Pikmin (series)
Pikmin (ピクミン, Pikumin) is a series of video games created by Nintendo that started on the Nintendo GameCube in 2001. It has three released games - Pikmin, Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3. The series is about a spaceman called Captain Olimar visiting an alien planet and working with creatures called Pikmin to explore it.
| Pikmin | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Real-time strategy |
| Developers | Nintendo EAD |
| Publishers | Nintendo |
| First release | Pikmin October 26, 2001 |
| Latest release | Pikmin 3 July 13, 2013 |
Characters
- Captain Olimar - Captain Olimar is spaceman who crash lands on the alien planet in Pikmin and meets the Pikmin species, and has to fix his ship and get off the planet in 30 days, or he'll die. Olimar is a play on the name Mario, Nintendo's mascot, by rearranging the syllables.
- Pikmin - The Pikmin are a type of creature who help Captain Olimar. In Pikmin, they come in red, yellow, and blue types. In Pikmin 2, they also come in white and purple types.
- Louie - Louie joins Olimar in Pikmin 2 and helps him find treasure. Louie is a play on the name Luigi, Mario's brother and sidekick, by using the nickname for it.
- Emperor Bulbax - The villain of the first Pikmin game.
- President - The President of Captain Olimar's company, who sends him to find treasure to pay off the company's debt.
Setting
Pikmin is set on a world that is supposed to be Earth, but Captain Olimar is very tiny, so it looks like a strange world to the player. The first level of Pikmin looks like Shigeru Miyamoto's backyard. Nintendo made it seem more like Earth by adding common items, like a globe of the Earth, a Duracell battery, and a Pepsi bottle cap.
Gameplay
Both games use real-time strategy gameplay. The player plays as Captain Olimar, who can command his Pikmin. Olimar gets Pikmin by bringing pellets, a type of food, and bad guys to an Onion, which is the Pikmin's ship. Pikmin will come out of the Onion and get planted in the ground so that Olimar can pull them out. Olimar can use Pikmin to take stuff back to his base, fight insects and other creatures, or travel across places.
Games
Pikmin
Pikmin is the first game in the series and came out in 2001 on the Nintendo GameCube. Captain Olimar crashlands on an alien planet, and unites with a creature called Pikmin. He only has 30 days life support, and so he and the Pikmin try to find the pieces of his ship that broke off so he can escape.
Pikmin 2
Pikmin 2 came out in 2004 for the Nintendo GameCube. It uses the same gameplay, but adds a new character called Louie, two new kinds of Pikmin, and a new type of area called Underground, where Olimar and Louie search for treasure in. It also added multiplayer, where one player can be Olimar and another can be Louie.
Pikmin 3
Pikmin 3 released in 2013 for the Wii U. It follows 3 new explorers looking for fruit to save their starving planet, Alph, an engineer, Brittany, a botanist, and Charlie, the captain.
Other appearances
Pikmin has appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Pikmin has a couple of collectibles of Captain Olimar and the Pikmin. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Captain Olimar is a playable character along with his Pikmin. Music, enemies, and an area are also taken from the series for stuff in Brawl.