Pikmin 1+2 (Nintendo Switch) Review

These HD ports are no doubt an appetiser for what is to entice the larger Switch install base to the upcoming Pikmin 4. However, they could also be an indication of things starting to slow down for the little hybrid that could. June's Nintendo Direct was a great presentation by all counts, but it does point at a strategy shift that leans more towards lower hanging - and not to mention lower pressure - fan service, oddities, ports, remakes and remixes.

It's a strategy that seems to follow a pattern for Nintendo when it is starting to eke out the last bits of life from a given platform, and certainly, in terms of megaton-type titles, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an appropriate bookend for the current system as it's more than enough to hold fort for the foreseeable future and continues to move units.

That's not to say that the Nintendo Switch is done for. Far from it. It's just a feeling of encroachment on the autumn season - a season that can often see some of the most surprising gems crop up in a given Nintendo platform's overall library.

By and large, Pikmin and Pikmin 2 are not surprising titles for Nintendo to be putting out right now, but they are indeed gems. Exploration and strategy are the key components to the Pikmin experience, uniquely granting direct control over the protagonist (or protagonists), and then indirect control over the Pikmin themselves.

Pikmin, the aforementioned flower-creature-humanoids, come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Red Pikmin are fire-resistant and excellent fighters, while Yellow Pikmin can be thrown higher and carry bomb rocks. Blue Pikmin are natural swimmers and can traverse water without brutally drowning like the rest of them do.

It's Olimar and co.'s job to manage these groups of Pikmin simultaneously across multiple maps to solve puzzles and defeat enemies and the like, whilst retrieving key items for progress. It requires a lot of multitasking, though not overwhelmingly so, and forward planning to complete objectives.

There are some signs of these titles showing their age, particularly in comparison after being spoiled with a recent slate of polished up remasters and remakes. However, for being around 20 years old, they do hold up pretty great, as well. Some textures and resolutions are, as expected, low resolution, though this is somewhat mitigated by the cartoony style, and text boxes and menu items appear stretched in the 16:9 aspect ratio. Most importantly is the gameplay, which hasn't aged a day.

Indeed, all of the Pikmin titles do play extremely similarly, but there are some key differences between Pikmin and Pikmin 2 beyond character volume and new maps - most notably is the 30-day time limit in the first game. It does seem that there's a vocal group online that doesn't care much for this mechanic, favouring Pikmin 2 and later titles in the series for replacing it, and generally being more easy-going in that regard.

In this review's estimation, having the time limit is the superior design for Pikmin, however. There's something pure and no-nonsense about it. The later titles are generally more casual and slower paced and do pack in the features, but the time limit in the original Pikmin creates a compelling loop with a genuine risk and reward. which is far more satisfying and contained, certainly when revisiting it after all of this time. It's also not as tutorialised as Pikmin 2 and the rest. It is always the better way to go.