Hey! Pikmin - Nintendo 3DS

I've played through Pikmin 1, 2, and 3 and loved them all. When I heard that a side-scrolling-spin-off game was in the works I had mixed feelings. After playing the game for a while, I still have mixed feeling about it. Let's start with the good: Despite the low resolution of the 3ds, this game is beautiful - much like the previous titles. It is a joy to look around and see the world. The Pikmin are adorable. Nintendo is so good at making mute characters come to life. The descriptions of the things we use are entertaining. The puzzles are different from most games because it's about launching Pikmin everywhere instead of getting your actual character places. There is still a small amount of managing Pikmin. The game makes you want to explore every part of the levels. On to the bad (and keep in mind, this is in comparison to previous Pikmin games) The game isn't tough at all. You don't get to micro-manage the Pikmin to do different tasks. You don't get the joy of an RTS-like game. I liked being a Pikmin Overlord, sending pikmin all over the map to kill enemies, destroy walls, and haul loot. This just isn't in the game. The Pikmin park has a very small sense of this, but it is nothing in comparison to previous titles. This game is split into a lot of different level (ala mario bros.) which makes the world feel less natural and broken up. It kills the exploration vibe of the series. Thinking about it now, this game could have been made at least thrice as good if it was a metroidvania set-up where Olimar gathers lots of Pikmin from all over and backtrack to previous places to solve puzzles that required more Pikmin or certain types of Pikmin. Exploration would go up, micro-managing would be a thing again, and the world would feel more real. This all being said, this is a good game. It has enough enjoyment in it to warrant $32 (hooray Gamer's Club), but I'm a bit wary of $40 for it. It can be a good introduction to the characters of the series, but in no means is it the same as the others with regards to gameplay.

A fun little side scrolling exploration platformer puzzle game with a splash of Pikmin. If you go into this not expecting a traditional Pikmin game you will enjoy it.

I bought this game for my wife and she LOVES it! She loved playing Pikmin 3 on the Wii U, and was happy to see a new Pikmin game released for the Nintendo 3DS. The game does not make use of the 3D features but that didn't seem to bother her. It was fun to see the puzzle aspect of Pikmin put to use in a platform style game. The difficulty level isn't as high as with the other Pikmin games but it's a cute take on Captain Olimar's adventures and exploration of new worlds with Pikmin.

Most of the criticisms you may have heard about this game do indeed apply. It is simplistic, there is not a strategy element like in the main series games, and it is pretty repetitive. However, you do get to guide hang out with all of your favorite pikmin again (except I have yet to encounter the white ones), and if you play toward the goal of completing all goals for an area, then it can be quite fun and challenging. Most areas have at least two challenges that are optional and do not affect your ability to beat the game. The first challenge is to first discover all 20 pikmin and then to not let any of them die during the level. The second challenge is to discover the hidden artifacts in the levels and retrieve them. Attempting to complete these challenges has caused me to place most levels at least 2 times so far, some even more. Some levels also have secret exits which open an extra level for you. Gameplay is repetitive, but still fun. You tap where you want Olimar to throw the pikmin in a side scrolling universe, and you move Olimar with the circle pad to try to find the exit(s), all the while collecting a little sparklium to help your ship take off and go home. There are 9 sectors. I have not completed them all yet, but according to online guides, there are 5 levels and a boss battle in the first 8 sectors and one boss battle in the 9th. There is no strategy element to speak of in this gameplay, but there is a puzzle solving, and a new element introduced of Olimar having a jetpack. So at times he can jump and fly to place the pikmin cannot go and you must solve a puzzle without them or in a new way other than just throwing them. Amiibos are used in a fun way, but not in a very necessary way. If you have a bunch cluttering up your bathtub, then you can break them out for this. Each Sector has a couple of special one-screen puzzle levels that will unlock when an amiibo is scanned. The scanned amiibo (only Animal Crossing, Pikmin, Splatoon, and Mario Party ones are supported I believe) will appear in game as an artifact and you must figure out how to get the Pikmin or Olimar to collect it. If you do not have any amiibos, then the one made special for this game will act as a randomly chosen amiibo for you when it is scanned. I have not used this feature much, but it would seem all you really need is luck and the Pikmin amiibo for this game to unlock them all. As with all artifacts, there is a funny description unlocked when the amiibo is collected and catalogued. You could easily beat this game without the need for any amiibos, and the only thing you would miss are a couple of one-screen puzzles and a bunch of funny text which you could easily find and read on the internet. You can also use the special pikmin amiibo for this game to cheat in a level, by calling more pikmin to you once per level. So if you had 10 pikmin and accidentally killed 5 but you could not progress any further with only 5, then you could scan the amiibo and more would come to help (amount depends on the level of the amiibo), however, it is clear the game sees this as cheating, because it will not allow you to unlock the special challenge of rescuing all pikmin if you use the amiibo in a level. Lastly, there is a minigame that is not very game like, in which you send the pikmin you have lead to the exit of each level into a top down environment and you leave them to harvest fire, water, crystals, grass, etc in an area and unlock more sparklium for you. It is a very slight attempt at a management sim, but it does provide yet another reason to replay certain levels if you are stockpiling a particular type of pikmin for harvesting purposes. There is a demo for this, if you try it and you feel that you would want to repeat those actions over and over for roughly 40 levels, then this is definitely the game for you.

This game takes too much of a hit without anyone giving it a chance and playing it. Yes this pikmin game is very much different from past games. Of course it would. It's on the 3ds. It's going to have limitations, But it is a calm relaxing puzzle game that's not in anyway destroying the franchises reputation. This is not a Federation Force of Metroid. I'm not claiming it's the best game or 5 stars. I gave it 4 stars and very well could have been a 3 1/2 if I could. But it's just that. A pretty good game that is a nice break to play from the other games I play. I dock it points because it could be cheaper than the $39.99 price point they are asking for. It still is a fun pick up and play game for you or if you have kids that like platforming games. It's got that pikmin charm we know and love with little funny bits. Different yes, a bit simple at times, yes. Still is very enjoyable. There is a free demo available on the Nintendo shop on the 3ds/2ds that'll let you try the game for a bit. That can give you an idea if this game is for you. So fling those Pikmin and here's hoping Pikmin 4 comes out sooner rather than later!

“Hey, Pikmin” is the most disappointing 3DS game I’ve played on this system. While this could’ve fared as a standalone game that didn’t boast the “Pikmin” label, this was just a poor excuse of filler. The first problem with the game is that there is no strategy, whereas strategy is paramount to the other titles in the series. In this game, you have 8 worlds that are 6 levels each, and all you need to do is find the exit. It doesn’t matter how many Pikmin you lose, it doesn’t matter if you find secret paths or items or not, it all counts the same in the end. To be fair, you also have to earn what is called “Sparklium” which are, more or less, no different than any other game currency. You have to find 30,000 before beating the game. In an 8-world game, I achieved the Sparklium you need without even stepping foot in World 6. For the last 3 worlds of the game, I had no incentive to do anything but just beat the level. On top of this, the mechanics of this game are infuriating. Often, the DS wouldn’t read where I was trying to fling a Pikmin and would send him flying to his death, or other times, it would fling a Pikmin when I was trying to press the jetpack button instead. There were times I had to pause the game and put the console down to just breathe. At the end of the game, it doesn’t matter if you kept 50 Pikmin alive or 50,000. It’s all the same in the end, and doesn’t help you to keep them alive. Also, the Pikmin’s “strength,” which was a crucial part of past games, does nothing here. Yes, they bud flowers like normal, but their strength is negligibly different. Lately, Nintendo fans have been crying and moaning about the way Nintendo ignores and disrespects their fans. “Hey, Pikmin” is the punctuating mark on Nintendo’s laissez-faire attitude towards its fans.

My BB has this on sale and I'm abit curious of the pikmin universe. People have said it be mediocre but look like a cute and charming game added to my backlog.

While diehard fans have been critical over the leap into 2.5D side scrolling, I believe the developers at Arzest have a done a great job with this experimental title. Unlike their mediocre first effort with Yoshi's Island, Hey! Pikmin is well designed and easy to play but does offer a bit of a challenge with it's several optional objectives in each stage. While the challenge and experience isn't as satisfying compared to that of the main line series, I enjoyed my time with Hey! Pikmin and look forward replaying the levels to find any missed items, hidden secrets and no Pikmin lives lost. Recommended!