The Splatoon Direct was today, and it gave viewers loads of information about Nintendo’s big upcoming release.
Nintendo showcased each of the five maps that the game will launch in. To ensure that there is no single map that is abused by players, only 2 maps will be available for players to choose, with players voting on which map they want to play like in Mario Kart. The 2 maps available will cycle every 4 hours, keeping things fresh throughout the day. As confirmed previously, the game will also feature a ranked mode, and the method of ranking was revealed. Players will start at a C- rank, and gain points based on their individual performance as well as if they win or lose. This is different from games like League of Legends, where individuals’ ranks depend on the performance of their entire team.
In case players get tired of the Splat Zones ranked mode, two new modes will be added after launch. Tower Defense will be a mode where players compete to move a tower towards their enemy’s end of the course. The tower will only move if a player is standing on top of the narrow platform, where there is nothing to protect them except for a narrow pole. There will also be another mode called rainmaker, but nothing is known about it at the moment. As if that isn’t enough, there will also be at least 9 new maps and a large amount of gear added to the game throughout the summer. Did I mention all of this is free? This is very refreshing news after experiencing many shooters that hold back content to sell it at an unfair price. Additionally, in August, 4v4 battles where players battle on a pre-made team with their friends will be made available, as well as 8-player custom matches.
Amiibo functionality has been further explained. Each Amiibo will unlock 20 challenges, with the completion of each challenge unlocking an exclusive piece of gear as well as granting the player some money. Each Amiibo also unlocks a retro-style arcade game, which can be played in matchmaking queues or by interacting with an arcade machine in the plaza.
Splatoon’s gear was already hinted to have a lot of depth to it, but now all of its depth has been shown. Each equipment can have up to 4 abilities at once depending on the level of the gear, with each of the gear’s possible abilities unlocking at random as you use it more in battle. If you aren’t happy with your gear’s abilities, you are able to increase the amount of ability slots it has (up to 4) by giving Super Sea Snails to a character called Spike. You can also order any equipment you see other players wearing in the Miiverse-integrated plaza. Super Sea Snails are hard to obtain, as players can only acquire them through participation in Conquest-like Splatfests, limited-time events where players pick a side and fight to earn their sides points. Each player on the winning side gets a bonus Super Sea Snail at the end of the Splatfest. The first Splatfest will take place from June 20-21, where the two sides available are Cats or Dogs. You can also obtain exclusive equipment by participating the Splatfests, such as a Splatfest t-shirt.
The single-player campaign doesn’t seem to be lacking either. Besides normal missions, large-scale boss fights have been confirmed. Additionally, a sunken scroll can be found in each level. Finding it will unlock an Octarian document for players to view, revealing more about the detailed and mysterious world of Splatoon.
Nintendo seems to be hitting every possible target with Splatoon, from free DLC to a fleshed out campaign mode. If you can’t wait until May 29th to play it, you can download the Splatoon Global Testfire now. From 8-9 pm PST tomorrow as well as 4-5 am and 12-1 pm PST Saturday, players can experience the Turf Wars game mode before the game launches. Also announced were Splatoon Smash Bros. costumes for the Mii Gunner, which are obtainable by pre-ordering the game GameStop.
