Easter egg
- This article is about secrets in the games. For other uses of egg, see Egg (disambiguation).
Easter eggs are specially hidden secrets that have been put inside the games on purpose. Normally, these do not affect gameplay and are just for entertainment. This page will also include smaller secrets that do not exactly qualify as Easter eggs. At times, references to other series are considered Easter eggs as well, but those are not presented on this page for the sake of organization, and are instead listed on the Reference article.
Pikmin[edit]
Fireworks[edit]
When / is held down, Olimar will lie down on the floor. Nearby Pikmin will then pick him up, and take him to one of the Onions. When he's sucked in, he will hit the bottom of the Onion, and a light will appear from the large flower on the vessel. It will rise into the air, and explode into a burst of light, similar to fireworks.[1] Nothing else happens.
This feature was removed in Pikmin 2, but the leaders can still lie down and be carried after obtaining the Napsack. It is possible to wake up while being beamed up, at which point Olimar will still hit the Onion, but no fireworks will come out.
Nintendo logo[edit]
The game will play a small jingle to accompany the Nintendo logo. One of four jingles with varying levels of rarity[2] can be heard:
- 96.118% chance - A Pikmin pronouncing "Pikmin".
- 1.563% chance - A Pikmin going "Yay!". Same sound as when a Yellow Pikmin discovers a bomb-rock or when a Blue Pikmin saves another Pikmin from drowning.
- 1.563% chance - A Pikmin sighing. Same sound as when a Pikmin tries to grab onto an object to carry it, but gives up.
- 0.759% chance - A deep voice saying something indiscernible.
Interestingly, while these jingles are random in nature, they are actually decided directly from the console's real-time clock value, instead of using the game's usual random number generator.
Pikmin 2[edit]
Singing[edit]
If the player's leader has Pikmin in his group, there is a high chance the Pikmin will sing or hum something. They will only do so if they are walking, meaning it can happen as the player walks around the area with their group of Pikmin, but it can also happen if the player is close to a wall and some Pikmin in the group are huddled up against the wall, constantly pushing each other in such a way that some are in the walking animation. It can also happen by having them swarm.
- Ai no Uta: If the current leader has 20 of each of the five main types with him, they will sing the notes for the first line of the theme song that was used in the Japanese commercials for the first game: Ai no Uta. This is not present in Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch)[3]
- Title theme: If there are no treasures left in the current area or sublevel, the Pikmin will sing the first six notes of the game's leitmotif, played on the title screen. This also happens in Challenge Mode.
- Simple hum: If there are treasures left in the current area or sublevel, they will sing a simple three-note song. Again, this also happens in Challenge Mode.
Title screen secrets[edit]
On the title screen, some buttons perform certain actions:.
- / / : makes the Pikmin forming the title disperse and reform the letters "PIKMIN 2". This is possible even if "PIKMIN 2" is already spelled out. It also makes the beetle or Bulborb leave, if they're on-screen.
- / / : same as L, but they spell out "Nintendo". Note that there are no White Pikmin or Purple Pikmin in this formation (identifiable by their pink flowers).
- / / : spawns an Iridescent Flint Beetle. The Pikmin will chase after it, but nothing happens to it.
- / / : spawns a Red Bulborb. It will make the Pikmin on the screen run around in panic. It'll bite twice and run away, unless it's manually controlled.
- / / : moves the Beetle/Bulborb forwards. It can't go over the borders of the screen.
- / / / : turns the Beetle/Bulborb left/right.
- / / : makes the Bulborb bite. Pikmin eaten will be gone until the title screen is refreshed.
- + : exclusively in the Japanese version of New Play Control! Pikmin 2, holding these buttons down when attraction mode begins will force the game to pick the Tane no Uta attraction mode video.
It is notable that the title Bulborb does not function quite how one does in-game, in that the Pikmin do not try to attack it at all, and that it can eat White Pikmin without being poisoned.
Ujadani[edit]
- Main article: Ujadani.
The Ujadani are small insects that can only be found on specific days in specific locations in the Wistful Wild, making them a very rare encounter. They can be found on days 31, 61, and so on.
Totaka's song[edit]
There are two known places where Totaka's song can play in Pikmin 2. The song is a small jingle hidden by composer Kazumi Totaka himself in some games he's worked on, like Mario Paint.
- When in the treasure tally screen of a cave, if the player collected all treasures, and thus, has completed the cave, a small jingle will play, a message will appear, and confetti will drop. After waiting in this state for 3 minutes and 50 seconds, Totaka's song will start playing. A video of it can be found here. It should be noted that this does not occur in the New Play Control! and Nintendo Switch versions.
- When the player is about to enter a sublevel in a cave, if the game cannot be saved, a screen will show up warning the player that it could not save, to the tone of some ambient bells. After waiting here for 3 minutes and 45 seconds, Totaka's song will start playing. A video can be seen here. Because the Wii rerelease does not use memory cards and is always able to save the game, this Easter egg cannot be triggered in that version of Pikmin 2.
Pikmin 3[edit]
Hidden murals[edit]
- Main article: Hidden mural.
In certain Pikmin 3 areas, one can find small, well hidden murals that portray Pikmin. There are ones that show just a Pikmin by itself, and others that show Pikmin near their specialty, such as Red Pikmin near fire, or Rock Pikmin breaking a crystal nodule. Though in Pikmin 3 they are merely Easter eggs, in Pikmin 3 Deluxe they are acknowledged in-game, and photos of them are required for some badges.
Koppaite text[edit]
- Main article: Koppaite text.
Scattered throughout the game are several instances of text written in a language that can only be assumed to be Koppaite. These messages are written in English, and their purpose varies, but are kept a secret to most players, since they are impossible to decode unless the player knows the cypher. Each character in the Koppaite language actually matches up with one or two Latin letters, which is what makes decoding possible.
Singing[edit]
In some circumstances, the leaders or Pikmin can sing or hum a small theme:
- If Alph, Brittany, and Charlie are walking together with no Pikmin, they will begin to sing the motif often played throughout the game, such as when landing in a new area. The lyrics consist entirely of the word "Koppai".
- If the leaders have 20 of each Pikmin type out and are walking, the Pikmin will start to sing the theme song. This is directly referred to by Olimar in one of his additional logs in Pikmin 3 Deluxe.
- If the leaders have only Red Pikmin, Yellow Pikmin, and Blue Pikmin in a squad with at least 50 Pikmin total, and are walking, the Pikmin will start to sing the main motif from Pikmin.This also works with a group of at least 50 Rock Pikmin or 50 Winged Pikmin.
- If the player has every Pikmin type and has 100 of one type out, the Pikmin will attempt to sing the theme song, but they will sing in discord.
- If 20 idle Pikmin of one type are left alone for long enough, they will sing along with the area music.
Pikmin 4[edit]
Singing[edit]
If the player remains in motion for 10 to 20 seconds with at least 20 Pikmin in their squad, the Pikmin will begin singing one of several songs, seemingly chosen at random. Five songs are based off of past themes in the Pikmin series, while one is completely original.
- Awakening Wood[4]
- Waterwraith attacks[5]
- Garden of Hope[6]
- Pikmin 2's title theme[7]
- Leafy Showdown[8]
- An original song, which has a much longer version used in promotional material.[9]
See also[edit]
- Reference
- Glitches
- Unused content
- Category:Secrets – category about general secrets, including minor ones
References[edit]
- ^ YouTube video showing the fireworks Easter egg
- ^ Found by researching the function [Jac_SceneSetup] in USA v1.01. Logic starts at address 0x80019c58.
- ^ Pikmin 1 + 2 game page on the Nintendo Australian website, retrieved on November 9th, 2023
- ^ YouTube video of Pikmin singing the Awakening Wood theme
- ^ YouTube video of Pikmin singing the Waterwraith chase theme
- ^ YouTube video of Pikmin singing the Garden of Hope theme
- ^ YouTube video of Pikmin singing the Pikmin 2 title theme (around 2:00)
- ^ YouTube video of Pikmin singing the theme for Leafy Showdown (around 2:20)
- ^ Tweet by Nintendo of Japan on Twitter, published on November 21st, 2023, retrieved on November 21st, 2023