Splatoon
Overview
Splatoon (スプラトゥーン) is a third-person shooter video game franchise created by Nintendo and the title for the first game for the Wii U.
Unlike other TPS (third-person shooter) games, it is less about defeating the opponent with shooting and more about other tasks as a team. As well with it's cheerful atmosphere and sense of immorality of using water guns to spray ink literally changed the bloody nature of the TPS genre. This makes the game suitable not only for beginners, but also for experienced TPS players who want to make full use of their previous experience.
The Protagonist is a ...... Squid!?
Another feature is that the player is an Inkling (aka "squid") who has two forms: human form and squid form.
In human form, the inkling can run on the ground and perform actions with thier weapons.
When transformed into squid form, it can swim quickly through ink of the same color as itself (painted by it's own team). As long as they are submerged in the ink, there remaining ink will recover greatly. Damage taken by the enemy will also be recovered. However, you cannot become a squid on the opponent's ink. You will be taken off your feet and slowly take damage. In other words, painting over the ink can also stop the opponent's footing.
Since the squid can hide anywhere in the ink, including the floor and walls, they can perform a variety of actions using the ink, such as painting walls to climb, spreading ink to clear a route for allies to pass, or hiding in the ink to ambush opponents.
However, the squid form also has some weaknesses, such as not being able to use there weapons, being defeated in a battle if there are too focused on ambushing, and being painted with enemy ink from above, causing them to be one-sidedly beaten up.
Although there a squid, if they touches deep water, they will die instantly, just like Yoshi in Super Mario Sunshine. The cause is said to be the difference in osmotic pressure.
Another action unique to the inklings is the super jump. This action allows the inkling to become a squid and make a big jump, rushing to any of there allies on the map.
This is a very hot ability that can be used to shorten movement time, and even when you are outnumbered, you can aim for a major reversal depending on the position of your allies.
Game Modes
Turf War
Turf War or Territory Battle (ナワバリバトル) in Japanese comprise of splitting into two teams of four at random covering the turf with their colored ink. The team that covers the largest area by spraying ink of it's team color onto the field wins.
You can defeat your opponent by hitting him with ink, but the number of times you defeat or are defeated does not affect your points, since victory or defeat decisions and individual scores are based entirely on the area you have covered (however, when you defeat an opponent, ink of your color is sprinkled around him, so you get indirect paint points).
Even if you are defeated, you can revive infinitely from the starting point. It is truly a game of "paint or be painted".
Of course, kills are not a total waste of time; they have very important implications, such as "being able to paint the area around your opponent in your own color", "reducing your opponent's special gauge", and above all, "being able to do whatever you want while you are back at the start point".
Ranked Battle
Ranked Battle or Gachi-Matchi / Competitive Match (ガチマッチ) in Japanese is the second online mode, it can be accessed to players Level 10 and up. Players are matched according to the Score System, a system rated on letters. The Score System will increase or decrease the player's score depending on the wins and losses in Ranked Battles, and the higher the score, the higher the experience and money rates will be.
Unlike Turf War, players can play under irregular rules familiar from traditional FPS. There are three types of rules: Splat Zones, Tower Control, and Rainmaker (Clam Blitz was added in the next game).
Winning gives you a large amount of experience and money, while a knockout loss gives you zero points. Basically, it is a battle of 0 or 100. This mode is designed for those who are more concerned with winning head-to-head.
Splat Zones
Splat Zones or Gachi-Eria / Competitive Area (ガチエリア) is a contrast to Turf War, contestants paint a designated narrow "area" on a large map and compete for the time it takes to "secure" the area. The first player to secure a total of 100 counts wins.
Since players gather in a small area, encounters with the enemy team are inevitable. The rules are designed to test the player's ability to fight against other players.
In some maps, there are two areas to be painted, and in this case, the count will advance only when both areas are painted. Therefore, if the two teams are very close and the two areas are far apart, the count may not progress very far and the game may end in an overtime (there is no tie, and the judge will award one point to whichever team has the advantage).
Tower Control
Tower Control or Gachi-Yagura / Competitive Watchtower (ガチヤグラ) is a rule in which players compete for a moveable tower placed in the center of the map. When the tower is mounted, it moves along a predetermined route toward the enemy's position. The winner is determined by whether the tower is pushed to the opponent's goal or how far the tower is advanced.
The key to victory is to fully understand the nature of the subweapon in order to protect the members on top of the tower and to drive the opponent off the tower.
The route of the tower depends on the map, but it usually passes through water or along the edge of a gully, so it is also a rule that players often make mistakes in painting.
Rainmaker
Rainmaker or Gachi-Hoko / Competitive-hoko Battle (ガチホコ) in Japanese requires the player to grab the Rainmaker or Gachihoko (ガチホコ) to the goal that's at the other team's side. The Japanese title and the Gachihoko itself is based off and a pun of the shachihoko, a folklore animal that could summon rain.
The Rainmaker cannot use any weapons or super jumps, so the player must cooperate with allies to clear a path to the goal. The Rainmaker itself can also attack the opposing team with a large twisters of ink which can be charged and released, so it is important to note that Rainmaker holders are not carriers only.
The Rainmaker is initially covered by a barrier, which must be destroyed by attacking it. The moment the barrier is destroyed, it sprays a large amount of ink from the team that destroyed it.
If the Rainmaker is too far from the opponent's goal and cannot advance because it is too slow, it will explode with the other team's ink and wrap itself in the barrier again.
Once a player possesses a Rainmaker, they cannot relinquish it until the goal is reached or the Rainmaker holder is defeated, so be careful not to relinquish it as it's a disadvantage.
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