With Pikmin 4 releasing nearer to the end of this week, Nintendo has seen to it to make sure Pikmin 4 was the latest game to get the “Ask the Developer” interview treatment. Across the interview’s multiple instalments, we got to hear from the likes of Shigeru Miyamoto, Yuji Kando and more.
During the interview, Shigefumi Hino, Yuji Kando, and Shigeru Miyamoto, discussed the gameplay differences between Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 2:
Pikmin Devs on Pikmin 1 vs Pikmin 2 & Gameplay Differences:
Shigefumi Hino: On the other hand, the first game had a time limit where players had to complete the task within 30 in-game days. If they missed, they’d have to start all over again, which felt too long for some people. So we eliminated the time limits in Pikmin 2 and introduced more Pikmin types and treasures. We also created a catalogue and made it a game about collecting things little by little.
Yuji Kando: The playstyle changed from “time management” to “type management”.
Shigeru Miyamoto: That’s how Pikmin 2 ended up, but we had multiple discussions on what direction to take with Pikmin 3. The first game provides a deeper challenge, while the second game is broader in terms of content. Players were divided as to which game they preferred, and some people even talked in terms of being either a ‘Pikmin 1 person’ or a ‘Pikmin 2 person’.
Yuji Kando: In the early development phase of the third game, we were competing with several programmers to see how many spaceship parts we could recover in The Forest of Hope, from the first game, within the one-day time limit. In the end, we agreed that having that deeper challenge was still more interesting than having a broad range of content, so for Pikmin 3, we went back down the route of the first game.
Shigefumi Hino: We added a “Mission Mode” on top of the main game and designed it so that players could train up their skills to be able to complete the main game more efficiently. I think that’s when we started to use the term “Dandori” to describe the gameplay, right?
Yuji Kando: That’s right. We realised that task management games give a sense of accomplishment that even people who don’t play games can relate to. It’s like when you’re doing housework or cooking. Once you get used to it, you start to think about “Dandori” and then you get things done more efficiently. I think that process is fun.
Shigeru Miyamoto: Looking back at it now, I think there was always this sense among the developers that we should return to the direction of the first game. …But ultimately, once the third game was released following the direction of the first game, there were some people who said they preferred the second one. (Laughs)
Yuji Kando: So as a result of numerous considerations over a long period of time, the fourth game welcomes people with various different tastes. There were completely different takes on how Pikmin games should be between those who liked the style of Pikmin 1 and those who preferred that of Pikmin 2, so maybe Pikmin 4 can finally bring the debate of ‘Pikmin 1 people’ versus ‘Pikmin 2 people’ to an end. (Laughs)
For the full interview, why not click here to check out Ask the Developer Vol. 10, Pikmin 4 – Chapter 1Ask the Developer Vol. 10, Pikmin 4 – Chapter 1.
Ask the Developer | Pikmin 4 (Participating Developers)
- Shigeru Miyamoto | Representative Director Fellow
- Yuji Kando | Entertainment Planning & Development Department, Production Group No.10
- Shigefumi Hino | Entertainment Planning & Development Department, Production Group No.10
- Masamichi Abe | Entertainment Planning & Development Department, Co-Production Group
- Junji Morii | Entertainment Planning & Development Department, Production Group No.4
