Pikmin 3 Video review

Lost in space or Nintendo Masterpiece?

Click the video above for the full video review!

Pikmin burst onto the scene as Nintendo's new IP in the days of the Gamecube. It was fun, good to look at, and completely new. So how does the latest version stack up to it's predecessors? Let's have a look!

Pikmin 3 follows the story of 3 brave space explorers sent from their planet in search of food. Just as they reach a new planet titled PNF-404, they encounter trouble and are separated when their spaceship plummets to the planets surface. The game begins with the fearless leader Charlie, who awakens to find himself surrounded by strange new creatures, the Pikmin. And so begins a great new adventure...

The gameplay is a unique cross between real time strategy and top down action game. To start, you only have a few Pikmin, then you build your army of Pikmin up to 100 at any given time. Pikmin are divided up into subspecies, there's yellow Pikmin, who are immune to and can conduct electricity. Red Pikmin who are fire proof. Blue are resistant to water, Rock Pikmin smash crystals, and Pink Pikmin can fly. You can change the balance of your Pikmin army at "the onion," which is essentially the Pikmins spacecraft. Pikmin carry back pellets and defeated enemies back to the onion to sprout new Pikmin.

The core gameplay revolves around puzzle solving. Your objective is to collect fruit, while avoiding PNF-404's deadly wildlife. Puzzles may include swapping between space explorers and splitting your Pikmin up into 3 groups to build a bridge. Or you may just have to clear a path by smashing crystals with your rock Pikmin so your other Pikmin can carry food through. Each time you bring fruit to the spaceship, your adventure is extended until you run out of supplies. It's a refreshing change of pace from the previous titles in the series as many times if you did not complete all your objectives in one day, you failed the game. Now you can set a more relaxed pace, while still remaining a challenge.

One major downside however is you still have time limits as you have to be back at your ship before the sun goes down. Any stray Pikmin will be eaten by monsters at night and while this wouldn't normally be a problem, any Pikmin carrying items under your command will be lost as they are not technically a part of your squad. Also on several occasions, half way through boss fights I found myself being forced to take off because of this time restraint. I can only hope Nintendo patch the game so when you start a boss fight, the timer stops as some fights can go for 15 to 20 minutes.

The world of Pikmin is beautifully represented in stunning high definition graphics. The environments are varied and it is an absolute delight to explore the areas which are themed to snow, beach, garden and river locales. Pikmin 3 maintains its frame rate even during the impressive boss battles, which see 100 Pikmin battling out against an army of monsters. The best part about Pikmins graphics is how alive the game world feels. It's like being in an episode of honey I shrunk the kids and its bright, vibrant colors are a nice change from the dull brown worlds of this generations games. Rendering is smooth and the graphics show just how much prettier the Wii U can be up against current generation consoles.

Sounds help bring the gardens alive and the cutesy sounds of the Pikmin bring a smile to your face. Ambient noise of the winds and rushing rivers also help immerse you into the world of Pikmin.

There are several game modes to try including boss fight replays, treasure hunts and a co-op adventure which are all a blast to play. The real superstar remains the single player story however, as you can't wait to see what happens next in the world of our heroes. There's even some surprise cameos to look out for but I won't spoil them here.

So What's it Like? Well it's like a mix between Red alert and Uncharted, with it's own splash of Nintendo gameplay in it. It's a masterfully crafted game and the delay in it's release has not been wasted on this well polished title. Aside from the time issues, it is an essential purchase for any owners of the Wii U.

I give it 8.5/10.