Alright, time for my full reaction/impression from the Direct before I update the lists (and I'll try my best to do this in the order presented by the Direct)...
Music: LOVING the newest versions of Inkoming and Rip Entry, and most of the rest of it went along nicely with the presentation. Like I've said before, it's hard not to like Splatoon music, and the music played throughout the Direct was all pretty good to hear. But I would like to hear it during actual combat than simply in a video presentation, so that will most likely determine how much I enjoy each track.
Character Customization and the Galleria: First off, though just something simple, I liked the new spin animations the Inklings do to get into "position" while customizing the avatar. A small little touch, but something that was just fun to see. The Galleria looks to be just as good as Booyah Base in terms of functionality, but I kinda enjoyed Splatoon's shopkeeps over Splatoon 2's. This may just be because of how little we got on the new guys, but I'm sure I'll come to like them all the same in due time. It's also nice to see the others, like Crusty Sean, are still around, just doing new things. Thank goodness for Sheldon's "Hurry It Up!" button. I used to HATE going into his shop after gaining a few levels, not anymore! The new music (more remixes of "Lookin' Fresh") is pretty good too. Gonna miss the old, upbeat version for Shrimp Kicks though, but the shop being renamed "Shella Fresh" is just BRILLIANT on the designer's part!
Main Weapons: The new training/test area looks much better and we will probably get more use out of it this time around too. Weapon type introductions were short and to the point (and a little funny, "There's no arguing with a full bucket of ink to the face." No sir, there is not.), just as they should be. Get the main purpose of each weapon out there in a good enough fashion so you're not wasting veterans' time with stuff they already know, but also getting enough out there for the newcomers to know what's up with each class. Clash Blaster looks like it could be something I'll try (love how someone earlier referred to it as a "Crayola Gun", the barrel does look like crayons, lol) due to the increased fire rate. Flingza Roller has the potential to be as deadly as the Dynamo with it's extended range. Goo Tuber (again, what a great name!) will be popular with Snipers who want to keep their charge longer to try to get better with the Charger type (and may even become some veteran Chargers' new go-to). Dapple Dualies are going to get soooo much hate from those who can't get around (beat) the new Dodge Roll ability, but it's still a welcome addition and might be something I'll try out if I can roll with the new weapon type (ba-dum tsss).
Sub Weapons: Nothing much to say here. New Autobomb and Toxic Mist seem to serve their purpose well, can't wait to try them out. Also can't wait to see everyone try out that maneuver shown with the Burst Bomb, fail terribly, get splatted, and continue to try it until they get one kill with it and then give up on ever doing it again. Lol.
Specials: All the Specials we already knew about look interesting and fun. The two newly introduced ones also look super fresh. Love how Ink Armor gives the entire team, no matter where they are, the armor. Really similar to huddling next to the guy with the Bubbler, I imagine Ink Armor will be used when everyone's on the Tower in Tower Control and at a checkpoint so as to clear the checkpoint while also clearing the surrounding enemy team members. Baller (seriously, these names are AMAZING) looks to be good for getting around, but I wonder how well it takes attacks to it. Regardless, blowing someone up with it won't be any less fun than with a Splashdown. Could be used well in Ranked to push the objective.
Modes and Stages: Turf War and each of the Ranked modes seem to have minimal, if no change at all, which is fine. I like to see the different ranks for each Ranked mode, and as pointed out earlier, I'm pretty sure that 4th slot will become a future Ranked mode in the coming updates. A mixture of both excitement and worriment came when they showed how fast you can rank up, but I guess we'll all just have to adjust and hopefully it will be fair. Medals will be cool to try and get with a squad. Cool to see another new stage, Sturgeon Shipyard, and while not my favorite stage, it's nice to see the return of Port Mackerel, with the added sponges and rearranging of the crates from Splatoon's version. League Battle looks to operate like the Squad Battles from Splatoon.
Abilities and Murch: I don't really think much was added to what we already know about Murch, so I'll just say I'm probably going to appreciate his new ability to deal with gaining new abilities on my gear. Finally my gear will be both stylish and come with all the abilities I want. Speaking of, Thermal Ink is a neat idea, and can probably get people out of a jam if cornered to see where the opponent is going and how to get out of a tight spot. Object Shredder will help in tearing down those pesky Splash Walls, but will it work fast enough to save you as well? Respawn Punisher (if I'm interpreting it right) looks only to break even at best, but I'm probably missing something. Drop Roller is definitely something I'll want to have whenever I'm not using Stealth Jump.
Salmon Run: I'm perfectly fine with having Salmon Run only be available at certain times. Else it might keep people away from everything else Splatoon 2 has to offer. I can't wait to jump into it with the rest of my Squid Squad to have some fun, collect Power Eggs, and just generally have a good time. Also, is it just me, or are there a lot more Boss Salmonid than we first thought? Ah well, it'll be fun with the squad either way.
SplatNet 2: Wonder how many differences this will have as compared to other, similar services like Discord. I'm probably gonna hold back on this until I see how much it has to offer (also, I didn't really pay attention to this part, so if anyone wants to elaborate on it, feel free).
Amiibo, "Miiverse" Drawing Feature, Food, The Shoal: Amiibo functionality doesn't seem to have as much as it did last time, and I honestly don't feel that I'll be taking many pictures, but we'll see just how much use we all get out of it. The new Drawing Feature looks simply to be present to fulfill the needs of a lack of Miiverse, so everyone can still appreciate the art of the fan base. I like it, but I was unable to draw ANYTHING good on the Wii U's GamePad, so we'll see how well this works. Being able to gain more coins and experience by getting a bite to eat seems minimal, but I feel it will be worth it if the rewards are big enough (if it increases xp and coinage by more than we all think it might). And the Inkling's "Thank you" was a nice touch and funny. I'm having a hard time figuring out the differences between the Shoal and Private Battles (wasn't paying attention again) other than being able to set up Salmon Run stuff with friends, so if anyone wants to comment on that, I'd appreciate it.
Single Player: Did we get anything new from this? I don't think so but I'll still be enjoying every bit of the new storyline, and I look forward to seeing DJ Octavio's return in one way or another (he was confirmed to return, if you didn't know) and the possibility of facing off against, well, you know who. And with the addition of being able to use different weapon types, it should have more replayability than the first.
Updates and Splatfests: Splat Brella looks great, and killing someone with the Bubble Blower will be soooooo funny. Glad to hear we will be getting at least a year's worth of new stages, gear, weapons, and other updates to keep everything fresh. Two more year's worth of Splatfests will be awesome too, but I'd like it if they lasted longer than a day (somewhere from 2-5 days would be nice). I'm going to enjoy being able to do Splatfests with (and probably against, sometimes) my friends now too, that will be fun. Also, dang it I'm gonna miss the first Splatfest. But I'll still support you from the sidelines, Team Ice Cream! And finally...
Pearl and Marina: Nice to see a few more new faces added to the game! I look forward to seeing all the dialogue these two can provide, and I like the fact that they contrast each other in certain ways. Like how Pearl is up front about everything and rocking out, while Marina provides an air of shyness but also seems happy to be singing and doing the TV station thing. While their catchphrase isn't as catchy (cause it's longer), I think it still feels, well, like it belongs in a Splatoon game. Can't wait to see if the final Splatfest will be Pearl vs Marina or the Squid Sisters vs. Off The Hook.
GEEZ THAT WAS LOOOOONG! I want to point out that 5 alerts on this thread went by before I finished this. I'm gonna take a break before updating the lists, but they will be updated by day's end.
