Review: Pikmin 3 Deluxe
To describe the Pikmin franchise as a genre, it would be fair to classify it as a puzzle/survivor/horror franchise. The player is required to find a way to defeat specific enemies, using specific Pikmin, while also facing specific roadblocks and puzzles that need to be solved in order to advance the protagonist’s journey. In the first game, it was all about the missing parts of his rocket ship. The second entry, it was locating all kinds of treasures. Now. in Pikmin 3, it boils down to finding food.
Pikmin 3 Deluxe doubles-down on its puzzle-solving mechanics, having the player switching between three different captains in order to solve some of the most complex puzzles in the entire series. There are also new enemy types and boss battles that you encounter along the way that can only be defeated with specific Pikmin and strategies, which present unique challenges for the player.
However, you can´t sit there and do nothing, even if the coast is clear. The game uses a day/night cycle, which adds even more challenges to the player. If there are some Pikmins out in the wild, with no captain in contact with them, you lose the/those Pikmin for good. The game even gives the player’s a visual of how the/those Pikmins get eaten by monsters while you move out for the night.
What´s new with this expansion of the original Pikmin 3, which was released back in 2013, is the introduction of co-op gameplay. If you have a friend or family member that wants to try Pikmin out, they can grab a controller and help you out throughout your adventure. I was skeptical about how this mechanic could work at first, but after trying it out with the help of one of my sisters, it actually works a lot better than I expected. The only thing that bothered me, was that if someone needed to check the map, it paused the game for both players. It also made it that the players had to take turns whenever they needed to grab a group of Pikmin from what the captain calls The Onion. It made me wonder how 3 player co-ops wireless or online would have worked.
For those that prefer playing it on the Switch’s handheld mode, the game work fantastic on handheld. As far as I have noticed, there were no frame rate or graphical issues when I played it undocked. There were also no big differences when it came to controlling the captains.
In the end, Pikmin 3 Deluxe is a game that is worth revisiting or playing for the first time in this new Nintendo Switch port. It is a gorgeous game, filled with challenges for challenge-driven players. Even though it is a sequel, this is a great entry for those that are new to the series but are interested in checking it out. It is a fantastic entry in one of Nintendo’s most underrated franchises, and it deserves all the love we can give it.
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Isak Wolff
Co-host of the Amateur Otaku Podcast. A writer of many things. Loves everything nerdy from anime/manga to comics and video games. Fire Emblem is the greatest of all time.
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