Splatoon devs dropping regular hints

Splatoon might be a reason many people pick up the Wii U next year. It’s innovative and fresh, and still distinctly Nintendo. There is no way to play it without a gleeful smile on your face, and truly that’s the most important thing. We all want to know more about the game, and we can thanks to some generous developers.

The Splatoon developers take to twitter on a regular basis to give details, pictures and secrets about the game. Unfortunately for us, all the tweets are in Japanese. However, thanks to the good people of NeoGAF, we can share some of the news.

• Report from the Squid Research Lab. The mysterious Inklings have a habit of dividing themselves into two teams of four and painting the ground with their ink, in what they call a Turf War. Amongst themselves, this is known as a ‘Turf Battle’.
• Report from the Squid Research Lab. It appears that the Turf Battles are decided by which team has the most surface area covered. You can shoot your opponents with ink to take them out, but it appears to have no impact on the result. It all comes down to who has sprayed the most ink. These are quite simple, easy-to-understand rules.
• Investigation Report from the Squid Research Lab. This is the ‘Hero Suit’. It is worn by the protagonist in ‘Hero Mode’. It has a different feel to the regular clothes. According to our theory, it is designed to resemble a fire fly squid. The glowing translucent lights covering it are beautiful.
• We present to you an image of the Octopus Army Corps and the protagonist wearing the Hero Suit, sent to use by one of the lab’s research assistants. We say octopus, but theses guys are really more like octopus legs….What’s going on with their internal organs? We will make this our next topic of research.
• Investigative Report from the Squid Research Lab. The protagonist, wearing the Hero Suit, travels through this underground world. The Octopus Army Corps, hoping to invade the Squid’s world, built this underground facility. Is it just me that feels the Octopus’ longing for the world above-ground from the blue sky projected onto those large monitors?
• Investigative Report from the Squid Research Lab. This cat is the referee who decides the winner of each match. They can determine who has the largest covered area in an instant. But why is there a solitary cat in this world of squid….? This mystery is yet to be solved.
• Our researchers sent us this photograph. It appears to be one of the stages used for territory battles. The Inklings seem to enjoy having such battles even in inner-city parks. I wonder if the neighboring people…I mean squids ever get angry at them? It’s mildly concerning.
• Report from the Squid Research Labs. You can use ‘sub-weapons’ by tapping the R-Button. Pictured is the ‘Splash Bomb’ which explodes, shooting ink over the immeadiate area. It doesn’t just hurt your opponents, it also has tactical uses, including distracting enemies or exposing hiding ones, too.
• Report from the Squid Research Labs. Your main way of painting the ground in ink and attacking enemies is the Paint Gun, which shoots using the ZR button. There’s many different types of weapons, including the Charge Gun, which allows you to hit at a distance and the Roller, which is useful in close-range combat.
• Report from the Squid Research Lab. The color of the ink used in Turf Battles changes with each battle. It’s very colorful. It is known that Inklings can change their body color, but there are also ones who can change the ink that they shot?!
• Investigation report from the Squid Research Lab. Inklings have the ability to swim inside ink splattered on the ground as squids. Apparently they can move faster than their human forms when swimming in ink. Additionally, if they don’t move, they can hide from enemies.
• We got a photo back from one of our researchers. Even this place surrounded by nature can become a battleground for a Turf Battle. Anyway, do the Inklings have nothing else to do but fight? Campfires? Barbecues? There must be something else they can enjoy…
• Investigation report from the Squid Research Lab. We got witness reports of Inklings that could jump like rockets. When they touched the icon of a team member on the map, they apparently “flew to their aid”, quite literally. However, they went straight to the frontlines! Apparently Inklings are a reckless bunch.
• Follow-up report from the investigation team. While in squid form, Inklings can climb walls. Walls don’t count toward the result of Turf Battles, so a painted wall might mean that someone climbed up it. It’s important in battles to make use of the opponent’s imagination.
• We have confirmed the existence of various contraptions in Hero Mode. This cannon can shoot powerful ink bullets. Could it be something that the Octopus Corps set up, or was it someone else entirely? Be that as it may, it looks like a rather technologically advanced device.
• Investigation report from the Squid Research Lab. This mysterious person (sorry, squid) guides the protagonist in Hero Mode. It seems that in the peaceful squid world he is the only man (sorry, squid) that has noticed the plans of the Octopus Corps. Anyway, he’s totally seeing our cameraman here.
• This is a sketch from our researchers. This inkling boy is using a giant paint roller. You can customize all your weapons and clothes, including t-shirts and glasses. Inklings are very fashionable!
• In turf battles, you can use special weapons by painting the ground and building up power. Below is one of these, the ‘Barrier’. For a short time, this will rebound all of the opponent’s attacks. It appears that there are other kinds of special weapons to be found as well.

Hero mode? Various weapons and customizations? Splatoon is getting better and better the more I hear about it – I love the tone that they use in these tweets and I’m sure that same quirky sense of humor will carry over into the final game. And here are some images that they also shared on twitter:

Is Splatoon something that appeals to you? Can you imaging playing this with friends and family, or does it just seem too off the wall for you? Could this herald a return to glory for Nintendo, or has that already happened with Smash Bros and Mario Kart?

Last Updated: November 26, 2014