Pikmin is a game that’s all about throwing the cute little Pikmin at enemies, objects and obstacles, but what’s the fewest number of throws needed to actually beat the game? It turns out there are only three, but you’ll have to do some really gruesome things to the cute creatures to make it happen.
YouTuber Press A! has tried this challenge before and completed the game in just 35 throws, so doing it in three is a huge improvement. They divide the game into ship segments, detailing the minimum number of throws required to get each part back into the frame of Olimar’s rocket.
The main engine and perpetual fuel alternator require no throws at all, wonderful stuff. Just walk up and grab them. In total, 12 of the 30 parts do not require any throwing, but the remaining 18 require some form of throwing. How it’s done without Olimar himself doing the throwing is where it gets both interesting and disturbing.
The first component that used to require a throw and no longer does is the positron generator, which is held in a shell on the water. Previously, you had to throw blue Pikmin at it to get the part out, but you can instead just drown your red Pikmin and push the survivors’ bodies into the mussel without a single throw.
How many rolls does it take to beat Pikmin 1? – YouTube
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The next parts are the extraordinary bolt and novablaster. These require walls to blow up and usually require that yellow Pikmin be thrown while holding bomb bricks. Instead, you can just leave some Pikmin as bait in front of the walls and run a Bulborb into it. While feasting on the tasty Pikmin, the Bulborb activates the bomb bricks, blowing up itself, the Pikmin, and the wall. I did say this was disturbing.
“I love how every time there’s a problem in Pikmin 1, 90% of the time the solution is ‘take a nap’ or ‘Multiple war crimes against Pikmin species,’” writes wafwaf485.
You should watch the rest of the video for yourself as the tricks keep getting more and more interesting and it’s incredibly impressive to see how the game is beaten by bypassing the main mechanic.
In the meantime, check out our list of the best nintendo switch games you can play now.