Pikmin 3

Pikmin 3 is a puzzle strategy video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U video game console. It is the sequel to Pikmin 2 (2004) and was first released in Japan on July 13, 2013 and then in all other regions the following month. Game designer Shigeru Miyamoto first announced Pikmin 3 on July 16, 2008 as a game for the Wii console, later stating at E3 2011 that its development had transitioned to Wii U. The game retains the gameplay elements introduced in previous Pikmin games, and adds new features, including new playable characters and Pikmin types, Off-TV Play and downloadable content.

In the single-player campaign, the game controls three aliens, who explore the surface of a planet known as "PNF-404" in search of cultivable fruit seeds to save their home planet, Koppai, from famine. They meet and befriend the Pikmin, who assist them.

The game is set on the surface of the planet "PNF-404", the setting of the previous Pikmin games; however, it was not named until now. Five different areas on PNF-404 are accessible for the player to explore, each with diverse topography. The narrator explains that the inhabitants of the planet Koppai are suffering from famine.

After scouting multiple planets with vessels called SPEROS, the planet returns positive with abundance of cultivable food. Three Koppaite explorers, Alph, Brittany and Charlie, are sent to explore and retrieve food sources. Their ship, the "S.S. Drake," malfunctions and crash-lands, separating the three. Captain Charlie ends up in the distant tundra, meets the Yellow Pikmin, but is eaten by a monster after exploring. Alph wakes up in the tropical wilds and meets the Red Pikmin, who help him recover their ship. Alph learns that the "cosmic drive key" is required to warp back to Koppai. Alph finds Brittany in the garden of hope, and rescues her with the help of rock pikmin. Later on in the story the pair rescue Captain Charlie, after the S.S Drake crashes and Brittany discovers the Yellow Pikmin. They retrieve some fruits for the food supply and harvest the seeds on their journey. The Drake and the Pikmin Onions ascend into low orbit each evening to avoid nocturnal creatures. The trio recover one of Captain Olimar's lost data files, and suspect that he has the key and explore in his pursuit. Later, they mistakenly rescue Louie, who steals all of their food supply and escapes to the Garden of Hope. After retrieving them both, they restrain and interrogate with Louie, who tells them that Olimar is at Formidable Oak. There, the explorers and the Pikmin defeat a mysterious life form to save Olimar. While Louie is absent, the explorers use the key for the ship and they return home, while the Pikmin say goodbye to them.

The narrator speaks at the game's ending, which varies based on the number of fruit the player retrieved during the game. If the player collects a minimum amount of fruit, the narrator states the explorers feel "unease" over the possibility the seeds collected will not be enough to save Koppai. If the player also collects a respectable amount of fruit, it is stated that careful planning will be required to save Koppai. If the player collects all fruits, the narrator states that the three have successfully completed their mission to restore life in Koppai and that the cause of the Drake's crash-landing is unknown and suggests that it may be on purpose. In a post-credits scene, the Pikmin see a flaming object falling into the surface of PNF-404. Depending on the game's ending, Alph's final log entry states that Louie is stranded on the planet.