Though it may not sport a sprawling overarching storyline like other video game franchises, there’s a lot to be gained by experiencing Nintendo’s long-running Pikmin franchise in order from start to finish. Even putting aside more obvious improvements in graphical quality, seeing the mechanical expansions and revisions made between each title has the potential to add an extra layer of enjoyment these strategy puzzlers. To that end, here’s a complete list of every single Pikmin game and the platforms they can be played on.
Every Pikmin Game in Order
The best way to start anything is at the beginning, and as such, we’ll be running through every Pikmin title in release order. This way, you’ll be able to see how each iteration of the series’ gameplay has improved and catch all references to previous games:
- Pikmin (2001, available on GameCube and Wii)
- Pikmin 2 (2004, available GameCube and Wii)
- Pikmin 3 (2013, available on Wii U and Switch)
- Hey! Pikmin (2017, available on 3DS)
- Pikmin Bloom (2021, available on Android and iOS devices)
- Pikmin 4 (2023, available on Switch)
To give you a taste of what you can expect as far as improvements to the series go, the first Pikmin is very much about protagonist Olimar’s survival in a hostile environment after a crash landing. Utilizing the native plantlike Pikmin, he has to solve puzzles and procure the missing sections of his spaceship within a time limit in order to survive.
Pikmin 2, on the other hand, eschews the time-sensitive aspect and expands the core Pikmin gameplay considerably by allowing the player to swap back and forth between Olimar and new character Louie in order to better divvy up the tasks and puzzles.
Pikmin 3 takes things a step further by letting the player switch between three captains at once. It also sees the addition of two new types of Pikmin with unique abilities and uses. Pikmin 4 adds the creature Oatchi to assist the captain with puzzles and traversing the world with the Pikmin.
Something important to keep in mind with the fifth item on this list is Pikmin Bloom’s status as an augmented reality mobile game developed by Niantic. It plays in a similar fashion to Pokémon GO, which makes it something of an outlier in the series. Nevertheless, you may still want to experience it to see a fresh spin on Pikmin’s gameplay.
And that was everything you need to know about playing the Pikmin games in order. If you’d like to revisit the full reveal trailer of Pikmin 4 (or just remind yourself how adorable Oatchi the dog is), you can do so here.
