Splatoon experience

[solz]

I want to know what peoples first Splatoon experience was and what got them to get in the game whether it be Splatoon 1, 2 or 3

 

[isaac4]

I thought about getting Splatoon 2 after getting Smash Ultimate but that just never ended up happening.
The only reason I got Splatoon 3 was because my sibling wanted it and since we had the game anyway I decided to try it out.
It's really funny looking back at the old video I have of me and my friends watching the direct that Splatoon 3 was revealed in and seeing that I didn't care.

 

[Cephalobro]

Started playing from the first Splatoon, what got me into the game was the cheery vibe it had, I played the heck out of it right after I beat Majora's Mask 3D (I had a bad habit of leaving games unfinished at the time).

Basically, the vibe that the first game had to me was basically nostalgic, yes, even at the time in which the later 2 entries weren't even in development, Splatoon 1's music really felt like I was young again. It was an awesome feeling to have while playing the game.

 

[jeffthesquid]

I played the first Splatoon and was blown away by it. It was fun and the city looked really out there. I loved the skyline and the whole thing screamed bicycle culture. The story mode was also cool. I loved running on top of buildings and shooting weird looking monsters. Also the abilities were easier to grab and the weapons were more balanced. I had quick running and swimming speeds and my nozzle gun could allow me to do my Ticker Tack Attack in which I would swim around my opponent and then attack them.

Splatoon 2 did not impress me much except for Salmon run. I didn't like the Octo Expansion. I hate all those tests. Abilities were harder to get too and that sucked.

Splatoon 3 didn't make sense. Why would Mr. Grizz be the bad guy? Salmon run sucks too and the battles are so bad that I can't even come up with any new techniques. On the bright side I love the character development throughout the story. I also like the backstories of the idols and that's cool.

 

[Aiko.Octo]

I played the first Splatoon not long after it came out and it was just sooo charming. It just gave me really good childlike playful outdoor summer fun vibes and I really needed that at the time. I didn't play for long though because 1) I was just terrible at it (I was always a turn-based RPG person with no depth perception, sense of timing, reflexes, or spatial awareness) and 2) I moved out and didn't take the WiiU with me. I didn't get a chance to play again until 3's testfire (which happened to come at a time when I was starting to feel brave enough to allow myself to enjoy things without needing to be good at them), but it was so much fun that I borrowed my housemate's copy of 2 just to play between the end of the testfire and splat3's actual release so I didn't lose my mind waiting. And then, well, 3's just taken over my life ever since.

 

[Eel-Ectric]

I started with Splatoon 2 because one of my friends was obsessed with it. I started watching some playthroughs and it looked really fun to me! The world and the details in this were what drew me in. I saved up money by doing chores to buy myself a switch and a copy of splatoon 2. Then nintendo announced nintendo switch online and I only got around a summer of online play before I couldn't play for around a year. Octo expansion also came out around this time and GRABBED my brain. I relied on friends giving me nintendo switch giftcards to buy the online XD. Naturally, when splatoon 3 was announced I immediately set it as my birthday present.

 

[sevenleaf]

definitely told my story before but i started with the splat3 testfire after a friend of mine who's been playing since splatoon 1 convinced me to try it. i got hooked and preordered splatoon 3 right after the testfire, so i've been playing since the game released. i got so into it that i then went back and bought copies of splatoon 1 & 2, y'know, in 2022, so i could play the singleplayer modes for myself and experience to some degree - knowing i missed out on what those games were like during their times - what multiplayer was like in those games, too

 

[Grushi]

I probably mentioned some of this before, screw it.
I've started with Splatoon 2, right at launch, but it's almost unfair to say I started there. When I was 10 or something, I watched a lot, and I mean a LOT of Splatoon 1 videos, mainly let's plays, and Octoboy meme compilation vids, which in retrospect were a big part in me learning english, damn. I remember being fascinated by the idea of nintendo making their own spin on military shooters (which I kind of hated on principle), just, you know, without the killing people part... and before I knew it I had watched an entire 100 episode let's play.
I also tried splatoon 1 exactly once at an old friend's house, on the weird 1v1 balloon minigame, and even back then we realized motion controls were way better lol.

So then I got Splatoon 2 right at launch, on what was arguably one of the worst years in my life, I got hooked, and now here I am 7 years later.

 

[Mp3]

Just 2 and 3.

 

[Hokuto]

Some of this I know is new information to the good people of Squidboards. I've probably also mentioned a lot of this before, so bear with me if you've already heard it.

I had Opinions on Splatoon before it even came out. I saw the first one advertised in, like, a Wal-Mart or something and snap judged it as A Children's Game that (at the ripe old age of 13?) I'd never play. The joke was on me, because in the year or so following its release I loved watching the fan animations and music videos and whatnot. By 2016, I already had what I'm HOPING was early concept art of the character who eventually became Stone. Why didn't I start playing then? I did not own (and have tragically never owned) a Wii U.

Splatoon 2 launched without me so much as acknowledging it. I didn't have a Switch then and I wasn't about to seek one out when I had the perfectly good Pokémon Moon right in front of me. I almost played that free demo in 2020 or whenever that came with the week of Nintendo Switch Online, but I sour grapes-ed it after I forgot. One online community I've been in for a few years has Splatoon fans in it, who discussed the game without me understanding any of it. How I ignored them for so long, I don't know.

I wish I was joking when I said an originally unrelated character convinced me to pick up the Splatoon series for myself. The Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl player character has a Switch in their room. Mine owned hers secondhand. I asked myself what games its original owner would have enjoyed (I know the original owner; that's a long story that mostly doesn't belong on Squidboards); the answer that came to mind if "her favorite game is Splatoon 2." That meant, because that's how my brain works (it doesn't!), that I had to check it out myself.

I won't guarantee anything resembling chronological order for this, but all of this happened last summer (2023). Since I couldn't justify buying an entire console for one game, I watched a run through Octo Valley for the Sunken Scrolls lore. I tried to translate the original owner of my Shining Pearl protagonist's Switch into Octoling form without knowing what features Octolings had, which brought me to Inkipedia, where I had (Octo Expansion spoilers) the fact that the MacGuffin of the campaign is a GIANT FREAKIN' BLENDER spoiled to me. I'm pretty sure I also read about Agent 8 and connected their story to parallels in Pokémon Legends: Arceus I couldn't unsee. (That's a story I've already told on Squidboards.)

Anyway, weird lore is my jam. Think Fallout, Cookie Run, Blaseball. I picked up a used copy of Splatoon 2 last August, completed Octo Canyon in September, then bought Octo Expansion as my birthday present last year, completed that in January (40 Mem Cakes and Escape Sequence; currently sitting at 65/80) before buying a used copy of Splatoon 3 and moving on to Return of the Mammalians. I haven't shut up about it since.

Because I'm here, I'm kind of glad I started playing as late as I did. Thanks to what I learned from the aforementioned Long Story, I approached the Splatoon series much differently than I would have had I started at a younger age. My squishies as I know them (besides maybe Jetta and Stone) wouldn't exist. I do wonder who I would have met along the way, though. Maybe the Captain Jetta AU might have even come to fruition instead. Oh, yeah, and I still suck at Splatoon.

I no longer feel the need to make that "Splatoon regrets" discussion thread I've been sitting on.

EDIT: My this year birthday present showed up a month early. Why would it be anything besides the Reefslider pool float?

 

[Azhdarcho]

So I didn’t grow up playing video games a lot. And the games I did play were like strategy games or simulation games – I played The Sims, Rollercoaster Tycoon, Pokémon, Spore, that sort of thing. I never owned a home console until the Switch, which I bought for Zelda. Even Zelda was beyond my normal video game experience (poor Link died a lot). I never in a million years thought I would be a multiplayer shooter kind of person. But I watched Chuggaaconroy’s LP of the original Splatoon and was like, “You know what, that game looks fun. I’ll try the sequel!”

Me 3000 hours later:

 

[sevenleaf]

Because I'm here, I'm kind of glad I started playing as late as I did. Thanks to what I learned from the aforementioned Long Story, I approached the Splatoon series much differently than I would have had I started at a younger age. My squishies as I know them (besides maybe Jetta and Stone) wouldn't exist. I do wonder who I would have met along the way, though. Maybe the Captain Jetta AU might have even come to fruition instead. Oh, yeah, and I still suck at Splatoon.

I no longer feel the need to make that "Splatoon regrets" discussion thread I've been sitting on.

i’m not alone in thinking “i’m kinda glad i got into the series late because i would’ve approached the game differently/had different oc lore if i’d started playing earlier”???!?

for me a big part of it is that a lot of my oc lore relies on the splatlands existing, so naturally things would be different had i started playing with splat1/2. but in a broader sense i also doubt teenage me would’ve been interested in comp, and if i’d been a dedicated casual player since 2015 idk if i’d be interested even now!! (or maybe i would’ve started playing comp as a teen. i mean, i got REALLY competitive over french class kahoot. hard to tell what’s going on in the alternate universe where i’m a splat1 veteran)

 

[solz]

Hold up there's a reef-slider pool float

 

[Hokuto]

Hold up there's a reef-slider pool float

It's real and it's in my bedroom (deflated; I barely have the space for my furniture), along with the Tableturf promo cards that came in the mail today. Now if I only knew where our big air pump went...

 

[solz]

Take my money

 

[Smash Arena]

I have played all three Splatoon games extensively, with Splatoon 2 being my most-played with 1,205 hours. I started on launch day of Splatoon 1, my friends and are were on our first summer break from college and decided we would all get it. Had it pre-ordered at GameStop, picked it up that morning (I still have the receipt in the game case!) and immediately hopped online. Fell in love with it immediately, as did my friends. We would team up as a 4-squid squad and battle together a lot; that was tons of fun.


Splatoon 2 and 3 were also picked up on launch day, putting many hours into them as well. My friends don't play that much these days, but they do have all three games and we still hop on occasionally! Might hit them up for Splatfest this weekend and perhaps some Halloween festivities as well.

Overall, I am glad I picked up Splatoon on Day 1 (plus played the Testfire!), it has been a great experience for my friends and me.

 

[OnePotWonder]

I played all three games, but only got seriously into the series after Splatoon 3 was announced. I've played through every campaign and still think that story bosses were at their best in the first game. Though, Side Order was a huge step in the right direction, and hopefully indicative of good things to come in the next game.

 

[madt]

I got 2 right before final fest… so I kinda sucked (I still suck but I suck less)
anyway I did splat2 finalfest, and my dad didn’t let me buy octo expansion. I didn’t really play splat2 that much but I still enjoyed it

then came splat3… and now Im a splatoon geek :D
i read lot of the wiki
played testfire
played the game (duh)
got side order
convinced my uncle to get me a boatload of s3 merch from japan for me
convinced my uncle to convince my dad to let me buy the art books
became even more of a geek

i think you get it

 

[Neko :D]

I think I was 10 (??) When I first heard about splatoon in general. So on the christmas (?????????) of that year, maybe my birthday, my uncle got me this splatoon 2 themed switch (the switch I used for 4 (????????????????????) years until i dropped it )
I DIED OF PURE SADNESS THAT DAY OML-
Then I got the octo expansion, which I never completed due to my switch breaking before I could transfer my data. So, in other words, I had a pretty chaotic introduction to splatoon.
But... I am pretty chaotic about everything I do, so that might have just been normal for me :)