For games with their own pages, go here:
- Adored by the Network: Although none of the games in the series have been unsuccessful commercially, their sales numbers have always lagged far behind those of Nintendo's more famous franchises; the main reason for the series' longevity and continued prominence, even with the long gaps between releases, is the personal fondness that Shigeru Miyamoto has for it, going so far as to declare Pikmin "our most global franchise
" and expressing disappointment that the games have never taken off to the extent that Mario and Zelda have, which has only encouraged him to try again with new sequels and spin-offs that could enhance the characters' visibility. - Breakaway Pop Hit: "Ai no Uta", the deliciously-Lyrical Dissonance promotional theme of the first game in Japan, was a surprise success. Apparently salarymen identified with lyrics about unquestioningly following a superior and giving their lives without asking anything in return — who knew?
- Colbert Bump: While Super Smash Bros. helped out a bit in giving the series some recognition, popular Lets Play channel Chuggaaconroy tends to be thanked more for popularizing the franchise, with many fans often sighting him and his very iconic playthroughs of the first two games as their introduction to the series.
- Hey, It's That Sound!: Fans of Family Guy might recognize the dying screech that the Burrowing Snagret makes is the same as Ernie the Giant Chicken's. Meanwhile, Moana fans recognize it as HeiHei's screams when he finds himself stranded in the middle of the ocean.
- Referenced by...: The Super Mario Bros. Movie features a glass decoration of a Pikmin in the Super Mario Bros.' customers' house when their plumbing job goes wrong.
- Word of Dante: It's a widely-believed fact that Olimar is incompetent because he didn't use the Nova Blaster to destroy the meteor, despite the fact that the manual for the first game, and later one of the tie-in websites, actually does provide a justifiable reason for this. Namely, Olimar had set his ship on auto-pilot at the time because it was a route he had traveled many times before without trouble. Also, if one pays close attention to the cutscene, the meteor does notably blindside him before he can react.
