#splatoon analysis

[ammoknightsofficial]

The Splatoon 3 Art Book is raising some very important thoughts and questions in me, specifically regarding that selection of concept art of Deep Cut.

One of them featured Big Man as a Salmonid, and… That got me thinking. Splatoon 3 really fumbled the bag by not making Big Man a Salmonid, actually. I think him being a Manta Ray was the wrong choice to make, especially from our current perspective of the game’s narrative.

In Splatoon 2, Octarians had a very stressed importance. Octo Expansion did nothing but heighten this, and all of this was very gracefully tied together with one of the news hosts being an Octoling herself- one who was trying to conceal her identity as such, which made the themes presented in Octo Expansion feel all the more real. It worked, and it worked really well. Her presence as an Octoling- even as one trying to conceal their identity!- added some much needed insight on the Octarian Experience, and how it feels to live in Splatoon’s society as an oppressed racial minority. It was fascinating. It added a lot of depth to the game’s narrative and worldbuilding.

But in Splatoon 3, Salmonids have an increased importance. With Mr. Grizz being the final boss of Story Mode, Little Buddy- though his presence is discomforting- as your companion character, and Big Run being a recurring element, you’d think they’d have a Salmonid news host to add depth to our understanding of the Salmonid Experience, much like Splatoon 2 did with Marina and the Octoling Experience. It makes all but perfect sense, and it would have worked well to repeat that formula.

But… No.

We just have Big Man, a Manta Ray with a personality and current plot/lore importance as flat as his body. He’s clearly visually alienated from Shiver and Frye, but there’s no element of intrigue to it. His presence doesn’t pose any questions like Marina’s did. He’s just a walking missed opportunity. And it’s sad.

[astrolotte]

as much as i love splatoon lore. you all know i love splatoon lore. as much as i love splatoon lore i am not afraid to admit that a lot of the impact is lost via the storytelling methods.

For example, the Sunken Scrolls. a HUGE part of the lore is from here. and a lot of impact is lost simply because these scrolls don't allow for any further exploration. At most you'll get a few scroll pages (a paragraph for each page) on a topic. Like the fact that Judd was from the human time and was cryogenically frozen.

If they wanted to explore that concept, it could be devastating. He had an owner, a human who loved him very much. A human who loved his cat so much that, when faced with the end of the world and the resources to only save one person, he elected to save his cat. But instead of a big story with drama and heartache, we get like 3 paragraphs on it, and then... nothing.

Humanity's downfall is another big devastating lore beat, obviously, and to its credit it does have somewhat of a focus in Splatoon 3, via the Alterna Logs! Instead of a picture of a human skeleton with a Wii U nearby (a canon sunken scroll btw), we have multiple mini stories on how the survived, and how they died. The Alterna Logs are GREAT, and in my mind they're impactful! Even the fact that you can only unlock them a few sentences at a time via completing missions didn't stall it too much, as the logs tell a whole story rather than a tiny lore dump.

But it's.. not always treated that way. There's the previously mentioned drawing of a human skeleton with a Wii U right next to it (a gamer to the end...) and characters regularly mention that humans are dead without a care. Which, y'know, makes sense. Humans are long extinct, and the fish have no attachment to them. But it does negate a lot of the meaning.

Then there's cases where the drear is hidden away within mere implications, like with OE's "hundreds of dead test subjects" beat. While it's fun to sit there and have it slowly dawn on you that many test subjects likely did get blended up, it really messes with the impact of it.

My final point here is the areas of the lore left unexplored. The biggest instance of this, imo, is the Octarian society, which we... know next to nothing about. We know they live underground. We know they are in the middle of a power crisis. We know that they can be inspired by Calamari Inkantation to leave. But what about their daily lives? What is it like deep down in Octo Valley? What is it like to live in the middle of a power crisis like that, and what is it like under Octavio's rule? This could be such an interesting perspective, but we're left with next to nothing. A few Sunken Scrolls, and a few bits of poetry from Agent 8, but after that...

Like I said, I love Splatoon lore, truly. It's fun and it's dark and it's crazy. But a lot of its impact, its meaning, its passion, is left with less simply due to the way its told.

As weird as it might be to suggest, I kinda hope we get a Splatoon spinoff that's not a multiplayer shooter, something that can properly explore the lore and let people process just how devastating it really is. It's one thing to say all of humanity went extinct, and it's another thing to really feel the impact of that.

I know the developers have passion for the world they made. That's apparent with just how much lore we have in general- if they didn't care about the world of Splatoon, we wouldn't even have an explanation for why Inklings are humanoid. Or, well, for the vast majority of things in the game. No one really needs to know that microbes in the air are what make the ink disappear after games, but we have that information because the developers love what they made.

I just hope that we eventually reach a point where this can be properly explored.

[hypnothesis-au]

Video analysis of Hypnothesis by @sanitizedsubject !

It’s actually impossible to put into words how honored I was watching this video. Thank you so much for putting so much time and thought into our blog and the story <3 <3 <3

[thingsmysplattershotjrtoldme]

Soooo, new Splatfest was announced-

And it's Legend of Zelda Themed!

I'm not the biggest LOZ fan, but I'm super excited about it because this theme FITS for Deep Cut.

Of course Shiver seeks power, they're the next in line to take over their clan, and in their eyes power is what makes a leader (why else would they have a giant shark as their noble stead if not to show how powerful they are to tame him?)(aside from them just really liking sharks)

FRYE'S MAKES SO MUCH SENSE, AND IT PROVES THE FOREHEAD THEORY! Frye is not stupid in the slightest, her battle is the hardest because of her strategizing, not strength or courage (the eels are quite weak on their own in most attacks). And there's that whole "big foreheads are a sign of high intelligence" folk belief so many think she's based on. It just fits her so well!

But I'm sure you're thinking, "Big Man isn't brave! He's a downright coward!"

Two things, 1, you are mistaken, and 2, that's the genius of the Splatfest.

Firstly, the fact he fights you despite being scared means he is actually brave enough to stand up for what he believes in. And he doesn't fight you so the other two won't yell at him, he's doing it for Splatsville, for people who can't help themselves.

That's bravery. That's courage.

And the second point?

Big Man THINKS he's a coward. That's why he's SEEKING courage. But he really doesn't have to because he is already courageous, he just doesn't realize it yet.

That's why I like this Splatfest, it's not about what you ARE, it's about what you want to BE!

Tldr, this Splatfest is giving me emotions and making me wanna hug Big Man specifically.

Anyway, I'm on Team Wisdom, what about you guys?

[cryo-delta]

Splatoon music, to me, is such an interesting topic.

If you know nothing about it and randomly stumble upon a track, you may think that it's music but worse since it's just people singing gibberish with water in their mouths.

But the first interesting thing about the songs is that the singers are not vocaloid but real humans that sing sheets that Nintendo handed to them and that basically mean nothing but sound good.

If we dive a little deeper (pun intended), we notice that, for each singer, the "words" used in their songs are picked to sound from a specific vocal and cultural background giving them a whole bunch of personality.

But it doesn't stops at the real word recordings. The Splatoon ost is canon in the Splatoon world. Every track (or almost every track) is from a canon artist or group with its own musical identity.

Better even, through the different opuses, groups in charge of the soundtrack change and progress through time. The best example being with the "Now or never" track by SquidSquad:

That track got so iconic that when SquidSquad stopped producing, the following groups in charge of the Ost always pay hommage to it by keeping it and just making a cover of the track with their own artist mark.

It exists a real band of fishs that play cello, timpani and one of them that does all the mixing called Omega-3. It kinda makes you think twice about these creatures that you mass murder for money eh...

It gets more interesting when you deduce that this means that tracks from the "Hero modes" or Salmon Run are performed by "the baddies" that you are slaughtering.

What gave me the inspiration to write this Splatoon music/lore post is that I recently discovered the existence of a/an group/individual called Missing Ink that only ever released one track for Splatoon 3: Pour it on.

Pour it on can only be heard in nocturne lobbies and really stands out from the rest of the soundtrack, even more than Omega-3 songs, by the fact that it's the only song I know of that sounds like the singer doesn't have water in their mouth.

My theory is that "Missing Ink" is a wordplay with "Missing Link" that could suggest that the lyrics that we get to hear are from an individual that is at an evolution stage between Inklings/Octolings and Humans.

That lack of gargling sound could also mean that this individual has stopped being soaked in ink which could as well loop back to "Missing Ink"...

I'm going to stop at this, cause I could rant about this for hours, @furtiveseal knows it at his depends XD, tell me if you have any remarks/theories and have a nice day.

[kscope]

SPLATOON CHILL SEASON '22

Figured since I have the time, I may as well sit down and share my thoughts on all the things I've noticed in the new trailer for Splatoon 3's upcoming CHILL SEASON! I'll likely start just by talking about the new weapons and maps, and move into what else I noticed in the trailer and about how excited (or not) I am about certain things!

Feel free to share your own thoughts in the replies/notes !!

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SPLATOON 3'S CHILL SEASON TRAILER, IF YOU DON'T WISH TO BE SPOILED, GO WATCH THE VIDEO FIRST AND COME BACK! All spoilers will be located beneath the cut! But, without further ado, let's get into it:

LET'S TALK ABOUT THE NEW WEAPONS

01. NEW SHOOTER — "SPLATTERSHOT NOVA"

In the process of making this post, the Squid Research Lab posted individual renders of each of the new weapons, as well as the official names. It appears this bad-boy is actually a part of the Splattershot family, something I was both expecting and hoping I was wrong about. Personally speaking, I think we had enough -shot weapons. Not to mention enough shooters, but I'll take a cool-looking weapon where I can get it.

I had a friend describe this weapon as "edgy" looking, and I can't argue with that take, but I can say I don't mind it. Compared to the other weapons in the -shot family, it has its own stand-out look. I can't say I'll be maining this weapon, or playing it more than once or twice, but I can say that I'm excited to see how it plays and what it's gimmick is.

We don't get much screentime in the video for this, but the combination of what we do see, as well as the Twitter post from the SRL, we know a couple of things: it has killer wail, "galactic range", and pretty consistent aim. I don't have any predictions on where this will end up in the meta, but if they give it a good enough sub it may just end up being a cunt to play against, that's for sure.

02. NEW ROLLER — "BIG SWIG ROLLER"

The name is this weapon is so weird and funny that I really just want to take a moment to look at it and laugh. "Big Swig Roller". Who came up with this and why? I don't know, I don't care, but also I do. Why. Please, if you have answers, contact your local tumblr user kscope immediately.

This roller seems to be attached to a soda drink, with a straw being the connecting centerpiece of the roller as a whole. A friend of mine called this the "soda roller" thanks to this, and I'm stealing it from her, since it's befitting. If you ask me, this appears to be some weird mix between the dynamo roller (turf coverage) and the carbon roller (speed). The little bit of screentime it gets in the trailer shows off how much ground it covers, as well as its supposed speed.

The SRL post on Twitter tells us that it can cover a lot of ground, with very little ink consumption. This leads me to believe this is primarily going to be a turf-covering weapon, as opposed to being a damage-dealer. More likely than not, roller-crushing your enemies with this weapon won't be a thing. If they want to prove me wrong though, they can. There's still time, Nintendo.

As for the kit for this thing, I have no idea. It primarily seems to be used as a turfing weapon, so they'll probably give it something to compliment its speed and coverage. If not for Dynamo, I'd have guessed Tacticooler since it'd be good for special-farming. Without that, little clue, little idea. Thank God I'm not a roller player.

03. NEW CHARGER — "SNIPEWRITER 5H"

AS A CHARGER MAIN: I hate this stupid looking charger. I do not claim this stupid looking charger. I don't know whose ungodly design this was. Nintendo I am knocking on your HQ doors right now for answers. Let me in. I just want to talk.

All that aside, I do kind of like its name, and I like the idea. It reminds me of those pencils with different tips stored inside it, if you know what I'm getting at. I won't include a picture, but it's the ones that sometimes came in different shapes and were stackable. If you know you know.

As for the execution, I'm not a fan. This weapon is what happens when you ask charger players what they want in a weapon, but only listen to the Bamboozler mains. It got the most screentime out of all the new weapons, and from that we can see that this thing is capable of storing up to 5 shots, while being a 2-shot kill. Whether or not it has held-charge was never shown in the trailer, but I'm going to hope and pray to the Splatoon Gods that it does not.

What we do know, however, is that it has Tacticooler. I wanted this on a charger, any charger, but now that I have it I would do anything to take it back. This game fucking hates me. End post. Wait, actually, it also has a sub that has pretty high ink-consumption. Which one that is, however, is still unknown.

04. RETURNING WEAPONS

In conjunction to these three completely new weapons, we also got a peek at a couple of the returning weapons. According to the press release, we're getting a total of ten returning weapons. We didn't get a glimpse at all of them but the ones we did are as follows (alongside what I know of their kits):

DAPPLE DUALIES NOUVEAU (w/ torpedo)

ANOTHER MINI SPLATLING (w/ toxic mist & big bubbler)

TENTATEK SPLATTERSHOT (w/ splat bomb)

LUNA BLASTER NEO (w/ fizzy bomb)

FORGE SPLATTERSHOT PRO (w/ suction & booyah bomb)

LET'S TALK ABOUT THE NEW MAPS

It looks like this time, we're only getting two new maps (one of which is just a returning map from Splatoon 1). Nonetheless, let's get into it.

01. NEW MAP — "BRINEWATER SPRINGS"

My friends and I are constantly talking about how The Reef might get re-added to the game and everything, but this map kind of reminds me of it. Not in terms of its aesthetics (they are completely different in that regard), but rather in terms of their design.

In the Twitter post showing off the map, the SRL wrote "Defend the high ground or risk it all to invade from below?" From the video, it appears to have a central bridge, much like the reef, with an open area beneath it. This map, to me, is what would happen if you took The Reef and Snapper Canal, combined them, and then gave them a completely new aesthetic look.

Oddly enough, I don't hate it and I'm really excited to play it. It looks like it'll have a lot of verticality to it, and hopefully won't inspire every sweaty player to try to terrorize my spawn every chance they get.

02. RETURNING MAP — "FLOUNDER HEIGHTS"

I'll preface my opinions here by saying that: yes, I did play Splatoon 1. However, I played it briefly before 3 came out, which means that it was underpopulated. I also didn't play it much, and usually when I did, the same maps were always in rotation. I think I landed on Flouder Heights a total of one time, and that one time was a hot mess. I played with my Splatoon Veteran friends who were sniping me from places on the map I didn't know existed.

That is to say: this map is basically completely new to me.

Right now, it looks like Flounder Heights got Manta-ified. The walls that we're shown in the Twitter video supplied by SRL look to be about the same height as the walls out of camp in Manta Maria. For a map titled "Flounder Heights," I almost wish they would have kept the taller walls and the verticality.

Of course, I'm not complaining about the decluttering of the map as a whole. From what I do remember of it from 1, it was a total clusterfuck of a map, and terrible to navigate. This is coming from someone who was new to the game, walking backwards from Splatoon 2 to Splatoon 1, but at the same time, I don't think it was completely just the perspective that was an issue. I think Flounder Heights was really just Like That in 1, and that 3 is looking to fix that in part.

I just wish it had fixed it without removing "Heights" from the name of the map. But, I suppose beggars can't be choosers. At the end of the day, it still looks like a fun map! Hopefully it'll still be a fun map to snipe people on when it officially releases.

LET'S TALK ABOUT THE NEW GEAR

Attempt two at this! Tumblr fucking sucks as a website and completely undid the list I was working on, so I had to start from scratch. I am saving this time, because I was a fool not to. I am very upset, but we will pretend like I am not as we get into this. I'll be making a list of new & returning gear, in order from headgear, to clothing, to shoes.

HEADGEAR

skull bandana (RETURNING)

sv925 circle shades (RETURNING)

retro specs variant (NEW)

fake contacts (RETURNING)

white ocho octophones (NEW)

jellyvader cap (RETURNING)

annaki beret (RETURNING)

battlecrab helmet (NEW)

CLOTHES

inkwash shirt (RETURNING)

tan apex sweater (NEW)

new (light) kensa jersey (NEW) [ 1 ]

white ls shirt (UNKNOWN) [ 2 ]

black ls shirt (UNKNOWN) [ 3 ]

ski jacket variant (NEW)

dark bomber jacket (RETURNING)

inverse orca bolero (NEW)

SHOES

blue force reboots (NEW)

squink wingtips (RETURNING)

splatoon ugg boots (NEW)

new black shoes (NEW) [ 4 ]

ink-white clam 600s (NEW)

gold hi-horses (RETURNING)

black habaneros (NEW)

new kensa shoes (NEW) [ 5 ]

[ 1 ] — I'm not certain on this one, but in the thumbnail of the trailer, the inkling holding the new charger is the same inkling that has the splattershot pro in the gameplay. The view of his outfit in the video is abysmal so I took it upon myself to look at the thumbnail instead. It strikes a resemblance to a piece of gear that was hinted at in the Splatoon 3 pre-release Halloween art.

[ 2 ] & [ 3 ] — These are just two shirts that I can't figure out the brand of. I've decided not to try to name them, since I don't really know anything about them at all. The white one seems to be a button-down (I think?), whereas the black one resembles a sweater to me. Either way, pictures are below.

[ 4 ] — Same situation as the last one, kind of. I can tell they're new for the most part, but they're just completely black. I want to say they're Kensa shoes just because there's a fuckton of Kensa gear coming in, but I can't tell, so I'm not gonna say it. The dualies player in the above images is wearing the shoes in question.

[ 5 ] — Meanwhile, these are very obviously Kensa shoes, they're just Kensa shoes I haven't encountered yet. I don't know what to name them because of this. Peep the white Kensa symbol in the middle.

ANNNNND that's all I've got for ya. I spent too long writing this. I spent too much time on this in general. Tomorrow they're gonna post something on Twitter (if it still exists) that fills in something I'm missing (the kits). I don't care anymore.

Oh yeah, also: BIG RUN!!!!!!! FUCK YEAH BIG RUN!!!!!! Anyways:

THANKS FOR READING!

[squidthusiast]

Ok, but why do I imagine Eight being the unofficial child of Pearl x Marina?

Because I imagine Eight was minding their business and all of a sudden, Pearl would slam the paper down and said “You’re adopted now”

Basically OTH at the start of their world tour haha, I love that they took Eight with them.

I have more detailed thoughts under the cut for those interested in my ramblings, analysis and interpretations of the characters.

Disclaimer: This is my own take on it, don’t let it ruin your fun!

I personally don’t really subscribe to the fandom’s ‘pearlina moms’ headcanon.

On the one hand, I am an absolute sucker for the ‘found family’ trope, and I definitely think Agent 8 and OTH fit in it!

On the other hand, I think people immediately put Pearl and Marina into the ‘parenthood’ box, a little too eagerly. Not saying this specific ask is that, btw, it just reminded me of some instances i’ve seen.

I personally think that the relationship between OTH and Agent 8 is a little more nuanced & sibling-esque, for the following reasons:

1. Within canon, we often see 8 being referred to as a friend by both Pearl and Marina.

Pearl does it more explicitly (see that one interview at her house), whereas with Marina it’s more insinuated (ex. In the Side Order dev diaries, she starts calling Agent 8 as ‘Eight’, which is stated to be a name used by their friends).

Pearl seems to be an accidental-duck-parent of sorts who haphazardly collects octoling teenagers & young musical talent. It goes in line with her whole mentor-esque leader personality, and i’m sure these disoriented teens find relief in an idol who seemingly knows what she’s doing (she really doesn’t).

However she doesn’t act in a parental manner. More-so like your estranged gay cousin who hit it big in another country and is down to show your queer little butt the ropes.

Marina on the other hand seems to have a more empathetic approach with Agent 8 (opposite to Pearl’s brashness). Marina clearly connects with Agent 8 through their shared experience as defected octoling soldiers, and probably sees her younger self in them. She’s already caring as it is, but this is accentuated during octo expansion given the circumstances.

I feel however that, unlike Pearl, Marina has a bit of a harder time actually forming a bond with Eight at the beginning. Their similarities (seemingly) end at their shared experience, and probably leaves Marina awkwardly wondering how to approach them further. What we can assume though is that they become closer friends during OTH’s world tour, given the events described in the Memverse Dev Diaries.

Meeting Eight during difficult circumstances (OE) and helping them get out creates a sense of camaraderie between them, which probably devolves into genuine care, established friendship and a strong bond amongst the three overtime.

2. Pearl and Marina are very career-centric both in Splat 2 and 3.

It is reasonable that the two young idols, who see their fame and musical recognition rise spectacularly & fast, are not particularly interested in settling down at this point in their lives.

Now entering her late 20s, Pearl is most definitely still interested in keeping the ball rolling with Off the Hook’s international success. Her character often points towards restlessness, freedom and discovery. There has definitely been character development in regards to her maturity in Splatoon 3, but these aforementioned traits are still ever present in her demeanour & decision-making.

Marina on the other hand can be seen slowly blossoming from a supporting character to being her own person. She definitely develops more self-confidence by Splatoon 3, but is still naturally bashful. It’s clear that she is allowing herself to explore & open up to new things for her own sake. She remains a caring and somewhat nurturing individual, but she is at a stage where she’s learning to live for herself and not for others.

Parenthood (and all the responsibilities and sacrifices it entails) at this moment of their lives would probably freak Pearl out, and stunt Marina’s personal growth.

3. The age gaps between OTH and Agent 8 are too close for it to create a parent/kid bond.

This makes their relationship a little hazy in regards to roles; 8 is still young enough that they may seek out rolemodels and mentors (still relatively influenceable), but they’re also nearing their 20s. By this point they are fairly self sufficient, have a sense of their personal values & identity, and they are relatively responsible & mature.

Pearl and Marina are 8’s seniors by approximately 4-6 years. However, in Splatoon 2 they’re entering their early 20s and their career has just begun to take off.

They are both still relatively youngsters, albeit older & more mature(? glancing at Pearl) youngsters than 8. This places them in a position where they can guide 8 and offer certain support and resources, but lack the maturity and experience of a full-fledged adult. This would approximate their relationship closer to that of siblings in a family setting.

Pearl & Marina are also less likely to feel a duty towards Eight as an adult would with a child. Instead, the latter’s circumstances are more likely to incite feelings of rapport and compassion as a fellow young inkfish.

Now, with all of this said, I will acknowledge that friendship/found family is MUCH more nuanced than a strict binary.

From personal experience in my last years of college, I did find myself caring for my fellow freshmen as though they were my kids, in certain ways. Hell, I called them my kids.

I acted as a proud parent whenever some of them achieved something, attempted to pass down my knowledge to them, and was protective of them to a certain extent.

They also annoyed me sometimes, like younger people do haha. And i’m sure I annoyed them too!

So I wouldn’t put it past OTH to call Eight their kid and have this mentor/parent-esque rapport with them in certain circumstances.

This is all based both on canon & my own interpretations of it, but still closely aligned to what has been shown in-game.

So if you have a different interpretation of Agent 8 and OTH, that’s great! I love to see people’s personal headcanons. Ultimately, Agent 8 is meant to be somewhat of a blank slate for the players to mold, with some hinted-at personality traits of their own.

As long as you have fun with these characters, that’s all that matters. This is just my personal opinion on their relationship in-game.

If you read all of this, you deserve the biggest golden star for listening to my incessant yapping 🤲⭐️

Feel free to bother me about this or other opinions you may have in my inbox, just be kind please!

[splatoonpolls]

a really long analysis about fanon Marina and the flanderization by fandom she has gotten

fanon marina (the version created by the fans) mainly focuses on two things, her being autistic coded and her being basically confirmed to be a lesbian. And I do think this has to do with her being VERY much like a typical splatoon fan in many people’s eyes. Her being a nerdy queer neurodivergent person. This is also why other parts, especially her relationship with her being an octoling gets often locked away. Subconsciously at least

if Marina was a book, several chapters would focus on her identity as a dome octoling. Her being autistic would probably pop up here and there, but it wouldn’t be a whole chapter. But her very much gay relationship with Pearl would definitely have a few chapters. But with people focusing on those few lines and chapters rather than the whole book. People would slowly ignore the other chapters, get shocked like Adam Sandler learning Pac-Man was the bad guy in the hit movie pixels.

the splatoon fandom’s western side is mainly white Americans and Europeans. Which is one reason why the fanon Marina doesn’t focus on her identity as an octoling, but also on how many details are not really told to the player. Marina barely shows her ears, which can both be read as her having sensory issues (which is a super valid headcanon(, but also her not feeling super comfortable with her body. With her ears being a reminder of her “you are with people who still think you are only going to steal stuff”. Her tentacles may be weird, she may lack the eyeliner an inkling has. But those things can simply be a stylistic choice. Her ears can’t be one. They are too different. I also know the DLCS focuses more on her identity as a dome octoling. However many can understand how her arc as a whole can be paralleled to the real life experiences of people belonging to marginalized ethnic communities. I also want to point, while writing this. I realized (which many people probably already did). Dome octolings you see outside of the domes (splatoon 2 octolings, Marina, Acht, Paul), are all refugees. They are all characters who grew up in a society that had been shunned for decades, even centuries. That society ended up being oppressive both due to external and internal issues. They know the society they’re living in is no longer a good place to live in. So they escape. Hoping to find a place that will take them on. For agent 8, Marina, and Paul. They found a safe place. Acht wasn’t super lucky however. They were told they could find a “promised land” only to be left in even more ruin before. So not only does Marina’s character arc focus on her being a part of an ethnic minority, but a refugee at that. so why does fanon marina usually avoid that part of her? Well as a mentioned before. Marina has three things that makes her very relatable. While the more backstory focused things are less relatable to a way smaller margin of the splatoon fandom. A way smaller part of the fandom are poc in a very white country. And a very small percentage are refugees.

if we removed Marina’s backstory. We would still be left with the fanon version. A nerdy autistic lesbian who deeply loves Pearl. I love how Nintendo got a game that also isn’t afraid to show a society that cares about queer people if not is queer centric itself. Which is probably why many people cling to that part of Marina. But if we removed that part. What would we be left with? Well, we would have an octoling refugee who is a trained soldier and can create weapons of destructions (and she would still be in love with Pearl, it is an important part of her backstory). im not saying the splatoon fandom’s openness to lgbtq and neurodivergent people is a bad thing just because they boil down one of the most plot heavy characters down to those things. It is actually a really great thing to have a fandom that is open to these marginalized groups.

i just want to say, due to this love for Marina being a character you can relate to. It feels like certain parts of Marina’s character (which can also be very relatable to some) is being drifted away to the more lore centric side of the fandom. Which will lead to a sort of fandom flandarization which is very unintentional and just done due to a love of Marina as a character.

If you’ve read this an disagreed, that is fine. Character writing is a very subjective thing

[dr-spectre]

Hey all, so i wanted to discuss something a little bit different compared to my usual Splatoon ramblings because i have something that's been floating in my brain for a while now and I really wanna talk about it! But don't worry, I'll tie it back to Splatoon in this blog post!

So i have been seeing a lot of criticisms towards the new "hit game" Concord and a lot of it is very VERY well deserved. And one of the MANY criticisms is aimed towards the character designs and mostly on these characters who have become punching bags for the entire gaming community.

NOW! Let me come and say it, i am NOT going to be defending these designs at all, i am NOT a professional character designer but, these designs are flat-out dogshit and it's not for the reasons you think. I am not saying these character designs are bad because "WAHH!!!! FAT PEOPLE!!! WAHH!!! I HATE BLACK PEOPLE!! WAHH!! I CAN'T GOON TO THIS CHARACTER NOOO!!! WAHHH!!! I ONLY WANT STRAIGHT WHITE BARBIE DOLLS TO JERK OFF TO!! WAHH!!" If you're someone like... ahem.... asmondgold. And whine about how you can't goon to these characters and you're scared of fat and black people. Then you need to fuck off and genuinely go outside. And like... Idk, jump into a pit of lava.

The reasons why these designs suck is because they have terrible silhouettes, poor balancing, too many random colours that have no harmony whatsoever, lack of strong shapes and a lack of any clear cut qualities to tell us who the fuck these characters are. A good character design will tell you who a character is based on looks alone.

Let's take a look at how to properly do character design in a video game, shall we?

We will first start off with an iconic tank character, Heavy from TF2.

Heavy has a strong use of squares on his body, arms and hands, showing us that he is a strong and meaty character. Squares are used in larger characters to show that they are durable and strong. Heavy also has appropriate accessories on his body to show us what kind of character he is, like his bandolier, pouch, fingerless gloves and tactical looking vest. His legs are also small compared to the rest of his body which tells us that he probably isn't the fastest runner out there.

All of these simple design decisions the characters designers chose to include add up to create an iconic character who you can gather that he is a large and in charge weapons expert from the design alone.

Tell me something, what the FUCK do you get from this character?

He's a big person... That's it. I can barely gather any sort of character traits from this character. There's nothing. THEIR GUN IS FUCKING BORING TOO! AT LEAST HEAVY HAS A BIG ASS GUN! THAT'S JUST A BASIC BITCH ASSUALT RIFILE!

Now let's look at another iconic tank character. Reinhardt from Overwatch.

Reinhardt has a VERY strong silhouette, with his iconic helmet with the 3 spikes/horns, his giant shoulder pads, the pointy tips on his boots, his... groan... flap? thingy? idfk what that is but anyways, Reinhardt is an iconic tank character because his design is super well balanced, his concept of a futuristic knight is dope, and the lion emblem on arm showcase Rein's personality and origins.

I genuinely get nothing from this design. Like... Fuck all, i get NOTHING!!!

They are a tank character with a big gun... Okay? Is there... any cool details? Uh... there's a tiny flag.... What the fuck is that supposed to tell me about the character? The silhouette is boring, the character looks like a Fallout knock off. It's just... BORING!!

I could talk about the other tanks in Overwatch and how incredibly well designed they are compared to Concord's "anchors" and other classes but i don't wanna be here all day. Just know that D.VA slaps, Doomfist slaps, Ramattra slaps, ALL OF THEM SLAP HARD AND HAVE SUPER GOOD SILHOUETTES AND COLOURS!!

Now for our final "tanky" design, let's roll it back to Splatoon and talk about a character who is bigger compared to the rest of the cast.

BIG MAN!

His silhouette is actually so well done and is a masterpiece in character design, it is so incredibly distinctive and unique from other characters. He has a unique headpiece too, he has these droopy eyes that give him a relaxed look. He has some cool patterns, he's just a really well designed character that you can gather his personality from really well.

The reason why Concord's character designs fail is because it feels like Sony brought in a novice fashion designer to make characters in an hour and call it a day. The only designs from that game i can say with my full chest are okay are these guys, and even then they have ISSUES!

Haymar is supposed to be this fire user yet nothing tells me that they use fire. It's so easy to... oh i don't know... USE MORE RED?!?!? ADD FIERY PATTERNS?!?! WHY IS SHE COVERED IN FUCKING ANAL BEADS?!??! HELLO?!?!??

Roka is just.. fine, her colours suck but... I guess i like the helmet?

When the best looking characters out of your fucking 5V5 HERO SHOOTER are just... eh? You know got a massive problem. If we take a game like TF2 you can see just how well the designs are at showing the player what kind of personality and traits they have.

Scout has rolled up pants with tight socks on, bandages on his hands and a cap on his head, showing us that Scout is a fast and somewhat reckless character who gets into trouble but can get out due to his speed and wit. Medic has a simple pallet of white and red which are common colours used in hospitals and doctors. I could go on but you get the point.

If you're going to create a new hero shooter with a large roster, for the love of god, actually have characters with better silhouettes, colour balancing, accessories, etc.

Take a page out of their books and come back with a better fucking game. Or not. Sony... You piece of shit. You ain't beating the "PS5 has no games" allegations with these wack ass games. (This is coming from someone who has a PS5.)

[fernshawart]

I've seen a post going around saying that if we eat the rich we shouldn't touch Pearl. And it got me curious on what is it that makes her an exception ? Pearl is not just rich. She's CRAZY rich. We saw it in her interview, her mansion is immense and she keeps mentioning how much money she has randomly. But I think there's several reason why we don't see Pearl as bad for her money.

One, Pearl is a good person. Genuinely. Pearl is known to be generous, to care a lot about others and to be willing to spend money to help everyone. We see it when she's helping Eight in the metro, not hesitating a single second to help her out with money (btw, she didn't ask for her to give it back. Cuttlefish did). We also see it with Marina, who visibly lives with her (see the pic down) and who she probably took care of when she was homeless.

Two, Pearl's personality isn't just money. We don't love Pearl because she's crazy rich. We love her because she's unhinged, because she's sweet and caring, because she's funny ... She's not Scrooge McDuck. Money has an important part in her life but it's not her main personality trait.

Three, Pearl is close the punk scene, and it seems that she grew up in this environment as a young adult. Punks are inherently linked to concepts like anticapitalism, anarchy (hence why she was team chaos), freedom of the individual and anticonformism. There is no way she grew up in this scene without learning about these concepts and at least adhering to them in some way. The reason why she got into punk was most likely to express herself, meaning she probably had some retrospective beforehand.

Four, Pearl is humble. And what I mean by that isn't that Pearl doesn't talk about her money. She does, obviously. But rather that Pearl's wealth doesn't seem to make her feel superior in any way to others. She will talk to you like any other person no matter your status. It was obvious with how she treated Marina when they first met. It's also seen with the fact that she's friend's with the agents, even calling Eight a really good friend of hers. But it's still present to this day with Damp Socks.

Damp Socks could've been formed in many different ways. But Pearl actually found everyone on social medias. These people were just random dudes she found cool and that she got into a big adventure.

And finally, Pearl works hard. She was born into wealth, but nowadays, the reason why she has money is because her band is successful. Pearl has always shown a desire to improve herself, to change and try new things, to work into building up a future for herself and Marina. That's one of the reasons why she wanted chaos. She refuses to get stuck in a box that would keep bringing her wealth and fame but that would ultimately make her feel like she doesn't improve anymore. Damp Socks is a manifestation of Pearl's wish to grow up. And to me, this proves that Pearl wants to change for the better.

... Also she screamed so loud at a terrorist that he blew up. I guess that helps.

[arogustus]

Splatband Analysis: Team Past vs Present vs Future

As you all know, we all got our latest crumb of Splatband lore in the form of their signatures outside of the Grand Festival Area. The thing about these signatures, though, is that they are written on colored banners denoting the different Splatfest Teams! Red for Past, Purple for Present, and Green for Future, Plus a fourth banner for what can be assumed is Neutral.

After going insane with my friends in figuring out who's who, I now come to you guys with my theories as to why each band chose what they chose! Are yall ready? Then letsa go!

Go Team Present by the way.

Team Past here, recognizable by the Red and the fact Callie and Marie signed, has Wet Floor, Diss-Pair and SashiMori (and perhaps a certain someone). I view those who chose Team Past as those who value their beginnings. They owe what they have to their own Past. But also there might be a sense of longing for what they used to have. You'll see why in a second.

Wet Floor: Kagi formed the band to "restore some Indie dignity", disliking the current state of things. Mizole is a fan of vintage music while Ryan is a fan of the now defunct Squid Squad. Most of them are influenced by things of the past, and that probably influenced their choices.

Diss-Pair: It generally seems that, despite Ikkan's forward moving character, he still misses Squid Squad. The Ink Theory valentine's day picture did show he still carries stickers of them on his equipment. Warabi themselves probably feel they owe to their past how they got here now. They were exposed to a lot of music thanks to their childhood, and if they never traveled the world, they wouldn't have met Ikkan.

SashiMori: They all met each other long before SashiMori, coming from their old band with who we think might be Pearl, and then reforming into SashiMori thanks to Taichi. And they didn't become the way they are if they had never found Paul, you know? As for him, we've learned from Side Order that most Octarians are still nostalgic for the domes, and still view it as an important part of their lives. Its easy to know because of the Octarian we happened to adventure with.

Acht: They're here too after all (look at the little squiggle above Paul's signature. That wasn't part of his old signature). We get to learn a lot about Acht's past, and even if they've started moving on into the future, they still hold some value in it at the end of the day. That, or they simply signed the banner to be next to Paul.

Team Present, as seen by the Purple and Pearl's huge ass signature. Dork. These people are focused on the now, whether its the people they are with, or making changes in the now with the world or with oneself. Yoko's polycule of Ink Theory and the Gold Bazookas dominate the whole thing.

Ink Theory: It's a bit hard to parse, but none of them have expressed desires to change the music industry or any such grand goal. Karen cites Hightide Era as an inspiration for the band, but they do their own thing despite that. They all seem to just be content doing what they do and getting better at it.

Yoko and the Gold Bazookas: We don't know these ladies (and guy), but Yoko formed it while on a journey to reinvent herself, to become someone knew (likely after a breakup with Karen, research still pending till Bankara Walker releases). Like Ink Theory, they don't seem to have any grandiose goals beyond just playing music for its sake.

Team Future, presented in Green with Deep Cut in the corner. These people look to the future, wanting to make a change, sometimes taking the old to make something new with it. Hightide Era, Bottom Feeders and H2Whoa are here.

Hightide Era: (They still live, booo.) It comes of as strange considering we know Taka is a shallow poser who uses music to get fame and fortune, with Kuze and Nishida seemingly just along for the ride. But there is one thing about the future they care about; nature. They named themselves Hightide Era to reflect the current reality of ecology, so it seems they do care about environmental awareness and the future of their world. Neat!

Bottom Feeders: Finn Bottom wants to show the goodness of traditional music to a changing world, while Tangle dislikes the current state of music and wants to return to more straightforward styles. It sounds like they'd be more Team Past material, but they do seem to focus more on the changing aspect of their craft rather than the past part, unlike Wet Floor.

H2Whoa: They're harder to parse since we have no idea of their personalities. They're described as Topical, meaning they're very current with trends, but that seems to be in a sort of paradoxical disregard for what is actually big at the moment, with all the punk rock and jazz. They play music their own way without a care for the present or past.

And this is the Neutral zone. Chaos vs Order did have a few people who were neutral in the battle, so it seems here is the same deal. These bands didn't make a choice, perhaps because they couldn't decide due to finding all three choices important, or all three choices unimportant. Chirpy Chips, Front Roe, C-Side, Riot Act and Damp Socks are our final bands to see.

Chirpy Chips: I imagine they're a case where they see all three choices as important. The main thing about the Chips is that they are all close to each other and go at their own pace regardless of whats going on. They had a breakup in the past that was quickly resolved, and they haven't broken up since, meaning they're all very close to each other. Past, Present or Future, the Chirpy Chips are forever.

Front Roe: Well clearly they're still hiding their identities from the public with new signatures, though it seems Ichiya is the only one trying to hide. I think they're in the unsure category. Front Roe is literally them trying to distance themselves from Squid Squad, but they owe their lives to it no matter how hard they run. Their present i feel kinda sucks what with C-Side being on their assess. And I think they don't even know what their future holds for them.

C-Side: They're kind of a no brainer to me since their description gives evidence for each choice. They value the Splatlands and the lives they live there (Past), they care deeply for each other and are very close (Present), and Beika wants to gift his music to a world of shifting chaos (Future). They all see each choice as equally valuable to them.

Riot Act: I feel they share the same opinions as C-Side (in fact I think they came with them to the venue, considering they share a Kikura). Plus their collab with Bottom Feeders show they appreciate the music of now and are happy with making it with other bands.

Damp Socks: We don't really know much about them, but I feel they fall in the indifferent category. Yeah, I got nothing for them

Back to the Fest

Like I say often, these are my interpretations as to what this information could mean. Feel free to share what your ideas are about their Splatfest choices. And happy Splatting!

[ammoknightsofficial]

do you have any salmonid thoughts? I know this is really broad, but they fascinate me :3

I think one of my biggest thoughts about them is how much of a shame it is that a lot of people either don't know or refuse to acknowledge the fact that Salmonids are an intelligent race with their own culture, religion, art, societies, and customs, rather than "just animals". If you were to keep a Salmonid - such as a Small Fry - that wouldn't be like taking a stray animal off the streets. It's more analogous to finding a lost child, and deciding that that's your kid now.

I think a lot of that has to do with the way Mr. Grizz refers to them- him and Cuttlefish are pretty similar in the fact that they work their hardest to try and make you forget that the people you're killing are people. They both seem to see their respective "lines of work" as a form of Pest Control, with Grizz in particular being rather overt about this.

They're a fascinating species, really, especially when you pay attention to them. If memory serves, Salmonid society is quite comparable to the pop culture perception of Sparta- it's chaotic, largely based in the idea of being a warrior, and dying on the battlefield is considered a high honor... Topped only by being eaten after experiencing that warrior's death. There's a lot of importance placed on consumption.

... Also, I don't particularly think Splatoon 3 has been very kind to their lore, but that's a whole different topic. I saw a pretty good post about the shortcomings of Splatoon 3's Story Mode recently, I'll make sure to reblog it soon, so that you can read that if you ever find yourself interested...

[takosan388]

Splatoon 3 Grand Festival trailer details you might have missed:

1) Arriving at the Grand Festival:

You are greeted by this gate of ink streams flowing down. Pink, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, close to the colors of the rainbow! Also a big sign with the GRAND FESTIVAL logo on top.

"Sometimes when colors clash and mix, you end up with mud. But every now and then you get to see a beautiful rainbow!"

2) Fest duration, day/night cycles, idols outfits.

The fest lasts 72h-starting September 13th (Friday) 01:00 GMT+1 and ending September 16th (Monday) 01:00 GMT +1.

Fridays always have a sunset during events!

We can notice that the idols are wearing their default outfits during the sunset and are in separate stages-split into their groups.

Squid Sisters, Off the Hook, Deep Cut in their original outfits.

Weekends always have nighttime!

In both different stage settings (will go into more detail bellow) the idols are wearing their new special Grand Festival outfits.

Squid Sisters, Off the Hook, Deep Cut in their Grand Festival outfits.

3) Concert stage settings and details

3.1) Sunset/Friday: Setting 1

The shows take place under a big tent with lit up walls!

Squid Sisters, Deep Cut using the same stage setup. (There isn't any footage of Off the Hook using this setup, but we can assume they will use it as well)

The wall projections switch between a diamond-shapped pattern and images of Squids/Octopi.

Projections of the diamond-shapped pattern and the images of Squids/Octopi.

Floating projections of diamond shapes and images of Squids/Octopi appear close to the stage-same as the wall projection at the time.

Floating projections of the diamond shapes and images of the Squids/Octopi.

3.2) Sunset/Friday: Setting 2

It appears to be a different stage setup which is also used during the sunset. It's an outdoors stage facing the new plaza.

Off the Hook, Deep Cut using the same stage setup. (There isn't any footage of the Squid Sisters using this setup, but we can assume they will use it as well)

* * Editor's note* * My guess here is that: a) either one of the two will be used early in the final week and the other one later during the week or b) there's a third stage which we weren't shown, (I got that idea since both setups can only host one group) so that all the idols perform in different stages at the same time. And under some criteria, they switch stages-probably just by going through a loading screen. Or you can choose.

3.3) Saturday

All the idols are wearing their new outfits! They are gathered on one big venue which contains 3 different platforms-one for each group.

Squid Sisters in the center, Off the Hook on the left, Deep Cut on the right.

* * Editor's note * * They can switch positions! Maybe depending on the song, or randomly every time the plaza loads. Or maybe the platforms switch positions by moving counter-clockwise every few minutes. It can be seen in the images bellow:

First image: Middle SS, left OtH, right DC Second image: Middle OtH, left DC, right SS Third image: Middle DC, left SS, right OtH

Stage details:

Depending on which idol is singing, their respective lights on stage turn on. (It's easily noticeable here where you can see Pearl's mouth move as her light is on while Callie and Marie aren't moving their mouths and their lights are off.)

SS: Callie - Magenta, Marie - Lime green

OtH: Pearl - Pink, Marina - Teal

DC: Shiver - Blue, Big Man - Red, Frye - Yellow

The idols on stage with their respective lights shown lit up.

3.4) Sunday

Now or Never Seven join the stage which is a single platform this time! They will be singing a new mix or a brand new song! Also there are stage fire machines and the edges of the wall around the stage is on fire. How cool is that

From left to right they are positioned as: Marina-Callie, Frye-Big Man-Pearl, Shiver-Marie.

Now or Never Seven during their intro.

4) Background decorations/characters

Wide view of an area away from the concert stages.

On the left can be seen posters of Big Man (green), Marie (Pink), Marina (Purple), Shiver (Green), Callie (Pink) all in the artstyle of Splatoon 2 OtH posters.

On the right, the tour bus for Now or Never Seven.

Close to the bus, posters of Shiver (Green), Frye (Green), Big Man (Green) all in the artstyle of Splatoon 2 OtH posters.

Jellyfish made out of paper floating in the sky attached to thin lines.

Boat in gold colour that resembles the wooden dinghy seen in the Grizzco lobby. It contains the giant Statues from the plazas also painted in gold, and some appear to not be completely built.

This band on "Sunset: Setting 2" is from Mahi Mahi Resort! (Thanks @Rachoogian for noticing it)

A poster near the Grand Festival gate that depicts DJ Octavio!!

A very cool security guard standing close to the "Sunset: Setting 1" stage.

5) The logos of the theme, a cool little detail.

Past is supported by the Squid Sisters, from Splatoon 1 and looks one-dimensional.

Present is supported by Off the Hook, from Splatoon 2 and looks two-dimensional.

Future is supported by Deep Cut, from Splatoon 3, and looks three-dimensional.

(These are just my speculations from analysing the trailer-don't take them for granted.) I could go on and on to comment about their outfits but maybe in a future post, this ended up way longer than I expected.

Let me know if I got something wrong or want me to comment on anything that I missed! Or something you didn't know and found out about now!

Thank you for reading and enjoy the Splatfest! くコ:彡 Ｃ:。ミ

[justanothersquidblog]

what are the meaning of the face markings in your donuthole video?

Great question! Now there's 16 face markings in total so I'll keep my explanations pretty simple! And if you haven't yet, watch the MV I made that these frames are from here!

OG Agent 3;

X; I was thinking of both the end of games with the caution tape going across the screen.

Eye Splatter; the sanitized scar people often draw 3 with

Whiskers and Nose; I was thinking of Judd!

Tears; I wanted to give the impressive of eyebags and tears. I was thinking about how often we make Agent 3 such a tired figure.

Neo Agent 3;

Scales; I was thinking of their connection with salmonids

Eyebags; Its a fusion of OG's X and eyebags markings!

Bear; It's Mr Grizz!

Streaks; I was thinking of cage bars, thinking of bandit stuff

Agent 4;

Blush; I was thinking of dolls and how 4 can be used so flexibly for ocs

Teeth; I was thinking about how they're often portrayed as the funny/dumb type of character, I thought of clowns

Heart; I just wanted to give em a heart ;;; they deserve love;;

Shades; I THINK WE KNOW WHY I PUT SHADES THERE.

Agent 8;

Drip: I was thinking of the sanitized ooze 8 faced in the metros

Stars: I was thinking of both Pearl and Marina's beauty marks and Pearl's eye stars

Mask; I was thinking of the rival octoling goggles

Coral; I was thinking of the bleached coral in side order

[seffien]

Coralyzed Agent 4

(if you want to understand what a coralyzed anything is, read my post about coralysis. this was supposed to be the first thing i posted about coralysis, but i figured i'd introduce coralysis and then post this. insp is here. warning for body horror)

so. what if agent 4 pulled an agent 3 (OE, not splat 3) and got brainwashed, but by the coral in side order? well...

4's sclera are black, and their pupils are white.

they don't look scared or angry or anything like that. they're completely neutral.

coral has grown over their eyes and almost into them, but 8 frees them from their semi-coralysis just in time.

their ink behaves like ink at first, but when it reaches someone or something, it hardens. getting hit by this would cause 8 to move slower until the coral-ink stuff breaks off.

4 is starting to grow bones. they're very primitive and weak, but still!

they can contort their body in all sorts of awful ways, and yes, cracking can be heard.

coral has wrapped around their arms, legs, and torso, and while this should slow them down, the coral gains power once it's got a host.

4 is extremely cold, and anything they touch becomes cold too.

after a bit of fighting, they coat themselves in the coral-ink and become a stronger, faster, ink and coral-based monster. coral is growing off of every part of them.

the coral is sharp, of course, so if 4 were to charge at 8 and 8 failed to dodge...yeah.

after 8 snaps 4 out of this, the coral dissipates. a horrible crack is heard when 4 lands on the ground. luckily, it's not long before they regain their body heat, ink color, body structure, and regular eye color.

[ohheyaghost]

the past and the future of Splatoon - a ramble and some theorizing by me !!

With team past being the winners of the splatfest, that leads to many implications of what comes next for splatoon. The past is filled with cool stuff, meaning we have a vast amount of options or styles to base the next game on. Most people are expecting a great turf war inspired game. Though if that were the case, they would be throwing away almost a decade worth of worldbuilding. Which is why I come bearing with another theory, The splatlands and the great flood. This is gonna be a long one.

The splatlands is a region that has not yet been explored as well lore wise. Splatoon 4 having an approach more towards the great flood and salmonids would be incredible and make for a great story mode. The devs have been building up towards the salmonids having deeper not-yet-explored lore with the introduction of big runs and kind salmonids in splatoon 3. I have a feeling the splatlands and salmonids have a more close knit past then they let on…

During big runs, the stage is usually flooded. The splatlands are known to be prone to flooding as shown with certain stages, (“undertow spillway is a flood bypass in splatsville”) and the great flood. Since the game will most likely take place in another city by splatsville in the splatlands, I have a feeling the floods will be significant. Before we get into my next point, let’s talk about patterns.

The first two story modes followed a very similar formula. Octo Valley and Octo Canyon have almost the same story mode plot. Octo expansion brought something somewhat new to the table, and then alterna had something similar. Then side order brought something entirely new, with the rouge lite/like style gameplay. The game styles get to go twice and then we get something new. Meaning that splatoon 4’s story mode most likely will be a rogue lite/like. Now back to the last point and looping it to the next point.

What if the splatoon 4 story mode is a roguelike/lite, dealing with another great flood or salmonids. The ambiguity leaves a lot of interpretation (give me your theories!! Put them in tags and comments!!) I don’t know where I was going with this ramble, but I’m glad I finally managed to write it. I’ll probably make a ton more theories in the future.

TL;DR: My theory is the next game takes place in the splatlands (not in splatsville but a town nearby), the story mode is in relation to either salmonids or the flooding that takes place in the splatlands and will be a roguelike/lite.

That’s my ramble for the day. I wrote most of it during English class instead of reading the book I’m supposed to be reading. PLEASE tell me your opinion on this theory and some of your own in comments/tags!!