Nintendo may be down, but they're not out. The company showed off a trailer today for a title that they're hoping could pick the Wii U up out of the dirt and back into gamers' living rooms where it belongs: Pikmin 3.
At only 30 seconds, the trailer's short, but sweet, rife with nice bright color. The Wii U may not be considered a true next-gen system according to most gamers, but the visuals are indeed stunning, and showcase the new flying pikmin. "'Pikmin 3' is meant to take full advantage of the new hardware," said the game's producer and Nintendo CEO, Shigeru Miyamoto.
The game will be taking full advantage of the console's tablet style controller, which also keeps an overhead map display handy. Or, if players want, they can go old school with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.
The game's traditional protagonist, Captain Olimar has since been replaced with three inhabitants from the far flung planet Koppai: Aph, Brittany, and Captain Charlie. The planet's inhabitants have run low on food, and the three have ventured to space to find food. They crash on the Pikmin home planet where they find an abundance of food. They then use the Pikmin to help harvest and gather the fruit, to return it to the starving residents of their home planet.
As in past titles, the various Pikmin can be directed to accomplish various tasks: building bridges, destroying barriers, defeating enemies, etc. The Pikmin themselves come in various colors, each kind with their own abilities. Red, yellow, blue and others return, along with new types. Thus far, we've seen brutish rock Pikmin, slow to attack, but brutal once they get up to speed, and winged Pikmin, who can carry items through the air, and attack from above. They can be seen in the new trailer below.
Pikmin 3 is scheduled to release in just a few weeks from now, July 26th.
