Pikmin 4: 13 Beginner's Tips To Help Get You Started

Pikmin 4 is a fine follow-up to the previous three games in the series that franchise fans are sure to enjoy. However, it's also very much geared towards new players who may not be familiar with the previous games in the series.

In this guide, we cover 13 simple Pikmin 4 starter tips that will help you get to grip with the basics and make the most of your time with this lovely game. There's a sizeable in-game tutorial that will take you through the very basics, of course, but here we cover a few things that we would have liked to have known in the early hours.

So, let's take a look at some helpful hints and top tips to help you get started and succeed in your journey.

Pikmin 4: Beginner Tips

No Time Limits, No Rush

Pikmin 4 follows Pikmin 2's lead by removing the time limit that dictated how long you had to complete your overall mission. While days here still move from dawn to dusk, and you'll want to complete tasks and get back to base before nightfall, there's absolutely no rush with regards to how many overall days you take to complete the game.

In dungeons and challenge areas you don't have to worry about time at all, so relax, explore and enjoy the experience as you gather up all those treasures.

Make Sure To Collect Raw Materials

You'll find raw materials everywhere and it's in your best interests to hoover them all up as you'll need them to upgrade gear and items! If you see a pile of raw materials it's always worth making the time to grab it all!

Your Treasure Radar Falls Silent When You've Collected Everything

Yes, it may seem very obvious, but a nice little detail is that your radar in the top left corner will make a noise and go dead when you've collected all treasures in an area, saving you from wondering if there's more.

Gold Nuggets Count As Treasure

Gold nuggets are another item you'll see lying around everywhere, and even fixed to the backs of some foes later in the game. It may sometimes be tempting to overlook the odd plie of gold to save some time, but remember that this resource counts as a treasure, so in order to complete your Treasure Catalog, you'll need to gather all of it!

Divide Your Workload

It can feel natural to just keep all your Pikmin together and move around with safety in numbers, but really you should be splitting up the group, sending various coloured Pikmin to do separate tasks in order to get things done even faster.

As you play you'll unlock gadgets that allow you to recall idle Pikmin to your current position, making the division of labour even easier to manage and jumping into your map at any time you can see your Pikmin on the map as little glowing spots.

Clear Enemies To Make Safe Passageways

When you spot a treasure you'll want to grab it as quickly as you can, but first make sure to clear the surrounding area of enemies so that your busy Pikmin are safe from attacks.

Pikmin who are carrying items cannot defend themselves, so always make sure you've cleared a path or are on hand to defend them.

Spend Time In Base Camp

The base camp in Pikmin 4 is a much bigger and busier affair than in past iterations, with all of your rescued crew members and castaways showing up here to offer assistance.

Make sure to spend plenty of time talking to NPCs here in order to make use of their various functions. Russ has a lab, there's a Piklopedia, treasure catalog, Dandori training, Oatchi upgrades and more to get stuck into in this area, so make sure not to neglect it!

You Can Change Your Appearance, Eventually

Once you've rescued a certain stylist and brought them back to your base camp, you'll unlock the ability to change up your look, allowing you back to character to tweak aspects of your bad self. You'll also eventually unlock the shaggy leafling castaway look, should you prefer to come over all shrubbery.

Overwhelm Enemies With Numbers

Yes, if you don't want to lose any Pikmin you may want to step back and observe how an enemy behaves before carefully tackling it. However, and especially if you're having trouble, you can also choose to just completely overwhelm problematic foes with sheer numbers, piling on all of your Pikmin to completely cut them off from any chance of responding to your advances.

Obviously, if there's an elemental property at work you'll need to be more careful, but most run-of-the-mill beasties will fully collapse under the weight of your all your Pikmin forces piling on at once.

Make Sure To Choose The Right Upgrades

There are lots of upgrades and abilities to choose from in Pikmin 4 but some are more useful than others. We recommend charging up Oatchi's rush and chomp as well as his swimming prowess. Also, make sure you widen the range of your whistle, give yourself the ability to call idle Pikmin from distance and activate the advanced treasure scanner! Oh, and we're quite partial to the speed boots for getting around faster.

Oatchi Is A Powerful Tool

Oatchi, especially once he's fully upgraded, is a powerful tool, as well as being the very best and most handsomest doggo around. Make sure to visit Captain Shepherd regularly in order to use his available Pup Drive points to upgrade him and make him even more powerful!

Rewind Time As Much As You Like

Not only can you rewind time whenever you want to fix mistakes or save a bunch of Pikmin, you can also use it as much as you want!

Yes, some folk may prefer not to use it, but we say you should get rewind-happy if it suits your playstyle. Never be afraid to jump into the menu and reverse the flow so you can make it through missions more smoothly!

Use Auto-Choose Pikmin In Dungeons

When you're entering dungeons or starting out in areas you can choose to have your Pikmin auto-selected for you by pressing the 'X' button. This is actually quite a useful tool, especially for dungeons when it will make sure you've got the right mix of Pikmin so you don't end up having to abandon your quest to reshuffle the deck!

That's all for our starter tips. However, in our Pikmin 4 Walkthrough guides, we show you where to find All Treasure Locations, All Gear and Item Upgrades, All Oatchi Abilities, all Pikmin Type Locations, All Onion Upgrade and Flarlic locations, All Region Walkthroughs, All Dungeon Walkthroughs and more besides.