Games for Lunch: New Play Control! Pikmin

In a nutshell: Pikmin ... now with new play control. DUH!
3/9/2009 9:18 PM | 5 Comments | Page 1 of 3

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: March 9, 2009
System: Wii
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

0:00 This is kind of a unique situation for Games for Lunch, since I already played (and loved) the original Pikmin on the GameCube for many more than a few hours. Still, Nintendo sent me this new, control-tweaked Wii remake, so I guess it's worth an hour to see how the new play controls work. It'll also be interesting to see if the game still holds up roughly ... seven years later? Man I'm old.

0:01 The preview screen is an endearing loop of three Pikmin getting thrown from off-screen, picking up the game logo, then making surprised noises. I want this to be the new screen saver on my computer.

0:02 Wow, everything looks really grainy. Were these really state-of-the-art graphics back in 2001? Maybe my HDTV just doesn't do standard definition very well...

0:03 Olimar's familiar bottle rocket flies through space, gets hit by an asteroid, and hurtles down to the planet as a fireball, complete with cheesy music and sound effects. "The Impact Site" is just as cute as ever.

0:04 "My name is Captain Olimar. While travelling through space I was struck by a meteor..." Blah blah blah ... I just said all this back at 0:03.

0:06 And just like that I'm in "New Play Control." The analog stick on the Nunchuk walks around and I aim a target on the ground with my Wii Remote's pointer. I quickly trundle over to the "Onion" and pluck my first plantlike Pikmin from the ground with a tap of the A button.

0:07 The game tries to hide the explanation of the controls in the narrative, but it just ends up awkward. "Maybe the Pikmin will respond to 'down' on the control pad," Olimar says to himself. Who talks like that? What does Olimar know of control pads?

0:08 Initial impression: These new controls are a bit more awkward than before. On the GameCube, all I had to do was flick the C stick to arrange the Pikmin following me. Here I have to aim with the Wii Remote AND tap a button -- two actions for what used to be one. Also, re-aiming the Wii Remote as Olimar moves is a tad annoying.

0:11 I quickly amass my first 10 Pikmin and use them to move a large-ish cardboard box. The tiny perspective is still quite endearing, in a "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" sort of way.

0:15 At least the camera controls are still as good as I remember. It's remarkably easy to choose the appropriate zoom level and vertical angle for the camera. A quick tap of Z to center the camera behind Olimar is usually all you need.

0:16 One nice thing about the pointer ... I can point at stuff that's far away. On the GameCube version, you had to get right up close to what you were throwing at. Now he can launch Pikmin half a screen away. So it's a give and take, I guess.

0:17 A nice touch: When rallying my Pikmin to my side, tinny little trumpet music plays through the Wii Remote speakers. CUTE!