Between 2001 and 2004, the years in which Pikmin and its sequel were first published on the Game Cube, the concept of the Nintendo Difference was more popular than ever. On the one hand, it served the marketing department of the Japanese company to highlight the different culture that guided the creation and development of internal productions compared to those of the competition. On the other hand, die-hard fans of the Big N found it useful to counteract the shortage of third-party titles that enriched the library of the beloved 128-bit console.
In that era full of experiments and outlandish titles, a historical period that anticipated the generation of Wii and Nintendo DS in which the much vaunted "difference" would translate into a true revolution that would mean the rupture of everything that Sony and Microsoft proposed, Shigeru Miyamoto and his companions gave (one more) proof of all their creative talent.
Between pinball simulators with voice commands, Odama and training games whose sole objective was to pay off an accumulated stratospheric debt, GiFTPiA, Super Mario's father also found time and a way to translate his innate fantasies into polygons and textures by observing the animal and plant. garden life of him. An almost dreamlike vision, which took on the dimensions of a couple of apparently sweetened strategy games, which in reality hid deep gameplay, as well as a strong taste for the macabre.
Twenty years later and a Wii adaptation, are the first Pikmin still capable of enchanting and entertaining? Do they represent a tasty appetizer for Pikmin 4? All the answers you seek are contained in Pikmin 1+2 HD Review.
Grow old with style
Finding yourself in the role of Captain Olimar after so long can send shivers of excitement to older players who, for one reason or another, have no longer had the opportunity to play Pikmin 1 and 2 after their original release. From the beginning of the first game, you are almost inexplicably pushed to take actions, to perform tasks in sequence, to worry about specific factors following your instinct, relying on a latent but far from extinct muscle memory. The smile, even the tear full of nostalgia, is almost inevitable for someone who was little more than a child at the time of the Game Cube. That the music, certain animations, re-exploring some scenarios, having to deal with specimens of fauna that are not very friendly to the Pikmin and Olimar, give emotions to the skin, all the more intense the more the couple loved each other at that moment. of games produced by Shigeru Miyamoto.
For those who have no idea what Pikmin 1 and 2 are, we're basically talking about two. strategic in real time in which, in the role of Captain Olimar, you will have to count on the help of funny half-animal and half-vegetable creatures to recover, in settings inhabited by unfriendly creatures, some useful objects for their cause.
As in any RTS, you will have to lead troops in combat, exploration, recovering enemy corpses and the pills necessary to replenish the ranks. But if in other similar games you do it from a comfortable isometric view, completely detached from the real action, here you will be thrown into the field, directly controlling Olimar, giving orders and making sure no one gets into trouble or ends up in the jaws of a predator.
The first chapter, also by force of circumstances, is the one that least brilliantly stands the test of time. The adaptation, like the sequel, did not provide new content in terms of content, nor was a deep graphic redesign planned. The low definition of the textures is especially evident on the large screen of the television, while the update of the screen ratio, which goes from the original 4:3 to the current 16:9, has produced some small problems with the proportions of the interface of the game.
Nothing so serious, nor so shocking, of course. Thanks to a rock-solid frame rate, overall well-packaged polygonal models, and the art style adopted by the game, Pikmin doesn't look bad even today, especially in handheld mode, where low-definition screen elements are less noticeable.
Where time begins to make itself felt is in the controls. When using buttons and levers there is a certain underlying woodiness, in addition to the almost complete uncontrollability of the camera, which is really difficult to manage, especially when it comes to zoom. Using the Joy-Con accelerometers, thus inheriting the configuration already seen in operation on the Wii, the launching of the Pikmin occurs with much more naturalness and precision, but today as then you will complain about the difficulty with which you will direct the troop of little ones. helpers on your shoulders, especially in the narrowest and most dangerous passages, where there is always the risk of suffering some painful loss due to the impossibility of better managing the crowd.
The obligation to complete the mission by thirty virtual days It still causes the same anxiety as always and imposes a truly suffocating level of perfection on the completionist player. You need to have clear ideas, think quickly about your next move, and lose as few Pikmin as possible when a clash becomes inevitable. As before, the triple division of troops: red, strong in combat, yellow, the only ones capable of carrying bombs, and blue, equipped with gills, encourages the user to make the most of the units at his disposal.
What has not aged a day, in any case, is the effectiveness of the game which works in combination with a level design and a bestiary of enemies that still surprises today. The genius with which Nintendo managed to create half a dozen scenarios, filling them with paths more or less hidden from view and the voracious and greedy animals of our Pikminm, is as clear today as it was yesterday. Beyond the prevailing and oppressive time limit imposed by the adventure, the first chapter of the series proves to be a very fun, brilliant and challenging RTS, while at the same time being within the reach of even newcomers to the genre.
Pikmin 2, a sequel that still has a lot to give
Pikmin 2, for its part, proves to be a game even more in line with the times. Freed as it is from any time limit to complete the adventure, it introduces three new features in terms of gameplay that make the game formula even deeper, more surprising and more exciting.
The first is the ability to change the controlled character at any time. louliIn fact, in this sequel he will accompany good old Olimar on his mission to collect treasures on the planet Pikmin, a necessary expedition to pay off the debt accumulated by the company for which they both work. The level design is obviously based on the presence of two controllable heroes and, with the complicity of the player's strategic skills, expands the range of coordinated actions and operations possible and often necessary to clear the way in the different scenarios.
Secondly, they added two new types of units. On the one hand we have the burly and very well placed purple Pikmin, strong and heavy, ideal for combat or for easily transporting treasures found in the field. On the other hand, however, the slender white Pikmin, immune to poison and even harmful if swallowed by hostile creatures, a characteristic that is the basis of strategies as grotesque as they are effective. The presence of these two new types of helpers, which add to the three from the previous episode, brings with it a whole series of new obstacles and problems that the duo of protagonists will have to face, making the most of the level design. which, like never before, is open to innovative solutions thanks also to presence of dungeons.
Far from the most classic scenarios, these scenarios, which represent the third great novelty of Pikmin 2, take place in quite large and intricate areas and tunnels, naturally inhabited by bosses that are particularly difficult to defeat. Thanks to the increased time, exploration is never a source of stress, although the rule of returning to the surface remains. before the night comes. Even in these areas, in fact, you will have to be careful to return to the base before the sun sets, if you do not want to lose all the Pikmin left on the street, a feature that was already the basis of the gameplay of the predecessor . .
Even the sequel, in terms of adaptation, has not undergone significant improvements, neither in terms of content nor in terms of graphics. High resolution plays its role, without a doubt, but beyond an impeccable frame rate, in this case there are also grainy textures and animations that are not always convincing. The camera is more reactive, but the light wood of the controls already mentioned in the original chapter remains unchanged.
Despite some small flaws, despite the fact that the modernization work could have been much more impactful, the discussion made for the prequel also applies to Pikmin 2. We are facing an RTS. fun, original, brilliant, perfectly capable of entertaining and exciting any fan of the genre or newbie looking for a production different from the usual.
Conclusions
Tested version Nintendo Switch digital delivery Nintendo eShop Price 49.99 € Holygamerz.com 8.0 Readers (2) 8.9 your votePikmin 1 + 2 is the perfect appetizer for Pikmin 4. Although we are facing an adaptation that does the minimum, the quality of the pair of games proposed is such that we are still faced with two absolutely enjoyable RTS today. Like Yesterday, suitable for both veteran fans of the genre and newbies looking for an experience different from the usual one. Nintendo had no intention of offering its audience a remake, but it certainly wouldn't have hurt to pay more attention to the graphics or a slight refinement of the camera. Despite some sins of old age, despite a certain laziness when it comes to proposing the pair of titles on Nintendo Switch, the level design and gameplay offer ingenious solutions to the point of overshadowing any reluctance about the production of the Big N If only you knew the saga with the third chapter, if you have decided to make Pikmin 4 yours as a total newbie, you have more than one good reason to recover these two pearls from the past. Just in case you have already had the pleasure in the era of Game Cube, or more recently on Wii, it is necessary to probe and weigh your desire to play both adventures again on Switch as well.
PRO
- Two games for the price of one
- New gameplay still today
- Nintendo school level design.
AGAINST
- No new content
- Graphically, more could have been done
