Broken Bulbmin

Pikmin 251 This article or section presents information pertaining to Pikmin 251, a Pikmin 2 ROM hack created by PikHacker.

Broken Bulbmin is the second stage in Pikmin 251's 2-Player Battle Mode. It features unstable Bulbearmin whose young, among other behaviors, crash the game upon death. Much like The Waterwraith, players must avoid a certain enemy as an additional objective to fighting each other. Though it makes traditional battles difficult, players who can get past the threat of game-crashing enemies will have three static layouts to play on. One contains a spiraling stump, another has a large circular room, and the last has bodies of water.

Stage information

• Theme: Soil
• Enemies:
  •  Bulbearmin × 2
  •  Female Sheargrub × 15-20 (pattern 1 and 2)
  •  Female Sheargrub × 25 (pattern 3)
  •  Shearwig (group of 1-3) × 0-7 (under marbles)
• Obstacles:
  • None
• Vegetation:
  •  1-Pellet Posy × 10
• Others:
  •  Nectar egg × 5

Strategies

Players will want to avoid adult Bulbearmin because of their hostile, crash-inducing young. An opportunistic player can lead these enemies around and use them as distractions. This would typically buy the user enough time to snag a gyro block or two before their opponent brings the Bulbearmin back. If these enemies are somehow defeated and their young moved off to some safe corner, one can exploit other parts of their surroundings to get ahead. The first two layouts have narrow tunnels that are easily controlled, and the third features water. Blue Pikmin retain their swimming abilities in 2-Player Battle Mode, meaning that player two has exclusive access to any sheargrubs that are underwater.