Nintendo Pictures' animated series Hello! Pikmin has a 3rd short. Nintendo of America posted "Bowling" yesterday at 8:00 AM MST with the caption "Living in the fast lane!" The 19-second short is the shortest in the series so far, after the 45-second "Frog" and the 41-second "Dream," and it arrived a day before Pikmin 4 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy launched. Check out the official post down below:
What Happens In "Bowling"
The short is set in a bowling alley, with the camera fixed on a full set of pins. A Red, Purple, Yellow, Blue and Rock Pikmin peek out from behind them before an orange bowling ball rolls through and knocks out the Rock Pikmin. The other 4 hide behind the headpin and hold it upright when the ball comes back, and they celebrate surviving, joined by the Rock Pikmin, until the sweep bar comes down and clears them all away. Nintendo of America's upload is below:
The First 2 Hello! Pikmin Shorts
"Frog," the 1st short, debuted at the end of the Pikmin Day Direct on October 31. A Red Pikmin tries to carry off a baseball next to a sleeping frog, keeping an eye on it the whole way, until the frog wakes and swallows both the ball and the Pikmin. The frog spits out the ball and hops off, and the Red Pikmin turns out to have escaped too, grabbing the ball and running away.
"Dream" followed on November 1. A Yellow Pikmin watches 2 Winged Pikmin fly and tries to copy them by flapping its arms and ears. A Red and Blue Pikmin step in to help, with the Blue Pikmin standing on the Red Pikmin to wind up the Yellow Pikmin's flower. When it lets go, the flower spins like a helicopter blade, but it drills the Yellow Pikmin straight into the ground, and the other 2 applaud anyway.
Hello! Pikmin is produced by Nintendo Pictures, the studio behind the short Close to you, and new shorts are released on the Nintendo Today! app and Nintendo's YouTube channels. Nintendo's wider animation plans are covered in Nintendo Hints At Future Animated Movies Beyond Illumination's SUPER MARIO Adaptation.
Pikmin Day
The series was announced during the Pikmin Day Direct on October 31. The Pikmin games began on the GameCube in 2001, and the Direct also announced a free demo for the Switch 2 Edition of Pikmin 4. Nintendo Japan has said it will use the Nintendo Today! app, where each Hello! Pikmin short is published, to share example routes for Dandori Academy's top Master Medal rank from December.
Pikmin 4 On Nintendo Switch 2
Pikmin 4 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy launched today. It adds Dandori Academy, a mode with 72 exam stages that can be taken every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, along with Oatchi voice commands through the Switch 2 microphone, Dandori Battles through GameShare and up to 4K resolution in TV mode. Pikmin 4 owners on Switch can upgrade for $9.99, and a free demo on the Nintendo eShop includes Sun-Speckled Terrace from the main story plus an introductory Dandori Academy stage. Nintendo Japan also released an 8-item line of Pikmin goods at its Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Fukuoka stores today, themed around Pikmin living indoors, plus a Pikmin sacoche bag for ¥2,750 and a Pikmin and Oatchi IC card case for ¥1,980. In New York, the Nintendo NY store is running a Pikmin Bloom Spot Challenge from November 12 to November 25. Nintendo of America's launch-eve post is below:
Which Hello! Pikmin short has been your favorite so far: "Frog," "Dream" or "Bowling"?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.