Pikmin 2

Pikmin 2
Pikmin 2 game cover
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Shigefumi Hino Masamichi Abe
Platform(s)	Nintendo GameCube
Release	April 29, 2004 August 30, 2004 October 8, 2004
Genre(s)	Real-time strategy
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

Pikmin 2 (ピクミン2) is a real-time strategy video game developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube. It was released in Japan on April 29, 2004, in North America on August 30 2004, and in Europe on October 8 2004.

Pikmin 2 is the sequel to Pikmin, also for the Nintendo GameCube. This game was considered an improvement over the original Pikmin; CNET reported that it "addressed the bulk of the shortcomings of its predecessor by crafting a game that tops the original in nearly every way."

Gameplay

Gameplay in Pikmin 2 revolves around using different combinations of Pikmin to retrieve various treasures from the planet's surface. These treasures range from a Duracell battery to a Dannon Fruit at the Bottom yogurt lid. Different obstacles or enemies make the retrieval of each treasure unique. Because of this, the player must carefully consider which colors of Pikmin and how many of those colors will be needed to complete a certain task. This is compounded in difficulty by the fact that no more than 100 Pikmin may be in play at any given time. Typical tasks involved in collecting treasures include defeating enemies, building bridges, destroying walls, or removing other obstacles.

In addition to above-ground areas, caves can be found throughout the landscape. Caves contain multiple treasures and enemies spread across multiple "sublevels." Each sublevel in a cave contains certain treasures and a fixed array of enemies, but the layout of the sublevel and the placement of the enemies and treasures within the sublevel is random, and changes each time the player enters the cave. A player can exploit this, as the game saves automatically after the completion of each sublevel. If the layout of a sublevel is unfavorable to the player, he or she can simply begin the sublevel again, and it will have a new, presumably more favorable, layout.

Special rules apply to exploring caves. When the player is exploring a cave, time does not pass above ground. The main restriction regarding cave exploration is that there is no access to the Pikmin Onions from underground. This means that once players enter a cave, they can only use the Pikmin that they brought with them (see Bulbmin for the exception).

Other Game Modes

Including the Main Game (Story Mode), there is also 2-Player Battle, and Challenge Mode. 2-Player Battle is unlocked from the beginning of the game, and two players (Olimar and Louie), are each controlled by a player. The object is to take 4 yellow marbles or your opponent's red or blue marble to your ship.

Challenge mode is obtained after obtaining the key by defeating Beady Long Legs in the Citadel of Spiders cave. This mode is like exploring a cave in story mode, except 2 players can play. You select an "arena" or cave and try to make it to the bottom of the hole. Each time you find a key, you advance to the next level. At the bottom floor, the key summons an unactivated geyser. Pikmin must dig at this to activate it. Players try to get as many points as they can by retrieving treasures on each sublevel, leaving with as many Pikmin as possible, and completing it as quickly as possible. After completing an arena without losing any Pikmin, a player achieves 'perfect' status, and gets a purple flower by the arena instead of a white one.

Story

Pikmin 2 starts when Olimar returns home from his vacation. Template:Spoiler He finds that his company, Hocotate Freight, is in serious debt. They even had to sell Captain Olimar's ship, the Dolphin, which was the only remaining corporate asset worth anything. Shocked by this sudden turn of events, Captain Olimar drops the bottle cap he brought with him as a souvenir. It rolls in the vicinity of the company's only remaining ship (a rusty, dilapidated dual-cockpit ship which contains a smart aleck, and a treasure sensor) and is found to have a value of 100 Pokos, the unit of currency on Hocotate. After commenting that this is more than a year's salary, Olimar's boss sends him on a trip with Louie, a fellow employee, to the Pikmin Planet to scrounge up 10,000 Pokos worth of treasure to get the company back up and running. Olimar returns to the planet of the Pikmin (there are some telltale signs that planet pikmin is Earth, because of the two sections of the globe and the visible continents on the planet as seen from space). During their descent, Louie's cockpit bursts open, and the two are separated. The game then centers on finding Louie, exploring the planet, and collecting treasures. Once 10,000 Pokos have been acquired, the ship automatically blasts off, taking off towards Hocotate. Louie is then shown asleep on a tree. After the credits have rolled, Olimar and the President go back to the Pikmin homeworld to collect the remaining treasure. At Dream Den, in the Wistful Wild, the President and Olimar discover Louie lying around at the last sublevel. However, the final boss, the Titan Dweevil, drops down and uses the four treasures equipped. After destroying it, they take Louie back in the cargo bay, because there is not enough room in the cockpit.

Louie's Dark Secret

After completing the thirty Challenge Mode levels, a cinematic is unlocked, showing that the company is in debt because Louie had secretly eaten all the Gold Pikpik Carrots that were supposedly stolen by a Space Bunny. This was hinted at in the game, with e-mails from Louie's relatives saying how he enjoyed Pikpik Carrots and other such clues.

The URL

At a certin point in the game a mesage will be shown [in the mail at the end of the day] that has a URL connected to it. Going to this URL will show a survey that asks you about the game and its elements. Upon completing the survey your answers will be calculated and it will tell you what creature you are in the game. I am still working on a list that shows all the possible answers. The URL is: http://www.nintendo.jp/p/c234/

Similarities to Past Video Games

There are a few similarities in both Pikmin and Pikmin 2 that are seen in other games previously created by Nintendo, some of which is that the main character of the Pikmin game's name, "Olimar" can be rearranged to (with the "l" excluded) to spell out the word "Mario." Also what is discovered is that Olimar and Louie resemble similar size differences as Mario and Luigi with the shorter character being slightly bulk and the taller one possesing a slimmer figure. Also the "Poko" is thought to be an inverted form of mario coins but this is still undecided.

Characters

Main article: Pikmin (species)

The red, yellow, and blue Pikmin from the previous game return, along with two new colors of Pikmin, purple and white. Unlike the originals, they do not have Onions, which typically house Pikmin colors. Instead, they are created when an existing Pikmin is thrown into a purple or white "Candypop bud", a type of flower found underground in caves. There are also Bulbmin, a type of symbiotic Pikmin that infects Dwarf Bulborbs. Being in the body of a Dwarf Bulborb protects them from drowning, electrocution, burning, and poisoning. They are found only in a few caves throughout the game, and they will assist the player-controlled captain in the cave in which they are found once there larger captain Bulborbs is killed. However, they cannot be removed from the cave unless they are changed to one of the five other types of pikmin, via candypops.

Areas

The main action of the game takes place in four separate areas. The player chooses which area will be visited at the beginning of the day, and only one area may be visited each day. The areas contain treasures, enemies, and other gameplay elements. Also, caves can be found within each area. Each cave contains a set number of chambers called sublevels. Each sublevel is random in layout, but contains a set number of treasures and a set assortment of enemies and obstacles. The final sublevel of each cave, except Emergence Cave, contains a "boss" creature. The above-ground areas have fixed layouts.

All of the levels were in the first visited in the first game, but have drastically changed, for unknown reasons. One aspect of the levels is that is notable, is that they appear to be more porportioned to Olimar's and the Pikmin's size, as opposed to the first game, where it clearly showed how tiny they are. A clear example of this would be what is now the Awakening Wood, as where Olimar and the Pikmin disembarked is now where the two flowers are, and it appears far smaller. The Wistful Wild is another example, as where the Impact Site was is where the three Creeping Chrysanthemum are and the enitre area appears far smaller. Whether this is connected to the changes all the areas had, is unknown.

Valley of Repose

The Valley of Repose is the first area that is visited in the game. It is winter in this area, and most of it is covered in snow. Players learn most of the basics here, as well as find the red and purple Pikmin. This area was formerly known as The Forest Navel, though much has changed from the passage of time. There are three caves in this area, the second two of which aren't accessible until later in the game, the Emergence Cave, the Subterranean Complex, and the Frontier Cavern.

Awakening Wood

The Awakening Wood is the second area in the game, and is opened up when an item that appears to be the northern hemisphere of a globe is found. It is spring in this area, and flower petals gently float down as opposed to the snow in the Valley of Repose. It is also the area where white Pikmin and blue Pikmin (which are inaccessible without yellow Pikmin) are found. This area was formerly known as The Forest of Hope in the first game, though it has changed, presumably due to the passage of time. There are four caves in this area, the Hole of Beasts, the White Flower Garden, the Bulblax Kingdom, and the Snagret Hole.

Perplexing Pool

The Perplexing Pool is the third area in the game, and is opened up when the other hemisphere of the globe is found. It is summer in this area, and the yellow Pikmin can be found here, as well as the Bulbmin in the Submerged Castle. This area was formerly known as The Distant Spring in the first game, and like the Awakening Wood has changed since its appearance in the original Pikmin. There are four caves in this area, the Citadel of Spiders, the Glutton's Kitchen, the Shower Room, and the Submerged Castle.

Wistful Wild

The Wistful Wild is the final area of the game, and is opened up when the player reaches the 10,000 Poko mark. It is autumn in this area, and is the most difficult level in the game because of the number of creatures found here. This area contains what was known in the first game as The Impact Site, as well as The Final Trial. There are three caves in this area, the Cavern of Chaos, the Hole of Heroes, and the Dream Den

It can be noted that the landing site of Wistful Wild has a yield sign under it. In the Japanese version, it's a stop sign, as stop signs in Japan are triangular, not octagon-shaped as in North America.

Development

Differences from Pikmin

File:Pikmin 2 Screenshot OF.jpg

A screenshot of a round of the two player mode.

There were several major differences between Pikmin and Pikmin 2. The first, and perhaps most important of these, was the elimination of the 30-day time limit which was imposed during the course of the first Pikmin game. In Pikmin 2, a player may continue to search for treasure for as many days as he or she wishes. The game contains 201 collectible treasure pieces, as opposed to the 30 ship parts of the original Pikmin game. However, there is still a time limit to the game; it is possible to play up to around 300 days before the file is deleted.

Another addition was the ability to use two captains at once, making multitasking easier. In previous Pikmin game, multitasking was difficult as there was only one captain to direct multiple groups of Pikmin. In both Pikmin games, commands cannot be issued from a distance, meaning that a one captain system caused a lot of running between multiple working Pikmin groups. Another gameplay change was the addition of sprays, which have various effects on gameplay, such as energizing Pikmin, and which can be obtained by collecting various berries. Also, the Pikmin can be thrown a bit faster in Pikmin 2.

Pikmin 2 e-Reader

In Japan, after the release of Pikmin 2, they had also released e-Reader cards that had contained mini games. Some of these mini games involved the player to pluck all the Pikmin in an area in a set amount of steps, or to try to get Pikmin from one point to another. These cards were not released outside of Japan, as the e-Reader was not released in Europe, and had been discontinued in the United States at the time.

Reaction

IGN gave Pikmin 2 a 9.3, or "Outstanding", and was very pleased at the multitude of ways the game had improved upon what was good about Pikmin and fixed the problems it had, such as a lack of multi-player and a 30-day playing limit. It also called it an "absolute blast and fun, too."

Totaka's Song

The infamous Totaka's Song by Kazumi Totaka can be found in Pikmin 2. It has made appearances in other games composed by Totaka, such as Mario Paint, Animal Crossing, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Link's Awakening, Yoshi Touch & Go, Super Mario Land 2, Virtual Boy Wario Land, Luigi's Mansion, and Yoshi's Story.

To find the song, a player must wait for 3 minutes 50 seconds on the Cave Completion Screen after recovering all the items of an unexplored cave.

See also

• Pikmin series

External links

• Pikmin Official Website
• Template:Nintendo.com
• Template:GameFAQs
• Pikmin 2 at MobyGames