Now or Never!

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 a consistent definite finishing points, Now or Never! does not play during Ranked Battle.

See also: Now or Never! - Splatoon

Like all other major versions, this version is part of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate soundtrack. As well as the original version appearing in full, a shortened, thirty-seconds-long version can play during the final thirty seconds of timed battles on the Moray Towers stage.

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 hiragana simply gives the pronunciation.

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Now or Never! (Squid Sisters)
During Splatfests in Splatoon, all the regular music is replaced with Squid Sisters songs. Therefore, instead of the standard Squid Squad version, a cover is used instead by the Squid Sisters at the one-minute mark. This version is less intense than the original, with more of a celebratory theme, with production leaning towards the more pop style of the Squid Sisters rather than the rock-based original.

See also: Now or Never! (Splatfest Version) - Splatoon

Like all other major versions, this version is part of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate soundtrack. As well as the original version appearing in full, a shortened, thirty-seconds-long version can play during the final thirty seconds of timed battles on the Splatfest version of the Moray Towers stage.

Now or Never! (Wet Floor)
No new Squid Squad songs appear in Splatoon 2 matches (later revealed to be due to the group's disbandment), with Wet Floor taking their place. Although their catalog consists mostly of all-new compositions, they also recorded a new version of Now or Never! for use at the end of Regular Battles, taking on a more punk rock direction like the rest of their songs. This version also includes harmonising of vocals. This song can be found in Squid Beatz 2, with a maximum score of 122 and 219 in Normal and Hard modes, respectively.

See also: Now or Never! - Splatoon 2

Like all other major versions, this version is part of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate soundtrack. As well as the original version appearing in full, a shortened, thirty-seconds-long version can play during the final thirty seconds of timed battles on the Moray Towers stage.

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. This song can also be found in Squid Beatz 2, with a maximum score of 132 and 203 in Normal and Hard modes, respectively.

See also: Now or Never! (Splatfest Version) - Splatoon 2

Like all other major versions, this version is part of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate soundtrack. As well as the original version appearing in full, a shortened, thirty-seconds-long version can play during the final thirty seconds of timed battles on the Splatfest version of the Moray Towers stage.

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

A new remix of Now or Never!, arranged by Ancient-corp. and Yuzo Koshiro, appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. This is a slightly sped-up and fully electronic version of the track, with all the vocals replaced by instrumentals, and extended to loop indefinitely. After the normal loop of the song plays twice, a brand new melody plays before the song loops.

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 back to the regular song. Two recordings of this version from their first and second live concerts can be found in Splatoon Live in Makuhari.

Now or Never! (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe)
Just like how the song plays during the final minute of matches in Splatoon, when playing the Urchin Underpass map 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, however, it is roughly four seconds shorter to accommodate for the fanfare. It accomplishes that by speeding up the song very slightly, and during the outro, instead of repeating the set of notes three times, it only repeats twice.

[[media:Testfire Now or Never! (Wet Floor).ogg|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! (Off the Hook Live)
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 actually finishes.

Buoyant Boogie
The song Buoyant Boogie by Turquoise October samples Now or Never!, playing Callie's vocals in reverse.

Splattack! (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)
The remix of Splattack! used in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate includes part of the melody of Now or Never!. This variant is used for 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

 * Due to the difference in use between it and other multiplayer songs, it is the song covered by the most different bands.
 * It is hinted in the liner notes for Splatune that the song Now or Never! was originally written by Squid Squad.
 * Now or Never! was not originally the final-minute song. During the E3 2014 build of Splatoon, a completely different song can be heard playing in place of where Now or Never! would be. However, due to the nature of being a demo, no direct sound file without sound effects is publicly available.

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.