Mem cake



Mem cakes are collectables in the Octo Expansion obtained every time a Deepsea Metro station is cleared for the first time. They are categorized according to which line their equivalent station is a part of. Agent 8 mem cakes can be viewed from their CQ-80.

Agent 8's mem cakes are small toy eraser-like items modeled after objects and characters from the world of Splatoon.

Description
Mem cakes are compressed memories belonging to Kamabo Co. test subjects. They are awarded to test subjects as they pass tests as part of convincing them the "promised land" is real.

In Octo Expansion, Agent 8 retrieves their lost memories via an 80 piece set; only Agent 8's equivalent mem cakes appear throughout the mode. These mem cakes are Agent 8's thoughts; some of them are based on experience and memory while others are thoughts about how Agent 8 imagines Inkopolis looks like, inspired by the Inkopolis magazine seen in the metro. All the things that Agent 8 has not experienced yet, but still has equivalent mem cakes for, are inspired by the magazine. Agent 8's mem cakes are shown alongside poems they seemingly wrote themself.

The mem cakes resemble small decorative novelty erasers, or kamaboko, a type of Japanese fish cake consisting of pureed fish often given distinct designs. When mem cakes are viewed from a certain angle, some white speckles can be seen reflecting off of it, an effect also present on kamaboko.

Gameplay
Collecting all the mem cakes of a particular set will net players gear from Iso Padre to use in multiplayer after clearing the Octo Expansion. Collecting all 80 mem cakes will get 30,000 CQ Points.

Using the "Ask for Help" option if a test proves too difficult rewards the player a mem cake, but it is grayed out. The text appears in Marina's ink color, its name becomes "Hazy Memory" with Marina's symbol beside the name, and the poem is replaced with "Your guess is as good as mine." It remains this way until the player clears the test properly. Grayscale mem cakes do not count toward unlocking the battle against Inner Agent 3, but count toward getting gear from Iso Padre, Marina's chat room logs, getting 30,000 CQ points, and do not prevent unlocking playable Octolings.

Trivia

 * There are 80 mem cakes to collect, following the 8 motif found throughout Octo Expansion.
 * In the English version, all mem cake descriptions are written in poems, following an A-BB-A rhyme scheme. They also follow an 8-8-8 syllabic format.
 * In the Japanese version, the poems follow the 5-7-5-7-7 syllable format of tanka poems.
 * When viewing a mem cake, it is possible to flick it by holding down and tilting  towards a direction and then releasing it, causing the mem cake to spin in the opposite direction.
 * In the opening dialogue for the Squid vs. Octopus Splatfest, there is a message about how the player's in-battle appearance will match their team. When Marina wonders what it means, Pearl replies "your guess is as good as mine." This could be a reference to the description of the "Hazy memory" mem cakes.
 * Several mem cakes contain references:
 * The Callie and Marie mem cakes contain references to their respective solo songs, Bomb Rush Blush and Tide Goes Out.
 * The Splat Bomb mem cake ends with "a pillow stained with ink - or tears." This may be a reference to Octo Valley's seventh mission, Spreader Splatfest, where the description reads "Ink Stains & Teardrops".
 * The description for the Tentakook mem cake may be a reference to Octo Canyon's eleventh mission, The Floating Garden, where the description reads "Chasing Heartache".
 * The 'mem' in mem cake is a reference to the word 'memory'.
 * The Inkling Boy and Girl mem cakes that make up the line A set are designed after the Inkling Girl (Splatoon 2), Inkling Girl, Inkling Boy (Splatoon 2) and Inkling Boy amiibo, respectively, having the same ink color and hairstyles (though with different outfits). The amiibo themselves are the characters on the packaging artwork of Splatoon and Splatoon 2.
 * The color of the Inkling Squid mem cake does not match any of the Inkling Squid amiibo and instead matches Agent 8's default ink color or the main color used in promotional material for Splatoon 2, which is pink.
 * The Tentatek and Inkline mem cakes more closely resemble the brands' logos from, rather than , perhaps because the old logo is how Agent 8 remembered them. Similarly, the Toni Kensa mem cake more closely resembles the round clothes peg used on some of the Kensa weapons, rather than the logo itself, and the SquidForce one is the version of the logo used as a symbol for Turf War.
 * Agent 8's mem cake for Marina is a part of their memories, but the two did not know each other prior to Octo Expansion's events; Marina was known as a famous elite Octarian engineer.