Dandori Challenge
Dandori Challenges are special caves in Pikmin 4. While accessed from the areas in Story Mode, they function more like an alternative game mode, similar to the Challenge Mode from Pikmin 2 and Mission Mode from Pikmin 3. These challenges are directed by leaflings, and completing a Dandori Challenge allows the player to rescue that very same leafling castaway. Pikmin from outside the challenge cannot be taken inside, and will instead idle near the entrance. Once completed, a challenge cave is closed so that the leafling does not enter again, but the challenge can be reentered from the Rescue Command Post once Jin is saved.
Dandori Challenges are treasure-collecting missions, where the player is given a time limit to find and collect all the Sparklium around a special sublevel. Sparklium can be collected by carrying treasures to the S.S. Beagle and enemies to the Onion. As described by the challenge-giver, the treasures are fake, and the Sparklium obtained is not kept after the challenge. Likewise, the Pikmin given to the player inside the challenge belong to that person and cannot be taken out. The player can earn medals based on their performance. Only a bronze is required to complete the challenge and bring back the leafling, but silver, gold, and platinum medals can also be earned. Depending on how well they did, the player may earn raw materials. Each stage is ranked with a "Dandori Level" of 1 to 5, indicating the level of difficulty.
Throughout the challenge, the leafling in charge will stand in one spot in the sublevel and watch the player as they work. While they are reachable, they cannot be interacted with. If the challenge is passed, the leafling will be overwhelmed by the player's dandori skill, get dizzy from all the work, and faint shortly after giving the player raw materials.
List of stages
- Dandori Day Care
- Hotschock Canyon
- Rockaway Cellars
- Test Tubs
- Ice-Cross Course
- Hefty Haulaway
- Aerial Incinerator
- Strategic Freezeway
- Planning Pools
- Toggle Training
- Cliff-Hanger's Hold
- Oasis of Order
Get Help
If the player fails to earn a bronze medal on a challenge for the first time (either from running out of time or falling), Dingo will offer to complete the challenge for them if he has already been rescued beforehand. If the player selects "Get Help" from the following menu, he will proceed to do so (shown with a blank screen, text boxes, and random sound effects), and the victory cutscene will play like normal as if the player had completed it themselves.
Overtime
When playing a stage through the Rescue Command Post, the player can choose to work overtime to complete the challenge past the time limit if they failed to earn a platinum medal by collecting everything. The cost of doing so is that these results do not get reflected in the game's records. This is similar to the after hours feature in Pikmin 3 Deluxe.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese |
ダンドリチャレンジ? Dandori Charenji |
Dandori Challenge |
 French (NoA) |
Défi Dandori | Dandori challenge |
 German |
Dandori-Herausforderung | Dandori challenge |
 Portuguese |
Desafio Dandori | Dandori challenge |
 Spanish (NoA) |
Desafío Dandori | Dandori challenge |