When you finally beat the final boss (a giant, sad creature guarding the last part) with two days left and 80 Pikmin sacrificed, the relief is genuine. Modern games rarely earn that feeling. The NSP is a clean port. Textures are sharper, load times are nearly nonexistent, and the game runs at a locked 60fps in both docked and handheld mode. There’s no slowdown even when 100 Pikmin are carrying a massive engine across the map. The draw distance has been slightly improved, but don’t expect a remaster—this is the original with a resolution bump.
The atmosphere is sublime. The planet feels ancient and indifferent. Day turns to night with a haunting orchestral sting, and any Pikmin left in the field are eaten alive by nocturnal predators. You hear their tiny cries as the screen fades to black. For a game with pastel colors and cheerful hums, Pikmin has a surprising undercurrent of dread. The NSP version retains this perfectly; the port is crisp, colors pop on the Switch OLED, and the sound design remains gloriously intact. You control Olimar and a growing army of Pikmin—plant-like creatures that come in three colors (Red, Yellow, Blue). Reds resist fire, Yellows can be thrown higher and carry bomb rocks, Blues breathe underwater.
Recommended for: Patient RTS fans, Pikmin completionists, anyone who thinks “cute” should hurt a little. Not recommended for: Completionists with limited time, players who hate replaying content, anyone expecting Pikmin 3 ’s generous structure. pikmin nsp
If you’re expecting the streamlined, gentle expedition of Pikmin 3 Deluxe , prepare to sweat. The original Pikmin is a survival game at heart—one where failure is not only possible but expected. Captain Olimar crash-lands on a mysterious planet after a comet strike shatters his ship, the S.S. Dolphin. He has 30 days to recover 30 missing ship parts before his life-support system fails. That’s it. No villain, no dialogue trees—just Olimar’s quiet, increasingly poetic journal entries.
Cutscenes still have that early-2000s CG charm, and Olimar’s journal text is crisp in handheld mode. No crashes, no bugs. It’s a professional, if minimal, conversion. The Switch eShop lists Pikmin (standalone) for $29.99 USD. You can also buy Pikmin 1 + 2 bundled for $49.99. The base game’s first successful playthrough takes about 8-12 hours. A completionist run (all parts on the first 30 days) might push 15-20. When you finally beat the final boss (a
A faithful, uncompromising port of a weird, hard, beautiful classic. No hand-holding, no mercy. Just 30 days and a whistle.
Nintendo Switch (Digital NSP) Genre: Real-Time Strategy / Puzzle / Adventure Developer: Nintendo EAD Publisher: Nintendo Release Date (Original): 2001 (GameCube) / 2023 (Switch HD port) Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch OLED (Handheld & Docked) Introduction: The Oddball Returns In an era where Nintendo sequels often play it safe, Pikmin remains gloriously strange. It’s a real-time strategy game disguised as a cutesy nature romp, wrapped in the melancholy of a lost astronaut. The 2023 Switch release (available as an NSP download) brings this GameCube classic to a new generation without the mercy of modern quality-of-life features. And that’s both its greatest strength and its most frustrating flaw. Textures are sharper, load times are nearly nonexistent,
If you buy it, go in knowing you will fail. Embrace the restart. Keep Olimar’s journal in mind: “I have grown fond of these creatures. I wonder if they will remember me when I am gone.”