In Pikmin 3, players control three astronauts from the planet Koppai, named Alph, Brittany, and Captain Charlie. On a quest to find nourishing fruit for the inhabitants of their starving planet, they crash land on PNF-404 (a planet that curiously resembles earth), losing their all-important cosmic drive key, as well as each other, in the process.

As could be expected, the inclusion of three playable astronauts instead of just the one or two found in previous Pikmin adventures, adds new levels of depth to the game. Players can split their squad of Pikmin into three separate controllable units, assigning different groups to tasks in multiple parts of a level. It’s a great feature, but one that can also make the gameplay frantic and confusing. While the multi-astronaut dynamic allows for increased strategy and unique gameplay, the real stars, of course, are the Pikmin. Pikmin 3 introduces two new species to…