Enemy
The Pikmin have several enemies in PNF-404. With some exceptions, these are either predators or prey, and they have varied characteristics and appearances. Defeated enemies that leave a corpse can be returned to an Onion or the Research Pod to exchange for Pikmin seeds or Pokos. Enemies that don't leave a corpse upon being defeated normally drop some spoils, like pellets (provided they haven't been petrified, in which case, they drop some nectars or sprays), or important items, like ship parts.
Predator enemies have varied attacks, and some take the advantage of hazards to cause damage to Pikmin who are not immune to them. Offensively, enemies either eat Pikmin or maim them with attacks, both melee and projectile-based, and with effects that range from pushing the Pikmin off to outright killing them.
Other enemies are incapable of directly killing Pikmin, and are instead hunted by them.
Bosses
Some particular types of enemies are larger or stronger than the other, more common ones, but appear less frequently. These are known as bosses, and normally only one or two of each type appear in the entire game. Given that battles against them are usually more difficult, the rewards tend to be better, such as a large number of Pikmin seeds, Pokos, or an important story-related item. In Pikmin, defeated bosses do not respawn. In Pikmin there are 3 bosses, 2 of which have their own track. Those 2 being the Beady Long Legs and Emperor Bulblax. The Smoky Progg is a secret boss. The Puffstool, Mamuta and Goolix are mid-bosses. Pikmin 2 has the most bosses (being 12) and 10 of them share the same music track. Exceptions are the Waterwraith's 2nd form (without rollers), the Giant Breadbug and the Titan Dweevil. In Pikmin 3, the bosses are actually called bosses in game. There are 6 of them in the game. The music track is changed and plays 3 different stings, "normal", "danger" (when the boss attacks) and "attack chance". The only exclusive tracks belong to the Vehemoth Phosbat and the Plasm Wraith. In Mission Mode you can challenge the bosses to get a medal. There are 3 mid-bosses in the game. They are the Shaggy Long Legs, Bug-eyed Crawmad and the Burrowing Snagret. The mid-boss theme in this game is the boss theme from Pikmin 2. The Calcified Crushblat and Peckish Aristocrab are in between regular enemy and mid-boss.
"| Boss | Time Given | Bronze | Silver | Gold | Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armored Mawdad | 8:00 | ? | ? | ? | 2:00 |
| Vehemoth Phosbat | 15:00 | ? | ? | ? | 5:00 |
| Sandbelching Meerslug | 12:00 | ? | ? | ? | 3:00 |
| Scornet Maestro | 10:00 | ? | ? | ? | 3:00 |
| Quaggled Mireclops | 15:00 | ? | ? | ? | 5:00 |
| Plasm Wraith | 12:00 | ? | ? | ? | 5:00 |
The definition of a boss in the Pikmin series is not very clear. The most commonly held definition is that an enemy is considered a boss if it only appears in a few and specific spots in the game, it is stronger than other enemies and/or it guards an important item. Most bosses do have a specific or shared music theme, but this is not always the case.
A list of bosses can be found here.
Behavior
Most enemies roam around in a specific location of the area, leaving only to chase after or run away from Pikmin or leaders. Some enemies are quite dedicated to their initial spots, returning to it after wandering too far. The locations in which enemies can be found sometimes depends on their nature. For instance, the fur-coated Hairy Bulborbs are better suited to cold environments, and as such, as commonly found in ice-themed caves.
Some creatures keep a bond with others. To maximize the chances of survival, some enemies can be seen next to others, and oftentimes, interacting with them when a fight for survival is taking place. Dwarf Red Bulborbs, Dwarf Bulbears, etc. are often found next to larger enemies of the same species or similar ones (in those examples, Red Bulborbs and Spotty Bulbears, respectively). When under attack, they may scream in order to wake up their larger allies. Other creatures choose to follow a leader, normally of their own kind. An example is the Bulbmin, who lose all sense of control should their leader perish.
Hostility between enemies is non-existent, but cases of enemies damaging each other are not. Some enemies may, if inadvertently, hurt others. This normally happens when they try to kill Pikmin or leaders. Examples include the Empress Bulblax killing her young, Gatling Groinks damaging other enemies with their shots, and Decorated Cannon Beetle boulders harming other enemies or even the launcher itself.
Enemies are normally killed by Pikmin attacks, which becomes easier the more Pikmin are attacking. They can also inadvertently kill themselves by ingesting White Pikmin, falling off pits, or rarely, by coming into contact with certain hazards.
In-game
|
To do: If it's different, specify enemy intelligence and behavior in Pikmin 3. |
In the games, enemies locations are relatively evenly spread, in order to maximize the balance between exploration and combat, as to not overwhelm the player. More important locations, however, are generally covered by stronger enemies, requiring the player to excel in combat skill if they are to obtain the rewards that lie behind them. Analogously, easier enemies are encountered closer to the landing sites and the first floors of caves.
Enemies that are killed do not reappear in the same day, whether they leave a corpse or not. Most enemies do however respawn after one or more in-game days have passed. In addition, some only appear in specific days, as is the case with the Goolix and the Mamuta on The Impact Site. Besides respawning, some enemies can actually revive after they've been considered dead, and a few have a natural HP regeneration mechanic.
Intelligence-wise, enemies have a very simplistic artificial intelligence system. Some bosses are hard-coded to perform more specific actions and reply to more specific events, but for the most part, enemies can recognize the presence of a Pikmin, when to attack, when to shake Pikmin off, when to return to their home spot, and not much else. On top of that, their path recognition systems are non-existent: when they want to reach a spot, they head directly towards it, with no regard to any walls or obstacles. This can lead to them getting stuck behind walls, endlessly walking in place.
This simplicity, however, is required to minimize the development costs and the processor usage, given that more complex path recognition systems could end up lowering the game's framerate. Another trick to minimize processor usage is to simply not render or recognize any enemy that lies beyond the camera's reach. These tricks allow the game to run smoothly without severely compromising the game and the enemies' livelihood.
List
The following is a list of enemies in the Pikmin series. Names in bold belong to enemies that are considered bosses. You may also browse the available categories on Pikipedia, like Category:Enemies.
Enemies in Pikmin
Category: Pikmin 1 enemies
Enemies in Pikmin 2
Category: Pikmin 2 enemies. Read Piklopedia for a more detailed list.
Enemies in Pikmin 3
|
To do: Bold the bosses. |
Category: Pikmin 3 enemies
Enemy reel
- Main article: Enemy reel.
The enemy reel is a special movie at the end of Pikmin. It showcases short clips featuring all enemies in the game, accompanied by a minor description of each.
Piklopedia
- Main article: Piklopedia.
The Piklopedia is a catalog of enemies and plants, available before entering an area at the start of a day in Pikmin 2. This list is filled with enemy entries as they are killed in the game. Each entry also details the amount of Pokos the enemy is worth, how many of them have been killed so far, Olimar and Louie's notes, and it allows the player to view them roaming around and eat thrown Pikpik carrots, using a free camera mode.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Portuguese (NoE) |
Inimigo | Enemy | Translation taken from the Pikmin instruction manual. |