Pikmin: Secret of the Earth

Story
The plot cannot be revealed at the moment. It is far too heavily laden with spoilers, but it the story is a tribute, and in many ways similar to an ongoing Pikmin fanfic known as "Spored." From the title, one could assume that the Puffstool may play some role in the story. Secret of the Earth is considerably more story-driven than a good number of Pikmin games before it, but this could also lead to a change in gameplay.

World Map
The geography of this title is different from those seen in other installments, but then again tectonic shifting occurs quite frequently on the Distant Planet anyways. Some of the areas change over the course of the story, and there are plenty of places to visit which are completely optional. For the most part the entire world is open to exploration, but sometimes you might need to acquire the proper allies, items and equipment to reach some out-of-the-way locales. Some areas are also infested with enemies which may be too powerful for you to battle or even escape from at certain points.
 * Origin Crater
 * Central Desert
 * Frigid Forest
 * Snowy Outskirts
 * Southern Plains
 * Forest of Awakening
 * Wandering Canyons
 * Distant Wetland
 * Southern Desert
 * Towering Ruins
 * Singing Mountain
 * Northern Plains
 * Malevolent Peaks
 * Northeastern Coast

Controls
Pikmin: Secret of the Earth would be for a later Nintendo console, preferably one that utilizes a more powerful graphical engine. The Nintendo Gamecube controller is this writer's personal preference, so temporary controls will be mapped to the following buttons. It might even remain in the final version.
 * (A) Button: Select, talk, "action icon." While exploring, the action icon can be used for a number of things, similar to Zelda.
 * (B) Button: Typically used to bash a target.
 * (Y) Button: Use equipped item.
 * (X) Button: Use equipped item.
 * (Z) Button: Similar to the (A) Button's "action icon" but is used for specific abilities.
 * (L) Button: Target lock/face forwards. One could leap around or latch onto objects with the (A) Button when used in conjunction with the (L) Button.
 * (R) Button: Defensive stance.
 * Control Stick: Move.
 * C-Stick: Complete camera control is mapped to the C-Stick.
 * D-Pad Down: Call all Pikmin in your party to form a single unit.
 * D-Pad Up: Tapping this button will make the Pikmin split up into different groups according to attribute.
 * D-Pad Side: When Pikmin are split up into specific groups, switch control between parties of various groups with the side buttons.
 * START/PAUSE: Exactly what it says. Opens up those respective screens.

Gameplay
You control a single Pikmin with useful dodging, attacking and item-using skills. But in addition, you will almost always work alongside with a Pikmin squad of some sort. This is because often there are obstacles and enemy forces too strong for just one Pikmin to challenge. In addition to basic commands like "group together/separate/select" mapped to the D-Pad, you can press START/PAUSE at any time to choose different tactics for various Pikmin groups. You can determine how often a Pikmin group will utilize a specific tactic by shifting dials anywhere between "Whenever Possible" or "Never." Some tactics are advanced and require specific methods to gain them. Other tactics may change depending on what items you find. Here are a few tactics:
 * Attack Enemies
 * Defensive Stance
 * Distract Enemies
 * Heal Pikmin
 * Avoid Damage
 * Avoid Fights