Alarmingly, it’s been 11 years since Shigeru Miyamoto told Edge he couldn’t work out how to “create a surprise” with a new F-Zero, the unspoken suggestion being that innovation is vital when it comes to Nintendo sequels. Perhaps such rules are relaxed for Miyamoto’s pet projects: thus far, it has struggled to determine the defining feature for Pikmin 4, instead outlining a string of minor additions. A lowerslung camera to emphasise scale. A canine helper named Oatchi. A newly customisable protagonist. Two extra species of Pikmin. Perhaps these would prove sufficiently transformative to justify a fourth entry?
In the event, does – for better and worse – feel distinct from the previous three.
