Pikmin 3

Captain Charlie

Revision as of 10:54, June 16, 2022 by Espyo (talk | contribs) (Undo: It's really unknown. And character ages in video games from Japanese developers often come in a varied range of unexpected ages. e.g. Older Fire Emblem games had their handful of characters in wars that looked fairly adult, but were later confirmed by the developers to be young teens.)
Charlie
Captain Charlie's spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It uses official artwork from Pikmin 3.
Name Charlie
Gender Male
Age Adulthood (age unknown)
Eye color Black
Hair color Brown
Home planet Koppai
Known related characters Pet
Height ~1.9 cm (0.77 inches)
Voice actor Takashi Nagasako
First game Pikmin 3
Latest game Pikmin 3 Deluxe

Captain Charlie (キャプテン・チャーリー?), also commonly referred to as Charlie (チャーリー?), is one of the three playable leaders in Pikmin 3. He wears a spacesuit with a green lapel and a star-shaped badge on its left side. He has an average-sized nose, a dark brown mohawk and a tiny mustache, and like Alph, has eyes that are wide open at all times. His skin is also the most tan out of the three explorers. He, along with Brittany and Alph, come from the planet Koppai in search of a new food source for their planet, and serves as the captain of their space-faring vessel, the S.S. Drake. He also takes a rubber ducky with him on every mission for good luck. He is revered as a hero on Koppai, being described by Alph as "one of Koppai's greatest legends".

Gameplay

Charlie is the first character to be played as, and starts the farthest away from the ship. After encountering Yellow Pikmin and introducing all the controls, he goes into a cave where he encounters the offspring of the Vehemoth Phosbat and defeats them, thereby angering the mother. Shortly after this encounter, he is attacked after a strange shadow is seen flying around him. Later, when Alph and Brittany defeat the Phosbat in the Distant Tundra, he comes out of the Phosbat's mouth and becomes playable again. His crash site is found later in the game by Olimar, as suggested by a data file found in the area.

In game, Charlie plays the same as Alph and Brittany.

Personality

Charlie is shown as a very capable, level-headed leader and shows a lot of care and a sense of protection towards the people he loves and respects. In some reports it's revealed that he prefers to stay vigilant near the S.S. Drakes door to protect his crewmates and greatly appreciates their presence, since he was often alone in space during his youth as a ranger.[1] Charlie also shows great interest in the natural landscapes of PNF-404, as he considers the beauty of the plants and flowers to have moved him in a way that's difficult to describe. Charlie also seems to have a really keen interest towards ducks, demonstrating a lot of knowledge about them[2], owning a rubber ducky as a lucky charm[3] and having a pet duck named Elizabeth whom he describes as his soulmate.[4][5] His Piklopedia notes suggest he is a tenacious fighter and proud of his "steely fists".

There are many parts in the game's story where Charlie tries to show his deep affection towards Brittany, only to be interrupted by some other, pressing matter.[6][7][8] His crush on Brittany is further accentuated in several reports where he plans to collect a few flowers as a present for Brittany[9] and where he describes that, if he has to throw a crew member, he would always choose Alph first.[10]

Quotes

Non-specific

Reaches target location
"I've arrived at the destination!"
"Sorry for the hold up!"
"Arrived at the destination! Over!"
"So this is where that signal is coming from...
Pikmin are suffering
"Curses! This is no good!"
"Pikmin down! Pikmin down!
Attacked by enemy
"Cripes! This is bad!"
"Things aren't looking good!"
"We have a situation!"
"Ack! Enemies!"

Scripted

Waking up from crash
"Ugh... What happened?"
"And where am I? Oh, right. PNF-404!"
"This is Charlie speaking. Do you copy? I repeat, this is Charlie, your Captain. Come in!"
"......"
"No one's responding."
"I seem to have come out unscathed, but I'm not sure about the rest of my crew."
"For now, my immediate concern is to locate my two other crew members."
Finds Yellow Pikmin
"Huh? What's that?"
"More of them!"
"More here too..."
"Uh-oh... I seem to have wandered into a strange neighborhood..."
"What’s this? They came towards me!"
"My whistle will scare them off."
"I can sound it with ZR/B."
"Aim at them with the pointer, and blow the whistle."
"Stay back!"
"I’m surrounded!"
"Maybe I should throw them!"
"I can’t let it end like this!"
"I can throw them using A."
"There you go!"
"Argh, give me a break!"
"They keep staring at me!"
"They’re just glued to me!"
"I’ll shake them all of at once!"
"Oof!"
"Well, they don't seem to be hostile. So let me get this straight..."
"I can round these creatures up by pointing at them and pressing B/ZR, then I can throw them with A."
"Finally, I can dismiss the whole group with (nunchuck shake)/B."
"Maybe these fellows can be of some use..."
Finds and clears Spotcaps
"This planet’s mushrooms are huge…"
"Right! That's how it's done!"
"I should look around for my crew!"
"Pressing Z/ZL will let me see what's in front of me."
Finds more Yellow Pikmin
"Look, there's even more of them!"
Finds Kingcaps
"What enormous mushrooms!"
Exits crashing site
"They're still following me..."
Enters Vehemoth Phosbat's cave
"Something's in here!"
"Wow, it's bright!"
"The light's scaring them off..."

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

Charlie appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. One of Alph's alternate customs also sports a green color scheme, reminiscent of Charlie. This alternate custom is present in the 3DS version too.

Trophy information:

    US description:

Charlie is the leader of a group that crash-lands on PNF-404. After he comes to, Charlie takes a look at his snowy-white surroundings and then tries to contact the rest of his crew, Alph and Brittany, with his KopPad. Getting no response, he starts walking and spots some small creatures. Hurrah! Some yellow Pikmin!
Appears in:

  Pikmin 3 (08/2013)
  EU description:

Charlie is the leader of the group that crash-lands on PNF-404. After the crash, he wakes up alone in snowy surroundings, and then uses his KopPad to try to make contact with the rest of his crew. When he gets no response, he decides to start walking and spots some small creatures. Hurray! It's some helpful yellow Pikmin!
Related Games

  Pikmin 3 (07/2013)
How to obtain: Random appearance. Type: Stage Trophy Box: 62. Space Explorer

Naming

Charlie's name is derived from the term used for the letter C in the phonetic alphabet. This makes sense as Alph (Alpha) is also used for A in the phonetic alphabet; the initial of his name is also the same letter of his prototype name (Character C), just like Alph and Brittany.

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning Notes
  Japanese キャプテン・チャーリー?
Kyaputen・Chārī
Captain Charlie
  Chinese
(traditional)
查理隊長 Captain Charlie
  Chinese
(simplified)
查理队长 Captain Charlie
  French Capitaine Charlie Captain Charlie
  German Captain Charlie Captain Charlie
  Italian Capitano Charlie Captain Charlie
  Korean 캡틴 찰리
Kaeptin Challi
Captain Charlie
  Spanish Capitán Charlie Captain Charlie
  Russian Чарли
Charli
Charlie Used in official media
  Hebrew צ'ארלי
t'arli
Charlie Used in official media[11]

Gallery

Trivia

  • Due to the fact that Charlie and Alph land in separate areas, Charlie meets Yellow Pikmin rather than red ones like Alph. However, he does not discover their Onion, so they are not formally introduced until later on.
  • Captain Charlie has longer arms than the other leaders in Pikmin 3, making various out of bounds tricks easier to perform with Charlie.
  • Captain Charlie led three missions prior to Pikmin 3, named Operation: Rubber Ducky Up A Tree, Operation: Beached Rubber Ducky, and Operation: Rubber Ducky Stucky.
  • There is a voyage log entry where Charlie breaks the fourth wall.[12]
  • Captain Charlie is one of two leaders with facial hair, the other one being the President.

References

  1. ^ Ah...missions like this remind me of my old days as a ranger. I was brash, young, and bedecked in medals! I learned how to be a real ranger in those days...in outer space... all alone. Still, it's nice to have comrades—our engineer, Alph, and our botanist, Brittany. Especially Brittany... – Captain Charlie in a Pikmin 3 Voyage Log
  2. ^ Well, we could all learn a lot from you, Captain! Your understanding of ducks is clearly second-to-none! – Alph in a check in conversation
  3. ^ The seasoned captain of the crew, Charlie carries a rubber ducky for good luck. – Official Pikmin 3 Deluxe Site in https://pikmin3.nintendo.com/story/
  4. ^ GEESE ARE FILTHY CREATURES! ...Elizabeth is a duck. – Captain Charlie in a check in conversation
  5. ^ THAT'S MY BUSINESS! I'm sorry, Alph, I didn't mean to yell. Elizabeth is my soul mate. Leave it at that. – Captain Charlie in a check in conversation
  6. ^ (But this is also an opportunity to gain Brittany's respect.) – Captain Charlie in a check in conversation
  7. ^ Worry not, Brittany! I would never let that— – Captain Charlie in a check in conversation
  8. ^ What a coincidence, Brittany! Have I ever told you what a big impression you've made on m— – Captain Charlie in a check in conversation
  9. ^ I've been thinking of plucking one to give to a certain someone. – Captain Charlie in a check in conversation
  10. ^ The terrain of this planet is wonderfully varied. A couple of times already, I thought we were at a dead end, only to find a way forward by throwing a crew member! It's almost like the planet is testing my ability to solve problems creatively! I know it doesn't really matter who I throw, but I always choose Alph. You should never throw away the things that you love... – Captain Charlie in a voyage log in the European version
  11. ^ Pikmin 3 Deluxe on nintendo.il
  12. ^ When sunset approaches, time gets short! When you feel the crunch, you can pile on layers of Pikmin into ongoing tasks to speed them up. Or you can spread 'em out and try to broaden your operations. You have options, and by "you," I guess I mean "me." Not sure why I'm referring to myself in the second person. Space is a funny place... – Captain Charlie in a voyage log entry