Gaming Influence: Thoughts - Splatoon 3 Direct
Hello everyone,
Welcome to Gaming Influence which is a reboot of the same name that I created back in WrestleCorp. However, not only will I be giving my thoughts on certain video games and video game series, but also video game movies, video game anime, video game digital presentations, etc.
For this edition of Gaming Influence, I'll be giving my thoughts on Splatoon 3 Direct on August 10, 2022.
Anyway, let's get started!
With this game coming out next month, did Nintendo do enough to satisfy Splatoon fans as well as players who never played the series before? Well, let's find out and talk about what they've shown.
Intro
The presentation starts off by showing the hub world of the game, Splatsville while the researchers in the Squid Research Lab explain what the Inklings are and how they transform into squids before talking about Turf War.
This is a nice overview of what Splatoon is about as not everyone has played Splatoon so having the researchers explain what Inklings are is nice and Splatsville is a nice new hub world which is looking great. Can't wait to explore the hub world when getting the opportunity to do so.
Turf War
Turf War is the main mode for players to play locally and online where they're a 3 minute 4 Vs. 4 battles where the team must splatter ink on the whole map and whichever team splatter the most ink on the map wins. In addition of splattering ink on the map, there are techniques that players can use to their advantage including swimming up walls, diving underneath in squid form, and recharging your ink when low on ink. There are also new techniques to the game including Squid Surge which swims up walls in one burst and Squid Roll which have the player jump in squid form while moving around. When doing the Squid Roll, if timed right, it can propel ink back at opponents.
Holy crap! Didn't expect any new techniques in this game at all. Squid Surge and Squid Roll should be very useful when it comes to Turf War. Loving it. Also, love the fact that the presentation also gave an overview of what Turf War is and how to play the mode for new players of the series so that's nice to see. Can't wait to play classic Turf War when this game comes out.
Stages
The stages that will appear in Splatoon 3 from The Splatlands include Scorch Gorge, Eeltail Alley, Mincemeat Metalworks, Undertow Spillway, and Hagglefish Market. From the Greater Inkopolis, the stages that will appear in Splatoon 3 include Musuem D'Alfonsino, Hammerhead Bridge, and Mahi-Mahi Resort. In addition, stages like Inkblot Art Academy, Sturgeon Shipyard, Makomart, and Wahoo World will make a return to Splatoon 3 with a total of 12 stages at launch with future stages being added in free updates.
Not a bad lineup in terms of stages with this game with a lot of returning fan favorite ones which is awesome. I also love the fact that they'll be adding more stages to the game in the future with free updates similar to the first Splatoon games which I really appreciate. Can't wait to see what other stages Splatoon 3 will offer after its launch.
Weapons
All of the weapons from past Splatoon games will be back in this game and there will be weapons that will be new to the Splatoon franchise including stringers (crossbows) and splatanas (katanas). There are also new special weapons in the game including tacticooler (refrigerator that will hand out drinks to give stat boosts), wave breaker (causes waves and detect where opponents are), and reefslider (player rides a shark and explodes when it's over). Special weapons from past games will make a return including tenta missiles, inkjet, ink storm, ultra stamp, and booyah bomb. There is a weapon shop called Ammo Knights run by Sheldon where players can purchase weapons using Sheldon Licenses where they can be obtained by leveling up through battles and using the same weapon. In addition, if players spend more Sheldon Licenses, Sheldon will give you a weapon sooner than expected as a special bonus. In addition, for customizing looks of your characters, there will be shops for headgear, clothes, and shoes including Naut Couture run by Gnarly Eddy for headgear, Man-o'-Wardrobe run by Jel La Fleur for clothes, and Crush Station run by Mr. Coco for shoes. There is also a character named Murch in Splatsville that can help the player merge gear together for special abilities.
Really like the new weapons that they have with the stringers and splatanas. They look to be fun weapons to use. The new special weapons look cool as well with tacticcooler, wave breaker, and reefslider. Nice to see the shops as always with the customization and everything which is awesome. Looking forward to the weapons on how they turn out in this game.
Lobby
The lobby is where the players can play different modes such as Anarchy Battles which are battles based on ranks. These battles include Splat Zones, Tower Control, Rainmaker, and Clam Blitz whether it be a series or open for players to play alone or with friends. Plus, players can create private rooms to host their own battles with friends to play with. There is also a test range within the lobby for players to test out new weapons. Ghosts also exist in this game where players can interact with them to play with their friends and join in on the fun. Players can also view battle replays in the lobby to watch their favorite battles as they can share these replays with their friends online. Players can also customize their lockers in the lobby where they can design their lockers. In addition, there is a general store called Hotlantis run by Harmony where players can purchase items.
I have to say that the UI for the modes look quite sick and as usual, they got the rank battles return which is nice. The addition with the ghosts is a nice feature for players to interact and play with their friends online. Also, love the idea of customizing lockers in this game which is awesome. The lobby should be a fun area to explore in Splatsville.
Customization
Players can customize their splashtags (tags) by banners, badges, and titles as well as players can change their emote when winning a battle where they can be purchased in Hotlantis. In addition, new customization items will be added every three months when the game launches for the next two years.
As always, the customization in Splatoon games is pretty good and with this game, it's no different. Also, love the fact that they'll add new customization items every three months after launch for the next two years. Looking forward to it.
Tableturf Battle
Tableturf battle is a tabletop card game that players can play against each other online or other residents in Splatsville in a Turf War card battle. There are 150 cards to collect, and each player get their own starting deck.
Oh snap! A tabletop card game based on Turf War?! Now, that's awesome. This should be a fun minigame on the side when you don't want to do story mode or play regular battles online. Can't wait to try this minigame out when the game launches.
Salmon Run
Salmon Run is a four-player mode where four players work together to fight against Salmonids and get Golden Eggs to win the battle. There are new Boss Salmonids in this game including Slammin' Lid (Boss Salmonid that is an UFO that spread other Salmonids), Big Shot (Boss Salmonid that fires heavy shots that send shockwaves), and Cohozuna (King Salmonid that will appear at the end of the Salmon Run occasionally). There is also a mode in Salmon Run called Big Run where Salmonids invade the city as players have to defend which will happen every few months.
Salmon Run is one of my favorite modes in Splatoon 2 so seeing it back here with more new Salmonids should be a lot of fun. I'm also very curious on how Big Run will turn out so we'll see how that mode will be once the game is released.
Story Mode
Story mode returns in the game where players can access the story mode by going to the Octarians hideout as the player will play as Agent 3 to face off against the Octarians who are now covered in hair. The story mode is also a perfect mode for players to ink turf and try out new weapons. The story in Splatoon 3 will also be the finale of the Splatoon trilogy saga. Plus, players can use the mailbox to send drawings to other players online, Crab-N-Go to grab food to increase stats, The Shoal to communicate with local players to play, photo mode to take pictures, recon mode to play on stages to see how the stages are lay out before heading into battle.
The story in Splatoon is generally good and it looks like it will be the end of the Splatoon trilogy here which I'm very interested to see on how it will end. Not only that, but the other modes also to do on Splatsville is cool as well. Looking forward to playing around with them when the game launches.
SplatNet 3
SplatNet 3 is a mobile app within Nintendo Switch Online where players can check their status in-game, purchase items that are not in-game, help Crusty Sean with his work, and view your history with the game. SplatNet 3 will be available at launch with the game.
As expected, SplatNet makes a return which is a nice feature, but really wish that Nintendo would improve their online structure and where is actual good voice chat? Regardless, cool to see SplatNet make a return.
Amiibo
Amiibo are back in this game where players can insert their amiibo to keep certain gear on their avatar, get special gear, and take photos with your amiibo. In addition, there will be three new amiibo including Inkling (Yellow), Octoling (Blue), and Smallfry which will be released this holiday.
I knew that we're going to get new amiibo and they look great especially with Smallfry. Wondering if we'll get newer Splatoon amiibo then the ones that they've shown. I guess we'll find out soon enough.
Updates
There will be updates for the game after launch every three months for the next two years where it will include new weapons, X Battle (Highest Rank in Anarchy Battle), League Battle (Based on your rank to compete against other players with the same rank as the player), and there will be a large-scale paid DLC for the game.
Just like with the previous two games, there will be updates coming to the game after launch. Nice to see that there will be new weapons coming in as well as the return of X Battle and League Battle. I also love the fact that the paid DLC will return as I do love Octo Expansion from Splatoon 2 so if we're going to get anything like that, it's going to be awesome and it look like Off the Hook will be a part of it with the silhouette, but only time will tell.
Deep Cut
Deep Cut are the new hosts and idols for Splatoon 3 as they host a news broadcast called Anarchy Splatcast where the members include Frye, Shiver, and Big Man. Players can see what is happening with the news on their Sea Cucumber phones. Splatfests make a return, but this time, there are three teams to choose from as there will be two phrases in Splatfests where the first phase will be a traditional 4 Vs. 4 Turf Battle where the second phase is a Tricolor Tuf War where three teams face each other at the same time. In Tricolor Turf War, the leading team will start in the middle while two player teams on each side will all battle it out to determine the winner. There will be a Splatfest World Premiere for Splatoon 3 on August 27 from 9 AM to 9 PM PT where the theme for the first Splatfest for Splatoon 3 will be Rock Vs. Paper Vs. Scissors.
Man, I love the new hosts and idols for Splatoon 3 as Frye, Shiver, and Big Man are great in their own way. I also like that players can read the news on their phone rather than booting up the game every single time which was kind of irritating from the past two games, but finally they changed it which makes me happy. Finally, the idea of a three-way Splatfest is awesome and the potential of themes for three-way Splatfest is going to be a lot of fun as well. Plus, as expected, I knew they were going to have a demo of this game before launch, but with it being a Splatfest is awesome so looking forward to it by the end of the month.
Splatoon 3 Enter the Splatlands Invitational 2022
At PAX West 2022, players from the Splatoon 2 Tournament will enter the Splatoon 3 Enter the Splatlands Invitational 2022 Tournament as it will take place on September 5, 2022, at 2 PM PT.
Nice to see that the tournaments for Splatoon will continue with Splatoon 3 as it will happen four days before the game's launch at PAX West 2022. It should be a fun event and I'm looking forward to it.
Overall, this was a great presentation from Nintendo. I feel like Nintendo did a great job here on showing that Splatoon 3 is its own game without being too similar to Splatoon 2 with its own new added features, modes, and customizations which I appreciate. I think this game will be able to cater to a lot of new fans to the series as Splatoon is a series where anyone can play and enjoy. I have a feeling that this game is going to deliver well so it's time to stay fresh when Splatoon 3 comes out next month so great job Nintendo!
You can watch the full Splatoon 3 Direct yourself with the link below:
Those are my thoughts on the Splatoon 3 Direct. Did this presentation convince you to purchase the game?
Let me know why or why not and thank you for reading.
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