It appears that Olimar in Brawl is pretty much the same as Olimar in the Pikmin games: helpless without his loyal, plant-based cohorts. It also transpires that he's going to be the fighter of choice for those who like to think a bit more strategically.
Case in point: as in Pikmin 2, Olimar will be able to pluck five different types of Pikmin from the ground, all of which are imbued with different qualities. Red Pikmin have high attack powers, and are fire-resistant. Yellow Pikmin have a longer attack range, electrical attacks, and travel in an arc when thrown (perhaps useful for taller targets?). Blue Pikmin are generally more durable, while the heavyset Purple Pikmin have strong, body-slamming attacks, but are slow, and don't fly very far when thrown. Finally, the creepy White Pikmin can poison enemies. All of which is admirably faithful to the wonderful Pikmin games.
You can have up to six Pikmin following you about when they're not being tossed onto enemies, and laying into them with their tiny plant fists. Whichever Pikmin is at the front of the line is the one you'll use next (so here, you'll attack with a Red Pikmin), and you can recall the lot of them by pressing down on the d-pad. Of course, the Pikmin serve other uses beside attacking, and it's at this point that we must reserve a special mention for the excellent Pikmin Chain, a potentially life-saving maneuver, as well as simply being an amusing sight.
As unconventional as he sounds, does anybody here think they may warm to the idea of using Olimar?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-11-2008 @ 4:07PM
Mikey331 said...
I'm actually really excited for olimar and am going to use him alot!
It'l be fun with all the pikmin throwing action.
BTW, are all these characters announced going to be in the game from the start, or will you have to unlock all the newcomers?
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1-11-2008 @ 4:09PM
DonWii said...
Already, Snake and Sonic were confirmed to be hidden characters, in the Cocoroco(?) magazine that revealed Zelda's moves.
1-11-2008 @ 4:17PM
Mr Khan said...
Look at their dojo posts
If it says "Challenger Approaching" above their name, then they're a "secret" character
1-11-2008 @ 5:23PM
Jay said...
@Mr Khan
Actually if it says that it means they're a newcomer who hadn't been previously announced (like Pit, Wario, MetaKnight, and Snake didn't have them because they were already announced in the trailer)
1-11-2008 @ 4:08PM
DonWii said...
I'll give everyone a go, but I think I'll stick with King Dedede.
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1-11-2008 @ 4:19PM
Mr Khan said...
A completely unconventional character? I'm not sure. I'll have to try him myself, as i'll try all the new characters, and re-try the old ones to see how they've all adapted
It will be a process of weeks
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1-11-2008 @ 4:30PM
Mikey331 said...
Aww man, I really wanted these characters from the start
It kind of ruins it if he's announcing "secret" characters
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1-11-2008 @ 4:47PM
Joop said...
Between Olimar, Pokemon Trainer, Samus changing forms after doing her super smash, and things like Wario's fart that builds in power the longer you wait to use it...I am really liking the unconventional approach Brawl is taking. Melee was amazing and all, but there were far too many similar characters.
This damn game cannot come out soon enough.
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1-11-2008 @ 4:53PM
James said...
This makes me twice as pissed as I was this morning about missing the Walmart.com Brawl deal by like 5 minutes.
I'm still going to get the game on launch, and I'm still really, really stoked about Olimar, but I'm going to spend more than I should like to.
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1-11-2008 @ 5:17PM
PaperMario480 said...
Mr Khan: Not true. If you look at the new characters that weren't in the trailer, you can see that EVERY new character has that. Where did you get that info?
Olimar is actually my favorite character so far.
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1-11-2008 @ 5:33PM
Shadow31 said...
I was already excited for Olimar from the start. Definitely can't wait to try him. Doesn't sound like a good pick-up-and-play character, but if you practice a bit with him...
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1-11-2008 @ 5:38PM
Secre said...
I'm thinking that if I got used to Olimar, I could surprise my friends a few times. So, I plan on making him one of my "Practice until it kills me" characters.
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1-11-2008 @ 5:58PM
worm said...
Sakurai already said that he's not going to bother so much with "secret" characters because if you play someone online who has a character you haven't unlocked yet, it'll be spoiled for you. And by the way Mr Khan, "Challenger Approaching" just means that the character is new to the series, not necessarily that they're a "secret" character.
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1-11-2008 @ 6:24PM
Mr Khan said...
Correction noted
1-11-2008 @ 6:45PM
hvnlysoldr said...
What in the world will Kirby use Pikmin for? Will it help his smash attacks... Or can Kirby also steal Final Smash?
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1-12-2008 @ 12:18AM
Shadow31 said...
That's a very good point... hmm...
1-11-2008 @ 7:46PM
spare-jello said...
I can definatly see Olimar being one of the Ice-climber type characters- Unconventional, yet when you know how to use him you can destroy evreryone. I can tell you for a fact that he'll be my starting character.
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1-11-2008 @ 9:07PM
Tamakun said...
Oh yeah. I used to use Mr. Game & Watch mainly because he was so unconventional; since I haven't seen my G&W (yet) and I loved the Pikmin series, Olimar will be my first choice! :D
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1-11-2008 @ 9:17PM
SoshiKitai said...
I am definitely looking forward to Captain Olimar. I'm a heavy fan of Pikmin (also a sad fan of Pikmin... I always feel awful just losing ONE of those little guys), and a lover of unconventional characters.
It seems this one is the single most unconventional of them all.
I'm a heavy fan of tactics, and I can see how annoying using Olimar could be...
...being surrounded by little guys hitting you in the eye could be infuriating...
Sounds fun :)
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1-11-2008 @ 9:22PM
(01) said...
Definitely not a pick-up-and-play character, but that's all the more incentive to figure out his moves. Can't wait 'til this drops....and the announcement for Pikmin 3.
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1-11-2008 @ 10:23PM
Zr said...
I really don't know who my favorite brawler is anymore. I'm leaning towards Olimar now, and straying away from my love of Pokemon Trainer....
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1-12-2008 @ 9:37AM
Tom said...
I played Pikmin and thought it was pretty cool, but Captain Olimar looks pretty freakin awesome in Brawl! Honestly, once you get used to him, he'll be deadly!! But I don't know how far I could stray from Link, Fox, or Capt. Falcon.
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1-12-2008 @ 10:22AM
Stewart said...
I was really hoping olimar would be in this one, and I don't know if I'll be that great with him, but for me, he will be one of the characters who I use to cream my friends that aren't that good, like Jigglypuff.
BTW Chris, calling back your pikmin is called olimar's Down Special Move, meaning it would be down+B, not down on the d-pad.
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1-12-2008 @ 2:38PM
Paul said...
I'm actually quite curious about him, I think I'll want to learn the best combinations for his attacks and all, but I fear that, as with the last game, my favourite character is going to be the bad ass woman of gaming: Samus Aran.
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1-14-2008 @ 4:32PM
Patrick said...
I really hope that Olimar's Pikmin will help protect him a little bit as well. Perhaps a pikmin sacrifices itself when you get attacked but that takes 5% off the attack? Some sort of defensive move that's inherent in the fact that he's surrounded by Pikmin.
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