History Memes / Splatoon

* [[VideoGame/SonicColors Power! Range! Support! Mobility! Lucky! Drone! Full Spectrum... Final Color Wail!]][[labelnote:Explanation (Side Order Spoilers!)]]Fans noted that the final phase of the Overlorder fight ends in a very similar way to the end of the Mega Wisp Armour fight from "VideoGame/SonicColors", including a special attack (Final Colour Blaster) which is used to take out the boss, leading to people adapting Colours' announcements during its final boss to Side Order's final boss.[[/labelnote]]

** "WHERE'S SPLATOWEEN"[[note]]In the weeks of late September and early October 2023, Splatoween became the topic of fixation by ''Splatoon'' fans, with many of them expressing their anxious wait for the anticipated event by spamming it into the replies to any post made by the ''Splatoon'' North America twitter account, a behavior noticed and lampshaded by many other fans. Naturally, when the Splatfest did get announced, [[SugarWiki/AndTheFandomRejoiced there was much rejoicing in the replies]].[[/note]]

* Free Palestine[[labelnote:Explanation]]This became the common post trend in mid-late January 2024, with many players expressing their support for Palestine in reaction to the escalation of the Israeli-Palestine conflict.[[/labelnote]]

* Homophobic Acht[[labelnote:Explanation]]Pearl and Marina's interactions in the Side Order DLC up the LesYay even further, particularly in the elevator conversations between floors, and Acht tends to respond to the two's sugary comments towards each other with indifference or mild irritation (such as saying, "Times like these, Eight... I'm glad you're here"). As such, many a joke has been made about Acht [[ThirdWheel having to sit through Pearl and Marina's incessant flirting]], sometimes even [[RonTheDeathEater portraying them as outright homophobic]] (in jest, of course, since [[TransAudienceInterpretation Acht is frequently interpreted as nonbinary]] by fans).[[/labelnote]]

** S-BLAST '92 is dead! All hail S-Blast '91![[labelnote:Explanation]]True to form, revealed as part of Chill Season 2023 was S-Blast 91, using colours inspired by the western SNES colour scheme. It has Burst Bomb and Booyah Bomb, and while it's not a ''top-tier'' kit (Burst Bomb is one of the best subs (especially for combos), and Booyah Bomb is on the higher-end as far as specials go but it's still not quite top-tier), it's still likely to be very high tier and ''significantly'' more usable than the '92's loadout in functionally every way, ensuring that the '92 is basically obsolete in serious play.[[/labelnote]]

* [[spoiler:Smollusk]].[[labelnote:Explanation (''Side Order'' spoilers!)]]Almost a week after the release of ''Side Order'', Smollusk started appearing in posts all over the place, despite pleas to avoid mentioning spoilers for the expansion. However, the kicker was that very few of these posts actually hinted at the context for who or what Smollusk was, a lot of people just saw a bunch of posts of an oddly realistic-looking but adorable baby octopus [[ElmuhFuddSyndwome speaking like Elmer Fudd]]. At most, the only context ever hinted at was that 'Smollusk' had something ''vaguely'' to do with Order, whereas in reality Smollusk was actually the ''BigBad''.[[/labelnote]]

* Four the Loser/Lonely Four[[labelnote:Explanation]]Agent 4 is the only Agent, and one of the few ''Splatoon'' characters in general, to never appear in ''Splatoon 3''. They do get a few more nods in ''Side Order'', but still don't appear in person -- they do get a Palette, but its pixel icon doesn't show their face. Fans were quick to turn Four into a MemeticLoser over this, whether out of amusement or genuine pity, portraying Four as being lonely or depressed over their "abandonment."[[/labelnote]]

* Four the Loser/Lonely Four[[labelnote:Explanation]]Simply put, poor Agent 4 got the short end of the stick in ''Splatoon 3''. While every other Agent gets major screentime in either Rise of the Mammalians or Side Order (Callie, Marie, Cuttlefish, Agent 3/Captain and New Agent 3 for the former, Agent Eight for the latter), Agent 4 gets ''at best'' a single nametag in the base game and a loadout in Side Order (one that doesn't even show their face unlike every other palette) and some mild references from Off the Hook, as well as the Parallel Canon boss using whatever tentacle style the player used if they have old Splatoon 2 save data. Fans have dogpiled on the poor Agent for this degrading treatment, either with amusement or genuine pity, portraying Four as genuinely lonely and depressed, abandoned by the Splatoon (in both meanings of the title).[[/labelnote]]

* [=PT8D=]/"I'M BACK IN THE F*CKING BUILDING AGAIN!!!"[[labelnote:Explanation]]This being not Eight's first time stuck in a hellscape forced to battle nightmarish elements alongside Off the Hook, fans have gleefully taken to portraying Agent 8 as being truly upset at escaping one hellhole only to have to ''do it all over again''. This is often paired with an infamous scream of a similar mood from [[WebVideo/RealTimeFandub the infamous Snapcube]] ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' [[WebVideo/RealTimeFandub dub, courtesy of Alfred's Eggman]].[[/labelnote]]

* [=PT8D=]/"I'M BACK IN THE F*CKING BUILDING AGAIN!!!"[[labelnote:Explanation]]This being not Eight's first time stuck in a hellscape forced to battle nightmarish elements alongside Off the Hook, fans have gleefully taken to portraying Agent 8 as being truly upset at escaping one hellhole only to have to ''do it all over again''. This is often paired with an infamous scream of a similar mood form the infamous Snapcube ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' dub, courtesy of Alfred's Eggman.[[/labelnote]]

* The Off the Hook wedding DLC. [[labelnote:Explanation]]Due to the numerous early teases that Pearl and Marina would be the stars of the DLC and the overall popularity of the "[[PortmanteauCoupleName Pearlina]]" ship, many fans have taken to predicting the ''Side Order'' campaign will be about their wedding. Before its official name was revealed, many fans simply referred to it as "the wedding DLC" (and some still do).[[/labelnote]]

* [[VideoGame/SonicColors Power! Range! Support! Mobility! Lucky! Drone! Full Spectrum... Final Color Wail!]][[labelnote:Explanation (Side Order Spoilers!)]]Fans noted that the final phase of the Overlorder fight ends in a very similar way to the end of the Mega Wisp Armour fight from "VideoGame/SonicColors", including a special attack which is used to take out the boss, leading to people adapting Colours' announcements during its final boss to Side Order's final boss.[[/labelnote]]
* ''Side Order'' is just Pearl and Marina making out in an elevator for five hours.[[labelnote:Explanation]]The sheer amount of LesYay[=/=]ShipTease between Pearl and Marina in ''Side Order'' has caused some ''Splatoon'' fans to joke (or observe) that the only thing keeping Pearlina from being an OfficialCouple is the lack of explicit confirmation from Nintendo.[[/labelnote]]

* ''Side Order'' is just Pearl and Marina making out in an elevator for five hours.[[labelnote:Explanation]]The sheer amount of LesYay[=/=]ShipTease between Pearl and Marina in ''Side Order'' has caused some ''Splatoon'' fans to joke that the only thing keeping Pearlina from being an OfficialCouple is the lack of explicit confirmation from Nintendo.[[/labelnote]]

* Homophobic Acht[[labelnote:Explanation]]Pearl and Marina's interactions in the Side Order DLC up the LesYay even further, particularly in the elevator conversations between floors between floors, and Acht tends to respond to the two's sugary comments towards each other with indifference or mild irritation (such as saying, "Times like these, Eight... I'm glad you're here"). As such, many a joke has been made about Acht [[ThirdWheel having to sit through Pearl and Marina's incessant flirting]], sometimes even [[RonTheDeathEater portraying them as outright homophobic]] (in jest, of course, since [[TransAudienceInterpretation Acht is frequently interpreted as nonbinary]] by fans).[[/labelnote]]

* Homophobic Acht[[labelnote:Explanation]]Pearl and Marina's interactions in the Side Order DLC up the LesYay even further than it had already been, primarily in the conversations on the elevator between floors, and Acht tends to respond to the two's sugary comments towards each other with indifference or mild irritation (such as saying, "In times like these, Eight... I'm glad you're here"). As such, many a joke has been made about Acht [[ThirdWheel having to sit through Pearl and Marina's incessant flirting]], sometimes even [[RonTheDeathEater portraying them as outright homophobic]] (in jest, of course).[[/labelnote]]

* Side Order is just Pearl and Marina making out in an elevator for 5 hours.[[labelnote:Explanation]]The sheer amount of LesYay[=/=]ShipTease between Pearl and Marina is so blatant with virtually no subtlety whatsoever that the only reason Pearlina isn't an OfficialCouple by now is the lack of explicit confirmation from Nintendo.[[/labelnote]]

* [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3 Splatting in order to live, and living to splat. That's the way of our world, Inkopolis.]][[labelnote:Explanation]]''VideoGame/Splatoon3'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' (both third games in a series developed by Creator/MonolithSoft) were released within months of each other, and many fans noticed that they had a surprising number of similarities; both are premised around ChildSoldiers fighting for territory in a ForeverWar in [[AfterTheEnd a post-apocalyptic world.]] This led some fans of both games to draw the ''Xenoblade 3'' protagonists as Inklings and Octolings and imagine what it would look like if ''Splatoon'' adopted ''Xenoblade's'' darker, WarIsHell aesthetics.[[/labelnote]]

* [[VideoGame/SonicColors Power! Range! Support! Mobility! Lucky! Drone! Full Spectrum... Final Color Wail!]][[labelnote:Explanation (Side Order Spoilers!)]]Fans noted that the final phase of the Overlorder fight ends in a very similar way to the end of the Mega Wisp Armour fight from Sonic Colours, including a special attack which is used to take out the boss, leading to people adapting Colours' announcements during its final boss to Side Order's final boss.[[/labelnote]]

* Welcome home, cheater![[labelnote:Explanation]]Borrowed from [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/welcome-home-cheater the general meme of the same name.]] The day after the ''Splatoon 3'' World Premiere Splatfest, some players returned to playing ''Splatoon 2'' with a lingering sense of shame for "betraying" it--accompanied by multiple plaza messages, naturally. The meme saw a resurgence following the start of Fresh Season 2023, this time aimed at players returning to ''Splatoon 1''[='s=] Inkopolis Plaza via the train.[[/labelnote]]

* [[VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline Pearl Mag]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]The playable Octo shown off in the ''Side Order'' trailers is accompanied by a robotic drone adorned with Pearl's crown, and when it speaks, it is identified as Pearl herself. PSO(2) fans have compared this drone to the Mags that accompany the player characters in those games. [[spoiler:Its ability to use Specials independently of the player, not to mention the final attack on Order, are likewise reminiscent of Photon Blasts from those games as well.]][[/labelnote]]

* [[VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline Pearl Mag]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]The playable Octo shown off in the ''Side Order'' trailers is accompanied by a robotic drone adorned with Pearl's crown, and when it speaks, it is identified as Pearl herself. PSO(2) fans have compared this drone to the Mags that accompany the player characters in those games.[[/labelnote]]

* The poles.[[labelnote:Explanation]]Fresh Season 2023 made some changes to certain stages in an attempt to make it easier to fight long-range weapons with more cover, which unfortunately didn't do much to fix the core issue. Among these changes are some laughably thin, unpaintable columns in Wahoo World and Hagglefish Market, which looked out of place and weren't very helpful - to the point where they [[https://twitter.com/luci_4k/status/1630477365318135808 are basically useless against Chargers despite their supposed purpose.]] Players were eager to crack jokes about poles being added to the game as a worthless fix for anything and everything seen as problematic in ''Splatoon 3'', a trend that resurged when a mid-Chill Season 2023 update added a third pole to Mincemeat Metalworks.[[/labelnote]]

* The poles.[[labelnote:Explanation]]Fresh Season 2023 made some changes to certain stages in an attempt to reduce the infamous ComplacentGamingSyndrome regarding long-range weapons, which unfortunately didn't do much to fix the core issue. Among these changes are some laughably thin columns in a handful of levels, which were promptly mocked by casual and competitive players alike for looking out of place and not being very helpful - to the point where they [[https://twitter.com/luci_4k/status/1630477365318135808 are basically useless against Chargers despite their supposed purpose.]][[/labelnote]]