#i have. so many thoughts on octo expansion.

[cartayama]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPLATOON 3!!

i love the splatoon series with all my heart. ive been playing the series since day one, back when i was nine hears old. this series is almost half my age! i don't know how i first heard about splatoon, but when i did i'd look for every crumb of info and gameplay i could find on it. i'd watch gamexplain videos talking about the campaign, i'd find footage of splatoon booths set up at places like e3, i was absolutely ravenous, for anything splatoon. i even got the inkling boy and girl amiibo when they came out! this series is very likely my number one favorite franchise of all time, and i don't know if that'll ever change. when i heard about the global testfire i was ecstatic, and had a blast! same thing with splatoon 2, i partook in the global testfire/splatfest, my parents got me the game on day one, and i put maybe 100 hours or more into it, it would've been more if not for nintendo implementing paid online around that time, too!

i remember imprinting on agent three, seeing myself in them. i remember callie and marie, the squid sisters! i remember that crazy coot captain cuttlefish telling this young 'un about the octarians, and being so entrances by the vibe of octo valley from the first moment i stepped foot in there. i remember the art style being so *perfect* across the entire game. i remember when nintendo announced acto expansion in the same nintendo direct as smash ultimate i think, and my splatoon mania being instilled once again. i remember playing one of my favorite chunks of game in my life with octo expansion. i remember completing every level cause i loved it so much. i remember seeing *my old self*. seeing three. again. after what was 3 and a half years or so by then. i remember the insanity that was the final segment of octo expansion, fighting myself and the splattack (octo) theme. i remember fly octo fly, a song that makes me tear up without fail even today. i remember tartar. i remember inner agent three and their crushing moveset. i was a few weeks late to splatoon 3, which makes me kind of sad, but this game has forgiven me. it's made me realize how important splatoon is to me as a person, and ive given back to it by dumping more hours into it than i have the last three installments in the splatoon series combined, and im here to stay! i LOVE you splatoon, and i LOVE you splatoon 3!

[eirikaily]

🐙🔫🦑

[rinja-espurr]

i have so many sanitization headcanons in my mind right now

[happy-little-worker]

Ain’t nobody gonna see this but I have theory of the Calamari Inkantation. Splatoon 3 Spoilers.

Okay so I was listening to Wave Goodbye, the Splatoon 3 Credits Song, over and over like a normal person, when at some point I realized when they get to the portion that starts the Calamari Inkantation lyrics, there are non-filtered voices singing. Humans Voices. (Pictured is around the point where that section starts)

Then I thought to myself: What if the Calamari Inkantation originated as a song humans made on Alterna? A song to help them continue despite their world falling around them. Then I started looking into the logs and reflecting on past events with the song and..

Let’s just say Sunken Scroll #23 from Splatoon 1 saying: “Nowadays, this song and dance may as well be carved into the very DNA of all Inklings.” ..might be a tiny bit more literal than expected. Let’s take a look at what we know.

The Calamari Inkantation is a literal incantation. Series of words, or a song in this case, that causes magical effects. It has, in many cases, been known to give strength, physical or otherwise, to those who have been in audible range of it. Ex. Giving Cuttlefish the strength to break out of his restraints and Smallfry to temporarily evolve(?) into Hugefry.

With that said, I believe the “Calamari” part could be from the place it was “founded” in and taken on as a traditional song for. Calamari Country. Which is where Callie and Marie come from. Perhaps the Inklings of the area long ago found the sheet music.

Moving on, the part of this that helps this theory’s case is Alterna Log005: Fresh Intelligence Awakens.

After the liquid crystals that retained decades of humanity’s wishes was absorbed by the squids, octopuses, and other sea creatures that inhabited Alterna’s waters.. it imbued them with fresh impulses that “bore a striking resembling to humanity’s passive desire to return to the Earth’s surface”.

Interesting. The desire to return to the surface was slowly fused into their DNA. You may be thinking “But what does this have to do with the Inkantation?” And that’s exactly where I’m going with this.

So if we are to think.. the Calamari Inkantation was made by the humans on Alterna, perhaps filled lyrically with their wishes.. and the sea creatures absorbed the desire and wishes of humanity to return to the surface through the liquid crystals.. and the Calamari Inkantation gives sea creatures the literal strength to move forward..

And the INKADIA-BORN OCTOLINGS, who were SUFFERING in poor conditions UNDERGROUND in DOMES heard the CALAMARI INKANTATION and suddenly their “SOULS WERE FREED” and THE DESIRE TO RETURN TO THE SURFACE AND THRIVE WAS EVOKED INTO THEM AGAIN?

AFTER YEARS OF LIVING A HARD MILITARISTIC-STYLE LIFE WITH BEING INDUCTED INTO THE ARMY AT A YOUNG AGE, THEY FOUND THE STRENGTH TO LEAVE THEIR ENTIRE OLD LIFE BEHIND? TO RISK IT ALL. EVEN THEIR OWN LIFE. TO JOIN WHAT THEY WERE PRESUMED TO BE THEIR WORST ENEMIES ON THE SURFACE IN HARMONY?

After thinking about all this and rewatching the Octo Expansion Surface Cutscene (from that last GIF), I nearly wanted to CRY. They had never seen the real sky before, the real SUN before. They made it. Not only the Octolings but humanity’s final wishes made it too.

That’s my theory. Perhaps I’m wrong but either way I would love to see what people think. Thanks for reading.

Oh and also, since it named the “Inkantation” that means someone knew of its power... This just in, did the Inklings cheat in the Great Turf War?

But that’s for another day lol

[rassicas]

I have looked everywhere for a clean explanation on what exactly a LIMITER is, all i know so far is its illegal to participate in turf wars without one and they regulate an inkfish's Special Ability.

...Yet what does it look like, when is it added to ones body and why is there so little known about it?

Ive looked up Inkipedia (best boi for info besides you X)) and theirs not much on it.

Like Captian 3 has their Limiter removed a.e frommthe boss fight in OE and i think that weird specail she was capable of in S3 only cause HER limiter was still gone. So does it like not only keep control of what special one can use and actually perform like an inputted template?

And without it and enough practice an Octoling or Inkling can somehow create their own Special? Could that have used in the Great Turf War?

Is that one reason why Limiters are put into us?

I am hooing yah might have a better insight into these...

>why is there so little known about it? Was literally only mentioned one time in canon. this is too many questions in one ask that nobody has answers to (i do NOT wanna get into talking about things like special weapons themselves and special cans, too huge of a topic) so ill just talk about limiters. Based on what other official info we have about specials i have thought about it and I think i have a decent idea of what it could be for. I've been hoping to talk about it in a video properly one of these days. Specials are canonically tied to strong emotion, and are powered by ink from inkfish in heightened emotional states. This is evidenced from the finale of Octo Expansion, a page in the s1 artbook, and a couple other places.

Something like emotions is really variable from person to person, and if emotions can literally effect your ink output, then that doesn't seem... fair? I think the limiter is a part of the ink tank has the function through— whatever kind of advanced technology they have— to regulate their special output so its not purely emotion based but rather tied to a more concrete value of ink output (though i imagine there is some gameification happening here). I also imagine ink tanks regulate clothing abilities too. special charge up would lighten up the limiter. anyways, Another important thing to note is that using a special also results in the output of a LOT of ink.

If someone is able to constantly be in that special charge state, using specials, and producing that much ink, I can easily imagine it being a strain on their body after some time. In short, I think the limiter is a part of the ink tank that helps keep turf wars fair, and has a second purpose of keeping the player from overexerting themselves.

[lisa-russell]

Off the Hook means something to me.

I was first introduced to Splatoon via a single piece of fanart. It was Octo Expansion, I grew intrigued and looked further on. And was introduced to the world of Splatoon.

I slowly read through all the lovingly written fan stories I came across on the Inkernet. Read the fancomics and lil blurbs people had on their belowved OC and Versions of the N.S.S.

Than I heard the music.

What wonderous and uinque sound the world of Splatoon has. Spawning epic remixes and Original Spatbands/Idol groups, based from these songs and tunes. Splatify and Youtube, led me to finding more than over 400 of these melodies.

I was than was gifted a switch, and a copy of Splatoon 2. I played it and finally understood why so many infish fell in love with this world, why it was such a hit over in japan...i could only watch others play, now I had the key to this world in my hands.

I loved the lore and sometimes silly, sometimes serious and sometimes sad aspects of each games main herostory/DLC. Those where a perfect way of getting to know the world and its Idols, and what profound power music has on its inhabitants.

Or how the Precursors (Humans) still left their mark on the world, in far more startling revelations as we found out from Splatoon 3, from a beloved immortal pyschic cat, to the tragic bonesyards of millions of lost lives and the Precursor Technology left behind by said humans.

I found myself smiling at the antics and downright funny moments of the games.

Than Octo Expansion came out and changed everything.

Giving release, freedom and light to many tragedies. The dark theme and horrifying discoveries found in the metro was a spin far from the colourful streets of Inkoplis or Octarian Territory.

OfftheHook became a bigger role in the game, I legit tried not to cry when the credits rolled...

Well you all know what came after that a few months later. The finalfest came and that victory decided the fate of Splatoons future to a greater degree than Splatoon 1 in certain aspects.

I waited, enjoyed the Splatoon Community until Splatoon 3 was announced and everying lost there clamming heads lol. I saved up from my Birthdays and bought S3.

It had its ups and downs but i cant lie, I am having a lot fun. I was freaking excited when Side Order came out. Bringing with it some much needed answers and closers to Octo Expansion and whatnot. The fact Offthehook was back was just inkcredible. I have a hate/love relationship with Salmonrun/Bigrun.

And now where just being bombarded with new content out of nowhere! And i thought we inkfish went crazy when splatoon 3 came out. Its shucking everywhere now lmao!

Between the recent Nintendo Summer2024 Magizine INTERVIEW, SummerNights Fest...and the sudden Starchfest(lol) the 8.1.0 update and than... a surpise drop Japan did at 12-am, 1 am in the morning. Next day, its spread EVERYWHERE.

Cue the international freakout wave. 😂🤣😂I'll admit i was surfing that wave too. 😅

When I saw the video, a squealed and was also a little sad knowing the end is coming soonish. I saw offthehook and was like thats my team,100%.

I am TEAM PRESENT!

[demilypyro]

Octo Expansion rearranged my brain. I bought Splatoon 2 second hand in March of 2018 mostly just to have more things to play on my Switch, and because my friend Inkie liked it. Multiplayer games were never my forte, but dressing up my squid girl was okay. I played the single player, thought it was alright, didn't touch the game much after that.

But Octo Expansion.

Ogh.

The vibes, the music, the aesthetic, the lore. Everything about it, so compelling. So many mysteries that they're still revealing lore now, in Side Order, 5 years later. So many levels. Actual tough challenges. A true final boss that took me several days to beat.

I would barely have called myself a fan of the series before Octo Expansion. Afterwards, I was obsessed. I still am. I never switched off my Octoling avatar.

Octo Expansion....

[reserved-system]

Renchanting Splatoon AU

Artist is not immune to Treebark/Renchanting propaganda

More Splatoon AU! This time with these two bastards. You know the drill! Rambles + bonus context under cut

Ren and Martyn go way back, like Octolings being trapped underground far back in Splatoon 2 before Octo expansion.

Originally, they were both soldiers deployed to Octo Canyon, that's how they met! Ren's the older and taller of the two, also tallest from his section. A lot of their scars come from their time serving, from falling debris or what have you. Ren has the most character building so lets hop into that.

During his time serving, Ren was stationed on a stage where Agent 4 (or the protag from Splatoon2) had to use a charger to get around the stage and splat enemies. They wouldn't know the effects of this until they were freed and released to the surface.

After they were released to the surface, they all took off their Octoshades for the final time. While the other Octolings were amazed by the bright, warm sunlight, Ren could hardly see a thing, the bright light over powering his vision. After taking so many brightly colored charger shots to the face, his eyes had developed a light sensitivity forcing him to wear sunglasses wherever he went. His eyes were blue, but because of the yellow charger shots over time his eyes shifted from light blue to a lemon-lime-y yellow. Idk how to describe it.

Martyn and Ren were already close from serving together, so when Ren had trouble seeing, Martyn would grab his hand and lead him places, even sharing a flat together.

I see them as queer platonic partners. Ren is Aroace while Martyn is unlabeled, not really caring enough to put a label on whatever he has going on but he does experience some romantic attraction but that's not the driving force behind them

Martyn keeps spare sunglasses for Ren on hand, just in case :] and sometimes Martyn will also wears sunglasses so Ren doesn't feel awkward for wearing them in stores or inside buildings, etc.

Unfortunately due to his condition, Ren isn't able to participate during Splatfests so instead they have their own party for the weekend and anyone who isn't going to be participating in the fest are always welcome to join them.

I don't know if you've noticed but Ren has a HARD resting bitch face (rbf) because of his sunglasses. You'd sit across from him on the tran and he'd looks so displeased to be there until you actually talk to him and he's so bright and bubbly to talk to. Martyn has a more expressive face but I'd say his default expression is focused.

RIGHT. I ALMOST FORGOT.

Ren is a Splatana Wiper main and Martyn is a Gold Dynamo Roller main. I have more thoughts and headcanons about them but I think I'll save it for another post.

Hey! Thanks for reading about my silly lil AU, it means the world <3

[abibeur]

So. I played Side Order (or rather I finished Side Order, aside from a few completion marks that doesn't offer any spoiler stuff!).

I've been seeing stuff on Tumblr, on Discord servers, on YouTube comments by people who were… Not entirely happy with it. Or rather disappointed. "They could have done more…", "This character was underused…", "I preferred the Octo Expansion…", "Let's re-write it for something better…". And let me tell you, I was (and still am) infuriated when reading these. Not because those comments and posts and messages were unfair, unjust and idiotic or anything (well maybe the re-writing thing was uncalled for), but because I actually loved that DLC. I think that's pretty normal to be angry with seeing a thing you love being shit on, even if I get what all of you meant. But I still wanted to share my own thoughts (because why not, I like saying what I think).

First and foremost, let me just say that I have a pretty different relation with Splatoon than most people. I was in since the release of the first game. I didn't play it due to a lack of Wii U, but I watched a lot of videos. And I liked it! I even had Splatoon OCs, I could be considered a fandom veteran at this point! But after some years, I put it at the back of my head as something I loved. When the Switch came out, I didn't have the money for it and no one would buy me one, so I continued to be a PC gamer. And when I saw the news of a Splatoon 2, I dismissed it like it was something silly, "what can you say more about Splatoon!?" I knew there was some new idols, some stuff about a DLC, Callie being kidnapped, but that's all. I dismissed all of this, and as a result I don't have much of an attachment for it. But in 2021, when I saw the news about a third game, I was ecstatic again. And in 2022, when I finally could afford it, I bought a Switch. Not just any Switch, the Splatoon themed one, and I pre-ordered the game. And when it came out, I spent less than a day to finish the story mode, and it was one of the best day of my life, I played Splatoon for 16 entire hours. Splatoon 3 is now my most played game on the Switch, more than 300 hours (that can seem not that much for some of you, but I'm a casual gamer, I don't play every day, so that's still a lot!). I even bought Splatoon 2 and the Octo Expansion after that. Splatoon 2 story mode was incredible, because that's the game I never got to play but more mastered. Octo Expansion was incredible, because it was… incredible. But I still liked Splatoon 3 story mode better. Is it because I've played it before? Because I hadn't the one year of unskippable Off the Hook news to make me like them before the DLC (to be fair I didn't know much of Deep Cut too!)? Because it clicked more on me? Honestly I don't care. It's not important, because it's still my preferences. But let met tell you, when the news of Splatoon 3 DLC dropped, I was roaring. Every crumbs of news and trailers widened my life expectancy. I was finally sharing the hype that you felt for Octo Expansion. And…

Two days ago, I played it. And I loved it. Why? Why did I love it where so many people seem disappointed? This will not be an analysis, I'm not good at those, just… Here's how I see things. Also there will be huge spoilers so if you haven't censored the tags for whatever reason, I will hide it beneath a read more because I'm nice.

First, the gameplay. When I heard it was going to be a roguelite, I was intrigued, because it seemed interesting. I was wondering how it was going to play out, more like The Binding of Isaac, or like Hades… Okay I only played those two. And it was like Hades. But I think the best thing to come out of this gameplay is… Well, the fact is every mission from all other story modes (including octo expansion) are pretty much the same in that they have an intended way to be beaten. Sure, for OE and S3 you have a choice of weapons, and there's probably unorthodox ways to finish them (including speedruns), but it's still organised around a specific way to deal with the levels. You go at one point and there you're done. And that's why I will never re-play the story modes I already finished. I know the ropes, so… Why? But here… The gameplay itself doesn't change much. It's an amalgamation of most Splatoon gameplay since now, Salmon Run, Ranked Match, Octo Expansion levels… But the way you APPROACH this gameplay is different and that's why every thing changes. Because you are now free to choose. You don't want a stage? Choose another one, the cost of a good chip and membux not being that punishing, you want a specific type of chip? Go for it! There is so much fun combos to do, I have fun at every run! They told us it was going to be replayable. And they haven't failed to give. Because when I want to replay a game, then I know it's good. Aside of multiplayer games and games made to be replayable (TBOI, Dishonored…), some of favourite games are Half-Life 2 (my favourite game in general), Hollow Knight and Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story. Once you've finished exploring it all, well there is nothing else. But I still want to experience it again. And again. I have tens and even hundreds of hours on each of them. So yeah. If a game makes me want to replay it, I like it! And also… The final fight. The "phase 2" of the final fight. It was probably the most satisfying gameplay in all of Splatoon. Every path you took? Every path you didn't take? It was there. And you could experience it all together and finally finish your first run, empowered by it, in-game and outside. This was so good. I really wish we will get updates like more stages, bosses or even chips, because wow.

Secondly, the atmosphere. This point will be much shorter, but holy shit this game was incredible to be immersed into. The cold and sanitised atmosphere of the Spire? Amazing. Obvious Portal and liminal spaces vibes, but hey. And the music… Really the music makes a lot of it. The final fight music is absolutely incredible, one more time, and the credits theme is probably my favourite credits theme of every Splatoon game and DLC (that VIOLIN, that heckin' VIOLIN). I wouldn't be able to say which one of Octo Expansion and Side Order's atmospheres was my favourite. I guess I'm less sensitive to childhood memories and such but hey. Both DLC's atmospheres were incredible good.

Finally… The sore point of everything I guess, the story. I guess we expected more. Even myself, I expected something darker, deeper, more mysterious and esoteric… Have I been disappointed. No. I understand that some people were, but I am not. And frankly, I feel like I don't have to be. Like what do we really wished for? More octoling lore? Marina's past uncovered? Mature themes and dark atmosphere? I am just describing Octo Expansion. We didn't need Octo Expansion 2.0. Every theme that I've seen wished for? Octo Expansion tackled them, greatly even. So did we really need to do the same thing again? I feel like Splatoon 3 was the great conclusion of the other games' story modes, where all marine life finally united against the common enemy: mammals, the past of Earth's life coming back for its great revival. And it was a spectacular conclusion. And Side Order was Octo Expansion's conclusion. But it wasn't that bombastic, it was more of a calm conclusion, an epilogue of some sort. Marina wasn't in great danger or anything (well she was but less than we expected), we didn't need to expand the damsel in distress role for confirming Marina and Pearl's relation (which was pretty much hinted on greatly without it lmao), we already knew that. We didn't need some dramatic story about Marina's departure's effect on the one she was close to, like some people predicted for Acht. I think some fan comics explored this way better and Nintendo telling their own version would have been disappointing either for it or for the fan comics' versions! We didn't need more insights on Eight, because once again Octo Expansion ALREADY did this. Eight seems happy with their new name and identity, so why should we uncover more? They already won a lot with Octo Expansion and their sacrifices would have been dull if there were reveals on "who they really are".

Nah. Side Order, how I see it, is a story about fixing the damage made in the Octo Expansion. It's a story about recovery. About finally confirming your place in the world and accepting that everything will not be like you think it will. Acht is not there to expose Marina's errors, Acht is there to show how this recovery can work. She symbolises every octoling Marina left when she quit the army and ESPECIALLY every octoling she swore to help. And she's also there because it would have been less interesting to see an octoling we've never seen before, especially since she is an octoling we knew got Kamabo Co.'d! Every palette is someone we already know, an anchor to the world of Splatoon, and for Eight, an anchor to their memories, as the locker was their palette. As they know more and more people, they know more and more where their place in the world is. And the end of your first run? The start of the final boss phase 2? Yeah the music is Pearl, Marina and Acht's. But it is Eight's pulse that got everything back together. Their heart beating made the world beating again. They found freedom, now they found their place in the world. They're finally complete. Like you complete your palette with every chips at once. Octo Expansion final fight was their last fight for freedom. But I think this was their last fight for identity.

But outside of that, I think Order/Smollusk is more than that. More and more we advance through completing the palettes, we learn that Smollusk is the result of Marina's wish for order in her life (and her fellow octolings') and especially the other octolings developers dreams. And I think that's really important, because after that, we learn that why Smollusk still fights us is because it's… alone. And Acht seemingly understands that. You know why this is? Why it doesn't understand Marina's intentions by "betraying" it? Because Marina, as opposed to the other developers and Acht, found someone. She found her partner for life, the love of her life you could say, she found someone else that could offer her something great. And I think the other developers didn't find that companionship, so they had other goals with the Memverse, and Acht, left behind by Marina, felt this loneliness too, taking refuge in music, so that's why she understood what Smollusk felt. I think Splatoon story is a lot about isolation, solitude and loneliness. The (Inkadian) octolings were chased from the surface, living in the underground, isolated and forced into military life. When they risked survival, they stole the great zapfish and we sent then back into the dark. So they retaliated by stealing it again and also kidnapping Callie, separating Marie from the person she holds dearest (while Callie thought she could offer them company and finally uniting back the two people). Octo Expansion was also about isolation from the surface, for everyone involved and Tartar… Well the mammal (and adjacent) survivors don't really have it well, huh? Judd was made immortal, a great lonely situation for one of the last mammals, even if the professor give him Lil Judd for that (isolating the latter from self expression, oops!), Tartar wanted finally someone who could understand the knowledge he was bearing, and in his final instants was longing to return to the professor and for Grizz… We saw what happened in the logs! But this is not where it ends. The first final Splatfest was literally choosing between the Squid Sister, separating one from the other. And when the Splatocalypse happened, we thought it would be the same, that both option were going to be negative. A endless world of anomy where nothing makes sense against a cold and dystopic dictatorship. But we saw Chaos rather meant a world of differences where anyone can be what they want to be and still be reunited with people. So now we see what Order meant: reuniting people by putting them on equal terms. And at the end, that's what you and Smollusk agreed on! He'd be a difficult final boss and you'd be a formidable opponent for him! Splatfests weren't meant to be divisive or anything, it's just a fun way to see what do people choose in their life. So to face loneliness and meet new and fun people, what will you choose? Chaos or Order?

I guess I understand if it wasn't the story you wanted to see. But I liked it either way, as I also struggle with loneliness and finding my place in the world. And as I also like roguelites!

[averageartistamber]

Okay, so Sider Order.

Here's a few of my random observations and thoughts:

So here it looks like Pearl Drone is flying Eight in through a window? Ands it looks like some kind of factory or packaging plant. I've heard folks saying that the things being packed in boxes could be something akin to Mem Cakes from Octo Expansion...Perhaps and early sign that Kamabo.Co is involved.

FINALLY, ENEMIES THAT AREN'T OCTARIANS!

Well, these Goo-bers are interesting. Many have pointed out that they resemble fish species that feed on coral. But I also want to add that they have an "undead" aesthetic even more overt than they sanitised people. Someone on Tiktok pointed out that they look like fossils, and the "jelly" surrounding the bones (and what seems to be their ink) could be a visual pun on "fossil fuels". Note how the "bursts" of fluid don't look anything like the ink that other entities in the series use.

This basically confirms that we'll be playing as Agent Eight. After the first teaser I saw a lot of theories about being a clone floating around.

Now everyone's going crazy about DedF1sh (Or Acht, as they are referring to themselves here.) There's some interesting dialogue here. First of all, "another bystander who got suck in here", so, "another" in this context could be themselves since she's talking to Eight and Pearl, but there could be a chance that we could encounter more people who have ended up at the Spire of Order. Plus, she's most likely not here of her own accord, from the "bystander sucked in" part (assuming she's telling the truth). People are being brought here.

Secondly, Acht mentions knowing Marina from "way back", so we could be getting deeper into Marina's backstory (another common theme in the fan theories). Dedf1sh also introduces the player to the Chip and Palette system, which are a core part of the DLC's gameplay loop, since they appear to be going for a Rogue-like. Ther chips kind of remind me of the paint colour swatches you get at a hardware shop, combined with computer chips (that's not totally relevant, I'll admit).

More stuff to do with the gameplay. It looks like each floor has a few variants with different difficulties and objectives, which reward a currency, most likely used to buy chips and other upgrades. It's giving that impression almost that the Spire is another "testing facility", akin to the Deep Sea Metro. Hopefully this places doesn't contain any blenders.

Unusual way of spawning in, where you can see Eight's soul ghost...thing enter a polygonal model before fully forming. There does seem to be a lot of digital glitchy stuff going on. Maybe some virtual reality elements?

Finally, what I think looks like a boss arena (although some have suggested that this machine is the Big Bad itself). Upon close inspection, the "faces" scattered around it are covered in the oil and are moving around a bit. Looks kinda like Tartar during the final confrontation when he for some reason had a blob of sanitised goop on his face. I might be reading too much into this.

I mean, if they wanna bring Tartar back, he is an AI, so they could say a back-up copy of him was found somewhere. Like, a time capsule with the Professor's crappy spare USB or somethin' idk.

Anyway, that's all I got for know. Just gotta wait for Spring.

[cat-mermaid]

One of the things I'm kinda impressed by from the world building in Splatoon 3 is how they pulled off a soft retcon on Octolings

For the first two games we were firmly told that Octolings were a special type of Octarian, not their own separate race, just another offshoot of the many forms an Octarian could make

Spatoon 1, Sunken Scrolls #9:

"It seems that some Octarians can assume humanoid form. These specimens have superior physical capabilities and are highly aggressive. High-ranking individuals have kelp on their heads. But what motivates them, if anything at all?"

buuuuut in Spatoon 3 they began introducing Octolings like Shiver and one of the members of the band Diss-Pair, stating that these Octolings had been born and raised on the surface

Without ever outright stating it, they artfully and subtlety implied that Octolings around the world were their own race, and that the Octraian ones were their own thing that existed in Inkadia (part of the world where Splatoon 1,2 and 3 take place)

This is such a smart world building decision, because they clearly wanted Octolings to have a bigger presence in the world, but having each and every single one be a deserter from the Octraian army/society would be a really hard pill to swallow story wise

The only thing that still bothers me story wise is the same thing that bothered me when the Octo expansion dlc came out:

Octarains had to live underground because there was no room for both them and Inklings right? But turns out the world of Splatoon isn't just one city and the land around it? Theres a whole world? Theres enough room and resources for a whole city to take on an influx of Octolings in Splatoon 2?

OH and the plot hole of "Nobody in Splatoon 2 had even seen an Octoling before so they just thought Octolings were Inklings with weird haircuts and strange accents?" that contradicts the fact that there is a city (splatsville) right next them that had Octolings (like Shiver) hanging around the whole time?

yeah when Splat3 came out I was like WHAT THE FUCK THIS MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL and guess what it still don't but I'm willing to turn my brain off a tiny bit because otherwise Splatoon as a series is so fantastically done

[zaptap]

my thoughts on side order so far (after doing the tutorial run)

panicked a little at the beginning when it asked me to design 8 because i thought it was just going to pull it from splatoon 2 and then ask if i wanted to change any of it, not go through each step like i didn't already have existing agent 8 data. suspended it and looked on youtube to see if it did do something differently (trying to stick to people that probably played splatoon 2) (and covering the sidebar with my hand because i KNOW there's at least one "side order all bosses" thumbnail in there. i'm looking at you prosafiagaming. wait no i mean i'm NOT looking at you)

eventually i decided that they must not be pulling that data for some reason, since everyone i saw starting it had the same customization experience (though i noticed different options were highlighted by default for different people? and mine didn't 100% match up with my s2 agent 8 but it was close)

anyway uh. as far as the actual game. seems like it'll be fun. i do still have splatoon 1 nagging at me until i finish my business before it shuts down though (just 18 wins to S+ 99... and then 3 battles with each of the other 90 weapons i haven't used in 7-8 years, or ever)

found it interesting that they kept pearl's last name as houzuki. like... they only localized half of her name? calling her pearl houzuki all these years made sense because she didn't have a canon english name but um. i guess that's it now? (i won't argue with not leaving her first name alone because probably too many people would pronounce hime as "haim" or something)

this is almost like when octo expansion just casually dropped that actually the localization didn't change marina's name, the japanese version just uses her last name and english uses her first

[splatsvilles-fashionista]

There's been a lot of discussion about Splatoon 3's content updates, and the quality of Splatoon 3's content updates, in the community recently, so I thought I'd give my two cents on this as well.

I think people view Splatoon 2's updates, which through the first year saw one weapon or stage release every single week, through very rose-tinted glasses? There was certainly excitement in knowing you had something to look forward to every single weekend, but since it was only a single weapon a week it kind of intrinsically meant that most of the community got something they didn't care for, most often than not. Something like an alternate Glooga kit is very fun for Glooga players, but most people aren't Glooga players, and as such they waited for nothing. I think it's very indicative that Nintendo swapped away from weekly updates almost immediately after Octo Expansion dropped in favour of dropping weapons in monthly batches with the Kensa and Sheldon's Picks.

Also, I don't think people remember just how bare-bones Splatoon 2 was on release? There wasn't a single Brella in the game at launch, despite them being shown off in the Direct. Actually, that's a lie, because you could play Brella in Hero Mode, but it took them three weeks to add Splat Brella to multiplayer despite it being in the game since the beginning. In fact, out of Splatoon 1's 33 Main weapons, 9 weren't available on the release of the game, meaning that in 2017 most updates were main weapons that were just straight up missing from the game.

There's also the matter of Salmon Run. Aside from the monthly gear and new stages (of which there were three in Splatoon 2's two year of content updates), Salmon Run got nothing new added to it post-launch. With the launch of Sizzle Season we'll have as many Salmon Run stages in 3 after nine months as Splatoon 2 did after twenty-four.

Splatoon 2 only got three major content updates through its live period between 2017 to 2019, a number we're within days of matching within a period of nine months, and we're going to get at least five more of them. I think more than anything the real source of discontent is that three months is a lot of time to wait, and it feels even longer if you've been unlucky enough not to get a new weapon you like yet, but in terms of overall content quality there is not a doubt in my mind that Splatoon 3 is doing better than Splatoon 2 did, and is going to keep doing better for a lot longer.

That is not to say that Splatoon 3's content updates have been perfect. If there's one thing I agree with the critics on, it's that the way they've handled new kits so far has been less than ideal. The problem is both a question of quantity as well as variety. Fresh Season and Sizzle Season both added 11 kits each, and I really feel that 12 should be the bare minimum, and if anything it should be 2-3 more. That said, the real problem is what weapon classes have been getting (or not getting, as the case may be) those new kits. There's been 36 new weapons added post-launch, including Sizzle season weapons as well as the new main weapons, and out of those, 13 have been Shooters. meanwhile, there's only been a single Brella and a single Splatana, and not a single new Stringer kit yet. Couple this with the fact that Shooters are by far the weapon class where the main weapons play the most similarly to each other, and I think that this is what leads, more than anything else, to updates feeling lacking.

[snailvibes]

SPLATOON 3 DLC DIRECT SPOILERS AS WELL AS A FULL ANALYSIS OF MY THOUGHTS AND PREDICTION FOR THE STORY AHEAD/// READ WITH CAUTION AND SCROLL FAST IM NOT PUTTING THIS UNDER A CUT

OK SO AAAUGHRHFHHWHDH SPLATOON ORDER DLC ANALYSIS HERE WR GO MY THOUGHTS IM SO HYPED AND SHAKING AND HAVE A VERY BIG PREDICTION

First and foremost I wanna point out that the area the octoling was in looks a LOT like the square, all the buildings and the shape of the area. But unlike the square there’s a very weird building? The door kinda looks like the door in that one picture shown but I doubt it’s the same thing. The picture of pearl looks like it could be for an opening cutscene, which if so means the whole square being white might not be just for show/some weird dream sequence. I think this is actually what the square looks like right now.

The MOST important thing I want to point out is this weird stuff we’ve been seeing everywhere. The white coral the weird plants and ooze and vines and tentacles. It’s all kinda fungal like, and it seems that wherever we are square or not it’s SPREADING, like a LOT. And whatever it is seems very alive if so.

It’s all also coral looking but still very fungus like with the way it looks like it’s spreading, almost like some kinda of parasite. Going with the coral theme the brain shown is reminiscent of both an actual brain and brain coral. There’s no way a brain would’ve been shown among all this if it wasn’t an ACTUAL brain for this weird new parasite like thing literally taking over everywhere.

I’m very convinced the main story will center around clearing this, kinda like the fuzzy ooze. Both like a parasite they spread, pulse like they’re alive, and possibly both take control of things. Unlike the fuzzy ooze though this fungal stuff spreads FAST if it’s already taken over the square entirely, and we also don’t know who’s made it.

Speaking of paralleling the splat3 storymode, we also have this as a glimpse into the past, only unlike alterna, far FAR into the past. My friend @solsticesailor (you can follow them here, Instagram, and Twitter so pls do) who, who used to study dinosaurs a lot and was there for my live stream reaction, pointed out it seems like the bone structure of an aquatic dinosaur. If true that fits with splatoon, but makes me curious why it of all things was shown. Judd was shown in the first hero mode trailer because he was a mammal, which correlated with the story. Maybe dinosaurs tie in somehow?

Along with paralleling past storymodes this one seems very octo expansion like. A lot of the images do tbh. Wires, abandoned buildings with floating structures (Octarian tech), it’s all very Tartar ish.

I’ve seen some people already jump the gun and say something bad happened to marina but this could easily be maybe a cutscene where she’s just pointing out danger I heavily doubt anything actually bad happened to her tbh, though the glitch in the image has me concerned it’s shown in other pause screens too. Also along with that octoling we keep seeing, there’s someone else standing there.

It’s possible that “someone else” is one of the many other octolings we keep seeing, but that leads me to my next point

I think we’re gonna have two protagonists. This octolings photo was pretty much as clearly shown as Pearl’s and Marina’s in terms of quality, making them suspect to being important. The other octoling also shown in clear pictures looks a LOT like eight, so I think we might be having two protagonists. Agent 8, and someone new who’s also an octoling. Maybe who we saw at the start isn’t eight, as they share more resemblance with the one on the left. Black tentacles instead of eight’s signature red.

with the little info we have so far my storymode predictions are that something is SPREADING. Maybe made by Tartar back in octo expansion, but it’s something alive and dangerous spreading, and it’s up to agent 8 and pearlina to stop it. It kinda seems like we break into a facility of some sort? Could be where it’s being created? They showed clips of the rocket area in the first storymode trailer, it’s not far fetched we’d be seeing the end game point of the lab it was all created at too.

ALSO AUDHEHFHWHD @acid-hues POINTED THIS ONE OUT BUT FOUR??( MAYBE??? DONT WANNA GET MY HOPES UP BUT COULD BE AUEHHHWHXHWH

[heehoothefool]

ohh yeah i wasnt around for pre-splatoon 3 so i forgot... hoping they learned from their mistakes but. eh. probably not sadly :/

you mentioned something about acht's sanitization affecting their self perception ? ya got any more thoughts ya wanna share i am very interested in hearing :o

Okay look. We know like. Nothing about sanitization.

There's obviously what we can infer but you said you weren't around pre splat3 so here's a speedy rundown of everything I have pieced together. Spoilers for Octo Expansion below I guess just in case

So basically from what I can gather is that Sanitization is the process of converting octarians into their "peak" forms by pumping them full of what Commander Tartar calls "the sludge from which the ultimate lifeforms will rise."

After closer inspection of the statue and specifically the cannon, and after 8 almost gets blended up for completing all the tests, I think it's safe to assume that said sludge is actually just. A bunch. Of octarian smoothie.

We see what appears to possibly be the same substance in IV bags in various levels and also we see a bunch of EMPTY IV bags.

Guesses can be made as to what the sanitization process entails there, nothing is ever confirmed.

Furthermore, something that Marina says about them weirds me the fuck out. According to her, all sanitized octarians HAVE NO VITAL SIGNS WHATSOEVER. NONE. NO HEART BEAT NO BLOOD PRESSURE NO BREATHING.

We also figure out very quickly that they don't seem to have any sense of self. They're basically mindless drones with the express purpose of hunting down test subjects.

So this makes Acht SUPER interesting.

Many of us have theorized for a while that they weren't fully sanitized just based on design alone. The fact they had different coloration in their tentacles and fingers was a pretty big clue, not to mention the fact that they made the music for OE. That requires some level of creativity and sense of self, and the trailer for Side Order seems to essentially confirm this.

Not only does Acht have an intact sense of self, they also have memories and a personality. They seem properly aware of who they are and what's going on which is INSANE and wouldn't be possible for a fully sanitized octarian from what we can tell.

And while I know Nintendo is weird about approaching super deep topics, it leaves me to wonder if being sanitized has impacted how they perceive themselves at all.

Do they still see themselves as a person? Or do they think of themselves as more monster than man, so to speak? I mean, if normal sanitization turns you into a literal mindless zombie, does that make them essentially an undead? Half dead?

There's no WAY they have normal feelings about this and I need to know more.

[rassicas]

is there any information abt how fuzzification works??? like what does it do and how did so many octarians get fuzzified??

octavio says that his troops r gone so thats obviously a big enough number to be noticed by him and for him to do smthn abt it... yet the story mode just glosses over how it has affected the octarians???? maybe theres something abt it in the artbook

also not to gloss over: when agent 3 splats them what happens?? like are they just dead or do they get 'saved' like in octo expansion?? bc if they r just dead that has some upsetting moral implications for neo agent 3's character

not really no. rotm is a less thought through octo expansion in terms of the setting... All we know is that fuzzification/mammalization/whatever its called makes one lose their ego. like sanitization i guess? also that the fuzzy octarians are in a midway point in the process. what happens when agent 3 touches the ooze is full on mammalization. S3 Artbook has a singular page of fuzzy octotrooper concept art and thats it. no further info

like are they just dead or do they get 'saved' like in octo expansion?? bc if they r just dead that has some upsetting moral implications for neo agent 3's character

not sure what you mean by "saved", wait till you hear what happens the other octarians that the previous agents have splatted! (likely dead. "splatting" is killing and i'm under the impression that the severed tentacle octotroopers are meant to be expendable and dont respawn.... the octolings should be fine though)