After over 7 years of speculation about Pikmin 4’s development status, the game has finally officially been announced. As part of the September 13, 2022 Nintendo Direct, Nintendo released a teaser trailer for the game, and Shigeru Miyamoto, series creator, spoke briefly about the upcoming sequel. The information given, however, was scant, if not downright confusing, and Pikmin fans are left to theorize with the few breadcrumbs we’ve been given. What will Pikmin 4 be like?
Briefly, the trailer primarily focused on shots of a garden or park and a sleeping Bulborb near a small, blue picket fence on which was hanging a pocket watch, resembling a wall clock. A bugle sound leads us into the title card for Pikmin 4 which calls to mind the Pikmin Bloom logo in terms of the font and yellow flowers. Miyamoto also showed off a still image of a character somewhat resembling Brittany fighting a Bulborb with Red, Blue, and Yellow Pikmin, near the same blue picket fence. Miyamoto spoke about the ability to play with a camera perspective similar to that of the Pikmin, closer to the ground. He also stated the Nintendo Switch has made controlling the game simpler so one can focus on what he calls “Dandori,” strategically planning, deploying, and commanding Pikmin. What can we glean from the trailer and Miyamoto’s words about the lore and gameplay for Pikmin 4?
The only image of a playable character, whether Hocotation or Koppaite, suggests that they’re a female, possibly Brittany, but if so with a new character model as they have a different spacesuit and haircut. Of course this character could be from a separate, third planet with creatures similar to Hocotations and Koppaites, but it seems safe to assume that at least some characters will be returning. Some folks have suggested this could possibly be a grown up version of Olimar’s daughter, and with what little information we have that’s as likely and possible as any other guess.
Since every entry in the Pikmin series has introduced new Pikmin and new enemies, we can expect that will happen again, but of course there are no guarantees as we haven’t seen anything other than red, blue, and yellow Pikmin and a Bulborb. Previous game numbers have matched the amount of main characters, and with Pikmin 3 Deluxe introducing co-op story mode, could Pikmin 4 bring four player modes to the table?
What we have the most information about is the environment that has been shown off, which includes a park bench, a blue picket fence, a pocket watch, and other background details. This area could be from Challenge Mode, Bingo Battle, or the main Story Mode. One striking detail is the fact that the fence is not sized for humans, but is more on scale with the main playable characters. And the fact that the pocket watch is hanging like a wall clock gives a sense that perhaps this area is a more permanent base or home. It’s highly speculative, but not outside of the tropes used in previous games, that perhaps one of the characters from a previous game has been marooned on PNF-404 and built a more permanent camp. But of course the size of the picket fence may not mean anything. Another noticeable environmental element was the park bench. Combined with Miyamoto’s statements about the ability for the camera perspective to be lower to the ground, could there be more features like this where the playable characters will be underneath objects and need to use a different camera perspective?
We won’t know for sure exactly what Pikmin 4 will be like until Nintendo releases more information, but it’s fun to speculate. What do you think we can expect based on the teaser trailer? Let us know in the comments below or join the conversation on the Boss Rush Discord.
FEATURED IMAGE SOURCE: Nintendo
