Analyzing Splatoon's Singleplayer - The Evolution of the Splatformer

Thanks for watching!

0:00 Intro
2:24 Splatoon's Game Essence
4:56 Splatoon 1: Octo Valley
12:12 Splatoon 2: Octo Canyon
24:05 Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion
33:58 Splatoon 3: Return of the Mammalians
45:06 Final Thoughts
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- Videos Mentioned -

"Risk and Reward [Game Essence]" from @sora_sakurai_en:
"Super Mario 3D World's 4 Step Level Design" from @GMTK:
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- Music Credits -

Splatoon Lofi and chill beats via @aSquidMin:
Dj CUTMAN - Jet Squid Radio! (Booyah Base Remix) Splatunes! via @gamechops:
bLiNd - Watching Ink Dry (Splatoon Remix) via @gamechops:
'Base Inkvader' Ink Me Up by the Squid Sisters (Remix) by @hyquo:
James Landino - Show Me Dat Ink via @gamechops:
Tidal Rush (LoFi Hip Hop) - Ralfington Remix via @gamechops:
Splatoon 2 - Octo Expansion Music [Nasty Majesty] (Remix) by @VideoGameRemixes:
"8-Ball" Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion Remix by @NoteBlock:
RobKTA – Off The Hook's New Song! via @gamechops:
Deep Cut: Anarchy Rainbow (SPLATOON 3 REMIX) by @VideoGameRemixes:
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- Developer Interviews Referenced -

"Nintendo's bright future with Splatoon" from Eurogamer:

Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion interview from Famitsu (translated by Nintendo Everything):
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#Splatoon #Splatoon3

[TheCosmicCloud]

[ BEFORE YOU COMMENT ]

EDIT on 7/31/24:
Hey guys, it’s been a bit since this video came out. While I am happy that I went through with this exercise, I think I would have written this video very differently were I to make it again. By the end, it devolved a little too far into my own opinions and personal experience with the games when the intention was to create a more objective analysis.

I have a very obvious bias in favor of the first 2 games versus Splatoon 3, and I do not think this video accurately represents all that each game has to offer. I also think I acted as if I knew a lot more about game design that I actually do, which I regret, as I did not mean to come off that way.

I did make an addendum/ follow up to this video in which I think I provide a much more balanced perspective. Check it out here if you’re interested:

[Temulgeh]

i liked the alterna hub, it felt relaxing to clear everything? i wonder if there are people who also feel this way. i think they were going for a therapeutic thing here

[pikcube]

I think the reason I didn't hate 3's hub world is actually a complete accident. I discovered that kettles can be activated from a distance and then warped to via the map, which ultimately made my goal in a new area to unlock as many maps as possible without removing ooze. This was really fun and ultimately made the hub much more fun for me because it became a puzzle

[kellyedwards]

I love 3's story mode, tho it is my first splatoon game so everything in it was new to me. Also the fuzzy ooze scratched the completionist part of my brain so I really liked that aspect of the hero mode

[jouusta]

tbh, i remember i loving the ooze mechanic, specifically after the crater. you mentioned the fact that theres no other way for the player to interact with the ooze other than deleting it, which, ok yea i agree w you there. that couldve been a bit more interesting. but it really made exploring the new areas interesting to me. especially since in older games the whole area was already available to the player, the ooze forced me to find ways other than deleting it to get to levels, find secrets, etc. and when the only option was to delete ooze, i didn't mind it either, because it resulted in either a) "wow look i found an item/scroll/power eggs" or b) "im making some sort of progression with the story mode yipee!" it was really satisfying to see an entire area once completely covered in ooze be completely cleaned up by the player.
tldr i liked the incentives of cleaning it up, and though it was a simple mechanic, i thought it was effective
i honestly havent heard any criticism of alterna before this vid tho so it was interesting to hear a more critical perspective of it

[juggalochaos]

Splatoon veteran here (played every single game, beat all the hero mode campaigns, beat inner agent 3), I absolutely love Splat 3’s hero mode. It felt reminiscent of Octo expansion while also occasionally drawing back to some of the other hero modes whilst having it’s own ideas. I wound up waking up at 12:24 AM the day Splat 3 was released and beat the entire hero mode (excluding after alterna bc I didn’t know it existed) in 8 hours. I absolutely loved it and it brought back amazing memories of running through Splat 1’s hero mode back when it was super challenging because I was a young, stupid child. I’ve loved every single hero mode in this series in each their own way, and I think they all have their own ideas that are amazing. Splat 1’s hero mode was a great start, Splat 2’s hero mode brought back memories and introduced fun new concepts, Octo Expansion was a great challenge, and Splat 3’s hero mode was a great combination of all of them, plus adding it’s own little chaotic spin on it. (PS, don’t take this to seriously, this was the ramblings of an autistic man who has a splatoon special interest I’ll)

[general.catallion_]

based off what people are finding in the artbooks that were recently released, it's possible that alterna had something similar happen to it that happened with splatoon's 2 story mode, just not enough time so they had to simplify it, (and the map design, to horrible effect)
i personally didn't mind the ooze but i definitely see why you wouldn't like it, and i personally think that their was more that could have been done with it, it probably should have been more a challenge to remove the ooze, completing a puzzle of sorts to get to the fuzz ball of the bigger globs so you can progress.
the fate of the main splatoon story modes might be cyclical unfortunately, the dlc thinks outside the box and challenges us while the story mode of the next game uses the new mechanics while still trying to be beginner friendly.

[koveltskiis]

Another thing about octo canyon: getting the hero weapon unlocks for multiplayer is very tedious and highlights how cumbersome the level design is if you aren’t using the weapon the stage was built for, as you stated
it honestly feels like going for it is made to burn you out of ever playing the campaign again

[X-]

Octo expansions approach to difficulty options is my fav in any game. Having the level be static while you adjust difficulty by changing the tool you use to interact feels so clean and intuitive. And even if you don't know what the level has the first time, you know how the guns work.

This coming from someone who beat all 80 stages with all available options.

[slyar]

42:00 Smallfry is the strongest sub in the game once you fully upgrade him. He's especially useful in the final section of After Alterna

[YouMayKnowMeAsNate]

I can understand your gripes with fuzzy ooze, and I’m sorry you felt that way about it. Personally, I loved clearing fuzzy ooze and cleaning up areas, getting rewards along the way

[guster-animations]

15:15 you’ll be happy to know that in the splatoon 2 speedrun, there’s a really cool skip in world 5 that requires the player to switch to a splatling and shoot an invisible kettle on an invisible block

[eeveemaster]

Yeah I was wondering why Splatoon 3's story mode struggled to engage me any. The whole stale hubworlds thing really explains a lot of that.
Also I hope we get a level based around the Kraken Royale special in one of the upcoming DLC like how you got to play those Kraken challenge levels in Splatoon 1 if you scanned an Inkling Squid Amiibo.

[Jack-ssfo]

I'm going to preface this by saying 1. I'm very easily pleased, and 2. I played 3, then 2 and octo expansion, then 1.
Splatoon 3's hero mode is easily my favorite. I greatly enjoyed the levels, and while I haven't played it again since finishing Splatoon 1's, I don't think my opinions will change too much. The one thing I wish was different was more levels like Splatoon 1's hero mode. Too many of the levels feel like they're supposed to be something special, and it doesn't feel like there's any normal levels.
After Splatoon 3, 1's hero mode has to be my next favorite. The levels are more simple than those of the newer games, but in a good, enjoyable way. Having also played the amiibo levels... I really only liked the Kraken ones. So many of the others made me unhappy to be playing through the levels again.
My next favorite would have to be Octo Expansion. Some of the levels felt too gimmicky, or just too short. Many of them were still fun, however. I really liked fighting the bosses again but using specials, and the levels based around using special weapons were also quite fun. The escape section didn't do much for me, and I'd even say the part with the inkjet where you have to go around and get the things was not fun, which stinks because I think inkjet itself is a blast to use.
Last but not least, my main gripe with Splatoon 2's hero mode is simply that the levels are too dang long. So often I would find myself wondering if the level was going to end soon. When I played Splatoon 1 afterwards, I was greatly pleased by the level lengths. Otherwise, I thought they were fine. Not offensive, but not noteworthy either.

[kiwamihollie]

maybe it’s because splatoon 3 was my first game but i really enjoyed alterna as a hub world. i remember being absolutely thrilled once i unlocked a new island to get to, and even plotting out which fuzzy ooze bits to get rid of before i even had the power eggs to get rid of it. this also led to me specifically choosing which kettles to do in which order so i could plan the most efficient ways to clean up the ooze. i also think that because i’m a huge completionist, the fuzzy ooze was a very welcome game mechanic for me. it made it really exciting for me to see what secrets was hiding underneath or around it, and it was a very clear and obvious marker for progression which motivated me to keep going with my goal of 100% as opposed to getting burnt out and giving up. i can DEFINITELY see how some people who aren’t as obsessive about completion wouldn’t like it though, especially because of what you mentioned, and the fact that my closest friends who both have over 150+ hours in splatoon 3 have both not completed the story mode bc the progression slowed down to a crawl for them😭 so i think that they designed return of the mammalians nearly perfectly for players like me (new to splatoon games, and also will willingly spend MANY many painful hours learning how to play mahjong simply to get the platinum trophy for yakuza 0) but i understand that i’m definitely in the minority when it comes to your average splatoon playerbase. overall though i’m really excited for side order and i hope that it can work on what was lacking in return of the mammalians to potentially even surpass octo expansion!!!

[esmooth]

43:07 I was definitely surprised to find out that they would be antagonists, but I'm overall grateful that they are not the actual villain of the game... And I'm not going to mince words here. I *_knew_* who the villain was going to be the second they introduced Small Fry in the trailer, because they've been hinting at *_that_* little tidbit since Splatoon 2!

[Nate-me]

I wish i could've played splatoon 1 it seems very fun
Edit wow 100 likes already geez

[serpentmaster]

Just realized that the octo maw is the octarians litterally building a salmon run maws.

[TheUnknown]

On the Ooze, I never had a problem with it. The levels themselves were SO FUN that I just found the Alterna Hubs just a chill place to explore in between that. It seemed to balance the high energy of the levels by giving us a low energy space in between.

I hope that makes sense.

[ooga_chaga]

First of all great video. I'm a Splatoon 3 speedrunner and the fuzzy ooze in Alterna completely changes everything in the speedrun. A vast majority of the fuzzy ooze isn't really required to beat the game. Whether intentional or not, the ooze was placed in such a way where even the ones that might be required to remove at first sight is actually skippable. This changes the speedrun in a way, that changes the speedrun from a more movement-based speedrun to a more trick-based speedrun. I mostly agree with your original assessment that removing the fuzzy ooze and surveying isn't very fun casually, but being able to do tricks to skip many of these oozes is what makes this campaign stand out more than the others.

Edit: I just watched your follow up video and I'd like to comment on a few things. I found it hilarious when you said that surges and rolls could be used more, because the speedrun uses both of them everywhere. (I don't blame you since I don't think anyone casually trying to beat the game would be able to find some of the more complex skips) In speedruns power eggs are absolutely a currency (But I do agree that casually they are way too easy to get). Entering a kettle and even foraging for egg packs take time, so you have to preserve your eggs by skipping ooze with tough skips and it's very rewarding when you get "the run". Again, great videos and I agree with a vast majority of what you said and I understand and respect the things I disagree with. I'd recommend watching a speedrun since it's pretty ridiculous how broken the game is and how much can get skipped.