Health
HP (short for Hit Points or Health Points) is a common mechanic in games, used to represent how close a living entity is to dying. In general terms, the higher something's HP is, the farther away it is from dying. When its HP reaches 0, it dies.
In the Pikmin games, HP is represented with a colored wheel. It is mostly used to keep track of how close an enemy is to dying. A list of enemy HP can be found on the corresponding enemy's page, or on the Piklopedia page.
HP wheel
Example of an HP wheel, from Pikmin 2.
In the Pikmin games, an object's HP is not represented with numbers, as is the norm in strategy games, but rather, by a pie chart in a circle. When an entity has all of its HP, the wheel will not be visible; it only appears when damage is taken. The pie chart inside the wheel makes a full circle when the HP is full, and opens up clockwise, from the top, as damage is sustained, finally opening all the way and disappearing when all HP is lost.
When the HP is at 50% or higher, the pie chart is drawn in green. When it's between 25% and 50%, yellow, and on the last quarter of HP remaining, the chart is red. While the chart opens and closes gradually when the HP is changed, the same does not happen with the coloration, that moves from one color to the next as soon as the required percentage is met.
Other than representing an entity's HP, the HP wheel is also used to show how much time is left until a bomb-rock (or Volatile Dweevil) explodes.
Leaders
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To do: Get Pikmin 3 info. |
The HP of leaders is represented on the bottom-left corner of the screen. It differs slightly from normal HP wheels in that it lacks a black circle behind the main pie chart, and it beeps whenever it's below 50%. Whenever a leader gets hit with a light attack, they will be knocked back slightly, their suit will emit sparks, and their HP will drop a bit, depending on the attack. If a leader's hit by a strong attack, they'll be thrown to the ground, be unable to move for a second or two, and their HP will drop considerably, again, depending on the attack.
In Pikmin, if Captain Olimar loses all his HP, he'll head to the ship and take off, automatically ending the day. Normal sunset rules apply for the Pikmin on the field at the time of Olimar's downfall. It's possible to heal to full HP by investigating the S.S. Dolphin, which is done by pressing A near the colored lights emitted by the ship.
In Pikmin 2, if a leader loses all his HP, the Research Pod will take him, and the other leader will continue on his own. If both leaders lose their HP, the day ends, as it does when Olimar falls in Pikmin. The same rule applies to caves, but the cave is immediately left (all salvaged treasures will still be saved), all Pikmin in the cave are left behind, and hence, count as deaths, and the day is instantly over afterwards. In Challenge Mode, if any leader dies, the challenge is over, and in 2-Player Battle, if a player's leader dies, the other player wins. There are two glitches in Pikmin 2 related to a leader losing all of his HP: one glitch has the fallen leader remain on the level, but invisible, while another one allows the leader to remain on the ground instead of being beamed up by the Research Pod.
Pikmin
It is currently unknown if Pikmin have HP. When hurt in combat, they can lose their flower or bud, and revert to a leaf. Once they're a leaf Pikmin, they will not suffer adverse effects from being hurt, aside from the knockback and temporary incapacitation that occurs regardless of the Pikmin's maturity. Normally, enemies have attacks that kill Pikmin right away, which makes it even harder to figure out if they do have HP or not.
There are some attacks that alternately hurt or kill Pikmin, such as a Gatling Groink's shots. It is unknown what decides whether a Pikmin should live or die.
Enemies
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To do: Doesn't damage stick from one day to the other in Pikmin 3? |
As an enemy gets hit by Pikmin attacks (or leader punches, explosions, etc.), its HP drops. Generally, enemies show no signs of weakeness when they are low on HP. Once an enemy is dead, it will either leave its dead body, which can be carried to an Onion, or it'll drop some spoils. Any damage caused to an enemy will not carry over onto the next day.
Some enemies have non-standard behavior regarding their HP:
- Hairy Bulborbs lose their hair when their HP reaches half.
- Iridescent Flint and Glint Beetles, and Doodlebugs do not have HP, but the spoils they drop depend on the number of times the insect's been hit.
- Shearwigs start flying when their HP drops to half.
- Ravenous Whiskerpillars do not actually die, as they can be seen squirming when Pikmin carry their "corpse".
- The Waterwraith enters a second stage once its rollers are destroyed.
- The Emperor Bulblax in Pikmin uses a new attack when its HP reaches half: jumping high into the air, and in Pikmin 2, when it reaches a quarter of its HP, it will roar loudly, which can unearth Mitites, scare Pikmin, and alert other Emperor Bulblaxes.
- The Titan Dweevil only has HP for the creature itself once it loses all the treasures it's carrying. Until then, each treasure has its own HP (without an HP wheel), and once it reaches 0, it is detached from the Titan Dweevil.
Regeneration
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To do: Can we get some exact times? Like how long it takes for each enemy to fully recover. Also, what exceptions are there? |
Some of the larger enemies in the Pikmin games have the ability to slowly regenerate after being hit. In most cases, this is simply to encourage the player to kill an enemy when it's attacked, and to not retreat, or else its HP might be recovered on the next battle, and all the hard work will be lost.
However, some enemies use this regeneration as a mechanic, as is the case with Shearwigs: these insects regenerate at a very fast pace while flying; the strategy being to attack them while they're airborne for an instant death. Another exceptional case are Breadbugs and Giant Breadbugs, who instantly regenerate all of their HP when they bring an item into their nest.
The following is a list of all enemies that can regenerate. Exceptionally, some enemies of the following families will not regenerate.
| Pikmin | Pikmin 2 |
|---|---|
Revival
Two types of enemies are known to revive after they've been killed: the Spotty Bulbears and the Gatling Groinks. Once their HP reaches 0, a moderately slow process of revival occurs, where the enemy's HP is filled up. The creature remains dead throughout this process, but once its HP is full, it will be brought back to life.
This mechanic encourages the player to dispose of the creature, by bringing it to an Onion or the Research Pod, before it continues attacking their Pikmin. If the enemy is killed while petrified, it will not leave a corpse, and hence, cannot revive. Finally, the only other way to ensure an enemy does not revive is to have it fall off the floor of a cave, if possible.