Crash
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In computing, a crash, sometimes also referred to as a freeze, happens when a piece of software stops working properly and can not continue running. This is usually because the code has done something impossible, like trying to divide by zero, or read from an invalid memory position. Ideally, most software will be programmed in such a way that the final user can almost never cause the program to do something illegal, but some glitches or exploits can allow the user to do so. The Pikmin series also have a few glitches, exploits, and hacks that allow the player to crash the game.
When a crash happens in a Pikmin game, the game stops responding, and the player can do almost nothing except shut down the console and boot it back up. Crashes in Pikmin games are very rare, and the player will likely need to do them on purpose, but a corrupted or damaged game, saved game data, or system can all cause crashes. In this case, they should be replaced or repaired.
Besides crashing, some scenarios can also happen where the player is "soft-locked". In these cases, the game continues playing and responding like normal, but it is in a state that does not allow the player to make any progress.
Ways to crash
The following are ways to make the games crash without using any hacks.
Pikmin
If the player's saved game data is corrupted, and the game attempts to repair it, the player can end up with save data that does not make any sense, and leaves the game in a state where many things can cause it to crash. An example would be to play on a day past day 30, and waiting for the day to end.
Besides that, there was also a rumored glitch in Pikmin that would allow the Beady Long Legs to walk out of its arena, fall into the pit, and crash the game. More information can be found here.
Pikmin 2
- Treasure delivery crash: If the player pauses the game in the same frame as a treasure collection cutscene starts, and then chooses to quit the cave, the game will crash shortly after.
- Glutton's Kitchen crashes: It is possible for the game to crash when the player is playing on Glutton's Kitchen sublevel 6. The reasons for this are not known.
- Cavernous Abyss loading crash: For unknown reasons, the game can crash while trying to load Cavernous Abyss.
- Petrified Volatile Dweevil suicide: In the Japanese version, using an ultra-bitter spray on a Volatile Dweevil that is about to explode will cause the game to crash.
Pikmin 3
- Cardboard box crash: The game can crash some seconds after the cardboard box at the start of the first day is pushed.
Crash handler
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In Pikmin 2 for the GameCube, if the game crashes, the player might be able to input a development button combination in order to get a crash handler screen to pop up.[1] The code should be pressed one button at a time, and with ample time between each button press:
This was used by the developers to help figure out what went wrong when the game crashed during development. Because the core game itself is frozen, the handler writes the debugging data directly onto the framebuffer, and as a result, is a bit choppy and slow. When the crash handler is opened, it begins by scrolling down the entire report, line by line, and the user can only control it after it reaches the end. 
and 
scroll the report up and down, while 
goes to the start and 
goes to the bottom.
The first few lines contain information about what function crashed, and where in the code it is. Because the code map file in the game's data is outdated compared to the final build, this can sometimes point to the wrong parts of the code. Everything else in the report consists of information about the type of error that occurred, and the state of some important locations of memory when that happened.
References
- ^ YouTube video of the crash handler in action, published on August 3rd, 2018, retrieved on August 4th, 2018