PIKMIN Help Page

Welcome to my PIKMIN help page. This won't be so much of a guide as a just a place to get help and advice for the basics of the game, since as you probably know, PIKMIN isn't a game you have to do in a certain order. Anyway, i'd be glad to answer any questions at squeaky2005@hotmail.com. ~Squeaky

For those of you who don't know the story behind this game already, you play the part of Captain Olimar, a very little man who's space ship was hit by a meteor and crashed into an uncharted planet. When he landed, he found one of the "Onions," the homes of the Pikmin. He found out that Pikmin take to him as their master and follow his commands, so he has decided to use their abilities to recover all his ship parts and return home. Your life support systems only last for 30 days, so that's how long you have to collect all the parts and beat the game.

There are 3 different colors of Pikmin: Red, Yellow, and Blue, each with their own special abilities. The Red Pikmin are the first that you find, and they are probably the strongest. They are also resistant to fire, which is a good thing to remember when you reach the third level, since there are fire-breathing enemies. Yellow Pikmin have ears and have the special ability of being able to use bomb-rocks. When you find bomb rocks (usually in cans or boxes) they pick them up and hold on to them until thrown. If you throw them they will place the bomb at the rock wall, or run away and throw it at an enemy, whatever they happen to be nearest to. Just make sure you stay out of the way of the blast, it can hurt you too. The Blue Pikmin, which you do not even find until the third level, have gills and are able to go in water without getting hurt. This is basically the key to the game: from what i have seen, the majority of the remaining pieces after a few in the second level are in, around, or near water. This causes problems so you may need to spend a day or two building up your Blue Pikmin population.

There are also three different types of Pikmin: Leaf, Bud, and Flower, again with certain advantages. The only really noticeable differences are the appearance, obivously, and speed. Leaf Pikmin are the weakest and slowest, and tend to lag behind when you run. Bud Pikmin are a bit faster, but not a whole lot. Flower Pikmin are the strongest and can keep up running right with you even if you're moving straight across an open area. The Pikmin kind of evolve themselves if you leave them in the ground for long enough. They start as Leaf Pikmin, then change to Bud Pikmin, and finally to Flower Pikmin. This whole process can be skipped if you find one of the bugs flying around holding a drop of nectar or if you happen to find a little patch of short grass (you'll know, the Pikmin will go after it, ripping it out of the ground till they find some nectar). To get the flying bugs to drop the nectar, just throw Pikmin at them. All Pikmin who touch the nectar will instantly become Flower Pikmin, no matter what they already were.

If you own this game, you should have an instruction manual, and should read it. But if you're really that lazy, i'll tell you the basic button controls. Start pauses obviously. A throws Pikmin if you have any, or plucks Pikmin out of the ground if you are close enough (tap repeatedly to pick all in an area). B is your whistle, hold it down to create a larger call circle. Moving the control stick moves the cursor, along with Olimar if you push it all the way (the cursor is where a Pikmin will land if thrown). The C-Stick (ya know, the little yellow one?) moves your hoard of Pikmin as a whole, useful if you want to direct them towards an object to pick up, or work on, or attack. Clicking the L shoulder button centers the camera behind, which can be very useful at times. The X button disbands the current group of Pikmin you have with you, separating them by color and in case of Yellow ones, also by having bomb-rocks or not. The Y button brings up the menu screen, which shows all your Pikmin number, and also your Captain's Log. After you find the part, the Whimsical Radar, it will also display a map of the current area with ship parts marked in stars.

Now for some basic tips:

• Whenever you find a new Onion with a new color of Pikmin, you may want to spend a day of your time finding pellets and enemies to increase your numbers. Remember: a pellet of the same color as the Onion it goes into gives extra seeds.
• When attacking a larger enemy, gather your group behind and then charge at it with the C-Stick.
• If you find that you can't get your Pikmin to do what you want, like go work on knocking down a wall, building a bridge, picking up something, etc., just use the C-Stick to direct the group towards the desired task.
• Some pieces may be in a place where you think that you will have to use Blue Pikmin, but you may not need to. As in the second level, you only need Blue Pikmin to go into the water and move a box, then other types can just walk safely across the little walkway.
• I suggest taking only one type of Pikmin at a time, because of their special abilities, just to make sure you don't accidentally go and drown half your population.
• Try to turn as many of your Pikmin into Flower Pikmin as possible. Since things regenerate every day, you can visit the same little patches of grass to find the nectar again and again.
• Like I said, any questions about specific things should be e-mailed to squeaky2005@hotmail.com Have fun and good luck!