Splatoon 2 vs 3: My thoughts

[HighColorSunset]

I played Splatoon 2 a lot from 2020-2022. I hadn't played it in a long time before my dad lent me his copy thanks to the new Virtual Game Card feature, only playing Splatoon 3 until then. I did have to start all over again so I couldn't re-experience SOME things, e.g. the thoughts on Ranked are from my memories

2 has the edge in:

• Certain animations, particularly how hair is handled. Splatoon 3 leaves it all up to physics while 2 uses some special animations, which is especially obvious on Octolings, whose tentacles used to wave around and now just kind of hang loose and flop around. (Punk and Tentacurl got MASSIVELY nerfed)
• Gender differences and species distinctions led to all 4 player types getting their own unique animations. As nice as the expanded customization is, I kind of miss that. Now in-game (running, weapon, etc.) animations are shared between genders and menu/shop animations are shared between species. In a way it just kinda feels like they're cutting corners, y'know?
• Speaking of which, having species and gender labeled did prevent all the Splatoon-3-era Reddit posts saying "help, I chose the wrong gender! which one is the girl/boy?" I fortunately knew exactly who to pick but not everyone was so lucky.
• Proper walking animations built into the walk/run cycle, instead of...whatever the player squid/octo is doing in 3.
• Cut specials: Baller, Bomb Launcher, Bubble Blower, Ink Armor, normal Splashdown (outside of Story Mode)
• Third kits (Clear Dapple Dualies were my main back in the day!)
• Rainmaker with one platform felt more satisfying IMO. Eyes on the prize, am I right?
  250% cash/XP food items
• Octo Expansion (ROTM's missions are similar to OE's tests but I miss the aesthetic so bad and some of the levels were super fun/nice to play)
• The last traditional story mode. Sometimes I miss the old formula
• Cut maps, such as Shellendorf Institute, Moray Towers, Skipper Pavilion
• Shifty Stations. They made Splatfests so interesting!
  Agent 4 felt like he/she had more personality
• Being able to do some things online, such as go shopping, even without an NSO subscription. In 3 you have to go to the lobby to even connect if you're offline and it doesn't even let you shop or anything without Online. It just acts like you're fully offline.
• Being able to receive gifts offline via boxes in the Square without having to pick them up in the lobby
• Square lighting is less overly bright and nicer to look at than it is in 3
• I'll be honest, I really miss NoA hammy DJ Octavio. It's not the same when he's all serious to match the other translations!
• Octoling amiibos speaking broken English (and most if not all other languages) was adorable, funny, and very fitting. Them improving in 3 does make sense though.
• Speaking of which, I much prefer the angles and poses of the Amiibo in 2. RIP properly-executed Octogirl hair twirl...(this ties in with the hair point)
• I definitely miss the execution of Octolings as quiet, inquisitive army defects. But I guess it makes sense- the Octolings in 3 are totally different Octolings anyway.
• There are a few voice lines I miss, though the Octoling ones did return in Side Order.
• Inner Agent 3 wasn't as long as After Alterna but was definitely more unforgiving and isolating (in AA you get support from mission control like in any other level; in IA3 you're completely alone with your nightmarish fantasy version of Three).
• I miss when the lightest skin tone was super pale. I liked my player character to have the complexion of a porcelain doll, lol. The new tone is closer to my IRL skin though and is more well-defined.
• This is a minor detail but I definitely miss the old player icons in battles, when the squid and octopus shapes were more defined and less minimalistic.
• The lore felt a lot more interesting to me, especially comparing Octo Expansion to Side Order.
• 3's camera feature is better in almost every way than 2's amiibo photo feature, but if anything I miss when you could take pictures sitting in chairs.
• Being able to register gear to Amiibo to get every piece at once, which only happens in 3 with Splatoon 1-2 amiibo if you've transferred your S2 data, whereas if you have S3 amiibo you have to work for the gear.
• Fresh Start and Into the Light have both made me emotional.
• I also still really like the old battle music. I really miss the likes of Bottom Feeders and Ink Theory! (Some of the members are in a new band, yes, but it's not quite the same genre)
• Ranked being called Ranked. "Anarchy Battles" does fit the chaos theme of 3, but I'm not sure why you'd call them Anarchy when they...have rules...and work exactly like the same games in 2 did (with the exception of Rainmaker gaining an extra podium)
• Being able to pay coins for weapons felt more accessible in some ways. (If I were to suggest a feature, I'd say use Sheldon tickets as the main currency and then have the player be able to use coins if they don't have any tickets.)

3 has the edge in:

• More to do. Like, a lot more.
• All 3 city hubs available with DLC
• Even without, Splatsville is HUGE
• Insane graphical improvements. Everything is SO much more detailed and well-textured!
• The new player models. Though the old ones were cuter and more childlike, the new ones are more proportional and I especially appreciate that the "fangs" are smaller, which IMO makes the smiles and such look nicer and less...off-putting I guess. ESPECIALLY for Octolings. I also like how the eye markings are finally 3D and
• Story mode is longer and more in-depth than usual, with more in the way of animations and such. It's also nice to be able to just skip hard levels and come back to them later.
• After Alterna wasn't as unforgiving or isolating as Inner Three, but it was definitely TEDIOUS. The day I finally decided to persevere, I spent basically the entire afternoon, if not part of the morning too, beating it. Getting those little bear ears felt SO satisfying.
• Deep Cut is SO much fun as a group
• Being able to listen to almost all the music from all the games via the jukebox in the lobby
• Catalog gives a reason to keep coming back and nice exclusive rewards
• New hairstyles and legwear, really cool new eye colors, the edition of eyebrow customization, and mostly-gender-unlocked cosmetic options make creating a unique character even better (Octolings in particular used to only have 2 hairstyles per gender!)
• Speaking of which, I do really like most of the new hairstyles. I especially like the super curly ones for Octolings.
• Side Order being basically infinitely replayable with a unique experience each time. (Oh, and the music SLAPS.) Learning more about Octarian society was also nice, even if it's no longer a focus of the main game.
• Being able to train in the lobby while I wait for a match to start, instead of having nothing to do but stare at the screen and mess with the music.
• The player characters are more expressive and them finally having moving mouths instead of just presets is nice. It also makes the difference in lip shape between squid and octos more obvious, with squids having smoother/straighter lips and octos having a curvy/M-shaped top lip, which was present in their default mouth pose in 2 but is much more obvious now that it's on all their expressions.
• Squid Roll and Squid Surge are really neat features, even if I personally mostly use them in single player and Salmon Run.
• Speaking of which, Salmon Run was VASTLY improved. More varied enemies, the egg throw feature is a game-changer, and ESPECIALLY it being available 24/7.
• Running animations, as much as they kinda killed the unique character of each player type for these, do feel faster, bouncier and more well-animated.
• I honestly really like the new voice lines, especially for the Octoling girl as they kept her sounding gentle and soft-spoken and her new lines are adorable. (Maybe I'm biased because I'm an Octogirl main lol) I also think it's a nice touch that Octoling boys sound friendlier and more energetic this time around, given the change in personality to reflect the setting.
• As much as I miss the old win/lose animations, being able to choose an emote adds a new level of fun and individuality.
• The menu is bigger, which is nice.
• Certain features (especially in the DLC) make it feel like a love letter to veteran Splatoon fans, while also being fresh enough to attract new players
• Having playing with friends as a more integrated feature
• I haven't tried pools, but they seem like a really nice feature.
• Tableturf Battle, which is also playable offline
• Being able to go recon offline on any map and for an hour at a time
• Being able to take pictures almost anywhere and freely adjust the camera
• As an end-credit-song fan, Wave Goodbye, Daybreaker Anthem and #47 onward all sound really nice. Three Wishes is also amazing.
• Being able to experience Splatfests in Splatsville OR Inkopolis. Especially great since I played Splatoon 1 in 2018 and didn't get to experience Splatfests in the Plaza until I got the S3 DLC. (Thankfully the repeat fests meant I could experience Square Splatfests though.) Both SS and OtH getting their own half-time jams was also great!
• Challenges can be super fun. (Granted, I haven't played a TON of them.)
• Being able to put the news in the background, making entering the game a lot faster. Unskippable news is definitely something I do NOT miss, as charming as Pearl and Marina's dynamic was.
• As much as I miss Octos being all quiet and analytical, seeing them exhibit a more energetic and playful personality is cute in its own way. (It does seem like their intelligence is shown in some ways, such as them now jumping instead of stumbling when a shop is switched.) Inklings may have gotten a bit calmer? But I don't think they changed all that much, unlike Octos.
• The textures are overall more detailed and often shinier and more reflective (the hair looks GREAT). Colors are usually easier on the eyes as well, although IMO the midday lighting in Inkopolis Square looks kinda gross, as does the new Square shop lighting.
• Having a lot more clothing to collect is great because in my old S2 save, I'd bought almost everything.
• Sheldon licenses allow you to save your coins for cosmetic items
• Lockers are a really neat idea for extra customization
• Octolings being available from the start did make them feel less special in a way, but also, why would you hide them behind a paywall AGAIN, right? Especially after players have gotten accustomed to and grown to love them.

 

[Cephalobro]

I have a list of things I liked better from 2 than 3, and vice-versa as well, I don't know how long my list will be, but we'll see:

What I like from S2 better than S3:

• Player animations in the hubs: Honestly, the male Inkling, female Octoling, and male Octoling sharing animations with the female Inkling in the Inkopolis hubs made them lose out in personality. For example, the male Inkling in S1 and S2 had that tough guy personality, like crossing his arms and walking like he owns the place. The female Octoling's shyness in S2 added so much to her personality, which that was unfortunately taken away in S3. Oh, and the male Octoling also had something unique of his own, I particularly loved how he tried to act tough in a world he was unfamiliar with, but didn't know how to.
• The availability of the content: It was easier to get every bit of content in S2 than in S3. In S2 you could easily max out cash and basically buy every piece of gear and weapon that was available. It was great for completionists like me to simply have something to complete and then visit the shops later to get a sense of satisfaction of not needing anything more from them. In S3, the game is actively against completionists, literally everything in it is a huge, grindy mess; heck, even the rewards that were available in the previous Salmon Run now you have to grind hours upon hours to get them all again. The worst part is, it's super difficult to max cash out this time around.
• The difference in the acknowledgement depending on species: In a similar vein with the player animations, I love how S2 keeps the Inklings and Octolings being different species in mind, right down to Octo Canyon only being playable as an Inkling and Octo Expansion being only playable as an Octoling, and the character dialogues also reflect this. Unfortunately, in S3, the game does not mention the two being different species. This is evident in Alterna that even if your character is an Octoling, he/she acts like he/she doesn't know about the Octarians when Craig Cuttlefish mentions them to him/her. Another such evidence in Alterna being that DJ Octavio doesn't act surprised that he would have to fight an Octoling.
• No rank resets: This may be an unpopular take, but I actually preferred that the ranks didn't reset as they gave me a reason to want to rank up and actually play the ranked battles. The rank reset basically killed that feeling for me. What's the point of being able to rank the highest if I'm not allowed to retire from those battles entirely while keeping my rank?

What I like from S3 better than S2:

• The hair physics: The hair physics in S3 is definitely a lot better than in S2 (I still use the Punk hairstyle for my Octoling Boy, even though the hairstyles are unlocked for both genders), I like that the Punk hairstyle isn't perpetually glued to the head like it was in S2 when you jump.
• The new weapon-types: I always wanted a sword weapon class in Splatoon, especially after they had introduced both the samurai and knight armor-themed Amiibo gear, while Brushes was close to being the sword class, Splatanas definitely represent swords better than Brushes because you can splat players by hitting them directly with the Splatana. The bow-like weapons are also great with the Stringer class are also great.
• The greatly expanded lore presented in the single-player modes: In Alterna we get to learn how we ended up with our Smallfry companion, where the Inklings and the Octarians originated, and even indirectly confirms Octoling reproduction being the same as the Inklings, as there were no tentacle Octarians in the Splatlands in the past, even though Inklings and Octolings lived peacefully in Splatsville for generations upon generations. I also love the detail in regards to still there being Octolings in the domes of Octo Valley and Octo Canyon, it seems those Octolings didn't want to leave the tentacle Octarians behind, as that would eventually result in the extinction of the tentacle Octarians if said Octolings were the only Octarians allowed on the surface.
• Banners and Titles: Sure, this is useful for even more uniqueness between players, but it's also very useful as a storytelling tool for your Inkling and Octoling OCs as well, like their personality, goals, and whatever else you might want to set that would be very fitting for your own OC. And the fact that you can change your in-game name also helps this.

(A few more points I would like to make:

In Splatoon 2, Agent 4 had a different level clear animation based on the gender, which is a super nice touch.

Actually, the running animation for your character still depends on the gender, as in Splatoon 3 my Octoling Boy character still has the same running animation he had in Splatoon 2. The lack of animations only applies to the other players characters seen in the hubs.)

 

[HighColorSunset]

I have a list of things I liked better from 2 than 3, and vice-versa as well, I don't know how long my list will be, but we'll see:

What I like from S2 better than S3:

• Player animations in the hubs: Honestly, the male Inkling, female Octoling, and male Octoling sharing animations with the female Inkling in the Inkopolis hubs made them lose out in personality. For example, the male Inkling in S1 and S2 had that tough guy personality, like crossing his arms and walking like he owns the place. The female Octoling's shyness in S2 added so much to her personality, which that was unfortunately taken away in S3. Oh, and the male Octoling also had something unique of his own, I particularly loved how he tried to act tough in a world he was unfamiliar with, but didn't know how to. (I absolutely miss this too. At least some of this persists in the new and returning Amiibos having different dialogue styles still? The S1-2 Inklings speak similarly to the way they did, the S2 Octos have better language skills (in Western languages at least) but still speak politely and with less slang than the others, the S3 squid is confident and energetic, and the S3 octo is friendly and excitable as well as polite in the Japanese version.)
• The availability of the content: It was easier to get every bit of content in S2 than in S3. In S2 you could easily max out cash and basically buy every piece of gear and weapon that was available. It was great for completionists like me to simply have something to complete and then visit the shops later to get a sense of satisfaction of not needing anything more from them. In S3, the game is actively against completionists, literally everything in it is a huge, grindy mess; heck, even the rewards that were available in the previous Salmon Run now you have to grind hours upon hours to get them all again. The worst part is, it's super difficult to max cash out this time around. (Oh, yeah. This is definitely a pain. At least you do get the full old Octo gear this time, but it takes an eternity to earn every piece. I still haven't gotten the last shop milestone!)
• The difference in the acknowledgement depending on species: In a similar vein with the player animations, I love how S2 keeps the Inklings and Octolings being different species in mind, right down to Octo Canyon only being playable as an Inkling and Octo Expansion being only playable as an Octoling, and the character dialogues also reflect this. Unfortunately, in S3, the game does not mention the two being different species. This is evident in Alterna that even if your character is an Octoling, he/she acts like he/she doesn't know about the Octarians when Craig Cuttlefish mentions them to him/her. Another such evidence in Alterna being that DJ Octavio doesn't act surprised that he would have to fight an Octoling. (This is true, although it's implied that Octolings have lived in the Splatlands for as long as Inklings have and these Octos have no relation to the Octarian army. An example of this is Shiver, who was born in the Splatlands in an ancient clan of shark tamers whom I can only assume have always been Octolings.)
• No rank resets: This may be an unpopular take, but I actually preferred that the ranks didn't reset as they gave me a reason to want to rank up and actually play the ranked battles. The rank reset basically killed that feeling for me. What's the point of being able to rank the highest if I'm not allowed to retire from those battles entirely while keeping my rank? (Ranks reset!? Oh man, it's so hard to rank up too! I'm a casual player and that definitely keeps me from playing Ranked (sorry, Anarchy) myself. I miss my C, C+, and B- ranks (I may have gotten B at some point too)...)

What I like from S3 better than S2:

• The hair physics: The hair physics in S3 is definitely a lot better than in S2 (I still use the Punk hairstyle for my Octoling Boy, even though the hairstyles are unlocked for both genders), I like that the Punk hairstyle isn't perpetually glued to the head like it was in S2 when you jump. (I sort of disagree in that the Punk hairstyle flopping around like crazy feels goofy and distracting to me, and I definitely miss when Octo hair in particular moved on its own a bit. Now only Marina gets that luxury. The Tentacurl hairstyle also looks worse IMO, being stiffer and straighter than it used to be. However, I do agree in general that the hair physics are more responsive and the hair moves around more overall.)
• The new weapon-types: I always wanted a sword weapon class in Splatoon, especially after they had introduced both the samurai and knight armor-themed Amiibo gear, while Brushes was close to being the sword class, Splatanas definitely represent swords better than Brushes because you can splat players by hitting them directly with the Splatana. The bow-like weapons are also great with the Stringer class are also great. (For sure! I generally enjoy the Splatana MORE, or at least I thought I would, but I've had fun with the Stringer too; I've especially had surprising success with the Wellstring V even though I'm generally not a big-heavy-weapon girl.)
• The greatly expanded lore presented in the single-player modes: In Alterna we get to learn how we ended up with our Smallfry companion, where the Inklings and the Octarians originated, and even indirectly confirms Octoling reproduction being the same as the Inklings, as there were no tentacle Octarians in the Splatlands in the past, even though Inklings and Octolings lived peacefully in Splatsville for generations upon generations. I also love the detail in regards to still there being Octolings in the domes of Octo Valley and Octo Canyon, it seems those Octolings didn't want to leave the tentacle Octarians behind, as that would eventually result in the extinction of the tentacle Octarians if said Octolings were the only Octarians allowed on the surface. (It was definitely super nice to find out how Inklings evolved exactly and how on EARTH they wound up with humanoid forms and human-like culture- that can't have happened by chance, am I right? Also, where did you hear there were still Octos in the domes? Part of me kinda figured they all left or were taken haha)
• Banners and Titles: Sure, this is useful for even more uniqueness between players, but it's also very useful as a storytelling tool for your Inkling and Octoling OCs as well, like their personality, goals, and whatever else you might want to set that would be very fitting for your own OC. And the fact that you can change your in-game name also helps this. (I hadn't thought of that! Though I did change my banner to be more masculine while playing as a guy at one point.)

(A few more points I would like to make:

In Splatoon 2, Agent 4 had a different level clear animation based on the gender, which is a super nice touch. (SERIOUSLY? how did I not remember that?)

Actually, the running animation for your character still depends on the gender, as in Splatoon 3 my Octoling Boy character still has the same running animation he had in Splatoon 2. The lack of animations only applies to the other players characters seen in the hubs.) (That is true! I didn't deny that and I think I pointed it out myself. It does no longer depend on species though. So though Octoling boys do have a similar running animation to the one they had in 2, Inkling boys now have a similar animation; the same goes for Octoling girls now having a similar running animation to Inkling girls (though the animation is less "wiggly" than it was in 2). The walking animations still look weird though. They could have at least used the hub world walking animations from Octo Expansion or something.)