Pikmin 2

Pikmin 2 expands on the gameplay introduced in its predecessor, Pikmin. The player controls both Captain Olimar and Louie from a third-person microscopic perspective to retrieve treasures (which consist of human waste such as scrap metal and broken toys) from the surface of an unknown planet (called the "distant planet"). The gameplay focuses on leading and directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin to accomplish this mission. The Pikmin follow behind Olimar and/or Louie as they move around the field.

The player can quickly throw individual Pikmin at enemies and obstacles, where they automatically engage in combat, destroying obstacles, or building bridges. The player can also direct the entire mob (or a subdivision) to swarm and attack enemies en masse. Because the player controls two leaders simultaneously, they can have the leaders separate with their own Pikmin hordes to complete multiple tasks at once. While the player can amass a limitless number of Pikmin, only up to 100 Pikmin are allowed on the field at any time.

After the events of Pikmin, Captain Olimar returns to his home planet Hocotate. He learns from his employer (a space transport company) that his co-worker, Louie, lost a shipment of luxury carrots to a "space rabbit". The company is forced to take out a large loan to cover the loss, and immediately sells Olimar's ship. When Olimar drops a bottle cap he brought home as a souvenir, an intelligent company ship appraises it as considerably valuable. The company president orders Olimar and Louie to take this ship to the planet where the treasure was found, and collect more of it to save the company.

Olimar and Louie crash land and are separated, but are reunited with the support of the local pikmin. While collecting valuables, they encounter white and purple varieties of pikmin, which Olimar had not encountered before. Louie's crew notes indicate that he is only interested in cooking and eating the alien flora and fauna.

In December 2002 a year following the release of Pikmin, game designer Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed a sequel to be in development. Development took about two and a half years; the original plan was to release it in Autumn 2003, but the team chose to delay it by six months to make further changes and revisions. Pikmin 2 was directed both by Shigefumi Hino, who focused on the graphics design, and Masamichi Abe, who focused on the game design. Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka served as producers.

Hajime Wakai composed the game soundtrack, while Kazumi Totaka served as the sound director; "Totaka's Song" is hidden twice in the game as an Easter egg. The 30-day time limit imposed in the original Pikmin was removed in order to allow players to explore the game world at a leisurely pace, which in turn increased the overall length of the game. Cooperative two-player gameplay within the main single player game was experimented, but it was found that it imposed limits on the overall game design. Multiplayer was thus relegated to a separate game mode.

Pikmin 2 received critical acclaim, gaining an aggregate score of 89.44% on GameRankings based on 58 reviews, and an aggregate score of 90 on Metacritic based on 54 reviews. GameSpot named it the best GameCube game of August 2004. The February 2006 issue of Nintendo Power rated the game as the 47th best game made on a Nintendo System in its Top 200 Games list, and was also rated 29th on Official Nintendo Magazine's 100 greatest Nintendo games of all time. GamePro labeled it one of the top five GameCube games. In 2020, IGN placed the game at #6 on their list of "the top 20 GameCube games of all time".

Many critics considered the title to be superior to its predecessor Pikmin, expressing that Pikmin 2 addressed many problems or issues seen in the original game. The removal of the 30-day time limit originally used was applauded by many critics for increasing the game's longevity, though Nintendo World Report had mixed opinions, feeling that the lack of urgency might encourage players to be "lazy." The addition of a separate multiplayer mode was praised, though the lack of LAN online-play was a disappointment to some.