History YMMV / Pikmin2

** Surprisingly enough, the Submerged Castle, while counting as ThatOneLevel, is also one of the most beloved caves in the whole game. This is mainly for introducing the gimmick of the cave's boss, the Waterwraith, dropping down from the ceiling after a certain amount of time and chasing you throughout the sublevel until you escape, creating a [[NintendoHard very challenging]] yet very trilling and exhilarating experience of trying to hastily collect treasure before it appears and, once it does appear, trying to swiftly avoid them and make your Pikmin stay away from the them. This culiminates into the final sublevel where you [[CatharsisFactor get to harvest some Purple Pikmin and finally kick its watery butt for all the torment it caused you.]] It's such an iconic dungeon to the point that it isn't uncommon to [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter see fans being displeased that the other dungeons don't feature the Wraith]], or at least some other gimmick similar to it.
** The Glutton's Kitchen. It's fondly remembered mostly for being a pretty easy BreatherLevel, aside from the random [[DemonicSpiders Spotty Bulbear]] encounter, as well as re-introducing the fan favorite [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter Breadbug enemies]], the [[FoodPorn delicious food themed treasures]], and for having a very vibrant and colorful [[ToyTime toy house]] setting that makes it stand out amongst the other dungeons.

** Surprisingly enough, the Submerged Castle, while also counting as ThatOneLevel, is also one of the most beloved caves in the whole game. This is mainly for introducing the gimmick of the cave's boss, the Waterwraith, dropping down from the ceiling after a certain amount of time and chasing you throughout the sublevel until you escape, creating a [[NintendoHard very challenging]] yet very trilling and exhilarating experience of trying to hastily collect treasure before it appears and, once it does appear, trying to swiftly avoid them and make your Pikmin stay away from them. This culiminates into the final sublevel where you [[CatharsisFactor get to harvest some Purple Pikmin and finally kick its watery butt for all the torment it caused you.]] It's such an iconic dungeon to the point that it isn't uncommon to [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter see fans being displeased that the other dungeons don't feature the Wraith]], or at least some other gimmick similar to it.
** The Glutton's Kitchen. It's fondly remembered mostly for being a pretty easy BreatherLevel, aside from the obligatory [[DemonicSpiders Spotty Bulbears]], as well as re-introducing the fan favorite [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter Breadbug enemies]], the [[FoodPorn delicious food themed treasures]], and for having a very vibrant and colorful [[ToyTime toy house]] setting that makes it stand out amongst the other dungeons.
** The Snagret Hole, for the [[SceneryPorn beautiful and unique looking first sublevel]] (a bird house up in a tree), the awesome [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za1mP75f-j0 background music]], and the clever usage of [[AmbushEnemy ambushing enemies]] that, similar to the Submerged Castle, makes for a [[NintendoHard really challenging]] yet really thrilling and exhilarating dungeon to play through.
** The Shower Room. It has a really unique looking blue-tiled bathroom esthetic that makes it stand out against the other caves, and is also a generally balanced cave that utilizes all 4 Pikmin elements equally. It's filled with watery hazards, as to be expected, but also occasionally sprinkles in the other four elements to keep the player on their toes and give each sublevel variety so that they don't feel [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks too similar and repetitive]].

* BestLevelEver: While many of the dungeons are rather divisive, there are a few of them that get a lot of praise.
** Surprisingly enough, The Submerged Castle, while also counting as ThatOneLevel, is also one of the most beloved caves in the whole game. Mainly for introducing the gimmick of the cave's boss, the Water Wraith, dropping down from the ceiling after a certain amount of time and chasing you throughout the sublevel until you escaped, creating a [[NintendoHard very challenging]] yet very trilling and exhilarating experience of trying to hastily collect treasure before he appears and, once he does appear, trying to swiftly avoid him and make your Pikmin stay away from him. Culminating into the final sublevel where you [[CatharsisFactor get to harvest some Purple Pikmin and finally kick its watery butt for all the torment it caused you.]] It was such an iconic dungeon to the point that it isn't uncommon to [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter see fans being displeased that the other dungeons don't feature the Wraith]], or at least some other gimmick similar to it.
** The Gluttons Kitchen is another cave that's consistently beloved. Mostly for being a pretty easy BreatherLevel, aside from the obligitory [[DemonicSpiders Spotty Bulbears]], as well as introducing the fan favorite [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter Breadbug enemies]], the [[FoodPorn delicious food themed treasures]], and for having a very vibrant and colorful [[ToyTime toy house]] setting that makes it stand out amongst the other dungeons.
** The Snagret Hole, for the [[SceneryPorn beautiful and unique looking first sublevel]] (a bird house up in a tree), the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic awesome]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za1mP75f-j0&pp=ygUVc25hZ3JldCBob2xlIHBpa21pbiAy background music]], and the clever usage of [[AmbushEnemy ambushing enemies]] that, similar to The Submerged Castle, make for a [[NintendoHard really challenging]] yet really thrilling and exhilarating dungeon to play through.
** The Shower Room is another one that's generally well thought upon. Having a really unique looking blue-tiled bathroom esthetic that makes it stand out against the other caves, and for being a generally balanced cave that utilizes all 4 Pikmin elements equally. Being filled with watery hazards of course, but also occasionally sprinkling in the other four elements to keep the player on their toes and to give each sublevel variety and not make them feel [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks too similar and repetitive]].

** Surprisingly enough, The Submerged Castle, while also counting as ThatOneLevel, is also one of the most beloved caves in the whole game. Mainly for introducing the gimmick of the cave's boss, the Water Wraith, dropping down from the ceiling after a certain amount of time and chasing you throughout the sublevel until you escaped, creating a [[NintendoHard very challenging]] yet very trilling and exhilarating experience of trying to hastily collect treasure before he appears and, once he does appear, trying to swiftly avoid him and make your Pikmin stay away from him. It was such an iconic dungeon to the point that it isn't uncommon to [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter see fans being displeased that the other dungeons don't feature the Wraith]], or at least some other gimmick similar to it.
** The Gluttons Kitchen is another cave that's consistently beloved. Mostly for being a pretty easy BreatherLevel, aside from the obligitory [[DemonicSpiders Spotty Bulbears]], as well as introducing the [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter fan favorite Breadbug enemies]] and for having a very vibrant and unique [[ToyTime toy house]] setting that makes it stand out amongst the other dungeons.

** The Shower Room is another one that's generally well thought upon. Having a really unique looking blue-tiled bathroom esthetic that makes it stand out against the other caves, and for being a generally balanced cave that utilizes all 4 Pikmin elements equally. Being filled with watery hazards of course, but also occasionally sprinkling in the other four elements to keep the player on their toes and to give each sublevel variety and not make them feel[[ItsTheSameNowItSucks too similar and repetitive]].

** The Shower Room is another one that's generally well thought upon. Having a really unique looking blue-tiled bathroom esthetic that makes it stand out against the other caves, and for being a generally balanced cave that utilizes all 4 Pikmin elements equally. Being filled with watery hazards of course, but also occasionally sprinkling in the other four elements to give each sublevel variety and not make them [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks too similar and repetitive]].

* ViewerSpeciesConfusion: The Arboreal Frippery treasure. It's actually suppose to be a Japanese Maple Leaf, but many players, specifically those in America, mistook it for a ''Marijuana Leaf'' instead. The comparison was strong enough to get the treasure censored in the European version, where it was redesigned to look like a Western Maple Leaf instead. The Piklopedia notes written for it in the Japanese version [[NotHelpingYourCase certainly didn't help either]], with the ship straight up referring to it as a "drug-like blanket."

* ViewerSpeciesConfusion: The Arboreal Frippery treasure. It's actually suppose to be a Japanese Maple Leaf, but many players, specifically those in America, mistook it for a ''Marijuana Leaf'' instead. The comparison was strong enough to get the treasure censored in the European version, where it was redesigned to look like a Western Maple Leaf instead. The Piklopedia notes written for it in the Japanese version [[NotHelpingYourCase certainly didn't help either]], with the ship straight up referring to it as a "drug-like blanket." Kinda [[JustifiedTrope justified]] though in that it's based on a rather obscure plant in Japan, so it'd make sense why others outside of the country wouldn't recognize it.

* ViewerSpeciesConfusion: The Arboreal Frippery treasure. It's actually suppose to be a Japanese Maple Leaf, but many players, specifically those in America, mistook it for a marijuana leaf instead. The comparison was strong enough to get the treasure censored in the European version, where it was redesigned to look like a Western Maple Leaf instead. The Piklopedia notes written for it in the Japanese version [[NotHelpingYourCase certainly didn't help either]], with the ship straight up referring to it as a "drug-like blanket." Kinda [[JustifiedTrope justified]] though in that it's based on a rather obscure plant in Japan, so it'd make sense why others outside of the country wouldn't recognize it.

** Whether or not the caves are better in this game or ''Pikmin 4''. Defenders of 2 tend to think the caves in 4 are too short and easy, while the fixed layouts remove much of the replay value of them. Detractors, meanwhile, point out the flaws of 2's caves, such as the FakeDifficulty issues mentioned above, and the randomized layouts making it difficult to strategize and plan ahead. Like the above, you're unlikely to find fans who see eye to eye on the more difficult caves from 2, or the more streamlined ones from 4.

* BrokenBase: The game's difficulty splits the fan base on whether or not it's fair or if it's a case of FakeDifficulty. On one hand, the player has access to a lot of [[GameBreaker overpowered options]] such as Purple Pikmin and Bitter Spray, with the infinite day count letting the player endlessly farm them. On the other hand, a lot of enemies in game are [[DemonicSpiders incredibly lethal]], with the amount of instant death enemies the game can throw at you at once becoming absurd, which is not helped by [[RandomlyGeneratedLevels the randomly generated caves]], which can throw large groups of them together in the same space. This is on top of the number of 'gotcha' traps of bomb rocks/enemies falling from the sky in caves, which can get downright obnoxious in the late game levels. You're very unlikely to find fans who see eye to eye on the game's difficulty.

* UnderusedGameMechanic: Despite having two playable characters, there's no option to play co-op in the story. Challenge mode allows two players to work together, but that's all there is for co-op play.

* UnderusedGameplayMechanic: Despite having two playable characters, there's no option to play co-op in the story. Challenge mode allows two players to work together, but that's all there is for co-op play.

* AccidentalInnuendo: The Arboreal Frippery is a leaf of a Japanese maple tree, which happens to look a lot like a marijuana leaf. The Europoean version of the games change its color from green to red, which would carry over in all regions in the Switch version.

* AccidentalInnuendo: The Arboreal Frippery is a leaf of a Japanese maple tree, which happens to look a lot like a marijuana leaf. The Europoean version of the games changes its color from green to red, which would carry over in all regions in the Switch version.

** Some of the treasures had their branding changed in order to be more familiar in other territories. For example, the batteries are National Hi-Top in Japanese, but Duracell in the international versions. The Switch port removes the branding entirely, and changes the names of some of the treasure groups.
** Treasures with Japanese text or that are Japanese in nature were changed slightly for international releases. The Decorative Goo, which was an ordinary tube of paint, had its Japanese text changed to a ''VideoGame/MarioPaint'' reference. The Cosmic Archive, a copy of ''VideoGame/TheMysteriousMurasameCastle'', was noticeably one of the few things left untouched.
** The yield sign at the landing site in the Wistful Wild is a stop sign in the Japanese version. Stop signs in Japan are triangular rather than octagonal, so it was likely changed to be more familiar.

* SignatureScene: The Waterwraith falling from the sky for the first time and the subsequent chase, in part from the ship clarifying just how dangerous the thing is, as well as being ''genuinely terrifying'' in an otherwise bright and lighthearted game. Submerged Castle itself has left such a long lasting impression that the final area in ''Pikmin 3'' pays homage to it, while ''Pikmin 4'' would include a complete remaster of it, Waterwraith and all.

** Was Louie really [[spoiler:in control of the Titan Dweevil like Olimar and the ship theorize, or was he kidnapped by it, and the Titan Dweevil was simply attacking Olimar and the President for entering its territory If it is indeed the former, was Louie attacking his boss and coworker in revenge for Olimar leaving him behind, or to keep them from learning the truth about the company's debt? Or was it a mixture of both?]]

** Was Louie really [[spoiler:in control of the Titan Dweevil like Olimar and the ship theorize, or was he kidnapped by it, and the Titan Dweevil was simply attacking Olimar and the President for entering its territory?]] If it is indeed the former, was Louie attacking his boss and coworker in revenge for Olimar leaving him behind, or to keep them from learning the truth about the company's debt? Or was it a mixture of both?]]

** [[spoiler:Was Louie really in control of the Titan Dweevil like Olimar and the ship theorize, or was he kidnapped by it, and the Titan Dweevil was simply attacking Olimar and the President for entering its territory?]]
*** [[spoiler:If it is indeed the former, was Louie attacking his boss and coworker in revenge for Olimar leaving him behind, or to keep them from learning the truth about the company's debt? Or was it a mixture of both?]]

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: Back when the game first released, the removal of the day limit was seen as a welcome change, and was one of the main selling points of the game due to many finding the day limit in the first game too strict and discouraging exploration. In recent years (particularly after the release of "Pikmin 3") however, this change has steadily been seen in a more negative light due to many players seeing it as a removal of much of the tension and high stakes of the first and third games, and giving little reason to care about multitasking or efficiency since there's no penalty in taking your time. While there is still a part of the fanbase that prefers not having a day limit (which was brought back in the fourth game), it is nowhere near as well received as it was when the game first released.

* VindicatedByHistory: Back when the game first released, the removal of the day limit was seen as a welcome change, and was one of the main selling points of the game due to many finding the day limit in the first game too strict and discouraging exploration. In recent years (particularly after the release of "Pikmin 3") however, this change has steadily been seen in a more negative light due to many players seeing it as a removal of much of the tension and high stakes of the first and third games, and giving little reason to care about multitasking or efficiency since there's no penalty in taking your time. While there is still a part of the fanbase that prefers not having a day limit (which was brought back in the fourth game), it is nowhere near as well received as it was when the game first released.

* SignatureScene: Submerged Castle is by far the most remembered part of the game, and is frequently cited as being one of the high points of the game. In particular, the Waterwraith falling from the sky and the subsequent chase are praised not only for their creativity, but also being ''genuinely terrifying'' in an otherwise cheery and lighthearted game. The cave itself has left such a long lasting impression that the final area in ''Pikmin 3'' pays homage to it, while ''Pikmin 4'' would include a complete remaster of it, Waterwraith and all.

* SignatureScene: Submerged Castle is by far the most remembered cave in the game, and is commonly cited as one of the high points of the game for its creativity, limiting the player's squad to only Blue Pikmin, and of course, the Waterwraith. It's so popular, the final area of ''Pikmin 3'' pays homage to it, and the cave itself would receive a complete remake in ''Pikmin 4'', Waterwraith and all.