I_smell

Pikmin 3

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...there wasn't a thread for it.

 

Just wanted to share: I saw this inbetween a fat list of E3 trailers, and the musical direction of this one deserves a round of applause.

 

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I bought a Wii U at launch for this, because I severely underestimated what Nintendo considers to be a "launch window." I'm still pretty stoked.

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Heh. I'll be buying a Wii U for this. Or Wonderful 101. Whichever comes out first.

 

Or Smash if for some insane reason that happens. But it won't. Probably.

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After burning out with it, I went back to Pikmin 2 when I heard the Thumbs discussing the multiplayer (which I found to be fantastic). It made me excited for this.

Also, this looks gorgeous. I'm pretty certain it's the Nintendo HD-starved part of my brain suddenly getting some juice, but damn it's pretty!

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This, and the Wonderful 101, are what will sell the Wii U to me. Glad to wait until they're out though. Pikmin 3 looks delightful and fun!

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This isn't out yet? It kind of seems like there was a big disconnect between when all the developers at Nintendo were ready to release a new console, and when the leadership wanted to get it out. It feels like there was almost no point releasing it as early as they did.

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The current thinking is that with the switch to HD graphics, Nintendo have underestimated the added strain on production, hence all the delays.

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Some of the things Nintendo was saying about Pikmin 3 earlier on just absolutely murdered my anticipation for this game.

Namely the control being modeled after the original Gamecube game with no effort to take advantage of what the new controller might allow them to do*, and the purported lack of online support for its allegedly expanded multiplayer suite. (* = Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but i think there are pretty big gaps between what the two Pikmin games allow you to do and what you actually kind of need to be able to do. I feel like a touchscreen would really help out in many regards, but Nintendo has generally seemed to express no interest in taking advantage of the tablet's features.)

So somebody tell me, has their tune changed more recently?

Beyond that, it just sounds so much like Pikmin 2, and i actually think the first game was a more playable, interesting game in some regards.

So yeah, i think Pikmin 2 is a tiny bit overrated. Everybody probably hates me now.

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They revealed a while back that you can now play with the gamepad using physical controls with the screen as a map, with the Wii remote and nunchuk on the TV (using the allegedly wonderful control scheme from the Wii ports of the first two games) and the screen as a map, off-TV on the gamepad with physical controls, and off-TV on the gamepad with the Wiimote and nunchuk using the gamepad as a display/sensor bar. They haven't officially stated why you can't use the touchscreen though. My speculation is that they probably wanted people looking at the TV for the nice HD visuals they've put together since Pikmin's always had very pretty visual design, and maybe dividing player attention by looking at the TV and playing with the touchscreen is too much. They've said in interviews that they wanted precise throws to have a more noticeable impact now (ie: you can throw Pikmin at a Bulborb's eye to try to blind it).

 

Also, I encourage anyone who hasn't tried the Pikmin Adventure minigame in NintendoLand to give it a spin if you want to see a really cool, if somewhat simplified, take on how a Pikmin game can take advantage of the Wii U. Play it with friends and take turns playing Captain Olimar.

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Oh man, Charles Martinet speaking in his normal voice is always so weird.

 

EDIT: Also, the duck hunt dog sound effect when the ship explodes is perfect.

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Oh man, Charles Martinet speaking in his normal voice is always so weird.

 

 

Did you play Runner 2 by any chance?

 

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Oh man, I watched both those videos and this game looks incredible. It seems to keep the good stuff about the sequel (multiple characters, more interesting puzzles) while getting rid of the bad stuff (the randomly generated caves) and the juice collecting stuff seems like a good compromise between a punishing time limit and no time limit at all.

 

Stop trying to get me to buy a Wii U, Tegan!

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Double post for reviews. Damn, this game looks great. And the multiplayer seems like an interesting take on what they did in Pikmin 2.

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This game is out today, and I am heartbroken that I don't have enough money to get it. Soon! Soon!

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Scotty has it and his main gripe right now is that the old c-stick "swarm" mechanic is missing which has negatively impacted his pikmin controlling abilities.

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I bought this and played it for the entire afternoon. I found the first Pikmin game to be Too Stressful for my Simple Brain, and skipped 2 for the same reason. I always felt like I should have gone back to give them another chance, but then other games came out and I never got around to it. Then I watched the Pikmin 2 multiplayer stream with Chris/Jake and I thought: "oh man, that looks really fun." And so I bought Pikmin 3, because I have a WiiU (which I like, and actually play quite a bit, so take that media narrative), and because it looked to be a great time.

 

It's still real stressful, but that's probably because I am "afraid of failure." While there's a daily time limit, you can go back and redo days if you're not happy with how things went. However, you'll be losing any progress made after that day if you go back and redo it, if that makes sense. It's pretty, and the Pikmin are excitable little fellows. As I have not played the original two, I have no thoughts on losing the ability to control Pikmin swarming with the c-stick. My only gripe is that it's pretty rough to like, split your attention across multiple characters. But I suppose that'll change once I get the hang of it.

 

Also, Chris, Jake, while you both have already written off the multiplayer because it's not the platonic ideal from Pikmin 2, from what I have read (I haven't had a chance to try it), it's apparently pretty good, and you can change the settings so that it is essentially the same game. Yes, instead of four yellow marbles, you have to complete a bingo with randomly scattered fruit, but structurally, the strategy seems to be similar. And, instead of a big red marble, there's a "victory macaroon" you carry back to victory, in lieu of completing a bingo. There's also a 2 vs. 2 match, where each player commands multiple Captains (Olimar and Louie make a reappearance!). Both players can play with wii remote and nunchuk, and maybe I have NO idea how PERFECT Gamecube controls are for Pikmin (I don't doubt that they're great!) but the Wii Remote / Nunchuk setup worked quite well when I played the single player game. 

 

It just seems like you wrote it off real quick-like. I understand that this was also (and perhaps more importantly) because you don't own WiiU's. Oh well! Nice job, Nintendo! 

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This thread is secretly part of the ongoing plot to get Jake to buy a Wii U.

 

 

Also, IIRC, isn't there a way to get the Pikmin to focus on one target, essentially fulfilling the same purpose as C-stick swarming?

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There might be, but I haven't figured out how to do it.

 

I'm trying to decide which control scheme I prefer (gamepad or Wiimote+nunchuk). The Wiimote pointer makes it easier to aim and throw Pikmin, but the camera flies all over the place, which I find disorienting. Plus, it's harder to Cheeto-hands into the couch and be a waste of life when you have to make the effort to point a thing at the screen. And it's weird that even if you're playing with the Wiimote, you still have to look at the gamepad for the map and various notifications and stuff. (The TV even shows you a picture of the gamepad with a scaled-down version of what it's displaying on it and a message to look at the gamepad. Why not just show that on the TV?!)

 

Apart from that, it seems pretty fun so far, though.

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