Hey! Pikmin
{{Short description|2017 platform video game}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Hey! Pikmin
| image = Hey Pikmin 3DS.jpg
| developer = Arzest
| publisher = {{ubl|Nintendo}}
| director = Tomohide Hayashi
| producer = {{ubl|Naoto Ohshima|Takashi Tezuka}}
| designer = Kenta Usui
| artist = {{ubl|Masamichi Harada|Noboru Shirasu}}
| programmer = Yuki Hatakeyama
| composer = {{ubl|Masato Kouda|Kento Hasegawa}}
| series = Pikmin
| platforms = {{ubl|Nintendo 3DS}}
| released = {{vgrelease|JP|July 13, 2017|NA/EU|July 28, 2017|AU|July 29, 2017}}
| genre = Action, platform, puzzle
| modes = Single-player
| Characters =
}}
Hey! Pikmin is a 2017 platform video game developed by Arzest and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. A spin-off of the Pikmin series, it is the series' first installment on a handheld console. Hey! Pikmin was released worldwide in July 2017, coinciding with the release of the New Nintendo 2DS XL—the sixth and final hardware revision of the 3DS. The game received mixed reviews from critics, with criticism focusing on its simplicity and lack of depth compared to the mainline console games.
Gameplay
Hey! Pikmin consists of main character Captain Olimar leading a group of Pikmin through a series of 2D side-scrolling platforming levels while collecting items that contain "sparklium", the main source of fuel for Olimar's ship. Unlike other games of the Pikmin series, players do not choose what Pikmin to bring into levels. Instead, players enter a level and use whatever Pikmin they find while exploring. Olimar is able to swim and use a jetpack to reach new areas. Winged Pikmin are able to carry Olimar while flying. Olimar is incapable of attacking on his own, instead relying on the Pikmin for defense. As players continue to collect more sparklium, Olimar is able to upgrade his space suit's capabilities such as the amount of fuel the jetpack has or the amount of hits it can take.
After clearing a level, all recruited Pikmin are taken to the Pikmin Park, an area where Pikmin can be sent to look for more objects with sparklium. By finding colored pellets, the amount of Pikmin in the park can be increased. After clearing a section of the Pikmin Park, more sections open up for the Pikmin to explore. The game is compatible with every Amiibo released before the game's launch, which provide a variety of in-game bonuses.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nintendo.com/amiibo/games/detail/hey-pikmin-3ds|title=Hey! Pikmin amiibo features|date=July 28, 2017|website=Nintendo.com|access-date=September 9, 2017|archive-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910040912/https://www.nintendo.com/amiibo/games/detail/hey-pikmin-3ds|url-status=dead}} A Pikmin-themed Amiibo was also released at launch.{{cite web|last1=Goldfarb|first1=Andrew|title=Hey! Pikmin: 3DS Game Gets Official Title and Release Date Along With New Amiibo|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/04/12/hey-pikmin-3ds-game-gets-official-title-and-release-date-along-with-new-amiibo|website=IGN|date=April 12, 2017|access-date=13 September 2017|archive-date=May 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518061856/http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/04/12/hey-pikmin-3ds-game-gets-official-title-and-release-date-along-with-new-amiibo|url-status=live}}
Plot
Olimar is flying in space on his new ship, the S.S. Dolphin II, when he hits an asteroid and crash-lands on an unknown planet. He learns that in order to bring his ship back in working order, he must collect 30,000 of the substance known as Sparklium. He soon re-encounters Red Pikmin, which he figures out he can use to carry Sparklium-rich treasures and acorn-like seeds. These "treasures" are usually common household objects, such as glasses or toothpaste. As Olimar searches more sectors of the planet, he finds Yellow Pikmin, Blue Pikmin, Rock Pikmin, and Winged Pikmin, respectively. Once the player gathers up 30,000 Sparklium, Olimar learns he must retrieve an essential component needed to repair the ship, the Sparklium Converter. However, it is revealed that it was accidentally eaten by a Leech Hydroe and has turned into the Berserk Leech Hydroe, a giant plant-like monster, through the converter's power, which he must fight. After returning the Leech Hydroe back to normal and obtaining the converter from it, Olimar heads back to his home planet, Hocotate.
Development
Hey! Pikmin was developed by Arzest and produced by Takashi Tezuka and Naoto Ohshima, Arzest's founder. On November 6, 2014, Shigeru Miyamoto stated during a Q&A of his recently released Pikmin short films that "Continually launching campaigns after the release of software will lay the groundwork for the next iteration of Pikmin in the future. And needless to say, we want it to be one of the motivations for potential consumers to purchase a Wii U. We are making a variety of different efforts."{{cite web|url=http://www.hardcoregamer.com/2014/11/06/pikmin-short-movies-precursor-to-pikmin-4-miyamoto-says/115972/|title='Pikmin Short Movies' Precursor to Pikmin 4, Miyamoto says|work=hardcoregamer.com|date=November 6, 2014|access-date=August 5, 2020|archive-date=September 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901044420/https://www.hardcoregamer.com/2014/11/06/pikmin-short-movies-precursor-to-pikmin-4-miyamoto-says/115972/|url-status=live}}
Later, on January 6, 2015, Miyamoto gave further confirmation that the Pikmin franchise would be receiving more games in the future, stating "I still have a lot of ideas about what I want to do with Pikmin, but nothing's decided yet in terms of anything else. But of course, we will continue to make Pikmin games."{{cite web|url=http://www.thetanooki.com/2015/01/05/miyamoto-we-will-continue-to-make-pikmin-games/|title=Miyamoto: We will continue to make Pikmin games|work=The Tanooki|access-date=August 5, 2020|archive-date=October 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015065850/https://www.thetanooki.com/2015/01/05/miyamoto-we-will-continue-to-make-pikmin-games/|url-status=dead}}
Furthermore, on September 7, 2015, Miyamoto confirmed in an interview with Eurogamer that the next Pikmin game was in development, and was "very close to completion."{{cite web|last=Phillips|first=Tom|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-07-20-pikmin-4-in-development-and-very-close-to-completion|title=Miyamoto Updates Fans On Status of Pikmin 4|date=September 7, 2015|website=Eurogamer|access-date=August 5, 2020|archive-date=August 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804080538/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-07-20-pikmin-4-in-development-and-very-close-to-completion|url-status=live}} During E3 2016, Miyamoto gave further updates, stating: "Yes, you are right, and we're working on [the next Pikmin]. So, you know, when we're in development we have to create a list of priorities and it has been hard to kind of fit that into that list, but we're hopefully starting to see that on the list now."
Reception
{{Video game reviews
| MC = 69/100{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/hey-pikmin/critic-reviews/?platform=3ds |title=Hey! Pikmin Critic Reviews for 3DS |work=Metacritic |access-date=July 26, 2017 |archive-date=September 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906085936/https://www.metacritic.com/game/3ds/hey!-pikmin/critic-reviews |url-status=live }}
| 4P = 75/100{{Cite web|last=Luibl|first=Jörg|url=https://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht_fazit/Allgemein/Test/Fazit_Wertung/3DS/38103/82683/Hey_Pikmin.html|title=Test: Hey! Pikmin (Action-Adventure)|website=4Players|date=August 2, 2017|access-date=August 14, 2020|archive-date=May 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513040632/https://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht_fazit/Allgemein/Test/Fazit_Wertung/3DS/38103/82683/Hey_Pikmin.html|url-status=live}}
| Destruct = 7/10{{Cite web|last=Carter|first=Chris|url=https://www.destructoid.com/review-hey-pikmin-448820.phtml|title=Review: Hey! Pikmin|website=Destructoid|access-date=August 14, 2020|archive-date=November 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129043342/https://www.destructoid.com/review-hey-pikmin-448820.phtml|url-status=dead}}
| Edge = 6/10{{cite magazine|date=October 2017|title=Hey! Pikmin|magazine=Edge|publisher=Future Publishing|issue=310|pages=120}}
| EGM = {{rating|3|5}}{{Cite magazine|last=Slead|first=Evan|url=https://egmnow.com/hey-pikmin-review/|title=Hey! Pikmin review|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|date=July 26, 2017 |access-date=August 14, 2020}}
| GI = 6/10{{Cite magazine|last=Reeves|first=Ben|url=https://www.gameinformer.com/games/hey_pikmin/b/3ds/archive/2017/07/26/hey-pikmin-game-informer-review.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729153023/http://www.gameinformer.com/games/hey_pikmin/b/3ds/archive/2017/07/26/hey-pikmin-game-informer-review.aspx|url-status=live|archive-date=July 29, 2017|title=Hey! Pikmin Nintendo's Intergalactic Strategy Falls Flat In 2D|magazine=Game Informer|access-date=August 14, 2020}}
| GSpot = 6/10{{Cite web |last1=D'Aprile |first1=Jason |title=Hey Pikmin Review |work=GameSpot |date=2017-07-26 |url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/hey-pikmin-review/1900-6416718/ |df=mdy-all |access-date=July 26, 2017 |archive-date=August 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801034407/https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/hey-pikmin-review/1900-6416718/ |url-status=live }}
| GTM = 7/10{{cite magazine|date=September 2017|title=Hey! Pikmin|magazine=GamesTM|publisher=Future Publishing|issue=190|pages=81}}
| IGN = 6.8/10{{Cite web |last1=Kemps |first1=Heidi |title=Hey! Pikmin Review |work=IGN |date=2017-07-26 |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/07/26/hey-pikmin-review |df=mdy-all |access-date=July 26, 2017 |archive-date=August 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801052043/http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/07/26/hey-pikmin-review |url-status=live }}
| NLife = {{rating|6|10}}{{Cite web|last=Whitehead|first=Thomas|date=July 26, 2017|url=https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/3ds/hey_pikmin|title=Hey! Pikmin Review (3DS)|website=Nintendo Life|publisher=Gamer Network|access-date=August 14, 2020|archive-date=August 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811192644/https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/3ds/hey_pikmin|url-status=live}}
| PG = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{Cite web|last=Mundy|first=Jon|url=https://www.pocketgamer.com/articles/074908/hey-pikmin-review-a-much-simplified-take-on-the-cult-nintendo-ip/|title=Hey! Pikmin review - A much simplified take on the cult Nintendo IP|website=Pocket Gamer|date=September 19, 2017|access-date=August 14, 2020|archive-date=October 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013124557/https://www.pocketgamer.com/articles/074908/hey-pikmin-review-a-much-simplified-take-on-the-cult-nintendo-ip/|url-status=live}}
| Poly = 7/10{{Cite web |last1=Hawkins |first1=Janine |title=Hey! Pikmin review |work=Polygon|publisher=Vox Media|date=2017-07-26 |url=https://www.polygon.com/2017/7/26/16031106/hey-pikmin-review |access-date=2017-07-26 |df=mdy-all |archive-date=July 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726234203/https://www.polygon.com/2017/7/26/16031106/hey-pikmin-review |url-status=live }}
}}
The game received "mixed or average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. The game was criticized for its simple puzzles and lack of depth. Game Informer stated: "Puzzles are also extremely simple, and usually boil down to tossing Pikmin around obstacles... Nintendo's low-impact blend of strategy and action flounders between relaxing and boring." Areas praised in the game include the amiibo functions. Allegra Frank of Polygon said "Hey! Pikmin might not be the most exciting Nintendo 3DS game out right now—hats off to Miitopia—but its amiibo functionality is the most charming we've seen in a long, long time."{{Cite news|url=https://www.polygon.com/2017/7/27/16050410/hey-pikmin-compatible-amiibo-functionality|title=Hey! Pikmin makes brilliant use of amiibo|last=Frank|first=Allegra|date=Jul 27, 2017|work=Polygon|access-date=September 9, 2017|archive-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910082513/https://www.polygon.com/2017/7/27/16050410/hey-pikmin-compatible-amiibo-functionality|url-status=live}}
{{-}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website}}
{{Pikmin series}}
{{Portal bar|Video games}}
Category:Nintendo Network games
Category:Nintendo 3DS-only games
Category:Nintendo 3DS eShop games
Category:Single-player video games
Category:Video games developed in Japan
Category:Video games produced by Takashi Tezuka
Category:Video games scored by Masato Kouda
Category:Video games set on fictional planets
Category:Video games that use Amiibo figurines