*TWEEEEET* It's the Pikmin Thread!!

[X y b e r - S k u ll]

Love the Pikmin series. Was quite weird seeing it go from an obscure duo-logy on GameCube to now being one of Nintendo's flagship series.

I think like a lot of people, I consider 1 & 2 to be the best ones (2 taking the top spot for me personally as the game play and the changes to the Pikmin's AI are just immaculate and genuinely improved upon the foundation set by the first one), 3 is one I actually did come around on after initially not being too crazy about it on Wii U. The Deluxe version on Switch definitely brought me back around and gave me a new appreciation for the game. 4 is... definitely something... I'll leave it at that (I'm not a big fan as you might be able to tell lol).

I'm happy about all the interest in Pikmin romhacks I've been seeing over the last 5 years or so. Particularly the work of PikHacker with Pikmin 251 and Pikmin² (Arguably the best Pikmin game ever made IMO) being my favorites.

These games also played a bit of a role in my "origin story", so to speak lol.

 

[iisoide]

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

Nostalgia

(I happen to have the actual disc too).


PS: There's a french version of the song for some reason

 

[TacoMeister]

I have alot to say about Pikmin, enough that I think I might make a full review about it! But I'm painfully slow at writing. I've made a start though, and I'll leave it here and will update as and when I can :]
------------

PIKMIN Review

You're Grounded.​

You know you are in for a quality experience when, upon loading up a new game for the very first time, you're instantly greeted by a sound that is wholly unique to the world of the game that you are playing.

So when I initially (and admittedly, somewhat apprehensively) fired up Pikmin for the very first time, and a cheery, high-pitched voice warbled
"Pik-min!"
back at me, I became immediately aware of the wry smile which'd quickly commenced to creeping across my face, and of a soothing sense of assurance which had set to work on effectively assuaging any lingering uncertainties I had unwittingly bundled along with me.
The creators of Pikmin hadn't wanted to waste a single solitary second before they began the nascent magic-adjacent process of immersing new and returning players into their world. It indicated to, and instilled within me, a quiet confidence in their work, and gave me the sense that what I was about to play was a complete creation.

Fading in, the camera rushes downwards through near-evergreen leaves, before stopping just slightly above-ground, looking down on what appears to be a small set of letter-shaped flowerbeds swaying softly and spelling out the word PIKMIN.
The music, a heady blend of bird-song, subtle maracas, intriuging woodwinds, bouncy jew's harp and more, sets the rhythm for the flower-bed bustling. It's an understated, yet surprisingly spiretly title screen. It builds a welcoming atmosphere of nature, mystery and miniature adventure.

After exploring the options, a modest choice of mono or stereo sound, master/sfx volume sliders, and a rumble toggle (set gleefully to ON, as of course), I was ready to begin.

You might be slow at writing but you write well!

 

[MasterEn]

So when I initially (and admittedly, somewhat apprehensively) fired up Pikmin for the very first time, and a cheery, high-pitched voice warbled
"Pik-min!"

interesting fun fact: there are four different sounds that play when the game is booted up.
the one you heard has a 96.118% chance of playing.
two of the others have a 1.563% chance to play and the last one has a 0.759% to play. [copied from the video down below]
here's an excellent video about it and many other easter eggs and secrets in the first 2 games. there might be spoilers; but the first minute of the video covers the sound effects, so if you don't want anything spoiled for you, don't watch beyond that.

 

[MasterEn]

a short little comic that i made a while ago with some pikmin characters that i came up with.

 

[MasterEn]

Dandori student:

Dandori master:

just a random idea that i had last night while playing through pikmin 1.

Post automatically merged: Aug 27, 2025

just beat the game again.
new personal best against the emperor bulblax: only 8 pikmin lost during the final battle.

 

[TacoMeister]

So, I watched @Kamako 's first playthrough video yesterday night and this game does not hold your hand in the slightest which is something I really liked about it.
Really made me want to play it so once I'm finished with the games I'm currently playing, I'll give the first one a try!

 

[Kamako]

So, I watched @Kamako 's first playthrough video yesterday night and this game does not hold your hand in the slightest which is something I really liked about it.
Really made me want to play it so once I'm finished with the games I'm currently playing, I'll give the first one a try!

Thank you very much for tuning in Taco :} apologies for all my retries! I was learning on the fly and very conscious of the time limit. Thankfully I had a wonderfully patient guide in @MasterEn
I highly recommend the game and encourage you to take your time with it. There're lots of peculiar quirks to the game that make playing it feel singular, and unique.

 

[TacoMeister]

Thank you very much for tuning in Taco :} apologies for all my retries! I was learning on the fly and very conscious of the time limit. Thankfully I had a wonderfully patient guide in @MasterEn
I highly recommend the game and encourage you to take your time with it. There're lots of peculiar quirks to the game that make playing it feel singular, and unique.

No apologies needed, I enjoyed your video. Besides, this game looks tough!

 

[MasterEn]

No apologies needed, I enjoyed your video. Besides, this game looks tough!

it's tough, but as long as you stay calm, explore the environment and have a quick thumb to whistle the pikmin back to your side from danger, you should do fine.
and yes, the game does not hold your hand. you get a short introduction to what each pikmin can do and then you go right on about your business.
and if you thought the story mode was hard, challenge mode is even tougher. you get one day to grow as many pikmin as you can in the five areas and the enemies are shuffled around in that mode. and don't get em started on the randomizer and pikmin1². they can get even harder. they are true tests of dandori.
and it gets even harder in the sequel. more enemies, more areas, more music, and more pikmin!

 

[TacoMeister]

it's tough, but as long as you stay calm, explore the environment and have a quick thumb to whistle the pikmin back to your side from danger, you should do fine.
and yes, the game does not hold your hand. you get a short introduction to what each pikmin can do and then you go right on about your business.
and if you thought the story mode was hard, challenge mode is even tougher. you get one day to grow as many pikmin as you can in the five areas and the enemies are shuffled around in that mode. and don't get em started on the randomizer and pikmin1². they can get even harder. they are true tests of dandori.
and it gets even harder in the sequel. more enemies, more areas, more music, and more pikmin!

Well, I'll stick with story mode for both Pikmin 1 and 2 first so I'll be alright... I think...

 

[MasterEn]

Well, I'll stick with story mode for both Pikmin 1 and 2 first so I'll be alright... I think...

oh yeah; definetley stick with the story mode. the chalenge modes vary quite a bit between games. the first one is just raise as many pikmin as you can. the second one is clear a series of floors. doesn't sound to hard but you can unlock a reward for getting a perfect run on each challenge. the catch? no pikmin can die. you just need to beat the challenges with no pikmin deaths.
it is very hard; i can some times just beat the challenges, let alone flawlessly.

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

oh yeah; definetley stick with the story mode. the chalenge modes vary quite a bit between games. the first one is just raise as many pikmin as you can. the second one is clear a series of floors. doesn't sound to hard but you can unlock a reward for getting a perfect run on each challenge. the catch? no pikmin can die. you just need to beat the challenges with no pikmin deaths.
it is very hard; i can some times just beat the challenges, let alone flawlessly.

No Pikmin deaths?

 

[MasterEn]

No Pikmin deaths?
View attachment 104513

yep. here's a video about it. i think it has spoilers in it, so watch at your own accord.

edit: i'm watching the video, yeah, there are spoilers for some of the new enemies introduced in the game.

 

[X y b e r - S k u ll]

it's tough, but as long as you stay calm, explore the environment and have a quick thumb to whistle the pikmin back to your side from danger, you should do fine.
and yes, the game does not hold your hand. you get a short introduction to what each pikmin can do and then you go right on about your business.
and if you thought the story mode was hard, challenge mode is even tougher. you get one day to grow as many pikmin as you can in the five areas and the enemies are shuffled around in that mode. and don't get em started on the randomizer and pikmin1². they can get even harder. they are true tests of dandori.
and it gets even harder in the sequel. more enemies, more areas, more music, and more pikmin!

I love Pikmin 2's challenge mode. Really felt like it was a precursor to the Dandori challenges in Pikmin 3 and 4. Plus, you get that amazing reward for getting a perfect score on each of them

Well, I'll stick with story mode for both Pikmin 1 and 2 first so I'll be alright... I think...

You'll be fine. Just go at your own pace for your first time playing through them (I know that might sound a bit daunting for Pikmin 1 since you're on a 30 day time limit but just keep a cool head and you'll be good). They're very unique games with a bit of a learning curve, but once you get over that initial hump you'll hopefully have a good time with them.

 

[TacoMeister]

oh yeah; definetley stick with the story mode. the chalenge modes vary quite a bit between games. the first one is just raise as many pikmin as you can. the second one is clear a series of floors. doesn't sound to hard but you can unlock a reward for getting a perfect run on each challenge. the catch? no pikmin can die. you just need to beat the challenges with no pikmin deaths.
it is very hard; i can some times just beat the challenges, let alone flawlessly.

Ok so, basically impossible for someone who hasn't master every mechanic.
I guess it is a challenge though, so...

You'll be fine. Just go at your own pace for your first time playing through them (I know that might sound a bit daunting for Pikmin 1 since you're on a 30 day time limit but just keep a cool head and you'll be good). They're very unique games with a bit of a learning curve, but once you get over that initial hump you'll hopefully have a good time with them.

Yeah, I intend to take it slow and if I don't make it in time, I'll just start over.

 

[MasterEn]

I love Pikmin 2's challenge mode. Really felt like it was a precursor to the Dandori challenges in Pikmin 3 and 4. Plus, you get that amazing reward for getting a perfect score on each of them

at some point, i'll tackle the challenge mode. i've been playing some of the mods for pikmin 2 and those were intense and quite hard. vanilla pikmin 2 challenge mode will probably be easier in comparison.

Post automatically merged: Aug 28, 2025

Ok so, basically impossible for someone who hasn't master every mechanic.
I guess it is a challenge though, so...

for the first game, it's more about just growing the pikmin and focusing on time management; getting tasks done in a efficient manner to get the best score. basically what you were doing in the story but with infinite retries.
pikmin 2 runs more with resource management, which can be considered quite harder to do than time management. every challenge has a set amount of pikmin that you get and you usually can't get more. what you have is what you have. seems alright until you get to one challenge that i remember giving you like 3 pikmin for 4 or 5 floors.

 

[X y b e r - S k u ll]

at some point, i'll tackle the challenge mode. i've been playing some of the mods for pikmin 2 and those were intense and quite hard. vanilla pikmin 2 challenge mode will probably be easier in comparison.

If you can make it through some of those Pikmin 2 mods (Especially if they're the ones I'm thinking of) you'll breeze through challenge mode no problem.

 

[MasterEn]

If you can make it through some of those Pikmin 2 mods (Especially if they're the ones I'm thinking of) you'll breeze through challenge mode no problem.

so far, i have beaten 251, power cut, regrown, most of bikmin 269, new year, and i remember beating the pikmin 2 randomizer. i think i repressed most of that playthrough; with only a bit of the worser submerged castle still haunting me to this day.

 

[TacoMeister]

so far, i have beaten 251, power cut, regrown, most of bikmin 269, new year, and i remember beating the pikmin 2 randomizer. i think i repressed most of that playthrough; with only a bit of the worser submerged castle still haunting me to this day.

I've played enough Super Metroid randomizer to know that depending on the seed a randomized game can be incredibly difficult.
So

 

[MasterEn]

I've played enough Super Metroid randomizer to know that depending on the seed a randomized game can be incredibly difficult.
So

yeah, and sometimes strange stuff can happen. don shnack had to restart his playthrough of the pikmin 2 randomizer after ending up in a groundhog day time loop on day 5. nothing that he did got him to the next day; the game always crashed at the end of day sequence.

 

[X y b e r - S k u ll]

so far, i have beaten 251, power cut, regrown, most of bikmin 269, new year, and i remember beating the pikmin 2 randomizer. i think i repressed most of that playthrough; with only a bit of the worser submerged castle still haunting me to this day.

Yeah if you got through them you'll have no problem with vanilla Pikmin 2's challenge mode. If I can do it, I'm sure you can too

 

[MasterEn]

Yeah if you got through them you'll have no problem with vanilla Pikmin 2's challenge mode. If I can do it, I'm sure you can too
View attachment 104714

i'm planning on doing this after i do a run through the vanilla version of the game. got some more knowledge from imonlyhereforpikmin about pikmin 2 from some of his videos and apparently some of the bosses in the game are weaker than in the first game. they didn't seem like that to me when i was younger. and they definetly should be easier than the modded enemies were.
good job on getting all of the pink flowers.
here's a quick video for you to watch. it's quite funny.

 

[X y b e r - S k u ll]

i'm planning on doing this after i do a run through the vanilla version of the game. got some more knowledge from imonlyhereforpikmin about pikmin 2 from some of his videos and apparently some of the bosses in the game are weaker than in the first game. they didn't seem like that to me when i was younger. and they definetly should be easier than the modded enemies were.
good job on getting all of the pink flowers.
here's a quick video for you to watch. it's quite funny.

The bosses brought over from Pikmin 1 (Snagret, Emperor Bulblax and Beady Long-legs) are definitely easier in Pikmin 2. Some of the original bosses though can be a bit challenging and have a shit-load of health (Especially some of the endgame bosses). I'd be happy to help and give tips on Pikmin 2 if anyone wants them though. It's one of my favorite games and one I've gone back to at least once a year since it came out.