Hey! Pikmin (Dig It For Victory)

A new Pikmin game has been revealed! It might even be the Pikmin 4 that Miyamoto teased in the past. I've already seen a 'Pikmin: Zip Lash' graphic doing the rounds on Twitter but that's more than a bit harsh to me: it looks like a solid mashup of Pikmin (natch) and Kirby Mass Attack.

I can see this being my favourite Pikmin game full stop. Shibata at pains to say that it's a 2D adventure, not a platformer. It looked nice enough, a fun boss battle. Should be something different, and surely - surely? - better than Zip Lash.

I've (whisper it) not played a Pikmin game before, but colour me interested in this! I didn't expect Pikmin's first handheld outing to be a side-scroller, which did initially make me think this won't be a "proper" Pikmin experience, and maybe it won't play like the mainline games but I still think this will be one to a keep an eye on. I'll need to see a bit more of it before I can commit to saying if I'll buy it or not, though.

I'm about halfway through the first game, the New Play Control version. I can see myself gobbling this straight up, though - much more my style of game.

It seems like it's kind-of "Pikmin-lite". I'll keep an eye on this. Pikmin's a funny thing to me - I love it while I'm playing it, but haven't got hyped for one (Pikmin 3 was great when I actually properly think about it).

As probably the forum's biggest hardcore Pikmin fan: I'm actually well up for this. Captures the vibe but present a whole new game; what more could you want?

I was mega disappointed after seeing people talking about Pikmin and then seeing this, Zip Lash is an obvious comparison as they take a great series and shove it into a mediocre looking 2D platformer. Looks ugly as sin as well, massive disappointment after the stunning 3. I only hope this is a throwaway side project whilst we wait for the next main event.

I'm waiting to see more before passing a judgement like that - I'm still trying to work out how the Pikmin formula (collecting pellets, sprouting Pikmin, battling beasties) will translate to a 2D plain.

Hardcore crumpage, I like it, very on-brand.

If I had to compare it to anything it'd be the Mario Vs Donkey Kong games, so I certainly have my eye on this.

I've only played a bit of the first Pikmin game back in the Cube days so I don't really have much to say on the main series bar the fact that I have wanted to play them all fully but just don't get the time. So this one does look alright to me as something to I don't know her a slight feel for the series.

But as for comparing it to zip lash I don't really get it? I'm sure it won't be that bad

I like the look of it and it makes sense to be like this on 3DS, it just suits the handheld better. I really quite enjoyed Zip Lash saying that so I'm certainly more optimistic.

Drunkalilly wrote:

Hardcore crumpage, I like it, very on-brand.

He's been on form lately, in the AA6 thread as well. Classic Crumpy.

You have to be #onbrand with your #content for maximum #engagement

It is wasted potential though, Pikmin is such a wonderful and unique series, so what have Nintendo decided to do? Shove it into a 2D platformer, probably the most common 3DS genre. At Federation Force tried to do something interesting...

I do get where you're coming from, and if I were into Pikmin at all I'd be -ing.  At the same time, I don't think this is 'replacing' a genuine Pikmin game, like Zip-Lash was, like MPFF is, like PMCS will be.  We've had Pik3 this generation, and I don't think we'd get a 'proper' Pikmin on 3DS anyway.

It had better be actually good though.

Oh no, I don't think it is replacing it, but I do think you could do something more interesting with Pikmin, Puzzle Platformers are just such a lazy choice.

...apparently this is being developed by Arzest.

Ah. Arzest's reputation for excellence has changed my anticipating expression from to .

Well... you never know. This could be their breakthrough title... maybe.

From what I gather, Miyamoto is pretty heavily involved conceptually and design-wise, so I'm hopeful. It also isn't going to rely on platforming controls, which where a lot of their earlier games fall down.

The Pikmin trilogy is superb, all full of energy and full of new ideas. That said, I can't see this being particularly dynamic. I feel like there's nothing new that can be added to this type of game, on this type of hardware. I'm not that enthusiastic about this, truth be told.

And there's Arzest too. Nothing about their first major solo project - Yoshi's New Island - says to me that they should be handling a franchise as popular as Pikmin...or even developing games anymore.

Loved Pikmin 2 and 3 (still yet to play the original). A large part of their charm came from the beautiful visuals and ambient environments, which I just think the 3DS' blocky graphics won't be able to do justice. I loved exploring the serene landscapes which really sucked me in (also in part due to the lovely music/sound effects) and being on a handheld adds another hindrance - will it be as enticing on a small screen? I'm doubtful

As with Paper Mario: Colour splash, i'm interested. It comes down to how it controls and is it still fun for me. The basic mechanics of pikmin (the pikmin management and strategy) could be very interesting and actually pretty deep in 2D but losing the exploration of the 3D games would be a worry.

As always, in Nintendo i trust....only just at the moment....

Hey! Now we know its name and release date (July 28th). Hopefully it can stick in our minds now...