Prerelease information

During production of the Pikmin games, some ideas were thought of, but ultimately discarded when the game was finally released. Some of those aspects can still be found in old trailers, magazine screenshots, and the like. Although some of the content remained in the final game, but went unused, this article focuses on content about prototype versions of the games.

Pikmin

Trailers

The game's trailers showed footage that contained some changes from Pikmin's final version. These following 3 trailers are presumably ordered chronologically.

Trailer 1

To do: Gather info from the Pikmin E3 2000 Show Off's version, specifically, the ending with 4 panes. Also, detail the HUD differences better. Care to do so?

{{#ev:youtube|v=7x245evHAhQ|350|right}} The first trailer shows a lot of differences from the final version of the game.

View trailer

The following things are different from the final version:

• There are several aesthetic changes.
  • The current day is shown below the sunlight meter.
  • Pellet Posies are taller, have (presumably harmless) spikes on the side, and their flowers are different.
  • Pellets have a surface that curves inwards on the top and bottom.
  • Olimar jumps around when walking.
  • Onions stretch upwards a lot when sucking in something.
  • A Burrowing Snagret can be seen, but its color is a lot more pale.
  • The Pikmin move considerably slower
• Gameplay happens on several areas that are not present in the final game.
• Apparently, controlling the Pikmin emits some particles from Olimar's helmet light.
• Olimar can pluck Pikmin with his whistle in the same way the Pluckaphone is used in Pikmin 2.
• Pikmin make squeals similar to those of pigs when thrown.
• Pikmin can be seen carrying a strawberry, rumored to be the Sunseed Berry from Pikmin 2.
• A 20-pellet can be seen producing 30 Pikmin.
• More than 100 Pikmin can be on the area at a time.
• Idle Pikmin all change to white.
• Pikmin can be set on a straight line. They seem to be idle in this state, but they aren't pale or white. Additionally, they shake their leaves heavily.
• A Yellow Wollywog that is falling over after being defeated can be seen squishing Pikmin when collapsing. When this happens, the Pikmin counter spazzes a bit. It's either a glitch, or a notable way to tell Pikmin are dying.
• Killed Yellow Wollywogs disappear and drop pellets.
• A 40-pellet can be seen.
• The Onions are set in a straight line, not in a triangle.

Trailer 2

{{#ev:youtube|v=cwKvkGLAB74|350|right}} A second trailer has eventually been released. It shows a lot less changes from the final version, but it still has some.

View trailer

The following changes from the final version can be spotted:

• Minor aesthetic differences.
• The HUD is the same as the final version's, but the day counter is at the bottom right corner of the screen, and the Pikmin-type counter is missing.
• Bridges aren't complete yet, they are blue with a weird texture.
• Pikmin can be seen taking down a stone gate, something that can only be destroyed with bomb-rocks.
• The Puffy Blowhog's attack throws Pikmin and Olimar a lot higher and farther.
• Some areas look the same as in the final game, but others seem to be entirely different. The enemy and object placement in the final areas is also different.
• The Impact Site music is played, but it sounds as if it is played entirely on the flute.

Trailer 3

{{#ev:youtube|v=swCCQYj1S70|350|right}} A third trailer has also been released. The game in this state looks quite close to the final version.

View trailer

The following differences from the final version can be seen:

• Minor aesthetic differences.
• The day counter is in the bottom-right corner. It's now a circle instead of an oval.
• When Pikmin are plucked, they become pale.
• When a Puffy Blowhog attacks, it send the Pikmin and Olimar much higher and farther.
• Pikmin can be seen climbing a really long vertical pole on The Distant Spring.

Early Gameplay

{{#ev:youtube|v=G8HPEYmrZAw|350|left}}

E3 2000 Tech Demo Show Off

{{#ev:youtube|v=IdQwnLW2eoY|350|right}} Some gameplay could be seen at the E3 2000 Tech Demo Show Off, with Shigeru Miyamoto playing the game, while a translator translates his speech live. The gameplay takes place in an unknown area, resembling a combination between The Impact Site and The Forest of Hope.

View trailer

• The pause menu is consisted of a rough rectangle, made out of four constantly-moving cyan rectangles. The options "continue" and "exit" exist, in lowercase, and with a more lively font than normal.
• The Sun Meter lacks the three larger circles, and has 16 dots instead of 13.
• The HUD is the same as the one on the 2^nd trailer, with the day counter at the bottom-right corner, and only a party-Pikmin and total-Pikmin counter.
• Climbing sticks are larger and thicker, and look more like dried pieces of curled wood.
• A and B are reversed in this build – B throws and A whistles.
• Pellets look a bit more rounded on the sides, but have blunter rims at the top.
• Pikmin carry items a bit slower. In addition, they grab onto the item in the location they land at, instead of spreading around evenly. Finally, the fraction numbers do not exist.
• Pikmin can be plucked by being whistled at, something only possible in a finished game in Pikmin 2, with the Pluckaphone.
• The yellow nucleus on the flowers atop the Pikmin's heads is a lot darker in this build.
• The camera tries to focus on the center-point between Olimar and the group of Pikmin he's commanding. This does not happen in the final game, where the camera is always locked on Olimar, but something similar happens in Pikmin 2, albeit to a less extreme degree.
• On the Onion menu, the plural of "Pikmin" is "pikmins". Not only is it in lowercase, but it also has an "s" at the end. Both of these elements are incorrect, as the correct canonical way of typing the plural is "Pikmin", the same as singular.
• Red Bulborbs are a bit weaker than they are in the final game.
• Spirit also leave some white particles, like dust.
• When enemies die, some bland firework-like particles come out, and a huge donut-shaped cloud of dust appears.

Enemy reel

Main article: Enemy reel discrepancies.

The pre-rendered clips on the enemy reel show some enemies in places where they can't be found in the final game, as well as areas that look a bit different. The enemy reel was probably recorded before some of the levels' layouts changed.

Other info

The manual image showing 3 Pikmin on a 1 pellet.

• On the page that describes how Onions and pellets work, there is a picture showing 3 Pikmin carrying a 1 pellet. It's unknown whether it was possible to have 3 Pikmin carry such a pellet at one point during the game's development, or if it is the consequence of a rare glitch.

Pikmin 2

This article is a stub. You can help Pikipedia by expanding it.

Trailer

A trailer, seen here^{[dead link]} shows little unused information, except for the fact that Blue Pikmin were able to enter the Lost Toy Box (this can be seen 50 seconds into the video).

Early Bulborbs

File:Betayellowbulborb.PNG

A large Yellow Bulborb.

Two Bulborb subspecies are known to have been cut from the final versions of Pikmin 2, from analysis of gameplay videos and screenshots. These Bulborbs, along with the Red Bulborb, would have given each basic Pikmin type a Bulborb of the same color, had they not been removed. Naming used in the game's data makes it clear that these enemies eventually became the Dwarf Orange Bulborbs, Orange Bulborbs, Snow Bulborbs and Hairy Bulborbs in the final game.

A blue "dwarf" Bulborb is clearly seen in a gameplay video. It has white spots, and apparently acts like the Dwarf Red Bulborb, with the same health, attacks and weight. Its treasure value, however, appears to be  × 5, whereas Dwarf Bulborbs are worth  × 2 in the game's released version. An adult version was never shown. These blue enemies became the Dwarf Orange Bulborb – whose internal name is bluekochappy – and the Orange Bulborb – with the internal name bluechappy.

Yellow Bulborbs appeared in the same video as the blue one, but in an above-ground area that bears a striking resemblance to the Forest of Hope. A dwarf version was also seen, which seems to walk slower than other Dwarf Bulborbs. In the final game, Snow Bulborbs are internally called yellowkochappy and Hairy Bulborbs are called yellowchappy.

Prototype gameplay

There's an E3 2003 prototype gameplay video that shows yellow Bulborbs and slightly different cave entrance cutscene. It also contains several debugging elements: {{#ev:youtube|v=ssxpb_84KA0|350}}

This video shows an early version of the Challenge Mode. In this one, the mode develops in the Awakening Wood, making it very like the Challenge Mode from Pikmin, with the exception that the player is able to use sprays.

{{#ev:youtube|v=OKHpZGoz8eE|350}}

Pikmin 3

File:Pikmin 3characters.png

Concept art of "Character D".

Main article: Pikmin 3 prototype information.

Some versions of Pikmin 3 shown off at E3 events differ from the final game in a few aspects. The most noteworthy change is the removal of the infamous "Character D".

Adam and Eve

Main article: Adam and Eve.

Adam and Eve is a game that never got finished, and was the basis for the Pikmin franchise.

Pikmin DS Patent

Main article: Patent US7762893.

"US7762893" was a patent filed by Yuji Kando and Yutaka Hirameki for a game running on device that looks like a Nintendo DS and highly resembles the Pikmin series.

See also

• Promotional material
• Unused content
• Easter eggs