Nintendo wants to give you all another chance to control the little critters in your garden.
Pikmin, the original 2001 Gamecube strategy puzzler, is heading to the Wii U’s eShop for $20 on Thursday. This adventure puts you in control of a space explorer named Captain Olimar, who must befriend the tiny Pikmin plant creatures who will help him collect the pieces of his damaged ship while also fighting off enemies. The Pikmin all have different strengths and weaknesses, and you’ll have to overcome a series of obstacles that will require you to make the most of your little friends. By bringing Pikmin to the Wii U eShop, Nintendo is padding out its library of Wii U games, which has dwindled away to almost nothing while the publisher transitions to its next dedicated gaming hardware the NX.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":2064645,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"games,","session":"A"}']Pikmin is one of Nintendo’s secondary franchises behind Mario and Zelda. The company has released three games including Pikmin 3 for the Wii U in 2013, which is one of the best exclusives for that platform. But giving younger fans a way to easily access the original Pikmin comes a few weeks after the company announced that it has a new side-scrolling Pikmin game headed to the Nintendo 3DS handheld next year. Bringing Pikmin to Wii U could give fans a reason to get excited about that upcoming release.
For the Wii U eShop debut of the original game, Nintendo is using the Pikmin: New Play Control version that it launched on the Wii in 2009. That update enabled gamers to control Olimar and the Pikmin using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers for a more precise play experience.
Check out the original trailer:
Pikmin hits a Wii U that doesn’t really have a lot else going for it. Paper Mario: Color Splash, a role-playing adventure starring a flat version of the company’s plumber mascot, is due out October 7, but that’s about it until The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild hits in 2017.