What Even Is Splatoon Bro

Splatoon is a third-person shooter franchise developed by Nintendo and created by Hisashi Nogami and Shintaro Sato. The first game was released for the Wii U in 2015, and Splatoon 2 and 3 for the Switch in 2017 and 2022 respectively. The series centers itself around the freedom, expression, and togetherness of art mostly through style and music, with plenty ways to dress up and customize the playable Inklings and Octolings in game, an expansive collection of music written by various in-universe artists. The overarching plot of the series is pretty straight forward, set in the very far future in a post-human era of Earth inhabited by marine life of all sorts. The worldbuilding has been impressive since the first game and has continued to prove very thought out and unique lore surrounding the topics on the horrors of war while still maintaining its deeply unserious charm.

The game itself has its fair share of ranked modes that have fostered a competitive aspect of its playerbase, spawning both official and unofficial tournaments and

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Howd I Find It In The First Place

I never had a Wii U growing up nor was I super into online gaming spaces so unfortunately Splatoon went mostlyunder my radar for YEARS until Splatoon 2 was a thing. I specifically remember hanging out with an old irl friend at the time who lat me play a game or two while at her house one day in which i promptly forgot about the game entirely, but besides that I have no personal involvement with the first game.

I dont remember exactly when it started, but sometime late-2017/early-2018 my sibling has started to watch some Youtubers I had not known at the time who often crossed intoh creating Splatoon 1 and 2 content, though I didnt think much of it

In late June of 2018, my sibling had asked for Splatoon 2 for their birthday, and spent the whole night playing the beginning of its campaign which I promptly got pissed off by the track Octo Eight-Step as I was attempting to sleep. A day or so later of watching them play, curiousity got the better of me and went to try it myself in which I promptly fell in love with its multiplayer modes. My adoration for it only got stronger after buying its payed DLC, Splatoon: OCto Expansion and my first Splatfest, the theme being Squid vs. Octopus in commemoration of Splatoon 2's first anniversary since release. The DLC very quickly ensnared my attention and I ended up becoming extrememly attached to the octolings, enough to have taken them as my online identity with the name OctoXic.

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Whys It Matter So Much To Me

I think the specifics of my attachment to it really cant be described well in detail without me talking in circles but i have boiled it down to a few points:

• Ive always been mad interested in marine life especially cephalopods even before playing
• Music is and always has been a HUGE part of my everyday life,and the games music itched something deep in my brain
• Its a fast-paced game built around movement and speed with eye-catching colors and wonderful designs
• The expansive lore and fleshed-out characters made everything about the game feel very open for players to build their own stories in the universe
• Huge themes of identity, connection, and celebration
• Entirety of Octo Expansion
• I really enjoy playing dress up with my Octoling =^-^

Unfortunatley I don't play it that much these days, I was one of many people who got very burnt-out from Splatoon 3's gameplay which is so upsetting to me considering how much time and love I was able to sink into Splatoon 2 in comparison... Regardless, Splatoon as a franchise and story mean the world to me and I adore everything about it! Its become one of my biggest special interests over the years and i can confidently say that it'll likely be part of me forever

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