With the relative failure of the GameCube and the runaway success of the Wii, Nintendo is in a position where it is sitting on a bunch of great games that hardly any of the Wii audience has played. In order to capitalise on this position, they are re-releasing a bunch of their GameCube games for the Wii under the New Play Control banner, with adjustments made to the games to accommodate the Wii’s unique control method. The first title to be released under this line is Pikmin, one of the GameCube’s first original IP releases.

Pikmin tells the story of Captain Olimar, whose ship is struck by an asteroid and promptly crashes on a strange planet. The air of this planet comprises mainly of oxygen, which is poisonous to our hero, and thus he is reliant on his life support system, which gives him thirty days to recover the parts of his ship which are scattered across the planet and make the necessary repairs. On his first day on the planet, Olimar meets a curious little plant-like creature called a Pikmin, which he discovers will follow his orders. Enlisting the help of the Pikmin, you need to travel to the different locations of the planet and find enough space ship pieces to help Olimar leave the planet and get back to his family.


That’s easier said than done, however. As it turns out, Olimar and the Pikmin are pint-sized, and thus basically at the bottom of the food chain. With everything out there to eat them, you have to rely on strength in numbers; your Pikmin are going to die, and it’s kind of heartbreaking when they do as you see a little ghost Pikmin ascend to the heavens. By returning creatures and food pellets to their ship (called an onion), the Pikmin can grow more of their brothers to assist Olimar in fetching his space ship pieces. Many enemies and space ship pieces will require large numbers of Pikmin to carry them back – Olimar can lead one hundred Pikmin at any time, with any reserves confined to their onion.

The Pikmin come in three different colours which are gradually unlocked as you progress. The red Pikmin are the first ones Olimar encounters and serve well as grunts, along with being immune to fire. Next come the yellow Pikmin, which although smaller, have the ability to carry explosive rocks to destroy blockades and deal major damage to enemy creatures. The blue Pikmin are the last you’ll meet; they have mouths that allow them to breathe underwater rather than almost instantly drowning upon contact.


Pikmin is presented in a rather relaxing fashion, but the 30 day time limit does not really allow players to just sit back and play the game at their own pace. Many players criticised the system, which was changed for Pikmin 2, but I find that it keeps the game focused. Most will not completely reassemble the Dolphin in their first game, however, the Wii version allows players to replay any day from the start, so if you had bad day and lost a ton of Pikmin, accidentally left a few behind at night, or failed to recover a vital piece of the ship, you can try again. Each run through the thirty day cycle will last about ten hours, with an optional challenge mode unlocked after passing a specific day.

Despite having been released almost eight years ago, Pikmin still looks very lush, thanks to the game’s garden setting, but also benefits from the addition of progressive scan and widescreen support, which were not available in the original release. Pikmin’s cuteness factor is what really sells the game from a visual standpoint. Almost every creature in the game, be they friendly or hostile, looks ridiculously adorable. One cannot help but fall in love with the way the Bulborbs waddle around, or the way they eat your Pikmin (though their little death cries will sour the mood). The only creature that defies this is the final boss creature, who is wretchedly ugly and a malicious bastard to boot.


Controlling Pikmin with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk combo is quite different from the original GameCube pad. Rather than controlling the cursor with the analogue stick, players now have direct control over Olimar with the Nunchuk’s stick, and can direct the cursor with the Wii Remote. This makes getting Olimar out of danger so much easier, plus helps you throw your Pikmin to the exact spot that you want them to go, rather than relying on throwing the Pikmin near an object and hoping that they know where to go.

Not all aspects of the game have translated nicely to the new control system – camera control and getting the Pikmin to parade behind you with Olimar’s trumpeting have both become a bit unwieldy. Camera control is a little bit of a pain in that you can accidentally alter the angle when you don’t intend to, but they do give you to move the camera further back than before. Previously, parading was handled with the C-Stick - now it’s done by holding down on the Remote’s D-Pad and steering with the analogue stick, which makes for a more cumbersome process. Also irritating is the fact that the trumpeting sound comes from the horribly tinny Wii Remote speaker. There is no way around it – players are only able to use the Remote and Nunchuk combo, as no option for Classic or GameCube controller usage is included.


Pikmin was a fantastic game when it was first released, and remains so today. If you’ve played the game before, it’s a little more difficult to recommend picking the game up, since the new control system really goes either way, with some actions becoming a lot easier, while others are a bit harder. Even so, you do get the added advantage of progressive scan and widescreen visuals, the ability to retry a specific day and a few extra camera options. If you missed the game the first time around, then you’ve got no excuse not to rush out and buy it now.