With its release finally (finally!) within sight, Nintendo have been starting to reveal some juicy details about the upcoming Wii U strategy title, Pikmin 3. Last week's short but sweet Nintendo Direct broadcast devoted a few minutes to the game, showing off plenty of new gameplay footage, and providing info on the game's story, characters and control schemes - and it's already looking like a winner. The game is a follow-up to two previous Pikmin titles, which were originally released for Nintendo's GameCube, before being given a re-release on the Wii to take advantage of the ease of the Wii remote control scheme. Fans of the series have been waiting a long time for this new addition to the family, as game designer Shigeru Miyamoto first suggested that a new instalment was on the cards way back in 2007, in the heyday of the Wii. Having skipped the system entirely though, Pikmin 3's development was shifted to the Wii U in order to take advantage of the system's HD graphics - as well as its touch screen enabled GamePad.
The original Pikmin, released in 2002, told the tale of the diminutive space-farer Captain Olimar, who had to recover scattered spaceship components after crash landing on an uncharted planet. Being a tiny guy, though, Olimar could never manage to lug the giant parts around on his own - so it's a good job he wasn't alone on the planet. Initially buried beneath the ground were the titular Pikmin: small plant-like creatures with varying abilities who seem more than willing to help Olimar on his quest, and will follow your orders to the letter. After pulling them out of the ground, the Pikmin would huddle around wherever you went - and if you wanted to attack one of the many giant enemies that roam the landscape, break something down, or pick something up, all you had to do was chuck them at it, and they'd get straight to work. Each colour of Pikmin has its own unique skill, be it swimming, bomb carrying or the ability to withstand extreme heat - so it was up to you to gather and utilise the correct Pikmin for the task at hand, with the game quickly revealing a depth of gameplay far beyond what its 'cute' appearance might suggest.
The fraction tells you how many Pikmin you need to to use in order to pull the apple down - chuck a few more, and they'll carry it back to your base.
Nine years on, and Pikmin 3 is shaping up to be the definitive title in the series, largely thanks to the Wii U's unique capabilities. The basic gameplay looks similar to the previous games, although Captain Olimar has been replaced by three new characters, Alph, Brittany and their Captain, Charlie. From the footage released so far, it looks as though you'll be taking control of all three, keeping track of them and their teams of Pikmin via the GamePad's overhead view, and switching between them as it suits. Unlike Olimar, who was just a crappy pilot, though, Alph, Brittany and Charlie had set out on their intergalactic voyage for a much more noble reason - their home planet of Koppai is facing a food shortage, but due to some unforeseen circumstances they are forced to set down on a world which looks suspiciously similar to Earth. Given the crew's tiny size, rocks resemble mountains, tiny streams become vast rivers and insects are huge ravenous beasts with a taste for tiny Pikmin. Luckily, however, there appears to be abundance of fruit available for the crew's '5 a day' - and an army of Pikmin waiting to help out. Summoning the help of Pikmin, and growing new ones to help build up your troops, it's up to you to round up as much grub as you can, and bring it back to your ship. Once the fruit is collected, it's turned into juice and used to keep your merry band of explorers in good health during your expedition. Run out of juice, and it's game over, so you'll have to plan and play strategically to collect as much fruit as you can.
Like previous games in the series, time is of the essence in Pikmin 3. The planet may be a cornucopia of fruit for the intrepid explorers, but it's also home to a number of deadly creatures who don't take kindly to being invaded by miniature space travellers - and while you'll come up against a variety of enemies during the course of your adventure, the nocturnal creatures are too dangerous to face alone. As such, you can only explore from dawn until dusk each day, leaving you to retreat to the safety of your spaceship, and gather all the Pikmin on board before night falls. With a limited amount of time available, it's up to you to make the most of the daylight hours, exploring and gathering fruit as efficiently as possible. While previous games in the series have stuck to a rigid time system, though, where you have to make substantial progress each day if you want to finish the game, Pikmin 3 looks set to be a little bit easier for newcomers. Now, if you don't do as well as you were hoping on a particular day - if you don't find enough fruit, or if you lose a lot of Pikmin - you have the option of replaying earlier days, and undoing some of your past mistakes.
Meanwhile, the Wii U's GamePad (or the crew's 'KopPad', as it is referred to in the game), makes controlling Alph, Brittany, Charlie and their Pikmin a piece of cake. The Wii U's touch screen means that your map is always just a glance away, and managing multiple tasks at once should be a breeze. Touch the screen, and the camera will zoom out into an overhead position, giving you a great view of the surrounding area - something that's bound to come in handy when you're hunting down that last piece of fruit. In a nice touch, you'll also be able to use the Wii Remote + Nunchuck alongside the GamePad, letting you have easy access to a map, whilst taking advantage of the speed of simply pointing and clicking where you want the Pikmin to go using the Wii Remote. In addition one of the Wii U's best features, Off TV Play (which removes the need for the TV screen altogether, meaning a game can be played on the GamePad while the TV is off or on a different channel) is included so you can continue your mission while keeping an eye on EastEnders, should you so desire.
With so many different types of Pikmin on offer, finding the right 'min for the right job is essential.
In short, Pikmin 3 is shaping up nicely, and the extended development time appears to have been put to good use. While the gameplay is the most important factor, particularly in strategy games like this, it's worth noting that the graphics look gorgeous and really demonstrate that the Wii U is capable of producing some breath-taking visuals, with an undergrowth full of life, movement, and pretty water. Nintendo is promising to make more information on the game available in the run up to its July 26th release, so we can expect more details of Pikmin 3's 'Challenge Mode' and multiplayer options in the near future. It's been a long time coming, but Pikmin 3 looks like it will be well worth the wait.
