Can You Beat Pikmin 3 Without Swapping Captains?

I try and beat Pikmin 3 without swapping captains. Something that seems impossible but I'm sure it isn't right?
Just so everyone is aware I did not find these tricks myself. All credit goes to the tireless work of the glitch hunters of the Pikmin Speed Running Community, most notably Drought Ender who found most of the tricks in this run.

[@pressaTD]

Hey guys, I want to start crediting the people who actually find these insane tricks better on this channel. It’s something I haven’t been great at doing but I want to rectify that, starting with this video. All of these tricks were found by the pikmin speed running community, for this run specifically Drought Ender found most of them. So please thank Drought Ender for his hard work because it keeps these olds games alive.

[@agrithdragonflame3775]

Fun fact: While referring to the playable characters as 'captains' is very common, most of the playable characters in the Pikmin series aren't actually captains. Of the seven playable characters (nine if you include Oatchi and Moss) across the series, only Olimar and Charlie are referred to as captains, with Charlie even noting that Olimar is the captain of a ship as opposed to himself being the captain of an expedition.

[@smilesnack9482]

Isn’t shepherd also a captain too? Maybe not the ship but she is captain of the rescue corps.

[@agrithdragonflame3775]

@@smilesnack9482 Correct. She is (and is thus the third, and so far final, captain in the series). However, barring the non-canon Dandori Battle mode, she is non-playable and never leads any Pikmin, due to being afraid of them.

[@purpleshards4853]

This just shows the pikmin 3 is better than 1 and 2

[@cross977]

​@@purpleshards4853thine end... is now *purple pikmin spam*

[@losisansgaming2628]

​@@purpleshards4853that is flawed reasoning. Pikmin 3 isn't inherently better than pikmin 1 and 2. They all have their qualities. Your probably only saying this because 3 is your favorite

[@mrhalfsaid1389]

Ah yes, can you beat pickled men the third as the five yr old who couldn't figure out switching captains

[@Shuck34]

That 5 yr old was me :(

[@lasercraft32]

Couldn't figure out how to switch captains, but figures out how to clip out of bounds and skip story segments instead. XD

[@Ferniiq]

​@@lasercraft32 Average 5 year old shenanigans

[@ThePileatedSnagret.]

These guys fr have become my favorite pikmin youtubers the moment i saw their first video😭

[@Sinosauropteryxfan]

Same 😂

[@BaronSterling]

You should check out Heff if you like Pikmin youtubers, especially if you're interested in Pikmin rom hacks.

[@ThereturnofAnderson]

These are Real pikmin youtubers Unlike Arlo who has for some reason been unanimously decided as being "the pikmin guy"

[@lasercraft32]

I don't think we as the audience truly appreciate how much time and effort goes into these videos. Sure, this video wasn't as hard as some of their other challenges, but it still likely took many hours to complete. Then they had to go through all that footage and condense it down into 24 minutes (and for their other challenges its likely even worse) and summarize everything that happened in the entire playthrough to wrap it up in a neat easily digestible video. It doesn't sound like much, but it adds up to a lot of time! Thanks Press A! for giving us some of the best Pikmin videos on the platform! :3

[@pressaTD]

Aw thank you, it is an insane amount of work but it’s worth it

[@TheRubySpider]

20:11 RIP that one Rock Pikmin. He died as he lived, being stoopid as hell.

[@DoctorTex]

I guess you could say he was dumb as a rock. I think thats a Wallywog above my hea-

[@Ep1cBramb10]

The thing is, getting over to alf's side and back is all that was needed, he could've just built both sides with brittany.

[@poseidon5479]

I thought the same thing

[@princeofhyrule2205]

Brittany can get over to alph’s side, but maybe it is not possible to do the reverse (which would be required to get all of the bridge pieces on Brittany’s original side)?

[@thoopsy]

Yeah i was thinking about how all you really need is every type of Pikmin to build the bridge. Which he got by going over to Alph's side as Brittany, and then also coming back to her side. I guess he did it so he could just skip the bolder, but that's not how I would've played it.

[@oscaranderson5719]

he mentions doing some unnecessary skips later so either there’s some variable here preventing the bridge’s completion or PressA has speedrunner brain and forgot 😂

[@BlueBoi_ThisTaken]

Instantly Clicked when I saw "Press A!" And "Pikmin". You dont know how much scurrying on the channel I was looking for more Pikmin stuff lol. Much love for the channel

[@da_pikmin_coder8367]

You can even go the extra mile and collect all 66 fruits without swapping. Most of them are just collected normally, but a few that seem very tricky if you don't know how. I was the first person to ever do a "Swapless - All Fruits" speedrun of Pikmin 3.

[@delphy2478]

don't apologize for showing us cool tricks, thats one of my favorite parts of these

[@aperson1373]

Nice video! In case anyone’s curious, many of these tricks were a pretty big community effort when the speedrun community was first looking into Swapless. APerTAS found what we call “backdoor Phosbat”, the out of bounds movement to get from the semi-OoB ledge to the Phosbat cave, originally using the old dodge whistle setup by the Whiptongue Bulborb and a different clip past the invisible wall. That trick’s used in the any% speedrun as well nowadays, but it was originally developed specifically for swapless. The dodge whistle tricks used here were developed by Dodiou before Drought Ender found we could actually just use the snitchbug to get on the ledge. Drought Ender also found the swarming Sheargrub trick in Tropical Wilds.

[@GlutzahnLP]

why does it feel kinda symbolic that you leave behind the LEMON XD

[@FoxBoi69]

20:11 rip random rock pikmin who fell down next to the bridge

[@FireSonic225]

This has gotta be the only challenge run I've seen of Pikmin 3 that makes the Scornet Maestro an actual boss fight and not a joke

[@SkyEcho751]

Of course you have PTSD from Backwards Paper Mario. However, it's a good idea to run a more mild challenge to cleanse your palate, that way a more challenging run doesn't break you.

[@eddiedormer9045]

WOOOOO ! More Pikmin!

[@ThundagaT2]

I dont get why if you were able to reach alphs side in Distant Tundra, why not just build the bridge from his side, then get back to Brittany's side and build that side, boom now dont have to do any more out of bounds stuff in that area, and can use yellow pikmin all you want for the boss

[@CherryBombDevil]

We love seeing all the glitches and tricks. Never stop showing us.❤

[@FriendlyArin]

Peak Thumbnail btw

[@blockhead1195]

in the distant tundra, you probably could have done the joustmite trick to get Brittney to the other side to get some rock pikmin, throw them over, and then do go back and do her side normally and do alph's side the following day to gain access to the yellow pikmin and skip the phosbat chipping calamity. and in the tropical wilds, you absolutely didn't have to do that dodge whisle tomfoolery. you could've thrown some pikmin over, and then literally just walk the long way around the map. the only thing in the way is some water the pikmin can't cross.

[@cat_ninjah2719]

small fun thing you can do if you wanna do this challenge with the youtubers ruleset. If you throw the non swappable captain to a place you need to be you can purposely Ko the captain you are controlling to swap to the other captain as the game swaps the captain for you. then you are now where you need to be!

[@packaday266]

This would make an AWESOME speedrun category. Reminds me of minimum captures in SMO

[@serpentine8229]

It’s a good time when Press A uploads

[@ShadwSonic]

You made the "dual bridge" section way more complicated than it needed to be I think. Rather than go out of bounds several times, you could've just dedicated that day to building Brittney's side of the bridge. Then, since the game would put you in control of Alph on the next day, you'd build his side then and complete the structure, AND have easy access to the Yellow Pikmin to boot! Assuming, of course, that bridge construction can be done that way. You might still need to use the beetle to get Brittney over early if Yellows are required on Alph's side, and if non-Yellows are needed on Brittney's? Then I guess it isn't actually possible.

[@Slicerness]

Once again Pikmin is a very balanced game with no bugs or exploits at all, lmao. Seriously these videos are so nice to watch.

[@Yukki361]

Hey, i love that youve started doing pikmin 3 and 4 challenges, keep going guys (ill admit, at first i thought there was only one person in the Channel)

[@celiafraze123]

I love with each challenge you guys break pikmin more and more

[@PESHajnal30]

Love these Pikmin challenges!

[@losisansgaming2628]

This is the first pikmin vid i have voluntarily clicked on in around 5 months, i had my reasons to step away from the series. But im finally ready to return

[@a.s.5956]

Amazing video!!

[@kcin3356]

Me when press a Pikmin video

[@austinclements8010]

Charlie for president

[@emeraldgale8097]

16:45 "If we then whistle the pikmin we threw on top of the rock, earlier, & keep whistling them, they will eventually make it to the lily pad," they say, as a solid chunk of the pikmin Die.

[@chrisschoenthaler5184]

I’m a little disappointed that he didn’t respond to Lemon’s call-out at the start of his last Pikmin 3 video. That rivalry was the best part of all this!

[@pressaTD]

It’s coming friend!

[@RadTroppy]

At the end, he says that the bare minimum to beat the game is 10 swaps, but some of the tricks performed to skip a swap are easy enough to reliably keep the intended number at 8 or 9.

[@SalmonsAnimations]

Its time to pick some men

[@Winter.hooves]

When i was younger all i played was pikmin 3 and i kept trying to get a fast time (best was 13 days) and these skips will help a lot

[@Winter.hooves]

oops replied to you lol

[@SalmonsAnimations]

Lol

[@spamton_g_spamtom474]

PICK MEN 4

[@TCGPokemondude]

Oh captain, my captain

[@Skipatronic]

The Chrono Trigger music makes me really want to replay Chrono Trigger

[@3DSCarnaje]

So, I don't know the map or the game well enough to say this with any certainty, but couldn't he have just built the bridge on Brittany's side then done the glitch to get to Alph's side and build that bridge?

[@lukeblack8146]

alternate method to get through the formidable oak, throw a captain and kill the active captain. The game will automatically switch the captain

[@alpha_rexX]

Hey there, funny thing, in the distant Tundra, where you throw the pikmin across, walk to the right, and you can literally just walk around

[@Outside_the_box_nightmares]

20:10 rip rock Pikmin

[@ruudvandenhove6905]

this run went very smooth, too smooth......

[@YoshiFawful64]

For the record, I'm pretty sure throwing captains across the unbuilt bridge isn't actually the intended way to do Tropical Wilds part 2, it's just such an easy and obvious sequence break that it's easy to mistake for intentional (I know I did). I think what they want you to do is go back through Alph's tutorial area and take the narrow path with the Metal Suit Z that requires two captain throws (thus necessitating Charlie) to get to the other side of the river, _then_ build the bridge from there.

[@CON_TODO_MEDIA]

you are the Pikmin King!!! I want to know the names of your soundtracks. would be aswesome if you talked about or shared the names of these tracks! I know they are mostly from other nintendo games.

[@Lord_Hengar]

I may have missed something but couldn't you have built Brittney's side of the bridge on the first day in the tundra and then the next day (when the game gives you control of Alph) build his side?

[@KinopiFox]

This was a challenge I was considering doing for my channel but you beat me to it. You guys are one of my inspirations for starting KZbin so I can't be too upset. Oh well, at least I get a good video to watch later. Love your videos! Edit: PRESS A! HEARTED MY COMMENT AND I EDITED IT BECUASE OF A TYPO AND NOW ITS GONE! MY LIFE IS OVER!

[@theopoldthegamer4284]

This is just an idea, but could you build Brittany's bridge on the first day in the tundra, then build Alph's part on the second?

[@somethingnothing9050]

15:00 funny enough, this Sheargrub on the stump does not exist in the deluxe version, only on the WiiU. So good luck to those who tries this challenge on the Switch! 😅

[@fangoram29]

Poor Charlie getting demoted to co captain by the channel

[@Steamuch]

LockpickingLawyer from the world of Pikmin

[@avestrustheone6349]

Ah yes, my pikmin comfort food content

[@Dankboi68]

Can you beat Pikmin 1 without swapping captains? Fiddlebert is PRETTY important so i wonder if its even possible

[@Greengamer649]

I beat pikmin 1 without swapping captains

[@weirdtyrant6274]

16:44 99 Pikmin on the field 16:45 91 Pkimin on the field Don't think you can bury those 8 noble soldiers without anyone noticing.

[@Ep1cBramb10]

The intended method requires 11 captain swaps, throwing across the bridge isn't intended to be doable.

[@mlpfanboy1701]

Beat sure, 100% without glitches is another story entirely.

[@demopan1067]

I LOVE pikmin 3 the short length might seem like a downside to some, but it allows insane dandori when you memoriae the loadouts

[@davidthecommenter]

since i haven't seen anything about it, how many captain swaps does it take to beat/complete pikmin 2? (outside of the most likely mandatory Day 1 Louie tutorial)

[@konnerpietschmann3587]

In pikmin 1 there’s 1 captain in pikmin 2 there’s 2 captains in pikmin 3 there’s 3 captains in pikmin 4… we’re back to 1 captain

[@juandita2.0]

Dayum, they changed a lot from wii u to switch, it took me half a day to beat the yellow pikmin boss with rock pikmin in switch version

[@Ep1cBramb10]

The first time I played pikmin 3 I didn't even use the giant light.

[@MasterofInterspace]

I never knew that the pillar even had a puzzle about it. I just shot pink pikmin at it. Because... Why would you do anything else?

[@UlliNice]

Nice.

[@WigwamVR]

how did i only just find you!

[@GangrenousMaximus]

I think in most instances of a swap being needed you can just kill your captain

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

...seems Pikmin 3 barely made good use of the triplicate captains...

[@xaviersoto3884]

for 11:24 couldn't you have just backtracked all the way to the cave from britany's area, literally then just building the bridge since the boss's cave is on britany's side of the map without ever swapping to britany?

[@Fritz828]

Respect

[@shoopdahoop678]

If you can access both sides of the river without swapping captains, is there any reason why you couldnt just build the bridge instead of trying to beat the Phosbat with rocks?

[@MerryMelodyCH]

now beat Pikmin 1 with only 1 captain!

[@WigwamMan]

How did i only just find you, part 2

[@Theonebeliever]

RIP 20:13. F that one rock pikmin in particular i guess D:

[@greenguy4529]

Can u do a pikmin 4 oachy less run

[@weckar]

So with the ability to take Brittany across the river in the Tundra, why didn't you just build the bridge? Genuinely curious not trolling.

[@fanofindiegamesunpopulargames]

4:19 I thought this was patched!! Drought when was this found??

[@rainydays7498]

Yes.

[@cool3996]

I wonder if all fruits is possible without swapping.

[@pedrovictorsilvaladeira7877]

now I wonder if it's possible to beat pikmin 2 with only one captain (of corse, after the frist day)

[@drmedicechsrick8702]

could you not just let your captains die so the game auto switches? i mean its not you who switched

[@flame5674354]

Ok, but how many fruits can you get like this??

[@thegamer192gamingchannelpa9]

I don’t understand the second half of the Frozen Tundra.

[@ThisSideUp11]

Fourth is something, eh? 😜

[@charliesgamingplace2371]

alph gaming

[@velvetbutterfly]

Can you beat Pikmin without any restrictions but doing as many cool tricks as possible?

[@potatoe972]

15:03 Oh so that’s why you did it on Wii U 19:00 Also pretty sure that’s a her

[@champagnesupernova1839]

tl;dr: dodge whistle broken

[@Glitchmouse2]

Do that with pikmin 2

[@White.Pikmin.]

Pikmin😊

[@crabbuckets7506]

You and Ty sound waaaay to similar 😂

[@monopolyrubix1875]

Algorithm comment

[@gboogie3257]

Alph is the best out of the 3

[@pointlessmrman6223]

Good video, but I truly think something is lost when I can’t feel Charlie’s big, burly hands around my er… spacesuit.

[@hottestpotato1]

The game is basically possible without a swap *looking at those auto game swaps 😒*

[@-BenGaming-]

Bro lost Pikmin to the maw dad 💀

[@user-uj9cx9dv7h]

Pikmin 3 is broken like the map

[@user-uj9cx9dv7h]

And wing pikmin

[@Ep1cBramb10]

12:50 that isn't the intended method, but OK

[@felixmckinney7132]

Shame the game defaults you as the worst Captain.

[@zorraclette]

842vues in 30 min u fall of press a😔

[@TheUninvitedIdiot]

Maybe I'm stupid but I bet you could have some yellow pikmin be rooted by the snagbettle the previous day and then get them the next day so you don't have to grind with the phosbat?