Twenty years ago today, the original Pikmin was released as a launch-window title for the Nintendo GameCube. The game would go on to launch a franchise that, to date, has sold 7.47 million copies across seven games. To put that into perspective, that makes Pikmin number 23 in the list of top-selling Nintendo franchises. Not too shabby, especially when you consider the fact that the original game started life as a concept for a sequel to Super Mario 64. Remember the Super Mario 128 demo Nintendo presented at Space World in 2000?

For whatever reason, Super Mario 128 never saw the light of day and in it’s place came Captain Olimar, his crew, and a rag-tag group of loveable, order-obeying aliens called Pikmin. In celebration of the franchise entering its twenties, which game in the series is your favorite?

I had never played a Pikmin game before, but as has been discussed previously, the Nintendo Switch seems to have the Midas touch, turning every franchise it touches into gold. So, when Pikmin 3 Deluxe was released, with a free demo no less, I downloaded it and checked it out. While still not my cup of tea, I get why people like this game. It is utterly charming in that uniquely Nintendo way, and is a nice, calm way to spend some time unwinding with a video game.

Which game in the Pikmin series is your favorite? Let us know down in the comments or continue the discussion in our Discord!

Featured image source: Nintendo