Hey! Pikmin

Hey! Pikmin
	North American boxart
Japanese name	Hey! ピクミン?
Rating
Console	Nintendo 3DS
Developer	Arzest
Publisher	Nintendo
Genre	Action, puzzle, platformer
Players	1
Release date
Japan	July 13th, 2017
North America	July 28th, 2017
Europe	July 28th, 2017
Australia	July 29th, 2017
South Korea	N/A

For information about an upcoming Pikmin game titled Pikmin 4, see Pikmin 4.

Hey! Pikmin (sometimes stylized as Hey! PIKMIN) is a Pikmin spin-off game for the Nintendo 3DS. Unlike the main games in the series, which are 3D real-time strategy and action games, this is a 2.5D puzzle platformer. Players take control of Captain Olimar who crash-landed on an unknown planet, with the goal of gathering enough Sparklium to fuel the ship back into working condition. Olimar can throw Pikmin at enemies, obstacles, treasures, or puzzle elements to have them work on them. Organizing the Pikmin, multi-tasking, and strategy are not important in this game, but rather, the focus is on reflexes, a good aim, and maneuverability.

It was released on July 13^th, 2017 in Japan, July 28^th, 2017 for North America and Europe, and July 29^th, 2017 for Australia. A demo was released for the European eShop on June 22^nd, 2017, and for the Australian eShop on July 5^th, 2017. Despite being a 3DS title, Hey! Pikmin does not support stereoscopic 3D.

Plot

Ending

Warning: the following article or section contains major spoilers.

In order to get home, Captain Olimar needs to find and the Sparklium Converter. The ship does not know where the Sparklium Converter is, so the player needs to play through all eight main sectors, gathering Sparklium along the way. Once all eight sectors are finished and the Sparklium count reaches 30,000, the ship detects the Sparklium Converter in a new sector, The Final Stretch. Here, he battles against the fearsome Berserk Leech Hydroe, and after winning the fight, it is revealed that the Leech Hydroe that had taken control of the monster is holding the Sparklium Converter. After its defeat, the creature drops the ship part and then scurries away. The captain recovers the ship part, and prepares to go home.

As the ship is setting everything up for the ride, Olimar goes outside to meet the Pikmin for one final time, as him and a group of different Pikmin are frolicking around. Eventually, the ship's pod calls him over, and he sorrowfully walks away from the Pikmin. At first, they follow him, but after they realize what is happening, they stop, and stare at Olimar as he is getting beamed up into the ship's pod. As the ship takes off, the Pikmin all get inside the nearby Onion. The two blast off into space, but the Onion can only follow the ship up so far, until it stays behind. The ship keeps going, eventually activates the warp, and disappears.

After this, the credits roll. In the cutscene after the credits, a scene similar to the intro plays out, except instead of Olimar coming face to face with asteroids, he sees Hocotate in the distance. The ending finishes with the S.S. Dolphin II flying towards Olimar's home planet.

Gameplay

Gameplay happens mainly on the bottom screen, although both screens show the action. The player controls Olimar left or right on the ground and also vertically when climbing a vine, underwater, or when being held afloat by Winged Pikmin. Small ledges can be climbed up by simply walking in their direction. Captain Olimar can also deploy his jetpack, which allows the player to control him in midair left or right for a short time.

Pikmin cannot be grown in this game, but rather, they're found in the wild by Olimar, either behind foliage or obtained in short cutscenes. Because of this, enemies do not drop corpses (although they still release spirits), and just fade away shortly after being taken down. Pikmin hiding behind something will occasionally pop in and out of their hiding spot.

The player can whistle Pikmin from anywhere on the screen, which makes them run to Olimar's side, although carrier Pikmin will continue carrying. This is also the only way to add wild Pikmin to the party. Once in Olimar's group, they can be thrown by him in the direction the player taps. Unlike the main Pikmin games, the Pikmin cannot be told to idle as normal – throwing a Pikmin away to an enemy or no task in particular will just make the Pikmin walk back to Olimar. This casual walk can be ordered into a run by simply whistling. Using the jetpack will however dismiss non-Winged Pikmin on the spot, until they are called back. Entering a doorway while some Pikmin are busy carrying or fighting will also leave them idling, although they can still hold on to whatever item they are holding if the player didn't wander too far.

Pikmin that are thrown at branches from below go up through them and land on top of them. Pikmin that land close to a task like a pile of bridge fragments will automatically walk towards it and begin working on it. Enemy health is represented with a horizontal bar, unlike the pie chart of previous games. Blue Pikmin thrown while underwater are tossed in a straight line instead of an arc, and swim back to Olimar right away. This is true even if they hit an enemy, and is also the case for thrown Winged Pikmin. Other Pikmin, when thrown at enemies, will either bounce off the enemy or, if possible, latch on to it and attack repeatedly. Unlike the previous games, that show a fraction to represent how many Pikmin are needed to pick something up, some bubbles appear on top of the object, matching the number of Pikmin necessary. As Pikmin are added, the bubbles become filled one by one.

Captain Olimar lands on the stage after being beamed down by the S.S. Dolphin II's ship pod. Treasure and objects are collected by having Olimar himself touch them. Treasures involve a small cutscene that shows Olimar summoning a portal of sorts to beam up the object; after the cutscene, there's a small pause showing the treasure's name and value. After collecting a treasure, it is replaced by rainbow Sparklium Seeds if the player replays the level. The value of a new treasure isn't added to the total of Sparklium yet, but collecting the rainbow Sparklium Seed equivalent to that treasure adds the value of right away. There are two, three, or four treasures per stage, and collecting one adds its icon to the set of bubbles on the top screen's HUD.

There are more elements on the top screen's HUD. At the top-left is an icon for Olimar and some green bars, that represent his current health. This also temporarily appears next to Olimar himself every time he gets hurt, which can happen by simply touching enemies, as opposed to the main games, where leaders can only get hurt by enemy attacks. At the middle is a counter of Pikmin. This indicates the number of Pikmin alive that belong to Olimar's arsenal. If the number is white, that means all Pikmin are currently following the captain, but if the number is gray, that means some Pikmin are working or otherwise not following Olimar. If the number is flashing red, that means some Pikmin that used to belong to Olimar's group are out of reach, possibly because they got dismissed by the jetpack function. These Pikmin will die soon if the player does not get to them in time. Right next to the Pikmin counter is the local Sparklium counter, indicating how many points of Sparklium have been collected in the level. Finally, as mentioned before, the top-right has icons for the treasures in the level.

The icon on the bottom-left corner of the screen indicates the current type of Pikmin, or a red cross if there are no Pikmin ready to be thrown. It can be noted that Pikmin are never on Olimar's group with mixed maturities, as all Pikmin in the current group will mature into the bud stage when 8 Pikmin or above are collected, the Pikmin will then mature again into the flower stage upon collecting 16. If the player loses Pikmin, the maturities get updated accordingly. If all Pikmin are gone, the pod tells Olimar to whistle around parts of the stage that might contain Pikmin. Sure enough, if the player goes back to a section of the area that had hiding Pikmin, some more Pikmin will be there, and can be whistled to add to the group. This can be done any number of times. If Olimar loses all of his health or gets crushed by a rock, a cutscene showing the ship taking the unconscious captain away will be shown.

Due to the game's side-scrolling perspective, there may be paths hidden behind walls. At times, the ship's pod will interrupt gameplay to alert Captain Olimar of something, like when Pikmin are being left behind. The pod awaits for Captain Olimar at the end of the stage, who, after a triumphant pose, gets beamed up inside the pod. The Pikmin with Olimar also get beamed up, except in the tutorial stage, where they stay behind. Pikmin that get rescued at the end of the stage in this fashion will be added to the Pikmin Park. If all treasures in the stage are collected, the results screen at the end will say "Treasures Found!", but if not, it'll say "Area Explored!"

Carriable objects no longer have extra carrying slots. Once the minimum Pikmin strength is met, the object begins moving, and no more Pikmin can be added. Pikmin will carry objects down ledges, but if the fall is too great, they might refuse. If they have nowhere to go, they simply shuffle back and forth, like in the main games. Pikmin that are carrying cannot be whistled, even if they are stuck, but Pikmin that are holding on to an object without taking it anywhere can be whistled. If Pikmin are carrying something, whether they can move it or not, but Olimar walks away from them, they will eventually drop the object and start running after the captain. Carrier Pikmin trying to take an item to Olimar may turn back if they bump against a ledge down or a bridge, even if built.

Long drops down will cause the captain to start teetering at the edge if the player pushes against the edge. Letting go off that direction and pressing again will bypass this teetering and force Captain Olimar to fall down. This can be used to fall into the pit.

In the overworld, the player can enter any area they have unlocked. Areas are unlocked by completing the one that came before. Some secret areas require the player to find secret exits before they become unlocked.

Area skipping

If Captain Olimar is killed too many times in a row when exploring a new area, or if the player has been on it for 30 minutes, the game gives the player the opportunity to skip the area and try the next one instead. Boss battle areas cannot be skipped.

When Captain Olimar is killed, the S.S. Dolphin II's pod beams him up, and the game asks the player if they want to try the area again. By dying five times in the same area in a row, and picking the retry option each time, when the area finishes loading for the sixth try, the pod will interrupt and inform Olimar that it found a new area for them to explore. If the player ever wishes to skip the current area and try the next one, the pause menu will replace the usual "Return to Area Select" option with a pink "Go to the next area" button. This button triggers the area completion results screen, and acts as if the player reached the standard end of the area, with nothing collected and no Pikmin gathered.

Interestingly, skipping First Expedition will give the player the jetpack anyway. The game keeps track of the number of deaths in a row the player has suffered, but if the player returns to the area selection screen, the counter is reset. The tutorial gameplay section that takes place after the introduction cutscene cannot be skipped, as it is not a normal area, and has no way for Olimar to die. Areas that have already been explored (whether they were skipped or not) cannot be skipped.

Content

Pikmin

The Onion in the Pikmin Park. Purple and white colors can be seen in its swirly pattern.

This game introduces no new Pikmin types, instead using the same types as Pikmin 3.

Red Pikmin – The first type found. They are resistant to fire, and if thrown onto a pit of fire, they stomp out the flames.
Yellow Pikmin – resistant to electricity, are able to activate electric currents, and are thrown higher.
Blue Pikmin – can survive and swim underwater.
Rock Pikmin – have rock-hard bodies and can smash through crystals. They are not immune to crushing.
Winged Pikmin – can fly over hazards like water. Can be used to help Olimar glide around, and can also lift some obstacles that stand in the way.

Purple Pikmin and White Pikmin are not present in Hey! Pikmin, but oddly enough, the Onion has some purple and white liquid inside it (along with red, yellow, blue, gray, and pink), indicating that it has Purple and White Pikmin inside.

Areas

See: Sector

Areas in this game are organized into groups called "sectors". When an area is entered, the ship's pod drops Captain Olimar at the starting point, and then picks him up again on the other end of the area. Some areas have a secondary exit, and taking this one will instead lead to an extra area, as opposed to the next standard area in the sector.

Treasures

Some flower Red Pikmin carrying a trophy.

See: Treasure#Treasures in Hey! Pikmin

Treasures are the main collectible in Hey! Pikmin. They provide a lot of Sparklium, much more than Sparklium Seeds, and as such, are vital to Olimar's mission. Treasures are collected by having Olimar touch them. Since he can't always go up to the treasure directly, he'll sometimes need the Pikmin to bring it to him.

Enemies

The Mockiwi is one of the new enemies in the series, and one of the most common ones in the game.

See: Enemy#In Hey! Pikmin

The enemies in Hey! Pikmin are the natural wildlife in the planet. Most of them want to eat the Pikmin, and others just want to kill them, but a handful of them are harmless. Almost all enemies in this game can kill Pikmin or damage Olimar simply by touching them. Larger enemies, referred to as bosses, appear on the final area of each sector.

Interactive objects

Clover: If there are Pikmin behind them, these clovers are seen rustling, and when Olimar whistles in range, the Pikmin pop out.
Bridge fragment: bridge fragments return in this game, and can be carried by Pikmin in order for them to form a bridge. Sometimes, the Pikmin must pull on a fragment for a bit before it's wedged free. This is used to ensure the Pikmin don't all bring fragments to the bridge at the same time.
Fire: fire can be stomped out by Red Pikmin to allow safe passage.
Water: Olimar and Blue Pikmin are able to freely swim in bodies of water in any direction.
Wooden stake: these blocks can be weighed down by Pikmin in order to allow passage. The number of Pikmin required to push it down is shown as circles below the top of the block, which fill in for each Pikmin the player places on it.
Electrode: loose wire can be connected together with a line of Yellow Pikmin. This allows nearby flowers to bloom and the area to be lit up. It is unknown yet how this benefits the player.
Iron block: this object can be pushed by Pikmin in order to use it as a platform or free a passage. The more Pikmin the player has pushing it, the faster it is moved.
Vine: vines can be climbed by Olimar or the Pikmin to reach higher or lower ground.
Doorway: a door that Olimar and the Pikmin can enter. It brings them to a new room on the flip-side of the area, and a different doorway can be used to return to the "front" side.
Heart: small heart-like objects that can be picked up by Olimar, or carried by the Pikmin. They regenerate one point of Olimar's health, or all of it, depending on the size. They can sometimes be found floating in the air.
Sparklium Seed: a golden seed like-object that can be collected by Olimar. Pikmin can also pick up these seeds and bring them to Olimar. Seeds that are not collected after some seconds begin flashing, and some more time afterwards, they disappear. They can also be found floating in the air sometimes. Each one adds some amount to the Sparklium total, depending on the size.
Golden flower: this large golden flower can be hit by Pikmin to release multiple Sparklium Seeds. Once hit it begins to wither away until it vanishes, so the player needs to hit it several times quickly to get the most out of it.
Dirt blocks: blocks of sand or dirt that can be crumbled simply by having a single Pikmin thrown at them. Most Pikmin bounce back after hitting one, but Rock Pikmin continue flying, and can smash multiple blocks this way.
Trowel: a gardening trowel with its blade buried in the ground. Throwing several Pikmin at it will make it topple forward, creating a path. A yellow progress bar similar to an enemy's health appears on top of it to indicate topple progress.
Elevator platforms: elevator platforms return in this game, looking similar to how they do in Pikmin 3.
Liftable rock: a large stone with vines entwined around it. Winged Pikmin can grab onto the top of the object and lift it to clear the way, or to give Olimar himself a lift.
Crystal: crystals return, and serve to block the way forward. Like in Pikmin 3, they can be broken by tossed Rock Pikmin.
Electric gate: electric gates return, and keep their Pikmin 3 appearance, except they are much larger than in Pikmin 3.
Bouncy Mushroom: Bouncy Mushrooms return, but are much smaller.

Vegetation

See: Vegetation#Hey! Pikmin

Characters

Pikmin Park

Main article: Pikmin Park.

When the player finishes an area with Pikmin behind them, those Pikmin get beamed into the Ship's Pod as well, and are then placed at the Pikmin Park. Once there, they can be assigned to work on tasks to clean up the park. In doing so, they may uncover some extra treasures or stashes of Sparklium Seeds. Some types of clutter can only be cleared out by specific Pikmin types. This menu can also be used to evolve the Pikmin amiibo.

amiibo compatibility

The Pikmin amiibo.

Main article: amiibo.

Some amiibo are usable with Hey! Pikmin. Scanning a compatible amiibo while on the area selection screen will make it appear on one of the world map's secret spots. That secret spot can then be entered, and somewhere in that area, the amiibo can be recovered and collected, like a treasure. The following amiibo work for this: the Olimar Smash series amiibo, the Pikmin amiibo, the amiibo from the Mario series (waves 1 and 2, including the Gold and Silver editions of Mario), the amiibo from the Animal Crossing series, and the amiibo from the Splatoon series (waves 1 and 2).

In-game, if the player pauses and uses the amiibo option, they can scan the Pikmin amiibo or the Olimar amiibo to summon a number of Pikmin directly to Olimar's side. In the case of Olimar's amiibo, only four appear, but for the Pikmin amiibo, the number of Pikmin summoned is related to the amiibo's level, which can be increased in the Pikmin Park. This summoning feature can only be used once per area, and leaving the area or retrying will allow players to summon again.

Scanning any other amiibo will give the player some Sparklium. This can only be done once per day.

Controls

Main article: Controls#Hey! Pikmin.

Captain Olimar can be moved about using , , or / / / . Unlike most games where an analog stick controls the character, holding the stick farther away or closer to the center will not make Olimar move faster or slower. Pikmin are thrown by tapping at the bottom screen – the Pikmin is thrown in the direction of the tap, and the farther the tap is from Olimar, the farther the Pikmin is thrown. When the stylus is on the screen, the Pikmin is held, and a crosshair appears under the stylus that can be dragged around, so it's the release that effectively throws the Pikmin, much like the "throw" button in the main games. The whistle and the jetpack are activated by tapping on-screen buttons present on the bottom of the touch screen. To go inside a doorway, the player must place Olimar in front of it and input "up" on one of the movement buttons or sticks.

or can be used to toggle the radar, which is not available from the start of the game. The game reminds the player of this on the top screen if Olimar stands still for a few seconds. Dialog is advanced by tapping on the screen, but tapping the screen while the text is being written out will cause it to write out all at once.

It is still possible to grab Pikmin that Olimar should not be able to reach, as long as they are considered in the group. This can be seen by letting the Pikmin fall to a lower level right at the start of 3-A, but keeping Olimar on an upper level. A held Pikmin can be released if the player drags the stylus to one of the buttons on the bottom. This will activate the button, but since the button that represents the standby Pikmin's type does not do anything, moving the stylus there makes it possible to release the Pikmin without doing anything else.

Lists

Soundtrack

See: Music in Hey! Pikmin

References to other series

See: References to other series in Hey! Pikmin

Regional differences

See: Region#Hey! Pikmin

Glitches

See: Glitches in Hey! Pikmin

Prerelease information

See: Hey! Pikmin prerelease information

Unused content

See: Hey! Pikmin unused content

History

Development

The game was first revealed in a Nintendo Direct on September 1^st, 2016, where it was given the working name Pikmin for Nintendo 3DS. The video showed some gameplay footage and information.^[1]

More information about the game was shown on the April 12^th, 2017 Nintendo Direct, where its name was confirmed to be Hey! Pikmin, and where it was given its July 28^th, 2017 release date.^[2]

On May 5^th, 2017, a few different gaming news representatives managed to play Hey! Pikmin in a hands-on event. This version of the game features 3 areas: a basic one focusing on the Red Pikmin, a cave area focusing on the Yellow Pikmin and their throw height, and a mostly underwater area focusing on the Blue Pikmin and multidirectional movement.

On June 7^th, 2017, a Japanese trailer was released, explaining a bit of the game's plot, and showcasing new enemies, treasures, and other content.^[3]

The game's official website, http://heypikmin.nintendo.com, was launched on June 29^th, 2017.

Nintendo Summer of Play

During the 2017 Nintendo Summer of Play event, Hey! Pikmin was one of the games available to try out. Players could get their hands on a Nintendo 3DS with the game's demo and play it.^[4] This demo is slightly different from the eShop demo – which was released some days after – in that it has different introduction text, no limit on the number of times it can be opened, and no button to open the full game's eShop page.

Release

The game released in Japan on July 13^th, 2017.

eShop demo

A demo of the game was launched before the game's release, on the European eShop, on June 22^nd, 2017, on the Australian eShop on July 5^th, 2017, and on the US eShop on July 13^th, 2017. At the title screen, players can choose which "file" they want to play: "(A) Intro & Tutorial", "(B) 1-A: First Expedition", and "(C) 3-A: Crystal Tunnels". Players can only open it 30 times, but completing a stage allows the player to return to the title screen without using up one usage. Pressing or during gameplay has no effect.

Like in the final game, the Sparklium counter on the HUD caps at 999 per area, which can be seen by constantly defeating the Mockiwi that come out of the hole in First Expedition.^[5] This makes it impossible to reach the 30,000 Sparklium goal in the demo.

Connections to other games

Credits

See: Hey! Pikmin credits

Media

Trailers

Gallery

See more: Hey! Pikmin images category.

The S.S. Dolphin 2 pod which drops Captain Olimar into the area.
Captain Olimar and two icons, with a whistle on one of them.
Captain Olimar using his whistle.
Some Red Pikmin.
When Red Pikmin are following Captain Olimar, a new icon with a Red Pikmin appears.
The player can throw a Pikmin by touching a part of the lower screen.
Some Red Pikmin building a bridge using fragments.
Some bud Pikmin.
A collection of several Pikmin, an Onion, and the ship.
A Famitsu June 2017 issue scan. Among other things, it shows Olimar sliding down a snowy slope.
Another scan, explaining, among other things, that throwing Pikmin on top of an enemy will make the Pikmin pummel and continue causing damage.
Another scan. In this page, the world map is visible. A button in that screenshot reads 図鑑^?, or "picture book" – this is the same name given to the Piklopedia.
Another scan. This page shows each Pikmin type's strength.
The upper screen shows Captain Olimar's health, the number of Pikmin following him, and other unknown features.
Red Pikmin showing their resistance to fire.
Yellow Pikmin.
Some Yellow Pikmin showing their ability to conduct electricity.
Some Pikmin pushing an obstacle similar to a cardboard box.
The unnamed electric bug creating light and an electric field around it.
A Mockiwi emerging from a hole.
Artwork of Olimar throwing Pikmin.
Artwork of some Pikmin attacking the yellow bird enemy.
Artwork of Winged Pikmin carrying Olimar.
Artwork of Olimar and the Pikmin.
Artwork of the chess piece.
Artwork of Pikmin from the front.
Artwork of a Red Pikmin, a Yellow Pikmin, and a Blue Pikmin.
Artwork of Captain Olimar.
Logo for the game.
Japanese boxart.
Hey! Pikmin European boxart.jpg

European boxart.

Trivia

This is the first Pikmin game in which Olimar is able to swim freely in water, as well as climb up vines.
This is the first Pikmin game to be released in Dutch.
This game shares Japanese anniversary days with Pikmin 3.
The dance Captain Olimar makes at the end of each area is the same as the one at the end of Occupational Hazards, although with fewer spins.
This is the first Pikmin game to not introduce a new type of Pikmin.

External links

References

^ YouTube video of the Nintendo Direct where the game is revealed (at 31:25)
^ YouTube video of the Nintendo Direct where the game title and released dates were announced (at 00:38)
^ YouTube video of the Japanese trailer
^ YouTube video of the Nintendo Summer of Play demo's intro and tutorial
^ YouTube video showing the Sparklium counter capping at 999

Navigation

[1] YouTube video of the Nintendo Direct where the game is revealed (at 31:25)

[2] YouTube video of the Nintendo Direct where the game title and released dates were announced (at 00:38)

[3] YouTube video of the Japanese trailer

[4] YouTube video of the Nintendo Summer of Play demo's intro and tutorial

[5] YouTube video showing the Sparklium counter capping at 999

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Games
Main games	Pikmin • Pikmin 2 • Pikmin 3 • Pikmin 4
Spin-off games	Hey! Pikmin • Pikmin Bloom
Re-releases	New Play Control! Pikmin • New Play Control! Pikmin 2 Pikmin 3 Deluxe • Pikmin 1 (Nintendo Switch) • Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch)
Web games	Pikmin.com SpaceForce • Pikmin Treasure Hunt • Pikmin Finder
Super Smash Bros. series	Brawl • for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U • Ultimate
Others	Pikmin Adventure (Nintendo Land) • Stage Debut