At some point in 2023,Pikmin 4is scheduled to arrive. The game was originally name-dropped close to a decade ago by Miyamoto, and fans haven’t seen much of it since. Apart from the few years between the original two GameCubePikmintitles, every major title in the series has been separated by a significant time gap. Despite the need for speed and efficiency inPikmin, fans have been kept waiting forPikmin 4, though not without any franchise support. Some side projects came out along the way, includingHey! PikminandPikmin Bloom.
However, even thoughthePokemon GO-likePikminBloomseems intended as a major push for the franchise, it wasPikmin 3 Deluxethat really precededPikmin 4in fans' eyes.Deluxejoined the ever-growing number of Wii U remasters ported to the Switch, but put in more effort than most. Many mechanics were refined inPikmin 3 Deluxe, and new features such as campaign co-op and multiple difficulty modes were added. These are great, and will hopefully carry on toPikmin 4— though those difficulties will need some tweaks.
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The Problems With Pikmin 3 Deluxe’s Difficulties
For the first time in the series,Pikmin 3 Deluxeoffered three difficulties for players to select. These could be changed from the file select screen, though doing so would lock away difficulty-related badge rewards. Normal and Hard were available at the start, and Ultra-Spicy is unlocked through beating the campaign or the demo. However, to ensuremaximum accessibility for newPikminplayers, Normal mode was secretly an easy mode that featured longer days, more nectar eggs, more time to save drowning Pikmin, more leader health, and reduced enemy health. The alleged Hard mode was roughly on par with the original Wii U release.
Ultra-Spicy was a real challenge, but veteranPikmin 3players weren’t impressed. It did raise enemy health significantly, cut juice amounts in half, and cap Pikmin armies at 60 units, but all this did was make some things mildly inconvenient. For thosewho knewPikmin 3well,Deluxe’s hardest difficulty was so easy to work around that some players became bored. It got to the point that aPikmin 3True Spice mod was made to one-up Ultra-Spicy difficulty’s advertised challenge.
How Pikmin 4 Can Make Hard Mode Harder
Something clearly went wrong withPikmin 3 Deluxe’s difficulty options, and it falls toPikmin 4to fix it. An obvious change would be to make the Normal and Hard difficulties reflect their names more appropriately, as well as ensure that bonus modes aren’t locked to the lowest difficulty, especially challenge maps. Once that’s done, it’s time to take a long, hard look at what a good hard mode should be inPikmin. Random elements like unavoidable damage andfalling bomb rocks fromPikmin 2’s cavesshould be avoided, soPikmin 4should opt for a more direct approach.
Changing enemy and treasure layouts would be best, but if that isn’t feasible, thenPikmin 4can instead make what’s there more deadly. Increasing health is dull compared to increasing animation speed, pursuit range, and attack frequency. Limits that govern how many Pikmin can die at once may also be lifted. Furthermore, less Pikmin seeds could be produced, and a harsher limit on the player’s time like Ultra-Spicy’s halved juice could still work. Anything that punishes bad play without slowing things down should be considered. Implementing a mode this tough might seem counter to Nintendo’s usual image, but it’d be great forproPikminplayerslooking to get more out of repeatPikmin 4playthroughs.
Pikmin 4will be released in 2023 for the Nintendo Switch.
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