You may have heard of this series for the GameCube by the name of Pikmin. Maybe you've played it. It's even possible that you only now are learning about it. In the first game, you play as Captain Olimar, a guy on space vacation from his home planet Hocotate. When he is near a strange planet, he gets hit by a space rock and ends up falling to the surface, with flaming ship parts scattering everywhere. He survives and then recruits these little plant guys called Pikmin. Pikmin are these plant creatures living on what appears to be a post-human-presence Earth that's flourishing with plant and bug life. They aren't very strong on their own, but in numbers they can accomplish quite a lot. They are pure and innocent little creatures - unless you're some kind of monster, you dread seeing them die in battles against predator bugs or when they get killed by natural hazards, such as fire and water. They owe you nothing, yet they willingly give you their lives to assist you in rebuilding your ship and escaping from the planet. Even in death the poor things are adorable, as when they get bitten they sometimes yell "phooey!" They are amazing little guys, really.

Have any of you folks played either of the games?

Oh man, I love these games!

Man, now that I think about it, it's sure been a long time since I played one of them...

You know, I've never played Pikmin before! But I always thought it looked really cute, and the critics felt it was pretty innovative. I should pick up an old copy sometime.

Oh, never?! Ah, if you do get it, get Pikmin 2.

I've never played Pikmin. Why does everyone always say to skip to the second one? Is the first one horrible or something?

No! It's fantastic. Thing is, it's got a limit to how many in-game days you have to complete your mission, as opposed to Pikmin 2 where your resources are quite unlimited. Plus there's a lot more in that game to do than in the first one.

I have to say, Pikmin is one of my favorite series. It's really, really fun, and it's one of the only strategy games I think I ever play. I just love everything about it, and it gets so addicting! It puts me in a really nostalgic mood whenever I play it.


Well, Pikmin 1 was okay, but I think I understand why everyone is telling you to get Pikmin 2. In my personal opinion, Pikmin 2 is one of the best sequels ever made. It addresses every problem people said the original had. Oh, the game's too short? BAM! Nearly five times the length of the original. Oh, what, the game's too hard? POW! Properly ramping difficulty curve for you. Oh, you still want more? Not enough features for ya? Well, KA-BOOM! Tons and tons of stuff to do in the game. I just really think it's one of the best-made sequels ever when compared to the original game, and I think all of the content and improvement it added really shows.