Editing Mission Mode

'''Mission Mode''' ({{j|ミッション|Misshon|Mission}}) is an alternate gameplay mode in {{p3}}. It replaces the [[Challenge Mode]] found in previous games. In Mission Mode, the player completes challenges, with three different types existing. Each one has a time limit of between five and fifteen minutes, and awards the player with a ranking based on how well they performed on the mission.

Gameplay in this mode is mostly identical to that of story mode in the way it is [[controls|controlled]], and that the player never starts out with any [[ultra-spicy spray]]s, although it is possible to get some via [[Burgeoning Spiderwort]]s and/or ultra-spicy nectar on certain stages. However, there are a few mission type-specific rules, and there is also the fact that the player always has the [[Dodge Whistle]] and none of the other spacesuit [[gear]]. If a leader loses all of their [[health]] or if a [[Pikmin extinction]] takes place, the mission is aborted.

The goal in Collect Treasure! mode is to retrieve as many [[fruit]]s, [[Nugget|treasures]], and/or enemy carcasses as possible within a limited amount of time. Players can find Pikmin to use either at the starting point, buried, scattered across the map, hidden below plants in small groups, or inside certain enemies, like the [[Medusal Slurker]]. In most missions, there is no [[Onion]], meaning that players cannot grow any more Pikmin than the ones provided throughout the stage, although [[Twilight Hollow Remix]] and [[Beastly Caverns]] have Onions. For levels with no Onion, any recovered corpses go into the [[SPERO]] to exchange for [[Pokos]]. When Onions are present, the corpses are instead brought to them to create more Pikmin as well as earn Pokos. Additionally, Beastly Caverns is the only level to have [[pellet]]s, which will only create more Pikmin and not earn Pokos. Regardless of level, all fruits and treasures are taken to the SPERO to be converted to Pokos. The player's score is based on how many total Pokos were earned. Collecting all objects that can be converted to money in the stage instantly finishes the mission, and the time left is awarded to the player as extra points, with each stage giving a different value per second remaining.

The objective of this mode is to defeat enemies to score points. Each enemy type is worth a certain amount of points; for example, the [[Swooping Snitchbug]] holds 30 points. Only a few Pikmin are available on the map, and the player must bring back enemies to the Onion in order to increase their Pikmin army. As such, the player needs a careful balance between combat and reinforcements to be efficient. The enemy's score is instantly added to the score counter the second the enemy dies. Once the timer is up, the points the player gains are counted as their score, but if all enemies are killed, the mission ends right away and the player receives extra points based on the time left. Some stages in this mode are remixed versions of [[Story Mode]] areas, featuring different object placement to the story versions of these areas, with sections of the area not relevant to the stage blocked off by large {{w|cinderblock}}s.

[[File:Vehemoth Phosbat.png|thumb|The Vehemoth Phosbat in 2-player Defeat Bosses!]]

 

Missions in this mode require the player to defeat one of the main [[boss]]es in the story mode, with a given assortment of Pikmin and time limit. To fight a boss in this mode, it must be defeated in [[story mode]] first. The player's medal is determined by the time left over. The Pikmin death count has nothing to do with scoring, but is still shown on the results screen.

{{game help|p3|Finish describing the way stages are unlocked.}}

{{game help|p3d|Finish describing the way stages are unlocked.}}

 

There are 36 stages in Mission Mode, of which 16 are [[downloadable content]] in the original ''Pikmin 3'' but are part of the base game in ''Pikmin 3 Deluxe''. All stages support 2-player split-screen co-op. In the original ''Pikmin 3'', [[Tropical Forest Remix]], [[Tropical Wilds Remix]], and [[Fortress of Festivity]] are free stages, and are only added to the game if it is [[update]]d. Unlike the Challenge Mode in previous games, Mission Mode is available from the start of the game, but certain requirements must be met in order to unlock some stages.

 

For ''Pikmin 3'' on the Wii U, bosses in Defeat Bosses! mode are only made available once they're defeated in [[Story Mode]] for the first time (regardless of collecting their spoils). For the other mission categories, players start out with only one stage available, and they must obtain at least a bronze medal in order to unlock the next stage on the line. For the missions that aren't downloadable content, the previous mission must be beat before the next one can be unlocked.

For ''Pikmin 3 Deluxe'', Defeat Bosses! missions follow the same unlock requirements as before, but for the Collect Treasure! and Battle Enemies! missions, the player starts with the first five stages. Completing one stage, regardless of medals, unlocks 5 stages from the first and second Wii U DLC pack, depending on which mode the player plays in. Once all of those are beaten, stages from the third DLC pack from the Wii U version are unlocked.

Tropical Forest CT icon.png|[[Tropical Forest]]|link=Tropical Forest

Silver Lake CT icon.png|[[Silver Lake]]|link=Silver Lake

Thirsty Desert CT icon.png|[[Thirsty Desert]]|link=Thirsty Desert

Twilight Hollow CT icon.png|[[Twilight Hollow]]|link=Twilight Hollow

Shaded Garden CT icon.png|[[Shaded Garden]]|link=Shaded Garden

Tropical Forest Remix icon.png|[[Tropical Forest Remix]]|link=Tropical Forest Remix

Silver Lake Remix icon.png|[[Silver Lake Remix]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=Silver Lake Remix

Thirsty Desert Remix icon.png|[[Thirsty Desert Remix]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=Thirsty Desert Remix

Twilight Hollow Remix icon.png|[[Twilight Hollow Remix]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=Twilight Hollow Remix

Shaded Garden Remix icon.png|[[Shaded Garden Remix]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=Shaded Garden Remix

Fortress of Festivity CT icon.png|[[Fortress of Festivity]]|link=Fortress of Festivity

The Rustyard CT icon.png|[[The Rustyard]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=The Rustyard

Beastly Caverns CT icon.png|[[Beastly Caverns]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=Beastly Caverns

Forgotten Cove CT icon.png|[[Forgotten Cove]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=Forgotten Cove

Clockwork Chasm CT icon.png|[[Clockwork Chasm]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=Clockwork Chasm

Tropical Forest BE icon.png|[[Tropical Forest]]|link=Tropical Forest

Silver Lake BE icon.png|[[Silver Lake]]|link=Silver Lake

Thirsty Desert BE icon.png|[[Thirsty Desert]]|link=Thirsty Desert

Twilight Hollow BE icon.png|[[Twilight Hollow]]|link=Twilight Hollow

Shaded Garden BE icon.png|[[Shaded Garden]]|link=Shaded Garden

Tropical Wilds Remix icon.png|[[Tropical Wilds Remix]]|link=Tropical Wilds Remix

Garden of Hope Remix icon.png|[[Garden of Hope Remix]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=Garden of Hope Remix

Distant Tundra Remix icon.png|[[Distant Tundra Remix]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=Distant Tundra Remix

Twilight River Remix icon.png|[[Twilight River Remix]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=Twilight River Remix

Formidable Oak Remix icon.png|[[Formidable Oak Remix]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=Formidable Oak Remix

Fortress of Festivity BE icon.png|[[Fortress of Festivity]]|link=Fortress of Festivity

The Rustyard BE icon.png|[[The Rustyard]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=The Rustyard

Beastly Caverns BE icon.png|[[Beastly Caverns]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=Beastly Caverns

Forgotten Cove BE icon.png|[[Forgotten Cove]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=Forgotten Cove

Clockwork Chasm BE icon.png|[[Clockwork Chasm]] [[File:EShop icon.png|12px|link=Downloadable content|baseline]]|link=Clockwork Chasm

Armored Mawdad DB icon.png|[[Armored Mawdad]]|link=Armored Mawdad

Vehemoth Phosbat DB icon.png|[[Vehemoth Phosbat]]|link=Vehemoth Phosbat

Sandbelching Meerslug DB icon.png|[[Sandbelching Meerslug]]|link=Sandbelching Meerslug

Scornet Maestro DB icon.png|[[Scornet Maestro]]|link=Scornet Maestro

Quaggled Mireclops DB icon.png|[[Quaggled Mireclops]]|link=Quaggled Mireclops

Plasm Wraith DB icon.png|[[Plasm Wraith]]|link=Plasm Wraith

Before starting a stage, it is possible to choose between single-player or 2-player co-op mode. In co-op, player 1 is on the left of the screen, while player 2 is on the right of the screen. Player 1 starts the stage as [[Alph]], and player 2 starts as [[Brittany]] or [[Olimar]], depending on the stage. If the level has more than two leaders available, either player can switch to the leader that is not being used. Players share [[spray]]s, so any sprays used will deduct from the counter of both players. Co-op high scores are listed separately from single-player high scores. The "[[Go Here!]]" function cannot be used in co-op.

 

A feature that was added in {{p3d}}. If the player's time is up when they are playing through a normal mission, they will be sent to the results screen, but a button labeled "Continue" (with an "After Hours" blurb) will be present. Picking this option allows the game to continue where the player left off, but without a goal or a chance to increase the score they got. This allows the player to check out how the rest of their mission would have gone if they hadn't run out of time, so they can better plan for next time, or to just complete the mission without caring for the score.

 

When the mode is entered, the gameplay resumes from the exact point the player left at, after a brief "Ready... Go!" pause. Everything is the same, except now the music changes to a [[Music in Pikmin 3#After hours|simple track]], the clock present during gameplay is replaced with a pink "After Hours" box, and the timer (now pink) counts up instead of down. This timer has no purpose other than showing to the player how much longer they are taking to complete the mission. The player can now finish the stage like normal, lose, retry the entire mission from the start, or quit from the [[pause menu]]. Finishing the stage successfully will bring the results screen up again, the game will tally everything up, and show the player a total score, although this time the results screen makes note that this was in after hours mode, including a blurb that shows how much extra time was needed. This score is not saved and, naturally, this time there is no option to play after hours in.

 

 

Oddly, due to a [[Glitches in Pikmin 3#Aesthetic 2|glitch]], playing in handheld mode will result in the rendering resolution to be increased when the game enters after hours mode.

There are five essential rankings for each stage: No ranking, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. No ranking simply means that the player did not get enough points to earn a medal. The criteria for getting medals is different for each game mode, with the points differing every stage. Platinum medals mean that the player has collected all treasure or defeated all enemies before the time limit. Any time after the Platinum medal is acquired will be added as a time bonus to the original score, with a certain amount of additional points per second remaining, that depends on the stage. For Defeat Bosses!, only the time matters, and the quicker a boss is defeated, the better the medal; if it is defeated too late, the player might not receive any medal.

 

Each medal has a different look based on its ranking and the game mode. The loading screen tips state that each medal gives the player an honorary title, though nothing change in the game whatsoever. In the score tally screen, when a medal is obtained, a Pikmin can also be heard cheering the player. While hard to understand due to the Pikmin's voice, when slowed down, the different voice clips can be figured out.{{cite youtube|mGla9ZOj9KI|of sound effect trivia in ''Pikmin 3''|m=2|s=27|published={{date|10|June|2019}}|retrieved={{date|11|June|2019}}}} The following table illustrates the medals for all rankings, as well as the title given by the tips and the cheers said by the Pikmin.

! || Collect Treasure! || Battle Enemies! || Defeat Bosses! || Title || Pikmin cheer

| [[File:MM CT bronze.png|48px]] || [[File:MM BE bronze.png|48px]] || [[File:MM DB bronze.png|48px]] || Lieutenant || "Good!"

| [[File:MM CT silver.png|48px]] || [[File:MM BE silver.png|48px]] || [[File:MM DB silver.png|48px]] || Captain || "Great!"

| [[File:MM CT gold.png|48px]] || [[File:MM BE gold.png|48px]] || [[File:MM DB gold.png|48px]] || General || "Excellent!"

| [[File:MM CT platinum.png|48px]] || [[File:MM BE platinum.png|48px]] || [[File:MM DB platinum.png|48px]] || Royalty || "Perfect!"

The medals are visible on the screen with the mission's briefings. A second medal appears if the challenge was completed in co-op mode. The platinum medals also have the [[Koppaite text]] {{kt|P|I|K|M|I|N}} {{kt|P|L|A|T|I|N|U|M}} on them, which means "Pikmin Platinum".

{{p3}} is the first ''Pikmin'' game in the series to have downloadable content. On {{date|1|October|2013}} – during that month's Nintendo Direct – Iwata announced downloadable content for ''Pikmin 3''{{'s}} Mission Mode. These stages are for Collect Treasure! mode, and Nintendo offers [[Tropical Forest Remix]] for free if players update their game.

Pikmin 3 SPERO artwork.jpg|Artwork of the [[SPERO]], made for the Official Nintendo Magazine.

Defeat Bosses! Armored Mawdad edition!.jpg|The results screen for fighting against the [[Armored Mawdad]].

Mission Mode main screen.jpg|The main [[Mission Mode menu]] in ''Pikmin 3''.

Battle Enemies! menu.jpg|Battle Enemies! stage selection menu.

*Mission Mode and Bingo Battle have an exclusive [[mini-boss]]: the [[Baldy Long Legs]]. It appears plentifully in both modes, although it is never found in [[Story Mode]]. Instead, there is the similar [[arachnorb]], the [[Shaggy Long Legs]].

**This is likely due to how long the Shaggy Long Legs fight can be, which would be impractical for a time-sensitive challenge.

*If a new record is achieved, and said record does not fit on the world rankings chart, the word "Unexpected" (US), "Invalid" (Europe), or "{{j|想定外|Sōtei-gai|unexpected|f=tp}}" (Japanese) will appear in the score's bubble on the ranking screen. The bubble will also be pointing outside of the chart to the right.{{cite youtube|lJvCkMJzSa8|of a run that triggered the "Unexpected" message|m=2|s=36}}{{cite youtube|sAb5Hg5S1LA|of a world record that triggered the "Invalid" message|m=2|s=8}} This is true for {{p3d}} as well.{{cite web|https://www.reddit.com/r/Pikmin/comments/jpiu07/got_a_high_score_in_silver_lake_past_the/|Got a high score in Silver Lake, past the leaderboards graphics into the unknowns of "unexpected"!|Reddit post|published={{date|7|November|2020}}|retrieved={{date|1|December|2020}}}}

 

 

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*[[Side Stories]]

*[[Mission Mode menu]]