It is no exaggeration to say that Splatoon is now Nintendo’s most popular game after the release of Mario, Pokemon, and Zelda. The third version of the game is Splatoon 3, which is set to be released on September 9, 2022, on the Nintendo Switch! We will elaborate on why Splatoon’s popularity has spread so far and why it has remained so popular for until now.
What is Splatoon?
Splatoon is a game and was released by Nintendo in 2015 as a stationary WIiU game. During the time of its pre-release announcement, the game attracted a great deal of attention from the gaming industry.
Unlike traditional FPS (Frames per second)/TPS (third-person shooter), the game has a colorful and vivid worldview, a fighting style of painting each other with ink, and a new character in the game, which is the squid. All of them were fresh and full of surprises.
After a pre-launch trial and finally went on sale, the game achieved a huge success. Since then the number of people playing the game has been growing with each successive update, and sales have reached a whopping 4.9 million units since its release.
Why Splatoon has become so popular?
“The First new character in 14 years.”
Despite the Nintendo brand, Splatoon is the first game to establish a new character within 14 years, since Pikmin. Because new games are difficult to comprehend and spread its content, it is hard to know if they will definitely sell.
Therefore, Splatoon used TV commercials efficiently to announce the arrival of a new game.
Remember those TV commercials where city buildings were suddenly painted with ink, colorfully dyed, and squids were popping out of the ink?
Thanks to the commercial, Splatoon became an instant popular. Even people who aren’t interested in games saw the commercial. When asked a question, “Are you familiar with Splatoon?” to my friends who are not fond of games, they would reply, “I watched the one with the ink in the commercials”. In other words, we were able to make the general public be aware of a new game called Splatoon and have them remember the content of the game. The new concept of painting ink at each other was effectively promoted through TV commercials.
The New Concept of Inking Each Other
Platoon is characterized by a new way of fighting: “painting each other with ink. This act itself is very enjoyable. You shoot ink with a water pistol-like weapon in your hand and stain the ground. It is like a child’s game, isn’t it? The rule of the game is simple: the player with the largest area covered with ink wins.
This act of painting with ink is actually a huge part of Splatoon’s addiction. Many players return to Splatoon even after cheating on their love for other games because the act of painting with the ink itself is an effective sensation.
Ink has other benefits as well. Simply it is fun and exciting and contributes to the game. It allowed us to attract a wide range of users, including children and adults who normally don’t play shooting games. It is typical for Nintendo, isn’t it?
Squid and humans
The most unique system in Splatoon is the ability to switch characters between squid and human!
You can hold your weapon and spray ink while you’re in human form, and then turn into a squid to hide or swim on the painted ground. This what stands out of Splatoon.
When you are in the squid state, you can hide in ink and move nearly twice as fast, able to climb walls, can recover ink, and can hide from sight.
By making use of these functions, players can enjoy quick battles depending on the ink coating situation.
Simple Controls and Various Actions
The gyro controls not only allow for intuitive operation, but also make Splatoon very simple to use.
On the other hand, it actually has a depth that allows for a wide variety of actions. There are techniques to become stronger, such as controlling the gyro, camera, and character simultaneously and switching between squid and human states at will. Thanks to these techniques, you will not only win or lose, but you will also grow and improve. This simple control and variety of actions are the charm of Splatoon.
Differences from other FPS/TPS
What makes Splatoon different from other FPS games is that even if a bullet misses its target, it is not wasted. When a bullet misses, it vanishes into the void and you don’t feel anything, but this is not the case in Splatoon. Even if you don’t hit an enemy, the ink will paint the ground and walls, and you can use the ink to create a situation where you have the advantage. You can also use the ink to your advantage by avoiding the enemy’s ink.
Another great feature is that you can visually see your own ink and the enemy’s ink, so you will notice when you are near and enemy ink is dangerous and when your own ink is safe. Even beginners can easily clear the area (safety check).
Some parents may be concerned about the cruel expressions such as bleeding, kills, and deaths in FPS games that are more realistic.
In Splatoon, you don’t have to worry about such things, as the game uses ink to indicate that the player has been defeated or killed.
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