Splatoon Sequel suggestions

Last year Nintendo released their first game to feature an entirely new set of characters in over ten years. It was a third person shooter called Splatoon in which you shoot ink instead of bullets and transform between a kid and a squid (something the company's advertising campaign pushed incredibly hard), with squids travelling fast through their own colour of ink but being unable to use weapons. It proved to be a big success, selling 2.5 million copies in its first six months. I imagine a contributing factor there is that it was a fun, colourful offering for a genre of game that all too often sees you playing as a grizzled marine in samey desert locations, although it being the only shooter of note on the Wii U may have helped.

Whatever the reason, the game was successful. It also taught Nintendo some important lessons about experimenting with new types of games, not being overly reliant on established characters, and providing downloadable content. It was such a hit and taught the company so much that it's impossible to imagine them not producing a sequel. It's too obvious and sensible a move to not make, even for a company as frequently self-destructive as Nintendo.

Which is what I want to write about today. Splatoon may have been out less than a year but as Nintendo recently announced that they've finished their series of free updates (and haven't mentioned anything about paid ones) we now have what appears to be the full Splatoon experience available to us. Which means it's now easy to point to things and suggest Nintendo do them differently, elaborate on them, introduce them or cut them when Splatoon 2 rolls around¹.

I'll start with suggestions for weapons. The game features several dozen guns split, very broadly, into three categories. Regular guns which can be aimed and fired quickly, long range sniper rifles, and portable Gatling guns (dubbed splatling guns because wordplay) which are charged up before releasing a brisk burst of ink. It also features buckets and large painting utensils like brushes and rollers, because, as mentioned already, you shoot ink and not bullets². Each weapon type handles differently but allows you to pursue the same goal, laying down ink so that you can swim around the map more quickly and, in certain game modes, gain victory by having more of your colour than the opposing team's on the ground.

I only have one suggestion for an addition to this: spray cans³. They could range from having short and wide cover areas to long and narrow ones and they'd be great weapons for getting good coverage⁴. The natural assumption would be that spray cans would offer good coverage and make it easy to douse enemies⁵ and that they'd have generally good range. So a weakness (every weapon needs a weakness) of weight would probably be the best choice. Make them hefty things to lug about so they're not considered overpowered⁶.

There are other weapon types in Splatoon. Specifically sub weapons and special weapons. Subs are things like grenades and mines, the general theme with them being that they'll explode and create a small circle of ink, killing opposing team members unlucky enough to be nearby. Special weapons are things like missiles, which create a momentary large circular vortex of your ink colour at any position on the map, and locators, which reveal the whereabouts of al enemies until a timer runs out. That's handy when you remember that a popular trick amongst Splatoon players is to hide, undetectable, in ink until somewhere gets close enough to be splatted.

I have two ideas for special weapons. One would be something that allows you to swim through ink of any colour for a short amount of time⁷. This would be excellent for sneaking behind the opposing side's line. Right now you can only really accomplish that by shooting your way there, which leaves a trail of your ink colour and shows where you are (although putting your ink down is kind of the point of the game). With this special your could swim through enemy ink and sneak up on people. It would be useful for experienced rifle users and newcomers alike, allowing the former to get to desirable sniping points and the latter a fairer chance of escaping hectic bombardments. It would introduce a stealth style of play to the game that isn't there now.

The second idea is something that effects the enemy team. When activated it would make your enemy see their teammates as enemies and enemies as teammates. Recognising who's on which team in Splatoon is all down to colour: you and your teammates will all be one colour and the enemy will be another⁸. If you think enemies are teammates then you won't try to do the sensible thing and avoid or splat them. You'll also spend time trying to splat your teammates (which won' harm them but will waste your time). The idea would be for it to be an attack that confuses the opposing team and allows you to pick them off. It could be a little overpowered though, and if it were then the same idea would work just as well as a grenade that targets enemy players individually.

In the original Splatoon you obtain all these things as sets: a weapon comes with a sub and a special that can't be switched. That's a good practice as it keeps online play pretty balanced. It's a practice that should stay. That said I wouldn't be averse to a play mode where weapons, subs and specials can be selected separately (I'd just have no interest in playing it).

The second suggestion I have concerns DLC. I feel that Splatoon has been the best Nintendo title ever for DLC content. After its release the game saw nine maps added to its initial line-up of five⁹, well over thirty weapon pack combinations, and three additional online play modes. All of this was free. A similar approach would be a good idea for the sequel: the player base has come to expect it and it's proven to be an effective way of keeping people playing. However, I'd suggest that after six months or so of free maps, weapons and outfits¹⁰ that paid DLC be offered. There's no reason Nintendo shouldn't make money out of a popular game, especially if the sequel winds up with as much base content as the original.

The argument against paid DLC is well worn. Basically, some people don't like having to pay for extra content, feeling that buying the game should entitle them to everything ever created for it for no extra charge. I agree with that to an extent: if you buy a game that can be completed very easily and offers very little value for money then it's cheeky for companies to expect people to shell out more cash for fresh content. Generally speaking I'm happy to pay for extra content if it looks interesting and I feel the core game is good enough value. Splatoon is good value and I'd happily pay for more content now. I imagine I'll feel the same when a sequel arrives.

Talking about additional content is a natural time to discuss Amiibos. These are at once Nintendo's greatest achievement of the last few years and their biggest failure. They're a simple idea: collectible figures that unlock extra content for certain (at this point most) Nintendo games. They're a failure in that Nintendo have very little idea on how to use them. That's a subject in its own right but there's a very obvious way the line could be tied to a Splatoon sequel.

I'd like to see every Amiibo unlock clothing and weapons in Splatoon 2. A Link¹¹ Amiibo could unlock his trademark hat, tunic and boots and a weapon designed to look like a bow and arrow. Maybe it could even be some sort of ink-firing bow. A Pikachu Amiibo could unlock a Pikachu ears hat, a Pika-T-shirt and... I dunno, some yellow trainers with lightning emblems on them?

You get the idea. Each Amiibo would unlock a weapon and some unique clothing to be purchased in the relevant in-game shops. It would be impractical for every character to have an entirely new weapon, so maybe they could be variants, with special decorations on them (something already in Splatoon for weapons with different sub and special combos) or alternate sub and special combos. All Legend of Zelda characters could come with the same weapon, sub and special but with different markings depending on who'd been scanned in, for example (Triforce for Link, a crown for Zelda). The only sensible weapon addition from outside of Splatoon would be the FLUDD from Mario Sunshine as that was a weapon that squirted water. It's ideal. Luigi could maybe have a version of the Poltergust¹² but even that's pushing things.

Amiibo figures unlocking additional maps and challenges would be nice but it's impractical. It' simply too much to add to the game and lock away behind additional payments. At least it is for non-Splatoon Amiibo. I think it would be a nice touch for Amiibos of Splatoon characters. In the current game the three Splatoon Amiibos that exist unlock single player levels that have to be completed with rifles or rollers, as opposed to a the regular gun you use, or within a certain time limit. For completing those challenges you earn additional clothing and a weapon. The clothing you get is interesting, the weapons less so. They're basic weapons with sub and special combinations that already exist. Splatoon character Amiibo are the perfect opportunity to introduce unique, desirable combos and outlandish outfits. That's what should be done in the sequel.

The final thing I'd like to mention on Amiibos is that the game is popular enough to warrant more when the sequel arrives. I understand why only three generic characters (Inkling Boy, Inkling Girl, and a Squid) were initially released: the entire game was something of a gamble for Nintendo and they didn't want to commit to an extensive line for something that may not have sold well. With the game now a success Nintendo should ensure a strong Amiibo line to arrive alongside the sequel. Callie and Marie¹³ are certainly popular and significant enough to deserve figures. The same goes for Judd¹⁴. There are other options like the four shop owners, Spyke, Cap'n Cuttlefish and lead heel DJ Octavio. If Nintendo really wanted to they could have ten Amiibos from these characters, plus some new generic Inklings, but that would be overkill. It's worth noting that the option is there though. It would certainly be worth considering if they tied worthwhile DLC to each. It may go against the established Nintendo approach but it would give people a reason to want to buy the new Amiibo figures.

My last two suggestions are relatively straightforward ones: bring back some of the maps from the original game and expand the single player campaign. Even though I find some of the current multiplayer maps frustrating to play¹⁵ I appreciate the number of them and the variety in their layouts. No two maps feel the same, each one having its own identity and quirks.

We can assume that level of creativity will make it into any new maps in Splatoon 2. Returning maps would be nice and I'd like some to have alterations and changes to them to show that time has passed since the first game. It would make the world of Splatoon feel more lived-in and real¹⁶, something the first game has achieved nicely which has added to its charm and appeal. Hammerhead Bridge is a good example of a map that could be updated. In the first game it's under construction and the Inklings are essentially fighting on a construction site. The sequel could see it completed, with a layout that's similar and familiar but different enough to make it a new experience. Arowana Mall could be realistically added to with new shopping precincts and Bluefin Depot could be the subject of some urban regeneration. Pretty much any course could have the "passage of time" idea applied to it.

Expanding the single player campaign is pretty self-explanatory. What we got in the original was good but it didn't last too long. Splatoon is primarily a multiplayer game but that doesn't mean it can't have a substantial (or at least more substantial than what we currently have) single player element to it. Octo Valley¹⁷ is a really nicely designed area and I'd be happy enough if it returned but Inkopolis¹⁸ itself would be an interesting setting for a single player mode, especially if it allowed you to travel around all (or most (or some)) of the mutliplayer areas and featured them as single player courses.  

Would these suggestions all make it into a Splatoon sequel? No. Some are just too outlandish or too far removed from how Nintendo operates to work. Would they make Splatoon 2 an even better game than the first? That's not for me to say. But I don't think they'd make it worse.

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¹ There are various spelling puns Nintendo could go with for a sequel, all variants on Spla2n. I don't care which they go with but they need to go with one of them. If a Splatoon sequels comes out and is called Splatoon 2 or, worse, Splatoon: Insert Generic Subtitle Here then Nintendo need to fire every member of their western localisation team¹⁹.   

² Because Nintendo wants to make fun games. Not going to see those marines using paintbrushes are you?!

³ Just because I only have one suggestions doesn't mean I don't want more. Ideally we'll get a few new weapon types in Splatoon 2 in addition to the predictable set of new gun and roller variants.

⁴ As the amount of your ink on the ground determines how easily you can move around maps, and in some game modes whether you win or lose, ink coverage is important to gameplay. Some weapons have great coverage but are poor in other regards, such as range and rate of fire.

⁵ Which "splats" them. Splatting is essentially "dying", although you regenerate at your start point so it isn't that similar.

⁶ This is an accusation common in online gaming communities. Any weapon or character or what have you that is relatively easy to use and can help win games runs the risk of being labelled "OP". Because lots of people who play games online like to whinge about losing^20..    

⁷ Just to clarify, you can swim through your own ink whenever you like and it's quicker than walking. You can't swim through your enemies ink. It doesn't kill you but it weakens you and means you can be polished off in less shots by enemies.

⁸ Colours are chosen in pairs at random before every match. So you could have teams of pink and yellow playing one another but never orange and yellow, for example. I assume it's something to do with having contrasting colours that can't be confused if you're colour blind. It's an obvious and good thing to include in a game in which colour is such an important feature but I do have a gripe about certain sets of colours only being available when playing certain online modes. Why should I have to play a ranked battle just to get that sweet yellow and purple colour scheme I find visually pleasing, Nintendo? Why?!²¹    

⁹ One of those original maps was significantly restructured in August 2015, to the extent that it essentially became an entirely new map.

¹⁰ Outfits are important in Splatoon as they give your character abilities like swimming more quickly or spending less ink when firing a weapon, all of which make it easier to fight in some way or other. They also keep your character (and those of other online players) visually interesting. Stay fresh!

¹¹ Unaware of Link? He's the guy in green from the Legend of Zelda series, silly! If you've played one of those games you've played as him!

¹² The Poltergust 3000 and 5000 were weapons used in the Luigi's Mansion games²². Both were made from modified vacuum cleaners. They sucked things up rather than squirted things out but visually-speaking a version of the weapon would be a rather nice fit for Splatoon. The Poltersplat? That sort of works. And if any Nintendo character warrants their own weapon besides Mario then it's Luigi.   

¹³ Two Inkling pop stars who announce updates and the currently playable maps every time you turn the game on.

¹⁴ Judd is a cat who hangs out in the game's hub area. He gives you tips when you talk to him, rewards when you've reached certain levels in multiplayer, and appears on-screen to announce winners in online matches. An explanation has never been offered as to why a cat is featured in a game where literally every other character is based on some form of aquatic life. Not that a game about kids who shapeshift into squids should worry about such explanations.

¹⁵ I tend to find that the older maps are too easy to bottleneck, trapping a team near their base and splatting them when they try to move out. If you end up on a poor team this can make for a boring match of constant respawns. These maps may play better in other game modes that I don't use but it's noticeable that maps deigned after release seem far more balanced and make bottlenecking far tougher to achieve.

¹⁶ Realism is never a high priority in Nintendo games but the world of Splatoon feels far more coherent that that of, say, Mario. How many iterations of the Mushroom Kingdom are we up to now? How many neighbouring countries have been visited?

¹⁷ Octo Valley is the setting for the single player campaign. It's exclusively underground but giant walls and rocks have murals and designs on them to fool you into thinking you're above ground (see the picture below). There's no need for it but it really makes the game visually compelling.

¹⁸ Inkopolis is where all the online multiplayer maps are located, as well as the game's plaza hub area. There are sometimes glimpses of one map (a dock area that could be Bluefin Depot can be seen from Moray Towers, for example) when you're playing on another but there's no actual map of the city and it could just be coincidental. It's nice to think there's purpose to it though, and it helps with that sense of realism I mentioned.

¹⁹ That said, I've referred to the Splatoon sequel as Splatoon 2 several times here for simplicity and ease.

²⁰ Of course we all know that the only acceptable complaint that can be levelled at Splatoon regarding online play is getting a poor team that isn't up to your own highly competitive standards.

²¹ Let's just assume this is Miyamoto's doing and move on.

²² Those are games where Luigi, scaredy-cat brother of Mario, toured around haunted houses getting spooked by ghosts.