HOLY SHIT okay. let's go one thing at a time. first i'm gonna need you to listen to the splatfest song ever
the soundtrack is probably one of the things i'm looking forward to the most!! i need clean versions of the music played during the direct SO badly. that jam session version of c-side clickbait is driving me insane... that banging story mode song... AND THE NEW SPLATTACK..... grabby hands
i didn't play splatoon 1 so i can't really say how i feel towards the ported maps, but i'm pretty satisfied with the ones they chose from the second game. i have a good time playing in all of them, especially sturgeon shipyard; but i would have been even happier if they had ported manta maria instead of wahoo world...
i'm very curious to test out the stringer! i love its design and from gameplay footage it seems fun. same for the splatana, even though i don't think it fits my playstyle very much, it's SUCH a cool idea for a weapon.
the new specials are all so clever too! i particularly love the wave breaker. and uhh i wasn't too opposed to tenta missiles coming back? but i understand the negative reactions to it. i watched this video about why it's a poorly designed special and yeah, it makes sense.
oh i was SO pissed to find out that sheldon is still the ammo knights shopkeeper. i think i got my hopes up way too high after nintendo teased us about agent 8 replacing him. although it would be difficult to put them as a npc, since they'd have to decide on just one appearance for them and it'd lose the whole player character thing; for instance, i'd be disappointed if they put a male agent 8 version on there. so FINE, i guess it makes sense to keep sheldon on the shop.
the changes to the ranked system are SO nice, and i'll probably play ranked more often because of it. "anarchy battle open" is like a low-stakes ranked, from what i've seen. i barely play ranked on splatoon 2 because i get too stressed about it, so i'm really looking forward to these changes.
they put in so many quality of life changes, it's kind of hard to believe it. playing in the test range while waiting for a match, seeing your friends in the lobby, battle replays, IGN separate from the name on your switch profile, being able to recon any stage at any time for a whole hour, salmon run being always available to play, skippable news (i think!!), improvements to the gear abilities, no more main power up (thank god)...
the customization options are driving me NUTS too. i mean, look at all these guys!! and that's without all the different gear options!! i'm so happy about stuff no longer being gender-locked...
and the LOCKERS... it's like apartments but tiny... i actually like them a lot, i wanna fill mine up with splatband posters..!! i wonder if a dynamo roller can fit inside a locker. oh and i'm definitely going to design lockers for my splatoon ocs >:] !! the splashtags are so cool;; we're going to get so many background and title options... the badges are such a cute way to show off your weapon stats! i'm also SUPER excited about the emotes we get to choose (although i'm afraid of getting in teams where everyone dabs at the end). also, 2 years of seasonal catalogues?? YES please.
the tableturf battle minigame really caught me off guard. i love the art for the cards and it's such a clever idea for a minigame. i wonder what other npcs we'll get to challenge...
the STORY MODEEE i can't wait to play it ughhhh. i won't touch multiplayer until i'm finished with the singleplayer stuff. i don't want to get spoiled AT ALL. really intrigued about how the story will play out, though. there seems to be different sections: sometimes you're going after a zapfish (and on these instances, neo agent 3 is wearing their agent uniform and hero weapon), and others the goal looks like the octo expansion ones (with neo agent 3 wearing the black outfit and using a variety of weapons, just like in octo expansion).
my theory for how the story mode will happen is: we start out following cuttlefish into the manhole, as usual, and he's stressing out about octavio again so he recruits you to go after him. this first section is just the usual hero mode, getting zapfish and stuff. then when you meet with octavio, he's either gonna attack us or join us, idk, it doesn't matter, because i think that when you're together something else will happen, idk what, but then that cutscene of neo agent 3 falling and losing their gear in the process happens here.
and THEN we get to alterna. notice how neo agent 3 is getting up from the ground in both cutscenes we saw of alterna. they literally just fell down there from god knows where. so now the story mode really begins, i'd say. we meet the new squidbeak splatoon and probably deep cut right after, and go on these octo expansion-like levels to gather these unknown things in the end of each. maybe they have something to do with the rocket.
i hope i'm not getting my hopes up too high with this, but it makes so much sense... i really hope it's a good story mode. i'm so curious as to how captain 3 will be characterized. like, are they going to speak at all?? are they going to be talking to us during levels like cuttlefish, marie and off the hook did?? dude i'll go crazy. absolutely insane.
about the confirmed dlc... i really hope that it'll show us what agents 4 and 8 are up to!!! i NEED to know how my children are doing. also, the dlc is all about the pearlina wedding. my uncle who works at nintendo told me this
and finally, the new trio is so freaking cool. like. a TRIO. obviously it's a trio, everything in this game revolves around the number three (3 fucking splatfest teams...). and like i said at the start, the new splatfest song is an absolute banger, i love all the different cultural aspects present in it.
the splatfest world premiere is on the 27th... THE OTHER WEEKEND... i just can't believe this game is so close to releasing already!!!