Pikmin series

The Pikmin series is a video game series owned by Nintendo that focuses on using Pikmin to perform various tasks, such as carrying objects and fighting enemies. It consists of 4 main games, 5 re-releases, 2 spin-off games, and various other media.

Media
Release timeline:

Main games and re-releases

 *  (GameCube) – Captain Olimar must gather thirty ship parts before his life-support system fails.
 *  – Re-release for the Wii with motion controls.
 *  – Re-release for the Nintendo Switch with HD graphics.
 *  (GameCube) – Olimar and Louie must gather treasures to repay Hocotate Freight's debt.
 *  – Re-release for the Wii with motion controls.
 *  – Re-release for the Nintendo Switch with HD graphics.
 *  (Wii U) – Alph, Brittany and Captain Charlie must gather fruits in order to solve Koppai's hunger crisis.
 *  – Re-release for the Nintendo Switch that adds more content and features some other changes.
 *  (Nintendo Switch) – The Rescue Corps must collect treasures and rescue castaways as they try to find Captain Olimar.

Spin-offs

 *  (3DS) – Olimar must collect Sparklium via treasures in order to power his ship.
 *  (Mobile devices) – An augmented-reality walking-themed application.

Secondary media

 * The Wii U launch title Nintendo Land has a Pikmin-themed attraction, called Pikmin Adventure.
 * The Pikmin Short Movies are a trio of Pikmin animated shorts.
 * Pikmin.com SpaceForce was a browser game made to promote.

Main characters

 * Captain Olimar – main character of the first two games and, and original discoverer of the Pikmin.
 * Louie – Olimar's partner during his voyage in.
 * The President – president of Hocotate Freight, the company Olimar works for, and alternate partner in Pikmin 2.
 * Alph – one of the explorers in, the ship's main engineer.
 * Brittany – one of the explorers in Pikmin 3, a botanist.
 * Captain Charlie – one of the explorers in Pikmin 3, the captain.

Reception and sales
The main four games have been recieved well by critics, getting average scores of between 87/100 and 90/100 on the review aggregator site Metacritic. ''Hey! Pikmin'' received average reviews, with criticism aimed at its simplistic puzzles. The total number of sales for the series is approximately 5.93 million as of March 2021, with the best-selling game in the series being Pikmin 3 Deluxe.

In other games
Elements from the series also play parts in a number of other Nintendo games, most notably, , and , in which Olimar is a playable character, and two Pikmin-themed stages appear – Distant Planet and Garden of Hope. There are also multiple soundtracks and trophies.

Pikmin have made cameo appearances in games like WarioWare: Smooth Moves and the Nintendo DSi/3DS software transfer animation, while Pikmin-themed items have appeared in  and the Animal Crossing series.