Pikmin

Pikmin
Developer	Nintendo EAD
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Nintendo Gamecube, Wii, Wii U, Nintendo Switch
Release Date	Gamecube JP October 26, 2001 US December 2, 2001 EU June 14, 2002 Wii JP December 25, 2008 EU February 6, 2009 US March 9, 2009 Wii U PAL September 1, 2016 US September 29, 2016 JP June 21, 2017 Switch (Digital) June 21, 2023
Gallery	GH Gallery
Rating	ESRB: E

This article is about the original game of the Pikmin series. For the species, see Pikmin (species). For the series in general, see Portal: Pikmin.

Pikmin is a real-time strategy game created by Shigeru Miyamoto that was released for the Nintendo Gamecube in 2001. It is the original game of the Pikmin series.

Story

Captain Olimar, a spaceship pilot, was on vacation when he crash landed on a strange foreign planet. He awakened to discover that the planet's atmosphere was poisonous to him. This left him with 30 days to repair his ship, the Dolphin, before his air ran out. To make this possible, he ended up working with a local race of helpful creatures known as the Pikmin.

Gameplay

In this game, the player controls Olimar in his efforts to explore the planet with the tiny yet resourceful creatures known as Pikmin. Once Olimar finds Pikmin, he can command them to undertake different tasks to help him. The Pikmin can be used to battle enemies, destroy obstacles and retrieve treasure. There are three different types of Pikmin appearing in the game with unique attributes: Red (stronger and fire resistant), Blue (able to survive in water) and Yellow (can be thrown higher and carry bomb rocks). The game is follows a day system. By the end of each day, all of the Pikmin have to be rounded up and returned to the ship in order to protect them from the planet's nocturnal predators. Any Pikmin that aren't in the ship's area or following Olimar at the time of sundown will be left behind and eaten overnight. The player must utlize the different Pikmin strategically in order to achieve the best results that they can on each day.

The ultimate goal of the game is to discover at least twenty-five out of thirty different ship parts scattered throughout the planet before the thirty day period ends. As the player progresses, more areas of the planet will be unlocked to explore. The game also has an unlockable Challenge Mode in which the player's goal is to collect as many Pikmin as possible throughout a day.

Legacy

This game went on to spawn a new Nintendo series and would later be represented in the Super Smash Bros. series. After the series was represented through a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Olimar would become a playable character starting in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, armed with his Pikmin. This also came with a stage, music and other references to the Pikmin games.

Ports and Remakes

• It was released in March 2009 for the Nintendo Wii as part of the New Play Control series of Gamecube remakes. This version was later released for download through the Wii U's eShop in 2016 (2017 for Japan).
• HD remasters of the first two games were released for the Nintendo Switch in 2023. They were made available digitally in June, where the games could be bought separately or in a bundle, and a physical bundle called Pikmin 1+2 was released on September 22nd of that year. The physical game card contains both games, but launches them as separate apps. This port of Pikmin was primarily based on the New Play Control version.

Sequels

It was followed by Pikmin 2 in 2004.