Review for Pikmin 3 Deluxe. Game for Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 30/10/2020
Becoming an astronaut is the dream of many children: to be pioneers in the exploration of unknown planets, where fauna and flora take on unusual shapes and colors compared to those we are used to. Baptizing new territories like a modern Christopher Columbus, learning about new environments and letting ourselves be captivated by the characteristics of an autonomous ecosystem, not exhausted by the exorbitant needs of evolved species such as the human one: this is the scenario told in Pikmin 3 Deluxe, a new edition of the title originally released for Wii U in 2013. This version for Nintendo Switch has some additions, including new missions for the story mode and the possibility to experience the whole adventure in cooperative mode, which enrich a product that proclaims itself as the definitive solution for those who have not had the opportunity to play the original work.
The story of Pikmin 3 Deluxe is not trivial and touches on issues such as ecology and sustainable development: the planet Koppai, due to the high number of births, begins to suffer problems related to the lack of sufficient food resources. For this very reason it is decided to send a team to patrol the planet PNF-404 (a sort of Earth where, however, man has been extinct for a long time), with the aim of collecting food to allow the ecological crisis to be averted. However, something goes wrong during the landing on the alien planet and the three crew members - Charlie, Alph and Brittany - find themselves catapulted into three zones of PNF-404. The beginning of the adventure coincides precisely with the awakening of the protagonists on the surface, who must reunite, retrieve the activation key (a necessary tool to go home) and leave again for the mother planet.
The main story can be experienced both in single and in the aforementioned cooperative mode for two players (unfortunately only locally), in which you can fill the roles of two different crew members.. In this way it is very convenient to divide the tasks to be completed before the sun goes down, to conclude each day - lasting about 10 minutes - in the best possible way: the structure of Pikmin 3 Deluxe divides the adventure by marking the passage. days, a factor that requires you to plan your strategies carefully, making good use of every precious minute available.
The strategic component of the title revolves around the use of Pikmin, creatures with special physical abilities that inhabit these wild lands. In addition to the properties of resistance to fire, water and electricity of the Red, Blue and Yellow Pikmin respectively, the introduction of Rock Pikmin and Winged Pikmin (and two other types that can be used in additional modes), helps to make gameplay even more varied: knowing how to use the right type of Pikmin is essential to be able to proceed in the adventure, overcoming environmental obstacles and hostile creatures that populate PNF-404.
We can therefore decide to spend the useful time of each day as we prefer: collecting fruit allows us to increase the food supplies (necessary because they are consumed by the crew at the end of the day), while cutting down the enemies and bringing their lifeless bodies to the Onions ( strange machines on the map) allows us to expand the number of Pikmin present in the team, up to a maximum of 100 components. As we have already mentioned, all these activities are even more interesting if lived in cooperative mode, and more artificial if tried in single, where the player is limited to controlling one member at a time.
The Pikmin 3 Deluxe map is divided into freely explorable areas: the introduction, in this version, of a special Strategies command makes it even easier to proceed during the main plot. In fact, the current task and any suggestions to complete it are always shown, complete with signs that indicate the shortest way to reach the goal. A welcome addition, which helps even the less accustomed to this genre of games to complete the main adventure, which can be completed in less than 10 hours. To this longevity must be added the Extra missions starring Olimar and Louie, playable only after certain points in the main plot and adding two story portions that serve as a prologue and epilogue to the original Pikmin 3.
However, the aids present do not lower the level of challenge, enhanced by the presence of the canons three difficulty levels: normal, hard and ultra hot, with the latter type that can be unlocked by completing the game in difficult mode or by completing the demo that has already been on the Nintendo eShop for some time. It is interesting to experience the adventure by trying all the difficulty levels which, especially in the higher ranks, engage the player who must use the Pikmin and their skills intelligently.
Once the story is complete you can devote yourself to other activities: the Missions mode allows you to face various scenarios with different objectives how to collect all the items, defeat all the enemies or simply face the bosses of the main adventure again, all within a time limit. It is possible to try each mission individually or in cooperative, with the results that will then be reported - based on the score - on local and global rankings.
The Bingo mode is instead designed exclusively for two players and offers a split-screen challenge in which you have to collect the objects present in the arena, following the indications of a bingo card that presents different objects and creatures of the scenario. Returning these objects to the base in the specific order - shown on the card - before our opponent will announce us winners of the challenge. In all of this, the game also implements an internal trophy system, providing an added boost to those wishing to complete Pikmin 3 Deluxe at 100% not letting anything slip away.
From the point of view of the controls, in Pikmin 3 Deluxe you can adopt different solutions: while to control the crew members you obviously use the left stick, it is also necessary to use an on-screen pointer to give commands to the Pikmin group, recalling them to us with a whistle when they are in danger or by ordering them to attack in the presence of an enemy or coordinating them to pick up an object. Exactly for this reason playing with separate Joy-Con may be the best solution, while in portable mode we recommend starting with the pointer adjusted by the stick and the active gyroscope, and then perhaps moving on to the complete use of the sensors for the pointer once you have acquired sufficient confidence with the title and its mechanics.
The sound in Pikmin 3 Deluxe offers nothing particularly different from what we saw on Wii U, with the bizarre verses of the Pikmin accompanying our movement in a very nice and unique way. Technically, unfortunately, the steps forward are very few and you can see how the title is anchored to the original version, with a frame rate that still remains nailed to the 30 fps, at 720p for docked mode e 576p for portable mode. Despite everything, the game is still aesthetically enjoyable and the very reasoned rhythms do not suffer too much from the lack of a higher frame rate.
Pikmin 3 Deluxe dusts off the title released 7 years ago, improving even more the experience for the landing on Nintendo Switch. Themes that are anything but trivial accompany a truly fun and unique game of its kind. The cooperative mode and the additional missions could also be a pleasant surprise even for those who have already stripped the original: for us gamers as hungry as Louie - Olimar's companion with an overwhelming appetite - Pikmin 3 Deluxe is a delicious and more than substantial appetizer, waiting for the main course that we hope to find on the Nintendo menu in a few years. A long-awaited course, named Pikmin 4.
► Pikmin 3 Deluxe is a Strategy-Adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 30/10/2020
