Spicy vs. Sweet vs. Sour

Spicy vs. Sweet vs. Sour was a Splatfest event in. It was the first Splatfest held during Chill Season 2022. It was announced on social networks on 2022-12-16 and in-game on 2022-12-30 at July 27, 2024.

Details
This Splatfest is the first one to feature the revamped Tricolor matchmaking system. The battle is no longer locked for the leading team, instead allowing a duo from any team to join the queue. The roles (Attackers and Defenders) are chosen randomly, but if the leading team wins as a defender or a non-leading team wins as an attacker, they receive a ×1.5 bonus in their Clout. It was also the first Splatfest to feature the option to take commemorative photos atop a Splatfest Float to celebrate after the player wins a 100x or 333x Battle. These photos can be taken by interacting with the pledge box.

The stage for Tricolor Turf War was Undertow Spillway.

Schedule
This Splatfest event ran in multiple phases:

Results were announced in game on 2023-01-09 at July 27, 2024.
 * Splatfest Sneak Peek: 2022-12-30 at July 27, 2024 to 2023-01-06 at July 27, 2024
 * Splatfest Main Event First Half: 2023-01-07 at July 27, 2024 to July 27, 2024
 * Splatfest Main Event Second Half: 2023-01-08 at July 27, 2024 to July 27, 2024

Halftime Report
At the halfway point in the Splatfest, Deep Cut revealed the team currently with the most overall Clout, and congruently announced that the mode Tricolor Turf War would be open.

Quotes
"SRL cafeteria line cook here. They said I should tell ya the next #Splatfest theme, so here goes. What's your favorite taste sensation? Spicy, sweet, or sour?

It starts at 4pm PT on Friday 1/6 and goes till 4pm PT on Sunday 1/8. Me? I think the best taste is deep-fried."

- @SplatoonNA on Twitter

"A new Splatfest approaches!

Get ready to splat it out for your favourite taste sensation: Spicy, Sweet or Sour. The taste bud Turf War takes place in #Splatoon3 on 07/01 - 09/01!"

- @NintendoEurope on Twitter

English
Announcement

Ay! Ay! (Breaking news, you two!)

Oh? What's got your fins aflapping?

Shiver! You oughta know. It's that time!

AAAY! Ay. (SPLATFEEEEEEST! Ahem. It's time for a Splatfest.)

Ooo! I like a Splatfest.

YEAHHH! TIME TO PARTY!

What's the theme? What's the theme?

Ay... (Hold your seahorses... The info's still downloading...)

I've got it! The theme is... Huh. Well, THAT is fascinating...

Ugh, hurry up and spill it! You're hogging the Splatfest vibes!

Chill. I'm getting ready to announce it. Ahem...

Aaay, aaay! (C'mon, c'mon...)

Without further ado, this Splatfest theme will be none other than...

Drumroll! Budda-dudda-budda-dudda-BAM!

What's your favorite taste sensation? Sweet, spicy, or sour?

No WAY—I'm hungry now! I had breakfast, and lunch. Is "lunner" a thing?

Let's dig into the teams. First, Team Spicy, bringer of the heat. Make it hurt and burnnn!

You know what's better than hurting? Not hurting. Sweet is the taste of happy!

Ay! Ay. (Grow up, both of you! Real taste heads know that sour flavors are superior.)

I'm not actually picky about food, y'know. I'll eat anything!

...Ay? Ay! (...Like all my snacks? Yeah, I know!)

Is THAT where my wasabi munchy snacks went? Frye!

If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't into them at all. They made my nose too tingly!

That's the best part! I can't get enough of that sensation...

Still, I can see how a sweet tooth like you couldn't handle it. Just look at your coffee.

What's wrong with my coffee? It's delish! Like a drinkable candy bar!

You need to apologize to your barista for the things you make them do to coffee.

Aw, c'mon. That sweet sugar buzz is what gets me going! It's the source of my power!

Ay! Ay! (Power rhymes with sour, and sour is the best of all! Like...pickled plums!)

Ewww, Big Man! You're drooling!

Ay. Ay! (That's pickled plums for you. Just you wait. I'll make you some! Sour squad!)

Oh, my tongue is far too scorched by curry and kimchi to taste sour stuff. Team Spicy!

This is going to be a piece of cake for Team Sweet. Get it? CAKE.

Ay! (Pucker up, because this Splatfest is sours for the taking!)

During the Splatfest

And that's all for now. Make sure to get your votes in!

Ay! Ay. (Don't forget your Splatfest Tee! Check the Equip menu after you vote.)

Splatfest Results

Team Sweet wins!

I can't believe it. People really went for the safety of sweets over savage spices?

Ay! (And sour! Don't forget the, uhhh... subtle and sublime sensation of sour!)

Too late—forgotten! Congrats to everyone on Team Sweet. How sweet it is!

I simply can't believe that Team Spicy didn't burn hot enough.

Ay. (I'm not sour about it. But if I were, that would be good, because sour is good.)

It's just... sweets are so NICE. Who would have known Team Sweet had it in them?

Ay. (Maybe the both of us just bit off more than we could chew. Spicy OR sour.)

Speaking of...to celebrate, we should go to the all-you-can-sweet buffet now!

Ay? (The...what?)

She's been talking about it nonstop. Apparently it's a buffet... but for candy.

That's exactly right! It's almost like I invented it in a dream...

But don't worry— they have something for everyone. Even curry and pickled plums!

If I see a single jelly bean floating in my curry...

Trivia

 * This was the first Splatfest won by the team representing Frye.
 * This was the first Splatfest where all three teams scored points in a category.
 * In the Splatfest announcement dialogue, Big Man says: "Ay! Ay! (Power rhymes with sour, and sour is the best of all! Like...pickled plums!)". This could be a reference to the Splatoon manga in which the main character, Goggles, is often seen eating pickled plums.
 * Additionally, during the ending dialogue, Frye mentions that the "all-you-can-sweet buffet" serves pickled plums.
 * A visual bug would occur when boarding a Splatfest Float after winning a 100x or a 333x Battle if any Octolings where part of the winning team, wherein the Octoling's eyes and ears would appear as an Inkling's. This bug persisted into the next Splatfest event, then was patched out in version.