History VideoGame / Splatoon2

* DropTheHammer: The Ultra Stamp special allows you to summon an enormous stamp mallet to make your mark on the battlefield.

!'''Spoilers from "VideoGame/Splatoon1" are left unmarked.'''

* NeverTrustATrailer: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBr6GqyuWnA The Octo Expansion trailer]] makes a couple of consessions from the actual story of the game.
** It shows Pearl and Marina onboard the Deepsea Metro. While they do play a central role in the story, the two never step foot into the place.
** The end of the trailer shows Agent 8 emerging from a subway tunnel and spotting Inkopolis Square in the distance. The subway tunnel footage was actually taken from the "thang" levels, with Agent 8 looking at Inkopolis Square from a distance being made for the trailer. In the actual game, [[spoiler:as Agent 8 instead emerges from an underground testing facility and is picked up by Marina and Pearl via helicopter.]]

Oh, and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers Team Marie won the final Splatfest]].

* WombLevel: Much like [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2 Arsenal Gear]], [[spoiler:the final area's phases are named after human anatomy, including the coccyx, villi, belly, intestines, diaphragm, peristalsis, and spinal phases]].

* AsideGlance: During the credits, [[spoiler:when the "Thank you for playing" message appears near the end, Agent 8 will turn their head to look at the camera.]]

* BossArenaUrgency: Two stations in ''Octo Expansion'' — namely, [[Film/{{Breakin}} Breakdance]] Station and Film/{{Footloose}} Station - take place on platforms made entirely out of destructible {{crate|Expectations}}s.[[note]]In the shape of an iconic ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'' squid and a [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Blooper]], respectively.[[/note]] Rather than a traditional, singular boss, each of the tests pit you against three waves of increasingly dangerous enemies. Interestingly, this is a rare example where the player's attacks can ''also'' destroy the floor. While this does mean you'll need to be more cautious, it also means you can effectively turn this trope on the enemies, and shoot the floor out from beneath ''them''.

* CherryTapping: You can add splatting someone with an Ink Storm, which exists mainly to hamper enemy movement and will only splat someone who's about to die anyway or somehow fails to realize what direction they should go to avoid the cloud.

** The Time Travel vs. Teleportation Splatfest features art of characters wearing the [[Series/StarTrek Star Fleet uniforms]] to represent Team Teleportation.

* DecompositeCharacter: Well, weapons actually, but the new Subs and Specials lead to a few situations where some new weapons take on one of the traits of a previous ones.

*** The Curling Bomb takes the Seeker's rapid-advance-enabling potential in the form of a solid line of ink left behind it, and allows it to bounce off walls instead of bursting on contact.
*** The Autobomb takes the homing elements and puts them in a throwable grenade. It will track its target relentlessly but without leaving a trail of ink like the Seeker did. It also boasts better turn speed to allow it to hassle people out of their hiding spots behind walls (instead of needing an open area to find a hidden enemy efficiently). However, though it has better tracking AI than the Seekers, it still tends to fall off ledges.

*** The Booyah Bomb creates an expanding whirlwind of ink similar to the Inkstrike, but has a more limited range (it can hit at a greater distance than most weapons, but still must be within line-of-sight) and must be charged up via spamming the "Booyah!" command before use.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* AwardBaitSong: The game gets in on the act with "Fresh Start", its ending theme. Apparently, this trope transcends species as well as time!

* SkillGateCharacters: The Autobomb has solid attributes at face value: it's a Bomb that automatically homes in on opponents, with average blast radius and great damage. At low-level play, many players fear the Autobomb because of its persistent homing properties allowing it to chase players for abnormally long distances. At higher-level play, however, the Autobomb is considered average at best due to its mostly limited applications as an offensive tool and being very easy to evade once you learn how, reducing its usability to surprise attacks and forcing enemies out of cover.

* CanonIdentifier: The player character in the base game's Hero Mode is recruited and given the title of Agent 4. * CensoredForComedy: In the ''Octo Expansion'' DLC, the aptly-named song [[https://youtu.be/m3ihXBVOQbU "#$@%* Dudes Be #$@%* Sleepin"]] features a long censor-bleep in the middle of it, heavily implying that Pearl started singing whatever the Inkling version of swearing is.

Since then, the major hub of activity in Inkopolis has moved across town to [[BigApplesauce Inkopolis Square]]. Bands have broken up or have entered irrelevance as new acts have emerged. Fashion continues to march forward and new faces have shown up in the city. But if there's one thing that hasn't changed, it's that all these hip squid-people [[ItMakesSenseInContext still love spraying each other with their multi-colored ink]].

* AudienceParticipation: The first game's "[[IdolSinger Callie vs. Marie]]" Splatfest had the latter win, resulting in the two cousins slowly drifting apart (to Marie's complete dismay) between the first game and this one, with [[VideoGame/Splatoon2 the sequel]] itself having its main campaign partially concern Callie having disappeared [[spoiler:and later revealed to have become a BrainwashedAndCrazy general for the Octarian Army]]. In turn, the final ([[SeriexFauxnale storyline]]) Splatfest of this game, "OrderVersusChaos", led to [[VideoGame/Splatoon3 the third game]] having a "chaos" theme, with the setting shifting from Inkopolis (the metropolis where the first two games take place), to the desert environment of the Splatlands and the more multicultural city of Splatsville.

** The final Splatfest of the first game was simply "Which Squid Sister is better?" ''Splatoon 2''[='=]s final ([[SeriexFauxnale storyline]]) Splatfest, on the other hand, is far more grandiose: It's called the ''Splatocolypse'', the two factions are [[OrderVersusChaos Chaos and Order]], and the various characters of the game are grouped into one of those two factions. Though it's unclear whether this will actually be a canon occurrence or just a stylistic promotional thing, the post-Splatfest banter from Off The Hook suggests it was simply talking about the direction of the band, though the post-Splatfest banter at the end of ''Callie vs. Marie'' ended on a high note as well, and [[HappyEndingOverride that didn't turn out particularly well...]]

* HolidayMode: While the game has monthly online Splatfest events, there have been some special holiday events that come with [[AndYourRewardIsClothes free exclusive gear]] and a holiday-themed makeover for Inkopolis Square and all the multiplayer stages. These special holiday Splatfests include Splatoween (October 2018), Frosty Fest (January 2019), and Spring Fest (April 2019). The final ([[SeriexFauxnale storyline]]) Splatfest of the game, titled Final Fest: Splatocalypse, took place in July 2019, both to commemorate the second anniversary of the game as well as to serve as the GrandFinale to the game's Splatfest events.

The final major content update, version 5.0.0, was released on July 31, 2019, though minor balance and bugfix patches would continue. Much to players' surprise, however, Nintendo introduced a series of bonus Splatfests in 2020. The first of these was a rematch of "Mayo vs. Ketchup" in May 2020, which was presented as a "bonus, one-off" event alongside a new Testfire demo; however, it was later announced that three more of these bonus Splatfests would be held before March 2021. These ended up being rematches of "Chicken vs. Egg" (August 2020) and "Trick vs. Treat" (October 2020), as well as a brand new "Super Mushroom vs. Super Star" [[SeriesFauxnale final Splatfest]] to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' franchise (January 2021).

* AudienceParticipation: The first game's "[[IdolSinger Callie vs. Marie]]" Splatfest had the latter win, resulting in the two cousins slowly drifting apart (to Marie's complete dismay) between the first game and this one, with [[VideoGame/Splatoon2 the sequel]] itself having its main campaign partially concern Callie having disappeared [[spoiler:and later revealed to have become a BrainwashedAndCrazy general for the Octarian Army]]. In turn, the final Splatfest of this game, "OrderVersusChaos", led to [[VideoGame/Splatoon3 the third game]] having a "chaos" theme, with the setting shifting from Inkopolis (the metropolis where the first two games take place), to the desert environment of the Splatlands and the more multicultural city of Splatsville.

** The final Splatfest of the first game was simply "Which Squid Sister is better?" ''Splatoon 2''[='=]s final Splatfest, on the other hand, is far more grandiose: It's called the ''Splatocolypse'', the two factions are [[OrderVersusChaos Chaos and Order]], and the various characters of the game are grouped into one of those two factions. Though it's unclear whether this will actually be a canon occurrence or just a stylistic promotional thing, the post-Splatfest banter from Off The Hook suggests it was simply talking about the direction of the band, though the post-Splatfest banter at the end of ''Callie vs. Marie'' ended on a high note as well, and [[HappyEndingOverride that didn't turn out particularly well...]]

** Nintendo seems to have caught on that dataminers uncover post-Splatfest dialogue before their respective Splatfests are completed. So for the Final Splatfest, placeholder dialogue that was not meant to be shown to the player was put in, [[AWinnerIsYou just enough text to say which faction won and to inform players that their prizes can be picked up in the Square]]. The actual dialogue, which is much more fleshed out, wasn't implemented into the game's data until near the end of the Splatfest.

* HistoryRepeats: While the Splatocalypse was intended to be the final Splatfest, the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic cooped up players enough that four Splatfests were added during the lockdown. While the first -- Mayo vs. Ketchup -- averted this trope, the other two - Chicken vs. Egg and Trick vs. Treat -- play it straight.

* HolidayMode: While the game has monthly online Splatfest events, there have been some special holiday events that come with [[AndYourRewardIsClothes free exclusive gear]] and a holiday-themed makeover for Inkopolis Square and all the multiplayer stages. These special holiday Splatfests include Splatoween (October 2018), Frosty Fest (January 2019), and Spring Fest (April 2019). The final Splatfest of the game, titled Final Fest: Splatocalypse, took place in July 2019, both to commemorate the second anniversary of the game as well as to serve as the GrandFinale to the game's Splatfest events.

* {{Irony}}: The final Splatfest involved a lot of buildup on the team's social medias, with its Tumblr listing off every major character and faction's side. The Octarians were on Team Order, as Octarian society is already very orderly, but DJ Octavio (alongside Lil' Judd) was on Team Chaos, yearning for personal revenge. Octavio was on the opposite team of his own minions!

* TemporaryOnlineContent: Splatfests are time-limited events that, among other things, each feature a unique Shifty Station layout that is used only for that Splatfest and is permanently gone after the Splatfest ends. [[SubvertedTrope However]], the 5.0 update releasing after the final Splatfest adds a Splatfest Turf War mode for Private Battles in which any of the Shifty Stations, as well as the nighttime versions of the regular maps, can be selected.

** [[spoiler:Commander Tartar]]'s true form appears in the artwork for the final Splatfest.

In March 2018, it was announced that game would receive a second single-player campaign through its first piece of paid DownloadableContent, entitled the ''Octo Expansion''. In this ExpansionPack, the player takes the role of Agent 8, an Octoling [[AmnesiacHero who awakens with no memory]] in an old subway system that is now being used as a underground testing facility. As Agent 8, you must now make your way to the surface while trying to recover your memories and discover the purpose of the facility. The campaign launched on June 13, 2018. It’s too bad the reveal of the Expansion was almost completely overshadowed by the reveal of a [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate certain other game]].

* SaltAndPepper: Off the Hook consists of the pale Pearl and the dark-skinned Marina. The typical dynamic is reversed--Pearl is the loud, impulsive, and short-tempered one, while Marina is her calmer and more polite {{foil}}.

In March 2018, it was announced that game would receive a second single-player campaign through its first piece of paid DownloadableContent, entitled the ''Octo Expansion''. In this ExpansionPack, the player takes the role of Agent 8, an Octoling [[AmnesiacHero who awakens with no memory]] in an old subway system that is now being used as a underground testing facility. As Agent 8, you must now make your way to the surface while trying to recover your memories and discover the purpose of the facility. The campaign launched on June 13, 2018. It’s too bad the reveal of the Expansion was almost completely overshadowed by the reveal of a [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate certain other game]]

In March 2018, it was announced that game would receive a second single-player campaign through its first piece of paid DownloadableContent, entitled the ''Octo Expansion''. In this ExpansionPack, the player takes the role of Agent 8, an Octoling [[AmnesiacHero who awakens with no memory]] in an old subway system that is now being used as a underground testing facility. As Agent 8, you must now make your way to the surface while trying to recover your memories and discover the purpose of the facility. The campaign launched on June 13, 2018.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: The Friendship Bracelet gear makes your character go barefoot.

* GameGourmet: The game adds in the food truck The Crust Bucket run by Crusty Sean. The food is either an incresingly topped waffle that increases your money earned or an increasingly larger hot dog that increases your money in the online multiplayer matches. Both promonitly feature fried shrimp ([[ImAHumanitarian while being served by a humanoid Japanese tiger prawn]]). The drinks he serves give increased clothing experience and the increased chance of getting a specific sub-slot ability, and they include flavored drinks, lattes, and shakes.

* DefeatEqualsExplosion: While all of the [[MiniBoss Boss Salmonids]] of the [[MultiMookMelee Salmon Run]] mode explode into ink upon death like Inklings and Octolings, the Steelhead stands out from the rest in that its death-blast can take out other Salmonids.

* HostileWeather: The new Ink Storm special is a moving AreaOfEffect cloud that [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin rains ink down]], damaging enemies caught by it over time. At about 4 seconds to finish off a full-health enemy, it won't splat anyone by itself unless they're critically unobservant, but it delays enemy regeneration with its damage and makes their paint harder to move through with tiny puddles of your own ink, so it retains decent usefulness.

** One of the new Turquoise October songs is "[[TheElevatorFromIpanema The Girl from Inkopolis]]."

* ThemeNaming: The various Shifty Station stages are named after Japanese literature titles in the Japanese version. The English version keeps the naming convention but for English works, with examples such as "[[Literature/WaysideSchool Wayslide Cool]]", "Literature/{{Goos|ebumps}}ponge", "[[Literature/TheFaultInOurStars The Splat in our Zones]]", and [[Literature/ThePrincessDiaries MC.Princess Diaries]].

* UnwatedGiftPlot: The December 2017 Splatfest is this in a nutshell, with the participants deciding whether [[HomemadeSweaterFromHell sweaters]] or socks is the more tolerable Christmas gift. Pearl celebrated the victory with a rap on the topic.

* SaveTheWorldClimax: [[spoiler:The story begins with a simple objective: escaping the underground and reaching the surface. But in the end, the stakes are higher than ever before in the ''Splatoon'' series. A giant superweapon has to be stopped from destroying the world.]]