A Nintendo Direct yesterday highlighted everything fans need to know about Splatoon 3, and it did a good job differentiating the title from its Switch-based predecessor. From a new setting, Turf War maps, and weapons to unique features like customizable lockers and an in-universe card game called Tableturf Battle, there should be more than enough to pour a couple of hundred hours into the next entry in this popular third-person shooter franchise. One of the biggest draws for Splatoon 3 will be its updated Splatfests.
The Splatfest has been a staple of Splatoon since 2015. While the typical gameplay loop sees users try to reach higher ranks in competitive matches, Splatfests offer a choice of teams to support for a limited time. All Splatfest matches are Turf Wars, and participants are rewarded Super Sea Snails at the end of the festival based on their performance and whether their team won. Splatoon 3 is shaking things up with three-way Splatfests starring its idol trio, Deep Cut, and this gives Nintendo plenty of room for big crossovers.
Past Splatfest Crossovers
There are a few reasons why Splatfests gained a lot of traction. For one, the altered aesthetics of the games' hub areas - accompanied by musical performances from the Squid Sisters or Off the Hook, respectively - could only be enjoyed for a limited time. Team selection also encouraged a low-stakes competition in which players wore their associated t-shirts and drew pictures that would be displayed in-game for all to see. Splatfests were also unique by region, with North America, Europe, and Japan getting different (though often overlapping) themes.
More often than not these themes would be innocuous topics; the kind of questions that a group of friends might debate on the schoolyard. For example, in North America a few Splatfest themes have included Cats or Dogs, Past or Future, and Vampire or Werewolf. The competition itself was enough to draw a crowd, but its Super Sea Snail rewards were also a big selling point. This in-game currency allows players to add new sub-ability slots onto outfit pieces, or re-roll the current sub-abilities to try and get better gear.
Some notable Splatfests over the years have been branded crossover events. Nintendo's properties have naturally made a few appearances, from Splatoon's Pokemon Red versus Pokemon Blue (or Green) event to Splatoon 2's Hero versus Villain event highlighting Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. There have also been third-party crossovers, like a Spongebob versus Patrick Splatfest, or a three-week run in Splatoon 2 pitting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles against one another. Both were exclusive to North America and Europe, though Japan got its own variants like a competition between Hello Kitty characters.
Splatoon 3's Tricolor Splatfests Have More Potential
Unlike the Squid Sisters and Off the Hook, Splatoon 3's token band Deep Cut consists of three members: Shiver, Frye, and Big Man. As all three host Splatville's Anarchy Splatcast together, they're also establishing three-way Splatfests. The first one will serve as a sort of demo, pitting Team Rock, Team Paper, and Team Scissors against each other on Saturday, August 27. That trend will no doubt continue even beyond general topics.
Given red, blue, and yellow ink are highlighted for the Splatfest World Premiere, a few Nintendo-themed trios already come to mind. Classic characters like the viruses from Dr. Mario fit this color scheme, as would more contemporary additions like Dimitri, Claude, and Edelgard from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Branching out would open the door for competitions between Princesses like Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina, or Fox, Falco, and Slippy from Star Fox. However, the most blatant marketing pitch would be a Splatfest between Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly, as Pokemon Scarlet and Violet launch soon after Splatoon 3.
Going outside Nintendo's sphere of influence, North America and Europe have had multiple crossovers with Nickelodeon. This could lead to three-way Splatfests between characters like Timmy Turner, Cosmo, and Wanda, or Aang, Sokka, and Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender (perhaps tying into the live-action Netflix adaptation). There are plenty of possibilities when looking at trios instead of duos.
Ultimately, Splatfests are a big draw for Splatoon, and it will be interesting to see whether expanding their scope helps Splatoon 3. After the "final" Chaos versus Order Splatfest hit Splatoon 2 in 2019, Nintendo even revived the concept four times with encore Splatfests ending in a Super Mario Bros. 35th anniversary event in January 2021. Hopefully the next title has just as much longevity with the members of Deep Cut.
Splatoon 3 launches September 9, 2022, for Nintendo Switch. A pre-launch Splatfest will take place on August 27.