Splatoon

Voices of: Mari Kikuma, Yuki Kudara, Yuki Tsuji, Mahito Yokota
Developer: Nintendo
Directed by: Yusuke Amano, Tsubasa Sakaguchi
Rating: E
Genre: Third-person shooter
System: Wii U
2015

Times Completed:
Tim: 1

Summary: An Inkling must navigate Octo Valley to rescue the captured Zapfish.

Review:
Tim: While I've played a lot of video games, Nintendo will always be my favorite. Sure, they are never cutting edge in the graphics department, but when you consider the many incredible franchises they have developed, Nintendo is second to none. What is even more impressive is that they continue to innovate. I know the Wii U was a disaster for the company, but I loved the system. It introduced so many terrific games to players. One of the most popular is undoubtedly Splatoon. Now, it took me a long time to get around to playing this game, but I had an absolute blast with it.

Some context here is required. I started playing Splatoon with my son in early 2024. We had so much fun playing, but we were working against the looming, final shutdown of Splatoon's online servers. We played a decent amount of online battles, which were great fun. We got to Level 10 before the servers shut down, locking us out of the online mode (and inexplicably, the shop). That was unfortunate because we had fun playing those, but I feel like I had a decent enough experience with it. I also played that little squid jumping mini-game and got to level 25, although I never finished that level.

Once the online servers shut down, we turned our attention full time to the single-player mode. It's not a huge campaign, but it offers 28 different levels, which ended up as a decent amount of playing time. My son and I would take turns playing each level. For a cute game that often feels like it's for kids, there were some decently challenging moments. I wouldn't say the game was "hard" by any stretch, but it offered just enough challenge that I looked forward to each level and never felt bored. I have to give Nintendo so much credit- the idea of creating a third-person shooter game (FOR KIDS!) is a bit dangerous. However, the cute inklings, the fact that you shoot ink- it all works. It feels harmless, although I'd be very wary of nearly any other shooting game. The level designs are top notch- exactly what we've come to expect from Nintendo. The different missions test your abilities as the game progresses and there's a series of bosses that offer solid challenges. It was so much fun playing through these levels and collecting orbs to upgrade your weapons and armor. We fully upgraded the gun and the ink tank. We got the bombs upgraded to the second tier, but didn't bother farming orbs to fully upgrade them. It was fun, but I felt like we played enough. Another great challenge of each of the 28 levels is that you have to find a hidden scroll in each. Some of them were clear and obvious, some were especially tricky. I loved this extra challenge the game throws your way- we did find all the scrolls.

Another mode we played was with amiibos. The best amiibo mode is to replay many of the levels, but you only have the ink roller. This takes some easy levels and makes them truly challenging. We played through all these levels, too- except for the final stage, fighting the Octobot King again. So, in the single player mode, the final boss is the Octobot King. It's a great level- a truly challenging sequence that puts all your skills to the test. I must have died 3-4 times throughout this before I refined my skills enough to bring him down and finish the game. It was fun and certainly a tad tough. But, the idea of doing it again with just the roller felt ridiculous. I tried it a few times just to experience it and I hated the way you needed to time the roller splat just perfectly when the fists were coming at you. No thanks. I was a bit fatigued with the game at this point, and I was totally fine not finishing the final amiibo level. We did everything else, though.

Splatoon is a great game and I loved playing with my 9 year-old son. I adore Nintendo for creating these family-friendly experiences. The games are bright, colorful, fun, and packed with more challenges than you'd expect. This is a newer franchise for Nintendo, but they continue to build incredible video game franchises at a clip that puts everyone else to shame. I need a bit of a break, but we'll be back for the sequel soon.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Game, We Recommend: Splatoon 2, Splatoon 3, Bowser's Fury, Kid Icarus: Uprising