What Will Splatoon 4 Be About?

My thoughts on the result of Grand Festival and what it can tell us about the story of the next Splatoon game! Obviously, theories can only go so far at this point, but that won’t stop me from yapping about everything we know :)

——— Chapters ———

0:00 Intro
1:41 Looking Back
5:20 please do not do this
10:59 Celebrations of the Present
20:28 People of the Past
24:59 A Theory for the Future
35:53 Outro

——— Sources ———

1.) “A method for expressing function through the designs of ‘Splatoon.’ An interview with the development staff, looking at character, weapon, and gear designs.” by Famitsu

2.) The Art of Splatoon
This book has an official English translation and is still available for purchase.

3.) “The Secrets of Splatoon's Fresh Design”

4.) “Ask the Developer Vol. 7, Splatoon 3–Part 3”

5.) “Splatune 3”

6.) “Splatune”

7.) MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) YouTube channel

8.) “The Deep Sea” by Neal Agarwal

——— Music Used ———

0:08 Daybreaker Anthem (Splatoon 3)
0:43 Gilded Cage (Splatoon 3)
1:41 The Girl from Inkopolis (Splatoon 2)
3:25 Ride or Fry (Splatoon 3)
4:12 What’s Your Style? (Splatoon 3)
5:20 Eight-Legged Advance (Splatoon)
6:43 Cap’n Cuttlefish’s Theme ~ Player Editor (Octo Expansion)
8:49 #16 salty (Octo Expansion)
8:52 Princess Peach's Strange Experiment (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)
10:05 Inside the Deepsea Metro Subway Car (Octo Expansion)
10:58 Inkopolis News (Splatoon)
11:46 Maritime Memory (Splatoon)
13:20 Chorus of Calamari County (Splatoon)
14:56 The Sunken Scrolls (Splatoon)
16:54 Two Shadows in the Sun (Splatoon 3)
18:42 Alterna Citizen Program M-01: Basic Course (Splatoon 3)
21:05 Alterna Citizen Program M-??: mY dEAR (Splatoon 3)
22:17 Sandcastles (Splatoon 3)
25:00 Spire of Order Failure (Side Order)
25:26 Spire of Order Clear! (Side Order)
25:41 Player Editor (Splatoon)
26:27 Hyper Diver (Splatoon 3)
29:24 #12.2 awakened (Side Order)
31:30 Inkopolis Square Tutorial (Splatoon 2)
33:15 Hide and Sleek (Splatoon 3)
33:59 Whirlpool Tune (Splatoon 3)
35:04 Calamari Inkantation (Splatoon)
35:52 Gillty (Splatoon 3)
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#splatoon #splatoon3 #splatoon4

[momors]

The idea of calamari inkantation being passed by humans to inklings gave me chills, great video

[RickTS]

Yeah, Team Past was carried by the veteran Splatoon 1 players, dude IN THE TRI COLOR MAP, A TEAM PAST MEMBER WAS PLAYING LIKE HIS LIFE DEPENDED ON IT, LIKE IF IT WAS THE WORLD CHAMPSIONSHIP, DUDE HE DID A 360 MIDDAIR ON ME WITH A CHARGER OR ROLLER I FORGET

[inklingplush]

honestly i always hoped that “the past is more important” would translate to “your heritage built you, and your friends, and your family, but it also built your future”. i don’t think we’ll necessarily stay in inkadia, but if we do, it would be interesting to see the octarians slowly finding records of old traditions and bringing them to the modern world. maybe we could still get a bit of that—maybe our protagonist finds records of traditions and festivals held in their home, forgotten as more modern ideas took control.

[noahweston]

I kind of hope that splatoon takes some influence on modern obsessions with things from the past, like americas obsession with 90’s culture, or Japans current interest in Showa era nostalgia. It could poke some fun at characters stuck in the past, or give them a voice of some sort. I’m gonna pledge to your patreon if that means encouraging you to make more videoed like this.

[TheSunsetHero]

I see Splatoon 4 exploring the connection between "Song" and "Color. Side Order underlined this when Agent 8's "beat of their heart" restored color the area/world/whatever. It's possible that the "passed the incantation down from Humans" was done in the form of music. Our dreams made into song, absorbed by liquid crystals, and into the bodies of the sea life that would take over the planet.

[dumbdaffodil]

I think the next story mode could be in the octarian domes! It's a historically significant place that has changed over time with all the octolings leaving. Inklings could go there to see a different perspective on history and not repeat it.

I think the new hub could contrast Splatsville by being in a cooler climate with coniferous trees, mountains as well as fresh water lakes, rivers and ponds. Winter fashion with retro gaming nostalgia would be fitting yet something different.

[LegendofKal]

As you were talking about the 7 extinct species represented by the statues, it clicked in mind that they could somehow be connected (or in reference to) the 7 Gods of Fortune.

When I was thinking about how Splat4 could be influenced by themes of the past, I was mainly thinking aesthetic, rather than the whole motif. I also never would've thought of functionally a port town being the next hub!

[Devilcakes]

Importantly, Splatoon 3's Grandfest final lines remark that "Despite everything, we'll aim for the future, together!" -Deep Cut, 2024.
I don't think the game will ever have us going to the actual past. But we'll continue to the future, also... hmn. I think the Past angle here will have to be the Setting. And Story. But without Time travel.

[Hewer]

I agree with the points made about time travel but it's giving me flashbacks to Rassicas's "I hope Mr. Grizz isn't a bear"

[yeetyoot]

A good amount of people seem to be convinced of the great turf war idea, whether it be for the whole game or just the hero mode and... aside from any story reasons (because I think you explained it well) my first thought is that the team working on Splatoon would have to double their workload to do that. If it's the whole game, you probably wouldn't have inklings and octolings in the same places since they're at war, so that's different cities, different shops - *and* they'd have to change matchmaking for turf war (since it's actual war now, not just a sport) so that you're fighting against the other team. I can deal with mirror matches for the length of a splatfest, but not a whole game. If it were just the hero mode, again - they probably would have to make two different hero modes for it to make sense. And there's the question of how splatfests would work, or salmon run, etc.

They could theoretically solve this by just having either inklings or octolings, but nobody would like that. When you add that on top of everything about the newer weapon classes &etc, I really just can't see any way we visit the Great Turf War outside of either DLC (since those so far have had a different player character) or a spinoff game - and even then, it just doesn't seem like something the series would do. It feels significant that you *can't* go back and see what happens.

I love the idea of a game themed around the sea. I've heard a lot of people talking about something possibly set in Calamari County, which I also love the idea of. It'd be really cool to see what other kinds of music come out of the place where the Squid Sisters grew up, if anyone back home was inspired by their success or just happened to do something similar, and get inspired by the folk music there.

[Polmo]

You haven't talked about how Small Fry did change thanks to the sea life responding to Kalamari Inkantation, another hint to how its present in the DNA of all marine life

[StarriHoshio]

Not sure if this is a popular idea, but I have a feeling the main antagonist of Splatoon 4 is going to be a force that wishes to erase the past. This might just be my archival and art-obsessed brain at work, but it'd be perfect to fight to keep the past from being forgotten. Without the past's precedents, it's easy to end up doomed (as you've mentioned), and ignorantly forgetting the past (like the Inklings) could be a trip to that kind of hell.

[hope]

this made me so much more optimistic about splatoon 4! when past was revealed as a theme, i was worried it would be just like the narratives the game as shown aren’t true (characters who focus too much on the past and are somehow, thru the hero’s actions, shown a different way of being). this is a much more optimistic take of learning from the past so we can continue into the future that i really like! thank you for always making such profound splatoon videos

[Pokeball]

I have always been a massive fan of the Calamari Inkantation, but over the past 2 weeks I’ve been listening to it again nonstop. It really does feel like the song is etched into my soul at the moment. I would love the see the sea be a crucial part of Splatoon 4’s story and having the song continue to hold significance. I’m a fan of time travel, but please no time travel in Splatoon 4 that would be weird.

[racerunner]

I think a game that incorporates the theme of past and time travel well is pokemone Scarlet. The main characters do not ever see the world of the past, but elements of the past (paradox pokemon) are incorporated into the main story of the game, with the only character who we see going to the past being Professor Sada, who we never see the POV of when in the world of the past. So if they wanted to do something with time travel, that would probably be the best way of doing it.

[funnypig]

i really hope we will see calamari county in splat 4. the squid sisters even mention how the 'salty sea air' reminds them of their childhood in calamari county. i don't think there's a better setting

[candicraveingcloude]

The question was about ehich one is important so for the main story i imagine the antagonist or protagonist will be someone who looks towards the future so mich that they firget the importance of the past in hetting them there. Like a "those who dont learn history are doomed to repeat it." Situation

[PrincessOfTheEnd]

fucking hell.. you played a _teeny snippet_ of Three Wishes and I immediately felt tears welling up. That song, man.

[platy]

Personally, I’ve been picturing Splatoon 4 having a traditional Japanese setting, like a more rural town in the countryside compared to the urban Inkopolis and Splatsville. I’ve thought about Calamari County possibly being a good choice, since that was the home of the Squid Sisters, and I’m pretty sure it was stated to be a lot more culturally traditional than the cities. Having a more traditional Japanese setting would set 4 apart from 1’s youthful cheer, 2’s urban attitude and 3’s chaotic struggle.

I’d love to see the “poster map” (the map seen in most of the marketing, like Urchin and Scorch) take place in a Japanese dojo, resembling Ninja Hideaway from Mario Kart, and the idol group could flat-out be shrine maidens who could have potentially been inspired by the Squid Sisters.

However, your idea for Splatoon 4 shows a lot of promise as well. You honestly have a far more interesting idea for a base story mode than me, and, should they play their cards right, it could be a highly memorable and impactful story mode, bringing a spark back to the series that hasn’t truly been seen since Octo Expansion in my eyes. The seaside setting and Japanese architecture could honestly work hand-in-hand and make an engaging setting. I hope it gets us a proper beach map, too, we’re well overdue for one.

Great video! You clearly know your stuff when it comes to Splatoon and its themes.

[superflameking]

As someone who has been brainstorming my own ideas for Splatoon 4, I love how many similar ideas I had to you and also how different both of our ideas are. Great video! Thanks for sharing!