Pikmin prerelease information

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Notes: Remove the opening paragraph's direction to the unused content article and instead, on this article, give brief mentions of the unused content that hints to cut enemies, areas, etc. (i.e. exclude obvious debugging content).

Some information about prerelease content in Pikmin exists, in the form of trailers and gameplay footage. This content differs from what can be found in the final game. The videos, screenshots, etc. shown here are about development versions, and although their exact labels are not known, fans commonly call them "beta", "alpha", or "pre-alpha" versions.

Some unused content also exists inside the final version, that hints at what sort of content was meant to appear in the final version, but that information is listed on the unused content page instead.

Trailers

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

Trailer 1

To do: Gather info from the Pikmin E3 2001 Show Off's version, specifically, the ending with 4 panes. Also, detail the HUD differences better.
Care to do so?

{{#ev:youtube|v=7x245evHAhQ|350|right}} The first trailer shows a lot of differences from the final version of the game. These changes can also be seen on screenshots showcased in Nintendo Power #145.^[1]

View trailer

The following is differen from the final version:

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

Trailer 2

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

View trailer; sound version

The following changes from the final version can be spotted:

Minor aesthetic differences.
The HUD is the same as the final version's, but the day counter is at the bottom right corner of the screen, and the Pikmin-type counter is missing. Red Pikmin are also shown as Blue Pikmin.
Bridges aren't complete yet; they are blue with a weird glassy texture. The opposite end where the bridges end is some sort of white platform.
Some blue nectar can be seen.
Pikmin can be seen taking down a stone gate, something that can only be destroyed with bomb-rocks in the final game.
The Puffy Blowhog's attack throws Pikmin and Olimar a lot higher and farther.
Some areas look the same as in the final game, but others seem to be entirely different. The enemy and object placement in the final areas is also different.
The Puffstool can be seen on The Forest of Hope.
There is an unknown bell-shaped object at The Distant Spring, that doesn't appear anywhere in the final game (at 0:41 in the video, near the top left corner).
On one of the videos, an early version of The Impact Site's theme at sunset is played, in which the fippled flute starts out solo.
A lot of sound effects are missing.
After a Pikmin is plucked, a throwing sound effect plays instead of the Pikmin making a sound.
Pikmin that land after being thrown make their dismiss sound.
Footstep sounds have a higher interval between them.
At times, a wobbly sound can be heard when controlling a group of Pikmin.
Metallic banging sounds can be heard when knocking on stone gates and bridges; both sounds are different.
The Yellow Wollywog's jump has a more cartoony sound effect.

Trailer 3

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

View trailer

The following differences from the final version can be seen:

The Extraordinary Bolt replaces the location of the Whimsical Radar.
The S.S. Dolphin when it is crashed is noticeably more empty.
Minor aesthetic differences.
The day counter is in the bottom-right corner. It's now a circle instead of an oval.
When Pikmin are plucked, they become pale.
When a Puffy Blowhog attacks, it send the Pikmin and Olimar much higher and farther.
Pikmin can be seen climbing a really long vertical pole on The Distant Spring.

Early gameplay

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E3 2001 Tech Demo Show Off

{{#ev:youtube|v=IdQwnLW2eoY|350|right}} Some gameplay could be seen at the E3 2001 Tech Demo Show Off, with Shigeru Miyamoto playing the game, while a translator translates his speech live. The gameplay appears to initially take place in map_06, then later tuto2, starting from the larger area and finally what is presumbly E3play_3, starting from the high ground. View trailer

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

Enemy reel

Main article: Enemy reel discrepancies.

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

Other info

On the page of the manual that describes how Onions and pellets work, there is a picture showing three Pikmin carrying a 1 pellet. This was likely a possibility during development.
In an interview between Nintendo staff members and Nintendo Player's Guide, it was revealed that one enemy was originally meant to carry a Pikmin's leg in the corner of its mouth.^[2] This was removed for being deemed too frightening.

The manual image showing 3 Pikmin on a 1 pellet.
The page from the guide's interview, where Miyamoto and Reed discuss the scrapped enemy.

Gallery

A strawberry.
00.PNG

An early enemy resembling the Burrowing Snagret.
Early Pikmin Snagret.jpg

A Burrowing Snagret closer to the final version.
An unknown ship part, presumably the Main Engine.
An early Pellet Posy.
Early counter.jpg

Early Pikmin counter.
General screenshot.
General screenshot.
Early The Impact Site. Notice how there are yellow and blue pellets, but only the red Onion is there.
Mushroom Pikmin.
Pikmincarrey-3.JPG

Carrying without HUD numbers.
Male Sheargrubs and Shearwigs.
A Breadbug at The Distant Spring.
A Puffy Blowhog. Notice how the ground it's blowing on has water ripples.
An early reinforced wall. Notice the camera's extreme field-of-view.
Some early nectar.
Pikmin-armored-cannon-beetle.jpg

An Armored Cannon Beetle on The Forest Navel. Notice that its cannon is larger and more defined than in the final version.
Page from Nintendo Power #145, showing some early screenshots.
Promotional bookmark given out at school libraries. Uses common prerelease screenshots and official artwork.

References

^ Old Game Mags on tumblr
^ “The enemy creatures aren't frightening, but they became frightening once the programmers created creatures that eat Pikmin. / The most frightening one was the creature that kept doing its own thing while keeping a Pikmin leg hanging out of the side of its mouth. (Laughs.) Of course, I removed it.” – Miyamoto and Reed in a Nintendo Player's Guide interview

Navigation

[1] Old Game Mags on tumblr

[2] “The enemy creatures aren't frightening, but they became frightening once the programmers created creatures that eat Pikmin. / The most frightening one was the creature that kept doing its own thing while keeping a Pikmin leg hanging out of the side of its mouth. (Laughs.) Of course, I removed it.” – Miyamoto and Reed in a Nintendo Player's Guide interview

[1]

[2]

Prerelease information
General info	Pikmin • Pikmin 2 • Pikmin 3 • Pikmin 4 • Hey! Pikmin
Unused content	Pikmin • Pikmin 2 • Pikmin 3 • Pikmin 4 • Hey! Pikmin
Unreleased games	Adam and Eve • Patent US7762893 • Stage Debut