PNF-404: Difference between revisions

In the [[Pikmin (game)|first ''Pikmin'' game]], Olimar crash lands on this uncharted planet during his vacation after his ship is struck by an asteroid. Due to the planet's atmosphere being filled with a dangerously high concentration of oxygen, he must escape the planet before his life support system fails.

In ''Pikmin 3'', the inhabitants of [[Koppai]] discover the planet in an attempt to find food on other planets and name it PNF-404. They send [[Alph]], [[Brittany]], and [[Captain Charlie]] to the planet to bring back food, in order to save their planet from starvation. They also crashed landed onto the planet.

In ''Pikmin 4'', Olimar crashes onto the planet again, as does the [[Rescue Corps]] when they respond to his distress call. Several other castaways are also present on the planet, having arrived their for their own reasons.

Although ambiguous, PNF-404 is at least very Earth-like, with similar geography and traits. Whether PNF-404 is actually our Earth or an alternate version is yet to be revealed in the games or by [[Shigeru Miyamoto]], the game's creator. Either way, it is doubtful that the similarities are coincidental.

Some of the elements found in PNF-404 appear to not be natural, but rather, made by sentient beings. Drawing the parallel with Earth, these objects are very likely made by humans. Tin cans, as well as many other human-made objects and structures from modern times, can be found lying around (for example, parts of [[Perplexing Pool]] appear to be the remains of a bathroom, and a {{w|Ramune}} bottle in [[The Forest Navel]]), and most of the "[[treasure]]s" found in the second game are human-made. Nearly all of the [[treasure]]s in ''Pikmin 2'' and every treasure in ''Hey! Pikmin'' are artificial. These even include many items that are registered trademarks of companies on Earth, such as [[Courage Reactor|Duracell]] and [[Quenching Emblem|7-Up]].

Although treasures are absent in the third game, there are still some objects made by humans scattered across the areas. Although [[Tropical Wilds]] is nearly all natural, lots of human-made objects can be found in the [[Garden of Hope]]. There are many [[cinder block]]s blocking paths, and some pipes near the southern half, which appears to be the remnants of a bathroom. The whole stage obviously has many flower pots and garden elements, and there is a jump-rope near the entrance to the [[Quaggled Mireclops]]'s arena. More rusted cans can be found in Distant Tundra, as well as [[Electrode|light bulb]]s and a car battery. There is also a large tomato can in [[Twilight River]] near the [[Puffy Blowhog]]. Finally, the [[Data Glutton]] and [[Folded Data Glutton]] are obviously phones made by humans, and the [[S.S. Drake]] even calls it an "ancient communication device".

There are many strange [[enemy|creature]]s seen on the planet throughout the games, most of them being hostile. Perhaps this is an entirely new age where humans have died out and many other creatures have come to coexist. The [[Geiger Counter]] is constantly in action, implying that there is strong and constant radiation. That could explain why there are no humans anymore, and also why all creatures on PNF-404 look so different compared to how animals looked when humans were alive. In fact, many creatures resemble evolved or mutated versions of real-world animals, such as [[Wollywog]]s and [[Anode Beetle]]s, which resemble frogs and ladybugs.

''Pikmin 3'' seems to retcon that in favor of an entirely new look, with it being heavily based off the scientific hypotheses of how the Earth's surface would look like in 250 million years, known as {{w|Pangaea Proxima}}. Besides being wider, the only major difference is that a small peninsula attached to what would've been Asia in the theory was changed to the island with the [[Formidable Oak]]. Almost all of the game's levels are more composed of natural elements rather than man-made remnants, and the small amounts of evidence of humanity left are heavily deteriorated, more-so than in the earlier games, to justify that it has been millions of years after humanity. All of the fruits in the game are based on real fruit, however, many of them are found in places where they wouldn't be able to grow, or with other fruit that they aren't grown near.

The name "PNF-404" fits the nomenclature used by NASA to identify less important planets. The letters and numbers that make up the name, however, have a special meaning: 404 is an {{w|List of HTTP status codes|HTTP status code}} that means "'''P'''age '''N'''ot '''F'''ound".