Now or Never!

"It's not just only music, it's also a deciding factor for the Turf War. Do you remember how we fought when this music wasn't released yet? I don't."

- Gesorou Suzuke from the fictional Splatune booklet article

Now or Never! is a song originally performed by Squid Squad.

Description
Like most Squid Squad songs, Now or Never! is a rock and electronic music fusion, with a heavy emphasis on vocals. It is very short, only lasting one minute. The song starts with an ascending sequence before the vocals come in, which feature lots of chanting. Once the song approaches the end, the outro once again plays the same ascending sequence until the song ends. The song plays during the final minute of every Regular Battle to signify the approaching finish. Due to the lack of consistent definite finishing points, Now or Never! does not play during Ranked Battles. It can also be heard in Squid Beatz and it is included in Splatune. In, it can be heard in the jukebox.

In the Super Smash Bros. series
See also: Now or Never! - Splatoon

It is also featured in the soundtrack for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. A shortened, thirty-seconds-long version can play during the final thirty seconds of timed battles on the Moray Towers stage. The original version, appearing in full, can also be heard in the Sounds section in the Vault menu.

Lyrics
The booklet included with Splatoon Live in Makuhari gives the official lyrics for the Squid Sisters cover of Now or Never!, although they could be used for most versions. The lyrics are nonsensical; the Japanese katakana simply gives the pronunciation.

-

Now or Never! (Squid Sisters)
A cover of Now or Never! by the Squid Sisters was used in the final minute of battles during Splatfests in. This version is less intense than the original, with more of a celebratory theme, and leans more towards the pop style of the Squid Sisters rather than the rock-based original. It can also be heard in Squid Beatz and as a Squid Sisters amiibo performance, and it is included in Splatune and Splatoon Live in Makuhari.

This version returned in during the first day of the Chaos vs. Order Splatfest, in which it would play in the final minute of battles if Ink Me Up played as the main battle theme. In, it can be heard in the jukebox if the has been downloaded.

In the Super Smash Bros. series
See also: Now or Never! (Splatfest Version) - Splatoon

It is also featured in the soundtrack for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. A shortened, thirty-seconds-long version can play during the final thirty seconds of timed battles on the Moray Towers stage. The original version appearing in full, can also be heard in the Sounds section in the Vault menu.

Now or Never! (Wet Floor)
As Wet Floor replaces Squid Squad as the primary battle music band of, a version of Now or Never! by them is used at the end of Regular Battles in said game. It takes on a more punk rock direction, like the rest of Wet Floor's songs. This version also includes harmonizing of vocals. It can also be heard in Squid Beatz 2, with a maximum score of 122 and 209 in Normal and Hard modes, respectively, and it is included in Splatune 2. In Splatoon 3, it can be heard in the jukebox.

In the Super Smash Bros. series
See also: Now or Never! - Splatoon 2

It is also featured in the soundtrack for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. A shortened, thirty-seconds-long version can play during the final thirty seconds of timed battles on the Moray Towers stage. The original version appearing in full, can also be heard in the Sounds section in the Vault menu.

Now or Never! (Off the Hook)
Like what the Squid Sisters did in Splatoon, Off the Hook recorded a new version for use in Splatfests in Splatoon 2. It can also be heard in Squid Beatz 2 after hearing it in a Splatfest, a requirement removed in Version 5.2.0, with a maximum score of 132 and 203 in Normal and Hard modes, respectively, and it is included in Splatune 2 and Octotune.

In the Super Smash Bros. series
See also: Now or Never! (Splatfest Version) - Splatoon 2

It is also featured in the soundtrack for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. A shortened, thirty-seconds-long version can play during the final thirty seconds of timed battles on the Moray Towers stage. The original version appearing in full, can also be heard in the Sounds section in the Vault menu.

Now or Never! (C-Side)
A cover of Now or Never! by C-Side with a rock-esque style appears in. A preview of this cover was first heard in a video posted on 2022-01-01 by the official Japanese Splatoon Twitter account. This version is much faster and has the chorus section play twice, with the first time being with lyrics and the second time being an instrumental cover of the chorus.

Now or Never! (Deep Cut)
Following what the Squid Sisters and Off the Hook did in Splatoon and Splatoon 2, Deep Cut created a new version that can be heard in the last minute of battles in the Splatfests of Splatoon 3. This version has a more mixed style with lot of instruments diverse genres, like most of the band's songs, and some of the vocals are different compared to other versions. While Shiver and Frye sing almost the entire song, Big Man also gets to sing some parts in the last verse.

Tableturf Three Turns Remaining
In Tableturf Battle, there is a version of Now or Never! by Ancho-V Games that plays in the final three turns of a match. This version is entirely instrumental, has a slightly slowed down tempo, and loops. It also plays in the jukebox.

Now or Never! (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)
See also: Now or Never!

A version of Now or Never! arranged by Ancient-corp. and Yuzo Koshiro appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. This is a slightly sped-up version of the track, with all the vocals replaced by instrumentals, and it is extended to loop indefinitely. After the normal loop of the song plays twice, an original melody plays before the song loops. It has a chance of playing on Moray Towers, and can also be heard in the Sounds section in the Vault menu.

Now or Never! (Squid Sisters Live)
During live Squid Sister concerts, an extended version of the Squid Sisters' cover of Now or Never! is used, now lasting nearly three times longer than the original. Although each performance is different due to the live band, they retain the same strong structure. Due to no longer being constrained to one minute, certain parts are repeated and along with a section not included in the original. This new section consists of the two repeating the same chant heard at the beginning of the song, along with a guitar solo in the background. A new part of the instrumental is played, before returning to the regular song. Two recordings of this version from Shiokalive at Tokaigi 2016 and Shiokalive at Chokaigi 2016 are included in Splatoon Live in Makuhari.

Now or Never! (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe)
Much like how the song plays during the final minute of matches in Splatoon, when playing the Urchin Underpass course in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Now or Never! plays after the final minute fanfare. It is mostly the same as the original by Squid Squad, but it is roughly four seconds shorter to accommodate for the fanfare. It accomplishes this by speeding up the song very slightly, and during the outro, instead of repeating the set of notes three times, it only repeats twice. It is the only course theme in the Mario Kart series that does not loop indefinitely.

Now or Never! (Splatoon 2 Global Testfire)
During the Splatoon 2 Global Testfire, a different, earlier version was used. It remains mostly the same from the final version, but there is less emphasis on vocals, which are fuzzier, and the break in the middle is more vocalized.

Now or Never! (Haicalive)
During live Off the Hook performances, an extended version of their Now or Never! cover is also played, similar to how Squid Sisters concerts had extended versions. This is the final song in the performance and is performed with the Squid Sisters. Along with the repetition of certain parts to lengthen the song, it also includes several exclusive sections. It has a different opening, with Marina playing some drum samples before the singers start singing, but without any instrumentals, apart from a sparse drum beat laid on by Marina. This continues until the band plays some further drums, kicking off the beginning of the original track. Soon after, the beat cuts out again, so that just the beginning notes of the first section play twice before continuing. At one point, the instrumental stops once the singers have sung half of the line and starts once the next line starts. At the part where the regular song would finish, a new section occurs, featuring Marina scratching and distorting the record on her turntable, before a guitar solo commences. Eventually, the track nearly finishes in the same fashion as the original, but the beat comes back to some rapid-fire drumming before it finishes. A recording from Haicalive at Tokaigi 2018 is included in Octotune.

Now or Never! (Final Fest)
A unique version of Now or Never! was used during the second day of the Chaos vs. Order Splatfest in. Playing after Spicy Calamari Inkantation, it was mostly the same as Off the Hook's cover of Now or Never, but also using vocals from the Squid Sisters, rather than only Off the Hook, similar to the Live Performance version. There are additional vocals during the chorus to simulate the crowd singing along during the Live Performance version.

Now or Never! (Splatoon 3 short demo version)
A preview of the last seconds of the cover of Now or Never! was first heard in the New Year 2022 video showcasing the Inkbrush's victory animation by the official Japanese Twitter account. It sounds slightly different than the Release Date Revealed trailer version.

Buoyant Boogie
The song Buoyant Boogie by Turquoise October samples Now or Never!, playing Callie's vocals in reverse. Additionally, its intro is an excerpt from an instrumental line at the end of the Squid Sisters version.

Splattack! (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)
The new arrangement of Splattack! from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate includes part of the melody of Now or Never!. It is heard in the final twenty seconds of the track's loop, with only the introduction and first verse played. Like the rest of the track, it is more ska-like than the original, with the vocals replaced by brass instruments.

Trivia

 * In the interviews with Marina and Wet Floor featured in the booklet included with Splatune 2, it is revealed that the original version of Now or Never! is the Squid Squad version, which the Squid Sisters and Wet Floor versions are both covers of, while the Off the Hook version is a further cover of the Squid Sisters version.
 * Additionally, in the interview with Marina, she says that her love for the Squid Sisters and how they changed her life inspired her to become a musician, and when Pearl proposed that they should make a cover of their version of Now or Never!, she felt nervous about singing the lyrics of a Squid Sisters song and decided to only handle sound effects and leave the vocals to Pearl, which is why Marina's voice is not heard in the Off the Hook version of the song. However, Marina does sing during the chorus of the Final Fest version of the song, which also features the Squid Sisters.
 * In Beika's tweets featured in the booklet included with Splatune 3, they claim for the "half a billion[th] time[...]" that C-Side originally created Now or Never!, and that Squid Squad covered and released it without permission before they did.
 * Now or Never! is the song covered by the greatest number of different bands, with a total of seven bands having their own versions.
 * In the E3 2014 build of Splatoon, a completely different song could be heard playing in the final minute of battles, which was replaced by Now or Never! in the final game. No sound file of the original song without sound effects is publicly available.
 * During a Splatoon 2 event that took place from 2019-07-12 to 2019-07-15 for Tetris 99, getting 100 or more points awarded the player with a Splatoon-based theme, changing the graphics, music, and sound effects to those from the franchise. When this theme is applied, the original Now or Never! is heard when there are 10 players left in the match, switching from Ink or Sink. It continues to play until the match ends when there is only one player left.

Etymology
Since this song only plays during the last minute of a match, the title Now or Never! is alerting the players that there is only one minute left and whatever they want to do, they should do it now or never do it at all.