One of the games I was most excited about coming into this year’s E3 is Pikmin 3, and I’m pleased to report that it lives up to its name. Granted, there isn’t a heck of a lot that we saw today that differentiated it greatly from its predecessors, but that isn’t what matters here: it’s Pikmin, it plays great, and it looks utterly fantastic in HD. There’s a lot more to work with in terms of what you can see on the screen, and the details of the environments are excellent.
It’s a window into a beautiful, natural-looking world.
The E3 demo features two different modes: Challenge Mode and Boss Battle; I played both. In the first, you’re granted 7 minutes to collect as many items as possible and return them to your spaceship for points—just like in the previous games. I didn’t get too terribly far into the environment thanks to my perfectionism gene kicking in and thus my need to collect every little thing along the way of any value whatsoever. But from what I played… it’s Pikmin. Beautiful, HD Pikmin, but truly and thoroughly Pikmin.
What’s new? Well, apart from the Rock Pikmin (which can be used to break through tough walls and objects) and the current-gen visuals, not a heck of a lot. There is this nifty bridge-building mechanic which is really cool that you probably witnessed in the official E3 trailer. There’s also, of course, the “New Play Control” Wii pointer interface which works so well in conjunction with the whistle-corralling gameplay.
The HD resolution really allows for a lot better visibility of the action.
And there’s the Wii U control method as well. The controller’s screen perpetually displays an overhead map of the area you’re in, complete with useful little icons indicating the locations of treasures and other goodies. The map can be dragged and tapped and is a convenient idea, but honestly, I found controlling the game with the Wii U controller more troublesome than doing so with the Wii remote. Part of the reason was likely that I was trying to use the pointer interface on the Wii U controller, which probably just isn’t ideal given the circumstances. I’ll probably try it again tomorrow or Thursday and see if I can stick the analog sticks instead.
The map screen on the Wii U controller is handy, but I prefer the Wii remote for this game.
The boss battle I played was cool, but nothing really shockingly unique. It’s an armored centipede which must be first weakened using your Rock Pikmin before you can attack its vulnerable skin beneath. But you know, in spite of the lack of really new concepts in the demo, I’ve never been happier to see a traditional iterative update to a franchise. We really needed another Pikmin game, and the Wii U is perfect for it, even if it’s just the high-res visuals and excellent foundational concepts which propel it. Day one.