Pikmin 2

Glitches in Pikmin 2

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This article or section needs to be updated.
Notes: Every glitch needs to be checked to see if it works in Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch).

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 2.
Particularly: Analyze and document these.

This is a collection of glitches possible in Pikmin 2, as well as in New Play Control! Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch).

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

Main[edit]

Carrying charge[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
High Helpful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
Twitter video
  • Effects: Makes an object be carried faster than normal.
  • Prerequisites: Have ultra-spicy sprays.
  • How to: Get some leaf or bud Pikmin and spray them with ultra-spicy spray. Then, issue them onto the object you want to carry. It doesn't matter if they are holding on without moving, or if they are carrying it away. When the spray wears off, whistle the Pikmin back. The object will be "charged" with some extra speed value, making it get carried faster than normal. This can be repeated any number of times to increase the speed value more and more.
  • Notes: When an object is being carried quickly enough, it can go up walls. An object that is "charged" a lot and is being carried by Pikmin stuck moving in a circle can have a massive jolt in a random direction when a carrier is added or removed. By repeatedly "charging" the Decorative Goo from inside the Blue Pikmin's den and manipulating these jolts, it is possible to have the object be carried over the gate. Since the speed value comes from a Pikmin changing its speed bonus mid-carry, a "charge" can also be obtained by having a Withering Blowhog attack flower carrier Pikmin (even if non-Purple Pikmin let go right after), or by having a leaf Pikmin carry something and get powered up by the flower power in 2-Player Battle. The latter will decrease the speed as opposed to increase it.
  • Possible explanation: See Carry#Speed.

Crushing glitch[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration Other demonstrations
Low Harmful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
Demonstration of the glitch, at 3:20. Crushing glitch with the Science Project: 1, 2
  • Effects: Makes a Pikmin vanish instantly by being crushed.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: When an enemy is defeated and falls to the ground, there is a chance that a nearby Pikmin will mysteriously vanish without leaving a soul or making a sound. There are several enemies that have this happen more frequently than others, and it also happens with more regularity when swarming enemies rather than throwing Pikmin at them. It can also happen with pellets and treasures.
  • Notes: This glitch can also happen in Pikmin.
  • Possible explanation: When falling down, enemies will push any nearby Pikmin downwards and to the side. If the collision is just right, there's a chance that the downward push is too strong and the Pikmin falls to the ground, where it instantly dies shortly after.

Drowning reset[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
Low Helpful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
  • Effects: Makes a non-Blue Pikmin swim for however long the glitch is done.
  • Prerequisites: Have Blue Pikmin.
  • How to: Non-Blue Pikmin drown after swimming for a while. If you have an idle Blue Pikmin grab the swimming Pikmin, the latter's swimming time will reset. You can call the Blue Pikmin to you in order to avoid having it throw the swimming Pikmin onto land, and you can continue doing this to cross any body of water.
  • Notes: A similar glitch can also be done in Pikmin, but the method is different.
  • Possible explanation: To make sure that a Blue Pikmin's rescue attempt is successful, as to prevent the player from being robbed out of a life save that seemed guaranteed, and in order to avoid having to deal with the Blue Pikmin carrying a Pikmin that's dying, the game resets the time the swimming Pikmin has left the second the Blue Pikmin grabs it. This prevents the swimming Pikmin from dying. If the throw is canceled, the Blue Pikmin will not throw the swimming Pikmin, but the latter's swimming time will still have been reset.

High ledge trick[edit]

Main article: Throw#High ledge glitch.

Instant bridge[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
High Helpful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
13:10 of part 3 of the current Speed Demos Archive speedrun, by Charles Griffin
  • Effects: Makes a bridge's 2nd+ sections be constructed instantly.
  • Prerequisites: You should not have visited this area before.
  • How to: Simply enter a cave and get out, or end the day and come back to the area on a later day. When you then issue Pikmin to work on the bridge, the current stage the bridge is in will be worked on as normal, but all other stages will be built instantly.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: When the area is exited, the game saves some information about it, including the current stage of each bridge. When the area is entered again, it loads the saved data, and changes the bridge to match the saved stage. However, it gives that stage's health a value of 3000 and all other stages are left with 0 health. Even at 0 health, the game only updates the stage of the bridge once Pikmin attack it during that stage.

Napsack warp[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Depends Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
  • Effects: Makes a leader warp to the nearest carrying path waypoint.
  • Prerequisites: Have the Napsack, and have a way to fall underneath the map such as by going out of bounds with a seesaw block clip.
  • How to: Fall underneath the map and lie down while falling. If done correctly, this will warp you to the nearest carrying path waypoint.
  • Notes: There's an invisible plane underneath every level that kills any enemies or Pikmin that fall into the pit. Due to the erratic nature of how a leader falls when lying down, it is possible that the leader will touch this plane instead of just the plane that relocates treasures. If this happens, the leader will become frozen. This happens deterministically depending on the fall speed and exact position of your leader when the respective planes are touched, but given the precision involved it's generally regarded as impossible to avoid this happening with 100% consistency. Roughly 20% of the time this will occur when performing Napsack Warps regardless of location.
  • What would happen normally: When falling out of bounds, the intended behavior is that you will be warped to the default failsafe location, which is always near the ship. This will also happen if the leader touches the pit without lying down.
  • Possible explanation: When a leader has used the Napsack, they are treated as if they are a treasure for certain interactions. There's another invisible plane underneath every level that warps treasures back in-bounds in case they fall into the void, and triggering this interaction on a leader is what causes this glitch.

Seesaw block clip[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
High Helpful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
2:20 and 5:25 of part 7 of the current Speed Demos Archive speedrun, by Charles Griffin
  • Effects: Allows a leader to clip inside a seesaw block, after which they can go out of bounds.
  • Prerequisites: Have an available cutscene that can be triggered, for example a treasure collection cutscene or a Pikmin hazard introduction cutscene.
  • How to: Place a leader on a lowered seesaw block. Then throw some Pikmin onto the other block and trigger a cutscene while the blocks are still moving. After the cutscene is over, the leader that was standing on the block will be inside of it. You can also clip into the seesaw blocks in Perplexing Pool near Glutton's Kitchen without the use of a cutscene by lying down on top of the southern block of the pair, while against its southern edge, while it is raised.[1] This is the only known location where you can clip inside a seesaw block this way.
  • Notes: You must let the cutscene play out for about one second – if you skip the cutscene immediately, the clip won't work. This glitch can be used to get out of bounds in nearly every location where a seesaw block is present. When used in combination with a Napsack warp you can reach unintended locations such as the Blue Onion area before breaking the electric gate blocking it.
  • Possible explanation: During most cutscenes, leaders and non-treasure-related Pikmin are frozen in place so disasters can't happen while the player is unable to take action. Some objects continue to move though, such as the seesaw blocks. Because the leader's position doesn't move while the block does, it engulfs the leader and places them inside it after the cutscene is finished.

Sped up punching[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Helpful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
  • Effects: Makes a leader punch twice as fast.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Simply punch while moving. Rotating in place also works. You should attack roughly twice as fast as if you were standing still.
  • Notes: This also applies to the Rocket Fist's extra punches.
  • Possible explanation: Olimar/Louie's running animation speed depends on how fast he's moving. The punching animations get affected by this as well.

Spray duplication[edit]

Demonstration of the glitch.
Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Helpful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
  • Effects: Duplicates the amount of sprays gained by absorbing a spray drop.
  • Prerequisites: Have sprays unlocked.
  • How to: Find a droplet of spray, the color is irrelevant for the glitch. Dismiss all your Pikmin. Now you have to make it so that the leader you're not controlling starts absorbing the spray, and you absorb it as well before it's fully gone. The easiest way is to place one of your leaders close to the spray drop, then switch to the other leader and place him on the other side of the drop, so that both leaders and the drop are aligned. Call the idle leader, and just as he crosses the drop, dismiss. That leader should start absorbing, and before he finishes, touch the spray with your current leader. Alternate methods include pushing the idle leader into the drop, or running towards the drop at full speed with one leader, and just before he touches it, switch leaders; the momentum of the run should make him touch it.
  • Notes: It is not possible to perform this glitch if the other leader is in your party, so dismissing is necessary.
  • Possible explanation: The game is programmed to ignore all input from a leader that's absorbing a spray. That's why it's not normally possible to switch to another leader while absorbing. However, if a leader touches a drop without being the current leader, he'll still absorb it (but only if he's not on the other leader's group). The game increases the number of sprays whenever a leader finishes his absorbing animation. So if both leaders do it, the game increases it two times.

Pikmin-related[edit]

Cave death count glitch[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Medium Harmful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Increases the number of Pikmin deaths without killing the corresponding Pikmin.
  • Prerequisites: Be in a cave that has water, poison or fire hazards, and have Pikmin that are not immune to those hazards.
  • How to: When your Pikmin are choking or burning due to a water, poison or fire hazard, their deaths are accounted for exactly when they make their last scream. While they are too far gone to save by the whistle at this point, they aren't exactly dead yet. If you go into a geyser or hole, you can see them jump into it with the bubbles, gas, or flames on them, albeit alive. On the next sublevel, they'll be perfectly normal. However, when you complete the cave, you'll notice that their deaths were accounted for in the number of total deaths. If you do it several times throughout the sublevels, you can even have over 100 deaths in a single cave run.
  • Notes: This glitched number of deaths in the cave will also add to your Pikmin death save file total. It's also possible for a Pikmin to catch on fire during the cutscene, if there's a geyser nearby. But this will neither kill the Pikmin or change the death count. This can also rarely happen if Pikmin die from falling off an abyss.[2]
  • Possible explanation: The game counts a death when a Pikmin makes its last cry, even though the creature's object still exists on the map. Normally, it's impossible to save it when it's doing its last cry, though. But when entering a hole or a geyser, the game forces all Pikmin objects to jump in, regardless of their state. When loading the next sublevel, the game creates new Pikmin objects, basing itself on the previous objects' maturity, color, etc., but not their state (choking/burning).

Crushed Pikmin in cutscene[edit]

A glitch in Pikmin 2 where crushed Pikmin jump down a sublevel.
Demonstration of the glitch. The Pikmin on the bottom-left are very flat.
Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
  • Effects: Causes crushed Pikmin to appear in the sublevel transition cutscene.
  • Prerequisites: Have something that is able to crush Pikmin on the sublevel, such as the Armored Cannon Larva in sublevel 3 of Subterranean Complex.
  • How to: Be near a hole to the next sublevel in a cave, and have something on the floor that is able to squish Pikmin, such as a boulder. Have the Pikmin be squished by the object (or enemy) and enter the hole right afterwards. If you enter quickly enough, the squished Pikmin will be there in the cutscene, and will appear squished.
  • Notes: The crushed Pikmin will not die when you arrive at the next sublevel, nor will they be counted for the total of deaths.
  • Possible explanation: In caves, when the player enters the next sublevel, all living Pikmin that are not buried in the ground are automatically teleported to the leader. And, because Pikmin do not die instantly after they are crushed, there is a small window where the game considers them alive, which can be used to keep them alive in the cutscene. And because the cutscene doesn't expect the Pikmin to be different from normal, it doesn't fix the fact that they are squashed, thus, making them appear flat in the cutscene.

Disappearance without death[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
High Harmful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video (at 4:33)
  • Effects: Causes a Pikmin to disappear without being counted as a death.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Be near a cave entrance hole, and have a Pikmin ready to be captured by an enemy. It can be a simple capture like a Swooping Snitchbug's grab, or something more lethal, like a Red Bulborb's bite. As soon as the Pikmin squeals, and before the Pikmin dies, enter the cave. The Pikmin will still be shown entering the cave in the cutscene, but will not be really present inside. When the day is over, the Pikmin count reveals that that Pikmin is gone, but not counted as a death.
  • Notes: A similar glitch can happen in caves; if the player throws a non-yellow Pikmin onto an electric wire, and quickly exits from the cave as it jolts back, but before dying, the Pikmin will disappear, but will not add to the death count.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Fake Pikmin extinction[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
Medium Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
  • Effects: Makes the game announce a Pikmin extinction, without any single Pikmin death.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Go near the entrance of a cave with Pikmin on your party. When you're ready, press the X Button on the GameCube controller / the C Button on the Nunchuk / the X Button on the Switch and the A Button on the GameCube controller / the A Button on the Wii Remote / the A Button on the Switch at the same time, preferably the dismiss button slightly before. The cave chart will say you have all the Pikmin with you, but they should be idle. Confirm that you wish to enter the cave. After the falling cutscene, the game should announce a Pikmin extinction.
  • Notes: Because no Pikmin died, it will not affect the total number of Pikmin deaths. When you return to the overworld, all the Pikmin will be inside the Onions and Ship.
  • What would happen normally: The game should recognize that no Pikmin will enter, and claim it's too dangerous to go in without any Pikmin.
  • Possible explanation: For each frame, the code to dismiss the Pikmin comes after the code that updates their counter. As such, when the game is paused by the cave entering confirmation dialog box, it processes only what happened on that frame. And on that frame, the game tried to update the counter: all Pikmin are still in the party, so the counter indicates over 0 Pikmin (and the message box uses this value as well). However, after the counter updater code comes the dismiss code. Because the dismiss button was pressed on that frame as well, the game runs the code that dismisses all Pikmin and turns them pale. Normally, the game would update the counter on the next frame, but because the game is paused by the message box, the counter is only updated when the game returns to normal, i.e. when the cave exploration starts. When this happens, the game realizes there are 0 Pikmin and the player is inside a cave, so it triggers a Pikmin extinction.

Lifeguards through the bridge[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Helpful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
  • Effects: Makes a Blue Pikmin save a drowning non-Blue, through a bridge.
  • Prerequisites: Have a built bridge and Blue Pikmin.
  • How to: Leave some Blue Pikmin idle on top of a bridge. Then, throw some non-Blues under the Blue Pikmin. After a bit, the Blues will grab the drowning Pikmin through the bridge, and throw them to safety.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: Normally, lifeguard Blue Pikmin that are close to drowning Pikmin don't have anything in between. As such, the check for whether a Blue Pikmin should rescue a drowning one doesn't take into account walls, objects or bridges. All that's needed is for the Blue and the drowning Pikmin to be close enough to one another.

Negative Pikmin born[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: ?
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
  • Effects: Saves a negative number of Pikmin born to the high scores menu.
  • Prerequisites: Have not lost five or more Pikmin of the type you're saving the score for.
  • How to: Convert all but one of your Red, Yellow, or Blue Pikmin to another type using Candypop Buds, and then either repay the debt or collect the final treasure. A negative value will be saved to your high score of Pikmin born for that type.
  • Notes: The number is displayed the same way as a blank entry but can be differentiated in that it will be displayed above other records instead of being replaced. This glitch does not work with Purple or White Pikmin.
  • Possible explanation: The five wild Pikmin you get when unlocking a type do not count towards the high score. When you convert a Pikmin to another type, the number of Pikmin born of its original type is reduced by 1. By converting more Pikmin to other types than the number you sprouted yourself, the number of Pikmin born becomes negative.

Non-Blue Pikmin underwater during cutscenes[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Medium Helpful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes non Blue Pikmin survive in water for a few seconds, allowing the player to retrieve treasures without Blues.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Simply trigger a cutscene that does not pause the game (like the sunset warning or a new cave). While the cutscene is playing, non-Blue Pikmin will ignore water. If timed right, you can retrieve treasures without Blues. The effects continue for a few seconds after the cutscene ends. If you trigger several cutscenes at once, you can keep the glitch going for longer.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: The waterboxes might be unloaded during cutscenes.

Pikmin stuck under bridge[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Medium Harmful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes a Pikmin become stuck under a bridge, without dying.
  • Prerequisites: Have a partially built bridge that's close to the water, such as the one in the Awakening Wood near the Unmarked Spectralids or the one in the Perplexing Pool, near the Citadel of Spiders.
  • How to: There are two ways for the glitch to happen. One way is to throw Purple Pikmin on top of Sheargrubs (Awakening Wood) or a Cloaking Burrow-nit (Wistful Wild) that are chewing at a bridge that is not fully constructed. If you did it right, the Pikmin and carcass will fall through the bridge and onto the water, sometimes the former will stand on top of the latter, and not drown. Something similar can also happen with a Yellow Wollywog, on the Perplexing Pool, though the creature will remain on top of the bridge. The second way to pull off the glitch is when a non-Blue Pikmin "swims" underneath a bridge, or if the bridge is constructed on top of them.
  • Notes: To release the stuck Pikmin, you should push them with your leader, as they cannot be whistled, or go into a cave. Wollywogs and Yellow Wollywogs can also get stuck under bridges in the same way; this too is rare.
  • Possible explanation: Deconstructed bridge sections have collision data that's sub-optimal, because they're meant to be temporary things. As such, collisions that involve bridge sections sometimes fail. Pikmin can survive drowning because, again, the bridge section's poor collision makes the game consider them as being out of the water.

Pikmin vanish through the bridge[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
Medium Harmful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
  • Effects: Makes a Pikmin vanish, but not die, by going through a bridge.
  • Prerequisites: Have a built bridge being eaten by Sheargrubs.
  • How to: Throw a Pikmin onto a bridge that's being deconstructed by Sheargrubs. If you're lucky, it might mysteriously disappear from the screen.
  • Notes: The Pikmin will still be counted on the counter and appear on the radar as their respective colors, but will not appear above or below the bridge. Corpses and pellets, however, will still be on the bridge, to fix the glitch, enter a cave and leave it quickly.
  • Possible explanation: As with other bridge-related glitches, bridges are objects, not level geometry, so their collision detection is inferior. In addition, by having the Sheargrubs eat the bridge, it's possible for ground that used to be under the Pikmin to suddenly stop existing, which makes the game behave erratically.

Remote Purple Pikmin[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes a Purple Pikmin stuck to a Dwarf Bulborb teleport to the leader's hand, or be thrown while still stuck to the enemy.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Simply throw a Purple Pikmin at a Dwarf Red Bulborb, Dwarf Orange Bulborb, Snow Bulborb, or Dwarf Bulbear such that it crushes the enemy instantly. The Purple Pikmin will stay stuck to the enemy for a couple of seconds. During this time, whistle the Pikmin, get close to it, and hold the A Button on the GameCube controller / the A Button on the Wii Remote / the A Button on the Switch to grab it. The Pikmin will be grabbed, as evidenced by the sound, but will not be in the leader's hand. The Pikmin will teleport to the leader's hand when the enemy's soul shows up. This means that the player can keep the enemy off-camera, and only when the enemy is visible again will the Pikmin teleport to the leader. While the Pikmin is stuck, you can also release the button to throw it, but this will just make it spin in place on top of the enemy, and land right near it after a bit. This glitch also works if you switch to a different Pikmin in your group, and then use the + Control Pad left or right on the GameCube controller / the B Button on the Wii Remote / the R Button on the Switch to switch to a Purple Pikmin, while making sure that the stuck Purple is the closest one in the group.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Untouchable dead Pikmin[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Harmful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: ?
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes a Pikmin that should have died stay alive, but untouchable and invincible.
  • Prerequisites: Have a sublevel with a hazardous obstacle near the Research Pod and uncollected treasure. Have never seen the cutscene that plays for a suffering Pikmin of that hazard's type, in the current save file.
  • How to: Collect a treasure, and during the cutscene, have the Pikmin touch a hazard whose cutscene has never played before. If you close the treasure collection cutscene at the right time, before the suffering Pikmin die, the game will resume to the Pikmin suffering cutscene, and afterwards, the Pikmin will stay alive, and impossible to interact with.
  • Notes: The Pikmin will still count as a death, even though it still counts as existing, as proven by the Pikmin counter, and by the Pikmin that appear on the next sublevel or on the surface.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Enemy-related[edit]

Beetle flip glitch[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Harmful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: ?
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes an Anode Beetle, Iridescent Flint Beetle, Iridescent Glint Beetle, or Doodlebug that gets attacked ignore the attack and continue what it was going to do. Anode Beetles instantly enter the "flip upright" animation and start turning to zap, whereas other beetles do the squash effects, scurry off in another direction, and fail to drop anything; this will not advance the list of spoils, so the player can hit again and get the reward they were meant to have obtained.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Throw a Pikmin at one of the aforementioned enemies while it is idling. The glitch will happen if the Pikmin lands on the same frame in which the creature would begin turning. In the Anode Beetle's case, this is when it would begin turning to face a zapping partner, and for the other beetles, when it would begin turning to face a new direction to scuttle into.
  • Notes: If the player triggers this glitch accidentally, they could end up not reacting to the enemy's unexpected behavior in time, and could lose Pikmin or treasure. To rectify this, they can throw two Pikmin in a row, so the second one hits after the first one causes the glitch.
  • What would happen normally: The creature would get flipped, and enter a vulnerable state or drop a spoil.
  • Possible explanation: The variable that controls how much time is left until a flipped beetle returns to normal is set to zero every time it enters the state where it is turning. If the beetle enters that state at the same time it enters the "flip upside-down" state, the enemy will be successfully flipped, but the "time remaining" variable will be set to zero, and the enemy will flip upright straight after.

Blowhog stuck above water[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Medium Helpful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes a Withering Blowhog stuck between the ground and water, endlessly repeating its falling animation.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Go to the Shower Room, and make it so that the Withering Blowhog near the landing site hovers between the ground and water as it stops to inhale. Then, make it fall. It should permanently repeat its falling animation.
  • Notes: This can be used to defeat the enemy without it being able to shake the Pikmin off.
  • Possible explanation: The enemy only performs its landing animation when certain spots of its underside detect a ground.

Dud bomb-rocks[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Helpful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: ?
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes a bomb-rock thrown by a Careening Dirigibug stay in place without detonating, and eventually disappearing.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Go on sublevel 6 of the Subterranean Complex and lure a Careening Dirigibug to you. Walk to the exit geyser, and stand between it and the ledge. With luck, the enemy will throw a bomb, but it will stay in place without exploding, between you and the geyser.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: If the bomb is lodged between a geyser and a leader, it will stay there and won't touch the ground. The bombs are programmed to only explode when they touch the ground. Possibly as a safety measure to prevent object flooding, for scenarios like this, bomb-rocks were made to despawn after some seconds.

Empty Pellet Posy[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: ?
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes a Pellet Posy appear without its pellet.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Go to Awakening Wood between days 11 and 30 inclusive on a file where the blue Pellet Posies by Decorative Goo are still there. Kill every enemy that drops pellets before every Pellet Posy matures. With luck, if each enemy drops their maximum number of pellets, then when all the Pellet Posies mature, 2 of them will have missing pellets.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: The game caps the number of pellet objects to 48 at all times. This cap includes the pellets on Pellet Posies. When the Pellet Posies mature, there would be 50 pellets if this cap didn't exist. Therefore, once there are 48 pellets, 2 Pellet Posies do not create a pellet.

Floating enemies[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
The glitch in question manifests itself at 1:18
  • Effects: Makes an enemy float in mid-air.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: This glitch happens mostly randomly. When you are close to an area where an enemy will fall down, it may fall on a dead enemy or treasure. This will make the enemy float in mid-air, but it counts as being on the ground. This can also be triggered by throwing Purple Pikmin at the enemy as it falls – the Purple Pikmin's pound attack will cause enemies to lose their falling momentum. An identical effect can be achieved by using Purple Pikmin to stun an enemy, most commonly an airborne one such as a Swooping Snitchbug, on top of a gate and then working on destroying it; the enemy will remain at the same altitude at which it was stunned at despite the gate's top moving down.
  • Notes: Using a dose of ultra-bitter spray on the floating enemy fixes the glitch. If this glitch happens with an Armored Cannon Beetle Larva, the boulders it shoots will fall down as if it was on a cliff.
  • Possible explanation: For collision purposes, enemies have long vertical hitboxes, probably a universal height. Normally, it's not possible to have an enemy fall on top of another, and the tall hitboxes are to make sure the enemy that's falling from above slides out of the way at a comfortable distance. If, however, the falling enemy is spot-on on the grounded enemy's center, it will have no direction to slide into, so it takes the collision as landing on solid ground.

Invincible Wollywog[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Depends Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: ?
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
Twitch video
  • Effects: Makes a Wollywog be stuck in the ground, and invincible. Helpful for those who want to avoid the creature, harmful for those who want the Pokos it yields.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: The timing is strict, but you must hit a Wollywog with a Purple Pikmin right as it starts jumping up. If done correctly, it should get trapped underground and become unable to move, as well as become invincible. Wollywogs can also become stuck for a variety of reasons, especially if their jumps make them land on top of other objects or oddly-shaped structures; this too makes them invincible unless they manage to land.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: Wollywogs are only programmed to detect that they died when they're on the floor. Hitting a jumping Wollywog with a Purple Pikmin before it has left the ground makes it enter the "impact bounce" state, nullifying the jump. Because of the animation, the Wollywog gets slightly embedded under the ground, and is considered airborne. Because its momentum has stopped due to the Purple Pikmin stomps, it never lands, and so can never register the fact that it died.

Leader stuck in pipe[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Other demonstrations
Medium Depends Pikmin 2: ?
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
The glitch in question happens at 13:45[dead link]
  • Effects: Causes the active leader to be stuck on a pipe and makes the player unable to switch leaders or move, until the Bumbling Snitchbug frees them.
  • Prerequisites: Be in a sublevel with a Bumbling Snitchbug and fully-covered pipes (such as the corridor in the 6th sublevel of the Shower Room).
  • How to: Walk into a fully-covered metal pipe where a Bumbling Snitchbug is flying under, and let the Bumbling Snitchbug catch you and throw you inside the pipe.
  • Notes: The glitch cannot be undone unless the Bumbling Snitchbug picks up the leader again.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Non-Reds on a Fiery Bulblax[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Helpful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
  • Effects: Makes non-Red Pikmin ignore a Fiery Bulblax's flames.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Lure the enemy into the water, and when its fire goes out, toss non-Red Pikmin at its back. When it walks out of the water, its fire should return, but the Pikmin on its back should take no mind to the fire.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: When the Bulblax leaves the water, there is no code to alert the Pikmin that the object they're attacking has changed its elemental properties, so the Pikmin keep the old behavior – attacking, instead of the new one – being set ablaze.

Petrified Volatile Dweevil suicide[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration Other demonstrations
Medium Helpful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video YouTube video showing what happens if this glitch is performed on the Japanese version's Piklopedia
  • Effects: Makes a petrified Volatile Dweevil kill itself, yielding normal petrification death spoils.
  • Prerequisites: Have at least one ultra-bitter spray.
  • How to: Approach a Volatile Dweevil. Just as it's about to die, petrify it; the timing isn't too strict. If you did it correctly, the creature will have exploded, but the game will still have recognized your petrification, giving out a nectar or some sprays as a result. This removes the need to use Pikmin in order to kill a petrified Volatile Dweevil, but carries some danger, seeing as the explosion might cause damage.
  • Notes: This can be done on the Piklopedia, but seeing as no nectars ever come out, it is as if the glitch hadn't happened at all. In the Japanese version's Piklopedia, the game freezes instead.
  • Possible explanation: There's a point on the bomb-rock's explosion where it can no longer be petrified and has to explode; this happens a few frames before a normal explosion. During this point, petrification attempts will only turn the Dweevil into stone, but not the bomb-rock. Seeing as the explosive destroys the Dweevil, and seeing as the Dweevil is considered to be petrified, even if its petrification animation has just barely started, the game gives out nectars or sprays.

Sped up Dwarf Red Bulborb[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
Medium Depends Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
  • Effects: Makes a Dwarf Red Bulborb's animations temporarily speed up.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Make the Dwarf Red Bulborb shake, kill it, or crush it with a Pikmin throw while it is in the middle of turning on the spot. You can also do that while the enemy is walking forward, although the effect won't be as noticeable.
  • Notes: When the Dwarf Red Bulborb is in the turn state, its animations are sped up to double speed. In the walk state, they are sped up around 1.3 times. Interrupting the enemy during one of these states will not restore its animation speed to normal.[3]
  • Possible explanation: None.

Sped up reviving enemies[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration Other demonstrations
Medium Depends Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Unknown
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video [4][5]
  • Effects: Makes it so a Spotty Bulbear or Gatling Groink's animations are sped up when they revive.
  • Prerequisites: Be in a sublevel with at least two of the enemy in question.
  • How to: Kill the enemies and retrieve one of the corpses while the others are reviving. If the order you chose is correct, which is not something possible to determine while playing normally, the revived enemies will be sped up.
  • Notes:
    • The creature's animation for waking up after reviving may be skipped altogether.
    • For Spotty Bulbears, this effect mostly affects the speed in which they get up and turn, since their animation speed is set to something else when they start walking.
    • For Gatling Groinks, this affects almost everything they do, which can include the interval between fired shots and the speed they wobble at when carried.
    • Also for Gatling Groinks, the ones that are stationary and the ones that roam around freely belong to different enemy "types", meaning they can't be used interchangeably.
    • This glitch will only work if the carcass that gets recovered is of an enemy that is spawned earlier than the enemy that revived, which is something decided when the sublevel loads, meaning it cannot be determined by the player unless external tools are used.
    • When three enemies are involved, if the carcass of the first-spawned enemy is recovered and the other two are reviving, what happens depends on which of the two finish reviving first. If the third-spawned revives first, it will be sped up while the other will not. If the second-spawned revives first, then both will be sped up.
    • A similar glitch also affects Mitites and Unmarked Spectralids.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Sped up spawned enemies[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
High Depends Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Unknown
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes it so a Mitite or Unmarked Spectralids's animations are sped up. This also makes them die quicker.
  • Prerequisites: Be in an area or sublevel where you can spawn multiple of the enemy at will. For Mitites, there should be enough eggs to spawn one group and then spawn another (or for one group to be buried in the ground), and for Unmarked Spectralids there should be enough vegetation that spawns them when bumped against such as the Margaret and Figwort near the base of Awakening Wood.
  • How to: Collect carcasses of the enemies in question. Then, spawn some more of that enemy, and some of them will be sped up. For every one carcass you collect, the number of enemies that will be sped up increases by one, and decreases whenever a sped up enemy spawns.
  • Notes:
    • For Mitites that spawn from the ground, one of the Mitites will always be at normal speed.
    • A similar glitch also affects Spotty Bulbears and Gatling Groinks.
  • Possible explanation: In memory, there is a list with data about all of the Mitites that can be loaded at once and another for all the Spectralids. When the area or sublevel is loaded, the data on this list is cleared. Whenever a new enemy needs to spawn, it occupies one slot of this list and initializes its data. When that enemy is defeated and its carcass is being beamed up by the Onion, its animation speeds up, which is controlled by one variable in that enemy's slot in memory. Once the enemy is completely absorbed by the Onion, its object vanishes from the game world, and its slot in memory is marked as vacant. When a new enemy is spawned, it takes up the first available slot in memory and initializes some data. The problem comes from the fact that the data that gets initialized does not include the variable that controls the animation speed, and so it just uses whatever was left behind in memory at that point. The reason buried Mitites always have one enemy that is not sped up is because when the area loads, the Mitite responsible for the group is already created and exists as an object in the game world, meaning it uses the regular cleared data in the list.

Stuck Waterwraith[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
High Depends Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes the Waterwraith's rollers unable to move, though the creature itself will still move.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Go on sublevel 4 of the Submerged Castle. Lure the Waterwraith into entering the large pipe area. It should get stuck fairly easily.
  • Notes: The Waterwraith's rollers can still crush Pikmin, and will harm the leaders indefinitely if they contact them.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Titan Dweevil treasure glitch[edit]

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 2.
Particularly: Get more info on this. Specifically, what happens if you beat up the treasure afterwards?

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Medium Depends Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: ?
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
Demonstration of the glitch, at 4:30.
  • Effects: Makes a treasure re-appear in the Titan Dweevil's hands.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Beat up one of the Titan Dweevil's treasures until it's nearly detached. When the creature is just about to use that treasure, petrify it. Attack the treasure and detach it before the boss breaks free.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Wollywog super-jump[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
High Helpful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes a Wollywog or Yellow Wollywog jump very far.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Get two leaders next to a Wollywog or Yellow Wollywog. Place them close enough that the creature will notice them, but not so close that it will jump. Keep one leader in this spot, and with the other leader, walk up to the Wollywog and spray it with ultra-bitter spray as soon as possible. The glitch will work so long as you spray the enemy before it starts its jump, but after it chose a target to jump to. Then, quickly run away with that same leader, preferably in a straight line. After enough time has passed for the petrification to wear off, switch back to the leader that's still close to the enemy. It should reactivate and perform a massive jump in the direction of the first leader. It is possible for it to travel any distance this way, but if it hits an obstacle or wall, it might stop short.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: After a Wollywog decides its attack target, it will jump to above where the target is in a straight line. Normally, there's no risk of the enemy making a large jump, since a leader or Pikmin needs to be close by to be considered a target. But by petrifying, this gives the leader enough time to run away and create distance. The player must switch to a different leader that is standing next to the Wollywog because while it is off-camera, it will not be active, so it will not perform any jump.

Zombie Dweevil[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
YouTube video
  • Effects: Keeps a Dweevil alive, but with 0 health remaining.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: You have to try to make a Dweevil run out of health just when it picks up an object. If successful, the creature will be alive and carry the object around, while supposedly dead.
  • Notes: To stop the glitch, make the Dweevil drop the object. A Dweevil in this state cannot be petrified, even though "normal" Dweevils that are carrying objects can. A similar "zombie" glitch also exists for the Pellet Posy.
  • Possible explanation: When the Dweevil is in the "carrying object" state, the game assumes it's alive, regardless of its health. Normally, it can only enter this state if it's alive, and while on this state, it cannot be hurt. However, with precise timing, it can pick up an object at the same time it loses its last bit of health. If so, the game doesn't kill it, because it's entering the "carrying object" state (it's crouching down to pick it up).

Zombie Pellet Posy[edit]

Picture of a glitch in Pikmin 2, in which a Pellet Posy can stay at 0 HP.
Demonstration of the glitch.
Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
YouTube video
  • Effects: Keeps a Pellet Posy alive, but with 0 health remaining.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Have a Pikmin attack a Pellet Posy from the ground. Make it so that, when the Pikmin jumps to the plant's stem, it pummels it an even number of times. If the last hit were to cause the Posy to fall, it will instead stay alive with 0 health. Whistle the Pikmin at this point to keep the plant that way, otherwise the Pikmin will kill it. A consistent way to do this is to throw a non-Red and non-Purple Pikmin near a Pellet Posy, let it attack once while on the ground, let it attack a few times after it latches on by itself, and whistle the Pikmin just as the plant's health goes to 0.
  • Notes: Only the number of "pummel while latched" hits counts for this. To count the number of hits, follow the health wheel's drops, and not the Pikmin's actions. A similar "zombie" glitch also exists for the common Dweevils.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Aesthetic[edit]

Broken Treasure Gauge[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
  • Effects: Makes the Treasure Gauge's needle point directly upwards, for a split second, and gives the gauge its color, if it was previously black-and-white.
  • Prerequisites: Have collected the Prototype Detector.
  • How to: Pause the game. After you press START/PAUSE on the GameCube controller / the Plus Button on the Wii Remote / the + Button on the Switch to unpause, rapidly mash the Y Button on the GameCube controller / the Minus Button on the Wii Remote / the Y Button on the Switch so that you switch leaders as soon as possible. If you managed to press the button at the right time, the needle will be stuck for the duration of the leader transition. If the Treasure Gauge was in black-and-white, it will have gained color.
  • Notes: The needle gets fixed when the leader transition ends, and the coloring gets fixed when you pause again, or when you leave the area or the game. There are 2 frames in which pressing the leader button will trigger the glitch, and these are the first frames in which changing is possible after an unpause. If an Antenna Beetle is present, the gauge will have the needle pointing up, and will not have the purple effect, but when the needle gets unfrozen, the purple effect starts and the gauge starts acting as it should when being affected by an Antenna Beetle.
  • Possible explanation: The Treasure Gauge, along with the other normal HUD items, gets loaded and set to an initial state when the player unpauses. The Treasure Gauge's initial state is colored, and has the needle pointing directly up. The needle is updated every frame, except when a leader transition is occurring, so if the player manages to switch leaders while the Treasure Gauge is still in its initial state, it will stay that way until the transition is over. As for the coloring, it is only updated when a treasure is collected, when the area is left, when an Antenna Beetle dies, or when the game is paused and unpaused, so it stays colored until one of these updates happen.

Cave entrance leader mixup[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
Youtube video at 3:57
  • Effects: When entering the first sublevel of a cave in Pikmin 2, the game may or may not switch the player's active leader.
  • Prerequisites: None
  • How to: Enter the last sublevel in a cave, and then enter the first sublevel of a different cave with a different leader.
  • Notes: This does not happen when the player goes from one sublevel to the next. Challenge Mode uses a different behavior, without a glitch, and that the default value of the variable is 0, meaning that at the start of the game, before the player goes from one sublevel to the next, the game will make Olimar the active leader when entering a cave.
  • Possible explanation: In order to decide what leader to turn active whenever a sublevel is entered (be it the first or not), the game reads a variable in memory. This variable is also saved onto the save game data and loaded from it. It is set whenever the player goes from one sublevel to the next, which explains why, when the next sublevel is loaded, the game selects the correct leader. However, this variable never gets set when the cave itself is entered. This means that when the first sublevel is finished loading, the game reads the variable, and uses an outdated value, last updated when a sublevel hole was entered.

Cave hole glitch[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
  • Effects: Makes a leader be inside the hole/geyser model.
  • Prerequisites: Have The Key to the current Challenge Mode level uncollected.
  • How to: Place a leader in the center of the spot where the hole to the next sublevel will appear (or the exit geyser). Then, have the Pikmin deliver the Key. If you placed him in the correct spot, he should be inside the hole (or geyser).
  • Notes: It's possible to walk out of the hole or geyser, but it's not possible to go back in. You can also place objects and Pikmin on the spot where the hole will spawn. Treasures and enemies disappear and fall back down to the sublevel on top of the structure, and Pikmin are pushed out of the way. If the leader lies down where the hole will appear, he will fall from the sky above the hole after the Key's cutscene is over.
  • Possible explanation: Collision between object A and B is only detected when an object A attempts to move from a position outside object B to a position inside it. If the initial position of A is already inside, no collision is detected, and hence, object A can remain inside B.

Double cash register[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
  • Effects: Makes the "cash register" sound play twice, and makes the Poko value numbers pop out twice.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Enter a cave, and exit it by any means, with or without making monetary profit. On the Treasures Salvaged screen, wait for the list to scroll entirely. When the cash register sound plays and the numbers at the bottom pop out, press the A Button on the GameCube controller / the A Button on the Wii Remote. The sound should play a second time, and the numbers should pop out once again.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: Pressing the A Button on the GameCube controller / the A Button on the Wii Remote makes the game skip the listing, and go directly to the register sound and number pop out. The code for this is simple; instead of literally skipping past the list's scrolling, it just fully scrolls the list, plays the sound and animation, and marks the listing as "complete". Erroneously, the player can still press the button a second or so after the listing is completed normally, which results in the game running the code to "skip", playing the sound and animations a second time.

Early third day cutscene[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes the ship start the cutscenes that take place at the beginning of the third day start in the second day instead.
  • Prerequisites: Be on the second day.
  • How to: When you first enter the Emergence Cave, grow Purple Pikmin and leave the cave using the geyser without collecting the Sphere Chart. Once outside, store the Purple Pikmin in the ship's hull. Enter the cave again, and leave without collecting the Sphere Chart once more. When you reach the surface, the cutscenes that are meant to start on the third day (the ship informing about the Purple Pikmin having been stored on its hull and how Olimar should've instructed Louie about the controls) will play on the current day instead.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: When the player collects the Sphere Chart, the game automatically ends the day when the player exits the Emergence Cave. But, because the treasure isn't retrieved, the game won't end the day, and the player is able to go back to the cavern. Since the Purple Pikmin hull cutscene plays when the player starts a day or reaches the surface with the Purple Pikmin stored, the cutscene will play then.

Frozen Glowstem[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
Demonstration of the glitch at 4:29.
  • Effects: Makes a Glowstem temporarily stuck, not emitting light.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Have a leader and some Pikmin near a Glowstem, and another leader a bit far away, facing away from the Glowstem. Make the Pikmin on the first leader's party bump against the Glowstem. After they touch it, quickly take them away from it and switch leaders. If the other leader was positioned sufficiently far, the Glowstem will be off-camera once the focus shifts onto the other leader. Then, walk with this leader towards the Glowstem. If the timing was right, it should remain disabled until it's touched once more.
  • Notes: If Pikmin keep touching the Glowstem before switching to the other leader, once the Glowstem is back into view, it'll be updated.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Floating Cupid's Grenade[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
Low Helpful Pikmin 2: ?
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: ?
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
  • Effects: Makes a Cupid's Grenade float and go to an Onion by itself.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Go into 2-Player Battle mode. Have a Pikmin grab a Cupid's Grenade near a dead enemy's carcass. The Pikmin will grab the Cupid's Grenade and start to take it right through the carcass. The Pikmin will get stuck in front of the carcass, walking endlessly until the Cupid's Grenade enters the Onion. Meanwhile, the Cupid's Grenade will continue to move without any Pikmin carrying it.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Floating nectar[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Harmless Pikmin 2: ?
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
  • Effects: Makes nectar float in mid-air.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Cause a drop of nectar, such as one from a petrified enemy, to fall on top of a pile of sticks used to build a bridge. If the sticks are removed from under the drop by building the bridge, the drop will remain suspended in the air. Pikmin can be made to drink the nectar by throwing them at it, and they will fall back to the ground once the nectar is all used up. A good place to do this is in Awakening Wood with a Yellow Wollywog near the bridges.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Ghost leader[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration Other demonstrations
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video Leader following inside a cave
  • Effects: Leaves a leader's "ghost" following the active leader. This ghost can be harmed.
  • Prerequisites: Have both leaders alive.
  • How to: Have leader B follow leader A, and knock out leader B. Then, bring an enemy to its body. Inside a cave, his body is technically in the same spot he was knocked out at, except he turns invisible. Aboveground, the knocked out leader can be found near the ship. Then, get the enemy to do its "shaking" attack. This attack will be able to hurt the knocked out leader. He will then wake up and follow the active leader around. Inside a cave, he'll still be invisible, but you'll be able to see him aboveground. Either way, you can hear him walk, you can see his dust trails, you can hear him moan while idle, and every time he's damaged with a shake attack, you'll see sparks appearing and hear him grunt. If the leader that gets killed wasn't following another one, or if you dismiss him after the zombie state, it'll be impossible to have the glitched leader follow the living leader. In addition, dismissing will make him keep walking in whatever direction he was moving.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Half petrified Volatile Dweevil[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
  • Effects: Petrifies only half of the Volatile Dweevil.
  • Prerequisites: Have the Volatile Dweevil on the Piklopedia.
  • How to: Petrify the Volatile Dweevil on the Piklopedia. Right before it breaks free, petrify it again. If you did it correctly, only the bomb-rock on its back should've been petrified. An easy way to ensure the correct timing is to mash the Z Button on the GameCube controller / the 1 Button on the Wii Remote when the creature is about to break free, and quickly stop the second it does. If you petrify it in this state, the creature itself will be turned into stone, but the bomb-rock will break free.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: The bomb-rock and the creature must count as two different objects. They also react to the petrification at different times. With the right timing, their petrifications can be desynchronized. A similar glitch can happen with the Waterwraith and its rollers.

Lying down in a cutscene[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: ?
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes a leader jump down a hole or enter the sunset cutscene whilst lying down.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: If one of your leaders is knocked over by an enemy just as you are going in a hole, or the day is ending, he will enter the cutscene while lying down. This will not work if he lies down by himself with the Five-man Napsack.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: When falling down the hole, the game sets the leaders' animation to be the "jump down hole" animation. However, if they're knocked down by an enemy after the animation's been set, the animation will be overwritten with the "fall down" animation. The jumping movement will still be correct, but the animation will not.

Multiple rules closures[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
  • Effects: Makes the sound that plays when you close the rules page on 2-Player Battle and Challenge Mode play more than once.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Simply open the rules page by pressing the Z Button on the GameCube controller / the Z Button on the Nunchuk, and mash the B Button on the GameCube controller / the B Button on the Wii Remote.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: The B button is meant to close the page and play the appropriate sound. For such a simple and rarely-used system, although the game checks if the rules page is already closing (and if so, does not attempt to close it again), the same check was never implemented for the sound that plays.

Shifted heat haze[edit]

A glitch in Pikmin 2 that shifts the heat haze effect the farther the fire is from center camera. Notice how the area around the flame isn't distorted, but the Clover to the right is.
Demonstration of the glitch. The Dwarf Red Bulborbs behind the fire geyser aren't distorted, but the Clover to the right of it is.
Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Harmless Pikmin 2: No
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): No
  • Effects: Makes a fire's heat haze effect shift from the place it should be.
  • Prerequisites: Be playing the New Play Control! version of the game in widescreen mode.
  • How to: If the camera is facing towards some fire, and said fire is horizontally centered on-screen, the heat haze will be on top of it like normal. However, if you rotate the camera or move the leader so that the fire is no longer horizontally centered, you'll see the heat haze effect move away from it. It can even disconnect from the fire entirely.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: This is caused by an oversight while porting the game to Wii. The developers seemingly forgot to adjust the position of the heat haze in relation to the fire when converting the game to the new widescreen mode, thus causing the heat haze to be displaced.

Sliding Waterwraith[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes the Waterwraith move around without using its running animation.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: After destroying the Waterwraith's rollers, separate your leaders so that they're far apart from one another. One of them should be close to the running Waterwraith, while the other should be so far away that it cannot see the boss. Then, switch to the leader farther away and switch back to the leader closest to the Waterwraith.
  • Notes: It's also possible to do the glitch with both leaders close to one another, but it is harder to achieve as the exact setup necessary is unknown. There have been reports of the creature becoming invulnerable and sliding permanently. It's stated that this likely happens if the Waterwraith's head collides with the Research Pod, and the amount of health it has decides whether or not it can be damaged.
  • Possible explanation: Similarly to the way objects off the screen are less active, the Waterwraith's animations are frozen by being off-camera as well. Usually, the objects return to normal once they're in the scene again. In the case of this glitch however, some piece of unique code on the camera management for switching characters and a unique piece of code for the Waterwraith's animations pass through normal "off-camera" routines, and as such aren't managed correctly. This makes the Waterwraith's animations not continue when it's on-camera again.

Spinning leader[edit]

To do: Find somewhere else to put this, since it's not a glitch.
Care to do so?

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
  • Effects: Makes the inactive leader spin in place.
  • Prerequisites: Have the large bridge in the Valley of Repose built.
  • How to: Grab both leaders and head for the large bridge. Wait for the nearby Water Dumple to go under you. Then, dismiss your secondary leader and walk away.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: Idle leaders look at enemies, without taking the altitude into account. When an enemy like a Water Dumple is placed under prey, it'll attempt to get near it, but because it cannot go up, it will never stop moving, as it will never reach it. Because of the way creatures move, the Water Dumple will spin in place under their target. If the target is an idle leader, they'll watch them rotate, and in doing so, will spin in place.

Struggling Waterwraith[edit]

Demonstration of the glitch.
Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes the Waterwraith's rollers petrified, leaving the creature struggling to break free.
  • Prerequisites: Have the Waterwraith on the Piklopedia.
  • How to: Open the Piklopedia, and go to the Waterwraith's archive. Right when you open it, repeatedly press the Z Button on the GameCube controller / the 1 Button on the Wii Remote to petrify it. The rollers will become petrified, followed by the Waterwraith's body. The rollers will break free first. When they do, immediately re-petrify them. The Waterwraith will then break free, and appear to have a very difficult time trying to lift its petrified boulders.
  • Notes: This glitch can be done multiple times in a row. To do this, you just have to petrify the Waterwraith's body when it breaks free, wait for the rollers to break free and then petrify them.
  • Possible explanation: Like with the half petrified Volatile Dweevil glitch, the rollers and the creature must count as two different objects, and their petrifications might be able to be desynchronized.

Stuck bag[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes the first bag in the Valley of Repose stuck until the day is over. It'll act as it if were closed, i.e. it can still be passed through, although the cursor will stay on top of it when moved there.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Start a new save file and work your way until you have enough Pikmin to put down the first bag. Throw the required number of Pikmin but one onto the bag. When you throw the last one, call the Pikmin to either leader's side just as the Pikmin lands on the bag. Until you get the exact timing, it's better to whistle too early rather than too late, because if you whistle too late, the cutscene will start and you'll have to restart the save file to try again, whereas whistling too early makes the Pikmin come to you, and you can try again right away. If you timed it right, there's a chance the Pikmin will move out of the bag, and the latter will stay in place, but the reunion cutscene will still occur. Olimar and Louie will pass through the bag, and it'll be stuck in this state until the day ends.
  • Notes: With incredible luck, it is also possible to have the "You appear to be stuck" cutscene interrupt the bag's deflation, which also triggers the glitch.
  • Possible explanation: Just like the cardboard box softlock glitch in Pikmin, if the Pikmin are brought back into the party just as the cutscene starts, there will be no Pikmin to actually perform the actions required by the cutscene, in this case, deflating the bag. Because it was never assumed that this could or would happen, the game is programmed to move Olimar and Louie to the place where the squashed bag was, regardless of its state.

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 2.
Particularly: Try to replicate and document this.

Stuck Pileated Snagret[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes the Pileated Snagret become stuck on the Piklopedia.
  • Prerequisites: Have the Pileated Snagret on the Piklopedia.
  • How to: On the area selection screen, place the ship over the Valley of Repose. Enter the Piklopedia and open the Pileated Snagret's file. The creature spawns on top of a snowy hill, but there's a chance that it will be unable to emerge from the ground, instead becoming stuck inside the patch of snow. If it doesn't happen, try making it burrow and emerge more often. It can also be able to move freely while inside the snow, and can be driven to fall into the pit by luring it with pikpik carrots. Another way to make it stuck is to lure it towards the part with grass; it might be unable to go back to its original place, all the while hopping endlessly while trying to go up the hill.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: Snagrets are programmed to burrow up anywhere there is a flat collision plane, meaning the collision below the hill is likely causing the Pileated Snagret to pop up there instead of above the hill.

Treasure in the background[edit]

A screenshot showing a glitch where a miniature of the treasure being analyzed is created.
Demonstration of the glitch.
Reproducibility Consequences Versions
Low Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
  • Effects: Creates a miniature of a treasure on the top right of the screen.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: It only happens rarely, but when you deliver a treasure, during the evaluation cutscene, a miniature of the same treasure might appear on the top right corner, in the background.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Unbeamable leader[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
Medium Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
  • Effects: Makes a leader stay on the ground instead of being beamed up by the Research Pod. The animations will still go through, and the teleportation flash will still happen, but the leader will remain on the ground.
  • Prerequisites: Have Challenge Mode unlocked.
  • How to: Go to any Challenge Mode level with enemies that can knock a leader down onto the ground. Make it so that an enemy or bomb-rock is about to attack your leader(s). Around 3/4 of a second before the attack connects, pause and pick "Give Up". The timing is very strict, so be willing to try several times. For reference, on the Secret Testing Range, you should pause just when the Gatling Groink's projectiles start descending.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: The game is programmed to set the leaders' animations/states to "sigh and be sucked up", when the player gives up. Should something that makes an animation/state change happen on the exact frame in which the game ends the Challenge Mode run, like a leader being knocked onto the ground, the game will pick it over the normal animation, possibly because the list of animations is sorted so that the "get knocked down" animation has a higher priority.

Undead Ranging Bloyster[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration Other demonstrations
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
YouTube video Another demonstration
  • Effects: Makes a Ranging Bloyster's antenna flash and emit waves even after death.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Fight the Ranging Bloyster, and have it perform its death animation off camera.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: none

World cut-off[edit]

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 2.
Particularly: Elaborate on the exact point to throw the Pikmin at and to lie down at, for spot 2, and move it to its own glitch (this one is about render distance, that one seems to be about object culling.

A glitch in the Wistful Wild, where the world geometry cuts off.
Demonstration of the glitch.
Reproducibility Consequences Versions
High Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
  • Effects: Makes part of the world geometry cut off and get replaced with nothing.
  • Prerequisites:
  • How to:
    • Spot 1: Go to the Wistful Wild and make your way to the section with the Creeping Chrysanthemums and Withering Blowhogs. Climb up to the top of the northernmost tree trunk (the easternmost point of the map you can reach with a leader), and face the entrance to the Dream Den. Finally, angle the camera so that it is at a 3/4 angle view, and zoom it so that it is on the closest level of zoom. The geometry near the entrance to the cave should start cutting off as the camera gets closer to its final position.
    • Spot 2: Go to the Perplexing Pool and make your way to the section where the Yellow Onion is initially found. Position yourself next to the tree the wild Yellow Pikmin are initially found, throw a Pikmin right next to your position, and lie down via the Napsack. If done correctly, the Pikmin should carry you up the tree. If you wake up right as the Pikmin reaches the top of the tree, you'll be able to stand on top of it. From there, simply face towards the area with the Massage Girdle and the Submerged Castle and zoom out the camera to its farthest option while facing it forward. The aforementioned area with the Massage Girdle should be unloaded.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: In order to save the GPU load, the game stops rendering geometry after a certain distance. This distance is quite small at the closest zoom level. In-game, it's large enough so that the geometry doesn't cut off on-camera, but on that hill, the entrance to the cave is far enough away that the cut-off can actually be caught by the player. The camera's angle also takes a role in this, in that normally, the 3/4 angle does not allow the player to see substantially far ahead to begin with. In the case of this happening in the Perplexing Pool, the camera is able to see very far ahead due to the high ground. Far enough ahead, in fact, that it can see into an unloaded area despite the fact that the camera is in a state where a large amount of geometry is loaded.

Misc.[edit]

Boulder jump glitch[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Helpful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
Demonstration of a use of the glitch, at 8:44.
  • Effects: Makes the leader jump quite high in the air.
  • Prerequisites: Have the Napsack.
  • How to: When the X Button on the GameCube controller / the C Button on the Nunchuk is held, the leader makes a small bounce before lying down. If this bounce happens just as a boulder lands on the leader, there's a chance he might jump quite high in the air. The easiest way to pull it off is to enter the Cave of Pain. You should hold the button one and a half seconds after the shadow of the boulder appears. If you get hurt, that means you have to press it sooner. If you just lie down, that means you pressed it too soon. For reference, check the timings on the notes.
  • Notes: This trick can be used to jump over some obstacles. The further away from the center of the boulder, the farther the distance of the jump. The closer to the center of the timing window you start lying down, the higher the jump. Via testing, it's concluded that the button must be pressed between the 41st frame after the shadow appears (40 frames of the shadow's existence) and the 46th (45 frames of the shadow's existence). This results in a window of 6 frames. If you make the leader wake up, he will lose all of his momentum and fall to the ground, without you being able to control his descent.
  • Possible explanation: The small bounce a leader makes must be programmed as an actual, physics-abiding jump, instead of a simple animation. This would explain why when something that's meant to cause knockback interferes with a jump makes a glitchy jump happen, as the game wasn't ready to handle that particular scenario. Alternately, it has to do with how the leader should've been knocked back, but the Napsack partially stops that, and blocks all damage, again, causing confusion in the physics engine.

Bridge corner pop-up glitch[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Medium Depends Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes Pikmin or a leader go through a bridge, and occasionally, through the ground surrounding the bridge. Leaders that fall off the level can teleport to helpful locations, but Pikmin die.
  • Prerequisites: Have one of the bridges where the glitch works fully built.
  • How to: In the corners of some bridges, like the South corner of the bridge at the West of the landing site, in the Awakening Wood, if you or a Pikmin goes under the bridge and tries to press against the wall on the corner, they might pass through the bridge and be placed on top of it. In addition, throwing Pikmin while below the bridge, while near the glitchy wall, will instantly place them on top of it. Finally, there are reports of leaders and Pikmin falling through the floor when attempting to pass through the corner; this seems to be a lot rarer.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: The corner caused between the slanted edge of the pool and the bridge can cause the collision detection to fail, allowing passing through to the other side. Bridges are known to have poor collision detection to begin with.

Carrying Louie during a cutscene[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Medium Harmless Pikmin 2: ?
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
Glitch occurs at 14:18
  • Effects: Makes Louie be carried during a cutscene.
  • Prerequisites: Have the King of Bugs uncollected.
  • How to: Kill the Titan Dweevil for the first time. When you do, Louie will fall to the ground and a cutscene will start. At this point, the C Stick on the GameCube controller / the + Control Pad down on the Wii Remote or the X Button on the GameCube controller / the C Button on the Nunchuk can be used to swarm or dismiss the Pikmin underneath Louie when he lands, and the Pikmin will carry him off the screen when the cutscene starts.
  • Notes: Once the ship starts speaking, the Pikmin will pause.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Double gate[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
Low Harmless Pikmin 2: ?
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: ?
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
  • Effects: Causes two gates to appear in the same spot. If one gate is destroyed and Pikmin are thrown on the side where the other gate is, they will mysteriously land on the wall, and the other gate will come down.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Rarely, sublevel 7 of the Hole of Heroes, where the Ranging Bloyster is, will have two gates inside one another. If it doesn't happen, you can keep resetting until it does, since reloading the save file takes you to the same sublevel, but with a different layout.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: Damage is caused to both gates at once, seeing as they're in the same position. However, because the Pikmin are actually "attached" to only one of the gates, only that gate falls down. When certain activities happen on the other gate, it gets updated, and when an update realizes the gate has 0 "health" remaining, it makes the gate drop down all in one go.

Embed glitch[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Harmful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
Twitch video
  • Effects: Some objects can get embedded inside walls and other objects, making retrieving them impossible in some cases.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Occasionally, a treasure or a pellet can become partially embedded inside a wall or another object. It can be possible to move the object against the spot it's stuck in, though that can either set it free or burrow it deeper. Issuing Pikmin around these objects is sometimes pointless, as they'll be unable to distribute themselves correctly over it, and thus, be unable to carry it. In addition, if a Pikmin is latched on to or grabbing an object as it becomes embedded with a wall, if the Pikmin is whistled, it'll fall through and die.
  • Notes: This glitch can also happen in Pikmin.
  • Possible explanation: Objects may become embedded for a variety of reasons, but mostly, it's due to them being pushed inside walls by other objects. This is because the game attempts to avoid having objects overlapping one another, and as a last resort, an object is embedded against a wall.

Extended damage state[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Medium Harmful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes a leader that is taking certain kinds of damage to continue to suffer the effects until the game is unpaused. If an attack causes the leader to be knocked away (e.g. a Red Bulborb's shaking attack), he will continue to do so, though he will stop if he hits certain walls. If hit by a boulder (e.g. from the Decorated Cannon Beetle Larva in the Wistful Wild), the leader continuously suffers damage from it, starting his crushing animation each time (though invulnerable while the animation is playing). If it's a normal attack, the leader will keep moving in the direction it was going (if he was moving).
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Find a location where a leader can get hurt. Place one leader under an Onion's beam, preferably facing that location, so that when you change back to this leader, the camera will be able to show what is happening. Then, leave the second leader idle in that location. Having him lie down will stop him from running away from enemies. Swap back to the leader under the Onion. As soon as the idling leader gets damaged, access the Onion's menu.
  • Notes: If the idle leader loses all of his health in this way, the screen will go dark, but return to normal right away. The Onion menu can still be operated, but closing it will cause the game to softlock. Entering an Onion menu while the secondary leader is running away from an enemy or chasing after the current leader can also keep them moving in the same direction. Sometimes, opening the Onion menu may even disable the secondary leader's enemy escape logic altogether.[6] A leader that is being knocked away with this glitch will speed up if he hits an object, such as an enemy, an Onion's leg, or the other leader.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Frozen leader glitch[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration Other demonstrations
Medium Harmful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
Falling with dweevils Falling without dweevils
  • Effects: Makes a leader frozen or unusable.
  • Prerequisites: Have the Napsack.
  • How to: First, you must get a leader ready to fall into the pit. This can be achieved by going out of bounds, like with a seesaw block clip. Then you must time a hold of the X Button on the GameCube controller / the C Button on the Nunchuk such that the leader is in the middle of the lying down animation when he touches the pit. This is a bit random as explained here, but if you are successful, the leader will come back but without an antenna light, and the only action you can do is leave lying down mode. This will make him stand in place with his head held low, and stuck forever. If, before touching the pit, you swap to the other leader, then you will be unable to switch back, and the frozen leader will either vanish, or be able to be carried, but frozen after being delivered. A different thing can happen if the leader touches the pit whilst carried by a Dweevil. He can be teleported to the Research Pod and become invisible, except for his antenna's light. In this state, he can be returned to normal by performing any action while controlling him, or by whistling him with another leader. If a leader is on top of the Research Pod and the other leader performs other actions (like throwing Pikmin), the first leader will eventually appear on the ground somewhere, on the same semi-frozen state with no antenna light described above.
  • Notes:
    • The glitch can be fixed by ending the day, exiting the cave (or Challenge Mode level), or by going inside a cave or down a sublevel, using the non-frozen leader.
    • A leader that is lying down without his beacon light and hasn't been recovered to the Research Pod or Onion yet will be able to be picked up by Dweevils.
    • Trying to force the game to switch to the frozen leader, by letting the non-frozen one's health drop, for instance, will make the frozen leader stand up and freeze again; the HUD will be gone, and only the camera can be moved.[7] Time still flows, and the sunset cutscene can be entered like normal.[8]
  • Possible explanation: None.

Hideous Victual physics glitches[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
Low Depends Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
  • Effects: Makes the Hideous Victual slide away from its intended position, spawn partially inside the floor, etc.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: There are no known ways to reproduce the glitches. Randomly, when entering sublevel 6 of the Glutton's Kitchen, the treasure can behave oddly. There have been reports of it sliding as it spawns[9][10][11], flying off[12], or becoming embedded in the ground[13]. When it slides, it can even end up close to the starting location[14][15][16], or so far away that it can't be retrieved[17]. It is possible that the problem happens because it spawns next to the Meat of Champions, even though that treasure rarely moves, and there are cases of weird Hideous Victual behavior without the Meat of Champions being involved.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Idle Pikmin during leader switch[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
Medium Harmful Pikmin 2: ?
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Yes
  • Effects: Makes the Pikmin within a leader's group not come to the Onion at sunset.
  • Prerequisites: Be on day two or further.
  • How to: Gather some Pikmin in your party, and whistle the other leader so that he's in your group as well. Move far away from the landing site, and wait until the day is about to end. Either time it so you switch leaders right when the sunset cutscene is about to start, or rapidly switch leaders and hope it happens. When the cutscene starts, some or all of the Pikmin in the group should count as left behind, despite being in the group.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: When switching leaders while the two are together, the game makes all Pikmin in the current leader's group idle, switches the current leader, and calls the Pikmin to the new leader right away. The fact that the Pikmin do the "got called" animation supports this. The Pikmin only count as belonging to the group when they finish that animation, so between that time, they are technically idle. If the day ends during this time, they're treated like any other idle Pikmin, and get left behind.

Incorrect carrying path[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Medium Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: ?
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
Demonstration of the glitch (at 2:40)
  • Effects: Makes the Pikmin take the wrong path when carrying a treasure.
  • Prerequisites: Have the Geographic Projection or Air Brake uncollected. Have the bridge to the west of the Awakening Wood's landing site built.
  • How to: Begin carrying the Geographic Projection or Air Brake. Once it reaches the middle of the bridge to the west of the landing site, whistle your Pikmin. Then, order them to carry it again. There is a chance they will start carrying it off the side of the bridge, and start climbing up walls. After a while, they eventually return to a normal path.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Leader down pause glitch[edit]

Demonstration of the glitch.
Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Depends Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes it so Pikmin cannot carry items, nor be affected by explosions and crushing. Makes one leader invulnerable to being hurt.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Enter any sublevel and have a leader ready to be killed. At the same time the final hit connects, pause the game. If timed correctly (which is hard, since it is a frame-perfect glitch), the game will pause at the same time the leader takes damage. On the pause menu, choose to leave the cave. The game will then return to the action, but instead of quitting the cave, it will show the leader's knockout cutscene with the pause menu on top of it. The gameplay will continue like normal, except for the menu. Your inputs here will reflect both the in-game action and the menu. You can quit out of the menu's question and leave the menu entirely to continue playing. If you use the L Button on the GameCube controller / the + Control Pad left on the Wii Remote or the R Button on the GameCube controller / the + Control Pad right on the Wii Remote to switch menu pages, the game will fade and continue with the "abandon cave" command, so be careful. If you leave the menu, you'll play like normal, except Pikmin won't be able to carry things, and your remaining leader will ignore enemy attacks and hazards. Carriable objects float a bit in the air, and this includes the leader; this can be used to go out of a metal cave's boundaries with the help of an enemy. If you do this, attempting the frozen leader glitch will make the leader float above the bottomless pit, and waking him up will make him continue his fall and respawn like normal.
  • Notes: None.
  • What would happen normally: The game should either not let the player pause the game until the leader's knockout cutscene starts and finishes, or it should actually leave the cave like normal.
  • Possible explanation: Since the leader's knockout cutscene begins one frame after the leader receives the final point of damage, there is a one-frame window in which the player can pause so that the leader still takes the damage, but the cutscene doesn't start. By choosing to quit out, the game queues both the "leader is down" cutscene and the "escape the cave" command, and because this is a scenario that should never happen, the game stays in a semi-frozen state to prepare for the cave escape cutscene, where some things, like carrying, don't work.

Leave boundaries[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions
Low Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
  • Effects: Makes you go out of bounds on garden-type sublevels.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Go to a sublevel that looks like an outside area (such as sublevel 2 of the Snagret Hole or the Brawl Yard), and have an enemy push you close to the boundary while you push into the same boundary. If done right, you will be flung to the outside of the walls and can explore out of bounds. The easiest way to do it is to use the Sniper Room, and finding the Orange Bulborb in a dead end, if it's there. Go on the boundary of the dead end, push through, and let the Bulborb bite you. It works a lot better if you time a press of the X Button on the GameCube controller / the C Button on the Nunchuk so that the leader lies down just as the creature takes a bite.
  • Notes: If you go far enough away from the main part of the level, you will hit a massive wall with blurry images of trees and foliage painted on it, or in other cases an invisible barrier. Throwing Pikmin at this barrier will make them float in place for a while before falling to the ground.[18]
  • Possible explanation: Same reason as to why the embed glitch happens.

Lockout skip[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration Other demonstrations
Medium Depends Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: ?
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
Twitch clip Skipping the burning Pikmin cutscene
  • Effects: Makes it possible to skip the partial control lockout that happens after a cutscene. In particular, when the player collects the final treasure in a sublevel and wants to enter the hole for the next sublevel, this can be used to skip the control lockout that stops the player from pressing the A Button on the GameCube controller / the A Button on the Wii Remote next to the hole, right after the treasure cutscene ends. This glitch can also be used with other cutscenes, like the one that plays when the first enemy is delivered to the Research Pod.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Right as a treasure is being delivered to the Research Pod, press the A Button on the GameCube controller / the A Button on the Wii Remote in front of the next sublevel's hole to interact with it. The screen should fade out due to the treasure's delivery, but the game will right afterwards ask if you want to delve deeper in the cave. If you say yes, the game will then continue from the treasure cutscene, and afterwards, the cutscene where the leaders and Pikmin dive inside the hole will take place, with no interval between.
  • Notes: At the end of the cave, the treasures that were used for this glitch will not be present on the tally, even though they will be considered collected and the all treasures ending can be achieved even if the glitch is used. In addition, because the treasures aren't tallied, the game won't consider that cave complete, which means the player can save time by not having to see the small cave completion celebration. To note however is that the player will not be given the Poko value for the treasures or objects involved with the glitch, and that there is the potential risk of the game freezing.[19] Furthermore, it's worth mentioning that if the player pauses and escapes the cave after performing this glitch, the treasure will still count as collected, and will not reappear.
  • Possible explanation: Starting the two events at once makes the game go through both of them right away, effectively skipping the small interval where the player is locked out from interacting with the hole. Because the game is in a non-expected state when the treasure is actually recovered, the entire process of registering its collection doesn't go through.

Protruding gate[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Harmless Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: ?
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
Video on Niconico Douga
  • Effects: Makes a gate able to be destroyed from the other side of a wall.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Occasionally, one of the posts that holds up a gate might protrude from an adjacent wall. You can issue your Pikmin to destroy the gate from the opposite side of the wall.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: The randomly generated mazes have complex algorithms, in order to create lively and balanced labyrinths. This complexity can sometimes cause minor problems, like having a gate protrude from a wall. Because from the other side of the wall, the gate is still a normal "gate" object, it can also be targeted and hit by Pikmin.

Spray nectar softlock[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Harmful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: No
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes a leader stay in his spray nectar absorption animation, with almost no way of getting out.
  • Prerequisites: Have not discovered any spray nectar drop yet.
  • How to: Place a leader near a spray nectar drop, but not so close that the discovery cutscene will begin. Then, place the other leader near it as well. When ready, have one leader whistle the other, such that the whistled leader will walk on top of the spray and begin absorbing it. With your current leader, walk towards the drop to discover it. If you timed it correctly, the drop will begin shrinking in the cutscene. The final step to get this glitch to work is to skip this cutscene before the drop is entirely gone. Approach too early, and the drop will stay the same size in the cutscene, and be absorbed like normal after the cutscene is done. This also happens if you let the cutscene go through. Approach too late, and the cutscene won't even begin. From here on out, the absorbing leader will be stuck, and your leader can join him too if you walk over the drop. There are very few ways to escape this state.
  • Notes: When a leader is in its absorption state, it can be pushed by another leader, an enemy, or by carried objects, but not by Pikmin. A leader in this state is also invincible, except to an enemy's shaking animation. When stuck, it is only possible to move the camera and pause the game. Ending the day, either normally or through the pause menu, will correct the glitch. No matter what is done, that spray will never be added to the total count. This glitch is not possible in the New Play Control! version because the player cannot skip the cutscene.
  • Possible explanation: None.

Spray nectar swap[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration Other demonstrations
Low Helpful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video YouTube video (at 5:23)
  • Effects: Makes an absorbed spray drop increase the amount of sprays of the opposite type instead.
  • Prerequisites: Have a spray drop ready to absorb, and a way to generate nectar drops or spray drops.
  • How to: You need to make a nectar drop or spray drop appear just as a leader finishes drinking a spray drop that is already on the floor. The new drop should appear right as the spray drop absorption is ending (i.e. just before the numbers on the HUD begin to change). The spray counter that will increase depends on the drop that has just appeared: you will receive one dosage of the spray type that just spawned, or if it's nectar, you'll get one dosage of ultra-bitter spray. One way to do this is to make the Iridescent Glint Beetle on the pot at the Awakening Wood release a spray drop, then petrify a nearby enemy, and issue some Pikmin to attack it. When the creature is almost defeated, go collect the spray drop, but time it so that the enemy explodes just as the drop is done being absorbed. You can also time it to the destruction of an egg, the burst of a Honeywisp's sac, the release of an Iridescent Flint Beetle's spoils, etc.
  • Notes: The window for this glitch is not very strict (seemingly 7 frames). With this, it is possible to obtain ultra-bitter sprays without having harvested any berries of that type. This glitch can also happen if the absorption is interrupted by the cutscene shown when the player collects 10 bitter berries.[20][21]
  • Possible explanation: None.

Tilted objects[edit]

Demonstration of the glitch.
Reproducibility Consequences Versions
Low Harmful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: Yes
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
  • Effects: Makes some objects become tilted. Can sometimes cause the object to fall through the map.
  • Prerequisites: None.
  • How to: Have Pikmin carry an object from a high ledge. Given the object's physics, it may fall down at an angle, and the Pikmin will proceed to carry it in said angle. Some Pikmin might even be holding it in mid-air, while other times, the Pikmin may let the object fall.
  • Notes: This glitch can also happen in Pikmin.
  • Possible explanation: Because of the game's physics and enforcement of gravity on objects, if Pikmin carrying the front of an object fall from an edge before the ones at the back do, the piece will be tilted. This is normal, but given that pieces falling from high places isn't common, the game doesn't handle it too well. Occasionally, it'll leave the piece tilted as the Pikmin are carrying it.

Treasure delivery crash[edit]

Reproducibility Consequences Versions Demonstration
Low Harmful Pikmin 2: Yes
New Play Control! Pikmin 2: ?
Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch): Unknown
YouTube video
  • Effects: Makes the game crash.
  • Prerequisites: Have an uncollected treasure in story mode.
  • How to: Make your Pikmin carry a treasure to the Research Pod in story mode. On the same frame in which the object gets delivered, pause the game. You know you got it right if the screen fades to black for a split-second before showing the regular pause menu. Then, choose to quit the cave. The game will show the treasure collection cutscene for a few seconds, although the treasure won't move, and will then crash.
  • Notes: None.
  • Possible explanation: The game is not ready to handle the event of the cave being abandoned at the exact same time it should show the delivery cutscene. It could be trying to play both at the same time, or play one of them while using the camera, assets, scripts, etc. loaded from the other, which leads to unexpected results.

Minor[edit]

The following glitches are too insignificant to warrant their own section, or do not have enough details, but are included here for completion's sake.

Gameplay[edit]

Glitch Pikmin 2 New Play Control! Switch Demonstration
If a Purple Pikmin is thrown at a gate while very close to the gate, and is thrown at full force, it will go through and attack from the other side. [22]
Some obstacles (such as the bags) are surrounded by invisible walls to prevent the player from throwing Pikmin to the other side of the obstacle. However, even after crushing the obstacle in question, the invisible walls do not disappear. This glitch can also be reproduced with the cardboard boxes in Pikmin. [23]
When Pikmin walk through a petrified Hermit Crawmad, without being issued to attack it, the creature will start taking damage, and can even be killed this way. [24]
If a Hermit Crawmad is petrified on land during its lunge attack, and is then dragged to the water, it will create the water splash effect even though it's not moving. If the enemy is killed in this state, the effect will stay there until the player exits the area or sublevel. [25]
Quitting a cave while Pikmin have been taken by a Candypop Bud, but before the new seeds are expelled, will make the Pikmin vanish. This will decrease the total Pikmin count, but won't increase the death counter. [26]
If Pikmin in a leader A's group touches fire, or any other hazard, they will be burning up without technically leaving leader A's group. In this state, if leader B whistles leader A, this will count as all of leader A's Pikmin getting whistled, meaning that the Pikmin's fire will be put out, regardless of how far away that Pikmin is, and the fact that the whistle wasn't anywhere close to them. [27]
Petrifying a bomb rock just as it is about to blow up will make it disappear without harm. [28]
Killing a petrified Mamuta that had an Unmarked Spectralids resting on top of it, and then leaving the scene will make the Spectralids return to its original position, and land in mid-air. [29]
Petrifying an Emperor Bulblax as it is jumping, and then killing it in mid-air will cause the body to vanish, the health wheel to stay there, and a sound to repeat over and over. Similarly, petrifying a Female Sheargrub as it is unearthing and killing it will cause the same effect. [30][31][32]
An Orange Bulborb can play its dying animation faster than normal, for no apparent reason. [33]
Surrounding a Wollywog in a large group of Pikmin can make it unable to decide which Pikmin to attack for several seconds. [34]
If a leader is holding a Purple Pikmin on top of a seesaw block, the Pikmin's weight will go from 10 to 2.
A Pikmin that is drowning will be unable to be eaten. On top of that, when an enemy tries to eat it, it will just reset the Pikmin's drowning timer. [35]
Pikmin can go through the wall in the first sublevel of Snagret Hole. If the player throws the Pikmin at the root opposite the entrance to the ramp going up, the Pikmin can go through and fall out of bounds. [36]
If a Dwarf Orange Bulborb spawns from the sky and lands on top of an Antenna Beetle, it will only fall to the ground once the Beetle is completely off-screen, even if visually it already left its spot. [37]
For unknown reasons, during the treasure collection cutscene, if the Pikmin carrying the treasure are in range to automatically join the active leader's squad, they will occasionally instead try to run back to where the treasure was originally located, be it from where it was originally sitting, or where it was dropped from an enemy. This tends to happen particularly only on or is only particularly noticeable on sublevel 9 of the Cavern of Chaos and sublevels 10 and 14 of the Dream Den. [38]

Aesthetic[edit]

Glitch Pikmin 2 New Play Control! Switch Demonstration
In Challenge mode, have some Pikmin carry a treasure, and just as it is being beamed into the Research Pod, quit the level. The cutscene will initiate with the treasure still floating, smaller than its original size. This does not work with enemy carcasses, but can also be performed with cutscene-triggering treasures, but the timing involved makes it much harder.
In Challenge Mode, after the cutscene where the Pikmin and leaders land fades out, the player has a 3 frame window in which they can press the camera zoom button. Doing so will zoom out the camera like normal while the "Ready? Go!" text appears, but objects outside of the standard zoom level's reach will not appear until the gameplay begins proper. Other text cutscenes, like the debt repayment milestone text can also be affected. With this, the player can even see a Pellet Posy with no pellet inside (until the gameplay begins and the objects get rendered properly).
If you lie down, get up as soon as possible, and start whistling, the first part of the whistle will be silent, and the sound will only start some time after.
The stems of idle Pikmin at the start of a 2-Player Battle match will not glow. The glow will start working normally if the Pikmin is added to the group and then made idle again. In the New Play Control! version, sometimes a Pikmin that should otherwise be affected by the glitch will have the glow working properly from the get-go.
By activating the hole to the next sublevel at the same time the leader begins lying down, the player will activate the hole confirmation prompt when the leader is in mid-air, and lying down. If the player confirms, the Pikmin will huddle up to where that leader was, in the GameCube version, or they will run away from the hole entirely, in the Wii version. [39][40]
If the player pauses and unpauses when holding on to a Pikmin, the Pikmin will stop playing its sound.
Pausing when a leader or enemy is on top of a seesaw block will cause the carrying numbers "0/1" to appear.
If a leader is lying down and being carried by Pikmin when the cutscene explaining how sunset works begins, that leader will get up and start walking in place. [41]
When playing the New Play Control! version in widescreen or the Nintendo Switch version, during the cutscene where Louie runs away from the Red Pikmin he just plucked, when he leaves the screen from the left and re-enters it shortly after, it is possible to see him zip into scene very quickly for a split-second. No Yes Yes
Sometimes, right before Titan Dweevil uses one of its weapons or tries to shake off Pikmin, one of the notes in the Titan Dweevil's theme will play really loudly. This is likely caused by some error from how the sequenced music is set to transition from the main theme to the attack stingers. Yes [42]

Hard to reproduce[edit]

Glitch Pikmin 2 New Play Control! Switch Demonstration
The game can crash for a number of reasons, as explained in this article.
Given unknown circumstances, it is possible for Pikmin in a cave to attack a gate while quite far away from it, leaning on a wall. It might only happen if the gate is blocking off a dead end, and there is a room on the opposite side of the dead end's wall. [43]
If a Pikmin is latching on to a Yellow Wollywog, there is a chance that it will be crushed in mid-air. [44]
Rarely, a Pikmin may refuse to carry an object. [45]
Petrifying a Waterwraith while it is on top of large corpses or treasures will make it float around in a semi-random way. [46]
Given unknown circumstances, it's possible for a walking Armored Cannon Larva to turn into the buried version. This glitched buried version can also get stunned, unlike the regular buried version. [47][48]
Rarely, it is possible for a Burrowing Snagret or Pileated Snagret to live with 0 health. Damaging the creature in any way will end the glitch.
In all of the metallic caves it is possible for your Pikmin to fall off the stage. This usually kills the Pikmin, but there are reports of that sometimes not happening.
In caves like the Snagret Hole, there are solid walls. Behind these walls, you see nothing but black. If a Bumbling Snitchbug grabs one of the leaders, there is a chance that it will drop him into the void the walls are blocking out. If you fall in, you will reappear at the Research Pod. [49]
If a leader is hurt while held by a Bumbling Snitchbug (e.g. with an electrical wire), they will enter a state similar to as if they were on the ground. This means they can whistle, punch, etc. Making the leader lie down will result in him falling to the ground, sleeping, but after the Snitchbug attempts to throw, the leader will enter a "falling" state. In this state, they can't do much except be pushed around by other objects, and act as if there is no friction. Hitting a wall fixes this. [50]
Much like the Hideous Victual glitches, treasures can jump away seemingly at random, and even become unreachable in an unknown location. This is likely due to the collision cylinders for both objects overlapping, and the game attempting to push them apart. [51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][dead link] [64][65]
Pikmin can sometimes bounce away after landing on an enemy. [66]
For unknown reasons, the Giant Breadbug can become immune to ultra-bitter sprays after it has bonked on the Research Pod as a treasure is collected. [67]
If a treasure is salvaged at the same time a debt repayment update message shows up on-screen, the game will softlock and enter a state similar to the treasure analysis state, but without the effects or HUD for it, and without the ability to close out. The player can still rotate the treasure around. [68][69]
Very rarely, enemies can instantly die for seemingly no reason. It seems to only happen when nearby enemies are taking damage. [70][71][72][73]
A plucked Pikmin can appear displaced above the Onion, for a second. [74]
A plucked Pikmin can fall through the floor shortly after being plucked. [75][76]
A Fiery Bulblax stunned by Purple Pikmin can have its health frozen in place for a while even while continuously getting attacked, and after the glitch wears off, its health will drop down to the value it should be at. [77]
Objects can fall through the floor seemingly without reason. If a Pikmin is holding on to it, it can fall too. [78][79]
An Antenna Beetle can spawn in such a way that it dies shortly after, causing the treasure to fall back on the floor. [80][81]
Antenna Beetles struggling near thin walls can pass through them and fall out of bounds, into the pit. [82]
Creeping Chrysanthemums and Red Bulborbs can freeze and refuse to change state. They can still be damaged, and bounce when they are. [83][84][85]
Breadbugs can sometimes dart forward when they grab an object or when they are close to their den. Yes [86][87][88], Discord video
Some treasures, in some circumstances, can become uncarriable by Pikmin. [89]
The Unspeakable Wonder can go under the floor next to its starting position, given unknown circumstances. It will be carried by the Pikmin in a plane below the ramp of snow that leads up to the treasure. [90]
Due to unknown reasons, an Anode Beetle's zapping particles can remain in place indefinitely. [91]
It is possible for an Anode Beetle to spawn above a gate. [92]
For an unknown reason, a Waterwraith can land in mid-air, and after it finishes its landing animation, it falls down to the ground with a bounce. [93]
If a Waterwraith lands on top of a treasure, it will look like it's bouncing in the air. In some rare cases, it may slam onto the ground as it lands, possibly triggering its vulnerable status, making it possible to damage it before floor 5. [94]
Rarely, a falling Wollywog can crush Pikmin latched on to it. [95]
Pikmin may randomly follow an incorrect path in the middle of moving while carrying something. [96]
Pikmin that are shaken off by Dwarf Bulbears can appear on the floor above them, if any. [97]
For unknown reasons, a Waterwraith can get frozen in its solid state while on rollers. It can also turn back into its transparent state instantly. If this glitch happens, the creature cannot be killed. [98]
For unknown reasons, a dweevil corpse can have its Purple Pikmin stun particles attached to it. [99]
For unknown reasons, a dweevil may fail to pick up a treasure. [100]
When playing Challenge Mode for several hours, there is a possibility the game can begin acting weirdly, like Pikmin not interacting with objects unless dismissed, or treasures not pushing other objects away. [101]
With a specific timing, by placing the Ranging Bloyster off-camera as it dies, it is possible for its lock-on sound effect to continue playing even after its death. [102]
It is possible for the treasure recovery music to only start playing after a small delay. [103]
It is possible for a Pikmin that gets plucked to fall into the pit in the process, but remain alive. [104]
It is possible for a Hairy Bulborb that is getting pelted by Purple Pikmin to go through a wall. [105]
In Bully Den in 2-player mode, a Waterwraith will always ignore Louie. This can result in a rollerless Waterwraith casually walking or even standing still next to Louie as if it doesn't notice him. Louie can still attack the creature, though. Yes Yes Yes Discord video
It is possible for an Armored Cannon Beetle Larva to take a few seconds before it emerges out of its hole. [106]
It is possible for a Burrowing Snagret to pop out from the floor inside a gate, in Snagret Hole sublevel 6. [107]
If the sunset warning cutscene begins at the same time the player is getting Pikmin to carry a leader that is lying down, it is possible for that leader to stand up and become unresponsive. He can still be whistled by the other leader, however. [108]
By entering the hole to the next sublevel at the same time the Waterwraith would appear for the first time, the Waterwraith's cutscene will start, but only with the rollers and without the creature proper. It will also have no music or sound effects. Yes Unknown Yes [109], Twitter video
When plucking Pikmin, it is possible for one Pikmin to temporarily appear at the top of the Onion as it is ejecting seeds. [110]
A treasure carried by a Giant Breadbug and Pikmin, with the Pikmin overpowering the Breadbug, may temporarily follow some weird path and ignore collisions, even against walls. It can force its carriers to go out of bounds. [111]
For unknown reasons, Pikmin that are swarming may become idle in Cavern of Chaos sublevel 4. [112]
During a treasure recovery cutscene, a Purple Pikmin may decide to walk off the group of delivery Pikmin on its own, whilst in the "struggling to lift object" animation. [113]
It is possible for a Pileated Snagret to catch four Pikmin before swallowing or burrowing, instead of three. [114]
In New Play Control! Pikmin 2, it is possible for broken bands to appear on-screen after a Pikmin is caught by an enemy. When this happens, the game runs very slowly, though it can be fixed by leaving the current sublevel, if inside a cave. [115][116]
It is possible for the Comedy Bomb to zip by at high speed when Pikmin start carrying it, and go out of bounds. [117]
Enemies that fall from the ceiling can spawn out of bounds. Unknown Unknown Yes [118]
The Giant Breadbug can grab onto something in Snack Pit and then stand in place as it's unable to drag the object back. Unknown Unknown Yes Discord video
Given unknown circumstances, it is possible for the Burgeoning Spiderwort mold to become indestructible. This can be fixed by resetting the game. Yes Unknown Yes [119]
Given unknown circumstances, it is possible for a Fiery Bulblax to stop moving, shaking, and biting. It can still die as usual when its health is depleted. This may coincide with it turning to head back to its home after disengaging with the player. Unknown Unknown Yes [120]
In version 1.0.0 of Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch), if the player pauses the game when the timer in a Challenge Mode stage hits 10 exactly, the game will crash. Unknown Unknown Yes (1.0.0)
It is possible for thrown Pikmin to keep going in the same direction forever, unaffected by gravity, or to simply be flung much farther and slower than usual. No No Yes Twitter video, 2, 3, 4
If a Pikmin catches on fire right after a treasure is delivered, the cutscene might show the Pikmin in a T-pose. Unknown Unknown Yes Twitter video
It is possible for an enemy to fall from the ceiling in a cave, but spawn beyond the wall, falling directly into the pit. Unknown Unknown Yes Twitter video
It is possible for a Pikmin of the opposite team to carry objects to a player's Onion, in 2-Player Battle. Unknown Unknown Yes Twitter video
It is possible for the Withering Blowhog that falls from the ceiling in sublevel 3 of the Submerged Castle to spawn out of bounds. Yes Unknown Unknown Twitch clip (language warning)

Other[edit]

See: Crash#Pikmin 2
See: Mistake#Pikmin 2
See: Out of bounds#Pikmin 2
See: Path oversights#Pikmin 2
See: Sequence break#Pikmin 2

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ YouTube video of a player clipping through the seesaw block by lying down on its edge (at 1:49:40)
  2. ^ YouTube video showing Pikmin falling into the pit whilst on the sublevel jump cutscene
  3. ^ Discord video on Discord, published on October 29th, 2021, retrieved on November 5th, 2021
  4. ^ YouTube video of a Gatling Groink's animations being sped up after a revival, in Secret Testing Range, published on May 8th, 2017, retrieved on April 24th, 2020
  5. ^ YouTube video of a Gatling Groink's moving animations speeding up after a revival, in Cavern of Chaos (at 03:38), published on April 22nd, 2020, retrieved on April 23rd, 2020
  6. ^ YouTube video of a secondary leader no longer running away from enemies, published on August 11th, 2021, retrieved on August 21st, 2021
  7. ^ YouTube video showing what happens when the game is forced to switch to the frozen leader (at 04:25)
  8. ^ YouTube video showing the frozen leader glitch during sunset
  9. ^ Twitch clip on Twitch, published on May 24th, 2017, retrieved on May 25th, 2017
  10. ^ YouTube video of the Hideous Victual sliding away (language warning), published on October 16th, 2018, retrieved on October 17th, 2018
  11. ^ Twitch clip on Twitch, published on March 22nd, 2021, retrieved on March 22nd, 2021
  12. ^ YouTube video of the Hideous Victual flying off as it spawns
  13. ^ YouTube video of the Hideous Victual embedded underground, followed by a game crash
  14. ^ Video on Twitter, published on May 26th, 2017, retrieved on May 26th, 2017
  15. ^ Twitch clip on Twitch
  16. ^ Video on Twitch, published on February 2nd, 2019, retrieved on February 2nd, 2019
  17. ^ Video on Twitter, published on May 8th, 2017, retrieved on May 25th, 2017
  18. ^ YouTube video with the boundaries glitch, showing what happens to Pikmin thrown at the invisible wall
  19. ^ Twitch clip on Twitch
  20. ^ Twitch clip on Twitch, published on January 16th, 2023, retrieved on January 17th, 2023
  21. ^ Twitch clip on Twitch, published on February 28th, 2023, retrieved on March 3rd, 2023
  22. ^ YouTube video showing Purple Pikmin being thrown through a gate
  23. ^ YouTube video showing the invisible walls.
  24. ^ YouTube video of petrified Hermit Crawmads suffering damage without being attacked
  25. ^ YouTube video of a petrified Hermit Crawmad leaving the water splash trail behind
  26. ^ YouTube video showing a cave escape when the Pikmin have been taken by a Candypop Bud
  27. ^ YouTube video showing how it's possible to whistle a leader in order to save all of that leader's Pikmin
  28. ^ YouTube video of a bomb rock disappearing by being petrified just as it was going to blow up
  29. ^ YouTube video of a Spectralids returning to where a Mamuta was, and standing in mid-air
  30. ^ Twitch clip on Twitch, published on June 23rd, 2018, retrieved on June 23rd, 2018
  31. ^ Video of an Emperor Bulblax that disappeared with 0 health remaining, by The JustGreat Minty Meeo on Discord, published on June 1st, 2018, retrieved on June 1st, 2018
  32. ^ YouTube video of a Female Sheargrub getting petrified as it digs out of the ground, published on July 14th, 2019, retrieved on July 14th, 2019
  33. ^ Twitch clip on Twitch, published on June 10th, 2018, retrieved on June 10th, 2018
  34. ^ YouTube video of a Wollywog surrounded by Pikmin refusing to attack, published on June 5th, 2018, retrieved on June 13th, 2018
  35. ^ Twitter video on Twitter, published on December 30th, 2018, retrieved on February 9th, 2019
  36. ^ YouTube video of Pikmin being thrown at the gap in the wall, published on October 7th, 2019, retrieved on October 7th, 2019
  37. ^ YouTube video of a Dwarf Orange Bulborb falling on an Antenna Beetle, published on April 6th, 2023, retrieved on April 10th, 2023
  38. ^ Twitter video by @Rheycore accidentally demonstrating the glitch
  39. ^ Video of a leader lying down at the same time the hole is activated, in the GameCube version, by "PikHacker" on Discord, published on December 20th, 2019, retrieved on December 21st, 2019
  40. ^ Video of a leader lying down at the same time the hole is activated, in the Wii version, by "PikHacker" on Discord, published on December 20th, 2019, retrieved on December 21st, 2019
  41. ^ Post on reddit, published on December 5th, 2018, retrieved on May 3rd, 2022
  42. ^ YouTube video of a single note of the Titan Dweevil's theme playing loudly (at 16:31)
  43. ^ YouTube video showcasing a glitch where Pikmin attack a gate in a cave from far away (at 11:09)
  44. ^ YouTube video showing a Purple Pikmin being crushed in mid-air
  45. ^ YouTube video showing a Purple Pikmin refusing to carry a dead Yellow Wollywog
  46. ^ YouTube video showing how the Waterwraith behaves when petrified on top of large objects
  47. ^ YouTube video showing how a free Armored Cannon Larva transformed into a buried one
  48. ^ YouTube video demonstrating how the glitched buried Larva can still get stunned.
  49. ^ YouTube video in which a Bumbling Snitchbug drops a leader out of bounds (at 13:41)
  50. ^ YouTube video of what happens if a leader is hurt while grabbed by a Bumbling Snitchbug
  51. ^ Twitch clip on Twitch, published on September 28th, 2017, retrieved on September 28th, 2017
  52. ^ YouTube video of the Five-man Napsack jumping away, published on September 2nd, 2018, retrieved on September 10th, 2018
  53. ^ Twitch clip on Twitch, published on October 29th, 2018, retrieved on October 29th, 2018
  54. ^ Twitch clip (language warning) on Twitch
  55. ^ Twitch clip on Twitch Clips
  56. ^ Twitch clip on Twitch Clips
  57. ^ YouTube video of a Crystal Clover being projected as it spawns, published on November 18th, 2018, retrieved on November 19th, 2018
  58. ^ Twitch clip on Twitch, published on February 3rd, 2019, retrieved on February 3rd, 2019
  59. ^ Twitter video on Twitter, published on February 3rd, 2019, retrieved on February 3rd, 2019
  60. ^ Twitch video on Twitch, published on February 15th, 2019, retrieved on February 15th, 2019
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