Pikmin (series)

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Pikmin is the name of a video game series developed by Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, and released exclusively for the Nintendo Gamecube platform. The series features two video games; Pikmin and Pikmin 2. The first video game starred Captain Olimar solely, while the second game also incorporated Louie, a co-worker who can be used in conjunction with Captain Olimar in order to command two groups of Pikmin at once. The names "Olimar" and "Louie" are based on Mario and Luigi, which are also developed by Shigeru Miyamoto. The name "Olimar" (オリマー) is a partial anagram of "Mario" (マリオ) in both the English and Japanese language. Likewise, "Louie" is derived from "Luigi". In some translated versions of Pikmin, the name is translated into the equivalent of "Luigi" in that language - for example, in the Spanish translation of Pikmin 2, he is called "Luís".

According to an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, the original plans for Pikmin were to be a game where one could watch the development of two human beings. That game's working title was "Adam and Eve". Eventually, this idea was found to be far too uninteractive and thus Pikmin were introduced as well as the other concepts found in the game, and most of the original plans were scrapped.

Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Settings 3 Characters 3.1 Other appearances 4 Future 5 External links 6 References

[edit] Gameplay

The games feature small, multi-colored creatures known as Pikmin. Pikmin are tiny, brightly-colored and intelligent creatures. A stalk protrudes from their head, topped by a symbol of rank: a leaf, bud, or a flower. The hero of the games, Captain Olimar, with his partner in the second game, Louie, commands the Pikmin in battle against the larger creatures of the planet. The advantage of Pikmin comes in numbers, as a single Pikmin can easily be defeated by a larger foe.

At night, Pikmin retreat into Onions for safety; if they are left out at night, they are devoured by nocturnal predators. Onions are round, bulbous, onion-like spaceships in which the Pikmin live and travel. Each Onion is color coded to the type of Pikmin that inhabits it. The Onions play a vital role in the Pikmin's reproduction. Pikmin grow, like plants, from seeds planted in the ground. Seeds are most often planted by the Onion, which converts defeated enemies or objects known as pellets into Pikmin. These seeds grow into sprouts after about two seconds of being in the ground, but slowly mature over time from leaf to bud to flower. A sprout can then be plucked by Olimar or Louie to produce an adult Pikmin; the state in which the sprout is picked in determine the state of the Pikmin (a flower sprout will become a flower Pikmin when plucked from the ground). In other cases, Pikmin are found planted in the ground naturally, and Pikmin seeds can sometimes be found in the place where a flower Pikmin has died.

The adventures of the games take place on a planet that is not given a name, but is presumably Earth. Garbage and other human waste is strewn throughout the areas in the games, and in Pikmin 2 many of these objects are brand name products (such as Duracell batteries and old 7-Up bottlecaps) to heighten the connection. The landscapes are said to be inspired by gardens belonging to the developer of the games, Shigeru Miyamoto. Further evidence is found in the first Pikmin game in one of Olimar's Journal Entries, stating "the creatures of this planet breathe a deadly poison: oxygen".

Captain Olimar and Louie are both from the fictional planet Hocotate, which is named after the address of Nintendo’s Japan headquarters. They also both work for a company called The Hocotate Freight Company, which, in the second game, is in a state of bankruptcy; in Pikmin 2, Olimar and Louie are forced to return to the planet to collect objects to sell and restore their employer's financial well-being. Characters in the Pikmin series are on a small scale; for example, Captain Olimar is only about the size of a quarter, and the Pikmin themselves are even smaller, roughly the size of a dime.

[edit] Settings

The "Distant Planet" acts as the setting for both games. It is the home world of the Pikmin and various other hostile creatures. During the day, the creatures are fairly tame, but during the night, they hunt, making it unsafe for the Pikmin and Olimar to stay on the surface of the planet. It also does not contain a breathable atmosphere for the residents of Hocotate, so they must use special suits in order to survive. The planet contains various "treasures" that are valuable to the residents of Hocotate, which include batteries, dentures, doll-heads, and even old Nintendo console components such as an old NES controler cover and a head of the famous ROB.

The other world featured is Hocotate, the home world of Olimar, Louie, and the other characters. Hocotate is portrayed as a desert-like, rocky planet with two perpendicular planetary rings. Located on the planet is the Hocotate Freight Company, an interstellar transportation company.

[edit] Characters

The main character of the series is Captain Olimar, an employee of Hocotate Freight Company, that flies a ship known as the S.S. Dolphin. He has a wife, son, and daughter that he communicates with after every game day. Pikmin 2 introduces Louie, a co-worker of Olimar, who places the Hocotate Freight Company in debt after losing a shipment of gold pikpik carrots to a "ravenous space bunny", and the President of Hocotate Freight, a large man that runs the company and keeps debt collectors away. The president is forced to sell the Dolphin, and it is replaced by an unnamed ship that is able to speak,name and value the treasure on the planet. The "ravenous space bunny" doesn't actually exist; Louie just got hungry.

After becoming stranded on the "Distant Planet" in the first game, Olimar becomes acquainted with the species of plant-like beings that he names "Pikmin" because they resemble the "Pikpik" brand of carrots on his homeworld. They are small, brightly colored creatures who stand only an inch tall. They follow any command from attacking and defending Olimar to retrieving large artifacts. Pikmin are generally very weak, unless they are used in teams, as the Pikmin are excellent at working together. Pikmin speak only strange, foreign squeak noises to each other. Simple commands can, however, be communicated to them by the use of a whistle or any other device capable of producing high-pitched noises.

Pikmin come in several colors, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. In the original Pikmin, there are three types of Pikmin; red Pikmin, who are better in combat and can withstand extreme heat; yellow Pikmin, who can be thrown higher and can carry bomb-rocks; and blue Pikmin, which have gills and can walk in water without drowning. However, in the second game, yellow Pikmin can no longer throw bomb-rocks, as the bomb-rocks are much larger now, instead gaining the ability to withstand electricity. In the second game, two new species of Pikmin were introduced. The first are white Pikmin, who, when ingested by enemies, deliver a fatal poison to the enemy. Additionally, the white Pikmin are immune to poison, can locate buried treasure with their special eyes, and can run faster than other Pikmin. The second species introduced are the purple Pikmin, who move slower than normal Pikmin, but have ten times the strength and weight of other Pikmin, giving them the ability to pick up much heavier objects and attack and destroy obstacles and other enemies with fewer numbers. The third is a kind of parasitic Pikmin called Bulbmin, Bulborbs that have been infected by Pikmin, that follow Olimar after their leader is killed. They are immune to everything, and will not leave the caves with Olimar, the only way to take them is if they are transformed into other Pikmin species with Candypop buds.

[edit] Other appearances

In the game Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, if a golf ball lands in a patch of flowers, Pikmin will pop out and scatter in all directions. ^[1] The Wii game WarioWare: Smooth Moves features a microgame entitled "Pikmin 2", which has the player taking control of an Empress Bulblax, a boss from Pikmin 2, and using it to crush Pikmin. ^[2]

Olimar is a playable character in the Wii title, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He commands his Pikmin in battle, and is almost entirely dependent on them. Olimar is able to pluck new Pikmin from the ground at any time, and he can have up to six with him at once. The Pikmin, as in the original series, are fragile and can be defeated easily, but each of the five colors has special unique properties (for example, the Red Pikmin are stronger than average and have fire-based attacks, as well as resistance to flame). Olimar’s Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Brawl is called End of Day, in which he leaves the arena via his spaceship as night falls. The players left behind are attacked by feeding Bulborbs, and can be further damaged when Olimar’s ship returns and explodes on impact. Also, there is a chance a player besides Olimar will fall into the rocket which will then take off and kill the player. The game also features a playable stage called Distant Planet, based on the setting of the Pikmin series. ^[3]

[edit] Future

Nintendo has not said anything about a new Pikmin game; however, Shigeru Miyamoto has hinted about the possibilities of one in an IGN interview.^[4] "I certainly don't think we've seen the last of Pikmin," he said. "I definitely would like to do something with them, and I think the Wii interface in particular is very well suited to that franchise."

Following, on April 18th 2008, this was published in an article following an interview with Miyamoto: "For now, Miyamoto looks ahead to other projects for the Wii, mentioning his desire to continue the Pikmin series."^[5] The IGN Nintendo staff have repeatedly expressed the opinion that an announcement will be made at the 2008 E3.

[edit] External links

• Pikmin & Olimar's page on the Smash Bros. DOJO!!.
• Pikipedia, a wiki dedicated to Pikmin.

[edit] References

v • d • e Pikmin series Video games Pikmin · Pikmin 2 Music Strawberry Flower · "Ai No Uta" · "Pikmin Dance"