Before I made my Purple Pikmin video, I was thinking about how Yellow Pikmin are often underutilized across almost all Pikmin games. That's what got me thinking about Purple Pikmin, but this video was still in my mind - so here it is!
to be honest in pikmin 2 at least, red are arguably more useless, outclassed at their own job by purple and fire is no threat compared to lightning's instant death. I would say if you weren't forced to get them, you could probably beat the game without red entirely aside from the few fiery bulborb that exist.
A fun sounding "hack" to me would be to replace the red onion with a white onion in pikmin 2, and then either have red flowers or move it to much later in the game. While this would be broken mechanically (they are very fast and can be sacrificed to poison enemies like a fiery bulblax) it would make a lot more sense for the type that blends in with the snow to be found in the snow area. Also it would make "heist" a much more viable playstyle. I currently only really use it in the Subterranean Complex because fighting that many explosive enemies is very painful qnd i would like to try it in other areas but having a low white count at all times really slows it down. Also always bring some reds/yellows as fodder for the purple/white candypop buds, which is sadly the most common use for those types.
@@mcgoldenblade4765 or you can get good at it like me cause I’m a fucking pro and those bitches don’t stand a chance with the Wii version whistle range and stun locking
The one other thing Yellows are good for are certain bosses like the Beady Long Legs or Titan Dweevil, where the throw height makes them the best choice
That could be another way of making yellows more useful, creating more combat encounters where throw height actually matters. Since the main weakness of flying Pikmin is low attack power, Yellows could potentially have a niche as the more "combat oriented" aerial class.
@@alexandernelson3703 So, I just posted a suggestion a bit ago: Blockade Repair enemies, said enemies will come to try to fix the damage you're doing to a blockade unless interupted or killed, these are introduced to you coming from behind your pikmin on your side of a blockade, but they don't try to kill your pikmin instead they go to work at repairing the blockade, this teaches the player two things One: these enemies are not hostile to your pikmin, Two: these enemies will be a nuisance to structure demolition So the player is told to stop them from reversing your progress, the player throws pikmin at them, and the repairer stops what it's doing and starts shaking off the pikmin, this does not kill them... this teaches the player two MORE things One: these enemies are held off even by a single pikmin's interference, (but that one pikmin will just be shaken off quickly enough) Two: these enemies are not only non hostile, but completely non-lethal on their own... Now, here's where yellows are brought into play... later on, you're trying to demolish a blockade, but repair guys show up... on the other side of the blockade... this blockade is just a bit too high to throw your reds over... but you can throw your yellows higher than you can throw your reds! so you send yellows to hold off the repair job while your reds take down the blockade, allowing you to then swarm the builder bugs with your full army's might! This kind of thing is a feature that can be used in basically any level that's got blockades, and does not introduce a new feature bloat to the yellows, instead just giving their existing features a use that is more than just for 2 or 3 items, all that needs doing instead is making a single enemy, and this enemy doesn't have any special features that say "hey, you HAVE to use this one type of pikmin to fight them!" unlike the water and fire enemies do, instead, it focuses on the aspect of where the terrain is advantageous and disadvantageous
Actually, I like the idea of Yellow Pikmin working faster or something to that effect. That's a good "utility" feature that makes them useful in general, it's not some situational feature that's only useful when the game says it's mandatory. This makes a trade-off between having them and say, Red Pikmin. "If I have a lot of Reds, I'll work slower. If I have Yellows, combat will be harder". Neither problem is insurmountable, but it also might change how you play a bit, which makes it a potentially interesting choice.
You could make them really quiet, so they could sneak up on enemies better, and their ears could give them sort of “glide” as a homing attack, somewhat like the Purple Pikmin once had.
I think the first idea is pretty much more arbitrary utility. Like making them dig faster. There's nothing about the yellows that makes them look uniquely sneaky to the player. I love the idea of giving them a homing attack though. They could glide to weak spots and create an opening for reds.
@@tacticaljunk1608 I mean, a lot of the uses for each Pikmin are pretty arbitrary. Why are red Pikmin immune to fire? Because they're red? Plus, sneaking up on enemies is actually a pretty useful ability, and would give an actual reason to pick when you're just exploring.
They’re only useless if you’re a coward. I kid, but what I mean is Bombrocks are devastating against enemies, but you also risk blowing up your whole squad. I think it’s actually a pretty good dynamic for more advanced players.
I think Yellow's are definitely at their peak in Pikmin 2. Because electricity is such a scary hazard in that game I always make sure to have enough for those electricity heavy caves
An idea for a more interesting yellow pikmin wire mechanic. A super dark cave, yellow pikmin carrying a battery+light bulb, and they follow the captain like the end of pikmin 3. Then have certain things in the environment react to light, being more or less controlled by how you move the light leading captain.
I personally thought Yellow Pikmin were one of the most useful types in Pikmin 2, but did have the least usefulness in Pikmin 1. For Pikmin 3 I thought they were somewhere in the middle for usefulness.
It’s because electricity is the only hazard that can one shot any Pikmin that isn’t yellow, and the final boss uses all hazards to fight, but the only one you should seriously be worried about is the one he throws nodes and turns them into a big lethal electric web, becoming more erratic the less health the weapon has, the rest of the final boss’ weapons at most will only make Pikmin break formation, and their “time bombs”(burning, choking, drowning Pikmin) can be perfectly removed with a good whistling, none of his weapons are nearly as lethal as the electric one, that Yellow Pikmin are immune to. Also the throw height makes Yellows have a bit of an edge when fighting the spider bosses.
I’ve always seen yellows as the utility players of the squad. Reds are fighters, blues are the travelers, and yellows fill in the gaps, either clearing paths for travel with bombs or using them to fight in situations that are too dangerous for reds. This is mitigated a bit with Pikmin 2 and 3, but I think it’s still accurate for them. I wouldn’t say they’re “useless” as much as they’re jack of all trades. Especially with the shift to Pikmin games using five main types, I don’t think yellow Pikmin necessarily need to be improved. Even if the niche is less clearly useful than reds, blues and wings, I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.
it's fairly telling how easily yellows are made redundant when they keep getting random abilities thrown on them just to give them *some* way of standing out
That's very true, only need them because of the light flowers and you can anyway destroy the crystals with rock bombs on the zone with the iron ball of 20 and more from other zone
I feel like Yellow Pikmin were actually super useful in Pikmin 3. There is a lot of electrical barriers and even though every pikmin can carry bomb rocks, I still use yellow pikmin for bomb rocks anyways because the higher throwing arc makes it easier to lob shots at enemies compared to the other colors. Also winged pikmin don't really negate yellow pikmin because when you throw a pink pikmin they still have the default arc so I find yellow more useful to reach objects on high ledges while winged pikmin are better for stuff like bridge building and flying enemies
With pink Pikmin you don’t have to throw them to reach higher spots, you just use the charge command. There isn’t a single location where this doesn’t work.
@@DanielEvanClarke Yeah but you don't always wanna use the charge to get everything high up. It's a committal move with a lot of lag and you have to wait on your pikmin to return. For example, I'd much rather quickly through 3 yellow pikmin at a strawberry than charge all of my pink pikmin, wait for them to scale a wall, the right amount to grab the item and wait for the rest to return to you. Just because winged pikmin can get everything yellow pikmin can doesn't mean it's the best option. Winged pikmin can even take out bearded amprats, but I'd still rather use yellow for convenience.
@@tacosunbirth you can charge and just keep walking, they’ll return to you still. By all means play the way you enjoy, but throwing yellows is always less efficient than charging pinks.
@@DanielEvanClarke That's not true tho, if you charge pinks it takes long enough where you usually get away fast enough where some if not all are left behind. Plus, charging leaves you in a spinning jump animation. From a time-saving standpoint, charging pink isn't as effective, it's objectively more committal of an option than simply throwing some yellows. Compare the time it takes to do both and you'll see what I mean
For future games I feel like bringing back Electricity's instant lethality is an easy first step, to make Yellow's immunity to it more impactful. The next step I think would be to make environmental hazards non-destructible (at least not easily) so you can't just utilise a small number of the immune Pikmin type and then just roll in with everything else after clearing hazards. Pikmin 1 had this with the fire geysers but the series has moved away from it since then, and I think that is a mistake that has harmed both Reds and Yellows. You could also somehow utilise their association with electricity in an offensive manner, but the problem there is I wouldn't want Yellows to be yet another combat-oriented Pikmin; other Pikmin types already lean into combat so I feel Yellows should be taken in a different direction. That brings me to something that could be worked into both a Pikmin 1 remaster and future installments, and that is making Yellows faster than the other non-White Pikmin types as a play on their lightness. In Pikmin 1 especially this feature would make Yellows almost always usefull as worker bees for transporting things around the map, and they would remain useful in other games too, especially if they are introduced earlier than Wings/Whites.
Yellow pikmin definitely are under utilized. More puzzles, more hazards, and more variety in enemies will help. Distinguishing all the pikmin types is a definite need. Some of my best fun has came from mastering the challenges in 3. And while I wouldnt want an entire game focused around that hectic planning and execution, it definitely helped me see how Pikmin can be both casually fun with exploration, and how crazy stressful yet fun the extreme management can be.
Maybe the Yellow Pikmin could also light up caves and other dark areas without even throwing them into the circuit wires, basically make them bioluminescent.
I’ve always felt like yellows in my opinion went from situational in 1, absolutely vital in 2, and I’ve felt like they were perfectly balanced in 3 in my opinion.
Your idea about being able to connect electricity more dynamically sounds really cool! It basically sounds like the electricity in Breath of the Wild. At first I thought it might cause problems, since for the sake of consistency, the electricity would also have to jump over to your Pikmin when you're just walking next to some exposed wires, which might put your other Pikmin in danger, but then I remembered that electricity is now literally harmless now. So I guess why not?
Or make electricity instant death again en either have a power switch (weight block needing say 5 pikmin that restores when they get off) or just let that be part of the hazard, get within the scorch marks on the floor with yellows in your part and be prepared for a dead party, and likewise you may want to get the electricity proof suit upgrade before walking by with a party of yellows. (I imagine something like the fight with the titan dwevil and its shock therapist weapon except considerably less range between the jump points (like 2 pikmin lengths not half the map)
I really think that Yellow Pikmin in Pikmin 2 were pretty necessary. Not only for anode beetles, but the Titan Dweevil as well. It's a decently challenging boss that uses all elements, and since electricity is an instant death, it's smart to only bring yellows and target the Shock Therapist. But I really agree, they need more uses.
Regardless of the game, I always use yellow the least, only using them when I had too. I feel like you could undo uselessness if you are given the chance to "upgrade" the pikmin via evolution.
@@Lusonice I think Alex was referring to the idea the Pikmin could evolve and develop new abilities as opposed to simply become better/faster/stronger.
I would argue that in Pikmin 2, Yellow Pikmin could be a major defensive asset to your squad due to their immunity of the only instant-death hazard in the game. If there is a pair of Anode Beetles, and a Fiery Blowhog, Watery Blowhog, or a Doodlebug sharing the same space, Yellow Pikmin will always be my sole pick because they can take an elemental hit so long as you can call them quickly. There’s a reason why unlike the rest of the bosses, Yellow Pikmin are the OPTIMAL choice of taking down the Titan Dweevil. You want Yellow Pikmin to be useful? Bring back the potency of electricity and go HARD on it! Mix a few electric enemies with a cluster of other elementals enemies/hazards, and players will then realize that it’s probably a wise choice to bring a some of those canaries into the coal mine!
9:38 This may clash with Pikmin's natural theme, but here's what I came up with to use yellow Pikmin to solve electric puzzles. The squad could happen across a bunch of exposed wires for a broken-down machine, and connecting different ends could make various things happen as long as the ends are connected. For instance, doors could open, and pistons could push things. Something could also require a specific arrangement or order of connections to activate. Finally, to keep winged Pikmin from making yellows' high throws obsolete, some high-up treasures could be parts of active circuits (e.g. batteries) that only yellows could safely remove.
I used a lot of yellows to fight the titan dweevil. The height throwing advantage meant I could hit it at all times, and electricity is the only element that is insta kill, so it makes the fight relatively doable without any deaths
I haven't watched the video yet, but I want to say that that is one of the funniest thumbnails I've ever seen. I'm already liking the video just for that.
This video is the first time I ever put 2 and 2 together that the Red Pikmin are the best fighters because of their noses, meaning they straight up stab their enemies with their faces
Yellow pikmin are actually pretty useful in Pikmin 1 with bomb rocks creating shortcuts in the Forest Navel and Distant Spring not to mention taking down gates much quicker. Bomb rocks are also pretty good in combat as well as they make short work of a lot of enemies but the downside is you lose that pikmin and the bomb rock in doing so. Also be VERY CAREFUL of sheargrubs with bombs because they can easily blow up your squad. You just never have a reason to have more than 20 out in the field at once.
I recently started watching a pikmin 1 speedrunner and yellows are definitely the most critical but only in limited numbers. You have to use bombs to take out gates and the handful of extras are good at crowd control (they can't oneshot bulborbs which made me not want to use bombs offensively). However, the most numerous pikmin in speedruns are blues, they are the real jack of all trades. They go in water, have same damage as yellows, and can dodge fire hazards if you need them to. However, my favorite type are whites, specifically for their speed as a tactic against explosive enemies in the Subterranean Complex (do 1 pass to make the dergibugs depower the electric gates and then carefully eliminate the problematic anode beettles and then heist with whites).
I feel like it’s worth noting that Yellow Pikmin can be of use in the Beady Long Legs fight from the original, and the Pileated Snagret fight from 2. Bosses as tall as these two really demand using something that can consistently hit them, and the throw height of the yellow’s makes them less likely to miss the boss.
I would suggest: Bring bomb Rocks back Keep Shock immunity Allow them to fly high when standing still or fly far when moving When enemies fling them off, they fly a bit further, from better or worse, which also protects them for dangerous enemy combos When enemies attempt to slam on top of them, Pikmin not directly in their path catches "the wind" from enemies causing them to slightly move out of the way (essentially only pikmin directly under enemies are in danger, others can be saved). They don't get "stunned" by enemy attacks when knocked around Give them the ability to climb rocky paths or walls and meanwhile climb poles faster than all others create more stone enemies that require bomb rock pikmin to defeat Give the white pikmin the ability to dig faster and detect items under ground... that's stupid for yellows. In theory, Yellows can be a bit more viable.
In my time playing Pikmin 3, not once have I seen a Pikmin throw a bomb rock as I don't know if that is a thing. Maybe have that as a yellow only thing which might make combat more interesting for them.
theyre should be more higher up treasure/fruit that winged pikmin cant reach when thrown or swarmed at. I think theres like one? in the game i cant remember where. or something that would be cool would be like needing to throw pikmin across a very wide and elevated body of water that none could reach and have them build a bridge or something
I think I kind of prefer how electricity was handled in Pikmin 3 over 2; it still felt extremely punishing around enemies, as enemies like the Amprat are very quick to eat Pikmin... and while the electric gates don't outright punish you for using the wrong type, I'm not so sure you would gain much if they did It is a fair point that the other three elemental hazards DO lead to death while shocked Pikmin never die, but I don't think instant death is the way to go either - I'd rather leave that to explosions... So idk if maybe they should be on a timer (if whistling can put out fires, burst bubbles, and dispel toxins, I guess stopping electrocution could work too) Really, electricity just never felt like an interesting hazard in Pikmin 2, neither as a kid nor now, but it's not as if it was impossible to deal with. If they did go back to instant death, I'd still be able to manage... but I just think the vulnerable state it leaves them in is enough - assuming it becomes more prevailant around enemies in future games
I can really see what you’re talking about with the free form electric wire creating, maybe theres 2 different things that need power and you get to decide which one has power, and you have to almost put it a code by changing the pikmin form to send electric signals into different areas, or maybe an enemy or boss weak to electricity in an area with that, or maybe you can have a yellow pikmin carry a little battery or something to start a wire anywhere so you can zap them, that sounds like a really interesting and fun thing for the yellow pikmin
The fan game pikmin 251 starts with finding yellow pikmin first, which makes sense considering it’s basically the generic pikmin compared to red and blue. Fire and water become obstacles that you can’t pass until you find the other pikmin types and creates areas of the first location that are out of reach.
Maybe a small use yellows could have is warning you about hidden dangers. Like, if Pikmin 4 had more underground, invisible, or otherwise hard to see enemies, yellows could hear them with the big ears and start tugging on the player characters sleeve, or do some kind of dance, alerting to the thing they can't see and maybe pointing to it. This wouldn't fix the problem of not needing a lot of them, but if you mix it with some other niche abilities (someone else mentioned being good at sneaking and a homing attack, which I really like), and made those abilities useful in the world, yellows could be a good color to have around.
I feel like an interesting idea could be to incorporate weather in some way, either in say making certain areas where there is heavy storming, so you would have high risk in taking other types of Pikmin. A less yellow related, but something that seems interesting that seemed interesting in regards to weather, is it effecting the environment to open up/close off paths, and effecting what appears in them. So say for a few days it could be pouring down rain and storms, meaning you need to have yellows, then after that finishes the area is flooded for a bit meaning you need to focus on blues, then it gets really hot to evaporate the flooding, causing you to need to use reds.
A much easier idea is simply improving the ability they already have by allowing them to charge up when touching electricity to run faster or create burst damage. Like a free frenzy spray.
small thing on yellows in pikmin 1. They were initially planned to be able to go through electric hazards from the beginning, but since those aren't in pikmin 1 they gave them bombs.
You also need Yellows to fight Beady Long Legs in Pikmin 1 and there are quite a few puzzles in Pikmin 3 that require them. They're also good for dealing with flying and electrical enemies like you said, and being better diggers is actually more handy than you might think. Being able to have 10 yellows dig out bombs or bridge parts while I go do other things is very handy as it allows me to do those other things with more Pikmin. I have to put like 20 Pikmin of another color in that hole for the same dig speed and that means I don't get as many Pikmin for whatever else I'm doing like breaking a wall or fighting an enemy. Yellows definitely have their place even if it's as a niche role. Niche doesn't mean bad or worthless.
I kinda feel like yellow pikmin just get the short end of the stick when it comes to abilities. For example, red Pikmin are immune to fire, and blue pikmin are immune to water, just like yellow pikmin are immune to electricity. The problem is, though, red pikmin also have immense strength which is useful for battles, and because water is such a prominent area in each game, makes their one and only power a useful one. For yellow pikmin, it kinda seemed like they made a bunch of smaller abilities to make up for the lack of a general ability that put it above the rest. The ability to be thrown higher is cool, but only useful in specific situations, unlike strength which can be used on any enemy. Their ability to carry bomb rocks is fine, but doesn't make sense as opposed to blue pikmin being the only one able to swim in a natural element. Same with their ability to dig faster. It's a cool ability, but not something you're going to use as much as the others. For yellow pikmin to be useful, they need a better ability that makes them stand out more, or their current abilities to be utilized more.
Fighting strength is okay if you play the game conservatively instead of aggressively. In Pikmin 1 I went through the entirety of the Distant Spring with just blues with the acception of a few yellows in situational areas. I have about 100 blues out and I can easily bum rish the bulbears to kill them quickly enough before they even shake off any pikmin so the reds fighting strength is useless here because all I need is a swarm of blues to het the job done. It's more prominent how much more useless reds are in 2 and 3 because Purple and Rock pikmin get the job done easily
I don't know how game breaking it might be but I feel like a way to help yellow pikmin is to focus more on speed, have them be not only the fastest diggers but considerably faster when carrying things to the ship. That way the trio of red blue and yellow could fit the 3 major aspects of pikmin. Red excel in combat, blue in exploration, and yellow in time management
I think an enemy with a tall shell-like head that can't be damaged and works to always face Olimar would be a good idea. Then yellows would be needed for going over the head to hit it's soft body.
personally if I was making a pikmin game id make yellows the fastest builders. like they move noticeably quicker when building bridges or reconstructing pottery and stuff like that. i feel like thats a niche that would actually be super useful and would make you WANT them on your team rather than outright needing them for a high up treasure or electric gate
I think for yellow Pikmin to compete with the rest they could charge up electricy while being held, then stun an enemy when thrown. Also make it so they have a chance to stun enemies when throwing them without charge. Could just make the charge extra damage too.
But then that would make them TOO useful. You would also just end up shocking the captain holding it unless you have that suit that makes you immune to electricity. (Pikmin 3 Wise).
@@purplepikmin3533 It's a rough idea but I'm sure if properly balanced it'll give players more variety in terms of teams. Itd be similar to Purple Pikmin in the 2nd game. Could also be cool if you used yellow Pikmin as a light in dark caves with the whole charge idea.
@@purplepikmin3533 Well maybe instead the more Yellows you pile on the more the stun slows them down. Example you throw *1* of them on the stun effect will slow the enemies movements and actions by *1%* if you throw 50 on then it's 50%. So having a lot of Yellows allows for a lot of stun. Maybe they stun by default but have pathetic attack damage to balance out. So having large amounts of Red+Yellow combinations would be far more efficient for combat. You'd still need Reds. But you'd still need a lot of Yellows for their effect to be worthwhile
Heck you could even add per enemy ratio's such as Swooping Snitchbugs being 20x more vulnerable to stun. So just 5 Yellows would leave a snitchbug completely stunned and unable to defend
Here's an idea: Yellows make a chain to conduct electricity, right? Why not make them able to make a temporary "ladder"? You throw them on certain ledges and they hold onto each other to allow the captains to climb up them, throw the rest of your yellow Pikmin up there, climb up the chain of Pikmin, and when you whistle them back they climb the chain from the bottom up to rejoin you at the top! Also, throw in a bit of an ability to home in on enemies when thrown! Like slight gliding or something. Botch the throw to crush a Dwarf Bulborb? No worries! The Yellow Pikmin can try homing in a little more like the Purples do (but to a great effect and no stomp). Could work the same for flying enemies to an extent yet they're still less effective at aerial combat than Winged Pikmin.
The electricity utility is cool but very underused. I think that’s the entire reason why in the original they were also given the bonus ability of picking up bomb rocks
I've sort of seen the yellow Pikmin as the 'utility' Pikmin, as they are the only ones to carry bombs in Pikmin 1, they are immune to one of few instant kill hazards in Pikmin 2, and in Pikmin 3, their ability to dig faster can save lots of time if you happen to have yellows with you when you spot somewhere to dig. I do like that they have the unique ability to conduct electricity as well, I think its an underused functionality that has a lot of potential. All that said, other types do shine a bit brighter, despite the yellows literally turning the lights on.
fun fact, rock pikmin are just as fast at digging as yellow within the code of the game which makes me believe that trait was gonna be for the rocks only put they gave it to yellow pikmin just to make them more useful though they seem to forget about deleting the code in the files that make rock fast diggers
I think something that would make yellow pikmin better would be if you could charge them. When charged, you can throw them at enemies to stun them and maybe have some puzzles that revolve around using them, when charged they may also illuminate the area around them, so you could have dark areas where the yellow pikmin would be needed.
I think an interesting way to handle yellow pikmen would be to lean into the "throwing" aspect, and make them good at getting out of the way of danger. Imagine if yellow pikmen were the only ones to try to leap out of the way of danger when an enemy is about to attack.
I would love yellows to have more uses. Personally, I feel that they should also walk faster, so it'd be kinda cool to have them carry stuff faster than other pikmin, so now you have to consider whether you'd rather have stronger pikmin or pikmin that'll do their chores faster. I also think that eventually we'll get an "elemental charge" mechanic of some description as an expansion where reds can charge themselves with fire, blues with water and yellows with electricity, lasting only the day and with that yellows could find some broader usage, perhaps as an electrical grenade that deals damage to all creatures in water.
in Supraland, there are some puzzles where you have to place metal objects close to an electric thing, so that an electric arc links with the metal object, and you can then link it with another metal object, all the way to whatever needs electricity this same idea could work with yellow pikmins: you have to throw them and leave them on the ground, with a few empty space between them, so that they carry the electrical current but if you space them out too much it won't work properly there could be some areas where you have to make a very long chain, which almost goes through the entire map, to bring electricity somewhere, and you need like 90 yellow pikmins to do it
Since we're not shying away from mechanics that don't use their ears necessarily, maybe yellow pikmin could stay attached to enemies longer. They could resist getting shaken off for one "turn" in which other types would fall off the enemy.
I feel like they were most useful in Pikmin 2 solely because electric hazards insta-kill other pikmin. When that feature was removed in Pikmin 3 I kept them around way less
Yellow pikmin are actually really good against pikmin 2’s final boss, seeing as how it’s’ electric attacks, which instakill most pikmin, don’t touch yellows.
Here's something that yellow pikmin could theoretically do- light! The whole wires thing is hard to implement in a non-scripted, non-boring way. So what if instead, you form the wire to charge your yellow Pikmin? Once charged up, they'd glow for the rest of the day. Then you could take them into deep dark areas that would otherwise be risky, if not downright impossible, to navigate.
Another variety with hazards is that they should be charged when electrocuted attaching themselves to other pikmin to supercharge them but when in contact with water they die and have a AoE that can hurt and kill olimar and other pikmin and attract metallic hazards.
I think I see what you mean on the lining up to electrocute enemies, maybe that feature could be like a different version of the march in pikmin 1 and 2? Or they could set it up to where each pikmin type has a different March style, yellows line up, rocks charge, wings form a cloud around the enemy, and reds and blues march directly in front of olimar (like they do in pikmin 1 and 2), basically a mix of pikmin 3 charging and pikmin 1 marching, something like that would be kinda cool to see, Note: this line up idea could also be super cool to maneuver pikmin along a narrow line without edges, among other possible puzzle ideas
I was picturing something like the shock therapist weapon used by the titan Dwevil, except replace the spikey balls with yellows. And add a power toggle switch somewhere (just like the block puzzles, toss 5 pikmin on a button and they hold in down enabling the device) and call the area a control panel with different terminals (picture car battery terminals) that when connected will cause some effect in the map and that when the pikmin are called the arc breaks undoing the effect. (Possible effects include turn on lights, activate a toy train, a fan turns on, a pump adds or removes water to a pond) pikmin 3 has some great environmental effects in the mission mode stages like the conveyor belts. I just don't want any more of the "warp gates" in the main levels because those things have killed so many pikmin on me. Also i really want a white onion because i love using them to carry treasures faster than enemies can attack them.
I think I'd be neat if yellows could be thrown much farther, not just higher than other types. You could start raining yellows down on enemies from afar or have large pits only yellows could make it across. Seeing their ears used in non-aerodynamic ways would be cool too, maybe they could hear stalking enemies, warning the captain of a hidden threat.
I know it's probably blasphemy to suggest this, but I think that a great way to make yellows more useful is to make them the 1st Pikmin type you get. Not like Pikmin 3, where it's temporary, but the actual first onion you discover, essentially supplanting the reds in that role. But also avoid putting any yellow-specific hazards in the early-game, so it's pretty much just normal tutorial stuff until you unlock the Reds and learn about environmental hazards from them. Then, in the mid to late game, start throwing the yellow hazards around, giving them use after they get "replaced" by stronger Pikmin. This makes it so instead of yellows feeling like worse reds, getting reds feel like an upgrade over the yellows. It also makes yellows get more use during the early-game by having them compose the bulk of your army, and then keeps them relevant by back-loading their specific hazards.
Could give them electric attacks making there damage vary based on what enemy they are fighting this red are still generally the strongest but yellow can be against certain types or give them a really small chance to stun while latched on. Alternatively the could make electric fields or something that the space suit can be upgraded to withstand but only yellow can cross, which makes them kinda like blue.
Yellow Pikmin’s ability to be thrown high is very effective at fighting flying enemies and generally high up enemies such as Gattling Groinks, puffy blow hogs, snitch bugs, etc as well! In Pikmin 2 atleast
You forgot to mention that yellow pikmin throw height allows for easier fights against any of the longleg minibosses since you can just throw them directly onto the center body. The other types have to climb the legs to attack.
i say they should've doubled down on yellow's niche problem solving and make them the fastest at doing overworld construction/deconstruction obstacles. like building bridges and taking down walls. the sheer convenience of that could be compelling. justify it like "they communicate with their ears so they're more efficient together!" idk.
I wish they could lift two times their own body weight, because I think they are more of a support type. Blue Pikmin use a form of echolocation to see camouflaged enemies and hidden areas, and red Pikmin spew embers at nearby enemies when told to do so.
Another concept could be Items/Treasures that can only be carried by Yellow Pikmin. You see a lot of Mechanical Objects in Pikmin 1 as well as 2 which could produce a loose static charge. Not enough to kill but stun other Pikmin like in 3 so ONLY Yellow can carry that back. Meaning you'd need a decent number for heavier objects as well as not been able to just swap them out for something else once its removed from its location. Also instant elec death returning would make them a lot more useful again. I do love the wire mechanic though.
Yellow pikmin should be able to easily jump to enemies when they are shaken off,so for example of you just use 10 yellow pikmin agaisnt the bulborb,when they get shaken off they will jump super high back to the bulborb,possibly hitting the weak eyes
I think it'd be interesting if using yellow pikmin to make wires wasn't permanent, as in if you take the pikmin away, the light goes out again. They could be immune to (non-electrical) enemies so there wouldn't be too much frustration in having to walk away from your pikmin only for them to get eaten, and puzzles could involve needing to turn lights on and off by using multiple captains.
What I never understood is why there weren’t any situations in pikmin 1 where you had to throw pikmin up to a high ledge and then use a geiser to continue, meaning yellows would be fully required in that space. Blues got their run of the place all the time, why were there just no high plateaus anywhere that only yellows could reach? No climbing sticks or bridges, just geysers and yellows. With the updates pikmin 3 have brought, winged pikmin and pikmin being able to utilize geysers as well, I’m afraid their high throw height is kind of obsolete in a similar manner to reds fighting prowess being overshadowed by purples in 2. Realistically they SHOULD make it so that yellows are the premiere flying enemy fighters, maybe even make them have extra damage towards them while winged pikmin are easy to lock onto them but have poor damage. They also should have kept the yellows being the only pikmin able to carry Bomb rocks, which would even tie into their fast digging (also make them dig muuuch faster than the other types to compensate). In the lore of 3 of COURSE yellows would be able to handle bomb rocks since they’re the ones that would have dug into the bomb rock spouts the most.
My idea for the electrical hazards and enemies is to have all Pikmin types except Yellows be stunned for a while, if they don't get up in time than they die of electrocution. Any Bud Pikmin and Flower Pikmin will be downgraded to the previous stage if they get stunned too many times.
I think they should have the ability to hold an electric charge, kind of like a mix between the bomb-rocks and their electric immunity. Give some enemies metal armor that can't be broken but electricity stuns them, also would ground flying enemies and light up dark caves.
The problem is that Yellow Pikmin exist only for "key and lock" type puzzles - the only place they are useful is when they are necessary. Blue Pikmin too, but water is common enough that they see more use. I think the best way to make them useful is to give them unique combat traits. Maybe yellow could home in on enemies and do bonus damage when thrown (but not as much DPS as red) and blue could be more durable.
The main thing we have to think about when it comes to pikmin is balance. In this case, balance between the various types of pikmin. The more puzzles you make for one kind of pikmin, the less space you have for other pikmin's puzzles. In my opinion, pikmin 3 would have gotten this balance near perfectly if not for how the winged pikmin function. You can't throw them as far, but the charge mechanic negates that. I'm not a game designer, so I can't say for a fact what is and isn't the best way to fix this situation, but I do think that taking a hard look at pikmin's "elements" and what they represent is the best way to help the yellow pikmin. Yellow pikmin are associated with electricity - what does this mean in the pikmin world? The real world? What can be done with it? Is there anything that "pairs" well with electricity (such as "fire" and "power/strength" with reds)? Could their ears be used for anything? I think that answering these questions and brainstorming around the answers would be your best bet for figuring this out.
Yellows don't feel like they have much practical uses outside situations that they are meant to be used in. Red's strength makes them useful in all sorts of situations, Blue pikmin can swim giving you a whole new world to explore and find hidden collectibles, Purple pikmin are more efficient with their strength in carrying (and were OP in pikmin 2), white pikmin run fast and get the last laugh, rock pikmin can knock enemies out of the air and are strong on impact and Winged pikmin can carry across water and get to spots the rest of the pikmin can't. Yellow pikmin can dig faster, which isn't much of a problem to begin with. They have next to no applications in areas that aren't designed for them. Every other pikmin at least has some good use other then being thrown high. What makes me laugh even more is that the winged pikmin steal that ability and you get them almost directly after yellows. Good at the end of the game for the plasm wraith and for the phosbat fight.
They really should go more in depth with the electric side of the yellows since winged pikmin have made the whole being thrown higher aspect obsolete. It would be cool if you could sort of charge yellow pikmin like if they were batteries. Maybe while charged they could move faster, deal extra damage, or act as a sort of light source.
Yellow Pikmin should have the ability to stun the enemy once eaten and if they hit the enemy 5 times, but should ALSO have the ability to alert captains of nearby enemies you cant see
To be fair, Yellows are extremely useful in 2 for being able to attack the Titan Dweevil's parts without needing it to grab hold of them first. It's actually extremely helpful for taking out the water weapon before it causes too much damage because of their throw height since it can shoot at your other Pikmin on the floor because it can shoot anywhere and you don't have to risk the instant death element it has either. I'd also rate Blues as a lot less useful in 3 because you get them far later than any other type (and also because of Wings)
I rate all the type pretty low in pikmin 3 because it is so linear you basically only need them to get past the designated check point and then can put them away. If you compare expected days to get each type to expected win day for each game pikmin 3 basically doesn't give you blues until all thats left is 1 day cleanup in each area and the final boss, in 1 and 2 you have an entire area left each after getting blues. (Assuming a competent casual player trying for a low day count, ie not a speedrunner doing the 6 day pikmin 1 route)
