REVIEW: Pikmin 4
Developer: Eighting, Nintendo EPD
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 2023
Platforms: Switch
Even if I have a laundry list of nitpicks, time always flies whenever I play a Pikmin game.
I’m grateful that Nintendo still gives love and care to this franchise despite how niche it is. Pikmin has always been about quality over quantity. While I wouldn’t say 4 is the best in the series, it’s still great.
While load times are a bit long (at least off the cartridge), it’s worth it for the lovely scenery. The camera can now sit behind the player, granting them a new way to envelop themselves in the scale of the world. Such aesthetics are important in Pikmin games, so I appreciate this change.
As per the usual, Pikmin 4 bounces between a casual experience and a chaotic one. For this time around, I found it easier to clear most caves and overworld maps, but I’m not sure how much of that has to do with my age, or the fact a lock-on feature exists. After replaying Pikmin 2 recently, I’m sure most of the difficulty in that game stemmed from being forced to free aim.
Bigger challenges can be found in Pikmin 4 through “Dandori” missions. The ones marked with more fire icons don’t mess around. Achieving the highest rank in them requires an intense amount of micromanaging. They’re highly satisfying to tackle, and I’d love to see what the modding scene could do for “Kaizo” maps (if it’s possible to do).
A new feature that sounded bad at first, but turned out perfectly fine, is rewinding time in the game. If things aren’t panning out how you want, you can skip backwards in varied increments (e.g. 1, 3, or 5 minutes), or even reset the whole day or dungeon level. You have to completely redo whatever you skipped back to.
This is basically just soft resetting the game. To this day, I’ll rage reset in Pikmin 2, so 4’s rewind isn’t really “cheating.” Plus, the game reloads faster than if I quit to the Switch dashboard.
At first, I was concerned about the inclusion of Oatchi to the Pikmin squad. He can become immune to all obstacles as if he’s a Bulbmin that can leave caves. However, he’s still only one unit (even if a cheesy one), so the emphasis on teamwork isn’t lost.
Besides, it’s possible to toggle off equipment that feels too cheesy. However, “Pup Drive” upgrades are permanent, so they need to be allocated wisely to fit a player’s ideal experience.
Another great feature with Oatchi is how he assists in controlling the swarm. The dodge roll in Pikmin 3 always felt clunky to me, and while you can unlock a marching trumpet in 4, it’s way worse than its implementation in 1 and 2.
Oatchi instead causes Pikmin to hop onto his back (which is overwhelmingly adorable). It condenses the squad into a smaller area for quick escapes and finding a better foothold.
Ice Pikmin are also new to 4, but I found them to be underwhelming additions. I would prefer that Blue Pikmin got new tools, instead of a whole separate species existing. I’ll go into more detail in the Best & Worst section of my blog.
Glow Pikmin also aren’t implemented as strongly as they could have. They’re featured in tower defense missions during nighttime hours. While Dandori maps are easy to pick up but hard to master, night missions are either curb stomped, or so absurdly difficult that the use of items (e.g. bomb rocks) are essential. There’s a solid proof of concept here that doesn’t reach its full potential.
Thankfully, night missions don’t negatively impact the main game much, if at all. They’re short-burst pieces of side content that are forgettable at worst.
As mentioned at the beginning, I have a lot of nitpicks with Pikmin 4; you can read about them in a separate article. It’s just shy of being a perfect game. It might not be the “best” Pikmin, but it’s one of those Nintendo games that are simply fun to play.
