A Blue Pikmin tripping.
A Blue Pikmin tripping in Pikmin.

In the Pikmin games, a Pikmin that is moving can randomly fumble, and either fall down face-first (referred to as tripping), or stumble forward a bit (referred to as stumbling). When this happens, the Pikmin is usually unusable until it recovers. A Pikmin that trips or stumbles runs the risk of being forgotten, captured by enemies, or flung into an obstacle[1], making it important for the player to pay attention to the whole group and use whatever tools they have to get the Pikmin back to normal quickly.

Tripping was introduced in the first game, where it is fairly common. It carried over to Pikmin 2, where the chances for a Pikmin to trip got reduced, but stumbling was added. Both mechanics were removed entirely in Pikmin 3. Tripping was later re-added for Hey! Pikmin but it has been made less punishing – Pikmin only trip in specific spots, and they get up faster.

Details

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 2.
Particularly: Add the stumbling duration.

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Hey! Pikmin.

In Pikmin, a Pikmin that trips lands face-first, stays there for a while, shakes its head, and gets up. It stays in the tripped state for roughly 4 and a half seconds, from the moment it begins falling forward to the moment it starts moving again. All throughout, the Pikmin is considered a normal part of Olimar's group, so the player is able to pick up and throw the Pikmin, or even dismiss to cause it to instantly get back up and join its type's group. These two actions can be performed to get back into action faster, instead of waiting for the Pikmin to get up.

In Pikmin 2, tripping is roughly the same as in Pikmin. Stumbling makes the Pikmin jut forward in whatever direction it was moving, for a roughly fixed distance, and for some seconds. In this game however, nothing can be done to return the Pikmin to normal faster, for either tripping or stumbling. While the Pikmin is still considered a part of the group, the HUD's standby icon calculation will skip over that Pikmin. This means that if the player only has one Pikmin and it trips or stumbles, the HUD will show a "no Pikmin" symbol. Attempting to dismiss while a Pikmin is tripped or stumbling will keep the Pikmin in the player's group.

Triggers

To do: Confirm, for both games, that swarming increases the chances.
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Pikmin can only trip or stumble if they are following the leader somewhere, or if the player is moving the group. The chances for a Pikmin to trip or stumble, as well as the moment the game decides that, are not known.

Although unconfirmed, it is rumored that moving the group increases the odds of a Pikmin tripping.[source needed]

Purple Pikmin have a lower chance of stumbling compared to other Pikmin types.[2]

At least in Pikmin, cutscenes do not make the Pikmin immune to tripping, since it is possible for a Pikmin to trip in the sunset gathering cutscene.[3]

Hey! Pikmin tripping spots

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Hey! Pikmin.
Particularly: Finish the tripping spot list; the object in the areas is called stumble_space.

In Hey! Pikmin, during gameplay, Pikmin are only be able to trip in very specific places. These are sections of an area where there is a lot of room to walk in, and there are no real dangers nearby. These spots are purposely chosen by the area designers, by placing a stumble_space object on top of the line of terrain they want. The following is a list of all such objects:

Outside of gameplay

To do: Add cases from the Short Movies.
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Tripping is also used in other parts of the franchise outside of a random gameplay mechanic.

In the Pikmin Park, a Pikmin that is following a line while heading towards an obstacle to clean up may trip. This temporarily slows the line down behind it, but the Pikmin will get up on its own shortly after, and speed up to catch its place. This is purely aesthetic, and has no impact on the progression of the park's cleanup.

Gallery

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See also

References

  1. ^ Twitch video (language warning) on Twitch, published on June 10th, 2019, retrieved on June 11th, 2019
  2. ^ Fan-driven research
  3. ^ YouTube video where a Pikmin trips in the sunset gathering cutscene (at 15:19), published on December 28th, 2015, retrieved on June 8th, 2019