Splatoon (2015 video game)

Splatoon (スプラトゥーン, Supuratūn ^?) is a 2015 third-person shooter developed and published by Nintendo. The game focuses on paintball-like Turf Wars between Inklings, who try to cover the most Turf with weaponized ink. The game was first revealed at E3 2014, and was first released for the Wii U in Japan on May 28, 2015.

Etymology[]

A portmanteau of the words "splat" and "platoon".

Development[]

Splatoontofu — An early design of *Splatoon* featuring blocks of tofu.

Splatoon was first created by the EAD in late 2013. The team had thought of over seventy game ideas, but decided to focus on a game involving inking turf. At first, this concept featured black and white blocks of tofu with noses that sprayed ink. The game featured a top-down view, allowing the tofu blocks to blend in with their splattered turf.

Splatoonrabbit — A later design of *Splatoon* featuring anthropomorphic rabbits.

However, these characters presented a variety of problems, so development began on a different character that was vaguely humanoid in shape. A rabbit was chosen as the design, because its floppy ears would indicate what direction it was traveling when viewed from above. Many EAD developers criticized this idea, so ideas such as Mario, robots, and macho men were considered. The rabbits were later scrapped in favor of humanoid squids, which, the team felt, fit the theme better. They could also be easily used as arrows on the map. However, the transformation mechanic was yet to be integrated during this period of development—these anthropomorphic squids did not transform fully into squids before swimming around, unlike the final game's Inklings.

First inkling design — the inklings old design

Story[]

In Hero Mode, the Octarians, the historic nemesis of the Inklings, built an underground facility, accessible from Octo Valley via a number of kettle-shaped teleporters. After the disappearance of the Zapfish from Inkopolis Plaza, the protagonist, wearing the Hero Suit and wielding the Hero Shot, must infiltrate these bases and rescue all the Zapfish. By retrieving these electric fish, the Zapfish and Great Zapfish will return to Inkopolis and keep providing power to the city, and the Octarians will be stopped from activating The Great Octoweapons, invading the Inklings' world, and claiming their land. For more info, See Hero Mode and Octarians.

Gameplay[]

Splatoon is a third-person shooter with online multiplayer as its primary focus. In the main mode, Turf Wars, which eight players are divided into two teams of four and tasked with covering the arena in as much ink of their team's color as possible in a set amount of time. The playable Inklings have two main forms—their human form, in which they can use weapons to spread ink and splatter opponents, and their squid form, which can swim through ink at amazing speed, recharge the player's ink tanks, and hide in similarly-colored ink—and may switch between either at will by pressing or depressing the left trigger. Players can also utilize Sub Weapons, such as Ink Bombs, and Special Weapons, such as Ink Launchers, with the right shoulder and stick, respectively. Teams are awarded points based on the amount of land they cover in their team's ink, and the team that covers the most territory within a specified time wins the match. There is also a Ranked Battle mode where players' wins and losses influence their ranks.

Splatoon also features a single-player Hero Mode, which sees the player travel to Octo Valley and traverse levels based on 3D platforming and puzzle-solving. In this mode, the player uses the Hero Shot, a modified Splattershot.

Characters[]

Protagonists[]

Secondary[]

Antagonists[]

Octarians
- DJ Octavio

Online Modes[]

Regular Battle[]

Regular Battle can be accessed by players of all levels.

Turf War: An online mode consisting of four players in two teams. The team with the highest ink coverage wins the match.
Splatfest: An online mode hosted by the Squid Sisters, that asks players questions like "Cats or Dogs" or "Pop music or Rock music?" They then compete for their chosen side, and the winning side's players all receive a Super Sea Snail. It is specific to each region, and happens on scheduled days for a specified amount of time.

Ranked Battle[]

Ranked Battle are able to be accessed by players once they reach level Level 10. The modes included in this category require a higher level of strategy compared to regular modes, and wins and losses will be counted toward players' ranks. Players begin with a 'C-' rating, but are able to improve and regress based on how well they perform. Ranked Battles were released when a large amount of players reached Level 10.

Splat Zones: A mode similar to King of the Hill and Capture the Flag, where two teams battle to take control of zones.
Tower Control - An Inkling must take control of one tower and ride it towards the enemy base. The first team to get the tower to their enemy's base wins.
Rainmaker - where a team has to move the self-titled Rainmaker weapon to the other side of the map.

Squad Battle[]

In Squad Battle, players and their friends can form a group — or squad — of two up to four players, and compete against other squads in Ranked Battles. There are 3 selections to choose for the number of your squad members. It was featured in the August 5th Update.

Private Battle[]

In Private Battle groups of two to eight players can select the rules and stages to play, though battles will have no effect on players' levels nor ranks. The host of a lobby can decide the number of players on each team, allowing for intentional asymmetrical battles. A password can be assigned to a lobby to make it private. It was featured in the August 5th Update.

Offline Modes[]

Hero Mode[]

A single player story mode with puzzle and platforming elements. It stars an Inkling in the Hero Suit fighting the Octarians in Octo Valley.

Battle Dojo[]

A local 2-player multiplayer mode. The GamePad player uses the GamePad screen, the Pro Controller player uses the TV screen. They compete against each other on the Turf War maps to pop the most balloons.

Arcade Games[]

The arcade machine appears near the booyah base. Only one of the games can be played at the start. The rest are unlocked through amiibo challenges. There are four different games. All of them can be played while waiting for a match assuming that you unlocked them. One of them, squid beatz, reappears in splatoon 2 as squid beatz 2 with an upgraded soundtrack to fit the new game.

Amiibo Challenge[]

A mode accessible with the splatoon amiibos. This mode is the same levels as hero mode, but played with a different weapon (with an exception). The compatible amiibos are the blue inkling boy, the orange inkling girl, and the green inkling squid each also has it’s own respective pallet swap. Beating levels will give you gold or in some cases gear, weapon blueprints, or arcade games. The callie and Marie amiibos are usable, but let you put inkopolis into a splatfest theme instead of the amiibo challenge.

Maps[]

Name	Image	Description
Arowana Mall		Arowana Mall is a narrow battlefield that is set at an outdoor mall, decorated with stores, plants, and advertisements.
Blackbelly Skatepark		Blackbelly Skatepark is a stage based around a skate park. It includes a curved landscape with multiple raised locations.
Saltspray Rig		Saltspray Rig is a stage based around an ocean oil rig. It contains many hazards, as falling into water is fatal for Inklings. It features two main sections, with a moving crane carrying a grated platform situated in the upper section.
Urchin Underpass		Urchin Underpass is a stage that takes place underneath a highway overpass, it has many trees and concrete paths. From 2 to 5 August 2015, Urchin Underpass went under maintenance and during this time, the terrain was heavily edited.
Walleye Warehouse		Walleye Warehouse is a stage based around a production warehouse. It is one of the few stages where battles take place indoors and includes multiple boxes and platforms that must be avoided.
Port Mackerel		Port Mackerel consists of low passages and high platforms in a container yard, with forklift trucks moving along the narrow corridors.
Kelp Dome		Kelp Dome is a large, indoor greenhouse with many plants and corridors, it is one of the few stages where battles take place indoors.
Bluefin Depot		Bluefin Depot is a large, abandoned train station with crates and an elevated railroad track that is split into two sections in the center.
Moray Towers		Moray Towers takes place atop buildings, some of which are car parks, and is characterized by several ramps leading to the rooftops. It includes two large towers connected by a series of diagonal ramps which meet together in a central area.
Camp Triggerfish		Camp Triggerfish takes place in a large, outdoor arena that appears to be a summer camp. It includes hazardous water areas and elevation changes. In Turf War, when there is only one minute left in the match, floodgates at the right of the spawn close, allowing players to access the enemy base and attack from a new angle
Flounder Heights		Flounder Heights consists of the top of an apartment complex, with multiple raised platforms, a wire floor, and a pair of doors.
Hammerhead Bridge		Hammerhead Bridge takes place on a suspension bridge under construction. It has a variety of raised and lowered platforms all throughout the bridge. A grated walkway runs through the center of the map, allowing diverse gameplay on both the high and low ground.
Museum D'Alfonsino		Museum d'Alfonsino takes place in an open art museum with many rotating platforms.
Mahi-Mahi Resort		Mahi-Mahi Resort takes place in a squid-shaped swimming pool next to a resort. In the latter half of a Regular battle, Splat Zones, or Rainmaker match, the water level will drop, revealing more turf to ink.
Piranha Pit		Piranha Pit takes place in a mining facility, sporting a unique mechanic with moving conveyor belt floors, giving it the largest potentially inkable area.
Ancho-V Games		Ancho-V Games takes place in a video game studio that contains a propeller lift mechanic.

Weapons[]

Shooters[]

Rollers[]

Chargers[]

Sloshers[]

Splatlings[]

Sub Weapons[]

Splat Bomb, A bomb that explodes a short while after hitting the ground.
Burst Bomb, A bomb that explodes as soon as it hits anything. The explosion is small and not that powerful, but these bombs can be thrown repeatedly without consuming too much ink.
Suction Bomb, A bomb that sticks to walls or the ground. It takes longer to explode than a Splat Bomb, but it has a larger blast radius.
Seeker, Seekers run along the ground, spreading a narrow linear line of ink behind them - swim through this ink trail to quickly get around a stage.
Ink Mine, Place this trap on the ground, and it will explode when an enemy comes too close. It will also mark that enemy for a short time. If covered with enemy ink, it will detonate. You can place up to two at a time.
Disruptor, When an opponent is hit with a Disruptor, their speed is decreased significantly, making them an easy target—they’re also surrounded by several swimming squid icons, making them easy to spot, even when swimming.
Point Sensor, A device that marks the enemies in the area where it lands. This will reveal their location to every member of your team.
Splash Wall, This weapon creates a wall of ink in front of you, blocking enemies from attacking or approaching.
Sprinkler, A device that sticks to walls or the ground and sprays ink around. Immediately after deployment it sprays vigorously, but gradually dwindles in strength.
Squid Beakon, This device emits a special signal that can be detected by Inklings. Any of your teammates can Super Jump to a Squid Beakon's position by selecting it and pressing . It's single-use, so it'll break once somebody Super Jumps to it.

Special Weapons[]

Bomb Rush, Allows you to deploy unlimited sub weapons, including Splat Bombs, Burst Bombs, and Suction Bombs.
Bubbler, A small impenetrable bubble appears around your character, rendering you invincible for approximately five seconds. Bubbler can also be shared with teammates.
Echolocator, Reveals the locations of all opponents on the stage for approximately twelve seconds.
Inkstrike, A large, ink-filled missile that lets you attack any location on the map! Upon impact, the missile unleashes a tornado of ink, swirling about and spreading ink over a wide area.
Inkzooka, A shoulder-fired bazooka-like weapon fires swirling tornados of ink, instantly splatting opponents and leaving behind a narrow ink trail. The Inkzooka utilizes the ink from Inklings who are in an intense emotional state.
Killer Wail, A large megaphone that send a sonic blast through the stage. This wave travels through the entire stage, passing through walls and other objects.
Kraken, A large, invincible squid that can swim around the stage (including all inked and non-inked surfaces) and leaving behind an ink trail.

Trivia[]

Splatoon is a portmanteau of the words "splat" and "platoon".
The Inklings' squid form shares strong similarities with Super Mario's Bloopers.
In the single-player trailer from the November 2014 Nintendo Direct, easter eggs can be found that consist of a Blooper from the Super Mario series and Octoroks from the Legend of Zelda series.