Harmony Splatoon 3
Image: Nintendo

The Splatoon 3 Direct was full of juicy info to get us ready for the upcoming squid shooter sequel, which will be released on September 9th. But like all good Nintendo fans, we weren't watching the Direct just for the game updates, oh no, we were also on the hunt for Nintendo Easter eggs.

One such callback came in the form of an extended reach into the company's past. Harmony, the overseer of Splatsville's new general store, Hotlantis, can be seen playing with a Nintendo Ultra Hand — an extendable grabber toy that was manufactured by Nintendo back in the 1960s.

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Twitter was quick to point out this Easter egg, with @trsrpc seemingly being the first to highlight this retro callback.

Of course, this is not the first time that Nintendo has featured the Ultra Hand in a video game title. Eagle-eyed fans may have seen the toy used as a support for a certain section of track in Mario Kart 8's GBA Mario Circuit. Approaching the raised hairpin bend, the Ultra Hand (here renamed the Ultra Arm) can be spotted in a beefed-up form, lifting the track off the ground.

You can check out this time-stamped video right here for precise instructions on where to spot this previous Easter egg.

Other Twitter users have added to the chain, noting the Ultra Hand's appearance in various titles, one of which is 2018's WarioWare Gold.

And come on, who remembers Grill-Off with Ultra Hand, that obscure Club Nintendo reward? The WiiWare days were a different time. We reviewed it back in the day, too, and even though we were not fond of it then, it is a little curio from Nintendo's history.

Still, while Harmony may not be the official Hotlantis owner, it certainly appears that she is up to date on her Nintendo history at least!

What is your favourite Nintendo Easter egg to date? Let us know in the comments below!

[source twitter.com]