468 Words About: Impact Site & 25 Red Pikmin
Olimar wakes up to discover his ship has crashed, the parts have been scattered across this alien planet, and he must find a way to return home. During a quick exploration he finds the red “onion” which produces a single seed which turns out to be one red Pikmin.
This alien has two eyes, a sharp nose, and a tall stalk growing from its head that ends with a single green leaf.
The rest of the level becomes about learning how to grow more Pikmin, how to lead them, how to give them commands, and finally discovering the engine of the ship. I note it’s a rather cute narrative-design structure that the engine is the first machine part found, while the Pikmin are really the engine that pushes Olimar’s original journey.
But that’s it. There’s no enemy npc(non-playable-character) that could pose a threat to Olimar or the Pikmin. The first level of Pikmin, a region known as Impact Sight, is structured to prevent loss. There are no monsters that will eat, crush, stomp, drown, incinerate, or destroy the Pikmin Olimar finds in this region. When I return to this region there are a few monsters that can pose a threat, but by then I know how to handle that. The first few minutes of Pikmin are about producing at least 25 red Pikmin that follow you around in precise formation, their eyes fixed on Olimar awaiting orders. In the levels to come they will continue to follow him without question, even if it leads to their own destruction.
Impact Site is not about challenging the player. It’s about making those 25 Pikmin and learning how they work, how they can be used. Narratively speaking there’s a selfishness to Olimar’s use of Pikmin, because while he’s fascinated with them, he still sees them as tools for his escape from a deadly situation. He’ll set Pikmin against monsters and natural elements that can, and will destroy them. Loss is inevitable; some Pikmin are going to die. As a player I know these are just 3D sprites, models that don’t exist outside of my screen. But Pikmin are cute damn it, and their selflessness is part of their enduring appeal.
But is it selflessness?
The first 25 Pikmin show the start of a symbiotic relationship that will grow. Olimar needs Pikmin to fight monsters and find ship-parts, and the Pikmin need him to increase their number and have someone who can give them orders. It’s a relationship of mutual need that blossoms into something great.
In the ideal ending Olimar leaves the Pikmin, his ship complete, and I watch a cutscene showing a mob of Pikmin fight a Grubdog on their own.
The threat of loss is no longer an issue. The Pikmin are ready to fight on their own.
Joshua “Jammer” Smith
12.18.2023
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