Europe:
8 October, 2004
United States:
30 August 2004
Canada:
30 August, 2004
Australia:
4 November, 2004
Japan:
29 April ,2004

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Pikmin 2 is the sequel to the original Pikmin, published by Nintendo and designed by Shigefumi Hino and Masamichi Abe (although the concept is still close to the original created by Shigeru Miyamoto).

Captain Olimar, the protagonist of the previous game, has been able to fix his Ship, the Dolphin, and flies off to his home planet, Hocotate. Upon landing, he sees the company he works for is now a barren desert. The President walks up to him, with another worker. He explains the company has delved into bankrupt without Olimar. The new worker, Louie, was supposed to deliver a cargo of Golden PikPik Carrots to another planet, but a giant Space Bunny ate it all. The company was desperate and sold off all its assets - including the beloved Dolphin Olimar worked so hard to repair. The president says that even after all that, they still have 10, 100 Poko debt. Olimar drops a bottle cap he got from the planet asa souvenir for his son, and a nearby ship absorbs it. It estimates its value at 100 Pokos. The President is ecstatic and sends Olimar back to the planet - with Louie, to find treasure to pay off the huge debt.

The Three Pikmin types still remain - Red is still the strongest (of the original three) and resistant to fire and Blue can still wade in Water. Yellow can still be tossed up high, but the ability to handle Bomb Rocks has been replaced by a resistance to the new hazard, electricity. There are two new Pikmin: the Bulky Purples, who are as strong (and slow) as 10 Pikmin, and White Pikmin, the fastest Pikmin who can see through the ground to find hidden treasures and has an innate resistance to poison (and is poisonous so that creatures who eat it are harmed as well). This change sthe gameplay a bit adding in elements for a chance to use these new Pikmin.

You have NO time limit in this game, making it much easier than the original Pikmin. You can relax, loaf around, experiment, and have fun. The day/night limit remains, of course. You are collecting Treasure, but not all of it is above-ground...we now have a cave system where you can just stay with no day/night limit (the manual explains this as the force of magnetism). Most of the treasure is located in these holes. You also have Sprays that can petrify enemies and power up your Pikmin.

This game also has a 2-Player Function, so your friends no longer have to groan each time you bring out the Pikmin 2 box.