After Pikmin 2 made a splash in 2004 on the Gamecube, the franchise just… kind of stopped for awhile. Years passed, and even after the turn of the new decade, a new Pikmin game was nowhere to be seen. Sure, both Pikmin 1 and 2 would get rereleases on the Wii, but other than that, the franchise wasn’t really going forward in terms of series progression.

That is, until 2012, when Pikmin 3 was finally announced, and when it was finally released in 2013. The game wasn’t what most people expected, though. Nintendo made quite a few changes for this game. Olimar not being the main character, purple and white pikmin being completely absent, rock and flying pikmin, this game was sending gamers all kinds of different messages. But, in the end, does Pikmin 3 prove to be a worthy entry worth waiting nine years for? Well, as always, let’s start with the story.

On a planet called Koppai, the people are on the verge of starvation. Scientists searched the universe for another means of food, but their search turned up fruitless. But, one day, they discovered a planet with resources that fit their search desires. Without hesitation, the scientists send three astronauts by the names of Alph, Brittany, and Captain Charlie to check it out and find new food for Koppai.

Before the game even kicks off, the crew gets separated when the ship hits something in the atmosphere. When trying to find the crew, Alph discovers the inhabitants of this planet; the pikmin. With their help, the crew is able to reunite later on.

However, they have another issue. The cosmic drive key, the component to the ship that allows the crew to leave past the planet’s atmosphere, has gone missing. Without it, they have no way to return to Koppai. As of that point, the astronauts make it their goal to find the key to return home, as well as collect food to help Koppai’s starving population.

Pikmin 3’s plot is, admittedly, more entertaining than Pikmin 2’s, but not as much as the original game’s. The original’s story filled you with a sense of urgency. You have a time limit, and you know that if Olimar can’t get his spaceship parts, it could mean bad news for him. While a sense of urgency is back in this game, as I’ll explain how later, it’s just not as big as the first game’s. Though, again, this plot is certainly much more entertaining than Pikmin 2’s.

Just like the previous games, we’re still keeping up with the same gameplay formula Pikmin games are known for; explore the world, expand your army, and carry thing back to the ship. One thing I should’ve mentioned in the last review is that the time limit that you had in Pikmin 1 was scrapped. That’s once again the case here. You don’t have thirty days in game time to finish the game. The day system is still there, but it’s not exactly hanging over your head.

However, remember how I said that a sense of urgency has returned for this game? Well, that comes from fruit collecting. Each time you bring fruit back to the ship, you get a certain amount of juice. The amount of juice varies from each fruit, so while a strawberry will give you only one cup of juice, a melon could give you three. Collecting fruit is one of the game’s main goals, and is essential if you want to get a good ending.

Though, fruit collecting is really nothing to stress over. The puzzles you have to solve to get the fruits aren’t really that hard. Most of them are just out in the open. Plus, if you happen to mess up during the day at some point, you can now restart the day and start fresh from the morning. To top it all off, the astronauts only consume one cup of juice a day. With all that in mind, if you just use your time wisely, you’ll never have to scour around for fruit, except for one certain point in the game. With the fruit you’ll collect by just playing the game, you’ll not only collect enough to complete the journey, but chances are, you’ll have a ridiculous amount to spare at the end.

With all that in mind, it’s probably safe to assume that Pikmin 3 is a rather easy game. Well… yeah, you’d be pretty spot on with that assumption. Pikmin 3 is a pretty easy game. Nothing really offers much challenge, especially if you played the previous games. I guess that the bosses can be a bit hard, but if you know how and when to swarm them, they’re a complete cakewalk.

However, if you’re going to play this game, I highly recommend playing it with a Wii controller and a Wii nunchuck. If you play with the Wii U gamepad, controlling the game will be a bit awkward. You move around with the left analog stick, but you also aim where you throw the pikmin with the left analog stick. With the Wii controller, you move the astronauts with the nunchuck and aim the pikmin with the Wii remote cursor, which, in my book, feels more comfortable than positioning your character in an awkward fashion before chucking pikmin at the enemies.

At the beginning, I said that purple and white pikmin are completely absent from this title. Because of this, they’ve been replaced by two new types; rock pikmin and flying pikmin. Rock pikmin are the second type of pikmin you find in the game. They have a hard exterior, which allows them to break crystal walls and shells. They also hit like a tank when thrown at enemies, making them great tools to have in combat.

Flying pikmin are guys that you find later into the game. These guys can be thrown very far, possible more so than the yellow pikmin. They can also completely ignore most ground hazards, like water. Since they can fly, they can also take out air enemies with relative ease.

However, with these luxuries, these types also have drawbacks. Rock pikmin are completely unable to cling onto enemies. They also can’t be thrown very far, causing you to overlook a shot. Flying pikmin are really weak and not very useful in combat. They’re also very slow, mainly when they’re carrying things back to the ship.

However, I honestly don’t mind these benefits and drawbacks. Some people complained that purple and white pikmin were seemingly overpowered in Pikmin 2. If you’re one of those people, I doubt you’ll find many issues with the new rock and flying pikmin.

The game takes advantage of the graphical possibilities of the Wii U. As a result, we get some really stylish areas to travel through. The world of Pikmin 3 is very vibrant, colorful, and peaceful. From the title screen to the end credits, Pikmin 3 is a very great game to marvel at and get lost in the amazing atmosphere.

The music is great as well, but like Pikmin 2, I can’t remember much of it. In fact, I think the soundtrack here is more forgettable. Don’t get me wrong, each area’s music fits it well. It’s just not something I’d want to download anytime soon. It’s nice to listen to while playing the game, but almost nothing else.

Overall, I think Pikmin 3 is a good entry in the series, but I have to give it the same grade as the first two games. This game makes changes, and it does integrate them well into the traditional pikmin experience. However, the main controller is awkward to use, and the challenge is very few and far between. If you like either of the previous two games, or even both of them, you’ll surely find a good amount of enjoyment out of Pikmin 3.

Overall Game Grade: B+

Next Game: Rayman Origins (My first video review!)