Pikmin 4

[DPadDoc]

WARNING:
There are spoilers to anyone who either doesn't have their copy of Pikmin 4 yet nor got far enough in the game if they do in one or more of the posts in this thread, click and read at your own peril. You've been warned.

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In the September 2022 Nintendo Direct, Shigeru Miyamoto officially announced that the long-awaited Pikmin 4 will finally see a release on the Nintendo Switch sometime in 2023 (exact release date is currently unannounced). Here's the brief trailer that was shown from said direct:



I have played through the near heck out of the first two Pikmin games back when I was a kid and teen (I still need to play though any version of Pikmin 3 however), and I will do what I can to land a preorder of this in the near future.

[Artisan]

I still am holding out on getting Pikmin 3 but Pikmin 4 looking like something I must get for my Switch collection. The story being the main reason.

[DPadDoc]

A tad late, but here's the new overview trailer they have for Pikmin 4:


For those who haven't yet, a demo is available to download in the Switch eShop if this game strikes your fancy.

[DPadDoc]

I just managed to beat Pikmin 4 not so long ago.

What I still need to do in Pikmin 4:
Complete any side missions I missed (save for the two repeatable side missions).
Get gold in all Dandori Battles and Challenges, don't know if I'll go for platinum.
Complete Olimar's Shipwreck Tale.
Get the last two onions, Purple and White (yes, they're a thing in this game).
Get the last four cutscenes for the Gallery.

Experience with final boss (spoiler warning for those who haven't got their copy of Pikmin 4 nor made it far enough in the game if they do):
Ancient Sirehound is a doozy of a final boss as you get to the third phase and closer to finishing him off in the fifth and final one. Save any and all Glow Seeds you get from Night Expeditions just in case if you lose a good chunk of your Pikmin to this giant dog boss, you'll know why Glow Pikmin become major players when you get this point of the game.

One word says it all on why Glow Pikmin (especially in bulk en masse) are your best buds in this fight:
GLOWMOB

They are also immune to all hazards just like Pikmin 2's Bulbmin (we all miss them), don't be afraid if you lose members of your initial squad of Pikmin on the path to the final boss as they can be replaced with Glow Pikmin.

Cavern for a King is a doozy of a cave to conquer as well. Be prepared to deal with certain bosses in waterlogged arenas and a few in poison mushroom-filled arenas, but especially the former. Get every upgrade for your player character and Oatchi and all skills learned for Oatchi too (save for Infinite Rush, which is not obtainable until after you beat the final boss) if you haven't yet, you're going to need them.

Final verdict:
7.8, too much ice (especially this one), poison, and jumbo variants of pre-existing enemies (including a jumbo version of an elemental reskin of an regular classic enemy) for new enemies.

Real final verdict:
This gets a 8.5 out of 10 from me. As always with mainline Pikmin games, there's a reasonable amount of challenge to offer with Pikmin 4. Difficulty is comparable to Pikmin 2 in select parts of the game, but nowhere as punishing nor cheap knowing the game's overall user friendliness towards Pikmin newcomers. Night Expeditions can get insane, especially when you get access to later areas of the game.

If you enjoyed the previous Pikmin games and craving for more or never played one in your life, get this game if you haven't yet.