Challenge Mode (Pikmin 2)
- For the challenge mode in the first game, see Challenge Mode (Pikmin).
The Challenge Mode in Pikmin 2 is very different from the one in the first game. To unlock it, the player needs to collect The Key from the final floor of the Citadel of Spiders in the Perplexing Pool. Challenge Mode takes place in many cave areas and the player will need to collect The Key in each to advance through sublevels, and so complete the level. Challenge mode starts with 5 levels unlocked, and for every level completed, another level is unlocked. There are 30 levels in all, each with a specific amount of starting Pikmin, sprays, time limits, etc. Gameplay in Challenge Mode levels is the same as in the regular story mode, except the player only has one usable Exploration Kit treasure: the Five-man Napsack.
All levels have a time limit (in units; each unit represents two seconds), within which one must advance to the next sublevel or fail the challenge. Every sublevel, some more units of time are added to the existing amount. Being awarded a white flower upon completion means that one or more Pikmin have died (or Pikmin sprouts have been left behind), while a no-death completion earns a pink flower. A widely held misconception is that in order to beat Challenge Mode, one must collect all the treasures and have no Pikmin losses, but only the key on each level is required. To unlock a special cutscene with Louie, the player must complete the Challenge Mode with all pink flowers.
The final score the player receives depends on the amount of Pokos gathered, the amount of Pikmin that survived at the end, and the amount of time left on the timer before leaving. If the run is ended because a leader lost all his health or because the timer ran out, then the number of Pikmin and time remaining will be set to 0 when tallying up the score. The final score value is obtained by summing the three factors, but the number of Pokos and number of remaining Pikmin are multiplied by 10, as detailed in the following formula:
Co-op
Co-op is a variation of Challenge Mode with two players, as the name implies. As with 2-Player Battle, player one controls Olimar on the top screen, and player two controls Louie on the bottom one. The spray counter on the HUD shows the same value for both screens, seeing as the sprays are shared, i.e. if one player uses a spray, it'll be depleted on the counter of both players' screens. Other than this, Co-op is completely identical to regular Challenge Mode.
Because the multitasking in co-op mode increases efficiency, scores between single-player mode and co-op mode are kept separately.
Levels
- Explorer's Cave
- Novice Training
- Lost Toy Box
- Creator's Garden
- Green Hole
- Hot House
- Brawny Abyss
- Red Chasm
- Trampled Garden
- Twilight Garden
- Cryptic Cavern
- Concrete Maze
- Collector's Room
- Dweevil Nest
- Cavernous Abyss
- Snack Pit
- Three Color Training
- Hazard Training
- Cave of Snarls
- The Giant's Bath
- Rumbling Grotto
- Subterranean Lair
- Hidden Garden
- Abduction Den
- Secret Testing Range
- Breeding Ground
- Cave of Pain
- Bully Den
- Sniper Room
- Emperor's Realm
Trivia
- There is a minor glitch in which a leader will remain on the ground, when the player gives up.
- The game's files can be edited to change the number of starting Pikmin on any given level. There are settings for seven Pikmin types, and setting the "seventh" type's number to non-zero makes pikpik carrots join the player's party, and act as Pikmin.
See also
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 French |
Mode Challenge | Challenge Mode |
 French (NoA) |
Mode défi | Challenge Mode |
 German |
Challenge-Mode (GameCube version's title screen) Challenge-Modus (GameCube and Wii versions' Challenge Mode screen) |
Challenge Mode |