Pikmin

Pikmin is a game of survival. The story starts when top Hocotate Freight employee Captain Olimar is struck by a meteor during his vacation in space. He wakes up in a strange planet filled with creatures he called Pikmin, after the PikPik Carrots on his planet. He encounters three types on his first visit: Red, Blue, and Yellow. He relies on these friendly yet fierce creatures to collect the pieces of his destroyed ship, the Dolphin, and escape the planet before his life support ends - in 30 days.

Red Pikmin are resistant to fire and have better physical power then Blue and Yellow. Blue Pikmin are able to swim in the water while Red and Yellows would drown, making them the ONLY ways of water working. Yellows are the second best in the game, as they can pike up Bomb Rocks, a powerful and destructive weapon that can be used in different ways. They can also be thrown higher then any other.

During the game, Olimar and the Pikmin travel the world, collecting ship parts and fighting various creatures. These creatures kill Pikmin without remorse, whether they eat them, stomp on them, drown them, set them aflame, or even smash the with rolling boulders. Some creatures are less harmful, and only obstruct your way. Obstacles such as fire spots, water, and fences stand in your way as well.

To be frank, this game is close to mediocre at best compared to Pikmin 2. The 30 day limit SEVERELY takes off the fun of the game, and just adds to the challenge. This was remedied in Pikmin 2, where you can spend as many days as you want. Challenge is nice, but 30 days is not enough to have fun while having a challenge.

The Pikmin in this game are, for the most part, suicidal. They respond very late (or not at all) to the whistle, randomly attack anything they pass, and trip at the most inappropriate of times. That, on top of the Bulborbs able to gobble up Pikmin like there's no tomorrow, you'll be losing a lot of Pikmin.

Often times a large group of enemies are cluttered into one area. Examples of this is over 10 Sheargrubs mixed in with Dwarf Bulborbs and a large Bulborb, THREE Burrowing Snagrets in one cluttered area, a large Bulbear, three Dwarf Bulbears, a Swooping Snitchbug, and a Puffy Blowhog in one area. This was completely unnecessary and overly complicated to get through.

There are, however, a few things that are better then Pikmin 2. The cool pale color Pikmin turn when they are dismissed, Yellow Pikmin being able to pick up Bomb Rocks, the decent sized levels, and the Final Trial, which, while small, required all of your Pikmin skills and was home to the final boss of the game.