Hey! Pikmin is bringing Shigeru Miyamoto’s GameCube-era creation to the Nintendo 3DS, and we now know the studio behind it: Arzest.

ARZEST IS HEY! PIKMIN’S DEVELOPER

While the puzzle-platformer was without a proper name for most of its known existence, it was given its title as of the latest Nintendo Direct. Knowledge of Arzest’s involvement came from the game’s Australian classification page.

Pikmin only spans three unique games, but all three are of high quality. Arzest, however, isn’t a studio known for producing high caliber software. Their most prolific game is Yoshi’s New Island for the Nintendo 3DS, although they also contributed to the 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Personally, I’m cautiously optimistic for Hey! Pikmin. I’m doubtful it’ll compare to its older brothers, but it seems like it could be a solid translation of the series’ distinct micromanaging and strategy elements.

Moreover, I’m excited for Pikmin 4. When speaking with Eurogamer in 2015, Miyamoto first acknowledged Pikmin 4 and how it was “very close to completion.” Furthermore, he added how the “Pikmin teams are always working on the next one.”

Arzest isn’t an internal Nintendo studio, even if it can now be labeled a “Pikmin team.” When compounded with how Hey! Pikmin appears to be a spin-off, I expect it’s a separate project from Pikmin 4.

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