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Possible Story Mechanic for Side Order

Cephalobro

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I have noticed Inkopolis Square being without color, so Splatoon 3 might actually carry on the tradition that Nintendo has been doing for the Switch generation: Town building/restoration. What I mean is that they have done this in Breath of the Wild as a side quest as well as in Kirby and the Forgotten Lands.

Basically, little by little as you progress through the story of Sider Order, Inkopolis Square will be restored, however, I don't think the Jellyfish will be doing the restoration of Inkopolis Square, even though they are the ones who we see are in charge of the construction-related things. Instead, I think it's going to be the Octarians that you might have to rescue during Side Order. Why I think this is because Octarians always repurpose things that were left behind, like the domes that humans left behind or the signs and other things in their weapons.
 

Blåhydra

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I would love to see that honestly. We know inkopolis square was not the best neighborhood until the turf wars crazed youth started using it as their gathering ground. Having it being a spiritual successor of sorts to that in octarians starting to use as their gathering ground after they came to inkopolis would be really fitting.
 

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While I agree that one of the primary themes of Side Order is going to be returning the colour to Inkopolis Square, I think it's simultaneously going to be more literal and more metaphorical.

As far as I can tell, the one filling the colour back into the square is the player character, judging by a brief image from the Side Order teaser that shows the player character with a colourful ink pouch:


However, I don't think the plot will just be bringing the colour back for the sake of it. Call it a crackpot theory, but I think the premise of Side Order is that the player character is Agent 8 from Octo Expansion, trying to reconcile the progress of their journey with the homogenous culture they left behind, as well as their lingering memory issues and sense of self. The teaser images show themes of ascension and self-reflection, and the only player character in the series that has really had a self to reflect on is Agent 8.
 

Cephalobro

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Sure they could be filling in the color, but I don't think that Agent 8 and Off the Hook will be the only characters that will be seen in Inkopolis Square for the entire campaign. For example, after color returns to a small section of the square, a few friendly Octarians could show up to inhabit it. I just don't think it's only in the mind, since in Splatoon, once-popular places often lose popularity, which is actually something that happened to Inkopolis Plaza sometime before Splatoon 2, only for it to be back into popularity in Splatoon 3.

It's entirely possible that due to how both Splatsville and Inkopolis Plaza seem to be the place to be for Inklings and Octolings at the same time, Inkopolis Square has been abandoned in reality as well as a result, and Agent 8 sees the now abandoned square as a colorless place that's void of life. In Japan, white is often associated with a lack of life, which is a fitting imagery of what became of Inkopolis Square. Color returning to it can also mean new inhabitants taking the place of the previous inhabitants, thus returning life to the hub.
 
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Blåhydra

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You know, that would actually make for a very good DLC. Exploring eights character not only trough her own experiences (assuming it's eight, but you know with the heavy teasing of a female octoling in the trailer images and all) but also through helping others with their own problems. Rebuilding a community around the now abandoned square (fitting with the white/bleached coral, which happens when a coral reef ejects the algea that are it's primary food source) coming back to life with new inhabitants (bleached coral is known to be able to recover), sort of rallying around eight and off the hook because they really get defected octolings on a level inklings normally don't. Perhaps by helping others eight starts healing from her own past?

I'd imagine the whole ordeal within the deep sea metro was pretty scarring, with sanitization being what it is. But it would make sense with what we see in the trailer images. A tower with a soft orange light in the background (mirroring the sunrise eight saw when getting above ground for the first time), elevators being a running theme in the images (considering the elevator was where she first defeated her idol and also that the super boss' arena kinda maps onto the elevator geometry) and black ooze being a running theme (which I would assume might be an interpertation of the sanitization ooze). It all maps onto eights experiences in OE.

But thats another crackpot theory and a half. I'd just love to see some more character exploration of eight, who has been the only agent to ever really have a story centered on her, rather than a big fight to save the world.
 

Cephalobro

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Plus, the Octarians (not just Octolings) settling in Inkopolis Square will also mirror how they settled in the domes after the humans went extinct. It would bring the entire lore full circle, which would make sense for a game whose storylines are focused on tying loose ends.
 

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