Soon enough, Pikmin 4 will arrive, bringing with it a new slate of sights and experiences for fans of the decades-old franchise. Pikmin has stalled in the Pikmin 3 era for longer than it did the Pikmin 2 era, but Pikmin 4 is expected to change that soon. No one knows what's coming, aside from what may be a new captain and a default camera angle shifted low to emphasize Pikmin's massive scale. Fans have analyzed the teaser trailer and accompanying gameplay screenshot deeply for all the details they can get, but Nintendo is being tight-lipped for now.
Still, it's not hard to imagine the usual things a new Pikmin game will introduce. There will be some manner of goal driving the player to collect items and manage their Pikmin across multiple days of adventuring. New enemies and areas will make their debut, and there may be some callbacks to pass titles. Extra modes like multiplayer and challenge maps are likely given the series’ trends at this point, and more ways to direct Pikmin may come with them. Pikmin 4 is expected to introduce at least two new varieties of Pikmin, just like Pikmin 2 and 3 before it. However, the game could get a big pop from fans if it brings back a particularly unique Pikmin type from the second entry.
Bulbmin Are A Unique Part of Pikmin 2
Apart from the standard Red, Yellow, Blue, Purple, White, Rock, and Winged Pikmin, there have been a few other varieties of the vegetable-like creatures in the series. The good ending of Pikmin 1 teased many types of Pikmin, with a rainbow of Onions appearing to wave Olimar off on his journey home. Most of these colors have still not been explored, so the Pikmin franchise will have fuel to run for a long time. Pikmin 1 also features a miniboss enemy called a Puffstool. Its spores can infect Pikmin, turning them against Olimar. This is an interesting idea, and hopefully a future game explores opposing Pikmin further.
However, what players want more than fighting enemy Pikmin is a chance to use enemy Pikmin. It was Pikmin 2 that gave them this chance, featuring a surprising sight in certain caverns and challenge maps. Among the many new Bulborb types introduced in Pikmin 2 are the Bulbmin, coming in adult and juvenile forms. These are regular Bulborbs that were overtaken by a parasitic form of Pikmin. The Bulborb’s brain gradually reasserts control as it matures, but the species maintains the Pikmin's tendency to form around a leader. Defeating this mature leader and having less than one hundred Pikmin allows captains to recruit them as temporary units immune to elemental effects.
Pikmin 4 Would Be A Great Place To Reintroduce Bulbmin
It's not hard to see why the Bulbmin are popular, given that they are essentially playable enemies that are almost never available. As players generally want to avoid losing Pikmin in the campaign, keeping the hundred Pikmin brought into a cavern means no young Bulbmin will spawn to recruit. Certain challenge maps give the Bulbmin a chance to shine, but it would be nice to get another chance at using these strange yet fascinating creatures. That's where Pikmin 4 comes in.
Given that Bulbmin can't be more than temporary recruits, it would be reasonable to contain them in certain remote areas. If Pikmin 4 brings back Pikmin 2's caves, then Bulbmin would be an excellent addition. This time, a system allowing Bulbmin to break the normal army limits would ensure that they can always be recruited. Adult Bulbmin could also act like clones of the player, commanding their armies in ways Pikmin 2’s did not. The more Pikmin types a Pikmin game contains, the better, so expanding the idea to other Bulborb types and common enemies like Sheargrubs would be interesting. Seeing Bulbmin return would make a lot of veteran players feel happy, so hopefully Pikmin 4 can give this strange ally another chance in the spotlight.
Pikmin 4 will be released in 2023 for the Nintendo Switch.
