Saved game selection menu

The saved game selection menu allows the player to select which saved game to play on. There are three saved games, and each one can store info on a session, like the current game day, the collected ship parts or treasures, etc. Upon selecting a saved game, the player will continue from where they left off in the respective slot. This means that they are taken to the area selection menu in order to start a new day, unless they quit after entering a cave's sublevel are or emerging from one. When the player chooses an empty saved game, they start the story mode from beginning.

In Pikmin and Pikmin 2

The saved game selection menu in Pikmin.

The saved game selection menu in Pikmin 2.

Pikmin and Pikmin 2 each can have up to 3 saved games, and in these games the saved games are represented as 3 bubbles, numbered 1 to 3 from left to right. Each bubble has the day number of the respective saved game inside, just like the day counter on the in-game HUD. On the bottom of the screen, there is some information regarding the highlighted saved game, such as the number of obtained ship parts and number of Pikmin of each type, in Pikmin, and the amount of Pokos, salvaged treasures and play time, as well as the cave and sub-level, if any, in Pikmin 2. On this screen, the player can press  / to copy the currently highlighted saved game onto another one, or  / to erase it.

In Pikmin 2 for the GameCube, the number of treasures at the bottom of the screen appears as the currently collected total, followed by a slash and the total of treasures in the game – 201 (but only after the debt has been repaid).

In Pikmin and Pikmin 2, each save is referred to as "Ship's Log", but in the former, there is also a message on this screen that refers to them as "Data Files" ("Choose a Data File"), and an option on the pause menu that refers to the concept as a "save". Finally, in Pikmin 3, the saved games are not given a term at all. Because of the lack of consensus and the existence of data files as items in Pikmin 3, this menu is hence referred to as the "saved game selection" menu.

Orb color

Each orb in Pikmin 2 has some colored mist inside. The color reflects the amount of Pikmin the player has, though it ignores any buried Pikmin. The color is based on the Pikmin types with the highest count, though Yellow Pikmin control the green component of the color. This means a fully balanced team makes for a white mist. The color also becomes lighter or darker depending on how many more White or Purple Pikmin the player has compared to the other types, though this lightness only seems to affect the pulsating ring around the currently highlighted orb.

The color calculation is as follows: first, the game checks which of the three primary Pikmin types has the highest count. Then it uses the amount of Red Pikmin to control the color's red component; the closer the Red Pikmin count is to that highest count, the higher the red component, up to 190. Yellow Pikmin do the same, but affect the green component, and Blue Pikmin control the blue component. If the player has no Pikmin of the primary types, the components all default to 190.

Finally, the game adds an extra value (positive or negative) to the three color components. If the player has more White Pikmin than Purple Pikmin, this extra value is positive, and if the opposite, it's negative. The value partially depends on the distance between these two Pikmin type counts. The closer the number of White Pikmin is to the total of Pikmin the player owns, the higher the extra value, up to 60. Likewise, the closer the number of Purple Pikmin is to the Pikmin total, the lower, to a minimum of -60.

Each orb also has its mist spin at different speeds – the first saved game's mist always spins the fastest and the second always spins the slowest.

In New Play Control! Pikmin

The saved game selection menu in New Play Control! Pikmin adds the function of the day selection menu to the existing menu design, allowing the player to press and to change the day they will play on. This allows them to retry from a specific day, provided the highlighted saved game is in day 2 or beyond.

In Pikmin 3 Deluxe

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While Pikmin 3 has no saved game selection menu due to having only 1 saved game per Wii U account, its re-release Pikmin 3 Deluxe does. The 3 saved games are represented by 3 wide blue boxes arranged vertically. Each box contains information about the saved game, and no additional information is shown upon highlighting a box. The current day is shown on the left side of each box. Along the top of each box is the difficulty of the saved game and the date and time it was last saved. At the bottom of each box is yellow text showing the current Story Mode objective. can be pressed to change the difficulty of the currently selected saved game, can be pressed to erase it, can be used to copy it, and can be pressed to select it, opening the day selection menu.

In Hey! Pikmin

The saved game selection menu in Hey! Pikmin.

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Hey! Pikmin. Particularly: Describe how the slots look like when the game is completed (if different), and when all areas have been finished with a gold Pikmin badge.

Hey! Pikmin can have up to 3 saved games, represented by the letters A, B, and C. The menu displays the 3 saved games as rounded boxes, with the letter on the left in a circle (colored red for A, yellow for B, and blue for C), and the highest-numbered area and total Sparklium count filling up the rest of the box (colored based on the color of the most recent sector on the sector selection menu). Empty saved games have the text "New Game" instead. On the left side are 3 buttons, which switch between different functions of the menu. When "Play" is selected (which it is by default), tapping a saved game boxes will open the sector selection menu for that saved game. When "Copy" is selected, tapping a saved game will prompt the player to select another saved game spot to copy that saved game to, and selecting another spot will prompt the player to confirm their choice; doing so will copy the saved game. When "Delete" is selected, tapping a saved game will prompt the player to confirm that they are sure about deleting the saved game; selecting "Yes" will delete the saved game.

See also

• Day selection menu