Pikmin 4

Pikmin 4
Finally, a new Pikmin game on Switch after ten years...
Genre(s): Real Time Strategy Platform(s): Nintendo Switch Release: July 21, 2023 Developer(s): Nintendo Publisher(s): Nintendo Predecessor: Pikmin 3

Pikmin 4 is a real-time strategy video game developed by Nintendo EPD and published by Nintendo. It is the fourth main installment of the Pikmin series, following Pikmin 3 (2013), and sixth installment overall. It was released on the Nintendo Switch on June 28, 2023 in demo and officially launched in July 21, 2023.

Why It Rocks

1. Tight and solid controls.
2. It's good to see this game back 10 years ago since Pikmin 3 (spinoffs aside).
3. The graphics are very beautiful to look at and it is an improvement on its predecessor, most notable is the interior of the human house, which looks like the real thing, its beautiful graphics remind that it was released on PS4, Xbox One or Microsoft Windows.
4. You can customize your character before starting the game, but it is limited, you can do it again during gameplay.
5. This game introduces two new types of Pikmin: Ice Pikmin who is immune to ice, can freeze water, enemies and bosses, but for a limited time, and Glow Pikmin, who is active at night, he glows and can create a sphere of light join all Glow Pikmin to attack enemies and bosses, and they are immune to all elements of danger, except darkness, all the Pikmins in previous games (Purple, White, Rock and Winged Pikmin, and of course as always, Red, Yellow and Blue Pikmin) return in both Story Mode and Co-op Mode.
6. Some of the bosses and enemies from Pikmin and Pikmin 2, mainly all the best known ones, return in this game in both modes.
7. Fun bosses and enemies just like before.
8. Oatchi, a cute puppy from the Rescue Squad, debuts in this game, he is very useful during gameplay, you can even add Oatchi's skills to gain his advantages, like being able to swim, having some immunity, etc.
9. The interactive Picklopedia, like in Pikmin 2, returns in this game, but, unlike Pikmin 2, the Picklopedia in this game has a lot more things than the other one, like using Bomb Rock, Bomb Ice, playing freely in Picklopedia and using Pikmins to kill bosses/enemies, etc.
10. The plot is well-written, just like its predecessors, where the Rescue Squadron enters the planet PNF-404 (or Earth) to rescue Olimar and Louie.
11. Fun music, just like the previous three main games in the Pikmin franchise, including Groovy Long Legs battle music and the final boss battle music.
12. The Multiplayer is pretty fun, whether Co-Op or PVP.
13. All the enemies have their own unique music tracks.

Bad Qualities

1. Sadly, just like Pikmin 3, you can only play multiplayer games locally.
2. Even the graphics are beautiful, there's has some hiccups of the frame rate.
3. Crepping Chrysanthemum's model is often criticized for being ugly, generic and not scary at all, unlike Pikmin 2, especially the model itself in Pikmin 4.
4. Louie is just as unlikable (in a bad way) as he was in Pikmin 3.
5. The Purple Pikmin and Rock Pikmin, though nice to see it back in Story Mode, are very overpowered. They have all the same problems they had in Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3, making all types of Pikmin useless (with the exception of the final boss). Purple Pikmin have become as powerful as they were in Pikmin 2. As for rocks, if you use 100 and use Oatchi’s dash, they can INSTANTLY kill less than a second a lot of enemies, such as Fiery Bulblaxes, Bulborbs, Burrowing Snagrets, etc. They can kill even bosses quickly, although, lasting up to 30 seconds or more or less than that. Making you clear this game a little faster.
6. On the topic of overpowered characters, Oatchi is SEVERLY overpowered, being able to rush and stun enemies, improve his skills, pluck Pikmin and can even get affected by ULTRA-SPICY SPRAY (it is a drinkable drop for Pikmins, if a Pikmin drinks it, Pikmin will become agitated and strong, as well as the pinkish red aura will appear).
7. On the other hand, Winged Pikmin have been nerfed heavily in this game as they no longer have their own unique obstacles such as the bamboo gates and flukeweeds, possess terrible AI that can't take shortcuts and by the time you even unlock them or their onion there isn't any point in using them (by the time you get to the final area where their onion is located in a normal playthrough, you would have only 10 Winged Pikmin). It feels as if they were only added into the game just for the sake of having all the types together again.

Reception

Pikmin 4 received "generally favorable" reviews, both critics and gamers alike, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Nintendo Life scored the game nine out of ten points, praising its level design, graphics, and performance in both handheld and docked mode. It is the best-selling game in Japan so far, and the most popular in the Pikmin series, well, this game became one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch, even before this game was released. later won Game Awards award for "Best Sandbox/Strategy Game of 2023".

Trivia

• This is one of the few Nintendo games to use the Unreal Engine.

• Olimar dancing in this game ad in Times Square (it only cost $40 to show an ad to all New Yorkers) became a meme.

• After this game made the franchise very popular, a meaningless meme that never existed called Fiddlebert, a smaller, green clone of Captain Olimar, who spoke Lithuanian and swear words.

• There is a Roblox fan game based on this game as well, like having the page on the Perfection Roblox Games Wiki, It's called PWIP.

• It is the best-selling game in the Pikmin franchise.

• During the production of this game, originally the player could control the Bulborb, but later this idea continued to evolve, so the player could control ALL the enemies in the game, but it was discarded for being too chaotic and was replaced by Oatchi

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