Feature: Catch-Up Crew: Pikmin

Captain’s log, stardate 202504.21. After our previous Catch-up Crew venture to Shadow Moses Island, the team has enjoyed prolonged shore leave while (re)discovering Metal Gear Solid.

Our latest assignment directs us to the M-class planet of PNF-404. However, the ship’s instruments indicate we are still within Sector 001. I’ve summoned senior staff for a session in Stellar Cartography to clarify our exact location, but in the meantime, the team has been prepping for the away mission.

If you didn’t catch the briefing, Pikmin debuted on the GameCube in 2001/2, received a minor New Play Control! enhancement on the Wii in 2008/9, and underwent an HD makeover on Switch in 2023, where it was officially renamed Pikmin 1 to establish its status as the primary predecessor in the esteemed series.

Here is today’s away team:

• Capt. Gavin Lane – veteran, cherry Pik
• Cmdr. Alana Hagues – veteran, choice Pik
• Cmdr. Jim Norman – veteran, easy Pik
• Ens. Ollie Reynolds – recruit, Pik up the pace

GAVIN: Good afternoon, team. Today, we gather here after our mission to PNF-404. To begin, let’s share our personal histories with the beings that inhabit this world. Did anyone experience Pikmin back in 2001/2002?

ALANA: I did, sir. I was just a tiny leafling, and it’s hard to believe so much time has passed. I recall being enchanted during my first visit, despite the frightening crash. I’ve returned to PNF-404 a few times since.

JIM: I didn’t fit the requirements for the inaugural Hocotatian space mission, being only four years old at the time, although I managed to sneak a look a couple of years later, maybe around ‘04/’05, if my memory is accurate. I’ve revisited this planet numerous times and have undertaken this specific space mission once a year for the past five rotations, I think?

GAVIN: For you, Ollie, I believe this marks your first encounter not just with the game but with the entire series?

OLLIE: Exactly! What a disappointing situation. I recall getting the GameCube on day one, but somehow Pikmin never attracted me. I was really into Super Smash Bros. Melee, Luigi’s Mansion, then later Zelda: The Wind Waker and Metroid Prime… Managing all these peculiar little creatures seemed like such a hassle. How mistaken I was! I’m truly annoyed at myself, and also at those who didn’t urge me to try it earlier. Tut tut.

GAVIN: No reason to be so hard on yourself, Reynolds – we all have our blind spots, and that’s the reason we’re here. I’m delighted to know that it has resonated with you after all these years! Reflecting back on your initially “choresome” impression, was the game anything like you anticipated?

OLLIE: Not in the least. Well… That’s not entirely true. Yes and no. It’s undeniably a kind of puzzle/RTS hybrid, but while those genres typically turn me off right away, Nintendo achieved something remarkable with Pikmin by making the gameplay incredibly entertaining. I usually dislike time constraints as well — Majora’s Mask ranks quite low in my personal list of Zelda titles for this reason — but while playing Pikmin, I found myself repeatedly thinking, “oh, just one more day.” It’s so captivating!

GAVIN: Once you become familiar with the mechanics, it’s less stressful than the ever-present sun bar indicates. Alana, Jim – what were your impressions returning to it this time? And which console did you play it on?

ALANA: I dusted off my old GameCube, sir. I’ve also played it on the Wii before, but there’s just something perfect about the GameCube controller… Anyway, revisiting these delightful little creatures is always fulfilling. The first time I played, the timer did cause me some anxiety, but as you mentioned, you adapt and learn to optimize and multitask. These Pikmin are quite clever. And irresistibly adorable. I appreciate how detailed Olimar is about his daily tasks and the parts of the ship too. My favorite aspect of the game isn’t just the little plant beings — it’s how much it treasures stuff. It continues to enchant me.

Every time I play, I find myself appreciating it even more for its precision.

JIM: I acquired the Switch version when it released two years ago, and it has been my primary source of Pikmin enjoyment since. I played on the GameCube and Wii back in the day, but I chose convenience for this return journey. This game feels like such a warm embrace for me. I’ve played it enough times now that I know the daily timer is quite forgiving once you achieve your rhythm, and its charm never ceases to touch me. In fact, every time I engage with it, I appreciate more and more how tight the design is. Every moment is well spent.

GAVIN: Although subsequent iterations expand on the concept in fantastic ways (and eliminate the timer), there’s something about the straightforward, contained nature of P1 that I admire. I retrieved the WaveBird for my replay. How did those SD textures fare in high definition? The quasi-realistic appearance of the environments was quite a shift for Nintendo at that time.

JIM: Oh, they’re holding up splendidly. It feels a bit odd revisiting the originals in a post-Pikmin 4 era (which I still consider one of the best-looking games on Switch), but the quirky sprite designs and fantastic soundtrack keep it firmly in the good books.

GAVIN: I concur – the very first thing that caught my attention upon starting the game was that soothing, comfortable soundscape. Truly remarkable.

Now, please don’t misunderstand this, Ollie, but could you share your emotions when a Pikmin soldier first perished in water?

my second playthrough resulted in significantly fewer losses

OLLIE: Oh, it’s absolutely dreadful. There’s a moment of pure terror that I struggle to articulate; it’s all-consuming. The same feeling arises when they are devoured by a Bulborb, or crushed by a Yellow Wollyhop. Eventually, you learn to accept that you are likely to lose some along the journey, but I must admit, my second playthrough resulted in significantly fewer losses.

GAVIN: In our profession, that’s expected, yet losing a companion during the mission never becomes easier. How did you manage this time, Alana and Jim? Some captains aim for zero Pikmin losses under their command—have you ever achieved that?

JIM: I once was that captain. I’m unsure what shifted in me during my latest campaigns—perhaps the world’s atrocities became overwhelming—but I no longer carry that mindset. I do maintain a strict ‘no one gets left behind’ directive, however. Casualties in the line of duty are unfortunate, but I refuse to leave any of my charges behind when danger lurks. That’s an instant reset if I fail.

ALANA: I’ve never accomplished that feat, but I certainly lose far fewer Pikmin now than I did during my first adventure on PNF-404. Similar to Norman, I ensure all my Pikmin are secured before departing the planet. More than two decades later, I still can’t bear the little squeals they make when being devoured or crushed. I find the Burrowing Snagrets nightmarish. I wish I could navigate a whole cycle without losing Pikmin, but I usually end up in single digits now. I try to consider them like plants. New life is always on the horizon… It’s disheartening, yet that’s the best way I cope.

GAVIN: New growth, new civilizations. It’s true; their tiny, withering cries linger in your mind, pushing you to improve for your squad. Did you often find yourself resetting, Reynolds? Were there any particular foes or bosses that you found especially challenging? The Blowhogs always frustrate me.

OLLIE: I never reset, no. I let the game unfold as I intended, or rather didn’t intend in some situations. One foe… I believe it’s referred to as Smoky Progg, or something of the sort… Good grief, that creature annihilated my Pikmin. Total devastation. Still, I regained my footing and expanded my forces. Unfortunately, my initial playthrough concluded on day 30 with 29 ship parts gathered. I absorbed many lessons, and I was determined to keep advancing without resets.

GAVIN: No resets is impressive for a first playthrough!

It’s a bit challenging, as the series has evolved and changed with each installment, but is there anything in particular about Pikmin 1 that you think doesn’t remain effective or could be refined?

JIM: Gosh, every time I play, Pikmin 1 climbs higher on my list of all-time favorite games. That said, the Pikmin’s pathfinding and general intelligence in this version can occasionally be a bit… odd. Turn a corner too quickly or misalign them before crossing a bridge, and you’ll find missed recruits spawning all over the map rapidly. This aspect improved with each sequel, but it might be the solitary thing that slightly bothers me while playing the original in 2025.

every Pikmin game excellently balances cozy warmth with genuine spookiness.

ALANA: AI is definitely the main issue, honestly. I assure you these little ones are clever, but then they touch water, and I’m having a mini heart attack. Additionally, I wish Yellow Pikmin had more unique abilities. They gain electricity resistance in later games, but here? They can carry bombs and be thrown higher. That’s about it.

OLLIE: I would get really anxious whenever it indicated there was one or two Pikmin still roaming the field at night, and I simply couldn’t find them… Yikes. However, the aspect that bugged me was the depth perception. It was quite tricky at times to judge where the Pikmin would land when you’re tossing them; especially when facing a flying enemy. It’s just the nature of the isometric perspective, I suppose. It wasn’t a dealbreaker or anything; just something that made me think, “Hm, that’s frustrating.”

GAVIN: I feel the Wiimote pointer significantly aided in that regard. Does the Switch version offer the pointer option?

OLLIE: There’s gyro support, if I recall correctly, but I never tried it. I found the analog control to be adequate, for the most part.

GAVIN: Yes, reverting back to analog sticks with Pikmin 4, I thought I’d miss the pointer, but I quickly forgot about it.

Before we conclude, is there any other element you’d like to cover — any exceptional feature or moment? As a captain, I found Olimar’s judgments on which ship parts are essential questionable at best when lives are at risk.

ALANA: That aspect certainly stresses me out because it ties into my collection obsession. Balancing the little guys with different ship components creates a challenge initially, but we find ways to manage. On a different note, every Pikmin title does a brilliant job of being both comfortable and inviting yet genuinely frightening. I must say, the final boss in Pikmin 1 terrifies me. It remains unsettling. Pikmin 2’s is worse. I’ve come to find Bulborbs charming, but when they’re munching my little Pikmin? Not so endearing.

OLLIE: I love that the entire environment feels like a vibrant ecosystem; you can envision these creatures continuing their lives long after you’ve departed the planet. I also want to give a small nod to the nectar; slurping that up sounds delightful, plus it introduces an extra layer of strategy, and I always aimed to have the majority of my Pikmin sprout flowers for some of the trickier tasks.

JIM: You’re guiding those troops like a seasoned veteran already, Reynolds! Unfortunately, your adeptness means you missed the ‘Bad Ending’, which still haunts me to this day. Talk about a chilling final image…

OLLIE: I might have to purposely seek it out just to uncover what occurs!

GAVIN: So, let’s lay our cards on the table—how does this rank for you personally among the Pikmin games?

JIM: I’ll assume we’re excluding Hey! Pikmin, right? Regardless, I think it sits second for me. Pikmin 4 is simply marvelous, even though 1 occupies a significant place in my heart. It’s one of those ‘Favorite versus Best’ dilemmas, really. My order is 4, 1, 2, and 3, but they’re all utterly fantastic.

ALANA: Wow, okay, Jim’s list closely resembles mine. I might interchange 2 and 1 depending on my mood, but we’re practically in agreement here. I believe 4, despite its slow start, is the finest—the refinements and varied biomes are exceptional. But Pikmin 1 is such a quick, delightful burst of joy. As someone previously mentioned, every moment is utilized effectively.

OLLIE: Oh, it’s right at the very top for me. Hehehe. In all seriousness, I genuinely can’t wait to explore the other titles. I’m already diving into Pikmin 2 and enjoying it immensely. However, I have my doubts about Louie… He gives off ‘Burke from Aliens’ vibes…

GAVIN: Yes, keep your wits about you with that one. Oh, I envy you experiencing these initial steps into a new adventure. That’s precisely why we’re here!

Excellent, let’s conclude on that note. Great effort, everyone. Dismissed.

Pikmin – Recruitment Report

Captain’s log, supplemental. This concludes our mission on PNF-404 – a triumphant, refreshing success that allowed us to explore uncharted territories once again. To the exploration!