In recent weeks we had already talked abundantly about the master's last great IP Miyamoto, Pikmin. Right on the pages of Gameplay Café we told you about the birth and evolution of the last great single player IP from Nintendo. After spending a few weeks in the company of the cute colorful animals, we are ready to tell you our about Pikmin 3 Deluxe. Is it really worth re-immersing yourself in this peculiar strategy even on Nintendo Switch?
Password: relaxation
The Pikmin saga is in effect a real-time strategy. In a dystopian future where humanity is forced to face a problematic shortage of food supplies, three scientists set out to discover distant planets. An emergency landing will force the three protagonists to divide, starting a first part of the adventure in which we will essentially have to reunite the three unfortunates. In these early stages you will have plenty of time to familiarize yourself with the game mechanics, in what we can call a masked tutorial. The mechanics to be assimilated are many but never overwhelming e the learning curve is perfectly balanced and never frustrating. The day / night cycle sets the pace of the game, but Pikmin 3 is not a rushed video game. The player has plenty of time to plan his moves, being able to easily postpone some of them to the next day.
For those who have never heard of this saga, remember that the pikmin are nothing but small creatures extractable from the ground. In addition to enchanting us with their cute verses, these fragile-looking creatures are the centerpiece of the gaming experience. There are several types: from fire resistant red pikmin, to electricity resistant yellow ones, to purple ones that can fly. Every situation obviously requires the right type of pikmin, whether it's a fight with a boss or the resolution of a small environmental puzzle, perhaps to cross a bridge or a blocked road.
Pikmin are the primary attraction of unique gameplay.
The third iteration of the Nintendo saga continually confronts us with new situations, amazing at every single step. Sometimes, however, this continuous inclusion of new mechanics means that the gameplay never finds real stability. Just a couple of hours will pass between the discovery of the latest type of pikmin and the conclusion of the adventure, leaving us with a little bitter sensation in the mouth. The perception we have is that of a main adventure perhaps slightly too short even aiming for 100%. The main objective, in addition to investigating strange finds to try to repair your own spacecraft, is also to collect fruits scattered throughout the planet. There are various types, from the smallest to the most gigantic, and they must be transported on our flying house in order to accumulate resources and be able to stay and explore the planet one more day. Even picking every single fruit, the main adventure won't last more than seven hours.
USEFUL INFOWe completed Pikmin 3 100% by earning all trophies in just over twenty hours, playing the campaign twice and completing all the extras.
Duration- The main campaign can be completed 100% in just over 7 hours.
- Pikmin 3 is a real-time strategy with a peculiar management of resources and the day / night cycle. Collecting food is essential to extend our stay on the planet and continue to gather other resources that will allow us to continue exploring to repair our spacecraft.
- The main adventure is packed with collectibles and completing it unlocks a level of difficulty as well as an entirely new prologue and epilogue.
- Game Name: Pikmin 3 Deluxe
- Release date: October 30, 2020
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch
- Dubbing language: Absent
- Texts language: Italian
A new life…
This brand new deluxe version, however, holds more than a few surprises. A brand new level of difficulty called "ultra spicy”Will delight the most extreme gamers. In this mode - unlockable only after completing the adventure mode (or alternatively by completing the demo) - the challenge becomes much higher. The maximum number of pikmin that can be enlisted in the field is reduced to 60 (from 100 in normal mode) and the day / night cycle is significantly shortened forcing us to plan our moves more wisely. Thanks to this additional level of challenge, the gameplay of Pikmin 3 literally explodes giving us several exciting moments. Knowing how to coordinate the three captains becomes fundamental and you will have to take more than a few risks if you want to take the food home.
This new deluxe version is packed with additional content.
But the additions don't stop there. Once the main adventure is completed, two extra stories related to the adventures of Captain Olimar (the absolute protagonist of the first two chapters) on the planet just visited will be unlocked. It is basically about timed challenges on predefined map portions in which the objectives can be varied: from the harvest of fruits, to the recovery of ship parts, up to the elimination of every single enemy. Also in this case the time limit for each single mission pushes the player to coordinate with the two protagonists of these additional adventures in order to increase the efficiency of their actions and earn the much coveted platinum medal.
Trophies and multiplayer
This definitive version of Pikmin 3 doesn't just add to the single player mode. It proposes an interesting PvP mode already present in the Wii U edition, or the “Bingo” mode, in which two players must be able to recover certain objects, chosen at random, before the opponent. However, where the offer is enriched in an interesting way is in the possibility of tackle the campaign in cooperative mode. This new and welcome addition, unfortunately only locally, gives a further degree of replayability to the title. In case you have the chance, taking on the whole adventure alongside a friend makes the experience even more profound from a cooperative point of view. Finally, to bow the complete package, Nintendo has seen fit to add a list of trophies, for those who really want to complete every single aspect, and to introduce a sort of encyclopedia for each creature and fruit in the game.
Remastered? Not exactly…
Where the new reincarnation of the strategic Nintendo is disappointing is certainly from a technical point of view. Mind you, the art style and technical implementation of the Wii U version were and remain excellent, with an artistic coherence that has few equals in the gaming field. The title is gaudy in its colors, full of details and features a character design of the bosses and enemies that literally leaves you breathless. The variety of scenarios sublimates a search for detail that creates a splendid world in miniature, also embellished with a respectable sound. The underlying problem is that the technical performance of the title has not been updated in the least, without therefore taking advantage of the greater power of the Switch.
We would have appreciated a greater effort from a technical point of view.
Still, it would have been enough to increase the resolution and add a little more anti-aliasing to make the seven-year-old title look like a modern day product. Fortunately, though, Nintendo has put a hand in the control system in a profound way, improving in all respects the chaotic management of Wii U. Selecting enemies and objects (or fruits) towards which to launch your pikmin is now much simpler and more intuitive. The gaming experience is therefore more fluid, finding its definitive consecration.
Mission accomplished?
Net of some technical "laziness", Nintendo has managed to give a definitive shape to the little gem released on Wii U. The additional content greatly extends the original experience, making it even more usable thanks to targeted interventions on the gameplay and controls. It goes without saying that, for those who have played the original title, the purchase of this new edition will depend only on the desire to return to this splendid world, in the hope of being able to see a new chapter already next year. Anyone who has never played Pikmin 3 will have no better chance than this to recover it at its best.
Review by Stefano CherubiniGraphics
The artistic impact of the Nintendo title is incredible. Bright colors, detailed scenarios that show off a stylistic coherence like only the great Nintendo productions can do. If from a technical point of view the title defends itself well carrying seven years on its shoulders in an excellent way, we would certainly have appreciated an eye on anti-aliasing and on the increase in resolution that Switch could certainly have guaranteed.
80
SOUNDTRACK AND DOUBLE ROOM
The sound is one of the strong points of the production. Even in its small way, the game world manages to involve the player in nature and manages to make the environments seem more alive than ever. The dubbing has not been received (also because it is not necessary).
85
GAMEPLAY
When Nintendo (and Miyamoto in particular) decides to propose its vision of a proven genre - in this case that of real-time strategy - the result can only be surprising. The Pikmin saga, now in its third iteration, does not show the side to the slightest sign of fatigue, and makes us reach the end of this third journey almost begging on our knees for a few more hours of gameplay. The continuously evolving mechanics and a level design created by those who have been teaching the videogame world for over thirty years create an irresistible product that, years after its first appearance, exudes originality and freshness.
