Splatoon

Splatoon
Who says Nintendo can't make shooters?
Protagonist(s): Agent 3 Genre(s): Third-Person Shooter Platform(s): Wii U Release Date: JP: May 28, 2015 NA/EU: May 29, 2015 AU: May 30, 2015 Developer(s): Nintendo EAD Publisher(s): Nintendo Country: Japan Series: Splatoon Successor: Splatoon 2

Splatoon is a team-based third-person shooter game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It is the first game in the Splatoon franchise, and was released from May 28 to 30, 2015.

The game was followed up by Splatoon 2 on July 21, 2017.

Why It's Splatacular

1. The concept of mixing squids and octopi with the sport of paintball is a very unique and interesting one, and it is used in many creative ways here, such as serving as the basis for Inklings and Octolings (the game's two main species of characters).
2. The game's main species of characters, Inklings and Octolings, are interesting species with cute yet cool designs, and the way they transform into their respective cephalopod (squid or octopus) is creative yet an effective way to slip through their ink.
3. Fantastic graphics with colorful visuals, especially for 2015 Wii U standards, even resembling a Pixar movie at times.
4. Inkopolis Plaza, the game's main location, is a very busy city that seems to be based on Tokyo, Japan, and has several shops for the player to explore:
   • Ammo Knights, run by Sheldon, is where the player buys their new weapons to use in Turf War battles.
   • Cooler Heads, Jelly Fresh, and Shrimp Kicks (run by Annie and Moe, Jelonzo, and Crusty Sean, respectively) are the clothing stores where the ayer can purchase gear for themselves to give them special abilities.
   • The Battle Dojo is an area where two players can test their skills in local PvP battles.
5. Superior and amazing soundtrack that gives off mid-2000s Nickelodeon vibes, especially "Now or Never!"
6. There is a colorful cast of characters, each with a unique personality, including:
   • The Squid Sisters (Callie and Marie/Agents 1 and 2) are the main idol group who support Agent 3 and announce the game via Splatcasts.
   • Cap'n Cuttlefish is the leader of the Squidbeak Splatoon who guides Agent 3 through the path to save the Zapfish.
   • DJ Octavio, the main antagonist, has a unique way of attacking via his Octobot and makes for a good final boss.
7. There are many multiplayer modes to play at the Inkopolis Tower, including:
   • Turf War: You and three other players take on an opposing team to ink the most turf before three minutes is up.
   • Splat Zones: You and your teammates must protect specific areas known as Splat Zones and cover them in ink before tehy do so themselves.
   • Tower Control: You and your teammates must get a mechanical tower to the goal before your opponents do. Whoever inks the tower has contrrol of it.
   • Rainmaker: You and your team must carry the Rainmaker to your goal area before your opponents do. Be careful, as the Rainmaker can explode on you if you're not quick enough.
     • You can also host a Private Battle with friends in any of these modes.
8. Splatfests, events that took place every month for more than a year, are fun concepts that pit the players between each other over debatable topics, such as Rice vs. Bread (for Japanese starch foods), Early Bird vs. Night Owl (for how Americans liked to be awake), Rock vs. Pop (a European topic for which type of music they liked), and the Final Fest being Callie vs. Marie!
   • One Splatfest was a crossover event with SpongeBob SquarePants (SpongeBob vs. Patrick), which is fitting given that both are sea-related, while another was a crossover event between the Game Boy Pokémon games (Red vs. Green or Red vs. Blue).
   • Marie winning the Final Splatfest influenced the next game's Octo Canyon, as Callie was brainwashed by DJ Octavio.
9. While the main focus of the game is multiplayer, the single-player story mode, Octo Valley, is a decent way to learn how to play multiplayer modes while also not being an obvious afterthought like many modern shooters. In Octo Valley, you join up with Callie and Marie (Agents 1 and 2) and Cap'n Cuttlefish as Agent 3 to defeat DJ Octavio and save the Zapfish from him.
10. There are plenty of weapon kits to use in battle, with each type of weapon being different from each other:
    • Main weapons are your main method of attacking, ranging from guns, brushes, and Sloshers.
    • Sub-Weapons are wider-effect bombs, including Splat Bombs, Curling Bombs, and Blast Bombs.
    • Specials activate when your Special Meter is full and issue a wide range of attacks. Some of these include the Killer Wail, Kraken, Bomb Rush, and Inkstrike.
11. If you scan in either Callie or Marie's Amiibo, you get to listen to their solo song, Tide Goes Out for Marie, and Bomb Rush Blush for Callie.

Bad Qualities

1. This being the first game in the series, there isn't much to do once you complete Octo Valley other than multiplayer matches or replaying levels. The game could have greatly beneffited from post-game story content so that it could be less underwhelming than the final product actually is.
   • Additionally, this is the only game where you can't play as an Octoling.
2. Since two sequels were released, support for the first ever Splatoon game was entirely lost.
   • Even worse, since the Wii U online functionality ended on April 8, 2024, you can't even participate in online matches.
3. Every time you level up, Sheldon at Ammo Knights has to explain every new weapon available, which becomes reptitive after a while. Thankfully in the next two games, you have the option to speed up his text.
4. Unlike later games, you can't change your weapon after you win or lose in Turf War or any Ranked Battle matches.
5. Frequently, during Turf Wars, the game will lose connection, ending the war, deleting all progress from it.
6. The infamous "Squid Kid" commercial: while it became a well-known meme within the Splatoon fandom, it's a bit out-of-place for a game like this.

Reception

Splatoon received generally favorable reviews from critics and users (scoring 81/100 and 8.7/10, respectively, on Metacritic), with praise directed at its unique concept, graphics, soundtrack, and gameplay, while criticism was directed at the poor online matchmaking.

Trivia

• This being the first game, there are many differences compared to later games:
  • This is the only game where you can't play as an Octoling.
  • Character customization was relatively barebones, with each gender receiving only one hairstyle and legwear.
  • Jumping was done by pressing X instead of B.
  • This is the only game where the two main colors (orange and blue) didn't match up with the idols in any way (Callie is pink and Marie is green).
  • Ink Gauges have no arrows indicating when they're full enough to use a bomb, though they are on the character model's tank if you look closely.
  • Splatfests were usually wildly different between regions (Japan, North America, and Europe) and had no additional gimmick to gameplay, simply being Turf Wars at night.
  • This is the only game to not feature Grizzco, Salmon Run, the Salmonids, or Mr. Grizz (the main antagonist of the third game).
• The creator of Squid Girl, Masahiro Anbe, loved Splatoon so much, he drew and illustrated tribute illustrations featuring the Inkling Girl, such as her wearing a schoolgirl outfit, wearing pink colored clothes, Inkling Girl VS. Squid Girl, and much, much more. After so many tributes much to Anbe's praise, Nintendo decided on an official Splatoon drawing crossing over with Squid Girl, complete with artwork made by Shiho Fuji. The Squid Girl outfit was released worldwide as part of a massive update in August 2015. Anbe even drew an Inkling Girl wearing the Squid Girl outfit.

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