So I Tried… Pikmin 1

Each edition of So I Tried… I will try a game that I have never played before. Will I find something new to love? Will I find something new to despise? I'll take a full half hour, no matter how bad it gets or how badly I do, to see if this is the game for me. This time I went for the Switch version of Pikmin 1.

What I thought it was

A puzzle game set in a normal sized garden, but where you are small. Honestly, I really like the concept of being in a normal sized, everyday place but you’re small so it all looks huge; Gacha Force, Chibi-Robo!… While I had a GameCube at the time this game came out, I skipped over Pikmin for some reason. Not sure whether it looked “too kiddy” or I was just in my hipster phase.

What it actually is

Well, I wasn’t too far off the mark? You play as Olimar, an astronaut stranded on a strange planet after being struck by a Star Bit from Super Mario Galaxy. You discover these strange plant-like creatures called Pikmin (which you name such because they look like a type of carrot from your homeworld) and decide to use them to help repair your broken spacecraft. Unfortunately, the planet is filled with oxygen, a substance harmful to your kind, so you only have 30 days to find the 30 parts required before your life support system runs out!

Unfortunately, not all life on the planet is friendly like the Pikmin. Some creatures you will have to throw Pikmin at until they are dead! Do I mean the creature or the Pikmin? Yes. Once the creatures are done with, the surviving Pikmin will take its corpse back to the Onion which is their home, and when the Onion absorbs it, you get some new Pikmin to send to the slaughter! I mean help you.

Will I keep playing

I might dip back into it because I only finished two days and obtained two ship parts. I’m honestly more curious about the sequels because this Olimar dude cannot catch a break if they keep crashing on this planet! I’m also curious how many Pikmin can be displayed on the screen because while this may be slightly prettier than the original version, it’s still a GameCube game.