History VideoGame / Splatoon

** [[CombinedEnergyAttack The Booyah Bomb]] introduces a mechanic in which it's user makes it more powerful by saying "Booyah", while their teammates get a bonus in their special meter by "Booyah"-ing back. They actually made the "Booyah" meme a mechanic for this weapon!

* AllOrNothing: Played with in Ranked Battles. Unlike Turf Wars where each player earns points for the area they inked plus a bonus for winning, in Ranked Battles, if a team completes the objective, the battle ends in a "Knockout", and ''only'' the winning team gets points, while the losing team gets nothing. However, if neither team completes the objective by the time limit, both teams will get some points based on how close they came to winning. Rank points, however, are always gained by the winning team and lost by the losing team, no matter how the match ends. The 2.0.0 update made Ranked Battles less of an all-or-nothing proposition for those level 20 and above, however, as level-up points are calculated differently at those stages- you get a point for each minute your team survives even if you lose by knockout, so unless you end up in an utter CurbStompBattle it's likely you'll at least make some progress. Indeed, losing by decision (meaning you survived five minutes) is worth as many points as ''winning'' a regular battle, though it does take longer.
* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: While [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZyevotlKJw other]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXF6qbuBT7s countries]] used the original Splatoon theme song in their commercials, the North American version advertised the game using [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oynGf9-T1UA completely]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjPOSKnOftA different]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqpTpxAKQZs theme]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzmUJ-GQrBg music]].

* AntiRageQuitting: The game makes it hard to "rage quit" as the game doesn't let you exit during Turf Wars or Ranked Battle. More persistent players will just manually turn off the console and reset; however, this results in a penalty in Ranked as your score goes down. This also occurs when a player receives a connection error due to the system being unable to distinguish between those who accidentally connect out of a match and those who do it on purpose to get out of it.

* ApocalypseHow: [[spoiler:A Planetary Species Extinction. Humans dissapeared from the face of the Earth, after which sea creatures took to the surface and ruled the world.]]

** Averted in single player, where Agent 3 can equip a up to 3 pieces of armor that serve as extra lives of sorts. It should be noted though that this "armor" is basically a thick winter jacket plus a bike helmet and up to two fishing rods attached to it, depending on how many armors have been collected.

** Deliberately played to the hilt with most single-player Octarian enemies, who will actually stop in the middle of shooting at you to watch a bomb you threw over or past them sail by and try to spot where it will land. Also justified -- they're based on octopodes, which are pretty smart, but [[FridgeBrilliance not on the part of them that actually contains the brain.]]

** As far as the weapon itself is concerned, the Rainmaker is this. When fully charged, it fires a large tornado of ink that is wider and travels farther than an Inkzooka. Unfortunately, it's only effective when it's fully charged, which takes about 2 seconds, leaving the player vulnerable during that time. Unlike other weapons which have to be charged, the Rainmaker has no defensive options, as the Rainmaker player can't use his or her sub and special weapons (a teammate's Bubbler can't pass on to a player holding the Rainmaker). Slow and steady strategies won't work either because after 60 seconds, the Rainmaker explodes. For these reasons, it is imperative that the player holding the Rainmaker have teammates follow him or her to provide support.

* BambooTechnology: The Bamboozler 14 is a literal case, being a Charger fashioned out of a bamboo cane. According to its description, its a reissue of a weapon used during the Great Turf War[[spoiler:, and also the one that won it, according to Sunken Scroll 14]].

** In Splatoon 2 it's later confirmed that [[spoiler:Octolings can also be male and the stock Octarians can be depicted as female, so as a whole the Octarian race is made up between Octolings and Octarians.]]
* BlessedWithSuck: The Rainmaker weapon. How awesome is "unlimited mini-Inkzooka that can be charged to full blast, on an ink tank that never runs out" be? Not as awesome as that sounds, since you glow brightly, marking your location to the enemy whether or not the Point Sensor is in play, you cannot use your own special whatsoever, you cannot super jump in any capacity with the weapon, meaning you will be hopelessly overrun if the enemy swarms you, you have to deliver this toy to the heart of the enemy base, and most importantly even if the enemy isn't chasing you like vultures to a carcass, after a time limit runs out -- which runs ''faster'' if you retreat back to your base -- '''you will self-destruct!'''

* BookEnds: The first time you start the game, you'll get the title screen against the backdrop of Inkopolis Tower in the day followed by an Inkopolis News report announcing the disappearance of the Great Zapfish. [[spoiler:Right after defeating DJ Octavio in the singleplayer campaign, you get another title screen against the backdrop of Inkopolis Tower (complete with restored Great Zapfish) at night, followed by an Inkopolis News report about its [[TheGreatestStoryNeverTold supposedly]] sudden reappearance. From this point forward, the Great Zapfish will be visible on the normal title screen.]]

** Despite all the cool toys that are eventually unlocked, it's still common to see hardened veterans wielding the starter weapon, the Splattershot Jr., or its variant picked up early in single-player. It doesn't have anything fancy going for it: It just sprays incredible amounts of ink for incredible amounts of time before it runs empty, with decent range and damage to boot. It's no Game Breaker, but it's [[JackOfAllStats a consistent, solid choice for any situation and team]]. Furthermore the regular Jr.'s loadout also includes the Splat Bomb (delayed grenades good for both eliminating targets and covering area) and the Bubbler (a defensive shield giving temporary invincibility which is capable of also being given to your teammates). The Custom variant is available as soon as you beat the first boss and reach a relatively low level. It has very good sub and special weapons in the Disruptor (a bomb that slows enemies down and reveals them by putting particle effects around them) and the Echolocator (reveals enemies for several seconds), making it good on its own and amazing as a support strategy.

** When you shoot a platform propeller, the ink ''can'' rebound off onto enemies and splat them if they're low enough on health. [[DevelopersForefight And yes, the game has a specific message for getting propeller-splatted.]]

** Enabling color lock mode locks in orange and blue, as it's the ink color pairing that provides the most contrast for most colorblind pleople.

* AprilFoolsDay:
** The official Tumblr claimed that [[http://splatoonus.tumblr.com/post/115216490439/so-this-whole-time-i-thought-splatoon-was-going Splatoon was actually going to be a hot new snack.]] The slogan? "Now you can have your squid and eat it too unless you're a squid then just eat a freakin' [[InherentlyFunnyWords quesadilla]]!"

** For 2016, it was teased that a 3DS port of ''Splatoon'' dubbed ''Splatoon [[VideoGame/HyruleWarriors Legends]]'' would be released.

** In Splatoon 2 it's later confirmed that [[spoiler:Octolings can also be male and the stock Octarians can be depicted as femal, so as a whole the Octarian race is made up between Octolings and Octarians.]]

Inklings were the first new characters to be unveiled for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' Ultimate for the Switch.

* GivingUpTheGhost: When an Inkling gets splatted, their squid-form "ghost" floats upward and heads back to base to respawn. One upgrade even causes said ghost to haunt the guilty party, revealing them on the map for a short amount of time. Defeated Octolings also leave them, octopus-shaped of course.

Inklings were the first new characters to be unveiled for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' Unlimited for the Switch.

Inklings were the first new characters to be unveiled for the as-yet untitled ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' title for the Switch.

* {{Scatting}} Since the Inkling Language is not really a ''well-defined'' {{Conlang}} the way something like [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium Quenya]] is, the "lyrics" of all the songs sung in Inkling probably qualify as this, at least when looked at from an [[{{Doylist}} out-of-universe]] perspective.

** Splash Walls are effectively this, stopping enemy attacks dead in their tracks, heavily damaging anyone foolish enough to walk or swim into them, and instantly splatting any poor unlucky fella that happens to be under it when activated. They stay on the field for a limited amount of time, but do dissipate faster with damage.

** During the [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants April 2016 Splatfest]], Callie denotes that Patrick “[[Recap/SpongebobSquarepantsS2E15TheSecretBoxBandGeeks thinks mayonnaise is a musical instrument]]!” And when Patrick won the Splatfest, Marie says that they "[[Recap/SpongebobSquarepantsS3E1MermaidManAndBarnacleBoyIVDoingTime wumbo'd our way to victory]]!”

* OneUp: Each checkpoint reached grants the player an extra respawn, provided they've previously been splatted in the level.

* AnimalJingoism: There's a fervent animosity between the squid-based Inklings and the octopus-like Octarians. [[spoiler:A Sunken Scroll reveals this wasn't always the case. Their animosity was a result of a fight over increasingly limited territory]].

** [[spoiler:The final phase of the battle against DJ Octavio has the Squid Sisters override Octavio's beats with some of their own for a ThemeMusicPowerUp. While Octavio's theme has some VariableMix to it, Callie and Marie's song plays uninterrupted until he's defeated]]. The same song also takes over as the battle theme during the second half of the Callie vs. Marie Splatfest.

* BambooTechnology: The Bamboozler 14 is a literal case, being a Charger fashioned out of a bamboo cane. According to its description, its a reissue of a weapon used during the Great Turf War, [[spoiler:and also the one that won it, according to Sunken Scroll 14]].

** After beating the fourth world in Hero Mode, the ensuing cutscene has [[spoiler:Agents 1 and 2 openly referring to DJ Octavio as the FinalBoss.]] Much later, [[spoiler:his final words are ''"Cross-fade...to black..."'']]

** [[spoiler:The fossilized human skeleton in the 26th Sunken Scroll has a fossilized Wii U, Gamepad, and Pro Controller tied to a Wii Remote next to it]].

* EarthAllAlong: [[spoiler:''Splatoon's'' world turns out to be Earth after the extinction of humans and most surface species]].

* EvilCounterpartRace: The antagonistic Octarians are to octopus like the Inklings are to squids. This is most exemplified with the Octolings, who are the Octarian version of the Inklings. Only females [[spoiler:at least nowadays]] are capable to take humanoid form. [[spoiler:However, Inklings and Octarians used to have friendly relations before the war. Octarians turn out to be not so much "evil" as just "desperate"]].

* EvilIsHammy: While the European and Japanese versions of the game have him as a more standard villain, the North American version of the final boss, [[spoiler:DJ Octavio]], is the most hammy character in the game, with loads of shouting in ALL CAPS while throwing music puns for all their worth. Then again, what else would you expect from a final boss that fights in [[spoiler:a HumongousMecha/turn table hybrid that blasts some bizarre kind of dubstep/techno mix]]?

** '''Squid Jump''': Jump between platforms, escaping the rising tide of enemy ink.
** '''Squidball''': Play softball, with a Zapfish as the ball, and try to hit all of the jellyfish.
** '''Squid Racer''': ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin
** '''Squid Beatz''': A RhythmGame to the tune of the game's soundtrack.

** The ink shots that most Octarian soldiers fire are slow enough to ''outrun.''

** The final boss has two puns in one: [[spoiler:DJ Octavio references both the musical octave, and the fact that he's an octopus]].

-->'''Cap'n' Cuttlefish''': There be a storm a-brewin'... I feel it in my cuttles!

** More of a scripted example, but playing the multiplayer first, getting new gear (clothes mainly) and going to Octo Valley, will play the single player intro cutscene with your starting gear, rather than your current gear. Which sort of makes sense, since singleplayer is supposed to get people used to the game.

A sequel, ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'', was released for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch on July 21, 2017.

** There's two pieces of clothing and a Splat Roller with a ''[=CoroCoro=]''[[note]](Like ''Famitsu'', ''[=CoroCoro=]'' is another gaming magazine, known for their official Splatoon manga.)[[/note]] logo on it.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** There are multiple times where ink is used as a stand-in for [[SymbolicBlood blood]]. Notable examples being the inklings exploding into splats of opposing ink when splatted, as well as Octarian bosses [[OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank gushing out fountains of ink]] when their tentacles are destroyed.
** When discussing Walleye Warehouse, sometimes you get this exchange;
--->'''Callie:''' Over in a quiet corner of the warehouse, two young Inklings are about to meet their destin-\\
'''Marie:''' [[LastSecondWordSwap BATTLING!]] They're battling, aren't they?!
** It's even more blatant in the European localization:
--->'''Callie:''' Off in a remote corner of the warehouse, two young Inklings are...\\
'''Marie:''' BATTLING!
** Some of the Splatfest announcements (particularly the American ones) can get a little suggestive. Marie referring to hot dogs as "cylinders of meat" might have been accidental, but there's nothing ambiguous about her response when Callie makes a reference to "plundering booty" while introducing Pirates vs. Ninjas.
--->'''Marie:''' Whoa there, Callie. [[ThinkOfTheCensors Let's keep it E for Everyone]].
** One of the shirts added in the 2.3.0 updated is a jacket that has pictures of a "wild" Judd on it. Doesn't sound ''too'' bad at first, however, [[https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/WVW69ikgVM8isI2B7D then you notice exactly where these pictures are positioned on it...]]
** After winning the Callie vs Marie Splatfest, Marie exclaims "HOLY CARP" in the North American version.
** In the song ''Maritime Memory'', there is a quiet sample of what appears to be someone exclaiming "What the fuck? What the fuck?". Hear it [[https://youtu.be/TUd7FTR56Yo?t=1m12s here]], at approximately 1:13.
** The Japanese name of the Octobrush is the "Hokusai", named after Ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai best known for the painting "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife" which is known for...being [[AllAnimeIsNaughtyTentacles rather erotic]].

* AfterTheEnd: [[spoiler:This rivals [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Great Sea]] and [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime The Land of Ooo]] for the title of most colorful, lighthearted post-apocalyptic world. In short, the game is set on Earth long after humanity (and most mammals in general) died off. While the game itself vaguely puts the catalyst for that mass extinction on global warming, the [[BonusMaterial official art book]] takes it UpToEleven by elaborating that sea levels rose to the extent they did thanks to a nuclear warhead hitting Antarctica during the '''fifth''' [[WorldWarIWhatever World War]]. Cue mass extinction of almost every mammal on Earth, paving the way for various sea-life to evolve and become the new dominant species on the planet.]]

* AfterTheEnd: [[spoiler:This rivals [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Great Sea]] and [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime The Land of Ooo]] for the title of most colorful, lighthearted post-apocalyptic world. In short, the game is set on Earth long after humanity (and most mammals in general) died off. While the game itself vaguely puts the catalyst for that mass extinction on global warming, the [[BonusMaterial official art book]] takes it UpToEleven by elaborating that sea levels rose to the extent they did thanks to one of two global factions accidentally launching a nuclear warhead at Antarctica during the '''fifth''' [[WorldWarIWhatever World War]], causing much of the continent to melt, which [[CaptainObvious didn't really help]] the aforementioned climate change crisis. Cue mass extinction of almost every mammal on Earth, paving the way for various sea-life to evolve and become the new dominant species on the planet.]]