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 Battle. It can also be heard in Squid Beatz and it is included in Splatune.

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.

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Now or Never! (Squid Sisters)
During Splatfests in, all the regular music was replaced with Squid Sisters songs. Therefore, instead of the standard Squid Squad version, a cover was 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. It can also be heard in Squid Beatz, as a Squid Sisters amiibo performance, and it is included in Splatune and Splatoon Live in Makuhari.

This version returned in during first day of the Chaos vs. Order Splatfest, although it was only heard when Ink Me Up played as the battle theme.

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)
No new Squid Squad songs appear in 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 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 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.

Now or Never! (Tableturf Battle)
In Tableturf Battle, there is a version of Now or Never! that plays in the final three turns of a match. This version is entirely instrumental and loops, as well as being slightly slowed down.

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. 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)
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.

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.

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

 * It is hinted in the liner notes for Splatune that this song was originally written by Squid Squad.
 * Due to the difference in use between it and other multiplayer songs, it is the song covered by the most different bands.
 * 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.
 * 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 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 there is one player left, ending the match.
 * During the official interview with Marina in Splatune 2, she was asked what inspired her as a musician. She responded with talking about her love for the Squid Sisters and how they changed her life. When she was asked to make a cover of Now or Never, she felt "unworthy" of singing the lyrics of a Squid Sisters song (despite it being a cover too). Because of this, Pearl decided to do the vocals while Marina made the digital sound effects. This is why her voice is not present in the Off The Hook cover.
 * Despite this, she sings in the Final Fest version of the song, during the chorus. This could be because in contrast with the regular Off the Hook Now or Never cover, she is singing along with the Squid Sisters, probably making her feel more "worthy" of singing the song.

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.