S.S. Drake
- "Drake" redirects here. For Alph's grandfather, seeMinor characters#Drake.
The S.S. Drake (宇宙船ドレイク号?;SS Drake in the European Wii Uversion), simply referred to by the Koppaites as theDrake (ドレイク号?), is the main ship inPikmin 3. It was designed by and named afterAlph's grandfather.[1] Much like the other ships in thePikmin series, it serves as theleaders' base, where the time in betweendays is spent. It also stores all the gathered objects found by the leaders, and transport the leaders from place to place.Charlie is its captain and Alph is its engineer.
Appearance[edit]
The S.S. Drake is not designed like a traditional rocket along the lines of theS.S. Dolphin or theHocotate ship, instead more closely resembling alander vehicle, particularly with its communication antenna which sits on top of the vehicle, plus its much rounder and stouter body providing a living space on foreign bodies. It also appears to be far more advanced than either of them, as the vehicle contains a small satellite that is used for surveying purposes, and instead of sitting on fins on the ground, the vehicle features four extending landing struts on which it sits on the ground, plus a set of other minor details. Several pieces of text in theinterstellar alphabet are written on the outside of the Drake.
The color of the antenna changes appearance throughout the game. At the start of the game, it is blue. After collecting theData Glutton, expanding the ship's range, the antenna becomes green. After collecting theFolded Data Glutton, expanding the ship's range again, the antenna becomes orange.
Background[edit]
Soon after the discovery ofPNF-404, the Drake was designed and built by Alph's grandfather (also named Drake) exclusively for the heroes' mission. It then picks upAlph,Brittany, and CaptainCharlie before initiating a warp-drive sequence to PNF-404. As they arrive at the planet, something goes wrong as the Drake attempts to enter the atmosphere, and it ejects the three occupants onto the surface below, each landing on different locations on the planet. During the crash, the Drake loses an important mechanism, thecosmic drive key.
Charlie awakes in a snowy world, where he discovers Yellow Pikmin. However, his side of the story is cut short as he is soon abducted by theVehemoth Phosbat.
After landing in a pool of water, Alph regains consciousness to see a damaged Drake overhead, struggling to land safely. The sight startles him enough to wake him up fully, and he begins exploration of the surrounding area alone. Eventually, he comes across theRed Pikmin and theirOnion, and using their help, is able to recover hisKopPad and locate the Drake, which was able to land safely.
Cosmic-drive key[edit]
Thecosmic-drive key (written ascosmic drive key in the European Wii U version) is one of the most valuable parts of the Drake. It is necessary in order to achieve warp-speed, a maneuver needed to go fromKoppai toPNF-404 and vice-versa.
Warning: the following text contains majorspoilers about the ending ofPikmin 3.. |
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When the S.S. Drake crash-lands on the planet, the cosmic-drive key is lost, a fact that becomes clear after Alph finds the ship. During the time it takes the Koppai explorers to travel around,Captain Olimar finds and keeps the key, hoping it is some sort oftreasure. Throughout the game's story, both the Koppaites and Olimar mention the key, either by dialog ordata files, respectively. After Olimar is captured by thePlasm Wraith and some time after, released from it by the Koppaites, he joins the explorers and hands them the key he found, enabling the group to leave PNF-404 and return to their own planets. |
Assemble All[edit]
Assemble All is a mechanic introduced inPikmin 3 Deluxe. Approaching the S.S. Drake and pressing
will sound a largewhistle and call all strayPikmin back to the landing site. Any Pikmin that were performing a task will drop it, and all Pikmin run back at the same speed, which is slightly faster than that of a leader. This feature becomes available when the first sunset of Story Mode happens.
If Assemble All is used while a newly discoveredOnion is still separate from the Master Onion, the Pikmin type belonging to that Onion will assemble there instead of the main landing site.
TheHomesick Signal gear item inPikmin 4 has a similar function to the Assemble All mechanic.
Quotes[edit]
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In theSuper Smash Bros. series[edit]
The Drake appears in the background of theSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U andSuper Smash Bros. UltimatePikmin-themed stageGarden of Hope. It doesn't have any other function on the stage other than decoration. It is in the spot where aWaddlepus and aBurgeoning Spiderwort are inPikmin 3. The S.S. Drake also appears as a trophy inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.
 |  US description:“While its name might remind you of the famous explorer Sir Francis Drake, this ship is actually named after Alph's grandfather. After the S.S. Drake crash-lands, Alph finds his way back to it and soon gets it working. However, the crew must locate the cosmic-drive key before the vessel can return to Koppai.
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 EU description:“The name may remind you of the navigator Sir Francis Drake, one of the first men to circumnavigate the globe, but this ship is actually named after Alph's grandfather. It initially crash-lands, but Alph finds his way back to it and gets it up and running. But it can't fly back to Koppai until he and his companions find the cosmic drive key...
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| How to obtain: Random appearance. | Type: Stage | Trophy Box: 62. Space Explorer | |
Naming[edit]
The vessel is named "Drake" afterAlph's grandfather, who was also namedDrake. This name seems to have been picked by the developers for a few reasons.
"Drake" is a word for a male duck, similar to how other ships in the series are named after various animals, with theSPEROs from the same game being named after sparrows, another type of bird. Additionally, the trophy for the S.S. Drake inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U hints that the name "Drake" could also be a reference to the famous navigatorSir Francis Drake.[2]
At one pointduring production, there were four mainleaders, and their names had not yet been decided. They were given the placeholder names "A", "B", "C" and "D". Because the other leaders were given names that start with the same letter as the placeholder names, it is possible that "Drake" was the name that would be picked for the final leader.
Although the navy prefix "S.S" normally means "screw-steamer", a steam-powered ship with a propeller, it can be assumed that this fictional navy prefix means something like "star ship" or "space ship."
Names in other languages[edit]
S.S. Drake
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Japanese | 宇宙船ドレイク号? Uchūsen doreiku-gō | Space ship Drake | |
 Chinese(traditional) | 宇宙船德雷克號 | Space ship Drake | |
 Chinese(simplified) | 宇宙船德雷克号 | Space ship Drake | |
 French | Drake | - | |
 German | Drake | - | |
 Italian | Drake | - | |
 Korean | 우주선 드레이크호 Ujuseon Deuleikeuho | Space ship Drake | |
 Spanish | Drake | - | |
 Russian | Корабль Drake Korabl' Drake | Drake Ship | Name taken from Nintendo's official website |
Cosmic-drive key
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ワープドライブ・キー? Wāpudoraibu kī | Warp Drive Key |
| Chinese (traditional) | 傳送驅動鑰匙 | Transfer drive key |
| Chinese (simplified) | 传送驱动钥匙 | Transfer drive key |
| French | Clé supraluminique | Faster-than-light key |
| German | Überlicht-Schlüssel | Overlight-Key |
| Italian | Chiave di attivazione | Activation key |
| Korean | 워프 드라이브 키 Wipi deulaibeu ki | Warp Drive Key |
| Spanish | Llave turbolumínica | Turbo light key |
Assemble All
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| German | Alle rufen | Call everyone |
 Spanish (NoA) | Reagrupar | Regroup |
Gallery[edit]
The Drake analyzing fruit.
The S.S. Drake analyzing aBurgeoning Spiderwort berry.
The Drake in a landing site, along with theOnion.
A damaged Drake flying past Alph as he awakens.
Alph looks at the S.S. Drake.
Thearea selection menu inPikmin 3.
The S.S. Drake flying low through theDistant Tundra.
The S.S. Drake's blue antenna.
The S.S. Drake's green antenna.
The S.S. Drake's orange antenna.
The S.S. Drake in outer space.
The interior of the S.S. Drake.
Trivia[edit]
- In the opening cutscene ofPikmin 3, the sound made by the S.S. Drake while moving through space is the same as Mario and Luigi's walking sound effect from the arcade gameMario Bros., and when something sends it hurtling to PNF-404, it makes the sound of the dog's laugh in the NES gameDuck Hunt.
- In the French localisation ofPikmin 3 the Drake speaks in randomised capitals and makes peeps and cranking noises.
- The S.S. Drake's 3D model has more polygons than the entirety of thePerplexing Pool.[3]
References[edit]
- ^Pikmin 3 for Wii U - The Story on Nintendo.com
- ^“While its name might remind you of the famous explorer Sir Francis Drake, this ship is actually named after Alph's grandfather. After the S.S. Drake crash-lands, Alph finds his way back to it and soon gets it working. However, the crew must locate the cosmic-drive key before the vessel can return to Koppai.
Appears in: :
Pikmin 3 (08/2013)” – Trophy description inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U - ^YouTube video aboutPikmin 3 model trivia, published on February 28th, 2017, retrieved on April 21st, 2022