Pikmin Adventure

Pikmin Adventure
	Pikmin Adventure
Console	Wii U
Developer	Nintendo
Publisher	Nintendo
Genre	Action strategy
Players	1 to 5 players (story mode); 2 to 5 players (versus mode)
Release date
Japan	N/A
North America	N/A
Europe	N/A
Australia	N/A
South Korea	N/A

For the article about the park-themed game as a whole, see Nintendo Land.

Pikmin Adventure is an attraction featured in the Wii U title Nintendo Land. As its name suggests, it is the Pikmin-themed mini-game of the 12 Nintendo franchise-based attractions playable in Nintendo Land.

Unlike normal games in the Pikmin franchise, Pikmin Adventure is a fast-paced, action packed experience, as opposed to the real time strategy-styled puzzle solving nature of the other ones. The goal is to complete each level, which merely involves going from the start to the finish. Pikmin Adventure also includes a multiplayer co-op and a multiplayer versus mode.

Pikmin Adventure is played with one to five players. One player controls their Mii dressed in Olimar's spacesuit, and uses the Wii U GamePad, while up to four others use the Wii Remote to play as Miis dressed as assorted, larger Pikmin. There will always be one Olimar player and one Pikmin player, even if an AI player has to take the place of a human one.

The players are tasked with navigating through each level, defeating enemies and blockades on the way, until they reach the end, where the Hocotate ship awaits. The attraction has a blocky and metallic theme to it, specially the enemies, in which most of them are are mechanized versions of normal Pikmin enemies.

Gameplay

The Olimar player has a group of smaller Pikmin they control, and are differentiated from the playable Pikmin by their smaller size and resemblance to chess pieces. Although they have different colors, these do not make a difference, with the exception of Blue Pikmin, that do not flail when underwater. In addition, the player controlling Olimar has the option of using their whistle to call every Pikmin to their side (including those controlled by other players), which is done by using the icon on the lower left of the touch screen or by pressing / . The captain player can throw Pikmin by tapping at a spot on the GamePad, while the Pikmin players move around and attack freely. All human-controlled characters have a shared health meter, represented by hearts on the HUD.

As they make their way through the area, players will encounter enemies. Most of the time, all enemies in a section must be defeated before the next one is unlocked. Other times, players must destroy a specific block or perform some other task before the path is cleared. Most levels have large enemies – bosses – near the end. These too must be defeated before the level can be completed.

All players can move around freely, attack and pick up rocks and bombs. The captain player can issue small Pikmin to attack blocks or enemies, while the Pikmin players can strike with their heads. Throughout the levels, blobs of nectar will appear from various sources. Collecting three blobs increases that player's level, which increases the attack power. With nectar, the relevant Pikmin on the player's side can mature from leaves to buds to flowers, though this, in and of itself, is merely aesthetic. For the captain player, an increase in maturity means an increase in army number, and for the Pikmin player, more nectar means higher defense; when hit, Pikmin players will lose levels, and if they're hit when on the bottommost level, they will die. Whenever a player dies, the game freezes for a second, showing the defeated player, and when it resumes normal speed, that player will be sent flying upwards at an angle. A heart is depleted from the meter and, provided there are still any left, the player will briefly join the game again after a couple of seconds. AI-controlled players will not freeze the game or count down the number of hearts when killed.

One of the main mechanics of the game is the captain player's whistle. When used, all Pikmin, player-controlled or not, will be grouped with the captain. The player Pikmin will stack on top of the captain's head and can be thrown in this fashion. If a player Pikmin doesn't want to be grouped, they can shake the Wii Remote after the whistle. Some spring-loaded pads, which require all players to be stacked in order to be activated, propel everyone onto other rooms.

Walls block the players' path sometimes, but these can be broken down. Some of these blocks are replaced with Question Blocks, which give out a bit of nectar or a heart when broken. In addition, larger variants of these blocks are on the ground in certain spots, and trigger certain events to happen when broken, such as spawning a bridge. Some Question Blocks appear spontaneously from certain spots on the ground, and when broken, reveal several pools of nectar and sometimes hearts.

There are three powerups that captains and Pikmin can obtain. These change the way Pikmin are thrown and damage enemies with. If hurt, the captain or Pikmin player will lose their powerup instead of being knocked out. Certain levels also play out similar to Super Mario 3D Land, in which there is a time limit, and players must continuously kill enemies and overcome obstacles to gain more time, to keep the timer from reaching 0. Players that fail repeatedly on the same level will find a large Question Block at the start of the level on their next try. Breaking this releases a giant blob of nectar that instantly levels up all players to level 50, or adds a minute to the clock in timed runs.

After completing the normal expeditions, advanced missions are unlocked, with an increased difficulty level. These missions also give the Olimar player a new gameplay mechanic: by pressing / or a button on the GamePad's screen, all Pikmin in the captain's party are changed to Red, Yellow, Blue, or the usual mixed group. These colors now make a difference due to the fact that enemy weak points in these missions are color-coded, and only Pikmin of the same color can harm them. In addition, Blue Pikmin are still immune to navigating through water. Mastery rankings also exist for all levels in the attraction; to obtain them, players must complete the stage within a certain time limit, and not take any damage.

Versus mode

In the competitive mode, the Olimar player battles against the Pikmin players with the goal being to get more pieces of candy than the other team. Candy appears from defeated enemies and from attacks inflicted on members of the opposing team. Enemies, rocks, bombs, Question Blocks and power-ups also appear at times.

Content

Enemies

Some of the common creatures in the Pikmin series appear, such as Red Bulborbs, but there are also enemies never seen before in the actual series. The most common is a race of spherical insects, called "Beebs". Cannons are also featured; they either fire bombs or spiked balls. Blowhogs appear, but blow out air and charge.

In order to attack an enemy, players must aim at their purple, spherical weak points. There is a robotic UFO piloted by the villainous Dark Monita that appears in some rooms, and drops enemies inside gashapon capsules. The most common enemies chomp Pikmin or the captain, although there is a variety that can grab their prey, throw them up in the air, swallow them, and encapsulate them inside blocks shaped like feces. Players who are trapped will constantly shout "Help!" via a speech bubble near them, and they can be freed from these prisons if other characters or Pikmin attack them, at which point they'll say "Thank you!" via another speech bubble. The same happens if a player is trapped inside a bubble that had been shot at them.

In the extra levels, some enemies are imbued with elemental properties: fire, electricity and water. These do not affect Pikmin like the hazards of the main Pikmin games but instead indicate which type of Pikmin will deal damage.

The following enemies exist:

Bulborb: comes in three colors: red, yellow, and green. Red Bulborbs charge after players in a straight line, while Yellow Bulborbs hop back and forth to dodge attacks and can also spit projectiles like water or spiked balls. Green Bulborbs attack like the Red Bulborbs, but have the added ability of following the player while charging. All of these Bulborbs can eat players and trap them inside of a Bulborb dropping.
Bilious Bulborb: similar to the Orange Bulborb in appearance, the Bilious Bulborb has three weak points; one on its back and two more on its sides. It attacks by spitting projectiles at players.
Beeb: an enemy that walks around and has a simple tackle attack.
Bombardier Beeb: a Beeb variant that will explode shortly after spotting a player. The larger the Bombardier Beeb, the bigger the blast radius. It can be defeated before detonating, which yields nectar or coins.
Telescoping Pumphog: a type of Blowhog that is anchored to the ground. It mainly acts as a cannon that fires bombs or spiked balls. White Pumphogs lack weak points and are invincible. This enemy is typically stationary, but a rare variant can burrow through the ground as means of travel.

Bosses

Bosses use the Titan Dweevil's theme.

King Beeb: a large Beeb that rolls around to trample players.
Bulblord: a large Bulborb with a hexagon-shaped body. It charges, rolls, and bites. A stamp can be obtained by breaking its eyes.
Large-Mouth Wollywog: a large Wollywog. It uses its tongue to attack.
Emperor Pinchipede: a large centipede with pincers. Its main attack is to try and bite the players.
Greater Bladed Beeb: a insect which bears blades on its hands. It tries to cut players.
Grand Bulblord: a green Bulblord.
Translucent Wollywog: a ghost-like Large-Mouth Wollywog.
Greater Studded Beeb: a spike-ball handed Greater-Bladed Beeb.
Monochromatic Pinchipede: a white Pinchipede.

Plants and fungi

See: Pikmin Adventure vegetation

Plants and fungi in this game are purely decoration, and have a robotic look to them. Each one has a statue of it on the Nintendo Land plaza.

Power-ups

There are three different power-ups that can be found throughout the game. These help do more damage to enemies and blocks, and change the way Pikmin are tossed and/or attack with. These power-ups also act as a shield, by preventing the character from taking damage, but being lost in the process.

Hammer Seed

Hammer Seeds are the first power-up one can find in the attraction. When collected, Pikmin will grow sledge hammer heads on their stems. When the Olimar player throws Hammer Seed Pikmin, they will drop down on enemies much like Purple Pikmin do in Pikmin 2. They also have a chance to stun the enemies. Pikmin players with this power-up have increased damage, as well as the ability to stun randomly, and when is held down and released, will charge forward, consecutively swinging their hammer down on enemies.

Monita's notes

: “This item sprouts a hammer from a Pikmin's head. It doesn't look particularly heavy, but take one swing at the enemy and you'll see that it gets the job done.”

Whip Seed

Whip Seeds are the second power-up found in the game. Whip seeds will grow springs on the Pikmin's stems, which can be extended to attack in a longer range and do more damage. If the Olimar player gets the Whip Seed, their Pikmin home in on the targeted area like fireworks when thrown. They can also be thrown farther than normal and follow moving enemies, similar to the Winged Pikmin. When a Pikmin player gets the Whip Seed, their attack range is increased enormously, and can attack from farther away to avoid taking damage.

Monita's notes

: “This item extends a Pikmin's stalk so it can be used as a whip, allowing long-range attacks. If Olimar picks it up, his Pikmin will explode with color when he throws them!”

Knuckle Seed

Knuckle Seeds are the last of the power-ups in the game. Knuckle Seeds turn the Pikmin's stems into fists, and make the player stand in a fighting stance when standing still. The Knuckle Seed makes Olimar's Pikmin act like bullets when thrown, and do great great impact damage, much like Rock Pikmin from Pikmin 3. When the Pikmin players get this power-up, they do massive damage with combos, and when is held and released, Pikmin will perform a Haudoken-like attack.

Monita's notes

: “This item makes a fist sprout from a Pikmin's head. There are no scissors or paper versions, unfortunately. Aim for the enemy and start pummeling!”

The Hammer Seed power-up as seen in the Nintendo Land plaza.
The Whip Seed power-up as seen in the Nintendo Land Plaza.
The Knuckle Seed power-up as seen in the Nintendo Land Plaza.

Controls

One player will play as Olimar on the GamePad. They can move their character with / , use the touch screen to throw Pikmin by tapping on the target, and use / as the whistle. In the extra levels, / is used to change the type of Pikmin between blue, yellow, red, and mixed. Buttons for these last two functions also exist on the GamePad's screen. By quickly flicking the stylus from the captain's position to a direction, the Olimar player will perform a dodging somersault in that same direction. In addition, the player can also tap a bomb or rock while near it to pick it up, and hold a press on a location on the GamePad to make the leader walk in that direction.

The Wii Remote players use to move around, to attack and pick up rocks or bombs, and to jump. can be held to execute a strong attack, with the effects depending on the current power-up, if any. By shaking the Wii Remote, a Pikmin player can ignore the captain whistle's pull.

Stamps