Pikmin 2
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is a 2004
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time." By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, tur ...
puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, Sequence, sequence solving, Spatial ability, spatial recognition, ...
developed and published by
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
for the
GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...
. It is the direct sequel to the 2001 game ''
Pikmin is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding hazards, ...
'' and the second game in the ''
Pikmin is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding hazards, ...
'' series. In the game, Olimar returns to the Pikmin planet to collect valuable treasure after learning that the company he works for—Hocotate Freight—is on the verge of bankruptcy. Like its predecessor, ''Pikmin 2'' focuses on exploring an unknown planet's surface from a microscopic perspective, where the player directs the Pikmin to perform various tasks, such as destroying obstacles, defeating enemies, and retrieving objects. It introduces new gameplay mechanics, including the ability to control two different leaders at once and the addition of new Pikmin types. ''Pikmin 2'' received critical acclaim, gaining aggregate scores of 89.60% and 90 on
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
and
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, respectively. Many critics praised the various additions and changes, such as the new Pikmin types, longer length of the story mode, new multiplayer modes, and the removal of the 30-day time limit imposed in the original game. ''Pikmin 2'' was re-released as part of the ''
New Play Control! is a series of first-party GameCube games ported to the Wii by Nintendo. Games in the ''New Play Control!'' series feature enhancements such as widescreen support, enhanced graphics and the implementation of the Wii's motion controls with th ...
'' series for the
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...
in 2009 in Japan, Europe and Australia and it received a North American release three years later in 2012. An HD remaster of the game was released for the
Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
in June 2023. A sequel to the game, ''
Pikmin 3 ''Pikmin 3'' is a 2013 real-time strategy and puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U video game console. It is the sequel to the GameCube games ''Pikmin'' (2001) and '' Pikmin 2'' (2004), and was released in Japan on ...
'', was released in 2013 for the Wii U.


Gameplay

''Pikmin 2'' expands on the gameplay introduced in its predecessor, ''
Pikmin is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding hazards, ...
''. The player controls both
Captain Olimar is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding hazards, ...
and
Louie Louie may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Louie'' (American TV series), comedy drama television series created by and starring comedian Louis C.K. * ''Louie'' (French TV series), animated series about a young rabbit who draws pictures which ...
from a third-person microscopic perspective to retrieve treasures (which consist of human waste such as scrap metal and broken toys) from the surface of an unknown planet (called the "distant planet"). The gameplay focuses on leading and directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin to accomplish this mission. The Pikmin follow behind Olimar and/or Louie as they move around the field. The player can quickly throw individual Pikmin at enemies and obstacles, where they automatically engage in combat, destroying obstacles, or building bridges. The player can also direct the entire mob (or a subdivision) to swarm and attack enemies en masse. Because the player controls two leaders simultaneously, they can have the leaders separate with their own Pikmin hordes to complete multiple tasks at once. While the player can amass a limitless number of Pikmin, only up to 100 Pikmin are allowed on the field at any time. The player can only explore during the daylight and begins each day at sunrise, and must finish all tasks and collect all stray Pikmin before sunset. Pikmin that are left behind at sunset are lost to ferocious
nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...
predators, a mechanic that was also in ''Pikmin''. Unlike ''Pikmin'', the game lacks a time limit and gives the player an unlimited number of days. The Pikmin themselves come in five distinct colors, which indicates their strength or immunity to hazards. Red, Blue, and Yellow Pikmin, which originally appeared in ''Pikmin'', are resilient to fire, drowning, and electric hazards, respectively. Two new colors, Purple and White, are unique to ''Pikmin 2''. White Pikmin are swifter than the other types, can resist poisonous gases and poison enemies if devoured, and can locate hidden treasures buried in the soil. Purple Pikmin, while not immune to any hazards, are slower but far stronger than the others and can lift as much as 10 ordinary Pikmin. They are also heavy, and can stun enemies when thrown at them. Because of these characteristics, the player must choose the Pikmin that are best-suited to the task at hand. The stalk on a Pikmin's head, topped with either a leaf,
bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...
, or flower, indicates their swiftness and strength, growing upon consumption of
nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...
harvested from various sources. More Pikmin can be born by bringing pellets or enemy carcasses to the "Onion" motherships, where they can be safely stored and extracted. Purple and White Pikmin do not have their own Onions and are stored inside the Hocotate Ship, and are created by throwing existing Pikmin into rare flowers called Candypop Buds. The game also introduces a sixth Pikmin type, Bulbmin, which are resistant to all hazards but are only temporarily usable. Lastly, it introduces sprays that can be collected by harvesting certain plants. The purple spray can be sprayed on enemies, and causes them to temporarily be encased in stone, making them vulnerable to attacks. The red spray gives Pikmin a temporary boost to their speed and attack strength. The player is able to explore four distinct locales on the distant planet, which vary in theme, enemies, and treasures found. The player is also accompanied by the Hocotate Ship's
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
, which gives them hints and input. When a treasure is found, the Pikmin carry it back to the Hocotate Ship, where it will be placed into the ship's cargo hold and its worth calculated. In addition to exploring the surface of each locale, there are caves scattered throughout the landscape, which the player, the Pikmin horde, and the ship's AI can enter. Caves contain multiple treasures and enemies spread across multiple sub-levels. Some enemies, such as the Waterwraith, are found only within caves. While inside a cave, time does not pass on the surface due to a
time warp Time travel is a common theme in fiction, mainly since the late 19th century, and has been depicted in a variety of media, such as literature, television, and film. The concept of time travel by mechanical means was popularized in H. G. Wells' ...
caused by a strong
geomagnetic Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field, is the magnetic field that extends from structure of Earth, Earth's interior out into space, where it interacts with the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emanating from ...
field, allowing the player to explore for an indefinite period of time before sunset. However, the Pikmin Onions do not follow the player, meaning that they must bring enough Pikmin beforehand to use within the cave. Caves are also home to larger, stronger enemies that serve as the game's bosses, which upon defeat award treasures that bestow new abilities to the player characters. Cave layouts are
randomly generated In common usage, randomness is the apparent or actual lack of definite pattern or predictability in information. A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. Ind ...
, but certain floors are not, generally boss floors. Caves are also the only place to find the "Violet" or "Ivory" "Candypop Buds" that make Purple or White Pikmin. The player completes the game after collecting all 201 treasures.


Additional modes

In addition to the main
single-player A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the gameplay. Video games in general can feature several game modes, including single-player modes designed to be played by a single player in add ...
game mode, there is a
two-player A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
competitive mode and an unlockable challenge mode. In the competitive game mode, Olimar and Louie are each controlled by a player. In a capture the flag style gameplay, the player's objective is to either retrieve four yellow marbles or claim the opponent's marble using Pikmin. A player can launch attacks against the other's Pikmin to hinder the opponent's progress. When a player collects a cherry, an advantage is gained, such as gaining or flowering Pikmin or summoning enemies at the opponent's base. The challenge mode is unlocked during the single-player game. One or two players can play this mode cooperatively. Each selectable
level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (optical instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights * Spirit level or bubble level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *C ...
takes place in caves of varying depth, and the objective is to locate a Key treasure, used to open access to the next sub-level, within the specified time limit. The player completes the level upon finding the cave's exit, and is scored based on the treasures collected, the number of Pikmin surviving upon exit, and the time taken to complete the level.


Plot

After the events of ''Pikmin'',
Captain Olimar is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding hazards, ...
returns to his home planet Hocotate. He learns from his employer (a
space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...
transport company) that his co-worker, Louie, lost a shipment of luxury carrots to a "space rabbit". The company is forced to take out a large loan to cover the loss, and immediately sells Olimar's ship. When Olimar drops a
bottle cap A bottle cap or bottle top is a common closure for the top opening of a bottle. A cap is sometimes colorfully decorated with the logo of the brand of contents. Metal caps with plastic backing are used for glass bottles, sometimes wrapped in dec ...
he brought home as a souvenir, an intelligent company ship appraises it as considerably valuable. The company president orders Olimar and Louie to take the ship to the planet where the treasure was found, and collect more of it to save the company. Upon arriving on the Pikmin's planet, Olimar and Louie are initially separated, but reunite after working with the local red Pikmin population. In the process of finding treasure, they encounter White and Purple Pikmin, two new species that Olimar had never encountered before. After finding enough treasure, Olimar takes off for Hocotate, only to realize mid-flight that Louie was accidentally left behind. Though the debt is cleared, upon Olimar's suggestion the president decides that they must return to find treasures and help strengthen the company's finances, and joins Olimar on his return trip to the Pikmin's planet to find Louie. Eventually the pair encounters Louie in the Dream Den atop of a giant elemental creature called the Titan Dweevil that can harness the ability to switch between using fire, water, poison and electricity through treasures. After defeating the creature, Olimar and the president retrieve Louie and the final treasures, and depart the planet, leaving the Pikmin behind. In a special
epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the ...
, it is revealed that Louie ate the entire shipment of Pikpik brand carrots he was delivering and falsified his report to the president to avoid trouble, causing the events of the game. It is also implied that he was controlling the Titan Dweevil, as the Hocotate Ship claims this in its
sales pitch As a selling technique, a sales presentation or sales pitch is a line of talk that attempts to persuade someone or something, with a planned sales presentation strategy of a product or service designed to initiate and close a sale of the produc ...
for Louie as a treasure.


Development

In December 2002 a year following the release of ''
Pikmin is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding hazards, ...
'',
game designer Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems, rules, and gameplay of a game. Game design processes apply to board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, Wargame (video games), war ga ...
Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, video game producer, producer and Creative director#Video games, game director at Nintendo, where he has served as one of its representative directors as an executive since 2002. Widely regarded as one o ...
confirmed a sequel to be in development. Development took about two and a half years; the original plan was to release it in Autumn 2003, but the team chose to delay it by six months to make further changes and revisions. ''Pikmin 2'' was directed both by
Shigefumi Hino Shigefumi Hino (日野 重文 ''Hino Shigefumi'', born 1963) is a Japanese graphics designer, game director and planner from Nintendo. He is the creator of Yoshi from the ''Yoshi'' franchise. Hino later served as the director of the ''Pikmin'' ...
, who focused on the graphics design, and Masamichi Abe, who focused on the
game design Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems, rules, and gameplay of a game. Game design processes apply to board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, Wargame (video games), war ga ...
. Miyamoto and
Takashi Tezuka is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer. He is a senior officer in Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development division and is an Executive Officer at Nintendo itself. Tezuka was the right-hand man to Shigeru Miyamoto an ...
served as producers. Hajime Wakai composed the game soundtrack, while
Kazumi Totaka is a Japanese video game composer and sound director who is best known for his various compositions in many Nintendo games. He occasionally does voice acting as well, most notably voicing Yoshi from the ''Mario'' series. He also directed the ...
served as the sound director; "
Totaka's Song is a Japanese video game composer and sound director who is best known for his various compositions in many Nintendo games. He occasionally does voice acting as well, most notably voicing Yoshi from the ''Mario'' series. He also directed the d ...
" is hidden twice in the game as an
Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...
. The 30-day time limit imposed in the original ''Pikmin'' was removed in order to allow players to explore the game world at a leisurely pace, which in turn increased the overall length of the game. Cooperative two-player gameplay within the main single player game was experimented, but it was found that it imposed limits on the overall game design. Multiplayer was thus relegated to a separate game mode. ''Pikmin 2'' was first released in Japan on April 29, 2004 and then in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
,
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, and
Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...
later in the year.
Nintendo e-Reader The Nintendo e-Reader, commonly abbreviated as e-Reader, is an add-on manufactured by Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both v ...
cards compatible with ''Pikmin 2'' were released only in Japan, which contained additional
minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements and is often smaller or more simplistic than th ...
s. Many of the treasures feature
product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of t ...
for real-life brands such as
Duracell Duracell Inc. is an American manufacturer of alkaline batteries, specialty cells, and rechargeables; it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 2016. The company has its origins in the 1920s, through the work of Samuel Ruben a ...
. These were replaced with fictional brands in the Nintendo Switch remaster.


Re-releases

In 2009 both ''Pikmin'' and ''Pikmin 2'' were re-released for the
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...
as part of the ''
New Play Control! is a series of first-party GameCube games ported to the Wii by Nintendo. Games in the ''New Play Control!'' series feature enhancements such as widescreen support, enhanced graphics and the implementation of the Wii's motion controls with th ...
'' brand, a selection of
ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desig ...
GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...
games with updated
Wii Remote The Wii Remote, colloquially known as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with an ...
controls. Although ''New Play Control! Pikmin 2'' was released in Japan, Europe, and Australia that year, it was not confirmed for a North American release until three years later in the June 2012 issue of ''
Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...
'' and was later confirmed for a June 2012 release. The North American localization of ''Pikmin 2''s Wii port was released as a
Nintendo Selects ''Nintendo Selects'' (and its predecessor; ''Player's Choice'') was a marketing label previously used by Nintendo to promote best-selling video games on Nintendo game consoles. ''Nintendo Selects'' titles were sold at a lower price point (usually ...
game along with the Nintendo Selects re-release of ''
Mario Power Tennis ''Mario Power Tennis'' is a 2004 sports game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. The game is the sequel to the Nintendo 64 title '' Mario Tennis'', and is the fourth game in the ''Mario Tennis'' ser ...
'' and is the penultimate Wii game to be published by Nintendo of America. HD remasters of ''Pikmin'' and ''Pikmin 2'' for
Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
were announced and released on June 21, 2023.


Reception


Critical response

''Pikmin 2'' received critical acclaim, gaining an aggregate score of 89.44% on
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
based on 58 reviews, and an aggregate score of 90 on
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
based on 54 reviews. ''GameSpot'' named it the best GameCube game of August 2004. The February 2006 issue of ''
Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...
'' rated the game as the 47th best game made on a Nintendo System in its Top 200 Games list, and was also rated 29th on ''
Official Nintendo Magazine ''Official Nintendo Magazine'', or ''ONM'', was a British Video game journalism, video game magazine that ran from 2006 to 2014 that covered the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, and Wii U video game consoles released by Nintendo. Originally p ...
''s 100 greatest Nintendo games of all time. ''
GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
'' labeled it one of the top five
GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...
games. In 2020, ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' placed the game at #6 on their list of "the top 20 GameCube games of all time". Many critics considered the title to be superior to its predecessor ''
Pikmin is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding hazards, ...
'', expressing that ''Pikmin 2'' addressed many problems or issues seen in the original game. The removal of the 30-day time limit originally used was applauded by many critics for increasing the game's longevity, though Nintendo World Report had mixed opinions, feeling that the lack of urgency might encourage players to be "lazy." The addition of a separate multiplayer mode was praised, though the lack of
LAN Lan or LAN may refer to: Science and technology * Local asymptotic normality, a fundamental property of regular models in statistics * Longitude of the ascending node, one of the orbital elements used to specify the orbit of an object in space * ...
online-play was a disappointment to some. ''Pikmin 2''s strategic and puzzle-oriented gameplay was praised by many. The
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
of the Pikmin was noted by ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' as improved over the original, though ''IGN'' remarked on reoccurring shortcomings, such as Pikmin getting stuck behind walls or breaking away from the group. The
graphics Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of the data, as in design and manufa ...
and presentation in ''Pikmin 2'' were highly praised; many critics felt that they were greatly improved over the original game. ''IGN'' stated that "it's highly refreshing to see a Nintendo-created game with such undeniably high production values," noting the "
photorealistic Photorealism is a genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other graphic media, in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in another medium. Although the term can b ...
" environments,
particle effects In the Outline of physical science, physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscle in older texts) is a small wikt:local, localized physical body, object which can be described by several physical property, physical or chemical property, chemical p ...
, character animation, and the observation that the game constantly runs at 30 frames-per-second. ''GameSpot'' agreed, expressing that "from a performance viewpoint, ''Pikmin 2'' stands as an impressive achievement on the GameCube, especially since the improved visuals still move at a solid frame rate despite the increased detail." Tom Bramwell of ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...
'' called ''Pikmin 2'' "relentlessly and giddily gorgeous."'''' Other critics, such as ''
X-Play ''Xplay'' (previously ''GameSpot TV'', ''Extended Play'', and ''X-Play'') was a television program about video games. The program, known for its reviews and comedy skits, aired on G4 in the United States and has aired on '' G4 Canada'' in Canada ...
'', did not agree about the graphics, feeling the improvements were "marginal" at best. In addition, many reviews voiced minor complaints regarding the game's
camera system In 3D video games, a virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in video games where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; m ...
, which was often obstructed by large objects in the playing field when positioned at certain angles.'''' The staff of ''X-Play'' nominated ''Pikmin 2'' for their 2004 "Best Strategy Game" award, which ultimately went to '' Rome: Total War''. During the
8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards The ''8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards'' was the 8th edition of the D.I.C.E. Awards, Interactive Achievement Awards, an annual awards event that honored the best games in the video game industry during 2004 in video games, 2004. The awar ...
, the
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...
nominated ''Pikmin 2'' for " Console Action/Adventure Game of the Year", which was ultimately awarded to '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas''.


Re-releases

In his review of the Nintendo Switch version, PJ O'Reilly of ''
Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...
'' described the remaster as "bare-bones". He particularly lamented the replacement of the licensed brands with fictional ones, claiming that this makes it more difficult for players to notice a connection between Earth and the Pikmin planet. O'Reilly nonetheless gave the Nintendo Switch remaster an 8/10 score because of the core game's quality.


Sales

During the first week of its release, ''Pikmin 2'' sold roughly 162,000 copies, going on to sell 483,000 total copies within Japan. For the New Play Control! rerelease for the Wii, the game sold roughly 237,000 total copies in Japan during its lifetime.


Notes


References


External links

* * {{Portal bar, Video games, 2000s 2004 video games GameCube games Games with GameCube-GBA connectivity Multiplayer and single-player video games New Play Control! games Nintendo Switch games Pikmin Real-time strategy video games Video games developed in Japan Video games produced by Shigeru Miyamoto Video games produced by Takashi Tezuka Video games set on fictional planets Wii games Wii games re-released on the Nintendo eShop