Captain Olimar
Captain Olimar (キャプテン・オリマー) is the main protagonist of the Pikmin series, and he also appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros Brawl. He was the first Hocotate Freight employee to discover the Planet of the Pikmin and the Pikmin species. He is the only employee of any merit who works at Hocotate Freight, and in the first Pikmin game, captains a customized company ship; the S.S. Dolphin. He has a family (wife, son, and daughter) on his home planet, Hocotate. In the notes on the Worthless Statue and the Priceless Statue, Olimar mentions his father and mother (whose death is hinted at). In-game, Olimar's dialogue of notes to himself are in Pikmin only; in the second game, they are replaced by the Ship's.
Biography
Plot of Pikmin
While on an interstellar vacation from Hocotate, Captain Olimar's ship, the S.S. Dolphin, smashed into a meteor and crashed onto an uncharted planet, which is actually the Pikmin's planet. The Dolphin shattered into 30 pieces, and the accident rendered Olimar unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he found the planet's atmosphere contained oxygen, which is extremely poisonous to his species. Fortunately, Olimar landed next to the remains of the Dolphin. While wandering around an area he called The Impact Site, Olimar met odd creatures that he called Pikmin at an unoccupied spacecraft he called an Onion. Both Pikmin and the Onions are named after foods Olimar often ate on Hocotate.
These Red Pikmin that he discovered were able to reproduce more Pikmin with Olimar's help. Olimar directed them to carry his ship's Main Engine back to The Dolphin's remains, which auto-repaired itself with the parts that Olimar and the Pikmin brought. This allowed the S.S. Dolphin at least lift off for the night and avoid the hostile nocturnal creatures that reside on The Distant Planet.
Olimar found that the Pikmin followed him loyally, which he guessed was because he plucked each one from the ground or was seen as a parent figure. Olimar's leadership skills and the Pikmin's ability to fight enemies, destroy obstacles, and carry ship parts combined to allow Olimar to find each of the various parts of the Dolphin while the Pikmin species flourished. While looking for parts, Olimar discoved other areas, including the Forest of Hope, the Forest Navel, the Distant Spring, and the Final Trial. He also discovered two more Pikmin species, the bomb-carrying Yellow Pikmin and aquatic Blue Pikmin. Luckily for Olimar, he was able to find the Dolphin's 30 ship parts to attach to the Dolphin's remains with time left to spare. Before he left, he took a bottle cap from the planet as a souvenir for his son. By the time Olimar left, the Pikmin had learned to work together by themselves, and it seemed as though they would remain the dominant species without his assistance, resulting in a happy ending.
Alternative Endings
If Olimar fails to get twenty five of the mandatory ship parts by day 30, he will suffer a poisoning from the oxygen. He will try to fly off, but the Dolphin will come crashing back down again. His Pikmin will then bring his body to an Onion, which now turns him into a seed that grows to have Olimar's head, along with a black stem and leaf. If Olimar gets the 25 necessary ship parts for flight but does not manage to collect all 30 ship parts, he will successfully fly away from the planet, but he will not have time to search for souvenirs. Neither one of these endings lead to the plot of Pikmin 2.
Return to Hocotate
After Olimar's success at the Distant Planet, he was able to blast off of the planet to return to Hocotate, see his family and return to his normal life. Deciding to land at Hocotate Freight, he met up with the President of Hocotate Freight and a local employee named Louie. After landing the S.S. Dolphin, he learned that the company was in debt, having to pay an amount equal to 
x10,100 and the unknown price of Olimar's prized ship, the S.S. Dolphin. This was to pay for the loss of a Golden Pikpik Carrot shipment, supposively eaten by a ravenous space bunny . Learning that the S.S. Dolphin was sold to pay for some of the debt, Olimar was so shocked he dropped a souvenir he found on the Distant Planet for his son. As the bottle cap rolled past Louie, an old ship, commonly known as 'The Ship' was able to use its Research Pod to suck up the rusty bottle cap. The Pod analyzed the piece of salvage to be worth x100, which lowered the remaining debt to x10,000. The President commanded Olimar and Louie to return to the Distant Planet and collect more treasure.
Paying off Hocotate Freight's debt
As Olimar and Louie were heading to the Valley of Repose, the ship collided with a tree branch, and the resulting impact jolted Louie out of the cockpit, meaning Olimar had to search for him. Luckily for Olimar, he found a group of Red Pikmin fighting a lone Dwarf Red Bulborb. He was able to unite with Louie by using the Pikmin to penetrate the barriers. Louie had discovered a treasure that was a large double D Duracell battery, dubbed the Courage Reactor and started their treasure seeking adventure. Later they discovered a series of Caverns deep underground, which housed many treasures and even some new Purple Pikmin. As they were able to make movements in Awakening Wood and Perplexing Pool, encountering the undiscovered White Pikmin, the debt lowered to a small amount. In the end, Olimar and Louie were able to pay off the debt.
The search for LouieAfter repaying the debt, Captain Olimar blasted off the planet, but noticed that he somehow left Louie behind, but at too late a time to go back and recover the rest of the remaining treasures as well as rescue Louie immediately afterwards. After meeting the President once again to present him with all the treasures he and Louie found, the debt was fully paid. Olimar then told the President that there was more treasure on the planet. The President, looking to increase Hocotate Freight's fortune, then decided to send Olimar and Louie back to the planet, although he then realized that Louie was missing. The President then decided that he would join Olimar to search for Louie and gain more treasure. The two went to the Wistful Wild to start their search and find more treasure, to make their company wealthier than ever before. They both were able to find Louie in Wistful Wild, at the very bottom of the Dream Den, on top of a gigantic Titan Dweevil. Olimar and the President were able to rescue Louie, although there are heavy hints that Louie was the one, in reality, controlling the Titan Dweevil. |
Olimar's fate after Pikmin 2
In Pikmin 3, Captain Olimar is a playable character as player 2 in Bingo Battle mode.
It was stated by Miyamoto in one of the Nintendo Direct discussions following E3 that Olimar has an appearance in the storyline of Pikmin 3, in which at some point the three new captains will end up either meeting or getting involved with Olimar in some way. Miyamoto also said that Olimar will not have that big of an appearance. There are no other current details on this however aside from that interview.
Traits and abilities
- Olimar is able to control Pikmin, using his whistle as a means of command. The Pikmin quite possibly see him as a leader and a hero.
- He can pluck or pull out Pikmin sprouts when he stands next to them (or by whistling after obtaining the Pluckaphone).
- Olimar can launch a punch attack to weaken enemies (or a three punch combo after obtaining the Rocket Fist).
- Olimar has an interest in science and particularly biology, taking notes and commenting on every treasure and enemy he discovers.
- He has three short brown hairs and wears a beige spacesuit with a red tracking beacon on his helmet, decorated with a red life-support backpack and red gloves. He measures 1.9cm tall, and 3.9cm tall with his space suit on.
- He loves his family, but they often ask a lot of him when it comes to financial matters. This is one of the reasons he enjoys time to himself.
- He designed the Bowsprit for his ship the S.S. Dolphin.
- It is referred to that Olimar has had conflicts with space pirates.
- Olimar is shown to be well educated, as he is able to describe the Pikmin world well, and is a very strategic leader to the Pikmin. Also, in Namida Ga Afureta, he says he knows complex words.
- According to his journal entry on the Impenetrable Cookie, he has a short temper towards incidents of little importance.
Olimar's Monologues in Pikmin
- Main article: Olimar's monologues in Pikmin 1.
When playing Pikmin, the player can discover information about the gameplay by reading Olimar's monologues. They often give info about Pikmin abilities, controls, and current tasks.
Olimar's Notes
- Example: Olimar's Notes on Red Bulborb
In Pikmin 2, when Captain Olimar sees a creature or feature, he jots down some notes. His, unlike Louie's notes, are very informative and provide a lot of detail. Olimar speculates quite a lot, though that is natural due to the sheer strangeness of the life forms on the planet. He also appears to be quite the biologist, if you assume that all his notes are his honest opinions.
Olimar's Journal
- Example: Olimar's Journal on Courage Reactor
In Pikmin 2, Olimar writes a journal entry on each treasure he finds, often reflecting on the day's expeditions and findings. He refers to such things as his family, his working life with Hocotate Freight, and his feelings at the time, as well as speculation on what the treasure's intended use might be.
Gallery
- Olimar Point.png
Official art of Olimar from Pikmin.
- Captainolimar.jpg
Olimar finding a Blue Pikmin Sprout.
- PikOlimarPluck.jpg
Olimar plucking a Blue Pikmin.
- PIkOlimarThrow.jpg
Olimar throwing a Blue Pikmin.
- Olimar Wiki.jpg
Clay Art from Pikmin 2 of Olimar plucking a Blue Pikmin.
Trivia
- Olimar's name is derived from Mario, as "Louie" is from Luigi. In Japanese, Olimar (オリマ orima) is an anagram of Mario (マリオ mario).
- Olimar was supposed to make a cameo appearance in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. The captain was to come in and taste the player's coffee. However, this never occurred, as the scene was canceled. He was also planned to call Mario "Marlio" (an anagram of "Olimar") and somehow mistake Luigi for a beast. Unlike other characters in the game, Olimar's text was to appear without a speech bubble.
- In Super Smash Bros. Melee, you can get trophies of both Captain Olimar and Pikmin if you have Pikmin saved on your memory card.
- One of the key items in Super Paper Mario, the Helmet has a large resemblance to Olimar's helmet. It even includes an antenna with a red light beacon.
- Although not seen, the player can get a message from Olimar in the Wii game Animal Crossing: City Folk, which reads: "I found this odd little hat on my travels. It looks just like one of those cute little creatures I've met in outer space! Have fun wearing it! - From Captain Olimar.". When the player finishes reading the letter, they get an item called the "Red Pikmin Hat", which looks like a Red Pikmin's stem with a leaf. The same hat (along with yellow and blue variants) is available as an award to Miis in the Nintendo 3DS' "Find Mii".. A "life size" model of his ship has also been released.
In Super Smash Bros. Series
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Pikmin was released less than a month before the release of the second installment of the Super Smash. Bros. series. Nintendo featured two Pikmin themed trophies, Captain Olimar and Pikmin. The Olimar trophy is unlocked by having a Pikmin save file on the same save file as Super Smash Bros. Melee. The trophy features Olimar with a Red and Yellow Pikmin.
Trophy Description in Super Smash Bros. Melee:
"The main character in the game of Pikmin, Captain Olimar crash-lands on a mysterious planet after his ship malfunctions. In order to get off the planet, he must gather the pieces of his broken ship, but the atmosphere of the planet is poisonous to Olimar. As a result, he has to enlist the help of the native Pikmin."
- Pikmin, 12/01
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Main article: Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Olimar is a playable character in the game Super Smash Bros Brawl . He commands his Pikmin in battle, and is almost entirely dependent on them. Olimar is able to pluck new Pikmin from the ground at any time, and he can have up to six with him at once. The Pikmin, as in the original series, are fragile and can be defeated easily, but each of the five colors have special unique properties (for example, the Red Pikmin are stronger than average and have fire-based attacks, as well as resistance to flame). Olimar’s Final Smash is called End of Day, during which he leaves the arena via his spaceship as night falls. The players left behind are attacked by feeding Bulborbs, and can be further damaged when Olimar’s ship returns and explodes on impact. Although Olimar's Pikmin are left behind too, they go unharmed.
Trophy description in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
"A veteran spacefarer in the employ of Hocotate Freight. After crash-landing on an enigmatic planet, Olimar met the mysterious beings known as Pikmin. He enlisted their aid to find his spaceship parts and help him escape. Once home, he found his employer on the verge of bankruptcy. He was sent back to the Pikmin world with his partner, Louie, to repay the company debt."
See also
External links
Language Links
| Characters | |
|---|---|
| Leaders | Captain Olimar • Louie • The President • Alph • Brittany • Charlie • Pikmin 4 player character |
| Rescue Corps | Oatchi • Collin • Shepherd • Russ • Dingo • Yonny • Bernard |
| Ships | S.S. Dolphin • Hocotate ship • S.S. Drake • S.S. Dolphin II • SPERO • S.S. Beagle • S.S. Shepherd |
| Other | Castaway • Leafling • Minor characters • Moss • Pikmin |