Pikmin 4 is due out in barely over a month, so Nintendo decided to keep the hype coming with a new feature reveal. While plenty of Pikmin 4's new ideas have been shown off already, it's nice to know the developers haven't overplayed their hand in terms of reveals.
Pikmin 4 is almost upon us, as the fourth main installment (and the sixth game overall) of one of Nintendo's more niche franchises. Pikmin first launched on the underperforming GameCube back in 2001 to critical and financial success, and garnered a sequel just three years later. Both installments would later get re-released on the Wii via the New Play Control initiative, also garnering representation in Nintendo Land and even Super Smash Bros. In order to grow the series' audience even more.
In a short trailer released to Nintendo's official YouTube channel, the latest new feature for Pikmin 4 is shown off: character customization. Against a tan background with shadow art, a cheesy narrator recaps the basic premise of the game, in which a rescue team crash-lands on a new planet to rescue Captain Olimar, who also crash-landed. Now it's up to the player's avatar to reach this new world and rescue everyone. As shown in the footage, players can choose their character's skin and hair color, facial structure, hairstyle, head shape, and body-type, alongside the color of their spacesuit. Combine this with Pikmin 4's three other main protagonists and mandated swapping, and there looks to be a lot of variety this time around.
Nintendo has been an advocate for player representation for pretty much as long as it has been in the video game business. Concepts for a custom avatar feature were discussed even as far back as the NES days, and the company has even developed entire games and series that are built around player choice. The Pikmin series has always been about exploration to some degree, but adding even a little more room for the player's personal touch to the experience can certainly go a long way.
Indeed, a lot of signs point to Pikmin 4 being the most open installment yet. In addition to four main protagonists, the game includes loosened restrictions on nighttime gameplay, the addition of Oatchi to further expand the sense of exploration, and a whopping eight types of Pikmin confirmed so far for use in gameplay. It really should be interesting to see what players will be able to pull off once they get their hands on this long-awaited sequel.
Pikmin 4 will land on the Nintendo Switch on July 21, 2023.