Pikmin 1+2 Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

by Jim Smale · Published July 13, 2023 · Updated July 12, 2023

For this Pikmin 1+2 Review, we survive a crash-landing, on an uncharted planet, and a strange but exciting discovery for Captain Olimar! Rebuild his spaceship with the help of tiny plant creatures called Pikmin and explore an overgrown world in this HD version of the Nintendo GameCube classic.

Pikmin 1+2 Review Pros:

Decent graphics.
Download size – 2GB (1GB each).
Games are separate downloads.
Combination of both cutscenes and in-game interactions.
3 save slots in each game.
Tutorial pop-ups as you play.
Motion control support. (optional)
Local leaderboards.
Fast loading times.
A full 3D world with 360-degree camera control.
You play as Olimar.
You can speed up the game text interactions.
Pikmin – little leaf-like creatures that you can throw around and command to collect, and break items within the game world.
Uses an incubator/onion to put flowers in and get Pikmin out of them.
Shows the amount of Pikmin needed and how many are doing it on the Interactive parts.
Different Pikmin colors represent different things they can do.
Clear Hud showing how many Pikmin you have etc like how many are busy or inactive.
Watch as the Pikmin grab items and walk over to the incubator without you needing to tell them.
The goal of the game is to get ship parts so you can leave the planet.
The ordering of the Pikmin is easier when using the right stick and bumper buttons as it’s more precise than the old unwieldy way.
Zoom in and out button, you have three to use.
When you have a load of Pikmin waiting to be pulled up out of the ground you can hold the button down and Olimar goes faster and does all the Pikmin without you moving him.
The game plays out where you have a set amount of days to get all the parts.
At the end of the day you get a breakdown of how many Pikmin you have, Pikmin lost and any left behind.
The save game happens between days.
World map level select.
Rewatch cutscenes in bonuses in Pikmin 2.
You can replay levels.
When starting on a new planet/location you can choose how many Pikmin to take out of the onion/incubator.
At the top of the screen, you have a timer that shows when it gets dark.
Nighttime has a warning and you need to get all Pikmin near the onion so they can sleep and be safe.
The high score section in Pikmin 2 goes more in-depth detailing how many Pikmin and what colors were born, fought, saved etc.
Local two-player battle mode in Pikmin 2.
The menus in Pikmin 2 are a lot better and more in-depth including maps and icons.
I like that the first game is how Olimar and Pikmin met and the second game doesn’t do that again and instead has the Pikmin remembering Olimar.
Pikmin 2 introduces Louie and you hotswap between the characters at will.
In Pikmin 2 you can have the characters go solo, change leader or have them combine to be one group.
Different sizes and weights of objects determine how fast the Pikmin will carry the item to the base.
The ship in Pikmin 2 communicates with you and gives out orders, tips, tricks, and tutorials.
Find and return hidden treasures and cash them in at the ship.
You still cannot play at night in Pikmin 2 and you get a different end-of-day report.
Mail is a new thing IN Pikmin 2 and has story tidbits.
The menu in Pikmin 2 in between levels lets you view the treasure hoard and Piklopedia where you can view details like treasure value, Pikmin list to an enemy type, and creatures defeated on encountered enemies and treasures found.
Fully animated clip of entries in the Piklopedia and treasure hoard.

Pikmin 1+2 Review Cons:

Cannot rebind controls.
The camera is still not ideal and can make seeing objectives hard.
A lot to take in initially.
Takes some getting used to controlling the Pikmin.
Pikmin seem to die very easily and it’s not always clear when it happened.
There is a slow pace to it especially in a new planet/location.
The cursor makes it really hard to be precise especially when using a controller.
It’s not always clear what you can interact with or how to actually interact with items.
Some interaction points don’t show the number of Pikmin needed until you put at least one Pikmin on them.
Looks a bit rough in places.
All the menus are not as smooth as you would like and it feels like they don’t fit.