Honestly this is the perfect way to end the wait for Pikmin 4. After so long of waiting and uncovering things in Pikmin 3 we finally found the missing e3 area and are able to end this chapter and look towards the next one. Fantastic work from everyone on the team and this make me even more hyped for Pikmin 4 in just 4 days!
I'd say it's the culmination of the whole franchise/fanbase. I'm not too sure if Pikmin 4 will be as good as those that came before it, and it seems to pretty much disrespect all past pikmin games, so this project here might be as good as it gets for us.
See that right there at 34:22. That's EXACTLY why this level was cut. This level must have been littered with pathfinding glitches. It's whole gimmick is being a water level without Blue Pikmin, so every path finding error would kill pikmin. Confused further by the lillypad boat gimmick. The time it would take to clean EVERY SINGLE glitch would have taken forever. It was also probably considered too difficult in general. So in the end, they just cut it.
So they cut a huge, nearly finished area that was home to one of the five types of pikmin and the basis for one of the mission levels because it was hard to debug? That's the most sad possible reason. Would have been better to delay the game or even just leave a few bugs in, as its absence is definitely felt in the final game.
It wouldn’t really make sense to remove it when polishing though, since they would have to change the garden of hope too to have the blue Pikmin be found there
Remember that this game came out on a less than desirable console and people were relatively excited for this game in particular, it was very important that Nintendo try to get money quickly since they losses so much on the wii U
@@orca042this definitely isn’t a nearly finished area as a lot of the textures, hazards, and enemies for this area weren’t finished. Debugging takes a lot often time and when it isn’t done people online just call the developers lazy and incompetent and it has a huge stain on the reputation of the game so it’s very important. Along with Pikmin 3 needing to come out because the Wii U had absolutely no games on it meant that the development team had to assess the worth of either spending precious and spare development time finishing this incredibly buggy map or polishing the rest of this big and beautiful game, they took the path they thought was best.
Now I'm sad this didn't make it in. This puts SO much into perspective, like the rushed ending of Pikmin 3, the under-use of Bulbears and Shearwigs, and how Blues are just kind of awkwardly shoved into the Garden of Hope. I love learning about unused stuff like this.
I mean I do feel though as they may have removed it for limitations to the Wii U, while it could've been used for the side story of deluxe I feel that we ultimately did get something similar to it in the Serene Shores of Pikmin 4
42:54 This is just speculation, but maybe that part of the map starts off dry and the player needs to flood the area to reactivate a wilting blue onion. Maybe the player needs to defeat the rocky wollywogs to flood the area, which could complement their rocky appearance. They seem to be dry enemies, maybe wollytoads? This area could be similar to the grove where the player finds the pink onion, providing a little challenge to unlock the blue onion before showcasing the blue pikmin's ability. This would also explain the blue onion's reactivation. In Pikmin 3, the blue onion is just pulled out of shallow water by those pink plants that winged pikmin pull up (forgot the name :P). This works just fine and all, and could've been done to avoid sequence breaking in the Garden of Hope, but wouldn't it make more sense for the blue onion to be dried up and player needs to rehydrate it? All the other onions (except red, the tutorial onion) are reactivated in some method relating to their pikmin's special ability; the gray onion is broken out of a crystal, the yellow is activated by an electrical lamp, and the pink is released from a tangled web in the air (okay, that one's a bit weak, but the point still stands). All in all, this is just conjecture, but the pieces fit up well. Just an idea I thought I'd share.
This theory makes a lot of sense, but instead of defeating the rocky wollywogs, maybe one of the Louie pills could've flooded the area? While I like the idea that you have to defeat the Bug-Eyed Crawmad to unlock blues, it wouldn't make much sense considering that at that point you would already have completed almost all the area, leaving the other Louie pill in the Bulbear area. If we assumed that we could only carry back the Crawmad's Louie pill via blues due to nerfed wings, the Bulbear area would serve as a sort of mini-boss, which I think fits perfectly! This does share the same issue of blue's being obtained and then instantly needing to be used for story purposes only, but I think it could still work.
@@VantageEmblemI'm thinking something to do with that weird thin section of the wall, opposite the blue Onion in that area. A dried up blue Onion, and you wipe out the Wogtoads and some Wogpoles flopping around in mud, before some puzzle element having to do with that section of wall (maybe something your Pikmin need to pull together, like Oatchi's plant pulling mechanic in 4, so that completing it puts your Pikmin on fully dry land), and water from the stream comes rushing in, reviving the Blue Onion and giving the Blue Pikmin enemies that they can harvest to quickly grow their numbers.
Man, i wish This area was finished. I always thought it was weird the game had 66 collectables (70 if you include the 4 Upgrades, some of which are kinda hard to find) 66 is just a weird number. Tropical wilds has 18 fruits, Garden of hope 17, Distant Tundra 16, Twilight river 15. (And obviously Formidable Oak has none.) That adds up to 66. Following the trend of each area having one fruit less, the Scrapped area would have 14 fruits, adding up to 80 total fruits. I just find that interesting.
21:56 Y’know having one golden strawberry that’s collectable in story mode is a terrifying thought. Think about it, the only creature with gold on it is the Plasm Wraith and it can create objects out of gold. What if it wanted to spread its influence outside of the Pikmin planet, realize that it can’t do anything to do that, then realize that a certain captain keeps making his return to the planet. The Wraith sees that Olimar collects items so it hatched a plan to create an object out of itself, a golden sunseed berry with wealth unimaginable, and prays that he stumbles upon it. But to its surprise he stumbled onto Olimar himself, this excitement in finding Olimar makes it forget about the golden strawberry long enough for the koppaiates found it first (though in-game I’d imagine that it only spawns after all 72 fruits are collected) and juiced it down but all collectively decided to hold off drinking it until the mission is complete. This is where the narrator’s “Perhaps it wasn’t an accident after all” line comes into play, the Koppaiates did drink the golden drink and successfully made it home as heroes, but the seeds from the golden berry would bear fruit a giant golden wraith where it can continue its spread, let alone control the minds of those who consume it (Alph, Brittany, and Charlie being the first to fall to its effects).
This was a perfect sendoff for Pikmin 3. I was so incredibly mindblown throughout the entire video that there's an unused map that I had absolutely NO idea about. Props to the team for the huge amount of work that went into this project. Seeing the map fully recreated was awesome, and it really gave me the excitment of exploring a brand new pikmin map. Crazy that this would have been the first Pikmin game to feature more than 5 story mode areas had this area made it into the final game. And it and makes so much sense too, with Garden of Hope being the only area to feature 2 onions and 2 major bosses - as if they scrapped an area and tacked onto an existing area - and with Shaded Garden being the only non-DLC mission mode area that doesn't take inspiration from a story mode area. Speaking of Shaded Garden, I can't believe I didn't realize until now that it reuses several level design elements from Pikmin 2. That genuinely blew my mind a lot. It seems so obvious in retrospect
There’s so much to unpack with this area, and the deeper I go the more I learn. I’m SO happy to have it finally out here like this. Thank you SO much for watching!
Maybe this was meant to be the place found after the twilight River instead of the area that Louie opens up in garden of hope? They both are centered around water.
That's what I was thinking too. Garden of Hope is strangely the only area in the game with 2 onions and 2 major bosses. Perhaps there was originally intended to be 1 onion per area (minus the Formidable Oak) and 1 major boss per area, with the Mireclops originally intended to be the boss of the unused river area (and they just used the Crawmad as a placeholder, as Vantage speculated in the video)
it could've but we would have the same situation where you get blues but then the game ends, i think it would've been better for the garden of hope to give us blues and then this area opens up
@@apeashooterheadHonestly, given the presence of the Blue Onion here, I can imagine a slightly more robust version of the second section of the Garden of Hope, featuring a boss that takes the whole concept full circle and designs a boss around the Red Pikmin's higher damage capacity, maybe by having so much raw health that the necessary cycles to take it down would be the vast majority of a day if you even tried using anything else.
I wish even a little bit of data remained of Pikmin 1's lost stage. You can tell a few pre-release trailers take place in locations we've never seen since.
I've even gone as far as reversing engineering enough of the test.card file left on Pikmin 1's disc to restore the cached generator data. All it had was data from an unused stage we still have.
I defiantly think that the mireclops was the planned boss for this area, but after it was cut, was reassigned to the garden of hope. either way great vid!
@@VantageEmblem since every other main area has 1 story boss, this makes sense to me, especially considering the mireclops's thematical similarities to area 6, as well as the points you had brought up about shaded garden. even playing 3 when i was younger, the additional section of the garden of hope opening up into a thematically different style of are (even if cool) was a little odd. (also as an unrelated note) now that im awake and can conversate normally also, i wanted to hammer home how great i think this video is !! Pikmin is my favorite series ever, and its really a super exciting revelation to know that the pacing for 3 had major changes that lead to an entire scrapped area! great work on you and the entire Unearthed team !! im excited to see what you show off next :3
My Ideas for some of the parts of the level left incomplete. The name would be “The Marshland Navel”, since many area names are references to older areas. The boss would be the Quaggled Mireclops. You would land here instead of the garden of hope when Louie steals your food. A comment by @T-Dawg75 suggested that the fruit count in this area would be 14, since every area has one less fruit than the last (except the formidable oak), with the tropical wilds having 18. This would round out the overall fruit count to 80. Another comment by @jojowizard6452 suggested that the area with the blue onion should be dry, explaining the Calcified Wollywogs, and the blue onion should be wilted. The way to flood this area would be taking the cover off a pipe with winged pikmin. They would use those weird curly sprouts that are on the stick in twilight river. After the area is flooded, the blue onion would activate and spew out a blue pikmin. I originally thought this level should be in North America, to the west of twilight river, but after you told me that Europe was completely empty, I realised that it made much more sense for the level to be there, as the view of the map would stay stationary that way. The box puzzle leading up to the boss would have to be changed so that you’d have to use leader throwing after getting on the box so you can’t just throw pikmin over. The first Louie pill dropped by the boss would be Louie himself, while the second Louie pill with the bulbears would be a suit upgrade.
Prolly cause I recorded a good chunk of this video in a hotel closet. That said, let me know if you still hear weirdness in my voice in any of my other content and if you have any tips to make my voice less weird!@@apuzzlingguy2433
I always like seeing cut content, but this is a whole level beyond what you usually see. Recreating a whole map from some trailer footage and a couple leftover files is pretty amazing. Some real dedication at work. Looks to be quite the interesting area too. Some intriguing enemies to be seen and time to shine for blues. I long for the bygone days of multiple onions. Not only do I think it looks nicer and makes more sense, but I personally think its more convenient to be able to pluck one color of Pikmin from their own circle around their onion than getting an intermingled mess. But alas.
I think the Bug-Eyed Crawmad must’ve been nerfed, and it’s early version was more of an actual boss. The current is extremely easy even for miniboss standards, especially weird when it’s usually the last miniboss you can encounter in the story. Judging by how large the arena is compared to it here, it may have been quite a bit larger too. Other thoughts: The bubble hog was likely replaced by the waddlepus considering they have similar functionality. Those “shieldgrubs” are really cool and unique, I remember seeing someone hack them in a long time ago, but they couldn’t figure out the function. I hope they make an appearance in 4 as a symbiotic enemy like that is really cool.
The idea of symbiotic enemies was introduced I think in pikmin 2 with the man-at-legs piklopedia entry, so it wouldn't have been crazy wild and out there for a sheargrub variant that provides shielding to a bulborb as a form of symbiosis to exist, it would be great if there were more enemies implemented into the game that help each other in a sense by adding more defense or something of the sort, maybe a spectralid-snitchbug symbiosis??? That would be pretty great
The Buriko Did Return In Pikmin 4...kinda Because Of The Shearflea Sure They Dont Latch On Enemies BUT They Do Latch On The Player And Oatchi Except They Hurt You And Oatchi Instead Of Acting As Armor For You
This really makes sense when you think about it, as blues were tacked on to the end of the garden of hope instead of getting their own area (like every other type) and to me that choice never really made sense, and I figured there should’ve been a larger ‘playground’ for blues, like the perplexing pool/distant spring.
Also as a second thought, the distant tundra has two suit upgrades while every other has just one. And the connection to the 5 mission mode maps was genius, it really does line up so well
I remember hearing chuggaaconroy mention this map during one of the episodes of his pikmin 3 let's play. While I never found that much more information about it, I always wondered what that area could be like, and here we are now, years later, and seeing this idea for what could've been is crazy. I wish we could've gotten it in the main game, as it seems like it would fit well, with a couple tweaks and reworks. However, I did come up with an idea for how the map could fit into the main game in its current state. I can imagine that after Louie steals the juice and lands here, the scarcity of fruit in this region could make sense, and also be a decent challenge for ultra spicy mode, even if that wasn't intentional when the area was first designed. I think the bug eyed crawmad arena is a placeholder for the quaggled mireclops, and that's where you would get Louie back. The bulbear den could serve as an optional challenge to gain a suit upgrade. I think a movement speed upgrade would fit well here, and it would be a valuable reward for the challenge, even if it is made a bit easier with the inclusion of berries and bomb rocks. As much as I love this concept, I have to admit that it wouldn't work with this game. Making the water deeper and forcing blues for more fruit and adding more bridge fragments or other collectibles in the water would be an artificial way to make blues seem more useful, but since winged pikmin make them useless, I can't think of anything else to do with them. If this area came 4th, and the Twilight River was 5th, Louie wouldn't have a new place to go to after stealing your juice. I would've loved to see the return of the decorated cannon beetle larva, as well as the new enemies, but at the end of the day, this area was cut for a reason, but I'll be happy to have at least seen what could've been. By the way, are you going to make time, working, and combat variations of this theme? And if so, will they be made public? What you've shown us so far sounds really good, and the more I listen to it, the more I can see it fitting this area.
I did post the full of it, with variations, on my second channel VantageAnthems! It should be available in the description Also, excellent points about the area. I agree with you overall
First Nintendo reveals early Pikmin designs and now this. Today was a good day. As for why I think this was scrapped. I feel like it was less scrapped per se and more that I think that most of the levels were originally going to be much different and aspects of the original levels got merged into other level. The reason I think this is because I think it's weird that they'd do a level focused around the same lily pad gimmick back to back. I think elements of this level were repurposed for the Twilight River and second half of the Garden of Hope.
Amazing job, this is simply so amazing. I love the Pikmin fandom so much, we're all so insanely interested in these little plant creatures and seeing what the community makes is always so great. I love being part of this community!
this really shows how difficult game development is, it took a small group of people months to make this map even with most of the hardest work (the actual layout itself, ai pathing) having been done. and that doesnt include potential development like polishing it up or reworking it to work better in the main game. it must be extremely difficult to make a game like pikmin. really impressive stuff you guys dude, for real
Yeah - I can’t imagine the work that went into the actual map, so it’s even more of a shame that it didn’t make it into the game just for that to have been seen
This is incredible! I never even gave much thought into this area that was shown in the trailer before, just thinking it was a simple test area or unused mission mode map that probably didn't get far into development. But just like the story of Pikmin itself, this area was way more than what meets the eye. I would have loved to see a 6th area, as by the time you get blues, the game feels finished already. It's a shame because prior Pikmin games gave you all types around 25% through the game, giving time to flesh out each type and put your micromanaging skills to the test. This aspect feels glossed over unfortunately and only used as a last minute clean up session right before the final boss. This 6th area could've offered a whole new dynamic to the gameplay, where there is this area that does utilize all types in effective ways. Furthermore, we all know blues were some of the less utilized Pikmin in Pikmin 3, and this map would have certainly validated their existence. On a side note, I think it would have been cool if Nintendo brought back this area in spirit in the Switch port by having a new map, that isn't exactly like this one in design, but served a similar function. In the end though, Pikmin 3 is a fantastic game, and in my top 5 Wii U games. Although a 6th area would have been nice, the story was still a great time, with mission mode really filling in those gaps of classic Pikmin challenge.
I agree with all of this! Pikmin 3 didn’t need this map, but it could have been made even better with it. It’s so cool seeing what could have been and getting to explore this place finally after all these years
I loved the unused wollywog and sheargrubs for years and it's insane to know this is where they would've been. So insane you were able to recreate the map and the enemies, they look beutiful!
41:44 I just want to point out that each non-dlc mission mode map already aligns with an area in story mode. The tropical Forest and the Tropical Wilds because they are both well, tropical. They even share the same plants. Silver Lake and Distant Tundra. Thirsty Desert and The Formidable Oak are both deserts (You even said this earlier in the video) they both have cacti and look very different to Tropical Wilds. Twilight River and Twilight Hollow. And finally Shaded Garden and Garden of Hope both have garden in the name and have the same overall vibe. They also both have a whole lot of water. Sorry for the long comment. I love this video and this game, but the similarities between the mission mode stages and story mode stages have always interested me. This is the first time I ever really had the right topic to talk about this. Thanks for all your hard work!
It’s amazing how many mysteries from Pikmin 3 are finally being solved. From this entire missing area, to the debated concept art and it’s connection to Pikmin 4. This is amazingly done, and really goes to show the dedication of the Pikmin community.
This would have been so cool to see in the final game and would have been better for the final game if they changed a few things. Though seriously thanks so much for yours and everyone else’s hard work in getting this out.
Woah, this video is absolutely amazing. There’s something so enchanting about re-discovering this old area and finding how it slots into Pikmin 3’s campaign. It’s like finding the last puzzle piece you lost under the couch almost 10 years ago
Wow. Just....wow. I remember playing Pikmin 3 as my first Pikmin game when I was like a wee age of 9, completely unaware of this forgotten level. As someone who grew up on 3, I'm just sort of left wondering one thing; what purpose would the Forgotten March (I'm calling it that, fight me) serve in the main Pikmin 3 story if it were allowed to remain?
You guys are insane. This is insane. I just finished Deluxe again after 10 years and figured to search for cut content. The game just seamed so short in comparison to Pikmin 4. I didn’t expect to find out about a whole new area. This is so cool.
This is one of thr best things ever revealed in Pikmin history. I have ALWAYS wondered why i felt shorthanded with my playthroughs of 3 newr the end and this map makes it all add up. And wow what a cool map it is, even if it was done with many liberties in mind of course. You and your team did such wonderful work on this and thank you. You've given the Pikmin community so so much with this
It is so sick seeing scrapped content restored to a magnitude like this, and learning about why some of the design decisions seem so odd in the main game. For me, the mireclops thematically is more reminiscent of a garden (with the land and mud) rather than a water-based area. But a bug-eye crawmad definitely doesn't fit.. On an unrelated note; I love the calcified wollywog. It adds charm and an added layer to an enemy that is lacking for me.
The calcified wollywog really MOVES. Like, it LAUNCHES towards your pikmin and it doesn't hold back with the damage it inflicts. It seemed like it would have been a really brutal fight without rocks, and a ton of fun too.
I gotta say, this was one of the greatest videos I’ve seen on pikmin, and I’ve seen a good deal of what the fans have done. Such a massive masterpiece, you guys deserve a huge round of applause. I always enjoy longer videos like this, especially things that are about game development. I never gave the scraped pikmin 3 map much thought, I was to busy speculating about character D. I’m glad to have this brought to my attention. I wish I could have seen it when it came out, however that was during my pikmin blackout internet blackout 😅. I will no doubt be watching this video again, and again. You guys did a fantastic job 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 -Zoe
This team is the fricking coolest! Pikmin 3 and its E3 trailer got me into this wonderful franchise. The amount of research and skills you show to recreate it is amazing!
Maybe winged pikmin were originally optional and hidden? It would explain why they're so unique, in how their use overlaps with other pikmin, especially blues. It would make blues more useful, if you don't find them. But, being unique, and one of the two new types, the devs wanted them to be more central and well-used.
If this map was in the story right after rescuing Louie in Twilight River, then this map would've been a fun challenge considering he steals your food and there being a severe lack of fruit in this area. It's a shame that we just got garden of hope pt. 2 though.
This is utterly amazing. As a more casual Pikmin player, this just makes me more excited to cover Pikmin 4 to the end of its story, as well as the older 3 games!
This was an awesome video and I hope it gets a lot of views! Though I found myself being very distracted by the way you end almost every sentence by lowering your voice into a whisper.
On the topic of the mysterious Ogane enemy, Ogane, as in 大鐘(おおがね) means big or great Bell/Gong which combined with its "Bulbear den" location makes me think this, as you said, would be a "support" enemy, however i think it would have served as more of a loud noise that instantly aggros all the bulbears in the arena, something to "force" the fight should a tricky player find a sneaky path Edit: thinking about it, having an enemy that draws in more enemies right next to distraction berries sounds like a "Nintendo" game design philosophy, i wonder if any further Ogane gens existed in prior builds and if they were also near these berries
A couple of speculations I had while watching this. Due to how the weather changing seems to have been a little “environmental” feature in Pikmin 3, maybe there was a chance it would originally change how every environment was played. The snowstorms in the Tundra limited Captain/Pikmin visibility, and this forgotten area would be the pinnacle of that. The area would slowly begin to flood due to an endless storm, causing a time crunch as you rushed to try and get as much done with your landlocked Pikmin before the tide is too high for them. Perhaps the “Test_Item_1” that’s found was originally meant to be an upgrade, akin to the Dodge Whistle or Metal Suit Z in the final Pikmin 3 game, it would explain why two existed after all, the boss of the area grants Louie (access to the final area of the game) while the other granted some kind of suit upgrade like Rush Boots or the Pluck-o-Phone. Lastly, I believe that the Wollyhops would be mossy variants of the standard Wollyhop (the Albino variant, not the Yellow variant), where only a specific section of its body being vulnerable, showing off how to handle a creature with this attribute, example: the Emperor Bulblax. We know he was scrapped in Pikmin 3, and a marshy area would make sense for a moss covered creature like him to exist in an area like this, and making him as formidable as the other area bosses in Pikmin 3, but keeping his “simplicity” with how he works. It would be interesting to know what this area was originally intended for in the long run, but we sadly may not know what the progression of Pikmin 3 was like back then, but I hope one day we’ll get another glimpse into what this could’ve been
I believe the area with the crawmad could have actually been for the emperor bulblax. Its an unfinished boss or enemy that could have been used in later iterations of the map compared to what we see in the nodes map It to me makes the most sense for his placement In fact due to not being able to finish the emperor they may have scrapped the area as a whole
Admittedly i always felt something was off about pikmin 3's main adventure As stated it felt like once you unlocked blue pikmin you were sort of ushered towards saving olimar and finishing the story I personally would always leave as much fruit on the ground as possible until i unlocked every pikmin type and then go on a grabbing spree Rambling aside, its amazing to see the lost area being not only investigated but recovered also, and its another sign to show just how dedicated a fanbase can be
What a way to leave Pikmin 3, with the discovery of a whole new part of it, almost forever lost if not for the dedication of fans in the team. Just days away from Pikmin 4 too (To inform the public about it that is). I already look forward for years down the line at what Pikmin 4 might be hiding as well.
Spoiler for the video: The Calcified Wollywogs were probably meant to take full damage from Pikmin that are thrown on it's back and reduced damage from ones that are charged into it unless the calcified part was broken by Rock Pikmin. This would fit well with the better introduction of weak points that they emphasized in Pikmin 3.
I always knew that something wasn’t right with P3’s progression. I’ve talked about it before on Pikcord, mainly that - Garden of Hope has two bosses and is effectively two maps in one - There is an unhighlighted area with a delta-like or archipelago look on the world map (between TW and DT) - There is a missing area in the Mission Mode lookalike stages - The stump puzzle and the bulborb corridor from beta footage are in that Mission Mode map But I never ever thought that we’d recover this much. From just a few .gens and some trailer shots, you’ve put together a fully coherent story mode area. Amazing work!
Making areas just to be used for trailers seems like a Pikmin tradition. Just yesterday Nintendo revealed that this also happened with the map shown off at Pikmin 1's debut presentation. Jokes aside, amazing work! I always wondered too what this area was, and always suspected that it really wasn't the Twilight River, as the layouts were too different.
I mean you’re not at all wrong haha. It seems 4 may be the only game in the series that bucked this trend. But it’s crazy, because the time between Pikmin 3’s first trailer to release is not that much longer than 4’s Huh
@@VantageEmblem 3 and 4's development cycles are so elusive in general. The senior devs interview reveals so much insight into their minds and consideration of feedback from the audience (pretty hilarious when they categorized Pikmin players based on their enjoyment of either 1 or 2), yet there's still a mystique about this intermitent decade of work time. Also, maybe I didn't express my excitement as much in my original comment, but I'm actually extremely grateful to all the people who contributed in this, that 2012 trailer got child me more hyped than anything before or after since. And now with 4 literally around the corner, it's safe to say that I feel a bit younger these days.
I imagine that Test_Item_1 being both a stand-in for the progression item as well as a suit upgrade is probably the most likely explanation, but I find myself wondering if it's possible that there was once a point in development where they had plans to make use of the castaway system that we wouldn't see fully implemented until 4.
This is huge. I know I'm late to the party but still, piecing together a whole damn level of pikmin 3 from a broken pathmap, some trailers and hopes and dreams is insane. Props to you guys, this was really cool to watch and an awesome piece of lost media restored.
It seems to me like the captain throwing puzzle would be a way to enter a loading zone on foot rather than on the lily pad, instead of a difficult to leave dead end. It might've been implemented by the time the level was ready to be shown off at e3 but not in the development data left in the game. The idea that this level was at one point not only massive, but had multiple areas as well, makes me wish we got it even more. Seems like a great ultimate test before the final boss area Just seems like a weird decision to have the lily pad spit you out at an awkward area that requires all 3 captains to get out of
Thank you so much for watching this so much! It’s definitely the largest project on the channel (so far anyway) and I’m really proud of how it turned out! Again, thank you!
If Pikmin 3 modding ever gets to the insane level as Pikmin 2's I really hope that one day this long lost area can finally be put into Pikmin 3's main story the way it was intended to be
Jeez if pikmin 4 has some scrapped maps (which come on there definitely is some, there’s gotta be a reason it took this long.) you and you’re team are going to have a field day.
I really would of loved this map or another implementing white and purple onions. The shortness of the story and the lack of ability to use purple and white pikmin felt like its only two flaws. Other than that, it was a fantastic experience
Maybe the other 'test_item_1' contained character D? It would be very late in the game to be obtaining him but it would work from a story perspective to be reunited with the whole Koppaite team just before facing the final boss.
Thank you all for restoring this and adding it back to the game. I think the loss of this area impacts Pikmin 3 negatively, altho I do dearly love the game. They definitely should've fought harder to keep it and give the blues a place to shine. I think you're right about Winged Pikmin having a much more limited scope on their flying.
This level is just so fascinating. The way we all saw that gorgeous trailer all those years ago and never knew that just offscreen were a treasure trove of half-finished enemies and mechanics that were completely missing from the final release. The way there are five onions instead of one and level designs that don't make sense with the current mechanics brings up the question of just how drastically the game changed in the last year or two before release. Hell, even how it uses giant bolts as placeholder treasures implies that at the time this level was first being worked on, they might not have even decided on the game's plot being about collecting fruit - is it possible that at one point in development, the story was going to be about gathering ship parts like Pikmin 1 again? This puts so many previously known-about bits of unused content into some kind of context, but also brings up lots of interesting new things for us to speculate over.
@@VantageEmblem I desperately hope we get another Gigaleak someday focused on stuff from the Wii/Wii U era, I'd love to see what the Wii version of P3 was like and how wildly different it likely was from the final game
Man... This brings back unexpected memories. I was HUGE into Pikmin back in the early 2010s, and especially theorizing and investigation - I even still have an old 25 minute analysis and predictions video from before Pikmin 3 privated on my channel! Though most files had long been dumped and scoured in those days and I had no technical ability to speak of, I spent long hours digging into the games the old fashioned way, investigating more intangible elements like enemy behaviors and interactions between different elements of the game. I was big into writing for the Pikmin Wiki to share what I found, but would spend long days arguing with other users as well haha. Old-school forum elitism was alive and well in those days and there were big egos all around hahaha, myself included. It's wonderful to see a much more harmonious community these days. Who would've thought such a comparitively small series would still be creating so much interest this far down the road? But that's what's always been special about Pikmin, isn't it? :) This video threw me right back to those days. I'm so glad the same love for Pikmin and the spirit theorycrafting and investigation is still alive and well with a new generation. It's so surreal seeing the kinda analysis i was into still going on, but with all-new content and names I've never seen before. I've been out of the loop so long I had no idea 3 Deluxe brought so much to the table! I'd always assumed the trailer area was an early version of Twilight River too, especially considering the reveal of the Winged Pikmin at the end. Well, anyways... Thank you and your team for making such an incredible investigation and presentation! This brought me closure on Pikmin 3 as well. I didnt realize it had become widespread at this point, but I always felt the same way about how linear and... almost stunted Pikmin 3 was. What did exist was beautiful, but there was always that sense of.... something missing. The insight your team has brought into the earlier design for the game has brought perfect closure for me. It makes a lot more sense now that it was closer to Pikmin 1 and 2 in its earlier design, but ended up being greatly simplified and streamlined, as all Nintendo's games were becoming in that era. I'd even venture the idea the Miyamoto himself may be responsible for this - he was notorious for forcing development teams away from open and dynamic designs into linear, "one-note" design philosophies in the Wii U era especially. So much so that I think the executives had his authority scaled back after Star Fox Zero and Big Robot, leading to the new faces we see in the Switch era. Just a thought I'd throw out there, as Big Moto was very outspoken about his directorship of Pikmin 3. Anyways... being able to see firsthand how Pikmin 3's design differences were a gradual development has brought me closure on the title I never expected I would get. Hats off to all of you!! Thank you again for your wonderful video on this. This reawakened my love for Pikmin and seeing new people that share same obsession I used to have really makes me feel... vindicated, in a way. Now I kinda wanna get reinvolved in the community... though I don't know what I could bring to the table. I kinda feel reinspired to finally make the video I always wanted to about a really unique discovery I made in Pikmin 1's interactions. Maybe I'll do that and share it with y'all :) Thanks again, and well done!!! Cheers!
I'm so happy to have been able to provide a visceral reaction within you so much that you feel vindicated, heh I'd absolutely LOVE to see that video made, if you want to do it! I love hearing from the old guard of fans, you guys were who I looked up to back in the day when Pikmin content was first emerging
Aw thanks! It's a great feeling to be part a community that spans generations. Alright then, I'm determined! Time to break out the emulators and editing software! >:)
This was insanely fun and interesting to watch. It gave me a huge sense of nostalgia most likely due to it being directly tied to that initial Pikmin 3 trailer that I was so hyped for and watched a million times over all those years ago. Extremely well put together video keep up the awesome work
This was really interesting, and I’m definitely gonna consider some of the level design tips and insights from this video when I think about designing my own pikmin-inspired game someday! Great work, team!
Now that the Pikmin community has found nearly every substantial beta element in Pikmin 3, it is time to perhaps move on to a potentially much more ambitious task: analyzing and finding cut content from Pikmin 4. With Pikmin 4 on the horizon now, and with an alleged 8-year minimum development, and the longest development gap between mainline entries, I have a hunch that the beta of Pikmin 4 is perhaps hiding more than even Pikmin 3, but what do I know... Only time will tell...
You realise they werent likely to have been developing it for 8 years, and its more like it was put on hold or restarted during development, right? Its not zelda or mario, its pikmin. Bet they took 2-3 years tops
@@MysteriousStranger50 Miyamoto stated in 2015 that Pikmin 4 was almost finished. The Pikmin community was all over that during the years of silence, patiently awaiting the day that Pikmin 4 would arrive. Why would the Pikmin man himself say that if there wasn't any work on it? I am sure there is something to say about Pikmin 4's beta here.
![[DRAGON BALL LEGENDS REVEALS ＆ STUFF] LEGENDS FESTIVAL 2024 Special Edition Part 1](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/mV5bGIswTtQ/mqdefault.jpg)
It was a blast working on this with you guys!
hi
dandori moment
dandori moment
moment dandori
Yea yea it was good working with you too Gunna, now please let my family go
Honestly this is the perfect way to end the wait for Pikmin 4. After so long of waiting and uncovering things in Pikmin 3 we finally found the missing e3 area and are able to end this chapter and look towards the next one. Fantastic work from everyone on the team and this make me even more hyped for Pikmin 4 in just 4 days!
Thank you so much for watching! I’m glad we finally found this place and can bookend this story
I'd say it's the culmination of the whole franchise/fanbase. I'm not too sure if Pikmin 4 will be as good as those that came before it, and it seems to pretty much disrespect all past pikmin games, so this project here might be as good as it gets for us.
@@knatknihtwell thats a very pessimistic outlook on it lol
Same! I'm so so hyped for Pikmin 4!!!
technically the e3 area is the title screen, people have found this a long time ago
See that right there at 34:22. That's EXACTLY why this level was cut.
This level must have been littered with pathfinding glitches. It's whole gimmick is being a water level without Blue Pikmin, so every path finding error would kill pikmin. Confused further by the lillypad boat gimmick. The time it would take to clean EVERY SINGLE glitch would have taken forever. It was also probably considered too difficult in general. So in the end, they just cut it.
I think you might be right on the money there. Trimmed when polishing to just get the game out
So they cut a huge, nearly finished area that was home to one of the five types of pikmin and the basis for one of the mission levels because it was hard to debug? That's the most sad possible reason. Would have been better to delay the game or even just leave a few bugs in, as its absence is definitely felt in the final game.
It wouldn’t really make sense to remove it when polishing though, since they would have to change the garden of hope too to have the blue Pikmin be found there
Remember that this game came out on a less than desirable console and people were relatively excited for this game in particular, it was very important that Nintendo try to get money quickly since they losses so much on the wii U
@@orca042this definitely isn’t a nearly finished area as a lot of the textures, hazards, and enemies for this area weren’t finished. Debugging takes a lot often time and when it isn’t done people online just call the developers lazy and incompetent and it has a huge stain on the reputation of the game so it’s very important. Along with Pikmin 3 needing to come out because the Wii U had absolutely no games on it meant that the development team had to assess the worth of either spending precious and spare development time finishing this incredibly buggy map or polishing the rest of this big and beautiful game, they took the path they thought was best.
Now I'm sad this didn't make it in. This puts SO much into perspective, like the rushed ending of Pikmin 3, the under-use of Bulbears and Shearwigs, and how Blues are just kind of awkwardly shoved into the Garden of Hope. I love learning about unused stuff like this.
I mean I do feel though as they may have removed it for limitations to the Wii U, while it could've been used for the side story of deluxe I feel that we ultimately did get something similar to it in the Serene Shores of Pikmin 4
42:54 This is just speculation, but maybe that part of the map starts off dry and the player needs to flood the area to reactivate a wilting blue onion. Maybe the player needs to defeat the rocky wollywogs to flood the area, which could complement their rocky appearance. They seem to be dry enemies, maybe wollytoads?
This area could be similar to the grove where the player finds the pink onion, providing a little challenge to unlock the blue onion before showcasing the blue pikmin's ability.
This would also explain the blue onion's reactivation. In Pikmin 3, the blue onion is just pulled out of shallow water by those pink plants that winged pikmin pull up (forgot the name :P). This works just fine and all, and could've been done to avoid sequence breaking in the Garden of Hope, but wouldn't it make more sense for the blue onion to be dried up and player needs to rehydrate it? All the other onions (except red, the tutorial onion) are reactivated in some method relating to their pikmin's special ability; the gray onion is broken out of a crystal, the yellow is activated by an electrical lamp, and the pink is released from a tangled web in the air (okay, that one's a bit weak, but the point still stands).
All in all, this is just conjecture, but the pieces fit up well. Just an idea I thought I'd share.
OH MY GOODNESS - This is EASILY the best theory I’ve heard about this and could explain quite a lot. I’m sharing it with the team
This theory makes a lot of sense, but instead of defeating the rocky wollywogs, maybe one of the Louie pills could've flooded the area? While I like the idea that you have to defeat the Bug-Eyed Crawmad to unlock blues, it wouldn't make much sense considering that at that point you would already have completed almost all the area, leaving the other Louie pill in the Bulbear area. If we assumed that we could only carry back the Crawmad's Louie pill via blues due to nerfed wings, the Bulbear area would serve as a sort of mini-boss, which I think fits perfectly! This does share the same issue of blue's being obtained and then instantly needing to be used for story purposes only, but I think it could still work.
That's totally it! There's too perfect a lined up reason and it's illogical for them to just be in shallow water *stuck* there in the final version.
@@VantageEmblemI'm thinking something to do with that weird thin section of the wall, opposite the blue Onion in that area. A dried up blue Onion, and you wipe out the Wogtoads and some Wogpoles flopping around in mud, before some puzzle element having to do with that section of wall (maybe something your Pikmin need to pull together, like Oatchi's plant pulling mechanic in 4, so that completing it puts your Pikmin on fully dry land), and water from the stream comes rushing in, reviving the Blue Onion and giving the Blue Pikmin enemies that they can harvest to quickly grow their numbers.
That makes an aweful lot of sense, and the resulting complexity (and debugging nightmare) may be a reason why it was cut.
Man, i wish This area was finished. I always thought it was weird the game had 66 collectables (70 if you include the 4 Upgrades, some of which are kinda hard to find) 66 is just a weird number. Tropical wilds has 18 fruits, Garden of hope 17, Distant Tundra 16, Twilight river 15. (And obviously Formidable Oak has none.) That adds up to 66. Following the trend of each area having one fruit less, the Scrapped area would have 14 fruits, adding up to 80 total fruits. I just find that interesting.
If the second Louie pill is a suit collectible, that would make the count 85, which is a nice, round, sensible number.
@@pengil3 Agreed. Maybe the Pluckaphone or something.
@@T-Dawg75 that would be so nice, and a good reward for fighting off all those bulbears.
21:56 Y’know having one golden strawberry that’s collectable in story mode is a terrifying thought. Think about it, the only creature with gold on it is the Plasm Wraith and it can create objects out of gold. What if it wanted to spread its influence outside of the Pikmin planet, realize that it can’t do anything to do that, then realize that a certain captain keeps making his return to the planet. The Wraith sees that Olimar collects items so it hatched a plan to create an object out of itself, a golden sunseed berry with wealth unimaginable, and prays that he stumbles upon it. But to its surprise he stumbled onto Olimar himself, this excitement in finding Olimar makes it forget about the golden strawberry long enough for the koppaiates found it first (though in-game I’d imagine that it only spawns after all 72 fruits are collected) and juiced it down but all collectively decided to hold off drinking it until the mission is complete. This is where the narrator’s “Perhaps it wasn’t an accident after all” line comes into play, the Koppaiates did drink the golden drink and successfully made it home as heroes, but the seeds from the golden berry would bear fruit a giant golden wraith where it can continue its spread, let alone control the minds of those who consume it (Alph, Brittany, and Charlie being the first to fall to its effects).
oh.
Damn that's dark
Honoured to be part of the team for this. Absolutly surreal that this was under our noses for 10 YEARS!!
YES! Thank you so much for working on this with us!
This was a perfect sendoff for Pikmin 3. I was so incredibly mindblown throughout the entire video that there's an unused map that I had absolutely NO idea about. Props to the team for the huge amount of work that went into this project. Seeing the map fully recreated was awesome, and it really gave me the excitment of exploring a brand new pikmin map. Crazy that this would have been the first Pikmin game to feature more than 5 story mode areas had this area made it into the final game.
And it and makes so much sense too, with Garden of Hope being the only area to feature 2 onions and 2 major bosses - as if they scrapped an area and tacked onto an existing area - and with Shaded Garden being the only non-DLC mission mode area that doesn't take inspiration from a story mode area. Speaking of Shaded Garden, I can't believe I didn't realize until now that it reuses several level design elements from Pikmin 2. That genuinely blew my mind a lot. It seems so obvious in retrospect
There’s so much to unpack with this area, and the deeper I go the more I learn. I’m SO happy to have it finally out here like this. Thank you SO much for watching!
Maybe this was meant to be the place found after the twilight River instead of the area that Louie opens up in garden of hope? They both are centered around water.
Would make sense, as the second section of the garden of hope feels too forced in, and the blue Pikmin section feels a lot more rushe
That’s what I was thinking, half the stuff in this map is present in the garden of hope
That's what I was thinking too. Garden of Hope is strangely the only area in the game with 2 onions and 2 major bosses. Perhaps there was originally intended to be 1 onion per area (minus the Formidable Oak) and 1 major boss per area, with the Mireclops originally intended to be the boss of the unused river area (and they just used the Crawmad as a placeholder, as Vantage speculated in the video)
it could've but we would have the same situation where you get blues but then the game ends, i think it would've been better for the garden of hope to give us blues and then this area opens up
@@apeashooterheadHonestly, given the presence of the Blue Onion here, I can imagine a slightly more robust version of the second section of the Garden of Hope, featuring a boss that takes the whole concept full circle and designs a boss around the Red Pikmin's higher damage capacity, maybe by having so much raw health that the necessary cycles to take it down would be the vast majority of a day if you even tried using anything else.
This is so, so, so goddamn cool. Massive props to you and the entire team.
THANK YOU FOR WATCHING
I wish even a little bit of data remained of Pikmin 1's lost stage. You can tell a few pre-release trailers take place in locations we've never seen since.
Agreed - lost levels are SO interesting to me and I was shocked we found anything at all here, let alone this much
Thankfully Miyamoto gave some insight into that during the Pikmin 4 Dev interview. Better than just being left to sit for eternity
I've even gone as far as reversing engineering enough of the test.card file left on Pikmin 1's disc to restore the cached generator data. All it had was data from an unused stage we still have.
I defiantly think that the mireclops was the planned boss for this area, but after it was cut, was reassigned to the garden of hope. either way great vid!
Maybe! I just genuinely have no idea 🤷♂️
actually i think it might have been meant for the emperor bulblax wich was also meant to be in game but got scrapt aswell
@@VantageEmblem since every other main area has 1 story boss, this makes sense to me, especially considering the mireclops's thematical similarities to area 6, as well as the points you had brought up about shaded garden. even playing 3 when i was younger, the additional section of the garden of hope opening up into a thematically different style of are (even if cool) was a little odd.
(also as an unrelated note) now that im awake and can conversate normally also, i wanted to hammer home how great i think this video is !! Pikmin is my favorite series ever, and its really a super exciting revelation to know that the pacing for 3 had major changes that lead to an entire scrapped area! great work on you and the entire Unearthed team !! im excited to see what you show off next :3
I cried when you said “it’s unearthin’ time” and then unearthed the lost Pikmin 3 area, truly a masterpiece.
Truly one of the videos of all time
My Ideas for some of the parts of the level left incomplete.
The name would be “The Marshland Navel”, since many area names are references to older areas.
The boss would be the Quaggled Mireclops.
You would land here instead of the garden of hope when Louie steals your food.
A comment by @T-Dawg75 suggested that the fruit count in this area would be 14, since every area has one less fruit than the last (except the formidable oak), with the tropical wilds having 18. This would round out the overall fruit count to 80.
Another comment by @jojowizard6452 suggested that the area with the blue onion should be dry, explaining the Calcified Wollywogs, and the blue onion should be wilted. The way to flood this area would be taking the cover off a pipe with winged pikmin. They would use those weird curly sprouts that are on the stick in twilight river. After the area is flooded, the blue onion would activate and spew out a blue pikmin.
I originally thought this level should be in North America, to the west of twilight river, but after you told me that Europe was completely empty, I realised that it made much more sense for the level to be there, as the view of the map would stay stationary that way.
The box puzzle leading up to the boss would have to be changed so that you’d have to use leader throwing after getting on the box so you can’t just throw pikmin over.
The first Louie pill dropped by the boss would be Louie himself, while the second Louie pill with the bulbears would be a suit upgrade.
Good to know my comment kinda changed the way people see this area. Thanks for stating your sources and including me.
this was an amazing project!! :D
Thank you SO much for watching
This is so dope but also homie ends every sentence in a whisper 😭😭
i was just thinking the exact same thing why is his voice so weird lmao
Prolly cause I recorded a good chunk of this video in a hotel closet. That said, let me know if you still hear weirdness in my voice in any of my other content and if you have any tips to make my voice less weird!@@apuzzlingguy2433
do you need an inhaler man
I always like seeing cut content, but this is a whole level beyond what you usually see. Recreating a whole map from some trailer footage and a couple leftover files is pretty amazing. Some real dedication at work.
Looks to be quite the interesting area too. Some intriguing enemies to be seen and time to shine for blues.
I long for the bygone days of multiple onions. Not only do I think it looks nicer and makes more sense, but I personally think its more convenient to be able to pluck one color of Pikmin from their own circle around their onion than getting an intermingled mess. But alas.
It was a little distracting how you whispered the end of nearly every sentence, but still an interesting watch
I think the Bug-Eyed Crawmad must’ve been nerfed, and it’s early version was more of an actual boss. The current is extremely easy even for miniboss standards, especially weird when it’s usually the last miniboss you can encounter in the story. Judging by how large the arena is compared to it here, it may have been quite a bit larger too.
Other thoughts:
The bubble hog was likely replaced by the waddlepus considering they have similar functionality.
Those “shieldgrubs” are really cool and unique, I remember seeing someone hack them in a long time ago, but they couldn’t figure out the function. I hope they make an appearance in 4 as a symbiotic enemy like that is really cool.
There’s legitimately so much to unpack here with the enemies that our 1 hour video couldn’t even scratch the surface of. It’s really cool!
The idea of symbiotic enemies was introduced I think in pikmin 2 with the man-at-legs piklopedia entry, so it wouldn't have been crazy wild and out there for a sheargrub variant that provides shielding to a bulborb as a form of symbiosis to exist, it would be great if there were more enemies implemented into the game that help each other in a sense by adding more defense or something of the sort, maybe a spectralid-snitchbug symbiosis??? That would be pretty great
The Buriko Did Return In Pikmin 4...kinda Because Of The Shearflea Sure They Dont Latch On Enemies BUT They Do Latch On The Player And Oatchi Except They Hurt You And Oatchi Instead Of Acting As Armor For You
This was an amazing project to be apart of! Had an great time working with you guys! Also 26:52 my BOY made it into the video! Good boy!
❤️
I am SO happy to have had the opportunity to work with you (and include your dog)
It has been a wild ride, and I'm so glad this is out :)
Im sorry man but I cant get over this voice man. it sounds like your about to tell me the orgin story of the main villian
To be fair, this is honestly one of my favorite comments I’ve got about it bwahahaha
@@VantageEmblem no offfense I love the voice you did a really good job on it. you should become a voice actor one day.
This really makes sense when you think about it, as blues were tacked on to the end of the garden of hope instead of getting their own area (like every other type) and to me that choice never really made sense, and I figured there should’ve been a larger ‘playground’ for blues, like the perplexing pool/distant spring.
Yeah - the garden of hope is two areas in one, for better or for worse
Also as a second thought, the distant tundra has two suit upgrades while every other has just one.
And the connection to the 5 mission mode maps was genius, it really does line up so well
Theory, part of the beta area was reused for the garden of hope
I remember hearing chuggaaconroy mention this map during one of the episodes of his pikmin 3 let's play. While I never found that much more information about it, I always wondered what that area could be like, and here we are now, years later, and seeing this idea for what could've been is crazy. I wish we could've gotten it in the main game, as it seems like it would fit well, with a couple tweaks and reworks. However, I did come up with an idea for how the map could fit into the main game in its current state. I can imagine that after Louie steals the juice and lands here, the scarcity of fruit in this region could make sense, and also be a decent challenge for ultra spicy mode, even if that wasn't intentional when the area was first designed. I think the bug eyed crawmad arena is a placeholder for the quaggled mireclops, and that's where you would get Louie back. The bulbear den could serve as an optional challenge to gain a suit upgrade. I think a movement speed upgrade would fit well here, and it would be a valuable reward for the challenge, even if it is made a bit easier with the inclusion of berries and bomb rocks. As much as I love this concept, I have to admit that it wouldn't work with this game. Making the water deeper and forcing blues for more fruit and adding more bridge fragments or other collectibles in the water would be an artificial way to make blues seem more useful, but since winged pikmin make them useless, I can't think of anything else to do with them. If this area came 4th, and the Twilight River was 5th, Louie wouldn't have a new place to go to after stealing your juice. I would've loved to see the return of the decorated cannon beetle larva, as well as the new enemies, but at the end of the day, this area was cut for a reason, but I'll be happy to have at least seen what could've been.
By the way, are you going to make time, working, and combat variations of this theme? And if so, will they be made public? What you've shown us so far sounds really good, and the more I listen to it, the more I can see it fitting this area.
I did post the full of it, with variations, on my second channel VantageAnthems! It should be available in the description
Also, excellent points about the area. I agree with you overall
First Nintendo reveals early Pikmin designs and now this. Today was a good day.
As for why I think this was scrapped. I feel like it was less scrapped per se and more that I think that most of the levels were originally going to be much different and aspects of the original levels got merged into other level. The reason I think this is because I think it's weird that they'd do a level focused around the same lily pad gimmick back to back. I think elements of this level were repurposed for the Twilight River and second half of the Garden of Hope.
Amazing job, this is simply so amazing. I love the Pikmin fandom so much, we're all so insanely interested in these little plant creatures and seeing what the community makes is always so great. I love being part of this community!
I’m sad we didn’t get this map in the game but at least we got Louie blowing up
this really shows how difficult game development is, it took a small group of people months to make this map even with most of the hardest work (the actual layout itself, ai pathing) having been done. and that doesnt include potential development like polishing it up or reworking it to work better in the main game. it must be extremely difficult to make a game like pikmin. really impressive stuff you guys dude, for real
Yeah - I can’t imagine the work that went into the actual map, so it’s even more of a shame that it didn’t make it into the game just for that to have been seen
boy why you sounding like you're trying to record an anime boy asmr
This is incredible! I never even gave much thought into this area that was shown in the trailer before, just thinking it was a simple test area or unused mission mode map that probably didn't get far into development. But just like the story of Pikmin itself, this area was way more than what meets the eye. I would have loved to see a 6th area, as by the time you get blues, the game feels finished already. It's a shame because prior Pikmin games gave you all types around 25% through the game, giving time to flesh out each type and put your micromanaging skills to the test. This aspect feels glossed over unfortunately and only used as a last minute clean up session right before the final boss. This 6th area could've offered a whole new dynamic to the gameplay, where there is this area that does utilize all types in effective ways. Furthermore, we all know blues were some of the less utilized Pikmin in Pikmin 3, and this map would have certainly validated their existence. On a side note, I think it would have been cool if Nintendo brought back this area in spirit in the Switch port by having a new map, that isn't exactly like this one in design, but served a similar function.
In the end though, Pikmin 3 is a fantastic game, and in my top 5 Wii U games. Although a 6th area would have been nice, the story was still a great time, with mission mode really filling in those gaps of classic Pikmin challenge.
I agree with all of this! Pikmin 3 didn’t need this map, but it could have been made even better with it. It’s so cool seeing what could have been and getting to explore this place finally after all these years
I loved the unused wollywog and sheargrubs for years and it's insane to know this is where they would've been. So insane you were able to recreate the map and the enemies, they look beutiful!
41:44 I just want to point out that each non-dlc mission mode map already aligns with an area in story mode. The tropical Forest and the Tropical Wilds because they are both well, tropical. They even share the same plants. Silver Lake and Distant Tundra. Thirsty Desert and The Formidable Oak are both deserts (You even said this earlier in the video) they both have cacti and look very different to Tropical Wilds. Twilight River and Twilight Hollow. And finally Shaded Garden and Garden of Hope both have garden in the name and have the same overall vibe. They also both have a whole lot of water. Sorry for the long comment. I love this video and this game, but the similarities between the mission mode stages and story mode stages have always interested me. This is the first time I ever really had the right topic to talk about this. Thanks for all your hard work!
The style to this map reminds me of how maps look like in pikmin 2 because of all the sharp edges
It’s amazing how many mysteries from Pikmin 3 are finally being solved. From this entire missing area, to the debated concept art and it’s connection to Pikmin 4. This is amazingly done, and really goes to show the dedication of the Pikmin community.
This would have been so cool to see in the final game and would have been better for the final game if they changed a few things. Though seriously thanks so much for yours and everyone else’s hard work in getting this out.
Thank you for watching! It’s the reason it’s here, able to be seen!
Woah, this video is absolutely amazing. There’s something so enchanting about re-discovering this old area and finding how it slots into Pikmin 3’s campaign. It’s like finding the last puzzle piece you lost under the couch almost 10 years ago
THIS. THIS IS EXACTLY HOW THIS FEELS.
Wow. Just....wow. I remember playing Pikmin 3 as my first Pikmin game when I was like a wee age of 9, completely unaware of this forgotten level. As someone who grew up on 3, I'm just sort of left wondering one thing; what purpose would the Forgotten March (I'm calling it that, fight me) serve in the main Pikmin 3 story if it were allowed to remain?
No idea, and perhaps the lack of purpose is why it was cut
You guys are insane. This is insane. I just finished Deluxe again after 10 years and figured to search for cut content. The game just seamed so short in comparison to Pikmin 4. I didn’t expect to find out about a whole new area. This is so cool.
Hey! Glad it could be of service to you~
videos like this feel like digital archeology, to me
Those sheargrubs sticking to the bulborb heavily resemble ticks which has unsettling implications and just freaks me out to no end.
And now look at Pikmin 4 with sherfleas...
This is one of thr best things ever revealed in Pikmin history. I have ALWAYS wondered why i felt shorthanded with my playthroughs of 3 newr the end and this map makes it all add up. And wow what a cool map it is, even if it was done with many liberties in mind of course. You and your team did such wonderful work on this and thank you. You've given the Pikmin community so so much with this
It is so sick seeing scrapped content restored to a magnitude like this, and learning about why some of the design decisions seem so odd in the main game. For me, the mireclops thematically is more reminiscent of a garden (with the land and mud) rather than a water-based area. But a bug-eye crawmad definitely doesn't fit..
On an unrelated note; I love the calcified wollywog. It adds charm and an added layer to an enemy that is lacking for me.
If you’re so sick of it you don’t have to watch. Lay off
@@zackschumann6847 "sick" in this context means "wicked-awesome". there was no animosity here.
The calcified wollywog really MOVES. Like, it LAUNCHES towards your pikmin and it doesn't hold back with the damage it inflicts. It seemed like it would have been a really brutal fight without rocks, and a ton of fun too.
I gotta say, this was one of the greatest videos I’ve seen on pikmin, and I’ve seen a good deal of what the fans have done. Such a massive masterpiece, you guys deserve a huge round of applause. I always enjoy longer videos like this, especially things that are about game development. I never gave the scraped pikmin 3 map much thought, I was to busy speculating about character D. I’m glad to have this brought to my attention.
I wish I could have seen it when it came out, however that was during my pikmin blackout internet blackout 😅.
I will no doubt be watching this video again, and again. You guys did a fantastic job 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
-Zoe
Thanks for watching it now! With everything going on right now, us Pikmin fans are eating so well!
Why does he whisper the end of every sentence?
Screw you now I have to Watch this one hour video and i cant un-hear it
❤Thank you to everyone for watching! I love this project and this team, was one of coolest things I've ever had a part in!
Thank you SO SO SO SO much for making this possible!
This team is the fricking coolest! Pikmin 3 and its E3 trailer got me into this wonderful franchise. The amount of research and skills you show to recreate it is amazing!
This really shows how long we have been waiting for pikmin 4. Also amazing work, i never would have been able to do anything like this
Maybe winged pikmin were originally optional and hidden? It would explain why they're so unique, in how their use overlaps with other pikmin, especially blues. It would make blues more useful, if you don't find them. But, being unique, and one of the two new types, the devs wanted them to be more central and well-used.
If this map was in the story right after rescuing Louie in Twilight River, then this map would've been a fun challenge considering he steals your food and there being a severe lack of fruit in this area. It's a shame that we just got garden of hope pt. 2 though.
This is utterly amazing. As a more casual Pikmin player, this just makes me more excited to cover Pikmin 4 to the end of its story, as well as the older 3 games!
This was an awesome video and I hope it gets a lot of views! Though I found myself being very distracted by the way you end almost every sentence by lowering your voice into a whisper.
On the topic of the mysterious Ogane enemy, Ogane, as in 大鐘(おおがね) means big or great Bell/Gong which combined with its "Bulbear den" location makes me think this, as you said, would be a "support" enemy, however i think it would have served as more of a loud noise that instantly aggros all the bulbears in the arena, something to "force" the fight should a tricky player find a sneaky path
Edit: thinking about it, having an enemy that draws in more enemies right next to distraction berries sounds like a "Nintendo" game design philosophy, i wonder if any further Ogane gens existed in prior builds and if they were also near these berries
I think there’s a really good chance that you’re so right about this. Our team overall agrees with your insights here
That crystal wollywog looks like he could be attacked by it exposed top, making it a challenging first fight for the blues.
Maybe too challenging? I just don’t know
A couple of speculations I had while watching this.
Due to how the weather changing seems to have been a little “environmental” feature in Pikmin 3, maybe there was a chance it would originally change how every environment was played. The snowstorms in the Tundra limited Captain/Pikmin visibility, and this forgotten area would be the pinnacle of that. The area would slowly begin to flood due to an endless storm, causing a time crunch as you rushed to try and get as much done with your landlocked Pikmin before the tide is too high for them.
Perhaps the “Test_Item_1” that’s found was originally meant to be an upgrade, akin to the Dodge Whistle or Metal Suit Z in the final Pikmin 3 game, it would explain why two existed after all, the boss of the area grants Louie (access to the final area of the game) while the other granted some kind of suit upgrade like Rush Boots or the Pluck-o-Phone.
Lastly, I believe that the Wollyhops would be mossy variants of the standard Wollyhop (the Albino variant, not the Yellow variant), where only a specific section of its body being vulnerable, showing off how to handle a creature with this attribute, example: the Emperor Bulblax. We know he was scrapped in Pikmin 3, and a marshy area would make sense for a moss covered creature like him to exist in an area like this, and making him as formidable as the other area bosses in Pikmin 3, but keeping his “simplicity” with how he works.
It would be interesting to know what this area was originally intended for in the long run, but we sadly may not know what the progression of Pikmin 3 was like back then, but I hope one day we’ll get another glimpse into what this could’ve been
Bro.. YOU GUYS ARE INSANE!!!
This is awesome! Your dedication is inspiring!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING
This guy speaking is like every final word is breathed rather than said.
Cant unhear it now.
To me it sounds like a wildlife documentary
@@Anyarthropod me nither 💀
I did notice it
Yeah he ends every sentence in a strange way
I believe the area with the crawmad could have actually been for the emperor bulblax. Its an unfinished boss or enemy that could have been used in later iterations of the map compared to what we see in the nodes map
It to me makes the most sense for his placement
In fact due to not being able to finish the emperor they may have scrapped the area as a whole
This… actually makes sense? I mean, it would explain all the bulbears right?
@@Youarewhatyoueatsonic yeah and it would explain the bulblax and where it would have been
that would also explain all the bomb rocks in the area. this area has so many bomb rocks compared to the rest of the game
Admittedly i always felt something was off about pikmin 3's main adventure
As stated it felt like once you unlocked blue pikmin you were sort of ushered towards saving olimar and finishing the story
I personally would always leave as much fruit on the ground as possible until i unlocked every pikmin type and then go on a grabbing spree
Rambling aside, its amazing to see the lost area being not only investigated but recovered also, and its another sign to show just how dedicated a fanbase can be
Agreed - it’s really amazing that there were enough dedicated people and leftover breadcrumbs to pull this project off
This level was really what Pikmin 3 needed. A way to flex the player's skills. The game felt like it was for toddlers without it.
What a way to leave Pikmin 3, with the discovery of a whole new part of it, almost forever lost if not for the dedication of fans in the team. Just days away from Pikmin 4 too (To inform the public about it that is). I already look forward for years down the line at what Pikmin 4 might be hiding as well.
This was maybe the perfect sendoff for the Pikmin 3 era, at least for me
Thanks so much for watching!
Just... wow.
Thank you so much for this insane pikmin discovery guys!!!
Spoiler for the video:
The Calcified Wollywogs were probably meant to take full damage from Pikmin that are thrown on it's back and reduced damage from ones that are charged into it unless the calcified part was broken by Rock Pikmin. This would fit well with the better introduction of weak points that they emphasized in Pikmin 3.
I always knew that something wasn’t right with P3’s progression. I’ve talked about it before on Pikcord, mainly that
- Garden of Hope has two bosses and is effectively two maps in one
- There is an unhighlighted area with a delta-like or archipelago look on the world map (between TW and DT)
- There is a missing area in the Mission Mode lookalike stages
- The stump puzzle and the bulborb corridor from beta footage are in that Mission Mode map
But I never ever thought that we’d recover this much. From just a few .gens and some trailer shots, you’ve put together a fully coherent story mode area. Amazing work!
Making areas just to be used for trailers seems like a Pikmin tradition.
Just yesterday Nintendo revealed that this also happened with the map shown off at Pikmin 1's debut presentation.
Jokes aside, amazing work! I always wondered too what this area was, and always suspected that it really wasn't the Twilight River, as the layouts were too different.
I mean you’re not at all wrong haha. It seems 4 may be the only game in the series that bucked this trend. But it’s crazy, because the time between Pikmin 3’s first trailer to release is not that much longer than 4’s
Huh
@@VantageEmblem
3 and 4's development cycles are so elusive in general.
The senior devs interview reveals so much insight into their minds and consideration of feedback from the audience (pretty hilarious when they categorized Pikmin players based on their enjoyment of either 1 or 2), yet there's still a mystique about this intermitent decade of work time.
Also, maybe I didn't express my excitement as much in my original comment, but I'm actually extremely grateful to all the people who contributed in this, that 2012 trailer got child me more hyped than anything before or after since. And now with 4 literally around the corner, it's safe to say that I feel a bit younger these days.
I imagine that Test_Item_1 being both a stand-in for the progression item as well as a suit upgrade is probably the most likely explanation, but I find myself wondering if it's possible that there was once a point in development where they had plans to make use of the castaway system that we wouldn't see fully implemented until 4.
I think you very well could be on to something here…
Love the enthusiasm in your voice, it really elevated the vid, amazing stuff
Thank you! 🎉
💀
This is huge. I know I'm late to the party but still, piecing together a whole damn level of pikmin 3 from a broken pathmap, some trailers and hopes and dreams is insane. Props to you guys, this was really cool to watch and an awesome piece of lost media restored.
It seems to me like the captain throwing puzzle would be a way to enter a loading zone on foot rather than on the lily pad, instead of a difficult to leave dead end. It might've been implemented by the time the level was ready to be shown off at e3 but not in the development data left in the game. The idea that this level was at one point not only massive, but had multiple areas as well, makes me wish we got it even more. Seems like a great ultimate test before the final boss area
Just seems like a weird decision to have the lily pad spit you out at an awkward area that requires all 3 captains to get out of
I've watched this at least three times now, and I've loved each viewing. Awesome video. You guys did an incredible job!
Thank you so much for watching this so much! It’s definitely the largest project on the channel (so far anyway) and I’m really proud of how it turned out! Again, thank you!
Amazing video! I’ve always been curious about the unreleased E3 level and it’s amazing to finally get that closure here!
If Pikmin 3 modding ever gets to the insane level as Pikmin 2's I really hope that one day this long lost area can finally be put into Pikmin 3's main story the way it was intended to be
Hace you considered releasing the map online? It would be cool for this lost level to be playable in some form.
Jeez if pikmin 4 has some scrapped maps (which come on there definitely is some, there’s gotta be a reason it took this long.) you and you’re team are going to have a field day.
This is insane! Incredible work and an incredible team! Well done :)
I really would of loved this map or another implementing white and purple onions. The shortness of the story and the lack of ability to use purple and white pikmin felt like its only two flaws. Other than that, it was a fantastic experience
I hate how this was cut out especially when Pikmin 3 is barebones as fuck when it comes to content.
You moderate this video like an action movie and I am all for it. Your music fits super well too!
I’m glad you enjoyed! I felt a dramatic tone was the only way to approach something that I found to be this important to the pikmin community
Maybe the other 'test_item_1' contained character D? It would be very late in the game to be obtaining him but it would work from a story perspective to be reunited with the whole Koppaite team just before facing the final boss.
It’s weird that in story mode no real Shearwigs or Water Blowhogs exist only the Gold Blob Counterfeit versions exist in the main story
Thank you all for restoring this and adding it back to the game. I think the loss of this area impacts Pikmin 3 negatively, altho I do dearly love the game. They definitely should've fought harder to keep it and give the blues a place to shine. I think you're right about Winged Pikmin having a much more limited scope on their flying.
The dedication that went in to this is insane. Respect to everyone involved in this project.
Imagine the boss of this area. Like, maybe at first the area is in a drought and you defeat the creature that blocked river flow to fill the rivers
This level is just so fascinating. The way we all saw that gorgeous trailer all those years ago and never knew that just offscreen were a treasure trove of half-finished enemies and mechanics that were completely missing from the final release. The way there are five onions instead of one and level designs that don't make sense with the current mechanics brings up the question of just how drastically the game changed in the last year or two before release. Hell, even how it uses giant bolts as placeholder treasures implies that at the time this level was first being worked on, they might not have even decided on the game's plot being about collecting fruit - is it possible that at one point in development, the story was going to be about gathering ship parts like Pikmin 1 again? This puts so many previously known-about bits of unused content into some kind of context, but also brings up lots of interesting new things for us to speculate over.
Right?! It’s so crazy how much there is we still don’t know and, frankly, won’t ever know
@@VantageEmblem I desperately hope we get another Gigaleak someday focused on stuff from the Wii/Wii U era, I'd love to see what the Wii version of P3 was like and how wildly different it likely was from the final game
This was fantastic. Unused content has always been very fascinating to me.
I would love to see more unused content in pikmin 3 explored
This was so amazing to see! Wonderful job everyone, this fixes a pikmin-3-shaped hole in my soul I needed filled for years
Man... This brings back unexpected memories. I was HUGE into Pikmin back in the early 2010s, and especially theorizing and investigation - I even still have an old 25 minute analysis and predictions video from before Pikmin 3 privated on my channel! Though most files had long been dumped and scoured in those days and I had no technical ability to speak of, I spent long hours digging into the games the old fashioned way, investigating more intangible elements like enemy behaviors and interactions between different elements of the game. I was big into writing for the Pikmin Wiki to share what I found, but would spend long days arguing with other users as well haha. Old-school forum elitism was alive and well in those days and there were big egos all around hahaha, myself included. It's wonderful to see a much more harmonious community these days. Who would've thought such a comparitively small series would still be creating so much interest this far down the road? But that's what's always been special about Pikmin, isn't it? :)
This video threw me right back to those days. I'm so glad the same love for Pikmin and the spirit theorycrafting and investigation is still alive and well with a new generation. It's so surreal seeing the kinda analysis i was into still going on, but with all-new content and names I've never seen before. I've been out of the loop so long I had no idea 3 Deluxe brought so much to the table! I'd always assumed the trailer area was an early version of Twilight River too, especially considering the reveal of the Winged Pikmin at the end.
Well, anyways... Thank you and your team for making such an incredible investigation and presentation! This brought me closure on Pikmin 3 as well. I didnt realize it had become widespread at this point, but I always felt the same way about how linear and... almost stunted Pikmin 3 was. What did exist was beautiful, but there was always that sense of.... something missing. The insight your team has brought into the earlier design for the game has brought perfect closure for me. It makes a lot more sense now that it was closer to Pikmin 1 and 2 in its earlier design, but ended up being greatly simplified and streamlined, as all Nintendo's games were becoming in that era. I'd even venture the idea the Miyamoto himself may be responsible for this - he was notorious for forcing development teams away from open and dynamic designs into linear, "one-note" design philosophies in the Wii U era especially. So much so that I think the executives had his authority scaled back after Star Fox Zero and Big Robot, leading to the new faces we see in the Switch era. Just a thought I'd throw out there, as Big Moto was very outspoken about his directorship of Pikmin 3. Anyways... being able to see firsthand how Pikmin 3's design differences were a gradual development has brought me closure on the title I never expected I would get. Hats off to all of you!!
Thank you again for your wonderful video on this. This reawakened my love for Pikmin and seeing new people that share same obsession I used to have really makes me feel... vindicated, in a way. Now I kinda wanna get reinvolved in the community... though I don't know what I could bring to the table. I kinda feel reinspired to finally make the video I always wanted to about a really unique discovery I made in Pikmin 1's interactions. Maybe I'll do that and share it with y'all :)
Thanks again, and well done!!! Cheers!
I'm so happy to have been able to provide a visceral reaction within you so much that you feel vindicated, heh
I'd absolutely LOVE to see that video made, if you want to do it! I love hearing from the old guard of fans, you guys were who I looked up to back in the day when Pikmin content was first emerging
Aw thanks! It's a great feeling to be part a community that spans generations.
Alright then, I'm determined! Time to break out the emulators and editing software! >:)
@@hocotatiankirbyddd Please feel free to share it in my discord if you do, and ping me! I wanna see what you come up with
@VantageEmblem Thanks, will do! Won't be anything big, but I'll drop a link when I've got it together
How amazing, unconvering secrets about pikmin both in and out of the game.
Insane dedication. Great work here :)
He keeps whispering for random letters lol
going as far to make the level is downright goddamn dedication
That ogane model was amazing, though.
You can thank 3D-Böy for that hahaha
7:12 "...Until now. The year is 2020"
Oh god, still?
Bwahahahaha
I saw mention that Oatchi was gonna originally be a bulborb... I wonder if the pikmin riding him was inspired by the armoured bulborb idea
This was insanely fun and interesting to watch. It gave me a huge sense of nostalgia most likely due to it being directly tied to that initial Pikmin 3 trailer that I was so hyped for and watched a million times over all those years ago. Extremely well put together video keep up the awesome work
Thank you! It’s crazy how cyclical this all was, like the era of Pikmin 3 ended just as it began
Awesome work Vantage. This is an incredibly well done video. Kudos to you for putting time into this absolutely stellar piece of content.
This was really interesting, and I’m definitely gonna consider some of the level design tips and insights from this video when I think about designing my own pikmin-inspired game someday! Great work, team!
lost media + awesome fan projects + pikmin?? this is the best!! great work, everyone involved!
It's so cool to me that in 2023 we're still finding new things from Pikmin 3
Now that the Pikmin community has found nearly every substantial beta element in Pikmin 3, it is time to perhaps move on to a potentially much more ambitious task: analyzing and finding cut content from Pikmin 4. With Pikmin 4 on the horizon now, and with an alleged 8-year minimum development, and the longest development gap between mainline entries, I have a hunch that the beta of Pikmin 4 is perhaps hiding more than even Pikmin 3, but what do I know... Only time will tell...
You realise they werent likely to have been developing it for 8 years, and its more like it was put on hold or restarted during development, right?
Its not zelda or mario, its pikmin. Bet they took 2-3 years tops
@@MysteriousStranger50 Miyamoto stated in 2015 that Pikmin 4 was almost finished. The Pikmin community was all over that during the years of silence, patiently awaiting the day that Pikmin 4 would arrive. Why would the Pikmin man himself say that if there wasn't any work on it? I am sure there is something to say about Pikmin 4's beta here.