Topic: I've never played any of the Pikmin games. Will I be missing anything if I start with Pikmin 2?

Hi everyone,

With Pikmin 3 coming out for the Wii U next year, I've been on the lookout for either a copy of the "New Play Control" version of the original Pikmin for the Wii, or the GameCube original, but unfortunately both have become very hard to find (in my city at least, and I don't want to have to go online to find a copy). However, as I'm sure most of you know, Pikmin 2 has recently been re-issued for the Wii under the Nintendo Selects line, and is still widely available at retailers. Now, I've never played Pikmin or Pikmin 2, so I'd like to ask people who have played both games if I would be missing any critical information by simply starting with the re-release of the second game, seeing as it's the only one I can easily find.

Thanks in advance for any helpful information.

Meh, not really...if you want you can still play it though. Even though it does have the "30-day limit", there's something about it that I can't really describe that makes it stand out from the 2nd game. xD
(its probably the whole "Olimar is stranded on an unknown planet alone" thing...besides the Pikmin, but you get what I'm saying)
That and Pikmin 2 will tell you what happens in the first game briefly, like...10 seconds or something. xD

Oh, okay. Is the synopsis of the first game new to the Wii re-release of Pikmin 2, or was it also in the GameCube version? Not that it really matters, as it is the Wii version that I'll be playing. Hopefully, the synopsis is in actuality a little bit longer than 10 seconds though.

As far as I know nothing has been changed in the Wii versions. (...besides the controls obviously, lol)
I think story isn't that big of a deal...

Pikmin is more about the gameplay than the story, just like Mario. The story is basically just a filler so you know why you are doing what you're doing.. So no, you can easily go into Pikmin 2 without playing the first.

I figured as much. I'll go ahead and buy Pikmin 2 for Wii then. I thank both of you.

If you get a chance though, you can try out the first. Though I love Pikmin 2 a lot better, 1 is a good game too.

I would like to, but I can't find it anywhere here, and I don't want to try buying a used copy off of eBay or online stores. I might just go over to Vancouver for the day, though, and see if I can find it there before giving up and starting with the second game.

Really? Surprised Pikmin is somewhat rare in Canada. In the UK you can just about walk into any shop that sells used games and find like 5 copies. Got mine from GAME for £1.30, because the box was missing and I had a few reward points. Best £1.30 I've ever spent

I have no idea if it's rare across the country. It's rare to find now in the city that I live in, but I live in a relatively small city. Nearby Vancouver, on the other hand, is a city of over 2.3 million people, so I have a much better chance of finding copies there.

Without playing Pikmin 1 you will be totally lost. There are tiny flower guys and you are on a strange, but familiar land that you will only understand if you played the first one. The main character is also explained in the first one. The first five minutes of Pikmin 2 has so much stuff that relies on knowledge of the original that i doubt you could even press start. I HIGHLY recommend you looks for the original. Also, there are multiple endings to Pikmin that are vital to the sequel. Bear with me i'm trying not to spoil anything.

In Pikmin the player will face many obstacles in order to secure the parts required to proceed in the game. This must be done with care, as many obstacles are hazardous to the Pikmin, such as water, fire and explosions, something relatively unique to the original. I'm blue dabudedabuda, blue dabude, im blue. While commanding Pikmin: Pick a Pikmin up. With Pikmin 3 coming out for the Wii U next year, I've been on the lookout for either a copy of the "New Play Control" version of the original Pikmin for the Wii, or the GameCube original, but unfortunately both have become very hard to find (in my city at least, and I don't want to have to go online to find a copy). However, as I'm sure most of you know, Pikmin 2 has recently been re-issued for the Wii under the Nintendo Selects line, and is still widely available at retailers. Now, I've never played Pikmin or Pikmin 2, so I'd like to ask people who have played both games if I would be missing any critical information by simply starting with the re-release of the second game, seeing as it's the only one I can easily find. When the player releases the A button the Pikmin will be thrown.
When by a sprout: Pluck the Pikmin sprout out of the ground. Without any Pikmin: Punch. While under an onion: Withdraw or deposit Pikmin of the corresponding colour. If no Pikmin of the same colour is under the player's command, no Pikmin can be deposited While in front of the Dolphin: Heal Olimar While by a ship part: Read discription of ship part.

I hope this helped!

There are very few sequels that I can say are strictly better than the originals, but Pikmin 2 is one of them. It is just better in every single way.
There is literally nothing that the first game does that the sequel doesn't improve upon.
If you end up liking Pikmin 2, obviously try to track down the first one because it's still really good, but starting with Pikmin 2 is the way to go.

I really cant say that's true for gaming. For movies, possibly - but not games. There are hundreds of games which had superior sequels.

But strictly better sequels? Of course tons of sequels are better, but there's usually a few things that people will say "yeah, the first game had _____ which I really enjoyed and wish they had kept". I can't really say there is anything in Pikmin 1 that would cause me to say that.

Mario Bros. 3, Assassin's Creed 2, Gears of War 2, Uncharted 2, Ratchet and Clank 2 and 3, Rock Band 2 and 3, Guitar Hero 2, Dead or Alive 2, Street Fighter 2, Forza 2, 3 and 4, Smash Bros. Melee, Mario Galaxy 2, Zelda: A Link to the Past, the list goes on. It's not uncommon.

Edit: Eh, might as well keep on going. Ys IV, Bonk's Revenge, Dementium 2, Super Metroid, Mass Effect 2, Final Fantasy IV and VI, Persona 3 and 4, Gran Turismo 2, 3 and 4, any new sports game, Star Fox 64... feel free to add to the list.

Are all of those games you listed better than their prequels? Probably, yes. But I'm sure you could go back and look at the previous games and find something, no matter how trivial, that you liked more. Or something that the sequel didn't have.

For example, I like a lot of the original stages of Smash Bros that Melee didn't include.
Super Mario Galaxy 1 had many levels that I preferred over Super Mario Galaxy 2.
Are Melee and Galaxy 2 better games? Yes. But there are things (minor things) that I liked more about the previous games.

Of course it's all a matter of opinion. I just can't say there was a single detail about Pikmin 1 that I wished was present in Pikmin 2.

@WesCash Critically speaking, from a design perspecitve, those games are better in every way than their predecessors.

Granted, it's a matter of opinion. I actually liked the timer in Pikmin, as it added a sense of urgency to everything going on that I liked.

Stop right there! Most people I know actually missed the RPG elements from Mass Effect 1, which Mass Effect 2 almost completely lacked. And using Final Fantasy at all completely kills your argument, since that series is the epitome of sequels that aren't so much better as they are different. Especially 4 and 6, which have their fair share of problems that their predecessors mostly lacked.

@moomoo
Ah, I had forgotten about the timer.
That could be a valid argument in favor of the first game for a lot of people. Good call.
Though I don't miss it.

I started with Pikmin 2, believe it or not