OVERVIEW

After a survival expedition spent exploring the mysterious planet PNF-404, Captain Olimar joins the fray with his trusty assistants, the Pikmin, at his side. He retains many of his powerful ranged properties from Brawl, but with more nuanced Pikmin interaction and a wider range of useful options. He's ready to take command of the field!

HELPFUL HORTICULTURE

The abilities of Olimar's Pikmin have been tweaked to balance their individual usefulness and to give them staying power. Blue Pikmin excel in throws, Red Pikmin in strike damage, Yellow Pikmin in attack range and combo potential, Purple Pikmin in raw power, and White Pikmin in poison damage. White Pikmin also explode soon after latching onto the opponent from a Pikmin Throw, changing them from a residual damage provider to a powerful projectile. Learning the best ways to apply each color in matchups is how you'll make it to the next day.

REAP WHAT YOU SOW

Over time, a Pikmin's leaf will grow into a flower bud, and it will bloom later still. These changes improve knockback and damage, making each Pikmin more precious and increasing the need for proper management. To aid in having Pikmin last long enough to grow, their overall health has been increased from Brawl, making it so that it takes more than one clean hit to take them out, and his Whistle for changing Pikmin order is significantly faster, allowing for greater control and protection of your most valuable Pikmin. Keep your veterans around and they'll show your opponents that experience counts!

SPACE FLIGHT

Olimar's recovery was considered one of his weakest points in Brawl, but he's back with some new tricks up his sleeve to make getting back to the stage a more interesting affair. While he is no longer able to shrug off attacks with his Whistle, an aerial Pikmin Pluck now makes him hover in mid-air for a moment, increasing his horizontal movement range and throwing off opponents' edgeguards. Olimar's Up-B now allows you to grab the ledge after an initial miss if you're in range, giving him a bit more leniency, and the vertical hop increases with fewer Pikmin, encouraging intelligent use of Pikmin throws. While he may not have the grace of Peach or the flexibility of Meta Knight, these tools allow you to do more than just move forward and hope for the best. This isn't flying--This is falling with style!