Glitches in Pikmin 3

This is a collection of glitches possible in Pikmin 3.

Please read the glitch notes before attempting any of these glitches or before adding your own.

This article or section needs to be cleaned up, either its format or general style. Notes: Make it similar to the other glitch pages, as it's currently a mess.

Main

Blue pot skip / Early Quaggled Mireclops

Reproducibility	Consequences	Demonstration
medium	{{{consequences}}}	YouTube video

• Effects: Get access to the Quaggled Mireclops without having to build the blue pot.
• Prerequisites: Make sure Blue Pikmin have been discovered.
• How to: At the Garden of Hope once Louie has ran away, discover the Blue Pikmin and take a group of Winged Pikmin under the large pail underwater. By standing in that certain spot, the Winged Pikmin will go higher and higher until they are on the land above the pail. From there, have them collect the group of 10 Fragments by charging, and have a small group dig up the remaining Fragments. If done correctly, a Captain can now be thrown across to the incomplete blue bridge. Throw a few Rock Pikmin along with the leader to get the last 20 Fragments inside the crystal.
• Notes: The Peckish Aristocrab will not interfere with the Winged Pikmin, so don't worry.
• Possible explanation: The blue pot is not necessary for anything else but to get to the other side to build the bridge. By using the Winged Pikmin, one can completely bypass the need to build the pot, as there is no invisible wall to stop them, unlike in most cases.

Brittany's pseudo-reunion

Reproducibility	Consequences
High	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Reunite Brittany and Alph in the Distant Tundra before constructing the double bridge.
• Prerequisites: Have Brittany and Alph separated at the Distant Tundra without having built the double bridge, and have obtained the Dodge Whistle with Alph
• How to: At the Distant Tundra, with Brittany, go to the top of the slide near the Whiptongue Bulborb and use the Dodge Whistle to hit the west side of the slide's edge, then walk against it. If done correctly, Brittany should not slide down, but rather be walking against the wall. Continue walking down the wall and it should be possible to get up the wall and out of bounds. Once Brittany is out of bounds, she can jump off over at the side of the river where Alph is. However, it will be impossible to call Alph (or Brittany, after switching) and they will not react to being pushed, either. After the day ends, Brittany will automatically be sent back into the cave, unless the double bridge is finished.
• Notes: If Pikmin are brought out of bounds with Brittany, they can be thrown on the partially-submerged Dirt Wall and it can be broken, allowing easy access between the two sides of the river.
• Possible explanation: The game considers Alph and Brittany separated untill the double bridge is finished, even if they are in the same area.

Character line mix-up

File:GlitchDrakeConversation.jpeg

In this scenario, Alph's icon is displayed for Brittany's line.

Reproducibility	Consequences
?	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Makes one character's icon appear for another's line.
• Prerequisites: None.
• How to: There is no known way to execute the glitch on purpose.
• Notes: It only seems to happen on the US version.
• Possible explanation: None.

Crimson Banquet glitch

Reproducibility	Consequences
?	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Makes Pikmin carrying part of the Crimson Banquet survive the sunset. The pieces then become irretrievable the next day.
• Prerequisites: None.
• How to: Carry both the defeated Sandbelching Meerslug and the Crimson Banquet pieces towards the landing site. After the body comes out of the pathway between the arena and the mainland, call back all of the Pikmin carrying it, but not the ones carrying the fruit. The day must then end, and if done correctly, none of the fruit carriers should be lost to sunset. Come back the next day, and pieces of the fruit should be scattered around the area where the body was, but they might not be there, meaning that they are gone. You need to restart the previous day to get the fruit back.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: None.

Delayed typing sound

Reproducibility	Consequences
Medium	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: On the voyage log screen, the typewriter tapping sound that accompanies the text becomes delayed, and eventually lags behind.
• Prerequisites: None.
• How to: There is no consistent way for this glitch to happen.
• Notes: This glitch has only been proven to happen on the European version, although it might work on the American version as well. It is possible that the lagging happens in specific messages every time.
• Possible explanation: During an early version of the game, the log text was a certain way, and during that time, the script that plays the tapping sound was made to match that text. Before the final release, some words were removed from the text, making it appear faster, but the sound scripting was never adjusted, following the slower speed of the old text.

Drowning cutscene glitch

File:GlitchWaterCutscene.jpeg

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences
Medium	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Shows the fire effect and the water effect overlap incorrectly.
• Prerequisites: Never had a Pikmin drown.
• How to: Go to the cave with Pyroplasmic Slooches on the Distant Tundra. Let the Slooches draw some trails of fire and get a Pikmin to start drowning. If the positionings and the camera angle line up, the fire trail will appear in the same place as the water from the camera's line of sight, but the two will overlap in odd ways.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: None.

Early Scornet Maestro

Reproducibility	Consequences	Demonstration
Medium	{{{consequences}}}	YouTube video

• Effects: Get access to fight the Scornet Maestro without having to build the red bridge.
• Prerequisites: Have the second half of the Twilight River unlocked, and have 3 captains ready.
• How to: First, go into the area to the side of the red bridge (the area with 2 Desiccated Skitter Leaves and leading to the 3 Orange Bulborbs). From there, throw 2 captains up onto the root nearby the pink 5 Pellet Posy. From there, quickly throw another captain up onto the elevated area above. This must be done quickly or else the captains will slide back down. From there, switch to the captain up above and have them walk near the rock closest to the path. If they continue to walk, they will eventually phase through it, fall out of bounds, and appear on the path to the Scornet Maestro's lair. From there, have them whistle a group of Pikmin under the path. By going further on the path, the Pikmin will teleport to the leader.
• Notes: In version 1.0 to 1.3, the captain takes no damage. In version 1.4 onwards, the captain loses 1/3 of their health. This is because version 1.4 introduced actual bottomless pits in the Clockwork Chasm, and going out of bounds results in falling into an abyss. It is also advised to start building the bridge while the boss fight is going on, so that when it is defeated, spoils can easily be carried back.
• Possible explanation: Collision detection algorithms should be simple when it comes to scenery. While the path's wall pushes the leader back, the rock pushes them forward, resulting in no lateral movement. The forward movement, however, is still enough to move the leader forwards (considering there are no collision forces stopping them efficiently on that direction), so they slowly make progress forward, until they no longer collide with the geometry and go through.

Early Shaggy Long Legs

Reproducibility	Consequences
Medium	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Makes the player fight against Shaggy Long Legs earlier than normal, and with unlimited time.
• Prerequisites: Have access to the Distant Tundra, and have not gone there before.
• How to: In the cave were the Yellow Pikmin are found, after breaking down the exit's blockade, go out of bounds using the same method as in the Yellow Onion skip glitch, only, rather than going above the entrance, go behind it and walk around to the Shaggy Long Legs' arena. The battle will proceed as normal, only there will be an unlimited day length, and Brittany will have infinite health.
• Notes: When battling the Shaggy Long Legs before breaking the blockade, if enough Pikmin die, it will be impossible to gain enough Pikmin to push the Iron Ball; and if all the Pikmin die, the Yellow Onion will not eject another seed. Additionally, any Red Pikmin (obtained via the Crimson Candypop Bud) will be invisible during the cutscene where the weight is pushed.
• Possible explanation: When Brittany is in the cave, the day is set to be in a "tutorial" state, where the captains have unlimited HP and the day lasts forever, as with Day 1. When exiting the main entrance of the cave, it is set to end the "tutorial" state and begin the day as normal; but if you exit via the other entrance, it will not.

Early Winged Pikmin

Reproducibility	Consequences	Demonstration
Low	{{{consequences}}}	YouTube video

• Effects: Allows the player to get to the Winged Pikmin's Onion without building the long blue bridge across the river.
• Prerequisites: Have the Twilight River unlocked and have 2 captains.
• How to: At the Twilight River have one captain walk across the river with the Water Dumple, with no Pikmin in the area. Once near the lily pad, have the captain walk in the corner of the rock to the left of it and the lily pad. If done correctly, the captain will begin to go through the rock. Walk onto the brown land area, and the captain will fall down into an abyss. They will later respawn on the side of the river with the Winged Pikmin's Onion. From there, switch to a captain at the landing site, and have them throw across some Pikmin, preferably Rock Pikmin, to free the Onion from the Arachnode's web. Throw some in the water, and then switch to the other captain so that they can call them to the other shore.
• Notes: In version 1.0, the captain takes no damage if they fall in. However, in version 1.4 and onwards, they take damage equal to 1/3 of their total health. This is because version 1.4 introduced actual bottomless pits in the Clockwork Chasm stage. Even though the bridge is skipped, it is recommended to build it eventually to allow easy retrieval of items.
• Possible explanation: Collision detection algorithms should be simple, in order to not overload the console, specially for things as trivial as scenery objects such as rocks. It is possible that the gap between the rocks angles inwards, and when the leader attempts to move between them, each wall pushes them in opposite directions, which results in no lateral movement. The forward movement, however, is still enough to move the leader forwards (considering there are no collision forces stopping them efficiently on that direction), so they slowly make progress forward, until they no longer collide with the geometry and go through.

Formidable Oak backwards

Reproducibility	Consequences	Demonstration
Medium	{{{consequences}}}	YouTube video

• Effects: Allows the player to do the Formidable Oak cave backwards, and clear out all enemies before actually encountering the Plasm Wraith.
• Prerequisites: Have 2 captains available, have the Dodge Whistle, and of course, have the Formidable Oak unlocked.
• How to: Take one captain and throw him onto the small root to the right of the path leading down into the Plasm Wraith arena. The placement must be perfect or else the glitch will not work. Once there, walk off and to the left, and proceed to walk up the large root of the white tree. Make sure the captain is facing away from the arena, and use the Dodge Whistle to get on top of the rock. From there, simply whistle the other two captains and walk inside the cave. The glitch is easier seen than explained, so watch the YouTube video above.
• Notes: It is advised to throw a captain who would be switched to directly (i.e. Brittany throws Charlie, Charlie throws Alph, and Alph throws Brittany) so that the captain thrown on the root can be switched to immediately and they won't fall off.
• Possible explanation: Although there is a ledge blocking off the exit to the cave, there is no actual barrier blocking off the cave's exit, and it functions just like an entrance. The only invisible wall present is next to the large rock, which is why the Dodge Whistle must be used to get over the rock. By going through the cave backwards, the player can clear out all the obstacles easily without having to worry about the Plasm Wraith, and can rescue Olimar from the cave within a few minutes.

Invisible bomb rock

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences
High	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Makes the bomb rock a Pikmin is holding turn invisible. It is completely normal besides that.
• Prerequisites: Have access to the cave with the Medusal Slurker that is carrying a Juicy Gaggle, on the Tropical Wilds.
• How to: Get a bomb rock from the main area outside the cave, like from the dirt mound near the landing site. Then, simply enter the cave with that Pikmin.
• Notes: The bomb rock becomes visible again once you exit the cave.
• Possible explanation: None.

Invisible Pikmin

File:InvisiblePikmin.jpeg

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Demonstration
High	{{{consequences}}}	YouTube video

• Effects: Have Pikmin on the field that are invisible.
• Prerequisites: Have at least 2 types of Pikmin unlocked.
• How to: First, get out 100 of the type Pikmin you don't want invisible. Afterwards, go back into the Onion menu and deposit some Pikmin and take out a few of species of Pikmin you want invisible. Now, right as the Pikmin go inside the Onion, use the whistle. If done correctly, there will be a few invisible Pikmin of the type that was originally going to come out of the Onion.
• Notes: The invisible Pikmin function just like they normally do, being capable of being eaten, holding Bomb Rocks, etc.
• Possible explanation: There is a split second in between where a Pikmin enters the Onion and where the Pikmin is actually taken off the field and the counter. By whistling at exactly the split second in between the two periods of time, the game gets confused on what to do, and takes out a few of the Pikmin type that just went in or were about to go in, and takes out a few more of the type of Pikmin that were about to come out. This results in there being fewer Pikmin of the species that were deposited on field, and more of the species that were withdrawn, resulting in invisible Pikmin.

Odd carrying positions

File:BombRockGlitch.jpeg

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences	Demonstration
Low	{{{consequences}}}	YouTube video

• Effects: Makes Pikmin carry an object in a weird position, such as upside down.
• Prerequisites: None.
• How to: Throw a Pikmin at an object that has fallen down, such as one falling from a Medusal Slurker or in a dirt mound. The timing is difficult, making this a glitch hard to do intentionally.
• Notes: The glitch only seems to work on objects that require 1 Pikmin to carry.
• Possible explanation: Once an object, such as a bomb rock, falls down onto the ground, Pikmin will chase after it and pick it up. However, if a Pikmin manages to pick up the object before it reaches its natural position, it accepts that as the natural position of carrying. The Pikmin are told to stick to a specific location and angle relative to the object, which could result in them being placed incorrectly.

Pikmin out at night

The Pikmin on the bottom-left portion of the screen have been affected by the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences
Medium	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Makes a Pikmin stay idle during the nighttime cutscene, and then vanish when it's time for takeoff.
• Prerequisites: Have leaf or bud Pikmin in your party.
• How to: Have a drop of nectar on one of the Onion's legs, and have leaf or bud Pikmin with you. The best way to do this is to knock on an Iridescent Flint Beetle when it is near the Onion; this can be done on the Garden of Hope and Twilight River. End the day from the pause menu. The Pikmin in your party will make their way to the Onion's legs, but leaves and buds should stop by the nectar and begin drinking it. When they're done, they'll remain idle on their spot, and the Onion will fly off without them. When that happens, they will vanish instantly.
• Notes: This does not affect the Pikmin count; the Pikmin that go idle are not counted as dead.
• Possible explanation: There is no code to handle the case in which a Pikmin going for the Onion would touch a bit of nectar, given the unlikeliness of it happening.

Remote-controlled Pikmin

Reproducibility	Consequences
High	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Control Pikmin without being exactly where they are.
• Prerequisites: Obtain the Dodge Whistle
• How to: Throw Pikmin up a ledge or over a gap, and call them and repetitively use the Dodge Whistle, and the Pikmin should roll, going farther than possible to throw. If you dismiss your Pikmin after they have rolled close to an object, such as the Hay north of the landing site in the Distant Tundra, they will interact with it, allowing access to some areas that shouldn't be accessible.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: When dodging, the Pikmin are programmed to roll with the captain, but if the captain's roll path is blocked, and the Pikmin's is not, then they will still roll.

Stretched Burrowing Snagret

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences
Medium	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Stretches out the Burrowing Snagret's corpse. If it is stretched too much, it becomes invisible.
• Prerequisites: The Early Winged Pikmin glitch has to be done.
• How to: First of all, the Early Winged Pikmin glitch has to be done, so the blue bridge won't be built. Then the paper bag in front of the pink Onion must be pushed. After that, the Burrowing Snagret must be defeated and its corpse must be carried by 10 Winged Pikmin or more. These Pikmin will be blocked in front of the bridge which is unfinished. Whistle them and order them to carry the Burrowing Snagret again; they will pass above the lilypad with the head of the Snavian but its foot will be stuck to the lilypad. The Winged Pikmin will keep carrying the corpse, and the body between the stuck point and the head will begin stretching as the Pikmin carry it forward. If it is stretched too far, the body will eventually turn invisible. Despite this, the corpse will still be harvested once brought to the Master Onion.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: None.

T-pose Pikmin

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences
High	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Shows a Pikmin in a T-pose.
• Prerequisites: None
• How to: Go to a Pikmin sprout and choose to pluck it. Just when the leader's hands make contact with the Pikmin, the creature will be shown in a T-pose (also known as blind pose or reference pose), meaning its arms will be stretched out horizontally. It will also appear at ground level instead of being underground. This lasts only for a single frame. With the KopPad's camera and a secondary leader, it is possible to see it better, specially if you snap a photo.
• Notes: If you're finding it hard to see (without pausing), try not having many Pikmin shown on-camera at once, as it may help the game slow down to less than 60 frames per second, making it possible for it to skip the frame in which it would show the pose.
• Possible explanation: When a Pikmin is plucked, its "sprout" object is removed from the world, and its "normal" object is created. It takes one frame for the object's animation to be set, so for a single frame, it uses the default animation pose, which is a T-pose, commonly used during development to make it easier to see and work with the model. This T-pose is set at ground-level instead of submerged underground.

T-pose Scornet Maestro

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences
High	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Shows the Scornet Maestro in a T-pose.
• Prerequisites: Have a save file with any day after the defeat of the Scornet Maestro.
• How to: From the day selection screen, pick a day where you have not met the Scornet Maestro, preferably the first day in which it's possible to visit the Twilight River. Use the KopPad's radar app and pan to where the Scornet Maestro's arena is. If it's not already disabled, turn off Off-TV Play so you can use the GamePad and the TV. From the TV, you should be able to see the Scornet Maestro's shadow in a T-pose (with its arms spread out sideways). If you gently pan the camera around, you'll be able to bump into the Scornet Maestro itself, which will be roughly at camera-height. It should only be possible to see an arm or some feathers, because for the most part, the camera goes inside the creature.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: Unlike other bosses, the Scornet Maestro is not hidden when the area is loaded and the enemy is not being used. This normally would not be a problem, as players would never be able to see it in its default pose (the T-pose), seeing as panning the radar to its arena would just reveal a black fog, due to the section never being entered. But if on the same save file, the boss had been encountered once, the arena will be visible on any day, including a day where the Maestro appears in its T-pose.

Tremendous Sniffer without bomb rocks

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences
High	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Obtaining the Tremendous Sniffer in the Twilight River without bomb rocks.
• Prerequisites: Keep the Reinforced Wall up.
• How to: At the Twilight River, approach the Tremendous Sniffer. Throw Yellow Pikmin at the pear, having them carry it into the wall. Call them back and end the day. The next day, the Tremendous Sniffer will be outside of its alcove.
• Notes: Pikmin will become idle quickly, so end the day immediately after calling them back.
• Possible explanation: The Tremendous Sniffer gets lodged into the wall, something that should not occur. As such, the game will move the pear out of the wall, but cannot return it to its original location. Therefore, it moves it to the other side of the wall.

Warped sunset music

To do: Check if it happens with other cutscene interruptions, like a suit upgrade, Pikmin in peril, or leader down. Also, point doen whether this is heard through the TV, GamePad, or both (keep Off-TV Play in mind). Care to do so?

Reproducibility	Consequences
High	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Makes the sunset theme sound warped and low-quality, as if played through a speaker.
• Prerequisites: Be on day two or further.
• How to: When the day is about to end, pause the game via the radar, and unpause it using the Alph icon on the top-right corner. When the sunset cutscene starts, it will have the same filter applied to it as the area song when heard through the KopPad's unpause feature.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: An audio filter is applied to the current area's song when the game is unpaused using Alph's icon. This change in the music is meant to reflect how the action is still happening, but the player is not in it. instead using the KopPad's radar and panning tools. However, there is nothing to handle a sunset during this time, so the music filter is never removed.

Weird color juice

Demonstration of the glitch.

Reproducibility	Consequences
Medium	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Gives the juice a blue color.
• Prerequisites: Have a half bottle of purple juice and have at least one Zest Bomb left to collect.
• How to: First, have a half bottle of purple juice (which comes from Dusk Pustules or a Juicy Gaggle) and go to an area where there is a Zest Bomb. Bring it back to the S.S. Drake as the first fruit, so that at the end of the day, it will mix its juice with the purple juice. The mixture will be of an abnormal cyan blue color.
• Notes: This might not be a glitch and may actually be intended by the game.
• Possible explanation: The juice color mixing mechanic of the game is not well understood and due to many variations of colors between the fruits, more unusual colors may be possible through other combinations.

Yellow Onion skip

Reproducibility	Consequences
Medium	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Allows the player to skip the Yellow Onion and continue the game without it.
• Prerequisites: Have access to the Distant Tundra, and have not gone there before.
• How to: In the cave where the yellow Pikmin are found, go between the Iron Ball and the slide and walk against the wall. If done correctly, Brittany should walk against the edge of the slide, rather than sliding down. Continue pushing against the wall while going down the slide to get out of bounds; from there, walk above the blocked entrance, and the game will treat it as you have exited the cave. Use the five yellow Pikmin and the Golden Candypop Buds to reunite Alph and Brittany. The day after, the Yellow Onion will be missing from the cave, and Yellow Pikmin produced by Candypop Buds will bring their loot to the master onion and produce more Yellow Pikmin, although it is impossible to deposit or withdraw any into the onion, and any Yellow Pikmin will vanish at the end of the day, even if they are in your squad or close to the landing site. Once you gain access to the Twilight River and rescue the Winged Pikmin, it is possible to withdraw Yellow Pikmin by using the "take out all types" feature; every one Red and Rock pikmin taken out with this feature takes out one yellow as well. To deposit Yellow Pikmin, take out Winged Pikmin and begin depositing them, but then hold the button that allows you to take out all the types, and Yellow Pikmin should be put in, instead.
• Notes: None.
• Possible explanation: The programming for the Master Onion is both partially made to allow you to get the Pikmin in any order, and made to force you to get them in one order, creating very strange results if one Onion is skipped.

Mission Mode

Floating fruit

File:Floatingfruit.jpeg

An example of the glitch on The Rustyard.

Reproducibility	Consequences
Medium	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Fruits will hover in the air and Pikmin will not grab onto it.
• Prerequisites: Find a fruit that is located on a ledge that is oddly shaped, like the one in the picture.
• How to: Just as the object is about to fall onto the lower ground, call back all Pikmin carrying the object. It is possible that the object will be stuck in the air beyond the ledge.
• Notes: The object will most likely remain unretrievable afterwards, so attempt the glitch where it is not harmful, like Mission Mode.
• Possible explanation: There is a certain small area located at the end of the ledge when an object is being carried back to base, acting like a sort of ramp so that the Pikmin do not fall straight down. Since Pikmin cannot actually walk on this "ramp" of sorts, the Pikmin will try to attempt to carry the fruit but won't actually be able to. Winged Pikmin, of course, will be able to free the object.

Plasm push out

Reproducibility	Consequences
Low	{{{consequences}}}

• Effects: Enter the Formidable Oak during the Plasm Wraith boss fight
• Prerequisites: get a large amount of plasm to fall out (easiest to destroy an elemental plasm or to ground it (attack it with a large amount of winged or yellow pikmin) when it levitates)
• How to: Fight the Plasm Wraith as normal until it's health is down 1/3 of the way. When it starts to send out the elemental plasms, destroy them and stand in the puddles until he reabsorbs it. Very rarely, the plasm should push the player through the floor and out of the level; the player will lose 1/3 of their health, but will respawn in the final puzzle room of the Formidable Oak's dungeon.
• Notes: The room will appear like it does in story mode with the exception of no water, enemies, or Glowcaps, leaving it totally dark. As the game is still in Mission Mode, the exists are blocked and the room becomes effectively inescapable. The battle outside will be completely paused until the player switches captains.
• Possible explanation: Normally, a small amount of plasm knocks a captain back and gets him to hop a little bit like in this glitch so a large amount of plasm should make a slightly bigger hop, but in this glitch, it sends him flying into the air and then out of bounds, but that still doesn't explain how you can fall through the floor if it was coded right. Maybe the developers didn't hardcode this enough (it's a mission mode stage, so it has less priority over story mode) because a strong enough push triggers this glitch. The game recognizes that the player is out of bounds and spawns him into the last room he was in, but why not the arena? Maybe the arena doesn't count as a "room" and is a part of the area map and because the rest of the map is locked, it sends you to the last room you entered (in story mode), the Bloominous Stemple room. The game then reverts to its normal state (after rescuing you from out of bounds) and relocks everything, trapping you until time runs out (or you switch to another captain and get killed by the Plasm Wraith).