Well, I am still alive and well. And the story is NOT dead but it's been in merely sleep mode as I try to mull over everything I need to do, but rest assured, I have NOT quit and I won't leave you hanging forever. I Pinkie Pie promise! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! 
Pikmin games from worst to best (with reviews) · 5:22am Jul 29th, 2023
Hey everypony! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’m still here and I’m still working on my story and dealing with life and video games and personal things, too. But I promise that I’m never giving up! :D
Anyway, I thought I’d do something different this time, but I think it's gonna be fun. 
I am an avid fan of one of Nintendo’s most underrated game series named Pikmin. A series of games where you, the leader or leaders control a group of Pikmin with all kinds of abilities that you have to use in certain situations, carrying objects, and fighting enemies. Each one has a different story but I'll elaborate on that later.
Now, I wanna make it clear that I don’t consider that there’s a bad mainstream Pikmin game released as of 2023 (and whenever Pikmin 5 is finally released, I sure hope it is, LOL)
By the way, these reviews are very very light on spoilers so don't worry.
Number 5
Hey! Pikmin
Oh, yeah, this game was released back in 2017 and quickly forgotten about as soon as it launched. But is it really as bad as people say and think it is?
Story
Well, this one has Captain Olimar crash-landing on an unknown planet (yet again after Pikmin 1 and multiple crash landings in past games) and coming across the Pikmin once again. And he needs to find a fuel source named Sparklium in order to get his ship in working order again. And there're no day limits in this game like in the first and third game as we'll see.
Gameplay
The idea of Pikmin on a 2D side-scroller does sound like it could work on paper despite it being an abnormal thing for the series considering the past three games before this one were released were in 3D. But the gameplay, while it isn't the best, does work good for what it is, you have to use the stylus to tap repeatedly in order to throw your Pikmin, whistle them back, and interact. And Captain Olimar does move fairly slow in the 2D levels but it's not much of a problem for me. And the puzzles in the game while basic and you can figure them out pretty quick are fairly satisfying. Some of the boss battles are unique and creative, too. The Red, Yellow, Blue, Rock and Winged Pikmin make appearances in this game but I'll go over them in more detail in a bit.
Graphics
The graphics and level design for the game does make the world feel pretty alive despite some of the backgrounds not being the best in some of the areas.
Sound design
Now this is one of the best parts of the game. Despite the gameplay being fair and sometimes a little frustrating, the music is absolutely wonderful, fitting for the areas, and makes the game feel like Pikmin. The boss music was good, and the final boss' music was some of the best final boss music in the series. And the Pikmin sounds, Olimar, and other sounds are pretty spot on.
Content
There're plenty of treasures and areas to explore to where I got over 10 hours of gameplay experience, though it's not as satisfying as collecting them as in the first three games and later the fourth game.
Additional thoughts; Another best part of the game is seeing when you find the Pikmin in each level there's a cute little cutscene seeing them interact with the world and some are genuinely funny little moments, too.
So, while not a bad game overall, it really isn’t a good Pikmin game but an okay to decent experience for me.
A 5.4 out of 10 from me.
Number 4
Pikmin
Story
The OG, the original game that started it all and it's an underrated masterpiece in my opinion. This first game following Captain Olimar, an ordinary employee of a shipping freight company was on a space-cation (a vacation in outer space) where he passed close by a planet and then--
BAM!
A meteor came out of nowhere and struck his ship, the S.S. Dolphin, and he was sent hurdling towards the planet's surface and he blacked out. When he came to, he woke to a horrific sight of his ship nothing but a skeletal hull and 30 ship parts are missing. Plus, his life support system will fail in 30 days. And he has no hope of being rescued...
Until...
He came across the Pikmin for the very first time and they're friendly and obedient creatures to him. And with them by his side, hope has begun to well in his heart. Can you help Olimar get back home with the help of the Pikmin? Be careful though, there're many creatures that're very hostile and will attack you and your Pikmin.
Gameplay
Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? The gameplay itself is good, the controls can be easy to understand the more you play the game. And while you couldn't do this in the OG Gamecube version but in the Wii and Nintendo Swith re-releases you can go back as many days as you want on the main menu if you feel your exploration isn't going as planned. Controlling your Pikmin and giving them commands works well, but sometimes they get caught around corners and trip which can be frustrating. The camera is a little wonky and sometimes doesn't do what you want but it usually works okay for what it is. Not too much of a big deal.
There're three types of Pikmin in this game. The Red Pikmin which're resistant to fire and have stronger attacks, the Yellow Pikmin can be thrown higher and carry bomb rocks, while the Blue Pikmin can go in water. The levels in the game are pretty big and there's a ton of room to explore. And you can get emotionally attached to the Pikmin while exploring. And have to be pretty creative to battle the enemies or you'll lose your Pikmin if you're not careful, and if you fail to gather your Pikmin before nightfall, the ones left behind will be eaten by the native creatures.
Take care of your Pikmin and they'll take care of you.
Graphics
Being a game that released in 2001, its graphics aren't the most high-def but they do they job all things considering and they make the world feel alive and immersed in it.
Sound design
On top of graphics, the soundtrack from all of the levels you can explore are iconic and very memorable. Each one fits its current location very well and each time I hear the certain theme from a certain location, I can instantly remember which one it is. The Pikmin have cute sound effects and the rest of the sounds sound real nice too.
Content
The game isn't the longest as it only has five areas, 3 of which are full-fledged areas, while the other two are fairly small. There is a challenge mode where you can grow as many Pikmin in a day as you can in the five areas. This game has the least amount of content.
But what does the first Pikmin game have over all of the other Pikmin games?
Replay value. The game is a lot of fun and it encourages you to do better, go different ways in your exploration, showing how many Pikmin you grew and unfortunately lost, while being a sometimes tough but fair game in strategy if you’re a newer player.
The best version to play these days is the Nintendo Switch release where it's HD and has less glitches than the OGs do.
A good 7.5 out of 10.
Number 3
Pikmin 3
Story
Almost 10 years later... there hadn't been a new Pikmin game since 2004... but now in 2013 a new one finally came out!
Now this one has the highest stakes in the entire Pikmin franchise. This story follows three new characters named Alph, Brittany, and Charlie. Their home planet, Koppai is suffering a planet-wide famine because of booming appetites, booming populations, and a basic lack of planning. They eventually discovered the Pikmin planet, which they coined PNF-404, and took off to bring back the seeds to Koppai. But, as the three explorers activated the landing gear, something interfered with their ship and caused it to crash land with all three of them getting seperated.
But they all come across the Pikmin and they can work with them to find all of the fruits they need to save their home planet. Can you help them save their planet?
Gameplay
While the game has the highest stakes in the series, you feel only personally connected to the three protagonists exploring the planet. This game takes what was best from the first one and makes commanding your Pikmin, solving puzzles, collecting items and exploring all more polished, defined and complex, but not too much to where it's overwhelming.
This area has five areas, four of which are very immersive and big, while the final one is more of a challenge than a straightup area. But though they're big, the game's story and sometimes the layout of the land has the game play out pretty linear rather than being more open like in Pikmin 1 and 2. And the story mode is pretty easy even on the hardest difficulty, which lowers your field limit of Pikmin from 100 to 60 and cuts how much your juice you get in half rather than mixing up the areas, making enemies harder and providing more challenge. The boss battles are unique and fun, too. But there're some past enemies underutilized in the Story Mode.
But even if it's not too hard, you can play it with a second player, something I've not done but don't care much about but the option's there.
Also, we have two new Pikmin types! The Rock and Winged Pikmin.
Rock Pikmin are as hard as, well, rocks and have bodies of rocks, they can smash through crystal walls and deliver massive punches to enemies when thrown. Plus, they can't be crushed. The same thing is applied in Pikmin 4, but unlike this game, if the surface is hard, the Rock Pikmin will be crushed in that particular game.
And Winged Pikmin fly and can transport items over places the other Pikmin cannot and take down flying enemies. But their attack power is weak.
Graphics
Some of the best in the entire series, the vibrant beautiful details make the planet feel very much alive with its visuals.
Sound design
Very good. While the music in the areas aren't as peppy as Pikmin 1 and 2's areas, they're still enough to make the world feel alive, immersive, and a strong feeling to be connected to it.
Content
While the story mode is fairly a breeze, the best Pikmin 3 has to offer is in its additional content.
You have 36 different missions you can do to earn a medal, from Bronze, to Silver, to Gold, and finally Platinum. These are all pretty challenging, with some harder than others, but they put your strategy, planning, and execution to the test and encourage you to try again if you didn't do as good as you wanted.
You have Mission modes of collecting treasures and battling enemies each of which has fifteen missions. And finally you can fight the six bosses you fought in story mode for a higher medal. And there're two Pikmin that're exclusive to this mode, the Purple and White Pikmin, but we'll cover those in a bit.
Next, we have a 2 player battle mode where you and another player face off in a Bingo Battle where you have to line up a line on your Bingo care before your opponent. Now it can get pretty competitive.
Finally, in the Deluxe and current version of Pikmin 3, we have Side Stories with Captain Olimar and his assistant, Louie of which provide 14 additional missions. They're not the hardest but they're fun and have a lot of replayability.
This would’ve been higher on the list if not for the pretty linear and fairly easy story mode even on the hardest difficulty. But I highly recommend Pikmin 3 for anyone who wants to get into the series.
A solid 8 out of 10.
Number 2
Pikmin 2
Story
Now this one takes place right after Pikmin 1, where Olimar does finally make it home, but from the President and a fellow employee Louie, he finds out that his company, Hocotate Freight has accumulated a massive unrepayable debt of over 10,000 pokos. But, a piece of treasure he collected for his son from the planet he escaped from is found out to be worth 100 pokos much to everyone's surprise. So, the President sends Olimar and the new character, Louie, off to explore the planet to repay the debt in a new ship and they're off.
Gameplay
This game takes what was great about the first game and digs deeper and amplifies on what was already established. Switching between Olimar and Louie to get more done in the days and to do more in other areas as well was something not seen in the first one but this one does pretty well. Not as well as Pikmin 3 but it gets the job done for sure. This one has four main areas to explore as well as a new feature called Caves where time completely stops and you can take all the time in the world for the treasure. Speaking of time, there's no day limit in this game you can spend 100 days or more and you'll still be fine. But the game can get pretty hard and even sometimes unfair, even to the most experienced players, especially in a few caves where an entire squad of Pikmin can be wiped out. And when you're moving a treasure on the surface and fail to get it back to your base before sunset, the treasure moves back to where it was originally. And if you leave a cave, or if you lose all of your Pikmin or both of your leaders in said cave, all of the treasure you collected will be lost.
On top of the original three Pikmin of Red, Yellow, and Blue, there're the new Purple and White Pikmin! :D The Purple Pikmin are very hefty, one has the carry weight of 10 Pikmin and can stun enemies if many are thrown.
And the White Pikmin are fast in transporting items, can withstand poison and are poisonous themselves. If an enemy eats them boy they'll sure regret it!
The Yellow Pikmin also have a new ability of being able to resist electricity. A trait they have beginning in this game into Pikmin 3, Hey Pikmin and Pikmin 4.
One more thing, there's something called the Piklopedia to where you can look at the creatures and everything else you encountered on the planet and look at your Treasure Hoard to read upon the treasures you'd found.
Graphics
They're a lot like Pikmin's graphics but a little crispier and still make the world feel alive, but some of the caves you go into aren't really the best to look at. It's a 2004 release but still.
Sound design
The soundtracks in the first three areas are very memorable. The fourth and final area is very good but doesn't have that same pep or energy the earlier ones did but it does the job well. And again, the music makes the world feel very immersive like in Pikmin. And the Caves have their own themes as well, maybe not as memorable (except for one particular cave) but they're there. And the Piklopedia and Treasure Hoard's music sounds absolutely magical.
Content
Pikmin 2 has a lot of things to collect and you can easily get between 10-20 hours or so on an average gameplay. And there's also Challenge Mode where you have to find the Key to proceed to the next sublevel of the respective level, you can collect all of the treasures on the sublevels if you can, but it's not required. There're 30 of these types of missions.
Next, there is a 2-player battle mode and I do have fond memories of playing these competitive modes. There're 10 stages you can choose from and they're all randomly generated.
Like I said earlier, this game is a lot of fun but it can be pretty unfair at times and it's likely the hardest Pikmin game in the entire franchise. I definitely don't recommend it for newcomers but for more experienced players as some enemies can wipe out a lot of Pikmin as well.
The game managed to pluck out an 8.5/10.
Now, before we get to number 1, I want to give a dishonorable mention and an honorable mention. These are games that’re like Hey! Pikmin but weren’t released on the 3DS or a mainline Nintendo console.
Dishonorable mention
Pikmin Adventure
Not a full-fledged Pikmin game but more of a mini-game based off Pikmin. As part of a series of mini-games released on one of the Wii U’s launch titles called NintendoLand.
I played some of this back in the day and got some enjoyment out of it but it doesn’t fully play like the other Pikmin games. There're some soundtracks and sounds effects from the previous games but that can't save it for me. The gameplay feels fairly basic and doesn't really pull me in.
It’s not overly terrible but it feels very generic and having the same boss music for most if not all of the bosses gets pretty irritating and I don’t feel very invested.
A mediocre 4.5 out of 10
Honorable mention
Pikmin Bloom
A Pikmin AR game where you walk around outside and collect Pikmin and more.
This one doesn’t get a score but from what I see it’s a cute little game that encourages you to get outdoors and have fun with your little buds.
And now… the moment you have all been waiting for!
Number 1!!!!
Pikmin 4
Story
Ten long years later... there had been mention of Pikmin 4 back in 2015 and 2017 and it wasn't mentioned again for the longest time, making us wonder if it was ever going to happen. There was Pikmin 3 Deluxe that released along with Pikmin Bloom but no signs of Pikmin 4. When the desert seemed endless... I never lost faith... it finally was announced and released on July 21, 2023! Just under a month of 10 years since Pikmin 3!
This story is a "soft reboot" of the previous Pikmin games, retelling Olimar's unfortunate crash-landing on PNF-404, and he managed to send a signal out to call for help. It did reach the Rescue Corps and in their effort to rescue Olimar, they unfortunately also crash-landed on the planet.
When you think all hope is lost... there is one more person at the Rescue Corp's headquarters, a Rookie.
You.
You have to go out onto PNF-404 and rescue Captain Olimar and the entire Rescue Corps and bring them home safely. And you also encounter a Rescue Pup named Oatchi who'll be your trusty canine friend in exploring the planet. Can you rescue them and Captain Olimar?
Gameplay
This game is very welcoming to newcomers, and you don't even have to play the previous three games to enjoy this one or be caught up on any of the previous games' stories to get what's going on. But at the same time, it's still completely the same universe with a lot of familiarity to veterans of the series, but mixing the ideas of the past three games up and creating an entirely new experience.
The game's main menu is gorgeous but it may look a little lacking, however, when you continue through the game your base camp becomes like a main menu in of itself to where you can leave and do anything you want. Something I really appreciate now.
And you have to collect treasures across the planet's surface to give you a resource called Sparklium to fix your ship's radar to explore more areas, find castaways to rescue and grow your Pikmin population to help you in your search. There are also Raw Materials you need to collect as well to unlock new gear and build new structures such as bridges, climbable walls, and ramps.
And you can upgrade Oatchi and his abilities as well, something I didn't expect but I love that good little pup!
Unlike Pikmin 3's story mode, the areas feel a lot more open instead of linear. They feel like Pikmin 1 and 2's level designs. And you can explore the areas however you like.
And there are SIX areas in the game! SIX! Not including the Base Camp area.
Also, when you start the game out you can have only 20 Pikmin out on the field at once and you have to find the Onions to make more of a particular type of Pikmin. Say if you found Rock Pikmin but you wouldn't be able to pluck anymore unless you find their Onion after you found it. And you can only have three types of Pikmin out on the field at once instead of all eight. I know some people won't like that but I really like the shakeup, it has you plan out more for the day.
Speaking of days, just like in Pikmin 2 there isn't a day limit. You can take as long as you need to.
The previous Pikmin, Red, Yellow, Blue, White, Purple, Rock and Winged Pikmin all return from the previous three Pikmin games into Story Mode.
There's also a new Pikmin called the Ice Pikmin to where they won't drown when dropped in water, they can even freeze water and enemies. The Red Pikmin is given a new ability but I won't spoil it here.
And there's a new Pikmin in Night Mode to which I won't spoil here but you'll love them when you play the game.
And caves are back from Pikmin 2! They're not randomly generated but are designed in certain ways but they feel more atmospheric than Pikmin 2's for the most part even if some may not be the most difficult.
But there're some downsides like the Co-Op in the story mode is a downgrade from Pikmin 3 Deluxe's, where the second player is just a cursor aiming and shooting pebbles and other items. I know the frustration but it doesn't matter much for me. And I would've liked to see more Battle stages in Dandori Battle. The game itself is pretty easy but it does get harder the more you play, still fairly easy but it's not as easy as Pikmin 3's story mode, plus me being an experienced player, Pikmin 1 can be pretty easy too so not much of a big deal for me.
And finally, my biggest gripe with the game is how the characters talk to you a lot no matter where you are. I've grown to ignore it but it is distracting quite a bit of the time.
Graphics
Definitely the best-looking Pikmin in the entire series, the characters look great and filled with personality, the enemies and environment look truly alive and the caves are truly appealing to look at, unlike some of them in Pikmin 2.
Sound design
The music in some of the areas isn't exactly peppy or memorable as Pikmin 1 and 2, but they're good nonetheless, the soundtrack is excellent in some areas and each boss battle has its own unique theme.
Content
Pikmin 4 has a LOT of content. While Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3 have a lot of content, Mission, Challenge, and Battle Modes were all secondary things you could do, but here the game incorporates them into the story where it give me a feel of "I have to do this! "I need to do this!" Because in my mind if you don't 100 percent a Pikmin game, you did not beat it. I get the feeling of needing to rescue all Castaways, complete every side mission, find all treasures in order to win.
Dandori Challenges - Sixteen stages to where you need to collect as many treasures as you can, and depending on how much you get you get a medal from Bronze to Platinum. There's also a Cave where it gives you ten more missions called Trial of the Sage Leaf that function the same and are harder but the rewards are satisfying.
Dandori Battles - These are like Battle Mode and Bingo Battle in Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3, and they're a lot of fun, but there're only six stages unlike the 10 in 2 and the 12 in 3. But they're incorporated into the Story so they're a must in order to progress, and I love that.
Night Expeditions - Go on these to protect the Luminknolls to create cures for Leaflings you find across PNF-404, be careful though, the creatures are in a frenzied state and will go after your Luminknolls.
Olimar's Shipwreck Tale - Relive Olimar's tale of how he shipwrecked and gather his ship parts before time runs out. You have fifteen days to collect the 30 ship parts. Basically, Pikmin 1 redone into Pikmin 4.
I played for over 30 hours in this game! Never did I ever think this game would be as massive as it is. It’s one of Nintendo’s best looking and most technologically impressive games on the Switch.
The best part of the Pikmin games is how relaxing they can be, how they encourage you to take your own routes, take on certain enemies while being fair (most of the time) and make you realize how you could've done this or that differently. You can especially play Pikmin 4 however you want without that kind of pressure.
So definitely check out Pikmin 4 as I think it's the best entry for newcomers while at the same time being very familiar to veterans and a love letter to the entire franchise! Definitely worth the 10 year wait!
A very excellent score of 9.3/10.
And that's it!! :D :D I hope you all consider checking out the Pikmin franchise, please look them up and see what others are saying.
An avid Pikmin fan I love the most is a YouTuber named Arlo and he raves on and on about them, so check him out too. :D
Very well informed review on the Pikmin series! I remember playing the first Pikmin game on GameCube, but got stuck The Forest Navel area and haven't beat it since.
I think I'll revisit it someday, but I might consider playing Pikmin 4 first as a way to reintroduce myself to the series!
5739914
Definitely go play it! :D It's the most welcoming to newcomers. :)
Grazie, great reviews!
5755666
Thanks very much. :) Please check out the series if you haven't already. :)