Topic: Pikmin 3 Deluxe Thread

There are a lot of tiny new details hidden in this demo I found. Nintendolife will probably release an article on it. The most notable one I found was you can call any stray Pikmin who aren't in the circle at the end back home. This makes the ending a lot less stressful.

This is correct. That circle is like the whole screen now

@App Though, only if you can make it back to the base in time from what I read. I never got to test that feature out, but sounds like a good compromise.

@Octane This explains why I was struggling a bit at first. I got used to the bigger circle by the end of the demo, but at first I was definitely feeling off.

Is there any way to throw specific Pikmin at something? I can't figure it out.

Yeah on the second day I was stressing out because I had several rock pikmin lost who knows where, and managed to get to my ship and used the function to call them all, but didn't manage to take them all to their onion in in the cave on time, so I figured I had lost them.

But no they were just fine. I guess if they're with you when the time ends, they escape with you.

I beat the boss in the first day and then I was disappointed to find out it ended there lol.

I explored the whole place while I learned to play, so I found the boss on the third day. (or the second day in the garden of hope).

@JaxonH
I really enjoy reading your reviews of games when you love them. Your enthusiasm is contagious. I've never played Pikmin 3 but have downloaded the demo. Loved 1 and 2 so I've got high hopes for this one.

Pikmin 3 demo on the switch is really short compared to the Wii u demo.
Either way it’s a brilliant game for those that haven’t played it

@1UP_MARIO I never played the Wii U's demo, I just went straight into buying it. It must've been huge if the Switch's demo was still short. I honestly expected the demo to end after charlie got eaten by that monster so I'm glad it continued.

Briefly played the first two but never owned them, and missed Pikmin 3 on WiiU altogether as I never owned the system, so really looking forward to this.

Downloaded the demo last night but am yet to play it, but shall do tonight after work. Need something to fill the void after Paper Mario finished, and I just burnt out completely on All-Stars. Been chopping and changing across different games since. Hopefully Pikmin 3 holds my attention for a while.

@App The Y button (I think) swaps between your choices in the bottom right. You can swap in other captains or Pikmin varieties this way.

@k8sMum
I often get accused of getting excited for too many games 😊, bit the truth is, very few games are good enough that I actually follow through and beat them to completion, and Pikmin 3 is one of those games I completed. It’s just a marvelous little gem of a game. I’ve regarded it as one of my “top games of all time” ever since.

So few games are good enough to elicit genuine hype from me nowadays (maybe I’m becoming more boring as I get older, but I just feel like it’s much more rare for a game to get me super hyped). Monster Hunter will do it, Ori games will do it, Fire Emblem and Xenoblade will do it, Metroid would definitely do it, and Pikmin will do it IF it has proper motion controls. I was so worried it wouldn’t, and was reserving hype until confirmed... but as soon as I tried it I realized yup, this is the real deal. This is the experience I’ve been waiting for.

I never played the first two beyond a few hours, but I can say I love Pikmin 3 more based on what I played. The controls are such an integral part of the experience though, and I’m very happy to report that not only does the gyro pointer work really well, the analog method is actually way more viable now that we have the lock on. I think you’re gonna love it. Let us know what you think after you try it.

Never really been interested in Pikmin before, but since the demo was available, I gave it a try. And it's actually kind of fun. It's more explorable than I expected (not sure why I didn't expect this in a series about navigating an uncharted planet, but eh) and I ended up enjoying using Pikmin to find and gather resources. The only thing I'm not liking about this game is the time limit, it's kind of like Majora's Mask in that sense and as I've said before with that game, exploration and time limits don't mix well because the former generally works better when you can go at your own pace. Other than that though, I have no real issues. I'm not going to rush out and get this game immediately, but I do think I'll get it at some point.

@App You can swap between Pikmin types with L and R.

So many little QoL changes.

• The lock on actually makes analog controls viable, which is crucial for handheld play
• Larger whistle area
• Whistling a Pikmin that’s currently performing a task doesn’t cause them to stop, they just pause for a moment, unless you whistle again or hold the whistle longer, which helps prevent accidentally whistling Pikmin you don’t mean to call
• Disbanding your Pikmin no longer disbands all unless you do it twice- instead it disbands all but the current color selected, so if you just need blue Pikmin to go into water, you no longer have to disband all of them, then carefully whistle just the blue ones to follow you, you can just disband everything except blue and be on your way
• Gyro pointer controls feel as good as Wiimote, and lock on still works even with gyro
• Map is already shown instead of filling out as you explore
• Can call Pikmin once you make it back to your ship (haven’t tried, just read others reports about this in this thread)
• Tons of other, smaller changes that just help the experience feel less frustrating and smoother

@Bolt_Strike
While I typically agree about time limits I think Pikmin 3 is a bit of a unique case. Because you’re not necessarily under pressure, due to the fact when the countdown starts you can make it back to your ship from basically anywhere. The key is gathering all your Pikmin so you lose as few as possible. But then the next day you’re right back out exploring again, pushing a little further. I do find it interesting that the map is already shown from the beginning when the original version actually had a blank map that filled out as you explored. So every day you would go back out into that same area you would explore a little further and fill out a little more of the map. As long as you’re averaging one piece of fruit every other day or so, you’re good. I had like 46 juices left over as extras when I beat the game on Wii U. So the time limit really isn’t a stressful experience, it just ensures the time resource mechanic is actually leveraged.

That being said, I hear this game has an easier difficulty (maybe it’s Normal? I chose Hard mode due to how easy it was on Wii U, but maybe there’s an even easier mode than Normal in the full game that doesn’t include the timer- I thought they said something along those lines, but maybe I’m mis-remembering).

Anyways, glad to hear you’re enjoying it. Such a great series that so few people have actually played. It’s always had control issues for each iteration- I feel like this is the first time the game has a proper, fully robust control scheme that doesn’t feel cobbled together or clunky- like, Wiimote on Wii U was awesome, but no right analog sucked because no turning camera, and you had to keep game pad in your lap to switch back and forth for the map. That, and having proper pointer emulated gyro and lock on, and being on Switch, should hopefully be enough to see this series reach a new height of popularity.

@JaxonH

"Pikmin 3 Deluxe also features new difficulty options, lock-on targeting, optional hints, and the ability to play at a more relaxed pace if you want."

https://www.gameinformer.com/2020/08/05/pikmin-3-deluxe-comin...

You aren't making stuff up.

@Bolt_Strike Supposedly there's something that relaxes the time limit in the game according to early interviews, but no one knows what it'll be yet. It's not in the demo, whatever it is.

In the demo, I think the timer on the second day ran out while I was away from the ship.

Nothing bad happened.

@Eel Nothing bad happens. Pikmin that aren't near the ship, or with you will get lost when the timer ends.

@JaxonH I personally think that some of the changes add a layer of unnecessary complexity. Changing between characters isn't as easy as pressing a button anymore. And I had to remember to press the d-pad as well. Same with whistling and disbanding, but maybe that's because the old way is wired into my brain.

@JaxonH The issue is twofold with the time limit:

1. I'm not done exploring when the countdown starts. For example I just beat the first boss when the countdown started, and I couldn't bring back all of the items in time. I managed to get the giant fruit and the cell phone, but I couldn't bring back the boss itself in time and the Pikmin carrying it got left behind.
2. The whistle doesn't seem to work that well and I can't tell from the map where my Pikmin are. It makes it really hard to keep track of when the counter says you only have some of your Pikmin in your squad and you're trying to find the others.

A more relaxed time limit and a better indication of where your Pikmin are would definitely be welcome, or at least until I get better at this game.