Games like Pikmin?

January 16, 2014 7:42 AM

I am looking for games like Pikmin with a puzzle-solving, world-exploring component. I have a Wii U and a 3DS (both of which are backwards-compatible to their previous iterations) and an old-ish Macbook.

If there is another platform that has a lot of these types of games, I might be willing to invest in it, but i'm not looking to spend $500 on the newest Playstation or whatnot.

Thanks, all!

posted by torisaur to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (8 answers total)

Little King's Story for Wii and Eco-Creatures: Save the Forest for DS may be your best options, according to this article. A couple newer Pikmin-like games (plus New Little King's Story) are available for PS Vita. Maybe The Wonderful 101 as well?
posted by asperity at 7:51 AM on January 16, 2014

Okami for Wii? (and if you like that, Okamiden for the DS)
A little larger in visual and puzzle scope than Pikmin, like a Zelda game, but similarly adorable and lush.
posted by Sayuri. at 8:22 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

Toki Tori 2+ isn't exactly like Pikmin, but it is fairly similar in the way that it's a bright, stylized, and non-violent puzzler which features heavily on exploration. You're also usually doing this by either stomping or tweeting to influence the creatures around you.
posted by codacorolla at 8:23 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

You might like De Blob, a Wii game where you bounce around a continent spraying paint on buildings to, uh, fight fascism. IGN's video review shows some gameplay. I'm sure you can pick it up for very little cash these days.
posted by bcwinters at 8:40 AM on January 16, 2014 [4 favorites]

Any of the Traveller's Tales Lego games since Batman 2 would qualify as having a puzzle-solving, world-exploring component, I think. Earlier Lego titles would be more just the puzzle-solving bit, but still great fun.
posted by 0 at 10:03 AM on January 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

Zack & Wiki: Quest For Barbaro's Treasure was a good early Wii puzzle/platform title that got lost in the shuffle. The motion controls don't always work as well as they should, but there's plenty of things to mess with.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:50 AM on January 16, 2014

Zelda? There are loads of Zelda games, from old to new, for those two devices. They're all excellent and they all have lots of puzzles and lots of exploring.
posted by richb at 2:58 AM on January 17, 2014

Seconding Zack & Wiki! Also, Chibi Robo (though it's a Gamecube game and thus I think it might be no dice with the Wii U).

If you're feeling old school, download OpenEmu for your Macbook and find a rom for Fantastic Dizzy for the Sega Genesis. Lots of fun. And you can pair a Wiimote with OpenEmu so you're not stuck with just the keyboard controls.
posted by area.man at 10:36 PM on January 17, 2014