Inkopolis Plaza



Inkopolis Plaza is the main hub of Splatoon and the heart of Inkopolis. From here players can access various modes and shops, as well as interact with other players' Inklings via Miiverse.

Appearance
The Plaza is roughly square-shaped, with a large sidewalk. At the far north side is Inkopolis Tower which houses the Battle Lobby, allowing the player to access online battles. To the south is a train station just outside the bounds of the accessible area.



Exiting a mode usually ends up with the player standing in the middle of the Plaza on a road marking that resembles a Spawn point. If the player is somehow splatted in the Plaza from glitching or hacking, the player respawns from the road marking Exiting a mode usually ends up with the player standing in the middle of the Plaza on a road marking that resembles a Spawn point. If the player is somehow splatted in the Plaza from glitching or hacking, the player respawns from the road marking



On the west side of the Plaza is Booyah Base, a small set of shops in which the player can buy items, including weapons at Ammo Knights, headgear at Cooler Heads, clothing at Jelly Fresh, and shoes at Shrimp Kicks. Each shop has a charismatic shopkeeper representing a different type of marine life. These include Sheldon the horseshoe crab, Annie the sea anemone (and Moe the clown fish), Jelonzo the jellyfish, and Crusty Sean the shrimp.

In the northeast corner is a grated manhole from which Octo Valley can be accessed. Next to it is a Café and above it is a small catwalk, which leads to the Battle Dojo and the Inkopolis News Studio. On the eastern side of the Plaza is Spyke's alleyway, and at the southeast corner is the amiibo box.

After playing with others online, their Inklings will temporarily appear in the Plaza, first in front of Inkopolis Tower, then scattered around the rest of the area. The player can see their name, Level, rank, and the weapon and gear that they had equipped when the player saw them last. Gear can be ordered from here via Spyke.

Inkopolis Plaza also features two large statues: a tanuki on top of the Squid Sisters' studio and a fox on Booyah Base. The animals depicted by these statues were involved the second Japanese Splatfest, Maruchan Red Fox vs. Green Tanuki.

Splatoon
After completing the tutorial in a nearby area, the players Super Jumps to Inkopolis Plaza. It is shown during the first time the player watches Inkopolis News, that sometime before the events of the game, the Great Zapfish that powers the city has been stolen from Inkopolis Tower. The player than follows Cap'n Cuttlefish through a manhole in the plaza, to an area known as Octo Valley. The player is recruited as Agent 3 and completes levels to rescue the Great Zapfish and return it to the plaza. After completing the single player campaign, the Great Zapfish can be found resting on the Inkopolis Tower for the rest of the game.

Splatoon 2
The new main hub is Inkopolis Square, which in The Art of Splatoon 2 states is two train stations away from the Plaza, or a 20 minute walk. It also reveals that about half a year after the events of Splatoon, redevelopments in Inkopolis Square made it very popular and became the new hotspot for the Inklings, causing the popularity of the Plaza to fall by the events of Splatoon 2. Due to this sudden decline in popularity, several residents of the Plaza moved away to the Square. The Great Zapfish moved to the Square, with it's new home perched on the Deca Tower. According to Sunken Scroll 3, Sheldon shut down the original Ammo Knights shop in the Plaza, to open a new one in the Square, while the Squid Sisters Stories details how Crusty Sean had recently quit his long-running job as store manager of Shrimp Kicks in the Plaza, to open his own independent business in the Square. Callie states how Annie was getting flustered when Cooler Heads was busy, so she set up the online Splatnet Gear Shop. Judd now resides outside Deca Tower instead of Inkopolis Tower, while Spyke could afford to move away, and can be found in the Square in a café with a laptop.

Splatfest
During a Splatfest, it is nighttime in Inkopolis Plaza. Decorated with colored lights and lanterns, small team-colored sparks rising from the ground, and neon signs and fireworks with Miiverse posts, it takes on a much more festive tone. In the center are two trucks outfitted with stage equipment upon which the Squid Sisters perform a song unique to Splatfests which serves as the background music in the Plaza and, to a lesser extent, the Shooting Range. Jellyfish and Inklings alike are gathered in front of the trucks, wearing Splatfest Tees and dancing to the music. Since players must wear their Splatfest Tees, Jelonzo will have special dialogue informing them that they cannot equip new clothing bought.

Trivia

 * The layout and design of Inkopolis are based on the city of Shibuya in Tokyo, Japan.
 * As stated in a developers' interview, the fox and tanuki statues above Inkopolis Plaza are leftovers from when Splatoon's main characters were to be rabbits. The central theme to the character design was originally going to be Japanese folklore, including such animals as cats, foxes, and tanuki - hence the statues. It is unknown how the aquatic inhabitants of Splatoon's world came up with the designs for them, but they were nonetheless intended to show respect for the past.
 * According to the first artbook, there is a ceremony once a year to clean the fox and tanuki statues. Inklings are said to not care, but many volunteer as they get to climb around the plaza.
 * While announcing the Retro vs. Modern Splatfest, Pearl states how she sometimes still heads to Inkopolis Plaza to play the old games on the Arcade Machine in the Plaza, leading Marina to label it a ghost town.
 * In Tide Goes Out, the arena the fight takes place in has has road markings that are based off the markings in the center of Inkopolis Plaza.

Plaza Music

 * [[Media:Inkopolis Plaza.ogg|Inkopolis Plaza]]
 * [[Media:Splatfest Plaza.ogg|Splatfest - Inkopolis Plaza / ハイカラシンカ]] by the Squid Sisters

Inkopolis News Music

 * [[Media:Inkopolis News.ogg|Inkopolis News]]
 * [[Media:Splatfest News.ogg|Splatfest News]]