On October 26, the Pikmin brand turned 19 years old, not a few if you consider that the series consists of only 3 games, plus a spin-off published on Nintendo 3DS. If, moreover, we take into consideration that since 2013 there has been no more information regarding the willingness of the Kyoto giant to produce a fourth canonical chapter, the release of this Pikmin 3 Deluxe it takes on truly peculiar characteristics. The title, in fact, not only continues the long operation carried out by Nintendo to bring all the first party titles released on the previous WiiU to the Switch but also sets itself the arduous task of re-proposing one of the most original IPs of the Big N to the current one. generation of gamers. On the enormous qualities of the third chapter of the series, we anticipate it immediately, there is very little to question… The real challenge of Pikmin 3 Deluxe, in fact, will be to impose itself on an audience that, in all probability, has never heard of one of the most inspired productions of the last ten years.
Welcome to PNF-404
The story of Pikmin 3 Deluxe maintains the ecological themes that permeated the first two chapters of the series and sees three astronauts engaged in a space mission in search, far and wide across the galaxy, for a planet rich in resources to be able to save Koppai, their tender origin, from a potential famine generated by overpopulation. A breakdown of the ship, however, forces Brittany, Charlie and Alph to make an emergency landing on the planet PNF-404, the same one seen in the previous chapters of the series, forcing the three protagonists to find a way to return home, as well as find resources that allow them to survive. On the alien planet, however, the astronauts will meet the Pikmin, the tender creatures with a gentle and servile nature, who will do their utmost to help the trio overcome the various obstacles that separate them from their return to Koppai.
For Captain Olimar, protagonist of the first two titles of the series, his role in Pikmin 3 Deluxe is, undoubtedly, less relevant. The famous Nintendo astronaut, in fact, will be able to be impersonated in a series of additional chapters of the main story, unlockable by progressing with the adventure of Alph, Brittany and Charlie and who will endeavor to offer a prologue, and an epilogue, to the events narrated by the game. A substantial addition, albeit going to reuse numerous settings seen in the main adventure, which endeavors to offer a nice playful digression totally absent in the original title and that will delight all fans of the franchise.
Pikmin… gathering!
Pikmin 3 Deluxe, for the uninitiated, is a perfect mix between strategic and puzzle game. The player will be asked to actively control one of the three astronauts, being able to switch from one to the other with the press of a button, within a play area of varying sizes. The progression is not marked by the canonical levels, but rather by a series of objectives, primary and secondary, to be completed. The time useful for exploration, and the search for resources, is in turn marked by the presence of the sun. Our heroes, in fact, will be able to wander from dawn to dusk, having to return to orbit when darkness falls, in order to risk falling victim to ferocious nocturnal creatures. For each day spent on PNF-404, however, one unit of food resources will be consumed and it goes without saying that if they are not constantly replenished, finding food during the exploration, they will run into an inevitable Game Over.
Exploring the hostile planet, however, is no easy feat and astronauts will have to rely on the Pikmin, colored creatures able to perform different actions. Their differences in shape and color, in fact, will indicate their skills: some will be able to break minerals, others will be able to swim, the pink ones will be able to fly and so on. It will therefore be up to the player to be able to better manage their alien troops to face the pitfalls present on PNF-404 and solve the various environmental puzzles present in the game areas. Pikmin 3 Deluxe, in fact, mixes these two genres to the best, giving away a dynamic and always original gameplay that manages to keep the player's attention high with its excellent ability to alternate reflective phases with fast and frenetic actions.
Each of the three astronauts will be able to throw the various Pikmin, send them all together on the attack or recall them around you with the whistle implanted in the helmet. These three simple actions, however, are mixed with a series of game mechanics that will gradually become more complex and will require the player to better study the game environments in order not to lose an excessive number of Pikmin due to some incorrect action. The possibility, moreover, to control the three astronauts independently, will allow you to cover larger areas of the game area, separating your troop into different nuclei useful for facing the numerous obstacles present in the game. Pikmin, however, can die… and rest assured they will die often.
For this reason, in order to avoid running out of creatures, it will be up to the player to have the tender aliens recover the carcasses of the defeated enemies to reconvert them into other Pikimin, as well as constantly devote himself to the collection of special tokens, set on the flowers present on PNF-404, which once deposited in the Pikimin spaceship it will generate other aliens. The various abilities of the creatures will be used, basically, to overcome a series of puzzles of various kinds. Some related to physics, others based on the careful choice of a precise number of Pikmin to use or on the ability to use the alien with the appropriate characteristics to overcome a certain element.
To make things more dynamic are the various enemies that populate the game areas. Creatures with variable characteristics and dimensions that will require the right strategy to be killed without losing an excessive number of PIkmin. Finally, the possibility of using the three astronauts as an integral part of your army further expands the possibilities offered by the game in terms of "different solutions to the same problem". Precisely in this constant variety of situations and possibilities offered to the player lies the greatest strength of Pikmin 3 Deluxe, which manages to guarantee always different experiences while offering very redundant game mechanics in their nature.
What's new in Pikmin 3 Deluxe
Pikmin 3 Deluxe could not have been released with a more appropriate name. Nintendo, in fact, not limited to converting the title for Switch but did its utmost to expand the experience, improving it in multiple factors. The most important, especially for those who have already played the original title, is undoubtedly the heavily modified control system, in order to make the gaming experience more enjoyable even by players less similar to the genre. First of all, the important decision was made to make the control system unique for the portable and Docked modes, by deleting all the options offered in the original version of Pikimin 3.
The game controls have also been simplified in Pikmin 3 Deluxe, creating automations for some controls making thesmoother and more immediate gaming experience. B is used to summon the Pikmin through the whistle, A is used for all the iterations with the game environment, as well as for the launch of aliens and astronauts, with X you can throw all the Pikmin currently under our control attack while with ZR you can hook a target before, in fact, send against the creatures. A much more practical system than the original and which, in some ways, we are sure will seem overly simplified to the purists of the series. However, we were surprised by how everything works, actually, better making the gaming experience less cumbersome and guaranteeing a dynamism to everything that in the past was simply unthinkable.
The second big change implemented in Pikmin 3 Deluxe is the local co-op multiplayer mode. In fact, at any moment of the adventure, a second player will be able to enter the game by dividing the screen vertically and allowing you to share the game action to collaborate in the exploratory phases, in the solving of puzzles and in the planning of operations to find resources and collectibles. Furthermore, being able to attribute a number of Pikmin to each player offers a more strategic and at times reflective experience, which guarantees a completely new enjoyment of the main campaign.
The other additions in Pikmin 3 Deluxe pour into a plethora of less impactful content, when taken individually, but aimed at improving the overall gaming experience. First of all we find the "Strategies", or the possibility of activating arrows on the ground of the playing areas, designed to suggest the next step to take to complete the main objective. A new level of challenge, designed primarily for players closest to the series, is unlocked once the adventure is over for the first time or, alternatively, by completing the demo on the Nintendo eShop. Finally, we find a whole series of encyclopedic sections designed to show us details and characteristics of the Pikmin, of the creatures that we will face during our wanderings.
On the technical side, however, Pikmin 3 Deluxe does not implement major changes. Excluding an obvious increase in resolution to align the title with current productions, the game does not present particularly striking changes. The artistic sector is still inspired and studied in detail, as is traditional for Nintendo's productions, just as the Spanish localization strives to translate every line of dialogue present in the game, including the incomprehensible dialogues between the three protagonists.
