at the GamePad, as opposed to the Sensor Bar.

Stylus Mode
With Stylus Mode, the player does the majority of the important actions by pressing on the touchscreen. In this mode, the controls are exactly the same whether Off-TV Play is on or off, and the same touchscreen spot maps to exactly the same game world location in both cases. To use an ultra-spicy spray, dismiss/charge, open the KopPad's apps, or switch leaders, the corresponding buttons on the left side of the touchscreen must be tapped.

Pikmin 3 Deluxe
changes many of the controls from Pikmin 3 due to factors like the differences between the Wii U and Switch (such as the lack of a second screen), changes to mechanics such as charging, and utilization of the Switch's gyroscope.

The available control schemes depend on the amount of players.
 * In single-player, the player can use one of the following: 2 combined Joy-Con attached to the console, 2 combined Joy-Con detached from the console, or a Pro Controller.
 * In 2-player, each player can use one of the following: 2 combined Joy-Con detached from the console, a Pro Controller, or a single Joy-Con sideways.

The game features three cursor control styles: stick-only, gyro-stick, and gyro-pointer. These control modes are set in the pause menu.
 * With stick-only controls, moving lightly controls the cursor, and moving fully controls both the leader and cursor. By tilting the stick lightly, the cursor can go past its standard range; when it does, it turns cyan. Pikmin can be thrown farther than normal this way, but only roughly until the midway point between the maximum standard range and the maximum "light tilt" range. The whistle always comes from where the cursor is. Moving the stick fully if the cursor was past the standard range will return it to standard range. In this mode, rotating the camera will keep the cursor in place. Unlike Pikmin 3, the cursor is based on the area's geometry. For instance, if the player is overlooking a cliff and has the cursor on the edge, holding up will make the cursor move forward in the area and dip down the edge, despite the fact that doing this moved the cursor down on the screen.
 * With gyro-stick controls, controls the leader when fully held, but also controls the cursor regardless of how much it is tilted. Tilting the controller will also move the cursor. In reality, there is an imaginary "anchor" that is controlled by, and tilting the controller allows the cursor to offset around this point, up to a fixed radius around the point. For unknown reasons, in certain scenarios the cursor will behave erratically – if the gyro offset is at a given angle, and the anchor moves to that same side compared to the leader, the offset will cause the cursor to very quickly jump to the leader.  and  both reset the cursor's position and gyro offset. With this mode, locking-on will place the cursor on the target, but it can then be offset by tilting the controller. In this mode, rotating the camera will keep the cursor in place, but any gyro offset will change to match the camera's orientation, albeit with erratic results as the camera rotates. Moving the cursor, regardless of input, will make it move around the screen, like with gyro-pointer controls, and not around the area, like the stick-only controls.
 * With gyro-pointer controls, only controls the leader, and only when fully held. Instead, tilting the controller moves the cursor around the screen. It can move to any position on-screen, and cannot go past it. Pressing  in this mode changes it to centering the cursor instead of changing the standby Pikmin to the next one;  now changes to the next standby Pikmin. In this mode, rotating the camera will keep the cursor in the same screen location.

There is only one cursor control style option in the options menu, so in 2-player mode, it influences both players. Gyro-pointer cursor mode cannot be used with a sideways Joy-Con – the game will act as if gyro-cursor is on instead for any player that tries, despite the option still being recorded as gyro-pointer behind the scenes until players purposely change that.

This means that if the option is set to gyro-pointer, one player is using combined Joy-Cons or a Pro Controller, and the other player is using a single sideways Joy-Con, one can play with gyro-pointer while the other plays with gyro-cursor, which is not something that is otherwise possible. Any player with a sideways Joy-Con will only have the stick-only and gyro-stick options available in the pause menu, but oddly this means that if player 1 is using two combined Joy-Cons or a Pro Controller, and player 2 is using a sideways Joy-Con, player 1 will be able to set the global cursor style option to any mode, while player 2 will be limited to stick-only or gyro-stick, despite the option affecting both players as stated previously.

Hey! Pikmin
is primarily played with the 3DS's control stick and the touch screen, as almost all actions can be done with them. While most buttons are not required to play the game, they still have functions to provide an alternative to using the control stick. The buttons exclusive to the New Nintendo 3DS do not do anything.

Specific controls
This section details controls for specific scenarios that can be encountered while playing.

General menus
The controls for the menus are simple, allowing the player to highlight an option, change its values, or activate it. In general, the controls are as follows:


 * To highlight a different option, the D-Pad or main Analog Stick of the controller is used, normally up and down.
 * To change the value of a highlighted option, the D-Pad or main Analog Stick of the controller is used, normally left and right.
 * To confirm the option, if applicable, the punch button is used.
 * To cancel, if applicable, the whistle button is used.

Onions
In the first two games and the New Play Control! remakes, the Onion menu allows the player to withdraw or save Pikmin using a simple control interface.


 * Pressing up or down on the D-Pad or main Analog Stick of the controller allows the player to change the amount of Pikmin of that type in the party. Missing or excessive Pikmin will be automatically withdrawn or stored accordingly. Up increases the amount of Pikmin in the Onion, while down increases the amount in the group.
 * Pressing the punch button confirms the choice.
 * Pressing the whistle button cancels.

Area selection
The area selection menu in the first two games has some specific options and controls.

Piklopedia and Treasure Hoard
On the Piklopedia and Treasure Hoard menu, there are a few specific actions that can be performed.

Bomb rocks
Due to the actions that can be performed by Pikmin carrying bomb rocks, some special notes need to be taken into consideration in order to not have a bomb rock explode accidentally.

Radar
A few buttons control the radar. These allow the player to pan it and zoom it.

Pikmin 2 title screen
Some Easter eggs exist on the title screen for Pikmin 2 and the New Play Control! remake. These allow the player to change the words the Pikmin spell out, and allows the spawn and control of an enemy.

Button-mashing
The term button-mashing is used when a player rapidly presses buttons or tilts sticks on the controller, without any discernible pattern. The point of doing this varies between games and scenarios, but in the Pikmin games, one may have to button-mash in certain situations in order to achieve a goal. The following situations require the player to button-mash: In a sense, it could be said that the games prior to Pikmin 3 require the player to mash to continuously pluck Pikmin, but this is only partially true: the player needs only to press the button during a pluck animation, in order to assure that the next Pikmin will also be automatically plucked. In addition, mashing the throw button is required in order to throw Pikmin in quick succession.
 * When the current leader is being attacked by an opposing Pikmin, twirling the main analog stick allows the leader to shake them off; they'll remained latched until the stick is twirled for long enough. In Pikmin and, actual buttons can also be pressed rapidly to shake off Mushroom Pikmin.
 * When the leader is being held by a Greater Spotted Jellyfloat, Swooping Snitchbug or Bumbling Snitchbug, the player can rotate the main stick to break free. If they do not do it in time, they subject the leader to damage. In, the player may also shake the controller itself.
 * In Pikmin 3, when a leader is thrown to the ground, the player can mash directions on – such as twirling – to make them get up. The player can also shake the Nunchuk to make them get up (usually easier and faster). The leader will get up by themselves eventually, however. In Pikmin 3 Deluxe, they get up by themselves right away.
 * When playing as Oatchi in Pikmin 4, the player can mash the B button to make him recover from a hazard such as fire, poison or panic sooner.

If the player is not interested in a cutscene's dialog, the fastest way to advance it is by mashing the and  buttons. If the game in question allows using the "B" button to both advance the text and auto-fill the letters, then that button may be mashed alone.

In Pikmin 2, the mashing logic only reads from the control stick, not any other button or the C-stick. The game keeps track of how hard the player's been mashing lately as a numeric value. As the player mashes, this number increases every frame, but it also decreases every frame the player doesn't mash, meaning the player has to keep mashing to keep that number up. Due to the way the system works, this number can never go beyond 14. Every frame where that number is higher than 5, the game rolls a random number between 1 and 22, and if that number is below it, it can proceed to the next check: a roll between 1 and 10, where if the number is 1, the leader is freed. In practice, this means the harder the player has mashed in the past 22 frames, the higher their chance of escaping, and even with the fastest possible mashing, there's a 14/22 &times; a 1/10 chance every frame to be freed.

Console and controller resetting
For the GameCube games, there are two button combinations that replace the need to interact with the physical console itself: one resets the game without pressing the button on the console, and the other resets the controller's neutral position, without needing to unplug and replug it. The former can be achieved by holding +  +  for a few seconds. For the latter, the player must hold +  +, for three seconds, without touching , ,  or. This is because when the console is booted, or the controller's neutral position is reset, the position of the sticks and the analog shoulder buttons is considered to be the default. If, for instance, the Control Stick is held to the right when the default position is being registered, then the game will assume that the Stick is being held left, if the player releases the Control Stick.

Controller diagram
,, , , and contain diagrams of the controller with labels on what each button does during gameplay. In Pikmin and its rereleases, a diagram is found in Olimar's monitor, in the Nintendo Switch version of Pikmin 2 a diagram (that is directly copied from the Nintendo Switch version of Pikmin) can be viewed at any time by pressing, and in Pikmin 3 Deluxe, diagrams of the different control styles are found in the Control Guide in the pause menu. These can be used should the player forget the controls.

Movement and analog stick drift
After the release of, there have been reports of players being unable to move the leader, sometimes in specific angles only. This is because in order to move a leader, one must tilt the analog stick fully, since tilting it partially will only move the cursor (or do nothing, if the player is using gyro cursor controls exclusively), and given that some Joy-Cons and Pro Controllers suffer from analog stick drifting and incorrect range detection, players suffering from this hardware problem will find themselves unable to move leaders effectively until the affected controllers are repaired.

Trivia

 * Interestingly, after switching leaders in Pikmin 3, there is a small delay until the player can switch again. This delay can be bypassed with Stylus mode and the touchscreen buttons.