History YMMV / Pikmin4

* AccidentalInnuendo: One skill lets Oatchi and Moss transport objects by holding them in their mouths. Not bad on its own, but the name of the skill combined with the phrasing Olimar uses when he introduces it to you can raise some eyebrows.

* CaptainObviousReveal: People speculated that the Dandori Battle leafling would be Olimar, due to looking like Olimar, only with his face covered in leaves, particularly with his large nose visible. If that wasn't enough of a clue, the green dog that accompanies him looks like Moss... [[spoiler:because it ''is'' Moss.]]

* AccidentalAesop: No matter how well you get along, taking wild animals home with you can end up hurting them a lot, especially if your home is in a very different environment than their usual habitats. [[spoiler:While Olimar doesn't attempt to adopt Moss, she sneaks onto the ship when he attempts to leave, and begins suffering when they take off, forcing Olimar to turn back and ultimately crash. Several castaways and Olimar himself are also on the receiving end of this, considering what happens when the Pikmin try to [[EnergencyTransformation 'adopt']] them...]]

* AccidentalAesop: No matter how well you get along, taking wild animals home with you can end up hurting them a lot, especially if your home is in a very different environment than their usual habitats. [[spoiler:While Olimar doesn't attempt to adopt Moss, she sneaks onto the ship when he attempts to leave, and begins suffering when they take off, forcing Olimar to turn back and ultimately crash. The captains are also on the receiving end of this, considering what happens when the Pikmin try to 'adopt' them...]]

* BestBossEver:

* TheyChangedItSoItSucks:

* CheeseStrategy: As seen [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6GJx0wqZio&pp=ygUXZ2ltbWljayBnYW1iaXQgcGlrbWluIDQ%3D here]], Gimmick Gambit can be completed in ten seconds by exploiting flaws in the level's design.
** The Baldy Long Legs can move into a puddle of Water, which allows you to freeze the puddle with Ice Pikmin, ''freezing the boss infinitely until you remove them'' and allowing you to kill it at your leisure. [[spoiler: The rematch in Cavern For a King is even worse, as both areas it can move to have Water in them, meaning you don't even have to wait for the boss to move into it.]]

* AccidentalAesop: No matter how well you get along, taking wild animals home with you can end up hurting them a lot, especially if your home is in a very different environment than their usual habitats. [[spoiler:While Olimar doesn't attempt to adopt Moss, she sneaks onto the ship when he attempts to leave, and begins suffering when they take off, forcing Olimar to turn back and ultimately crash. By the end of the game, everyone agrees that the planet is where she belongs.]]

* AccidentalAesop: Don't take wild animals home with you, especially if your home is in a very different environment than their usual habitats.

** The [[spoiler:Ancient Sirehound]], the game's FinalBoss, is an intense, five phase long gauntlet testing pretty much everything the player has learned while also being a fun CallBack to the Titan Dweevil from ''2'' by using almost all of the hazardous elements the game had to throw at you and being controlled by [[spoiler:Louie]] and being a MirrorBoss between [[spoiler:two captains and their mounts]] in a bid for survival.

* ReplacementScrappy: The three Koppaites in this game, Yorke, Nelle and Don Bergman, were seen by many as being vastly inferior to Alph, Brittany and Charlie, due to how all three are nowhere near as fleshed out or endearing as the ''Pikmin 3'' captains and don't add much to the game or lore of the series outside of introducing one of Alph's previously mentioned family members. Upon their reveal, many were left wondering why Alph, Brittany and Charlie didn't return.

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: When it comes to Oatchi's skill tree, expect veterans of the game to go for upgrading Buff/Super Buff above almost anything else. Having one unit with the ability to carry up to 100 Pikmin's worth of objects is highly useful for multitasking in low day or general speedruns, as it allows for collecting any out-of-the-way heavy treasures while still keeping a large squad of Pikmin at hand, and it greatly helps in completing some Dandori Challenges. After maxing it out, it is possible to [[spoiler:learn the Swallow skill from Olimar]] for free, which enhances his carrying abilities even further. Most notably, a fully upgraded Super Buff+Swallow makes the final Sage Leaf challenge ''significantly'' easier as it frees up ten Purple Pikmin for the player, [[spoiler:taking the edge off of unlocking the useful Purple Onion]].

* GoddamnedBats: Mitites are a huge annoyance if you don't have any [[ShockwaveStomp Purple Pikmin]]. Their appearance will cause Pikmin and Oatchi to panic, and if you were riding on Oatchi at the time, you'll get thrown off and stunned for a while. Panicking can cause the Pikmin to lose their flowers, and they can panic again even if you just whistled at them. Trying to hit the Mitites is difficult because all the nectar they drop can mess with the auto-targeting.

** The cave system in this game has a number of quality-of-life upgrades introduced to it that help make them more enjoyable and less stressful compared to ''Videogame/Pikmin2''. In particular, floors are no longer randomly generated, the player can select what Pikmin to take with them at the mouth of the cave instead of prepping in advance (with auto-suggestions to help streamline the process), and the player can exit them at any time and reenter at any specific sublevel, rather than traverse through the whole cave again to get to where the player was last.

** The changes to the caves are seen as hit-or-miss. Those who loved ''Pikmin 2's'' caves felt that ''4's'' were too short and easy,[[note]]the average sublevel count for ''Pikmin 2's'' caves is 5-7, with some even going above 10, while this game's caves average around 2-4 sublevels each. Granted, the game's final cave, "Cavern for a King", has 20 sublevels (5 more than the previous recordholder, ''Pikmin 2's'' Hole of Heroes), but most never go above 4 or 5[[/note]], even going into the endgame[[note]]for reference, in ''Pikmin 2'', the endgame caves are 10, 15, and 14 sublevels respectively. Outside of Cavern for a King, the other two final area caves only have 3 and 5 sublevels, the former of which has a ''miniboss'' as the cave's main boss, something '''Pikmin 2'' only did in its earliest caves[[/note]]. The random generation of cave floors was swapped out for fixed layouts, which hinders replayability for some, and the drastically reduced enemy and sublevel counts is seen as destroying the satisfaction of fighting one's way to the bottom and besting the boss.

* TheWoobie: Poor Moss. When Olimar finds her in the opening [[spoiler:and in his Shipwreck Tale]], she is sad, tired and alone. She quickly bonds with Olimar and helps him survive on the planet, [[spoiler:and desperately tries to tag along with him when he leaves the atmosphere. She inadvertently causes him to crash land back down, ''killing him'', and then is forced to revive him as a Leafling so he can survive the planet. Then Olimar is rescued and she teams up with Louie just for a chance at survival, only for him too to abandon her. Thankfully, the true ending shows that she and the Ancient Sirehound will team up to protect the Pikmin species, ensuring their mutual survival on PNF-404]].

** With the "only 3 types at a time" rule in effect, expect experienced players to select [[GameBreaker Ice Pikmin and Purple Pikmin]] as 2 of the 3 in just about any situation. Ice Pikmin's ability to freeze water (for easier traversal) and enemies (to stun them long enough for a quick kill), combined with Purple's strength of 10 Pikmin, increased attack power, and ability to damage groups with their shockwave mean they're both generally great at exploring, treasure collecting and combat by themselves, usually leaving the last slot to [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman whatever Pikmin are needed to clear specific obstacles the former 2 types cannot.]]

** Water-filled areas will often house Blinnows, small fish that will leap up at your Pikmin to eat them, and are difficult to land Pikmin on due to generally being below the surface of the water, meaning any blue Pikmin you throw at them might not float down fast enough to land on them or might even get caught themselves. Their leaping height also means you cannot use Winged Pikmin to bypass defeating them, as they can grab one out of the air.

** The Pebble Pitcher basically turns ''Pikmin 4'' into a ThirdPersonShooter, allowing your 2nd player to stone a good chunk of the game's enemies to death without any risk whatsoever to your Pikmin, as well as destroy certain obstacles that would normally require a certain Pikmin type to clear (such as poison pipes). In addition, they get a constant supply of helpful items that normally cost materials and can only be crafted in between days. In addition, the Pebble Pitcher can be used with the Survey Drone to shoot down enemies that aren't even near your captain.

** The Baldy Long Legs will move into a puddle of Water, which allows you to freeze the puddle with Ice Pikmin, ''freezing the boss infinitely until you remove them'' and allowing you to kill it at your leisure. [[spoiler: The rematch in Cavern For a King is even worse, as both areas it can move to have Water in them, meaning you don't even have to wait for the boss to move into it.]]

** With the "only 3 types at a time" rule in effect, expect experienced players to select [[GameBreaker Ice Pikmin and Purple Pikmin]] as 2 of the 3 in just about any situation. Ice Pikmin's ability to freeze water (for easier traversal) and enemies (to stun them long enough for a quick kill), combined with Purple's strength of 10 Pikmin, increased attack strength, and ability to damage groups with their shockwave mean they're both generally great at exploring, treasure collecting and combat by themselves, usually leaving the last slot to [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman whatever Pikmin are needed to clear specific obstacles the former 2 types cannot.]]

** With the "only 3 types at a time" rule in effect, expect experienced players to select [[GameBreaker Ice Pikmin and Purple Pikmin]] as 2 of the 3 in just about any situation. Ice Pikmin's ability to freeze water (for easier traversal) and enemies (to stun them long enough for a quick kill), combined with Purple's strength of 10 Pikmin and ability to damage groups with their shockwave mean they're both generally great at exploring, treasure collecting and combat by themselves, usually leaving the last slot to [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman whatever Pikmin are needed to clear specific obstacles the former 2 types cannot.]]

%% Do not add Base Breaking Character, Broken Base, Contested Sequel, Sequelitis, The Scrappy, or Overshadowed By Controversy examples until six months after the work's release