Pikmin 4 Review - Side Quests
14.08.2023 - 19:33
/ mmorpg.com
I stood at the doorway looking at the giant worm-like Empress Bulblax. It had birthed a whole litter of bulblax larvae and didn’t look like she was planning to stop any time soon. I sent all 100 Pikmin I had into battle. They easily took down the larvae, but now it was time to go after Momma. The Pikmin attacked, and for a moment, her HP was going down fast. I can win this! The thing about Empress Bulblax, though is that her worm-like body makes her very capable of rolling. She rolled right over my Pikmin and nearly 100 little Pikmin ghosts rose from the corpses of my now deceased companions. I had to retry that fight almost 10 times before we won. Pikmin 4 is full of charm but doesn’t pull any punches on the action.
Technically speaking, Pikmin 4 is a strategy game but it’s so much more than that. Aside from this grueling combat, Pikmin 4 is an exploration game. It’s got elements of science fiction and horror. Don’t let the cute little Pikmin fool you. Pikmin 4 may be attractive to younger players but like its predecessors, it is not necessarily a game made for kids.There are many things included to appeal to players of all ages. The art style, the cute plant like Pikmin, and the music are definitely aimed at a younger generation of gamers but as an adult, I find that the in depth strategy and big battles appeal to a more experienced gamer. This blend of gameplay is appropriate for kids but also attractive to adults. This is just part of what makes Pikmin my favorite Nintendo IP.
As I mentioned in my preview , the basic premise of Pikmin 4 is that Captain Olimar, the protagonist of the first two Pikmin games, has crash landed…again… and sends out an SOS to the Rescue Corps. The Rescue Corps, in turn, also crash lands and calls upon the player to rescue everybody. Along the way, we discover that Olimar’s SOS signal attracted quite a few other people to the planet, designated PNF-404. They’ve also crashed on the planet. In fact, 47 people, including 4 members of the Rescue Corps, need rescuing.
Let’s be clear — I love that Pikmin 4 has expanded the main game to allow for a bigger story. I love that each castaway on the planet eventually becomes someone who can help along the journey by offering side quests. The addition of side quests really make Pikmin 4 shine, bringing the biggest campaign they’ve had in the franchise
That said, I found it incredibly unbelievable that Olimar, an experienced spaceship captain, the entire Rescue Corps, and over 40 others all crashed on PNF-404, but I, the rookie, could arrive and go out to find everyone who had crashed safely. I get that I’m supposed to suspend my disbelief, but that was a tall order in this case.
My disbelief aside, I was