Pikmin 2001

About

Pikmin is a whole new breed of gameplay from Nintendo. The quirky, life-under-the-microscope title delivers a unique experience like few before it with a blend of real-time strategy, adventure, and puzzle elements. Taking advantage of the GameCube's graphics power, Pikmin sports lush texture work that brings to life a microscopic fantasy world. Players control Captain Olimar, a lovable little astronaut, who crash landed on a planet inhabited by even more lovable little plant creatures known as Pikmin. Olimar can command these creatures RTS-style, assign them tasks, make them attack foes, and gather resources. The ultimate task is to rebuild Olimar's space ship before a 30-day time window elapses.

Story

Captain Olimar, a man of high vocabulary and the only employee of any merit who works at Hocotate Freight. After all the hard work he goes through, Olimar decides to take an interstellar vacation in his personal ship, the S.S. Dolphin. He puts the ship in auto-pilot. With no real place in mind, Olimar relaxes within the comfort of his ship. Suddenly a meteorite smashes into Olimar's ship, and he is knocked unconscious. Meanwhile, 30 parts of his ship careen towards a seemingly undiscovered planet. Olimar awakes to find his beloved ship in ruins! He must find all 30 (or 25) ship parts with the help of his newfound friends, the Pikmin, in order to get back to his home planet.

What is happening now

Pikmin is a real-time strategy adventure that launched on GameCube in 2001, blending exploration with tactical creature-commanding gameplay. The series has maintained steady presence across Nintendo platforms over the years. Recently, the franchise celebrated Pikmin Day with a Nintendo Direct presentation that, while containing no new game announcements, offered updates and content of interest to fans. The celebration extended across multiple properties: Nintendo Switch Online added Pikmin-themed icons available for redemption, and Nintendo debuted a Hello! Pikmin animated series with new shorts. Meanwhile, Pikmin Bloom, the mobile entry, continued receiving cosmetic updates including airport-themed decor options. The franchise's influence has also spread to indie development, inspiring titles like Sleep Herd, a cooperative adventure combining Pikmin's dandori mechanics with survival elements reminiscent of Don't Starve Together.