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Funny / Splatoon 3

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Splatoon | Splatoon 2 | Splatoon 3

As a Moments page, all spoilers will be unmarked.

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    Promotional Material 
  • After being a bit more serious for Splatoon 2, the Squid Research Lab has returned to its more laidback and conversational tone for this game's marketing, leading to quite a few silly Twitter posts:
  • One of the first single-player levels shown off for the game prior to release in a Nintendo Treehouse livestream was "One-Way Ride Through Target Town". Yes, that rail-grinding level that's listed under That One Level over on the YMMV page. You should know where we're going with this. The Nintendo employee, noted earlier during the showcase to be one of the best players in the office, spends eight minutes trying and failing to beat the level before everyone decides to just move on to the next section of the presentation.
  • Like the previous idol groups, Deep Cut got to perform in a real life holographic concert. At the apparent end of this concert, Calamari Inkantation 3Mix starts playing, to Deep Cut's confusion. Callie and Marie then suddenly arrive, stating that they were invited as guests, which Deep Cut were apparently not informed of, leading to them accusing the Squid Sisters of attempting a Hostile Show Takeover. Callie then suggests they all sing together, which Deep Cut take as a challenge to a singing battle.
  • Chill Season 2023 heralds the return of Bluefin Depot, which shows an Octoling trying to bridge a gap via an inked wall... only to fall into the bottomless pit below which is "celebrated" by an Inkling version of the infamous 'To Be Continued...' screen.

    General 
  • The first thing you see when you begin customizing your Inkling/Octoling is them and Smallfry hanging out in the desert. While your player character poses for the camera, the first thing Smallfry does is flop onto its belly and start eating dirt.
  • During the Anarchy Splatcast, Frye will occasionally try to end the show early, only to be told by Big Man that they still have to talk about the current Salmon Run stage. How this happens can also vary, from her simply forgetting that there's more to talk about, to her impatiently wanting to end the show as soon as possible.
    Frye: So that's that, or whatever! Until next time on the Anarchy Splatcast...
    Big Man: Ay? (You know we're not done yet, right?)
  • Deploying the Tacticooler gives a "Who's thirsty?" message, while everyone who grabs a drink from it gives a little "Refreshing!" message in return.
  • There are two funny details related to the new spawning system.
    • Instead of a team sharing a single, set-in-stone spawn point, players spawn from individual flying devices and jump onto the stage. While the spawn points in Splatoon 2 merely invoked the design of a cappuccino machine, the new spawning drones straight-up are just repurposed espresso machines.
    • While the old spawn points have been removed from most stages, whoever was in charge of doing so for Scorch Gorge didn't seem to think it was worth the effort, as that stage's obsolete spawn point is still present. It's just been covered with a large tarp. Doubly hilarious is that Scorch Gorge is one of the new stages, as in it was never playable before the new spawn system to begin with!
  • The Test Range, which has been expanded in Splatoon 3 to be far bigger than its predecessors, along with merging it into the lobby, has its own humorous sights:
    • To keep the coffee theme of the games spawning system going, the place you enter to start matchmaking is a giant coffee dispenser. It's even plugged in to the wall behind it.
    • Examine the giant screen in the lobby a little closely, and you'll realize the thing is just a giant Nintendo Switch.◊
  • The animations for when you quickly swap between stores. Once again, your Inkling and the various shopkeepers struggle to maintain their balance and have to regain their footing when you do this. If you're playing as an Octoling, however? They happily jump between the transitions with a big smile on their face.
  • Tucked away in a corner of Splatsville is a porta-potty. Nothing too unusual, unless you hang around it long enough and hear an Octoling groaning in distress. Maybe the Crab-N-Go stands food isn't as good for your health as you think it is.
  • You can find your Smallfry companion hanging out in all sorts of places in the the main hub just goofing off and being cute (or dozing near Murch), though probably the funniest one is that he can sometimes he spotted at the window of the cafe right above the Anarchy Splatcast studio. Yes, the same cafe that you haven't been able to access for three games at this point.
    • Also, in earlier versions, if he's dozing off near Murch, Smallfry will wake up when you're talking to him. Once you stop talking to Murch, he'll go back to sleep almost immediately.
    • In Inkopolis Plaza, one can find Smallfry in various spots... Including the top of Inkopolis Tower, and he's barely visible up there to boot. The little guy has a talent for getting into places you can't, apparently.
  • Whoever is writing the patch notes is clearly having fun with the Bloblobber:
    2.0.0 Patch Notes: "Fixed an issue with the Bloblobber where lobbing blobs while touching certain terrain or while inputting certain controls could cause some of the blobs not to be lobbed correctly."
  • Normally, a Wipeout is either a moment of triumph or one of disappointment. But getting splatted in Recon, with no allies or foes to speak of, is still announced as one on your end.
  • If you have access to Inkpolis Plaza, probably one of the first things you might do is look for the manhole leading to Octo Valley. It's still there... But it's blocked off by a stack of tires taped to the ground, with a small slip of paper with the Cuttlegear logo next to it. Looks like the New Squidbeak Splatoon really did not want to deal with Octo Valley anymore and blocked it off to keep anyone from coming or going via the manhole.
  • Deep Cut's announcement of the re-opening of the train station (which lets players who own the DLC to visit Inkopolis), has this gem from Frye that simply gives one the greatest of mental images, followed by Big Man's response...
    Frye: "What? Noooooo! I can barely find a place to park my eels as it is!"
    Big Man: "...Ay? (...But if they're riding the train, why would they need to park?)"
  • The Sizzle Season 2023 Update includes several different Nintendo consoles to put in your locker, but their names are hilarious such as the "Intended Entertainment System", "Supreme Ness", "Eight-Squared Game System" (Placed at No. 63) and the "Cubic Gaming System", all of which border on the style of Writing Around Trademarks despite Nintendo owning these consoles and suggesting that whoever named them In-Universe didn't notice their names printed on them. Fridge Brilliance settles in with the possibility that they couldn't read them, given the different writing.
  • Deep Cut get amiibo figures, but due to Big Man being...well, big, his solo amiibo has to fit in a multi-pack size box. If you scan him ingame, he's awkwardly squashed inside of the single-size Inkopolis/Splatsville amiibo box.
    Big Man: AY! Ay... (Oof, I bumped my head...)
  • One of the Grizzco gear prizes is a replica of Doc Brown's 2015 glasses, which are aptly named the "Low-Vis Visor". Since they're entirely made of aluminium, you logically wouldn't be able to see out of them, hence why they're worn above the eyes by default. A later update allows you to wear them "properly" via the Adjustments mechanic.
  • A pre-Chill Season 2024 update added extra animations for the "Reppin' Inkopolis" emote to account for the weapons not present in the first game. The one for the Brellas has the winner use it like an electric guitar.
  • The Smallfry amiibo features an impressive display of them swimming in a wave of ink and Power Eggs. When you scan the toy ingame however, Smallfry appears in the amiibo box on its own without the grand display, making for a bit of funny whiplash.

    Stage Announcements 

    Salmon Run: Next Wave 
  • Mr. Grizz's comment about losing to a King Salmonid via crew wipe. While he admits to it being in-universe Nightmare Fuel, he's so stringent with his workers that he wants them to have their nightmares off duty.
    Mr. Grizz: That must've been terrifying... If you're going to have nightmares, policy requires that you do it off the clock.
  • Speaking of Salmon Run, while the Mudmouth is mostly Nightmare Fuel, this comment on it is worth a chuckle.
    Mr. Grizz: There's an old saying about Mudmouths... "If you see one pop up from underground, throw a bomb in its mouth." Yes, it is a VERY specific saying.
  • The little tune that the Smallfries in charge of the Fish Stick sing can come off as goofy.
  • The Slammin' Lid's role is to defend its fellow Salmonids in battle. However, its tendency to try and crush any inklings that get too close shows that it's actually better at splatting them than actually protecting them. Even Boss Salmonids aren't safe.
    • And that includes other Slammin' Lids.
    • The way the pilots of Slammin' Lids look around after they drop can be hilarious when they've failed to splat any employees and instead splatted their own comrades, in a low-key "uh-oh, I screwed up" way.
    • There are also times when a Slammin' Lid will position themselves in hilariously bad spots that are easily exploitable for employees. For example, on Gone Fission Hydroplant, there's the western choke-point ramp with the raised platforms on either side, which a Slammin' Lid can position itself at (especially on high tide), but the actual choke point isn't wide enough for the Slammin' Lid to actually drop down to the ramp, but the gap is just wide enough that it'll get stuck on the edges of the platform on either side, making it basically impossible to splat employees (there simply isn't enough room for them to actually do more than do a bit of damage and knock them back) but employees can safely trigger it to drop on other boss Salmonids, making the comical ineptitude quite apparent.
  • It may be tempting to not immediately kill a Slammin' Lid and instead use the vehicle as a high ground away from the chaos below... except if you stay on the platform for too long, the pilot will whip out a freaking soup ladle and whack you away!
  • There's something oddly humorous about the inaccuracy of the Grizzco Stringer, to the point where even its nine targeting reticles are haphazardly aligned.
  • If you manage to get a crew wipe without getting one single egg in Salmon Run, Mr. Grizz is extremely unhappy.
    Mr. Grizz: You couldn't even grab ONE Golden Egg? GRRR... Guess I should have made you read the handbook.
  • Gone Fission Hydroplant on high tide can be particularly stressful, as the design of the stage can get you boxed in by Salmonids quite easily. But there are laughs to be had when a Stinger spawns, as one potential area it can settle down is just a few inches next to the basket.
  • It's not uncommon for Big Shot operators to get in each other's way, resulting in it looking like the two Salmonids are kissing each other on the battlefield.
  • One of the new Nighttime Waves in Salmon Run: Next Wave is the Tornado, where a giant tornado forms just off shore on low tide. Lesser Salmonids are the only Salmonids that spawn, and they do so by literally falling from the sky, with the humorous implication that they are willingly entering the giant tornado and using it as a lift over to shore. You'd think getting tossed around by hurricane force winds would leave them a little dazed on landing, but they more or less go about their cephalopod-splatting duties like nothing happened. Meanwhile, since the low-tide basket is out of order, Mr. Grizz admits he'll just forge his own accounting and count each egg for two.
  • Successfully clearing all three waves in a Big Run earns this cute little comment from Mr. Grizz.
    Mr. Grizz: Way to show those Salmonids who's the boss! It's me. I'm the boss.
  • As nightmarish as the Big Run is, there's something silly about Deep Cut giving the news broadcast as if nothing's wrong after announcing Big Run.
  • After the successful Big Run campaign, Grizzco was nice enough to give everyone a free Cohozuna statue for their lockers! ...However, upon trying to place it inside, the Cohozuna statue turns out to be accurately proportioned to the real deal, because it takes up almost the entire space of the basic locker size. Even on maximum lockers, the thing takes up half the space! The resulting comically unwieldy decoration is both incredibly annoying to decorate around and also an incredibly, incredibly funny sight.
  • Horrorboros is an appropriately terrifying creature, a giant, serpentine Salmonid with an absolutely hellish roar... but such an inhuman form does not stop it from still wearing the same suspender pants the rest of its kin wear.
  • Inkblot Art Academy's most notable feature is having three egg baskets for each tide level, owing to the fact that the different tides always engulf the baskets. However, due to the elevation and how small the actual high tide area is, a common issue has cropped up where players wander into the area of the mid-tide basket and drown as the tide rises. Sometimes, this also results in the entire team wiping themselves out.
  • The Grizzco Dualies allows you to perform up to nine explosive dodge rolls in a roll. It's hard to resist doing them over and over again just to see them paint the ground, erradicate lessers, and just cross the map in seconds, even once the shift is over. Insist on doing so, and you can potentially prevent yourself from superjumping back to the chopper.
  • The enormous Megalodontia. Horrifying? Yes. The Braces of Orthodontic Overkill around its teeth and the very old-school cartoony weak spot, on the other hand... Incredibly goofy? Also yes.

    Splatfests 
  • Deep Cut's Splatfest performance of Anarchy Rainbow is filled with some funny and cute moments.
    • It's hard to tell if Frye sitting down during Shiver's verse was intentional or not, but it's funny either way that instead of the more complex hand movements that the rest of her choreography entails, Frye just sends finger guns to the audience before getting back up.
    • Shiver and Frye accidentally bump into Big Man during his verse and have to play it off. Shiver in particular gives a big nervous smile towards the audience, hoping that no one saw that blunder.
    • Frye doesn't quite remember all the steps to the dance that she and Shiver do, so during the first rendition of the chorus, she quickly glances down at Shiver's footwork to match it.
    • Big Man doesn't remember which way to point during the chorus, initially pointing in the opposite directions of Shiver and Frye and quickly trying to correct himself each time. He gets it right on the repeat, but then gets visibly confused when it comes to the spin that Shiver and Frye do shortly after, either because he totally forgot that was part of the routine or because doesn't have enough room to spin himself.
  • Rock vs. Paper vs. Scissors:
    • During the Splatfest announcement, Big Man aligns himself with Team Scissors, stating that he always manages to win when he picks that move. The others initially brush this off in order to proclaim the merits of their choices, only for an incredulous Shiver to finally point out the obvious when Big Man starts talking up scissors again.
      Shiver: Do you even have fingers?!
    • In stark contrast, Frye is nearly convinced by Big Man's argument that making finger scissors somehow increases one's brain power.
  • Gear vs. Grub vs. Fun:
    • During the announcement, Frye questions if someone could eat a sleeping bag if they really needed to. Big Man insists that no, you can't. Also, don't ask why he knows this.
    • When Shiver points out that Frye won't have anything to heat her food, meaning she'd just be eating "cold enchiladas on a leaf", she replies that at least she'll have enchiladas while Shiver has "enchilNADA".
    • Words of wisdom from Frye:
      Frye: Ugh, boring problems. I stick to the acronym KISS: "Keep It Salami, Stupid"! Team Grub!
    • Once again, it's Big Man's argument that almost has Frye second-guessing her choice, while Shiver retorts that he'd only have caterpillars to play Tableturf Battle with.
    • During the results announcement, Frye gets slightly defensive over Team Grub's loss, but Big Man just happily says that Team Fun was along for the ride. "WHEEEEEE!"
  • Grass vs. Fire vs. Water:
    • Big Man aligns himself with Team Water this Splatfest, citing kinship with the type as fellow sea animals. Frye is quick to wonder whether this would make Big Man secretly a Pokémon himself.
    • After only two Splatfest victories, Shiver has already let it go to her head, as she takes a quick moment to gloat about it during the Splatfest announcement. Frye calls her out on this.
      Shiver: Don't I deserve the most relaxing type of Pokémon after winning both Splatfests?
      Frye: Wow. WOW. You really went there, huh?
    • Shiver's smugness is made all the funnier when the final results come in, and it turns out that Big Man's team emerged victorious in every single category. Shiver begrudgingly admits that Big Man's team really deserved the W (with Frye noting that Water also starts with W).
    • Big Man's victory speech ends with him saying that everyone must now choose the Water-type starter Pokémon since his team won, prompting Shiver to point out that doing so would make it harder to complete the Pokédex.
    • Some players experienced a glitch where instead of the usual post-Splatfest dialogue, Anarchy Splatcast just skipped straight to the map rotations. Some decided to characterize it as Shiver being so mad at her loss that she just changed the topic.
  • Spicy vs. Sweet vs. Sour:
    • Team Sweet she may be, Frye fully admits to her Big Eater tendencies, and that she will eat any food. Which explains why Big Man and Shiver's food keeps going missing.
    • Shiver feels concern for the barista whenever Frye orders coffee. It's never explained what kind of order Frye makes, but the fact that she likes her coffee sweet may have something to do with it.
      Frye: What's wrong with my coffee? It's delish! Like a drinkable candy bar!
      Shiver: You need to apologize to your barista for the things you make them do to coffee.
    • The Splatfest art has a couple of funny sights. Most notably, despite being on Team Spicy, it's clear from the art that Shiver can't handle her spicy foods at all. And then there's Big Man in a tank top, which is just a funny visual to behold.
  • Dark Chocolate vs. Milk Chocolate vs. White Chocolate
    • The Splatfest art once more. We see Shiver and Frye in appropriate winter attire thematically corresponding to their team... and then you see Big Man who has either been replaced with a life-sized white chocolate sculpture, or is totally covered from head to tail-fins in the stuff.
    • After Big Man attained a victory in every single category for a second time, he reminds the other two of the deal that the winner gets chocolates from the losers. By the end of their conversation though, Big Man offers to give the losers chocolate just so they don't give him things like chocolate-covered onions.
  • Nessie vs. Aliens vs. Bigfoot:
    • Each member shares a story of a time they thought they spotted their choice of cryptid. Except Shiver is blatantly passing off an unrelated creature sighting (likely a Horrorboros) as one of Nessie and hoping the others fall for it. Frye surprisingly doesn't fall for it... if only because she actually witnessed the same event and points out that Nessie is a lake monster, not a sea monster, throwing Shiver off.
    • Frye's UFO story is clearly describing DJ Octavio's Octobot King L3.Gs mech flying around the Crater, right down to her taking note of its massive fists. She later comments that she wants to fight it.
    • Big Man recalls a time during a ski-trip where he and a bunch of other people claim to have seen a fuzzy shadow on the slopes (possibly Mr. Grizz), and reveals that he's terrified of Bigfoot, complete with this gem of a line:
      Big Man: Ay?! (If Bigfoot's not real, why am I so afraid of it?!)
    • Shiver's "sighting" gets even funnier when Team Nessie wins the Splatfest, and she outright admits she was lying about having seen it, "but it feels real now!"
      • Which then prompts Big Man to chide her for admitting to lying so casually when they're still on camera.
      • And right after they decide that Shiver and Frye must have just seen a big Salmonoid that one time, Big Man gets a breaking news report that an unidentified giant creature was spotted in a lake by the Splatlands sea, prompting this reaction:
        Shiver: WHAT?! Did I...lie this into existence? I'm even more powerful than I thought!
  • Power vs. Wisdom vs. Courage:
    • Shiver is impressed by Frye picking Wisdom, since it shows that she has great understanding of her strengths and weaknesses. At least, she's impressed until Frye reveals one of the things she'd use Wisdom for. It's even funnier if you know how infamously linear Eeltail Alley is; she'd have to be wwwwaaaaayyy dumber than she really is to get lost there.
      Frye: Plus, it'd be cool to find my way to Eeltail Alley without getting lost. Wisdom can help!
      Shiver: ...You've heard of maps, right?
    • Frye and Shiver are both mildly concerned when Big Man's attempts to promote Courage is him talking about having the courage to bomb walls and delivering an odd Ice-Cream Koan about turf wars.
      Frye: What are you even talking about, Big Man?
      Shiver: What's wrong with him?
    • Upon winning the Splatfest, Shiver is very quick to decides that while winning was fun, now she's "thirsty for some real power" and starts pondering how to accomplish that. Big Man anxiously tries to make sure whether she plans to use it for good or evil. And then Frye casually exposes the trio as bandits on air, followed by Big Man's perfect Zelda 1 reference to cap off the end of the Splatfest...
      Frye: Awww, Shiver's got a heart of gold! So we'll get power, wisdom, AND courage. Together!
      Shiver: You two would do that? For me?
      Frye: Duh! Did you forget that we're Deep Cut? Bandits to the core! We take what we want!
      Big Man: Ay! Ay! (Shhh! That's supposed to be a secret to everybody!)
  • Vanilla vs. Strawberry vs. Mint:
    • Big Man tries to define mint as something that tempers the sweetness of chocolate and cream. Shiver describes it as toothpaste.
    • Once the Splatfest is over, Frye wonders if any of them brought ice cream in anticipation for the end. They silently look at the screen for a Beat, eventually revealing them to be staring at their Personal Assistant confirming that they didn't, to the bands annoyance.
  • Money vs. Fame vs. Love:
    • The Splatfest art for this one counts, featuring Big Man front and center, holding Smallfry in his fins with an expression of pure, tender love on his face. Smallfry, for its part, seems quite confused at its ordeal.
  • Shiver vs. Frye vs. Big Man:
    • Ahead of the Splatfest was the debut of a new song, Big Betrayal, of which the first part is actually a conversation between the three of them.
      • Frye is holding a photo of Big Man in a Paper-Thin Disguise hanging out with the Squid Sisters as she angrily chews him out for "cozying up to those Inkopolis sisters." Big Man speaks rapidly in a panicked tone as he claims that's just Ian BGM, a vocalist of no relation whatsoever, but Frye calls him out for thinking they're that dumb. Shiver takes a more passive-aggressive approach, saying it's nice Big Man is having fun with new friends before suggesting he should spend ALL his time with them if they're so great. Big Man still speaks quickly as he confesses that he wanted artists from Splatsville and Inkopolis to get along by doing a collab. Shiver loses her temper at this point.
        Shiver: You wanted a collab? Well, I want cold, hard cash! Next time we get a piece, capisce?
      • Judging by the bandage on Big Man's face and the tear he's shedding, Big Man got roughed up a bit when they confronted him.
      • Japanese promotional material mentions that Big Man himself wrote the song, meaning he composed his own diss track.note 
    • Since this is the first time a Splatfest happened in the same month as a Big Run and also the weekend right before it, Deep Cut are taken rather off-guard by the fact that the special announcement sequence hasn't ended...
      Frye: Hello? Why is the camera still rolling?
      Big Man: Ay? Ay. (Technical issues? Try unplugging it and then NOT plugging it back in.)
    • The trio are genuinely miffed that the Salmonids have the gall to do a Big Run right before the Splatfest. In fact, their biggest concern is that if the Big Run isn't stopped, the Splatfest might get cancelled.
  • Handshake vs. Fist Bump vs. Hug:
    • Once Shiver wins, she admits to the other two that she genuinely doesn't know how to do a fist bump (on account that sharks can't do it). Frye decides to help, only what's supposed to be an easy explanation turns out to be an unnecessarily long and complicated version that turns Shiver off.
  • Friday vs. Saturday vs. Sunday:
    • Frye finds it amusing that people only have three days for the weekend, implying she somehow has more.
    • Many players have joked that Friday would be called Frye-day, except Shiver immediately refuses to call it that on her opening dialogue.
    • Frye complains that Friday is made of a boring half for school/work. She also complains that Big Man favoring Sunday just to relax and do nothing from dealing with the girls on Friday and his family on Saturday sounds like a waste (and calls it a WEAKend).
    • Frye adores Saturday because she always just forgets everything she does in that day.
  • Drums vs. Guitar vs. Keyboard
    • Shiver holds the belief that drummers are usually the leader of their respective band, something Frye tells Big Man not to correct her on.
    • Frye promises that, as a guitarist, she'll use the power of her position responsibly by keeping her guitar solos to a minimal 12 minutes.
    • Big Man, compared to his friends, doesn't have much to say about his position outside of the simple fact that Keyboard is the instrument he actually plays.
    • This Splatfest, the first since Side Order released, also introduces a brand new song - Suffer No Fools, a Battle of the Bands between Off The Hook and Frye & Shiver, who are going by Fire & Ice since Big Man isn't with them.
      • Their "collaboration" happened because Off The Hook was starting their first Splatsville concert. Frye was big mad about it, resulting in her and Shiver storming into Off The Hook's green room to start a verbal brawl. Pearl challenged them to take it to the stage.
      • Pearl refuses to let Frye get a word in at the start of their battle. The first interruption has Frye simply grumble about it, while the second interruption pisses her off enough to scream at Pearl to wait her turn, with one of her bars complaining about how Pearl never shuts up.
      • Pearl dedicates an entire bar to praising Marina's beauty and intelligence. In response, Frye dismisses Marina as just being a "grouper" (a fish pun on "groupie"). Given how Pearl and Marina have behaved since Side Order released, with the key art for the song even showing Marina draping herself over Pearl, Frye probably means everything the word implies.
      • Shiver engages in Passive-Aggressive Kombat against Marina by hurling veiled insults at her. Depending on how you want to view it, Marina is either skillfully turning each insult back at her fellow Octoling with sarcastic statements of her own... or she isn't even aware she's being insulted and is thanking Shiver for what she believes are sincere compliments.
        Shiver: Your haunting voice 一 there's no escape. How nice it must be for your fans.
        Marina: You're far too kind! I love your vibe. I can learn so much from your style.

    Return of the Mammalians 
  • The dialogue used by characters is the same regardless of what race you pick. Meaning that when you start the campaign, you're treated to Cpt. Cuttlefish referring to the Octarians as "Octojerks" and other such insults... even if you're playing as an Octoling, which makes your player character's silence and blank stare all the more hilarious.
  • The crater levels appear to be low tech domes the Octarians have set up in the area. And by low tech, we mean the screens that usually surround the domes are replaced with giant CRT televisions.
  • The level names themselves can be pretty damn ridiculous, with some being so oddly conversational in tone that you can't help crack a smile at some of them. Special mentions go to the panicked "What Are They? Can We Stop Them?!", the prideful "They Said We'd Have Flying Cars, and We Do! Kinda!", and the strange trivia that is "Octohoppers Don't Have a Sense of Humor (and They Hate Puns)!"
  • To make his fight more difficult, DJ Octavio breaks out an Ink Vac to suck up your ink. How do you deal with this? You toss Smallfry into the vacuum to clog it. Evidently by its constant babbling for as long as it's stuck in the vacuum, Smallfry does not enjoy the experience.
  • You meet Callie and Marie with the original Agent 3 early on, and they join in on the pair's 'Stay Fresh' poses. Except former Agent 3 does it with the most deadpan "I can't believe they roped me into this" glare imaginable, not even bothering to stand up. In general, the Captain formerly known as Agent 3 also looks bored all of the time, which is kinda hilarious in itself. Perhaps they enjoy field work much more than management.
    • The excuse they give for Captain remaining silent throughout the campaign? They're just really, really shy. Marie sticks around the main island while Callie follows you around specifically so that she can continue to relay messages that the former agent is presumably mumbling and whispering.
    • On top of that, there is only one time they "speak" to you, and its simply the "Booyah!" voice command you can do during matches. They truly are the former player character.
  • Considering that Cap'n Cuttlefish told you that the pay is zero when forcibly recruiting you, that means that agent work under the New Squidbeak Splatoon is pro-bono. Right? Well, Sunken Scroll 19 reveals that, at the very least, Captain actually started getting paid when they were promoted. In fact, they have a notarized letter officially noting their employment and pay grade.
  • Callie and Marie are huge fans of the Crab Tank special. Big enough fans that they spend all of Mission 2-05 "Tread Heavily" cheering it on rather than Agent 3.
  • In a case of Black Comedy, O.R.C.A. has their own take on the whole "test failed" routine. Mess up the test routine, and you get a sudden spotlight as the AI tells you exactly where you went wrong. Then you get slimed by an orbital ink drop. Not quite as sophisticated as C.Q Cumber's explosive backpack, but no less funny, perhaps moreso in how primitive the punishment is in comparison.
  • Speaking of O.R.C.A., Mission 4-05 "Amusing a Bemused Muse" involves breaking specific crates to match a structure, which coincidentally looks like a dolphin. Both Callie and Marie remark that the finished product looks familiar but don't quite know why. The sentient AI who spends the entire campaign passively and silently observing everyone (outside giving you the mission parameters for every stage) can't help to react to this with Visible Silence.
  • One mission has you use a Brush-type weapon to ink several spots in a row, and the end of the course gives you a bird's-eye view of your handiwork; a crude drawing of Smallfry.
  • Deep Cut's entrance to the story. They introduce themselves as elusive bandits searching for treasures, but their speech patterns and mannerism are more reminiscent of Team Rocket from Pokémon: The Series than anything. Callie finds their antics adorable, Marie looks nonchalant, and Captain (according to Marie) finds them mildly annoying; none of the NSS consider them a serious threat at all, much to the trio's annoyance.
    • If you listen closely, you'll notice that when Frye throws off her mask, you can hear it land offscreen, followed by a familiar yelp and disgruntled fish sounds. That's right: Frye accidentally nailed poor Smallfry with the mask.
    • When Frye is upset the New Squidbeak Splatoon aren't scared by their introductory speech and asks what scares people nowadays, Big Man says he got a little scared.
  • Every time you defeat a member of Deep Cut, they attempt a Smoke Out to get away. Emphasis on attempt. The end results are always A Twinkle in the Sky, further exacerbating the Team Rocket comparisons.
    • Frye is the only one whose smoke bomb goes off without a hitch. Problem is, she tosses it into the malfunctioning Octostomp body, causing it to explode.
    • Shiver tries to do a cool trick with her fan and the smoke bomb and ends up fumbling and dropping the bomb, with an audible shout of "OH N-" as it explodes on Master Mega.
    • Big Man tosses his into ink, causing it to not go off until he kicks it, with predictable results.
  • As is apparently series tradition, an intimidating boss comes equipped with a cute accessory. In this case, Shiver's shark ride, Master Mega, wears a pair of sunglasses on its nose. They don't even come close to covering its eyes.
  • Big Man's boss fight is quite literally just the Phantamanta boss from Super Mario Sunshine. What makes this really funny is when you recall the franchise's relationship with that game. When the first Splatoon was revealed, so many people assumed when the trailer began that it was a Super Mario Sunshine sequel that the developers ended up having to address it in an interview... at which point they sheepishly admit they had forgotten that game even existed. Better late than never for a reference, right?
  • The "treasures" you acquire from beating Deep Cut are clearly parts for a lightweight helicopter, presumably to fly up to the ooze-covered rocket for the final showdown. When it's time for said showdown, Callie, Marie, and the former Agent 3 "assemble" it...into a senseless mishmash of blades and rotors that ex-3 then picks up like a chainsaw and uses to hack the Ooze off the entire island. They also pull a muscle, preventing them from assisting you any further.
  • When the Captain finishes shaving the Fuzzy Ooze from the central island, Callie and Marie do a synchronized pose... and then Agent 3 immediately Superjumps to the island, not even giving them a glance.
  • The whole exchange between Deep Cut and the NSS at the base of the rocket island is quite funny, as the former are flabbergasted when the latter just gives them the treasure, especially since it's now broken and probably lost some value. The music even cuts off when Marie reveals this.
    • They consider Marie letting them have the treasure no strings attached such a boss move, they decide they want her to be their actual boss. The first thing Big Man asks for is a raise.
    • Marie is not at all enthused about the idea.
      Marie: I'm going to have to approve their time cards, aren't I?
    • Plus this exchange, prior to the group pledging their allegiance:
      Shiver: You're done with treasure? What's wrong with you?
      Callie/Agent 1: Plenty! But don't worry about that.
  • When you enter the Alterna Space Center to take on Mr. Grizz, O.R.C.A. insists that all weaponry is strictly prohibited and takes all of your gear. They are, however, completely cool with "pets and/or sidekicks."
  • Shiver has advice to give during the first segment of the Space Center. Her choice of words are... interesting, to say the least.
    Shiver: Oh, you need help with this? Just do a double floop and skim the blorble, stealth-style. EZ!
  • As you ascend the facility, you can hear Mr. Grizz cryptically talking to Cap'n Cuttlefish, explaining his plans and ultimate goal. Except, unlike the player who has context via everything from reading the Alterna Logs to even just playing the Salmon Run mode, the old squid has no such references; poor Craig only grows more and more confused with every word coming out of the ursine's mouth and repeatedly interrupts to say as much.
    Cap'n Cuttlefish: Hey. Buddy. You talkin' to me? 'Cause I got NO idea what you're saying.
    • He also expresses You're Insane! in a very interesting way that, as usual, is filled with marine jokes.
      Cap'n Cuttlefish: Oh, I get it. You've gone fishing. Completely out to sea. You're just trawling us, right?
  • It’s a really tense climb up the rocket launch tower and finding what's become of ex-Cap'n Cuttlefish, but it's near impossible not give at least a chuckle, if not a full-on belly laugh, when you see the realistic squid with closed googly eyes and a cartoon beard for the first time. Especially when he gets revitalized by the Captain's Single Tear and looks like a realistic squid with open googly eyes and a cartoon beard that emotes with its realistic tentacles. In the post-credits scene, upon first entering Alterna once again, he still looks like that during the greeting! He doesn't seem to mind... apparently.
  • When Mr. Grizz is revealing his plan to allow mammals to rise up again, there's something legitimately funny about him phrasing it like it's simply another day on the job.
    Callie/Agent 1: Hey, you overgrown furball! Turn Gramps back into… Gramps!
    Mr. Grizz: Valued employees… we appreciate your feedback. However, it will not be implemented at this time.
    Marie/Agent 2: What's that supposed to mean?!
    Mr. Grizz: It means the end of your employment. …And the end of the world as you know it, to be clear. As per my memo, I will be coating the planet in Fuzzy Ooze in an effort to restore balance. Don't call it "Hairmageddon." HR doesn't like it.
  • Once Deep Cut helps Agent 3 get into space via Master Mega and Frye's eels, Smallfry comically flies after you by flapping his fins rather than simply riding in the ink tank like he normally does, having fallen out during Agent 3's Squid/Octo jump.
  • Directly following the above, once New Agent 3 and Smallfry make it to the rocket, the former does a standard heroic pose while the latter comically flops onto the ship, even bouncing a couple times before coming to a stop.
  • Callie hijacking Deep Cut's Character Catchphrase.
  • While the final phase of the Final Boss is an awesome spectacle, essentially being a kaiju fight in space with you backing up one of said monsters with a sweet mech, there's something inherently comical about the fact that the weapon you're using to save the entire world is the Ink Vac.
    • Another Final Boss moment: if you listen closely during the Calamari Inkantation 3MIX, you can hear Hugefry singing along. Guess even the Salmonids aren't immune to that heavenly melody...
  • As previously stated, true to the previous Agent 3's previous appearances in Splatoon 1 and Splatoon 2, they never speak... until the post-credits scene, where they use the "Booyah" signal as a way of expressing their thanks in the post-credits scene.
  • Upon beating the game, players may immediately run over to Grizzco to see if anything has changed there, given that they just either killed or seriously incapacitated their former boss. While Mr. Grizz continues to speak during Salmon Run shifts, implying that his messages have been pre-recorded the entire time, his bear-eating-a-salmon radio has been removed (it's now in Alterna and can be interacted with to refight the final boss or view the ending) and replaced with... a carving of Hugefry biting a comically undersized bear. Grizz's biggest loss against the Salmonids is immortalized in his own lobby!
  • One of the Sunken Scrolls describes how historians think they obtained proof that ancient Inklings mummified their dead. The proof? A dried squid. As in, the ubiquitous Asian snack. There's a skewer still stuck in it and everything.
    • Another details the morning routine of Big Man's clan...and the accompanying image is an oil painting of Big Man enjoying his breakfast. Napkin and everything, including milk in a wine glass. Many say it's one of the best Secret Scrolls in the game for this alone.
  • In a meta-sense, just how early Mr. Grizz is revealed as the Big Bad (as in, after the second Alterna boss fight), given how many people predicted the character becoming a major antagonist long before a third entry was officially announced. It's as if the game is saying "you know it, I know it, now c'mon, let's just get it out of the way and let's whoop his ass already!"
  • Completing After Alterna rewards you with the Teddy Band, a three-star piece of headgear. Like C.Q. Cumber's Conductor Cap before it, there's a small gag regarding its primary ability: Comeback. That's right, the Animal-Eared Headband that mimics the ears of Mr. Grizz, who sought to restore mammalian life to the Earth after mammals were wiped out to the last, makes you more powerful after you respawn.
  • Mr. Grizz's design is worth a few chuckles, considering that his face doesn't match his body whatsoever, being something that looks it came from a plush bear on top of a giant hulking bear body.
  • Mixed with Heartwarming, but you can idle in Alterna for a bit and you'll have a chance to hear Smallfry sing Calamari Inkantation. Even better, this can happen before the final boss. When Cuttlefish said how important that song was the world of Splatoon, he wasn't kidding!
  • The fact that, even though Deep Cut (or at least Frye) is implied to be fans of the Squid Sisters as shown once you beat Hero Mode, they completely fail to notice that the "Boss Marie and her assistant lady" that they've been harassing for treasure and just saved the world with are the famous pop duo until they see a picture of them labeling them as such. This is despite singing alongside them during the final battle (and singing what could be called the Squid Sister's Signature Song no less), and Callie and Marie not being in disguise whatsoever throughout the campaign (the former has even been wearing a variant of her usual Squid Sisters outfit throughout the adventure).
  • A small one, but still funny. You're free to blast at your fellow Agents with the Hero Shot at any time. While Callie recoils from the attack and Marie shields herself with her umbrella, as she did in the last game, the good Captain does not respond at all. They will happily let you pelt them with as much ink as you can muster, and nonchalantly shake it off after you're done. That is a new level of not giving a damn.

    Side Order 
  • Pearl's reaction to finding out that the elevator only goes up one floor at a time:
    Pearl: Whaaaat?! How come?! You mean I gotta be PATIENT?!
  • Pearl's first reaction to seeing what looks exactly like one of the dreaded 8-Ball puzzles from Octo Expansion? "Aw man! Not THOSE things again!". Acht quickly assures her and Eight that that these new Infinity-Balls can't be knocked off the edges unlike the ones from the Deepsea Metro. Even funnier considering that Marina created the Order Sector as a game, so she deliberately removed the 8-Ball's most frustrating downfall.
  • The headset controlling Marina? It's a modified Virtual Boy, of all things.note  You can even buy a replica for yourself, and it's as ridiculous when worn in public as you would imagine.
  • Marina under Order's control is still grooving to the music, if you pay attention to her movements during the fight.
  • After freeing Marina, Eight moves to catch her and seems to succeed...only for Marina to turn out to either be too heavy for them or falling too fast, causing both of them to fall to the ground in a heap.
  • After Order blows everyone out of the tower, Marina and Eight try to hitch a ride on the Pearl drone. Key word is try as Pearl struggles to hold them all up and eventually crashes to the ground. Pearl can even be heard struggling before crashing.
  • Even though you'd possibly have to go out of your way to do so, the fact that you could be splatted by a portal of all things. And if that just happens to be the splat that ends your run, Marina has some... choice words to say about it.
    Marina: Wow. You were splatted by a portal? Were you daydreaming or something?
  • If you stay idle in the Square for long enough, Pearl will turn back to her Inkling form and just hang out somewhere on the map until Agent 8 moves again.
  • Some of the conversations when you unlock each Palette are a hoot:
    • Pearl completely forgot who Agent 4 was. Marina reminds her that Cap'n Cuttlefish introduced them sometime after Octo Expansion, sparking her memory... of being completely underwhelmed by their first meeting.
    • Pearl still thinks of Murch as a short kid despite Marina pointing out that Murch has been taller than her for a while now.
    • Marina gets a little too into the idea of possessing pieces of Callie and Marie's souls.
    • Marina finds Frye to be adorable, and loves how she always races to talk to Pearl whenever they meet-up. Pearl agrees, but adds that she can never tell when a given encounter will result in Frye hugging her or punching her.
    • When Pearl suggests alternate stage names for Big Man, finding Ian BGM to be too bland, it turns out that Marina is the only one who fell for the Paper-Thin Disguise and had no idea that Big Man and Ian BGM were the same person.
    • Marina once again praises Deep Cut, finding Shiver to be graceful and elegant. Pearl is a bit more hesitant to agree this time, as she shares that she can always feel Shiver's stare boring a hole in her skull whenever she talks to Frye.
  • There's also some of the elevator conversations, both random and fixed:
    • Acht is a childhood friend of Marina, but they've never seen Marina act quite the way she does with Pearl. Every single time Marina starts gushing over how cool and incredible Pearl is, Acht's aloof persona breaks as they awkwardly try to figure out how to respond to it. By the time you hit the post-game, Acht is very thankful that Eight's presence means they aren't a Third Wheel.
      Acht: Uhhh. Times like this, Eight... I'm glad you're here.
    • Acht mentions that Marina once spent two hours talking to nobody about excavators when asked for an embarrassing Marina story. Pearl is shocked... That Marina's nerdy rants were shorter than they are now. Marina's response to this mockery?
      Marina: I was a younger, less experienced nerd. Nowadays, I feel confident in my ability to fully convey the joys of excavators accurately and in painstaking de—
      Acht: Think we're ready for that next floor now, Eight.
    • When Acht gives additional justification for staying behind inside of the elevator beyond their damaged arm — it'll go back down to the lobby if they left — Marina posits that Acht's other reason is probably because they've always loved being in small, cramped spaces. Acht says that this is ridiculous... before thinking about it and realizing they do feel surprisingly at ease being there.
    • At one point, when Acht asks Pearl if they've met before, Marina immediately assumes that Acht meant the question as a pickup line and calls them out for hitting on Pearl right in front of her. Acht insists that they just meant that Pearl's voice seemed familiar and was trying to place it.
    • Acht isn't familiar with Brella weapons. Marina is eager to give an explanation of her favorite weapon class, but it arguably isn't the best.
      Marina: They open with a FWOOMP! And then, TA-DAAA! You get to go KCHOW, KCHOW! They're SUPER fun!
      Acht: Sounds...great?
    • Marina and Acht talk about an old rhythm game the former made while they were in school, and that it was really hard, to the point where only Acht was any good at it despite their complaints that it clocked over 888 BPM. Marina reveals she made an even harder sequel. Why? Pearl easily mastered the original. Considering Pearl thought it was easy, it's safe to say that Pearl is some kind of rhythm game god.
    • When you start your first post-game run, Pearl bemoans that she really wanted her and Marina to have some alone time after the world tour, but promises Marina that she'll figure out something amazing for them to make up for the delay. As Marina gushes over how cool Pearl is, Acht asks Eight if the duo are always such a pair of Sickening Sweethearts.
    • One of the post-game elevator conversations has Marina tell you about the Risky Rewards hack as though she's introducing a new product in a smarmy sales pitch, and Acht says as much. Pearl admits that Off The Hook has been doing quite a few promotional advertisements lately.
    • Another post-game conversation has Pearl randomly realize that she left her umbrella on the plane at the end of their world tour. Acht suggests calling the airport and seeing if they could help, only for Pearl to reveal that the airplane is actually a private one that is currently in her and Marina's massive backyard, and she'll just pick it up later.
  • One of Marina's dev logs tells the story on how Eight finally got their name, having gone by Agent 8 up until that point before Marina decided to call them that, and earning a smile from Eight in the process. A heartwarming story... until you check the date and realize it took everyone, including Eight themselves, over five years before they even considered giving them an actual name.
    • It's even funnier when you realize that in the manga, Eight gets their name as one of the first things Goggles suggests. The Klutz of Blue Team was way ahead of the ∞-ball on that one!
  • Once you get halfway through the lockers, Pearl insists that Eight get the keys to open all of them so she can find out what happens next in Marina's diary. Not only does Marina seem to be having second thoughts over giving Eight and Pearl the greenlight to read her private thoughts, insisting Pearl stop drooling over her diary entries (as she'd much rather that Pearl drool over her instead), but she also reveals that Pearl has been reading them out loud this entire time.
  • The Dungeon Shop is just a very out of place vending machine, with the floor's objective being "Use the vending machine!". Pearl may sometimes wonder if there's any Membux under it.
  • The Parallel Canon boss fight's introduction is creepy and unnerving, but there's a hilarious blink and you'll miss it moment at the end where the drone on the left fails to submerge in the ink in sync with the others, so one of the other drones ends up sticking their hand out to grab them by the leg and drag them right into the ink.
  • The Main Firing Speed color chip raises the firing speed of your weapon to some pretty impressive degrees. The amount increased varies between weapon, but usually, having five of this chip will raise it to about 300% for every weapon... except for the Order Blaster, whose fifth slotted chip increases the firing speed to a whopping 1000 %! The end result fires even faster than the Grizzco Blaster, and that's saying something.
  • Acht, Marina and Pearl each have something to say about a given color chip, as you can read in the Color Chip Collection. Acht explains to you what the chip does exactly, Marina gives ideas for color chip combos or interesting tricks that can be done with the effect active, and Pearl... is being Pearl. It's entirely worth getting five of a given chip just for Pearl's commentary alone:
    • Extra Dodge Roll has her insist Eight use it for everything, just for her sake, 'K?
      "Dodge Roll to the fridge! Dodge Roll to the sofa!"
    • A few are just Marina calling out Pearl on a bad habit of hers, and Pearl vehemently denying it. For example, this little tidbit on Knockback:
      Marina: "Even if you get cornered, this can give you a fighting chance! Just remember one thing..."
      Pearl: ""Careful you don't run out of ink, Pearl!" Name ONE time!"
    • Mobile Drone Gauge has Pearl debate getting Eight an exercise wheel.
    • Pearl's ever present hatred of chargers — she is a Dualies main, after all — is another frequent mention.
  • The main villain of Side Order, the AI known as "Order", after being defeated, transforms into Smollusk, a diminutive childlike octopus with Elmuh Fudd Syndwome and a whiny personality... And apparently has also inherited Marina's crush on Pearl. Keep in mind that at the start it was a horrifying Digital Abomination with the will and means to turn the world into one of pure order, and now... Well, it's just kinda ineffectual and doesn't even change up its strategies for its boss fight! It's astonishing to believe that this is the same character.
  • The post-credits Anarchy Splatcast is pretty much all about Off The Hook (and Acht) and Inkopolis Square. Frye gets annoyed that there's only news about Inkopolis and that there isn't any Splatsville news.
  • Because the postgame mission is to fix every Palette by bringing them to the Control Room, you're going to have to fight Smollusk every single time, with its Boss Subtitles devolving from the intimidating "Magistrate of Order" to something with a number pun shoehorned in that keeps rising every time you face him.
  • As you continue to beat Order/Smollusk to clear the Palettes, you gain more insight on how he gained power, but he's spills very little any real information each time no matter how the group talks and approaches him. On one attempt, Pearl decides that it's Eight's turn to reason with the AI. Smollusk insists that nothing you say will sway it... then starts getting anxious when Eight (being a silent protagonist) says absolutely nothing, and begs them to say something. Anything. Pwease! Marina tries to assure it that Eight is simply shy.
  • With each defeat, it's clear that the losses are clearly begin to weigh on Smollusk, as does the fact that the heroes clearly aren't taking him seriously anymore, to the point where Marina and Acht have to assure him that he's still scary. However, eventually things flip and he starts pretending that that he isn't starting to enjoy your visits. After you finish all the Palettes, the little guy finally admits that he loves battling you and everyone promises to visit him for more sparring matches in the future. And indeed, all future fights have very casual and friendly intros and outros.
    Smollusk: Wow! You and Peawl are super tough, Eight!
    Pearl: Right back atcha, bud!
    Smollusk: That was fun. Pwease come and pway with me again sometime!

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