Pikmin 3 returns to the series' root after a long time away with some new twists and a great new control scheme

Pikmin 3 was supposed to be a launch title for the Wii U, but due to numerous problems, it was delayed but thankfully it was worth the wait. After 2 Pikmin installments on the Gamecube and none on the Wii, we are finally treated to a 3rd Pikmin game on the Wii U. And once again, it takes on the form of an RTS game that is wrapped up in cuteness and colours but underneath is actually quite a grim warfare simulator.
The reasons for this are not obvious but are there if you look closer. The Pikmin themselves are quite docile when left to their own devices, but as soon as you, the "general" get involved, they become vicious killing machines who will kill and destroy and cannibalise anything you can point them at. They will also wade into any situation you command them too, even a suicidal one, without hesitation if you command it. And when they are killed, you can replace them as quickly as they died. It's all quite disturbing once you get past the initial cute layer and you do feel genuinely bad when the Pikmin under your command are snuffed out knowing that you sent them them to their deaths to accomplish your goals.

All that being said, Pikmin 3 is still a highly enjoyable strategy game that flourishes on the Wii U for a genre that is usually aimed at PC and extremely difficult to make work on a console. The overall layout of the game takes cues from both the previous games before it and also adds in a few new things to keep the formula fresh. While Pikmin 1 had a strict 30 day time limit making it feel rushed and Pikmin 2 had no time limit but poor level design, Pikmin 3 strikes a balance between these two. There is a time limit, but this is dictated by the amount of juice you have remaining to feed your crew. But this supply can be refreshed by searching the levels and finding fruit to bring back to your ship. So the time limit only becomes strict if you neglect collecting fruit.

The story in this installment focuses on a crew of 3 visiting earth to collect edible fruit for their planet. But as usual, things do not go to plan and the 3 are split up, their ship is damaged and their fruit hunting mission is put on hold until they can be reunited and their ship repaired. As with the miniature visitors that came before them, they meet up with the Pikmin and they instantly begin to respond to their every command and help them complete their mission.

As shown on the cover of the box, there are 5 Pikmin varieties in this game:

• Red: strong warriors who are fire proof
• Blue: water proof
• Yellow: bomb carriers, can be thrown long distances and are immune to electricity
• Rock: heavy hitters used to stun enemies and smash glass
• Winged: can uproot buried items and carry things over gaps/water

You find these types throughout your quest to reunite with your crew members and fix your ship so areas that are initially inaccessible to you later become open as you get more Pikmin types and crew members. Speaking of crew members, since there are 3 crew member this time, a heavier emphasis is placed on multi tasking. You are now able to easily split up into groups with each crew member commanding their own Pikmin allowing you to divide and conquer or team up to get to new areas. Unfortunately, I probably did not do as much multi tasking as I should have, so it took me a little longer to complete the game than it should have.

The Wii U gamepad is very well used in this title acting as an always on map that can be used to point units to waypoints, find Pikmin, see how many Pikmin are unescorted and much more. It also features gamepad only play allowing you to use your TV for other things and only need the gamepad to play the game.

As with previous Pikmin games, there are many gigantic bosses (which are actually quite small) and they all need very different and varied methods to defeat. Most of them also need quite a lot of time to defeat and in some cases, I had to leave them partially defeated and return the next day to finish the job. I felt that these bosses were much more of a challenge than the bosses in the previous Pikmin games which had always seemed a little easy so this was a refreshing change.
Pikmin 3 is a great return to form from a series that has been away for too long and I can only hope that it means more installments in this neglected and unique franchise.

Plus, one of the crew characters shares the name and appearance of my other half: