The Crater



The Crater is a location in the Splatlands and the tutorial world of Return of the Mammalians in. It consists of 4 Kettles, Camp Cuttle, a Kettle to return to Splatsville and a large structure leading to Alterna. It additionally hosts a spot where the player can change the look of the New Squidbeak Splatoon's Captain.

Splatoon 3


The Crater is a massive crater located in the Splatlands that has an upside-down structure similar to the Eiffel Tower. It also contains the first four levels of the single-player campaign, Return of the Mammalians. When the player finds themself in the Crater, they meet a retired Craig Cuttlefish. He believes that the sudden disappearance of the Great Zapfish is caused by the Octarians yet again. He recruits the player and calls them the new Agent 3. For the first four levels of the campaign, he will help them out like in Splatoon and the Octo Expansion. After a sudden fight with DJ Octavio, who seeks answers for the sudden disappearance of his troops, the ground falls and Smallfry, Cuttlefish and Agent 3 fall into Alterna, where they become separated afterwards.

Agent 3 can relive their adventure in the Crater by interacting with the Zapfish doll behind the Squid Sisters. Upon returning, they will have 1300 power eggs. They will have their Hero Suit and Hero Shot. However, they will not have the bombs from upgrading their Hero Suit, only Smallfry. All the kettles will be cleared, as well as all the Fuzzy Ooze except for the last one. Agent 3 can rematch DJ Octavio there by removing the last of the Fuzzy Ooze. To return to Alterna, the player can open the menu and select the "Return to Aterna" icon or defeat DJ Octavio again. When opening the menu in the Crater, they can only access the first tab and the last one.

Customizing the Captain


If the player interacts with the portrait sitting on a chair in Camp Cuttle, Cuttlefish will ask the player if they ever heard of the New Squidbeak Splatoon's Captain. After a short conversation, he will ask the player if the portrait looks good or not. This is the part where the player can customize their hairstyle, skin tone, and eye color, with the same limited options from the first game. Since the customization is optional, their default appearance is their appearance if imported from, otherwise appearing with the feminine style, third-lightest skin tone, and green eyes by default.

Loot anchor


There are two loot anchors hidden on the map. The first, which is close to the first kettle contains a Zapfish doll which can be used in the locker room to decorate the player's locker, while the other is close to the third kettle and hides a pack of cards which can be used to play Tableturf Battle.



Quotes
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S3 Icon Cuttlefish.png Cuttlefishgreen
"Th-th-the... Oc-Oc-Oct... The Octarians are coming! AGAINNNNNNNNNNNN! Oh, uh, hi... Did we do this once before? The ol' noggin ain't what it used to be. Anyhow, the name's orange. orange to the New Squidbeak Splatoon, at your service!
 * Introduction:
 * Introduction:

That look in your eye... It's the look I've been lookin' for! The orange that powers orange has been squidnapped! It's the Octarians again. You can bet your bottom sand dollar on it! See, the orange has gone missing before. Twice, in fact! And those Octojerks were behind it both times. I've been keepin' an eye on 'em even though I'm technically retired. And with eyes like these, there ain't much that escapes me! But they still made off with the orange. And now WE'VE got to get it back. Right?

So, uh... ... ... ... ... ... ...That was a job offer, kid. The pay is... zero ...but you might just save the world. You're in, right? RIGHT?! Course you are! Starting today, you are orange of the New Squidbreak Splatoon! This is your brand-new Hero Suit! It'll help you fight the Octarians. Huh. Is there a such thing as something GROWING in the wash? It's a little baggy on ya... gray

Now, let's go get those Octoclowns! I'm countin' on you, buck-OH! You've already got another agent there with ya, huh? Well, I'm fresh outta Hero Suits, unfortunately... Ah, but it's a salty li'l scamp, ain't it? It'll do fine. Now where was I... Oh, right! Let's go get those Octojerks! I'm countin' on you, bucko!"

"Take a gander at that—it's a portrait of the New Squidbeak Splatoon's orange. Not a bad likeness, eh? The Captain was Agent 3 before you were Agent 3, Agent 3. Nothin' complicated about it. You... you know about the Captain, right?"
 * Customizing the Captain:


 * "Um... what?"

"Well, I s'pose we were a secret squad... doin' our hero-ing outside the public eye. How could you know?"


 * "Of course!"

"I knew it! The Captain's a real celebrity. ...You know I used to be Captain, right? Ah, never mind that. But how's that likeness lookin'?"


 * "Looks great!"

"It's a masterpiece! Thanks for your input, kiddo. Lemme know when you want me to immortalize YOU!"


 * "It's not quite right..."

"No? Well, that's no good! How'd the Captain look to your eye?"


 * After choosing a hairstyle:

"Gotcha, gotcha... Anything else?"


 * After choosing a skin tone:

"I think you're onto somethin' here! Got any more details for me?"


 * After choosing an eye color:

"Voilà! How are we lookin'?"


 * "We're good!"

"I knew the look in your eye would help me settle the look in MY eye when it comes to this. Thanks, kiddo!"

"Alright, let's look for a way into the orange... And keep your ears open for my nuggets of wisdom!"
 * Reaching the first mission:

"Mind the orange that's all over the place. Touch that stuff, and who knows what'll happen. Oh, right. I know what'll happen. FLOOF! Instant full-body beard... whether you want it or not!"

"OK, now that is one big pile of orange. That big ol' bubble on top is probably the orange. I bet if you could POP that, the whole thing would BOOF! Disappear! But I doubt your ink'll do the trick. Eh... let's worry about that later. For now, keep lookin' for a way into the Octarians' base!"

"Oof. This whole place could use a shave.. or a shower... or whatever cleans up Fuzzy Ooze!"

"There! That kettle oughta take us right to 'em. Shoot the lid with and blow it open!"

"Oh, right. I plumb forgot about all this orange. And that blasted orange is just wobblin' back and forth, taunting us... Is that your Smallfry buddy chirpin' about something? You know... that species is rumored to have a BIG reaction to orange... Anything's worth a shot, right? Try pressing to power up your little buddy with some orange!"
 * Reaching the second mission:

"Whoa! That did something! Try throwing it at the Fuzzball!"

"Look at that—it gobbled up the ooze like it was nothin'. That little monster has quite an appetite! Anyway, it cleared the path for you. Go on!"

"Hey, looks like you found a orange! Anytime you find one of those, splat it up for a fun surprise."
 * Reaching the third mission:

"Careful here! It's a looong way down, and one false step could send you over the edge."

"You gonna jump down there? Make sure you got a safe place to land!"

"A orange. There? You've got a good eye. Those things could be hidden anywhere!"
 * Reaching the fourth mission:

"That Smallfry might be a goofball, but I'd follow its nose if I were you..."

"Whew! I was gettin' a little nervous there."

"orange ahoy! Confirmed with my own bulgin' eyes, dead center of the Crater."
 * Reaching the boss:

"Much obliged, little buddy!"
 * After removing Fuzzy Ooze:

"Told you that stuff was trouble! Stick to the ink if you wanna avoid another close shave..."
 * After touching Fuzzy Ooze:

"You eatin' well these days? Don't go into battle hungry, y'hear?"
 * General:

"It's nice that you got your li'l buddy with you throughout all... this."

"Y'know, that Hero Suit fits you just fine. Kids these days like things a little baggy, don't they?"

"Those kettles lead to the Octarian bases—blast 'em with ink to open 'em. Don't try it on your home kettle."

"Don't let steel grates and fences ruin your day. Press and squidaddle right through 'em!"

"Go on, now. Give those Octarians a fresh coat of ink for me!"

"gray"

"gray"

"gray"

"How can I help you, Agent 3? Need another pearl of wisdom?"

}}

Trivia

 * Craig Cuttlefish's dialogue at the beginning of the mode is a reference to the very first game.
 * The player can return to the Crater at any time by simply interacting with the Zapfish doll at the Squid Sisters Camp on the first site, Future Utopia Island.
 * The Captain's portrait in Camp Cuttlefish is the same one that Craig drew in the Octo Expansion.
 * It is suggested by the map of Inkadia and the Splatlands that the Crater is located where Mount Fuji once was.