Splatoon 3

Splatoon 3 (スプラトゥーン3) is a Nintendo shooting game that released on September 9, 2022.

Overview

Splatoon 3 (スプラトゥーン3, Supuratūn Surī) was first announced during the Nintendo Direct broadcast on February 18, 2021, with additions and changes to many parts of the game, including actions and festivals, as well as new weapons and fields.

New elements from 3 included a catalog and locker, as well as the mini-game Tableturf Battle.

Setting

Splatlands

The setting of Splatoon 3 is a far cry from the Inkadia region, the setting of previous works. Splatlands, known as Bankara Region (バンカラ地方, Bankara Chihō) in Japan, is a desolate land of arid wilderness and rocky mountains that do not resemble common life styles for the former marine creatures such as Inklings and others.

The scorching sunlight and harsh natural environment have created a unique culture called "Splatlands culture" (using the Japanese term, Bankara Region, fits this due to Bankara meaning rough), and it is said that these values have attracted the attention of fashion-conscious squids in recent years.

The relationship with Octarians and Salmonids also seems to be somewhat different than before, with Octarian Octolings coexisting and co-prospering with Inklings, and can be selected from the beginning as a player character. In addition, in the promotional video, a Smallfry accompanies the player.

Since there are few urban areas in the region, some battle stages are located in the wilderness.

Recently, the Hammerhead Bridge, which connects the region to the Inkadia region, has been completed, making it easier for people to come and go.

Splatsville

Splatsville or Bankara City (バンカラ街, Bankara-gai) in Japan, is the city that serves as the base of activities in the Splatlands. It is called the "city of chaos" because of its appearance of old and new buildings crammed together like the Kowloon Walled City, and it is said to have developed rapidly in the year and a half since the final Splatfest of the previous work.

Game Modes

Splatfest

Splatfest or just Fest (フェス, Fesu) in Japan, is special mode that is only available during certain periods of time that happened in all three games. This is a kind of festival held to settle matters that cannot be won or lost. The players decide on their own camp at the voting booth, divide into teams, and engage in Turf War.

As in the previous two works, the town of Splatsville turns into night during the festival, but this time, a new direction has been added to make it become evening two days prior to the festival.

From this work, the teams are divided into three teams to compete against each other, and rules are added in the latter half of the festival period in addition to the preparation period known as Sneak Peek or Preliminary Fest (ヨビ祭, yobi-sai) as known in Japan.

The system is basically the same as in Anarchy Battle, divided into Open and Pro. However, unlike rank points, festival contributions are divided between each.

The Sneak Peek is the preparation period before the day of the festival, and if you raise your catalog level with your vote completed, you will receive a conch shell (ホラガイ, horagai) which will also affect the final results of the festival.

Tricolor Battle

In the second half of the festival, a special rule called Tricolor Battle (トリカラバトル, torikara batoru, lit. Three-Color Battle) will be added. Teams that did not come out on top in the interim announcement can challenge a mode called Tricolor Turf War (トリカラアタック), a three-way battle with a total of eight players: four from the top team on the defensive side and two from each of the other teams on the offensive side.

The basic rule is Turf War, but the attackers can receive support from the Deep Cut using Ultra Signal (スーパーシグナル, Sūpā Shigunaru, lit. Super Signal) placed on the field, and the Special Gauge increases according to the ink of the summoned Sprinkler of Doom (マトイ, matoi).

List of Past Festivals

Round	Holding Period	Shiver Team	Frye Team	Big Man Team	Winner	Notes
World Premiere	Varied (1.)	Rock (グー, Gū)	Paper (パー , Pā)	Scissors (チョキ, Choki)	Rock	Held as an "eve party" to commemorate the launch
1	24 September 2022, 00:00 UTC - 25 September 2022, 23:59 UTC	Gear (道具, dōgu lit. tools), "I'm Team Gear on the deserted island!"	Grub (食料, shokuryō, lit. Food), "I'm Team Grub on the deserted island!"	Fun (ヒマつぶし, hima tsubushi, lit. Stuff to Kill Time), "I'm Team Fun on the deserted island!"	Gear
2	12 November 2022, 00:00 UTC	Grass (くさ, kusa)	Fire (ほのお, honō, lit. Flame)	Water (みず, mizu)	Ongoing	Commemorating the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Started at different dates and times depending on the location, check Inkipedia for more info.

New Elements

Ghost

a ghost, known in Japan as avatar (ブンシン, bunshin) is a hologram of a friend's Inkling or Octoling in the lobby. The friend's latest Splatoon 3 play history is displayed, and it is possible to join them into a battle from here.

Catalog

Catalog (カタログ, katarogu) is an item that can be obtained at the general store Hotlantis in Splatsville. By repeating battles, catalog points are accumulated, and gear and other items are awarded. The catalog is renewed every three months and is a so-called season pass-like element.

Locker Room

Locker room (ロッカールーム, Rokkā rūmu), as the name suggests, it is a locker room. The player has their own customizable locker that can decorate with stickers and accessories to customize to their liking. Although it has nothing to do with battles, squids are eager to show off their own taste.

players can get various accessories at the Hotlantis or as rewards from missions.

Tableturf Battle

Tableturf Battle, known as Great Territory Wars: Turf-Battler (陣取大戦ナワバトラー, jintori taisen nawabatorā) in Japanese is a card game popular among squids in the Splatsville region. It is, so to speak, a card-based Turf War battle. Each card has a shape on it, and players compete to see how many squares they can get on the field.

Other

Other new elements include splashtag or name plate (ネームプレート, nēmupurēto) in Japanese that are displayed in battles, a recon or stroll (さんぽ, sanpo) in Japanese, a mode that allows users to walk through all stages at any time, and a Battle Replay or Memory Player (メモリープレーヤー, memorī purēyā) in Japanese, a feature that allows users to look back on battles.