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SPLATOON
mains
splatoon 1: luna blaster, luna blaster neo
splatoon 2: dark tetra dualies, kensa sloshing machine, dualie squelchers
splatoon 3: splatana stamper, glooga dualies, dark tetra dualies, splatana wiper, enperry splat dualies
max rank
splatoon 1: A+, briefly S
splatoon 2: A+, briefly S
splatoon 3: A+
Do you ever watch a trailer or announcement for something and think "Oh no, this is going to take over my life?" Yeah, that was me when Splatoon was first shown at that fateful E3. It was pretty much the only reason I bought a WiiU, and I was obsessed with Splattack for weeks. Originally drawn in by the the vibrant world, unique character design, great soundtrack and the overall Nickleodeon vibes, I ended up playing so much because well, it was just so damn fun! No shooter has ever gotten it's claws into me like Splatoon. The weapon variety plus the movement system just really gives it a leg-up! It's now easily one of my favourite series of all time.
My main investment nowadays is the various Ranked modes, with Turf War for chill matches and occassionally Salmon Run.
My memory of Splatoon 1 is foggy at this point, but I remember mostly play Luna Blaster/Neo on TW and TC because... well, I was stubborn about not learning the motion controls and had basically no prior experience with stick shooters. Was it cheesy? Yes. was it fun? Also yes. Helped get me to A+ at least!
The release of Splatoon 2 plus my aquisiton of a Switch at the end of the same year sent me off the deep end. I finally got to grips with the motion controls, expanded my weapon usage and fell in love with dualies. I spent most of my evenings fighting League Battles with a good friend of mine (highest power was 1892.91) and doing Salmon Run shifts. cto Expansion was a life-changer for me and basically answered all of my qualms with Splatoon's single player campaign and world building. To this day, it's one of my favourite gaming releases.
Splatoon 3 brought so many fantastic quality of life changes with it, however I cannot deny that I'm a little less invested nowadays, just because of I'm spending my time elsewhere. I still play it multiple times a week but the slow updates, faster gameplay, narrow maps and massive difficulty jump in Salmon Run have made things trickier to enjoy, especially since I have less time to play. I feel like I have a better grasp of some of the ranked modes than I ever have at least.
I'm very interested in Side Order as a big Octo Expansion fan, so I guess we'll wait and see. Regardless, Splatoon will continue to influence my creativity and stay dear to my heart for years to come.
[text updated 12/01/24]