Topic: Splatoon 3

I love Splatoon so much.

I love it SO. FREAKING. MUCH!

It's the perfect game. I'm starting to appreciate that fact. It really is. Not only is it family friendly- it's not a bunch of soldiers running around killing each other, it's shooting ink and it's cartoonish.... not only that, but it just works so well! The mechanics of ground coverage with ink instead of camping and headshotting A) makes matches feel so much more enthralling and frantic, B) creates an environment where anyone can contribute, so the barrier to entry is lower, and C) is just way more fun! With ink coverage as a focus, that leads to hiding in your ink, swimming in your ink, refilling your ink, etc. It just works.

It's such a flawless concept I can't believe the game hasn't overtaken Call of Duty and Overwatch. It's done very well, don't get me wrong, but it's just flat out better than every other competitive shooter game. Maybe part of it is the whole teenage, "gotta be cool to impress friends, and that means rated R movies and realistic gritty games" mindset (although we are seeing some progression away from the realism focus, as games like Fortnite and Overwatch do have their own artstyles), maybe it's the fact it's Switch exclusive, or maybe it's a bit of both. All I know is, Splatoon is arguably the funnest game I've ever played when it comes to minute to minute gameplay. Even more than Monster Hunter, and anyone aware of my love for MH knows I don't say that lightly.

It's one of those, "one in a million" game concepts that are so unique, so rare, and so utterly flawless that I can't help but be taken aback by how great it is. Splatoon is freaking incredible.

@JaxonH Jeeze, you sound like you're inches from making a dumb Splatoon username for nintnedolife. 😁 (like me) jk<3

@JaxonH I agree. Splatoon has an excellent concept. It actually amazes me that the gameplay came before they even decided on squid/octopus characters.

I think the reason it isn't more popular is a mixture of many things. I have never really played any other online games but apparently Splatoon 2's netcode is not great, so that might be another reason. Also some of the TV ads for the original Splatoon were not very good, so a lot of people still associate those with the game.

I really hope that Nintendo fixes some of the technical issues with the game.

This is unrelated but I thought of something this morning. Splatoon 2 (at least briefly) had some unused game modes in the files that were never finished. I wonder if those might be coming to Splatoon 3. I have noticed that Nintendo have only shown Turf war in the trailers so far, which makes me think that they might be avoiding showing ranked for a reason.
I think that it is pretty likely that Splatoon 3 is going to have new ranked modes.

I miss the long-nosed tofu every day.

In case anyone is new to Splatoon, As @GX_64 mentioned above, Nintendo made a very basic prototype to develop & prove the gameplay concept. If it's fun with cubes, it'll be fun as a full game (I think a presenter said something like that in this presentation or somewhere else)

@JaxonH The family friendly look is initially what actually steered me away from taking Splatoon seriously. I had no plans to get Splatoon 2 when it released in July 2017. I'm so glad my friend was VERY persistent saying, "No, you really should try it", "I think you need to try it". He kept that up for while. He was right in the past about other games, so, I bought it 2-3 months later.

Coincidentally, the same logic applies to Rocket League. It looks so basic or dumb to hit a ball with a car. The game has to be tried to be understood, much like Splatoon. It's extremely compelling gameplay. The only hurdle is creating the account when you boot it up. (for the cross platform game structure) but I think you might be able to skip it. Or log in with your nintendo account.

@GX_64
I honestly haven't had any issues with Splatoon 2 online. All my matches are basically flawless. No lag, no disconnects, nothing. I am running wired with ethernet, but even when I used wireless I don't recall having many issues.

Well, that's not entirely true. I do remember in the early days a lot of ppl would disconnect in matches, presumably do to their own poor connections. But that kind of resolved itself after a while. I think they stopped grouping people with bad internet with those who have solid internet, so their experiences don't get ruined. But that means if you have bad internet, you're going to be matched with others who also have bad connections and everyone's going to have a worse experience.

I definitely think Splatoon 3 will have at least 1 new mode, certainly for ranked.

@WoomyNNYes
People don't realize how fun it is until trying it for themselves. My brother was the same way. I badgered him to no end to try it, but once he did, he was hooked. Now he's a diehard Splatoon fan.

I love Rocket League also. Not as much as Splatoon, but it's insanely fun. So simple, yet so much depth.

The question then becomes will they pull a Clam Blitz and add it after launch.

@Fizza
Love that gif.

Hard to say. I definitely think they'll add content after launch, but I also think it'll have something new at launch which is the defining differentiator as a sequel.

I played so much Turf Wars and Salmon Run over the weekend. And some Octo Canyon, as I want to beat that before doing the Octo Expansion (of course I'd already beaten it in my old save, but it feels fresh and new since it's been half a decade).

Was the first Splatoon single player any good? It's been so long I can't remember.

@JaxonH The first game's campaign was pretty solid. It was pretty standard stuff for the most part, and I don't necessarily remember much of the levels, but I remember it being pretty good overall. The story mode in 2 definitely takes things a bit further, though.

@JaxonH It's good. Very creative, music's banging and the final boss (and most bosses to be fair) is amazing.... but overall on the easy end. I've actually gone back to it there to try and get the Hero weapon Replicas (you have to beat every stage with that weapon in order to get them) and it's been great going back to all these levels I haven't played since I got the game in 2020, remembering all the cool setpieces and enemies they have in store. It's a great companion piece to Octo Expansion though since that one remedies a lot of the issues from Octo Canyon in terms of challenge and other such stuff, making what Octo Canyon does well shine even more.

@Fizza
I always hear people say Octo Canyon isn't that good, but I'm playing it now and I love it! It's so good! The stages are fun as heck, well designed, superb boss battles... Octo Expansion may be better, but I still love Octo Canyon to death.

@JaxonH I've got to say, it's incredible being able to see your opinion on Splatoon change basically in real time since Splatoon 3's trailers. Going back through your posts here has been a wonderfully wholesome experience

@Fizza
Idk about others, but I have a tendency to forget how fun a game is once it's been so many years since I've played. The memories fade, the incredible excitement and enjoyment I felt drifts away, and all that remains is a distant, "ya I enjoyed that". But how much I enjoyed it ends up completely forgotten.

Replaying Splatoon 2 has reminded me this game is legitimately one of my favorites of all time. So my hype for Splatoon 3 has gone from, "ooh, a sequel to a game I liked" to, "oh my gosh give it to me NOW!!!"

@JaxonH I had that exact same thing happen to me with Pokemon Shield: I put in over 350 hours into it and loved every minute of it but, a few months after the DLC, I slowly drifted away, not playing it for months on end. After a while, I began questioning whether or not I really enjoyed it, what with the hammering it got online. However, after playing BDSP and Legends Arceus, I decided to go back and all of the good times came rushing back. I've since put in over 90 more hours, finally gotten the Shiny Charm and have been on a hunting spree, getting ones like Shelmet and Mr. Mime for instance. Time does weird things to your perception of games doesn't it.

Yeah I've been doing loads of octo canyon too I love it a lot its really fun and never really will get boring..

Octo Canyon is superb. I just made it to the 5th world, got the scroll and fish for every stage up to this point, as well as the first 2 stages of the final world. It's super fun and just the right amount of difficulty. I'm starting to feel depressed it's almost over.

At least I still have Octo Expansion to look forward to, and can always go back and play the first game's campaign. And Splatoon 3 will be out in a few months also.

@JaxonH Have you played through Octo Expansion before?

@WoomyNNYes
No. Only the first 3 or 4 stages.

@JaxonH I think there were at least 2-4 stages in the Subway section of Octo that I had to youtube, because they were so tough. If you ever get discouraged in there, there are a couple helpful things to know. 1) If you fail a subway stage 10-15 times, you'll get an incoming message interruption from Marina?(or someone) that says they can "hack" the system for you, to let you pass; If you accept the pass, you can continue progressing the game like normal. Failing-to-beat-stage & taking a pass does not count against you, or harm the game ending in any way. 2) What comes after the subway is awesome. The subway area is not the whole game. So, don't feel guilty about taking a pass on 2-3 subway stages. You can always go back later and complete the stages you didn't beat.

I quit Octo for a while because a few stages drove me nuts. When I came back to the game weeks later and finally got out of the subway, I regretted not accepting a pass on those few pesky stages. The game was great. After I beat Octo Expansion, I went back aftward and completed those 2-3 tough stages. Actually, I don't think there is any reward for beating all the subway stages - only the reward of completionist satisfaction.