History VideoGame / Pikmin

-->-- '''Katie Tiedrich''', ''Webcomic/AwkwardZombie'', [[http://www.awkwardzombie.com/awkward-zombie/the-breakdown-machine "The Breakdown Machine"]]

* ''VideoGame/PikminBloom'' (UsefulNotes/{{iOS|Games}} and UsefulNotes/{{Android}}, 2021)

* SdrawkcabName: The main protagonist of the series is Captain Olimar. In Japan, though, his name is written with the three katakana characters O-RI-MA. Write them backward and you get "[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]"; the English version retains the pun via SignificantAnagram (and an extra "l").

* CaptainCrash: '''Everyone.''' It seems obligatory at this point that going towards PNF-404 (or any other planet with Pikmin on it) will result in your ship getting shot out of the sky. Expands to a [[SerialEscalation frankly ridiculous extent]] in ''Pikmin 4''. Not only does Olimar crash, for the fifth time in the series, and not only do the Rescue Corps crash in the process of trying to rescue him, but everyone who hears Olimar's distress signal and comes to the planet, for whatever reason, also seems to crash. At the same time, it's notably averted by the ''Pikmin 4'' protagonist, the Rescue Corps Rookie, who is the only one to ever land their ship successfully on PNF-404 their first try. ''Pikmin 2'' has a slight aversion, as Olimar successfully avoids a crash landing, but he still hits a tree that causes Louie to fly out of the ship, forcing the two to spend the first day separated. ''Pikmin 3'' and '''Pikmin 4'' suggest that [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane there might be something on the planet]] (or even the planet itself) that's causing everyone to crash, but nothing is confirmed either way.

* ''VideoGame/PikminBloom'' (UsefulNotes/{{iOS|Games}} and Platform/{{Android}}, 2021)

A fourth installment was suddenly and surprisingly announced to be "very close to completion" on September 7th, 2015, by Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto himself, but no word was said since because [[https://www.gamnesia.com/news/miyamoto-says-finishing-pikmin-4-hasnt-been-one-of-nintendos-priorities-lat it wasn't a high priority of Nintendo's]] because of the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch coming out soon around the time. On September 13, 2022, ''VideoGame/Pikmin4'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYR3DVFUnyc was finally confirmed to have a release window]], 8 years after ''Pikmin 3''. It was released on July 21, 2023.

The first two games have been ported to Wii as well, with enhanced Wii Remote controls, then those were in turn ported to UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch with upscaled graphics and some additional quality-of-life changes inspired by the third game. In 2020, the third game was ported to the Switch with all DLC included and extra side missions starring series regulars Olimar and Louie; in 2023, the first two games were ported to the Nintendo Switch as well, with upscaled graphics and the motion controls from the previous Wii ports. Olimar is also a playable character in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series beginning with ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl Brawl]]'', with Alph added as an alternate costume in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU Wii U and 3DS]]''. The series as a whole is represented in ''VideoGame/NintendoLand'' with its own subgame, ''Pikmin Adventure'', and is also referenced a few times here and there, like in ''VideoGame/WarioWare''. It even appears as animations used to represent the transferring of your data to the 3DS and Wii U!

* ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin|2001}}'' (UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube, 2001)[[/index]]
** ''New Play Control! Pikmin'' (UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, 2008)
** ''Pikmin 1'' (UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, 2023)[[index]]
* ''VideoGame/Pikmin2'' (UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube, 2004)[[/index]]
** ''New Play Control! Pikmin 2'' (UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, 2009)
** ''Pikmin 2'' (UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, 2023)[[index]]
* ''VideoGame/Pikmin3'' (UsefulNotes/WiiU, 2013)[[/index]]
** ''Pikmin 3 Deluxe'' (UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, 2020)[[index]]

* ''VideoGame/HeyPikmin'' (UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS, 2017)
* ''VideoGame/PikminBloom'' (UsefulNotes/{{iOS|Games}} and UsefulNotes/{{Android}}, 2021)

* SeriesMascot: Naturally, the Pikmin; the little cute race of PlantAliens that the game centers around. Nintendo likes to feature them prominently in portions of their handhelds and consoles UI, most notably with system transfers for both the [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]] and the UsefulNotes/WiiU (when transferring original Wii data).

RealTimeStrategy [[GenreBusting at its quirkiest]], Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s ''Pikmin'' series came about from a mix of Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto's childhood observations of insects at work, his hobby of gardening, and general RTS gameplay. The ''Pikmin'' games lead players into a world where they must use the different kinds of plantlike creatures called "Pikmin" to defeat enemies, produce other Pikmin, collect treasures, and survive in a strange world with even stranger creatures.

The first two games have been ported to Wii as well, with enhanced Wii Remote controls, then those were in turn ported to UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch with upscaled graphics and some additional quality-of-life changes inspired by the third game. In 2020, the third game was ported to the Switch with all DLC included and extra side missions starring series regulars Olimar and Louie; in 2023, the first two games were ported to the Nintendo Switch as well, with upscaled graphics and the motion controls from the previous Wii ports. Olimar is also a playable character in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series beginning with ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl Brawl]]'', with Alph added as an alternate costume in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU Wii U and 3DS]]''. The series as a whole is represented in ''VideoGame/NintendoLand'' with its own subgame, ''Pikmin Adventure'', and is also referenced a few times here and there, like in ''VideoGame/WarioWare''. It even appears as animations used to represent the transferring of your data to the 3DS and Wii U!

The first two games have been ported to Wii as well, with enhanced Wii Remote controls, then those were in turn ported to UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch with upscaled graphics and some additional quality-of-life changes inspired by the third game. In 2020, the third game was ported to the Switch with all DLC included and extra side missions starring series regulars Olimar and Louie; in 2023, the first two games were ported to the Nintendo Switch as well, with upscaled graphics and the motion controls from the previous Wii ports. Olimar is also a playable character in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series beginning with ''Brawl'', with Alph added as an alternate costume in ''UsefulNotes/WiiU and 3DS''. The series as a whole is represented in ''VideoGame/NintendoLand'' with its own subgame, ''Pikmin Adventure'', and is also referenced a few times here and there, like in ''VideoGame/WarioWare''. It even appears as animations used to represent the transferring of your data to the 3DS and Wii U!

* RiddleForTheAges: What happened to the previous inhabitants of the planet? Unlike ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'', another Nintendo series that takes place in HumanitysWake, there's no sign of any calamity that might have caused humanity to die off. Electronic devices still have power, fruit hasn't decayed, and the Hero's Hideaway map in the fourth game is a completely intact house. ''Pikmin 4'' implies that [[spoiler:the various "alien" races such as Hocotatians and Koppaites are actually the distant descendants of humanity after they took to the stars, but that still leaves the mystery of why they ''left.'']]

RealTimeStrategy [[GenreBusting at its quirkiest]], the ''Pikmin'' series came about from a mix of Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto's childhood observations of insects at work, his hobby of gardening, and general RTS gameplay. The ''Pikmin'' games lead players into a world where they must use the different kinds of plantlike creatures called "Pikmin" to defeat enemies, produce other Pikmin, collect treasures, and survive in a strange world with even stranger creatures.

** As shown in the ''Occupational Hazards'' short, this does have its limits.

* DaylightHorror: Most of the series takes place during the day, as the night is when enemies become more active and all of the player characters automatically retreat to their ships to avoid them. This does not prevent encountering enemies like the Smoky Progg, a creature covered in its own toxin that makes it resemble a ghost-like figure. Or giant (by the player character's standards) spiders crashing into the field. Or the final boss of the third game, [[spoiler:a strange, shape-shifting, possibly immortal entity of "plasm" that is dead-obsessed with capturing Olimar for reasons unknown]].

* ItCantBeHelped: ''Song of Love'' has this as its premise. It's all about how the Pikmin go through Hell for their leader, Olimar, yet despite the fact that it's very likely they'll die ignobly, "We don't ask that you love us". The song's single actually ''outsold the game itself'' because of how it resonated with the {{Salaryman}} public.

** ''Ai no Uta'' is a song dedicated to this.

* RagnarokProofing: The games all take place on a very distant future on what seems to be Earth AfterTheEnd. And yet, the various objects the protagonists find throughout the series are as good as new. Electronic devices are still at full battery, metal objects are free of any rust despite having been at the mercy at the elements probably for centuries and te food items are still edible. There are also the Ravaged Rustworks in ''VideoGame/HeyPikmin'', the map of which looks like a well-tended industrial park.

* RagnarokProofing: The games all take place on a very distant future on what seems to be Earth AfterTheEnd. And yet, the various objects the protagonists find throughout the series are as good as new. Electronic devices still are at full battery, metal objects are free of any rust despite having been at the mercy at the elements probably for centuries and te food items are still edible. There are also the Ravaged Rustworks in ''VideoGame/HeyPikmin'', the map of which looks like a well-tended industrial park.

* RagnarokProofing: The games all take place on a very distant future on what seems to be Earth AfterTheEnd. And yet, the various objects the protagonists find throughout the series are as good as new. Electroc devices still are at full battery, metal objects are free of any rust despite having been at the mercy at the elements probably for centuries and te food items are still edible. There are also the Ravaged Rustworks in ''VideoGame/HeyPikmin'', the map of which looks like a well-tended industrial park.

* SceneryPorn: Quite a common tradition for the series. The first 2 games, while showing their age, already didn't look too shabby, especially compared to the other games released at the time or on the same console it was on, with the overworld areas being filled with lush greenery and serene landscapes all around. The 3rd game, however, pushed things to the max, with the more dynamic lighting, improved textures, clever usage of camera angles, and overall enhanced graphics creating a visual wonder of a game, all helped by its more realistic art style. And despite ''Pikmin 4'' going back to the more cartoony and exaggerated styles of ''1'' and ''2'', it still managed to look just as great as the 3rd game, with some of the nicest-looking vistas in the series.

Like many works of fiction, [[TheWikiRule there is a dedicated wiki]] to this series, namely [[http://www.pikminwiki.com/ Pikipedia]].