Pikmin 1+2 brings remastered versions of two classics to the Nintendo Switch, faithfully delivering an HD conversion of a timeless gameplay experience. As a new Nintendo IP on the Gamecube, Pikmin saw the diminutive Captain Olimar crash-land his ship on a planet designated as PNF-404, a version of Earth inhabited by tiny Pikmin and ferocious predators alike. Pikmin 2 expanded on its predecessor, scaling up in content and ambition as Olimar searched for a wide array of trinkets to pay off his employer's enormous debt.

The Pikmin remasters for the Switch are only the newest in a line of re-releases for the games, which have seen consistent appearances on each Nintendo home console from the GameCube onward. Although no new games in the series launched on the Wii, the first two received updated control schemes as part of the New Play Control! line of ports, making use of the Wii remote's pointer functionality for aiming and throwing Pikmin. In addition to the Wii U's backward compatibility with physical copies of the games, the Wii versions of Pikmin 1 and 2 were also added as digital s on the Wii U eShop.

Gameplay That Stands The Test Of Time

Each Pikmin game has added new features on top of its predecessor, but the two decades and change that have ed since the first Pikmin released have been kind to it. Olimar's task is simple, with thirty spaceship parts to find, thirty days to do it, and three types of Pikmin to help him. Pikmin is reminiscent of the RTS genre, with little masses of troops to order around in combat and construction, but the gameplay loop is entirely its own. Navigating and eliminating environmental hazards makes for a somewhat open-ended puzzle experience, with players taking on tasks in the order and methodology that appeals to them most. Pikmin's mechanical simplicity dodges the pains that are often associated with console releases of RTS games, and its natural progression into puzzle complexity provides an arguably more engaging learning experience than the typical optimization of production.

The first game's time limit forces players to plan wisely and act efficiently, but there's no one approach that players will need to master to clear the game with days to spare. Pikmin strikes an extraordinary balance between a freedom that fosters creativity and the specificity of careful design, a tightrope act that allows it to hold its own against later franchise entries.As good sequels tend to do, Pikmin 2 adds layers on top of the first game. A vast expansion in scale litters the world with far more items to collect (and removes the time limit to reduce the stress of doing so), introduces two new types of Pikmin, and adds a dungeon-crawling element that intensifies some of the gameplay.

The effect of these changes is an overall experience that feels significantly different, helping to justify the inclusion of both games in the remastered bundle. Pikmin 1 and 2 play to different strengths, and the repetitive nature of recovering items never makes the experience feel monotonous.

A Mostly Basic Remaster Gets The Job Done

Pikmin 1+2 is squarely a remaster rather than a remake, opting to port the Wii versions of the games and render them in HD for the first time. Both games are most obviously dated via the larger environmental textures, with grass, stumps, and rusted metal featuring obviously low-resolution detail. Smaller plants and items hold up better, and the cartoony creature designs scale excellently to higher definition. Overall detail isn't on par with Pikmin 3 Deluxe or the Pikmin 4, but the muddier textures don't heavily detract from the strong sense of atmosphere. A 30 FPS framerate is uninspiring but stable. Visual changes are generally minor, with high-resolution UI matching the design in the original games and a few upscaled images and elements here and there.

The most notable alteration lies in the array of items in Pikmin 2, which originally included a number of licensed products from major brands. Objects with Nintendo branding unsurprisingly remain unchanged, but other brands has been shifted to generic designs. The removal of product placement might actually be a gripe for some fans, as the familiarity could be charming, but it has no significant effect on the game experience.

Although fans of Pikmin 3 might have to readjust to the different AI and control choices in the first two games, neither are in need of any major overhauls. Certain minor changes have been made here, with Pikmin in the first game seemingly adjusted to feature some of the responsiveness originally tweaked in the second. The controls feature an optional motion setting to mimic the Wii's pointer functionality with gyro, although the feature only activating when Pikmin are being held (and the Switch's lack of a controller that can be pointed as casually as the Wii remote) makes it a bit less seamless.

Review Score & Final Thoughts

The Switch release of Pikmin 1+2 doesn't mark enough of an improvement on prior versions of the games to be a definitive upgrade, but copies of the first two titles on both GameCube and Wii have skyrocketed in value over the years. For those who aren't double-dipping, nothing about the HD renditions should prove a major turn-off as a way to play the games for a comparatively reasonable price. Although the lack of any new content or major overhauls prevents Pikmin 1+2 from standing out on its own, a competent package of two masterpieces still proves to be a worthy release.

Source: Nintendo of America/YouTube

Pikmin 1+2 is available now on the Nintendo Switch. Screen Rant was provided with Nintendo Switch codes for the purpose of this review.