Pikmin 4: How to Play as Olimar

Olimar is the main protagonist of the Pikmin series, but he's notably absent from the fourth game in it. His presence is still felt, but rather than being in control of our favourite round-nosed captain, instead we're in search of him at the beginning of the game alongside the other castaways who have found themselves on a strange planet that definitely isn't earth.

As you've probably guessed from the title, this will include major story spoilers for Pikmin 4, so if you're wanting to go into the game completely fresh, we suggest you click away now. Otherwise, here's how you can get to play as Olimar and unlock his gameplay segments in Pikmin 4.

Technically, for the first five minutes of gameplay or so, you'll get to play as Olimar, as he is in search of parts for his ship. Sadly, following this very short segment, you'll be separated from him as you take on the role of your own, custom character, and won't be able to think about playing as him again until you've completed the main mission to track him down. You do this through playing the game, essentially, collecting enough sparklium until you've unlocked the Hero's Hideaway area.

Once there, you'll see a safe atop a shelf if you set off in a northeasterly direction from your base. The safe requires a combination, one that you should pick up as you've progressed through the game. For us, it was 851, but this will change from game to game, so it's something that each player is going to have to figure out on their own. Trial and error can work wonders, and it doesn't seem that there's any limit on how many attempts you can have, as opening this safe is key to continuing the story.

With the safe open, you'll be greeted by a Leafling, one of the castaways that has caught a disease giving them leaves all over their faces and wiping most of their memories away. There, the Leafling challenges you to a Dandori Battle, claiming they are the Captain Olimar. By this point, you should be used to facing this red, big-nosed Leafling, as he's appeared in multiple areas, challenging you to see who can grab the most loot within the given time limit. You've probably also already guessed that this Leafling is Olimar, so it wasn't that much of a shock to hear him declare it. Head down into the tunnel after the Leafling and the green rescue pup that's been following him around, and you'll face your toughest Dandori challenge yet. Luckily, in this mission you get to use a Secret Bomb, which can give you a great advantage so long as you get to it before your opponent does. Whichever way you choose to beat the Leafling, once it's done he'll pass out in sheer awe of your Dandori prowess, just like the other Leaflings in the game. From there, you've just got to grab him and put him on the S.S. Beagle. Oh, also be sure to have some of the Leafling cure on you, whether you get it from a Night Expedition beforehand, or do so after you've spent the day exploring Hero's Hideaway.

After Olimar is saved and comes to his senses, you'll have finished the "main" story of Pikmin 4, and will be treated to the ending cutscene alongside the credits. However, before you can finish your expedition for good, you need to return to the alien world to finish one final part of your mission, which we won't spoil here. Once you've returned after the credits to the base camp, Olimar will ask you to speak with him.
There, he will talk about his time before being a Leafling, asking if you want to hear his Shipwreck Tales. If you agree, you'll then swap to playing as Olimar in the new game mode Olimar's Shipwreck Tales. This is the only segment where you fully play as the Pikmin protagonist, and will be treated to some more traditional mechanics. You're starting from just one onion and a capacity of 20 Pikmin, for example. Also, you have a hard time limit of 15 days to gather as many ship parts as you can.

So, there you have it. It's pretty straightforward to get to playing as Olimar, as you really just have to keep playing the main story and then make sure you speak to him before going off and continuing with your missions after the credits. You can jump in and out of the Shipwreck Tales at any time, so whenever you're after a bit of Pikmin nostalgia, you can control old Captain Olimar once more.