Parents' Guide to Hey! Pikmin

When taking a franchise in a different direction, the challenge is to add something new to the formula while staying true to the familiar original. Hey! Pikmin takes some of the key features from the previous Pikmin games and tries to condense them into a portable experience with mixed results. You're still seeking out Pikmin and tossing them around as needed to do the grunt work and pick up shiny new treasures, but this time you're doing it as a side-scrolling platformer. The change can be a little jarring for fans of the original, especially when it comes to using the stylus and touchscreen to aim and toss your flowery companions. It's effective, but it definitely takes some getting used to. It doesn't help that playing the game for extended periods of time while holding the console from one side can get uncomfortable. That said, the game still has a lot going for it.

Hey! Pikmin is a Pikmin game through and through, and a great entry point for those new to the series. It doesn't rely on knowledge of past games to take players on a new adventure, yet it still has the same bright, colorful, and cheery personality that fans have come to know and love over the years. It's packed full of charm and humor, hitting all the silly notes of previous games. It's got a fair amount of challenge without ever becoming too difficult. It might not have a lot of replay value, but it manages to keep things interesting enough to play to the end. In the end, Hey! Pikmin feels like a spinoff with just enough to bring new players into the fold and to tide longtime fans over until the inevitable release of a "true" Pikmin sequel.