Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Guide: 10 Beginner Tips for Dandori Academy and Beyond
By AS Gaming EditorialNovember 15, 20267 min readNintendo Switch
Illustration: AS Gaming
Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Guide: Start Here
Pikmin 4 arrived on Nintendo Switch 2 on November 12, 2026, and the new edition is more than a visual touch-up. The Switch 2 Edition adds improved visuals, voice commands for Oatchi, a Rewind Time feature, and Dandori Academy, a series of scored exam stages that will eventually total 72. The full edition costs $69.99, and owners of the original Switch game can buy the upgrade pack for $9.99. This Pikmin 4 Switch 2 guide covers the ten tips that matter most in your first days, whether you are new to the series or returning for the Academy.
The core loop has not changed: grow Pikmin, explore, rescue the stranded crew, collect treasure for Sparklium, and get everyone home before nightfall. What the Switch 2 Edition changes is how much help you get doing it, and how much there is to master once the basics click.
1. Finish the Tutorial, Then Build a Base Supply
The opening tutorial teaches the essentials: how Pikmin grow from pellets and defeated wildlife, how to pluck them, and how to direct a group through an area. Do not rush past it. Once it is done, grow a dependable supply of Pikmin before you take on anything serious. You need enough to replace losses and to split into more than one work group. Going into a major fight with only your first few recruits is how squads get wiped.
2. Match the Pikmin to the Job
Every Pikmin type exists for a reason, and bringing the wrong type is the most common beginner mistake. Red Pikmin resist fire. Yellow Pikmin resist electricity. Blue Pikmin can work in water. Ice Pikmin freeze enemies and water. Rock Pikmin smash crystals and shrug off being stepped on. Winged Pikmin fly over obstacles. Glow Pikmin only come out at night. Before you enter a new area, look at the hazards: fire, water, electricity, poison, darkness, crystals, flying enemies. The visible hazard tells you which types to bring, so survey the route first and build your squad around it.
3. Use Oatchi Like a Second Captain
Oatchi, your dependable space dog, is the most useful tool in the game. He can carry Pikmin, smash obstacles, follow a scent to your next objective, and handle jobs on his own while you work elsewhere. His carrying strength is 5, which means he can haul a Path Creator on his own while your Pikmin handle the smaller loads. In the Switch 2 Edition you can also give him voice commands through the system microphone, which is genuinely useful when your hands are full. Use Oatchi where he saves a real trip, not as a passenger.
4. Keep a Team Working While You Prepare the Next Job
Dandori, the art of planning things out in advance and working efficiently, is the whole game. The habit to build is simple: never let Pikmin stand idle. Leave one team carrying treasure or breaking down a wall while you scout the next objective with Oatchi. When a task ends, check for idle workers immediately and reassign them. The players who finish days with full ships are the ones who keep every group busy, not the ones who rush.
5. Read the Exam Objective Before Moving
Dandori Academy is the Switch 2 Edition's big addition, and its exams reward planning over speed. Each exam has a specific objective, and the first thing to do is read it. Some exams reward collecting the most treasure, others reward finishing with time to spare, and your score is based on the value of what you collect plus a bonus for unused time. A route that works for one exam will waste time on another. Start by understanding what the exam rewards, then build your first route around that.
6. Practise Before You Take the Exam
Academy exams run on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and they are scored. Practice is not. You can repeat a practice stage as much as you want, with no internet connection needed once the stage is downloaded, and there are three difficulty levels to learn on. Use practice to test routes, decide which tasks Oatchi should handle, and find where time is being lost. Then take the exam when you have a plan, not before. New stages arrive six per month until the planned total of 72 is reached, so there is always something new to learn.
7. Clear Enemies Before Ordering a Carry
Pikmin carrying treasure are defenseless, and the game will punish you for sending them through an uncleared area. Clear the enemies on a route first, then send the carriers. Keep a route back to your ship open, and do not open an unexplored branch far from safety in the last part of the day. If something goes sideways, the new Rewind Time feature lets you try a different approach instead of losing the day.
8. Use Your Ship's Landing Spots
There are multiple landing spots for your personal ship, the S.S. Beagle, in each area. Once you find one, you can land there freely, which cuts down the long walks back and forth. This matters more than it sounds: every minute spent walking is a minute your Pikmin are not working, and in Dandori Academy the clock is the score. Land close to the work.
9. Respect the Night
Every in-game day ends at nightfall, and Pikmin left alone in the field at night are easy prey. Keep them safe by returning them to your ship before it gets dark. If you cannot make it back in time, whistle the Pikmin in the field to your side: if they are with you, they are protected. Glow Pikmin are the exception, since they only appear at night, but the day crew needs to be home. Plan your last job of the day around the return trip, not around squeezing in one more treasure.
10. Replay With One Improvement in Mind
The Academy is built on repetition, and the way to get better is to change one thing at a time. Pick a single habit to practise: keeping a group busy, shortening a delivery route, or recovering idle Pikmin faster. Replay the stage with only that improvement in mind, then check the score. The habit worth keeping is a calm cycle of observing, assigning and revising, and the medals follow from that, not from rushing.
