The planet Koppaï having exhausted its food reserves, explorers are sent into space in search of new resources. That's how Captain Charlie, engineer Alph, and the mischievous Miss Brittany (more obsessed with food than the well-being of her colleagues) land, or rather crash, on planet PNF-404. They then discover a strange world, where giant fruits and tiny Pikmin abound. These creatures, both animal and plant, have the advantage of gathering around you at the slightest whistle. They can then be sent to attack the local fauna or flora, in order to collect elements which will make it possible to give birth to/grow even more Pikmin. These are also available in different colors. Reds are tough and fire resistant, yellows love electricity, blues can swim, blacks can shatter crystals and glass, and winged pinks work wonders against flying creatures. It is therefore necessary to use the right Pikmin at the right time, in order to defeat all the critters that are on our way and harvest a maximum of resources. We are clearly dealing with real-time strategy… and limited! Just to add a little pressure, the adventure is divided into different days, and it is imperative to gather our troops before nightfall, otherwise the latecomers will be irretrievably devoured. To save time, do not hesitate to form several groups and give orders in parallel to each of our explorers, knowing that you can switch from one leader to another at will. So much for the outline of the gameplay, which is still as effective seven years after the initial release of the game. The very cute artistic direction has also not aged a bit. On the other hand, technically we still feel the weight of the years. This Switch version may offer a higher resolution than that of the Wii U, aliasing is still present on the screen. When next-gen consoles arrive and communicate on 4K, it stings a little.
PIKMIN BY THE ROADSIDE
It should be understood that this Switch version is neither a remaster nor a remake. We are actually dealing with a "simple" portage. The improvements justifying the Deluxe appellation are therefore to be found in the content rather than the graphics. And from this point of view, there is really nothing to complain about. First of all, the adventure immediately includes downloadable content that was once paid for on Wii U. Better still, we are entitled to a side story separated into two parts, which takes place in parallel with the main campaign and highlights star Olimar and Louie, the heroes of the first two episodes of the series. If we welcome this addition with great pleasure, we should not expect too much. These new missions are actually based on the same principles as the challenge missions (treasure hunt, kill creatures, etc.). So even if Olimar comes to speak to us facing the camera for a few lines of text, we can't really consider this side story as a second campaign in its own right.
On the other hand, we can only welcome the arrival of the local coop. A second player can join the game at any time, the screen then automatically switches to split mode. Doing the campaign together greatly simplifies the task since it is immediately less necessary to be everywhere at once. As a result, we will not hesitate to take advantage of one of the new difficulty modes available. It is now possible to start a game in standard, difficult or downright "super-spicy" mode. A "piklopedia" is also appearing, just to provide us with information on the creatures encountered. Small subtlety that pleases: each of the explorers offers his own description. The aiming system for launching Pikmin at a target has been slightly redesigned and improved to take into account the specificities of the Joy-Con. "Motion gaming" options are present but fortunately they remain optional. Always for the sake of accessibility, the adventure now offers us advice displayed on demand as well as an indication of the shortest path to the current objective. Finally, this Deluxe version necessarily abandons the decentralized display of the map and menus, which were formerly deported to the Gamepass of the Wii U. And everything works very well without this accessory! Let's end with a little disappointment: the absence of an online coop mode, which could have perfectly complemented the local cool.
