Pikmin Squared
This article or section pertains to Pikmin Squared, a Pikmin 2 ROM hack created by PikHacker.

To do:

Pikmin Squared/Soundtrack. Use the YouTube playlist linked below (at some point) for that.
- Maybe pull from the music player function a bit?
- There's Deltarune music, too. Get that down. AND(!!!) the randomizer's secret boss' theme.
Pikmin Squared/Monologs? Maybe not Olimar's, but definitely Louie's.

Pikmin Squared, stylized as Pikmin² or Pikmin1^2, is a Pikmin 2 ROM hack released on December 30^th, 2024 by PikHacker. It is fully playable on computers, and partially on the Nintendo GameCube to an unknown extent. It brings all of Pikmin 1's content and gameplay into Pikmin 2, but also features a campaign for Louie, a built-in randomizer, simultaneous multiplayer, various quality-of-life improvements, other new content, and an expanded options menu.

Pikmin Squared also has a list of achievements, courtesy of RetroAchievements.

Below is the official trailer for Pikmin Squared.

For in-depth video coverage of Pikmin Squared's development, see this YouTube playlist.

Plot

Olimar's campaign (base game)

“	The original adventure that started it all.	”

In Olimar's campaign, Olimar is traveling through space in his S.S. Dolphin when an asteroid suddenly collides with it and sends him, the ship, and pieces of it hurdling toward PNF-404. His suit's limited life-support systems give him only 30 days to survive on the planet.

After Olimar wakes up in the Impact Site, he discovers Red Pikmin, and uses them to collect the Main Engine. In the next area, the Forest of Hope, he discovers Yellow Pikmin, and in the area after that, the Forest Navel, he finds Blue Pikmin. He uses the 3 types to recover the last of his remaining ship parts, the Distant Spring having the most of any area. After finding 29 of the S.S. Dolphin's parts, Olimar ventures to the Final Trial, where he defeats a massive Emperor Bulblax to reclaim the Secret Safe.

Louie's campaign (Louie's Quest)

“	An all new adventure starring Louie!	”

In Louie's campaign, Louie is hauling a shipment of golden pikpik carrots tied to the rear of his S.S. Orca through space. Several asteroids narrowly miss him until one finally hits his shipment and another hits his ship directly, sending both plummeting toward PNF-404. His suit's life support systems are sustainable, but he has only 30 days to escape before his Nana's pie goes bad.

Louie wakes up in the Sugar Crash to find the S.S. Orca in pieces, discover Yellow Pikmin, and use them to collect his Main Engine. In the following area, the Bounty of Grub, he doesn't find any new Pikmin types but does collect a number of ship parts. This allows him to venture to the Cavern of Candy, where he discovers Red Pikmin. Finding as many pieces as he can there and in the Bounty of Grub expands the S.S. Orca's range, allowing him to land at the Giant's Dessert, where he discovers Blue Pikmin. When Louie has only 1 more part to find, he lands at the Last Course, where he must defeat a massive Ravenous Space Bunny to get his golden pikpik carrots back.

Endings

Olimar's and Louie's campaigns have 3 possible endings depending on the number of ship parts collected.

The best ending happens after collecting all 30 ship parts. It sees Olimar or Louie waving the Pikmin goodbye and the Pikmin learning to fend for themselves.
The good ending happens after the end of day 30 and Olimar or Louie has collected at least the 25 mandatory ship parts. It sees them rushing off in their respective ship and the Pikmin having learned nothing from them.
The bad ending happens after the end of day 30 and Olimar or Louie does not have at least 25 of the mandatory ship parts. It sees them failing to lift off from the planet and the Pikmin transforming their unconscious body into one of their own.

What's new

The gameplay of Pikmin Squared follows Pikmin 1's accurately and even improves upon it with several new features:

Overall

Firstly, all of the improvements made in Pikmin 2 proper, including better Pikmin responsiveness, instant sprout germination, and so forth.
"Time-until-death" hazards like fire have very strict limits, in the style of Pikmin 1.
Being near a ship part, the ship itself, or a Pikmin sprout will display an overhead indicator that the leader can interact with it by pressing ; "Check part/Dolphin/Orca" and "Pluck Pikmin".
no longer has to be mashed for as long as the leader is plucking multiple sprouts. Press to cancel plucking at any time.
Pressing will enter a first-person point of view. In this state, the leader is immobile, but he can look around with , and zoom in or out with or respectively. Press again to exit.
Lay down by holding , as in Pikmin 2, or pressing , as in Pikmin 1.
Holding in the Onion menu changes withdrawal and deposit amounts to 10 from 1.
Press to open the radar screen and or to access the controls screen.
On the map screen, press to access the creature notes and to access the ship's logs.
Perhaps the biggest improvement of all is with the mechanics of Yellow Pikmin handling bomb rocks. In the original Pikmin 1, a thrown Yellow Pikmin with no targets nearby will prime and drop its bomb rock when whistled, forcing the leader to walk into it to avoid wasting the bomb rock. Pikmin Squared uses an ultra-spicy effect to indicate that a thrown Yellow Pikmin will drop its bomb rock, and expires after several seconds to indicate the Yellow Pikmin is safe to whistle. Also, armed Yellow Pikmin do not throw their bomb rocks at nearby enemies or obstacles, like in Pikmin 1.
An array of miscellaneous changes from the original Pikmin 1 and to Pikmin 2 itself.
Completing Olimar's campaign will unlock Louie's campaign and the randomizer.

Louie's campaign

Louie's campaign features original music, remixed areas, and a few new enemies.
Press for Louie to help Pikmin carry an object he is beside. In-game, this ability is known as the Helping Hand.
White pellets can be found on Pellet Posies or lying around, and benefit no particular Pikmin more than another as White Pikmin are unavailable in Louie's campaign.
Ultra-spicy spray appears not as a spray, but droplets that Pikmin can drink directly to gain its effects for a limited time.

Randomizer

Purple Pikmin and White Pikmin intelligently coordinate pellet and Onion colors, no longer randomly picking a destination Onion for them.

An example of the indicators when near interactible objects.
A Red Pikmin viewed in first-person.
The controls screen, unused from the original Pikmin 2.
Creature notes. Louie's features him in place of Olimar.
Ditto, ship's logs. They do not have a set order.
The message for unlocking Louie's campaign.

Randomizer

See: Pikmin Squared/Randomizer

Options

Pikmin Squared has an expanded options menu with much customization. Press and to cycle through each page:

Language: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, or Spanish.
Widescreen: Toggle the aspect ratio between 4:3 and 16:9.
Rumble Feature: The controller will vibrate under specific conditions.
Sound: Adjust music and sound volume and choose mono, stereo, or surround as a sound source.
Deflicker: graphics style, smoother or crisper.
Carry Number Type: Switch the carry number and weight amount.
Splitscreen Type: When playing with 2 players in widescreen, the screen will be split horizontally or vertically depending on preference.

The following are unlocked after completing Olimar's and Louie's campaigns:

Music: Opens a music player functionality. Music continues to play even after the menu is closed. Press to toggle the combat mix and to toggle the sunset mix. Both mixes can play simultaneously. Some songs do not have alternate mixes.
- The available tracks are for the main 5 areas in each campaign, as well as the boss themes for the Beady Long Legs and Emperor Bulblax in Olimar's campaign and the Flat-Head Long Legs and Ravenous Space Bunny in Louie's campaign.
Extra Stuff: Self-explanatory.
- Pale Pikmin: Pikmin become pale while idle.
- Old Captain Models: Olimar appears as he did in Pikmin 1, and Louie has a custom model in the same vein.
- Deluxe Plucking: Allows performing the pluck-cancel trick from Pikmin 3.
- Beta Dolphin: Uses the early design for the S.S. Dolphin. In-depth differences between the early and final designs can be found here.
- Early Pikmin Designs: All 5 main Pikmin types and Mushroom Pikmin have a different appearance reflecting their early designs. Red, Yellow, and Blue Pikmin lose all their characteristic facial features but gain unique eye designs.

Content

Pikmin Squared
	The game's title screen.
Rating	E 10+
Genre	Real-time strategy
Platforms	Computer, Nintendo GameCube
Media	Digital download
Publisher	PikHacker
Release dates	December 30th, 2024
Prequel	None
Sequel	Pikmin 2
Creator	PikHacker
Collaborators	PishPish; Captain Salty; ZachThePillow; PoochyMut; Yoshifirebird; professionalnubtub; Yoshi2; Kai; Xayr; NerduMiner; Drought Ender; Mr Brocoli; Minty Meeo; Quote Balrog; Pat277; Universal Sketch; Rheycore; KynG; Wooden Turtle; Boulder Wraith; SleepyJirachi; Niamiko; Jerry; AmigaOwl; Stariele; Tenacuous P; Nickolox; Davdii; AbjotHD; Gulliblepikmin

Areas

Except for the first in either campaign, areas are unlocked by collecting a certain number of ship parts.

Olimar's campaign

Impact Site (2 to collect)
Forest of Hope (1 to unlock, 8 to collect)
Forest Navel (5 to unlock, 9 to collect)
Distant Spring (12 to unlock, 10 to collect)
Final Trial (29 to unlock, 1 to collect)

Louie's campaign

Sugar Crash (2 to collect)
Bounty of Grub (1 to unlock, 8 to collect)
Cavern of Candy (3 to unlock, 9 to collect)
Giant's Dessert (10 to unlock, 10 to collect)
Last Course (29 to unlock, 1 to collect)

Every area doubles as a stage in Challenge Mode, though with a different assortment of enemies and objects. Completing one character's campaign will unlock their respective area stages in Challenge Mode.

Olimar's map.
Louie's map.

Pikmin

All game modes

Randomizer only

Purple Pikmin
White Pikmin
Bulbmin (More Enemies only)

Encyclopedias

Creature notes

See: Pikmin Squared/Piklopedia

Ship parts

Icons for Olimar's version of a ship part are followed by Louie's.

Treasures

While the randomizer setting "Treasured Ship Parts" causes every ship part to appear as a different treasure from Pikmin 2, only special treasures are listed here.

Professional Noisemaker (Bounty of Grub)
Slice of Cake (Sugar Crash)
Victory Lap Cap (Final Trial, randomizer only)

Gallery

The game's banner on PikHacker's Website.
An example of Olimar's monologues.
The radar before collecting the Whimsical Radar.
End-of-day results.
Final results after completing the game.
The S.S. Orca.
A close look at Louie's Secret Safe.
Louie as a Pikmin, surrounded by his Yellow Pikmin.
How the 5 main Pikmin types appear when "Early Pikmin designs" is toggled on.

Version history

Version history
Version	Changes	Date
1.0	Initial release.	December 30^th, 2024
1.1	From this update onward, the hack will be distributed as an .xdelta patch requiring a copy of Pikmin 2 for the GameCube. BASE GAME Fixed a crash from ending a day with too many Pikmin seeds active and then returning to it. Fixed a possible crash when choosing "Continue from last save" in the end-of-day results. Reduced shake power of Fiery Blowhogs. Fixed bomb rocks making a huge amount of dust when being dropped on top of a gate or Pearly Clamclamp. Pearly Clamclamps no longer cause a lost Pikmin to leave a seed under them the following day. Adjusted the Goolix's knockback so you should get stun-locked less often. Fixed the Forest Navel's collision so seeds can't appear in unreachable places. Improved the Smoky Progg's head collision to be more accurate. The Smoky Progg now knows when it's being attacked while standing still. The Smoky Progg won't attempt to chase Pikmin actively attacking it. Fixed the Smoky Progg's bomb damage multiplier. The Emperor Bulblax now correctly takes 1.5× damage from attacks to the face (doesn't apply to the Pikmin 2 version). The Emperor Bulblax now correctly eats Pikmin thrown into its mouth while it prepares an attack. Breadbugs now correctly make vocal noises when hit with Pikmin. Updated some text in the credits. Fixed Breadbugs giving 4 seeds instead of 3. Fixed Dwarf Bulbears giving 4 seeds instead of 5. Fixed Spotty Bulbears giving 12 seeds instead of 15. Fixed the message showing that Louie's Quest has been unlocked not appearing when it should. Players will now be visible during ship part collection cutscenes. Changed the font used for the "version" text on the title screen. This may fix graphical glitches on some consoles. Assorted grammar and spelling fixes (only English ones for now). LOUIE'S QUEST Fixed the Pilot's Seat respawning after collection. Adjusted volume of the intro and ending cutscenes. Corrected the world map background texture. Blue Pikmin in the Bounty of Grub should no longer have difficulty re-entering their Onion. Fixed a spot in the Bounty of Grub where you could get out of bounds. Changed a 20-pellet in the Bounty of Grub to change colors instead of only being yellow. Added a lone bomb rock next to one of the Rock Shooters in the Bounty of Grub to lead the player on how to handle them (up to day 3). Adjusted pathing in the Clamclamp area of Cavern of Candy so Pikmin and Breadbugs won't get stuck carrying into a wall. Made one more part in the Cavern of Candy obtainable without Blue Pikmin (the one where Libra normally is). Blocked off access to a lot of the crystals in the Cavern of Candy to prevent getting stuck. Adjusted the mid-day lighting in the Giant's Dessert so you don't get flashbanged at noon. Added a couple of geysers around the gate to Blue Onion so that the area can be accessed faster if needed. Moved a geyser near some bombs in the Giant's Dessert to not barely be underwater, it's also opened by default. The Scorching Snitchbug holding the Automatic Gear in the Giant's Dessert now drops white pellets like the rest. Fixed a bug where playing the Giant's Dessert sunset mix in the music player would mess up the tempo of other songs. Fixed a bug where playing anything in the music player right after exiting a Louie's Quest file would only let Louie's Quest music play. Slightly reduced the home size for Truffle-Puff so it shouldn't walk off the edge of its arena. Fixed Louie occasionally getting most actions disabled after using Extra Hand on a pellet near the Onion. Maybe fixed a problem where the Omega Stabilizer would be carried over a wall. Maybe fixed an error where the Louie end-of-day log for collecting the Pluckaphone would appear when it shouldn't. Fixed a possible crash on entering the Last Course or Cavern of Candy on later days. Used some different textures for the final results screen compared to the base game. Fixed the final boss not properly targeting Pikmin seeds while underground. A whole list of changes for the Decorated Cannon Beetle: Its rocks will no longer break on touching the arena walls. Its rocks are somewhat smaller and can turn faster. It will always do an idle animation after shooting before it can start moving or shooting again. Any health regeneration it had is entirely removed. Its shell will stay open for an extra second after a hit is made. While vulnerable, it will attempt to move away from the captain instead of moving randomly in circles (this goes for the Armored Cannon Beetle too). Homing rock targeting is far less dumb in multiplayer. RANDOMIZER The "random enemy stats" option will no longer affect the speed of rolling rocks. Added a warning if trying to play with Heavyweight Mode or Starving Pikmin without either Open Progression or Iron-min challenge. Fixed collision of the Onion Replica in Treasured Ship Parts to be more grabable. Fixed the Waterwraith appearing in "extra enemies" when Purple Pikmin aren't enabled. Fixed ship parts dropped by one of the Flint Beetles not getting saved after the day ends. Fixed a bug where the Empress Bulblax can get stuck rolling infinitely. Made some changes to the Chaos Randomizer-exclusive boss to make it less easily cheese-able.	January 3^rd, 2025

Trivia

Olimar and Louie have different reactions to Onions they discover. Olimar learns to back away from an Onion he finds before it springs out of the ground, to avoid being hit by one of its legs, but Louie does not, always wanting a closer look.
The figwort insects return, but aren't as noticeable as they were in the original Pikmin 1, and don't appear as easily.

Games
Official games	Pikmin 1 (New Play Control!, Switch version) • Pikmin 2 (New Play Control!, Switch version) • Pikmin 3 (Pikmin 3 Deluxe) • Pikmin 4 • Hey! Pikmin • Pikmin Bloom • Pikmin Adventure
Fanon games	All games • Hacks and fangames • Game content • DLC