Port Mackerel

Port Mackerel is a multiplayer stage in Splatoon and Splatoon 2.

Port Mackerel is a shipping yard and, as such, numerous containers litter the field, making for several narrow paths in a grid shape. In the middle is another gridded area, and on either side of it is an open area and inkable forklifts that ride back and forth across all three lanes. There also exist two upper paths from either spawn point that run around the perimeter of the map, ending in the middle area. It includes many corridors, such as ones around large, colored boxes and crates.

Layout


Port Mackerel has open battlefields which are where most of the combat takes place. Both open battlefields are separated from each other by a set of cargo containers. These battlefields, while being very open for vision, can be difficult to maneuver around for some players, as the narrow paths and stacks of crates do not allow for much vision of the area. It is possible, in Turf War and Tower Control, to climb on top of the covered storage crates by either using the forklifts or by climbing on the Tower. These can serve as useful vantage points as they are on higher ground, and since they are covered in an ink-resistant tarp, there is no enemy ink to get stuck in. The walls of the crates are also inkable, giving players a place to recharge ink or hide, without having to give up their vantage point. There are four side passages in this stage, two on the player's side and two on the enemy side. They are all accessed on the left or right sides of the map and lead to small openings on the side of the open battlefields, which cannot be climbed up due to small ledges. The side passages are often forgotten parts of the map, particularly because they are mostly out of the action and are only accessible from the area near the spawn points.

Port Mackerel received a fair number of changes to its layout in. The general structure of the stage is unchanged, but all the obstacles have been changed or spread out to make the corridors less tight. The forklifts now only travel halfway across the stage to the respective team's left. Four Sponge Blocks have been added, one on each team's plaza and two at the very center of the stage.

Ranked Battle terrain
In Ranked Battles, specifications for the terrain or placement of objects are different between the modes; these changes create new paths or new objects to take cover behind.

Splat Zones
In Splat Zones, there are two zones located on one side of the two open areas of the map. The only known change from the Turf War iteration is the fact that the forklifts that move back and forth between the shipping containers are absent.

In, unlike in , there is only a single Splat Zone at the center of the map. The only notable changes are the removal of the forklifts and the introduction of a small inkable barrier to the left corridor on a team's plaza.

Tower Control
The Tower starts in the center of the map and moves along the rail, passing through the open battlefields and weaving in between boxes until it reaches the top of the box directly in front of the opponent's spawn. Two inkable boxes have been added to the right side of the open battlefields, allowing players to access the side passages from this area.

In Splatoon 2, additional Sponge Blocks have been added immediately in front of each team's spawn point to give them easier access to the upper area. The goal has been moved off the box and onto the ground beside it.

Checkpoints have been added:


 * The first checkpoint is located on top of one of the bumps in the enemy plaza.
 * The second checkpoint is located at the turn leading into the enemy corridor.

Rainmaker
The Rainmaker is located in the middle of the stage. The Rainmaker must be taken to a pillar located on top of the cargo container in front of the rival spawn point. A couple of platforms are supplied to make reaching higher ground easier, while the pillar can only be accessed by either climbing the newly-placed board on the backside of the container or jumping from the high ground.

In Splatoon 2, the location of the Rainmaker and goal remain the same. A ramp has been added to make getting to the Rainmaker pedestal easier. Four additional sponge blocks have been added, two immediately in front of each team's spawn as well as another sponge block in each team's plaza of the opposing team's color.

Clam Blitz
The clam baskets are located immediately outside each team's starting corridor to the right side of the team's plaza. The map layout is the same as in Splat Zones, with Inkrails added to the left of each team's starting corridor, the removal of the sponge block in each team's spawn, and a block allowing you to get on top of more crates.

Splatoon
Port Mackerel was the first stage to be added to after launch, being released on 2015-06-02 at July 27, 2024.

Splatfests
Port Mackerel was available in the following Splatfests in :


 * Red Fox vs. Green Tanuki (July 2015)
 * Rock vs. Pop
 * Roller Coasters vs. Water Slides
 * Autobots vs. Decepticons
 * Squid vs. Octopus
 * Cars vs. Planes
 * Zombies vs. Ghosts
 * Tuna Mayonnaise Onigiri vs. Red Salmon Onigiri
 * World Tour vs. Space Adventure

Splatoon 2
Port Mackerel was released with the launch of Splatoon 2. The turf on this stage has been widened, and many of the crates around the stage have either been shrunken down, had the tarps removed allowing them to be inked, or have been replaced with Sponge Blocks. The forklifts from the first game return, but now only move across half of the stage's width. A modified version of this stage is used in Far-Out Station in the Octo Expansion.

Trivia

 * The map's name is a reference to the real-life mackerel.
 * Port Mackerel was the first stage to be released after the launch of . It is also the first returning stage to release in
 * The internal codename for this stage in the game files is "Amida", from the Japanese 阿弥陀籤 (あみだくじ), "Ghost Leg Lottery".
 * Oddly enough, the internal map entry in Splatoon 2 is "Fld_Amida01_Vss" when most map entries use the number 00, possibly meaning there was an earlier version of Port Mackerel in Splatoon 2 at one point.
 * Port Mackeral is one of four multiplayer stages to appear in the Octo Expansion, alongside Snapper Canal, Manta Maria, and Starfish Mainstage.