Side Order

Side Order​

Side Order

Type	Single-player campaign
Players	1
Ranked
Weapons	Various
Controllers	Joy-Con Nintendo Switch Pro Controller
Release Date	22 February 2024

Side Order is a single-player mode in Splatoon 3. It is Wave 2 of the Splatoon 3: Expansion Pass paid downloadable content. It was revealed through a teaser trailer during the February 2023 Nintendo Direct and released on 22 February 2024. The mode is intended to be highly replayable.

Release history

During the Splatoon 3 Direct on 10 August 2022, large-scale paid downloadable content involving Off the Hook was announced to arrive in a later Splatoon 3 update. A Tweet was put out by Nintendo of Europe the same day reiterating Off the Hook's association with the DLC.

During the 8 February 2023 Direct, Side Order was revealed as Wave 2 of the Splatoon 3: Expansion Pass, without a release date. The teaser trailer features Agent 8 in a bleached-out version of Inkopolis Square. Shortly after the Direct, some brief information about Side Order was listed on official Nintendo websites detailing the Splatoon 3: Expansion Pass.

A longer gameplay trailer was shown during the 14 September 2023 Nintendo Direct, in which the Octoling player character seen in the teaser trailer was confirmed for the first time to be the Octo Expansion's Agent 8; additionally, Pearl and Acht were revealed as major supporting characters. The mode's Floor progression system and Palette skill tree system were briefly demonstrated. After the trailer was shown, the Spire of Order's name was revealed, and the mode's release date was stated as Spring 2024 at the earliest.

The same day as the trailer's release, an official Japanese website went online.

On 21 November 2023, an online version of the winter issue of the Japanese Nintendo Magazine was made available for free; pages 42-43 of this issue cover Side Order. An English language version of the issue is also available, though its translation is noted to possibly differ from official localization choices, as the magazine is not intended for the international market.

On 24 January 2024, Nintendo social media accounts posted a release date trailer for the DLC, which was shown to be 22 February 2024. It also revealed vertical artwork for the DLC, similar to past artworks revealed for the series' other campaigns.

On 13 February 2024, Nintendo posted a longer overview trailer, containing extended new gameplay footage accompanied by a voice over. On the same day a Fresh Season 2024 trailer was released, which included a short Side Order teaser at the end. The Japanese website was also updated.

An unknown time prior to the 13 February 2024 trailer's release, Nintendo invited journalists to play Side Order early at Nintendo headquarters locations in San Fransisco and London for ninety minutes to two hours depending on the location. These reviewers subsequently released reviews for the mode immediately upon the overview trailer's release. Participants of the early access demo include Splatoon community content creator ThatSrb2DUDE as well as journalists writing for Gamespot, Video Games Chronicle, The Mercury News and Nintendo Life. Early reviewers claim Nintendo accommodated all travel expenses, though they were not allowed to record their own footage of the demo event. Within the reviews the mode was noted as fun, difficult and frenetic, often compared to Salmon Run Next Wave or the roguelite genre.

All promotional material leading up to Side Order's release notably excluded Marina so as to not reveal her role in the mode's story.

Trailers

Splatoon 3: Expansion Pass: Wave 2: Side Order teaser trailer

A teaser trailer revealing Side Order was shown in the latter half of the Splatoon 3: Expansion Pass trailer shown in the February 2023 Nintendo Direct. The teaser trailer opens with a slow pan across a dull, stark white version of Inkopolis Square from Splatoon 2, slowly focusing on Agent 8, who is wearing new gear. This altered version of Inkopolis Square features presumed dead or bleached coral; Deca Tower has been replaced with the Spire of Order. A swarm of fish-like objects "swim" around Agent 8 towards the end of the clip shown.

Throughout the trailer, various cryptic static images and short video clips briefly flicker on-screen; the images primarily depict Agent 8 in strange bright white locations, as well as Off the Hook, while the clips seemingly depict biological components such as cells, blood, and organs.

A dull, slightly out-of-tune music box melody with steady electronic percussion accompanies the teaser trailer, which slowly grows more intense; towards the end, someone can be heard speaking.

Side Order trailer

A second Side Order trailer which focused on gameplay was shown in the September 2023 Nintendo Direct. The trailer opens with Agent 8 in an updated version of the dull, stark white version of Inkopolis Square alongside the Pearl Drone, a drone resembling Pearl, as the same out-of-tune music box melody featured in the first trailer plays.

Agent 8 is shown descending into an unknown Floor via a grappling attachment on the Pearl Drone. The Pearl Drone, Agent 8's equipment and Jelletons, new type of unknown fish-like enemy are revealed, then gameplay footage of Agent 8 in combat with the enemies is shown. The new enemies appear to spawn en masse from a black orb-shaped mechanism.

Cutscene footage of Agent 8 and Pearl encountering Acht in an elevator is then shown; within it, Acht introduces themself as an old friend of Marina's. The Floor Selection and Palette screens are shown, then Agent 8 enters the Exposed Winding Floor. Gameplay footage of several different unknown Floors is shown in quick succession, then the trailer abruptly cuts to a clip of Agent 8's octopus ghost entering a crystalized shell resembling their form, seemingly spawning into a Floor. After a cut to black, Agent 8 is shown running in slow motion alongside the Pearl Drone towards a very large six-tiered mechanical contraption; each of its tiers has separate types of protruding components and spins independently of the others. After another cut to black, the mode's title is shown with glitch and black coral effects.

Throughout the trailer various scenes depict the Spire of Order's Floors seemingly spontaneously generating with a Matrix-style code effect. Many Floors shown appear to have blocky, black holes in their walls reminiscent of a greeble effect. Additionally, armor pickups and an unknown can-shaped pickup bearing Marina's poster design can be spotted within certain Floors.

Agent 8's ink color is significantly paler compared to the previous trailer; their ink color tint appears to change between clips, seemingly being affected by different color chips. Their gear appears at various stage of upgrade throughout the trailer; the seemingly well-upgraded version includes thin, bright, hologram-like extensions on their Dualies, as well as an eyepiece similar to the See-an-Enemy HUD.

The trailer opens with the same musical box tune heard in the teaser trailer, then cuts to a slow-paced electronic glitch song with prominent industrial percussion. Midway, the song swaps for a more intense electronic song, then at the end into a different slow, echoed song.

Release date trailer

The key artwork of Splatoon 3: Side Order.

A third Side Order trailer revealing the mode's release date as well as new key artwork was posted to Twitter and YouTube on 24 January 2024.

The trailer opens with the train cutscene seen in Splatoon 3's tutorial; the player's character is instead listening to Muck Warfare (rather than Anarchy Rainbow) alongside a sleeping Smallfry and other passengers. As the player dozes off, the music becomes more and more distorted, accompanied by glitch effects. The yellow Matrix-style code seen in the second trailer slowly fills the screen.

The scene cuts to what is presumably Agent 8's point of view upon waking in the Order Sector version of Inkopolis Square. Pearl calls out to wake them, as the Square is seemingly generated on the spot by the yellow code effect. The glitch effects seen in the previous scene intermittently appear. The music box theme from the previous trailers plays as someone can be heard speaking, similar to the first trailer's ending.

The trailer then cuts to the campaign's key artwork, which unfolds from the upper section, gradually descending to the lower portion: at the zenith, Marina and Pearl (in her Inkling form) are displayed, alongside black silhouettes with red eyes. Notably, the central silhouette bears a resemblance to an Inkling sporting the "haircut" hairstyle. The middle segment showcases Jelletons circling an unknown entity, as well as Acht and Cipher. The lower segment highlights Agent 8 and the Pearl Drone. During the descent, the 22 February 2024 release date slowly fades in.

Overview trailer

A fourth Side Order trailer showing an overview of the gameplay was posted to Twitter and YouTube on 13 February 2024.

The trailer features a voiceover explaining the mode's basic gameplay loop, which consists of Floor selection, Color chip enhancement and Objective completion.

New Floor objective types, Jelleton types, bosses, Color chips, and available weapons were revealed in this trailer. Additionally, the Membux and Prlz currencies were introduced.

At the end of the trailer various footage of Side Order gameplay and cutscenes is shown, along with the announcement of replica gear and main weapons which can be used in multiplayer battles.

Fresh Season 2024 teaser

A brief teaser for Side Order was shown after the fake-out ending in the Fresh Season 2024 trailer posted to Twitter and YouTube.

The teaser is a fast-paced montage of new Floor and boss gameplay footage, cutscenes, close-ups of stage details and a brief look at a customization screen for Agent 8. Most notably, it briefly shows Pearl in her regular Inkling form speaking, as well as Acht at their DJ table.

Story

The mode takes place in "what has become of" Inkopolis Square, the main hub of Splatoon 2, in "what would've happened" if Team Order had beaten Team Chaos.

Agent 8 has been unexpectedly transported to the Order Sector, a mysterious world that is built out of its own unique rules. Agent 8 wakes up to find what appears to be Inkopolis Square, suddenly drained of color and uninhabited. They are challenged to ascend the Spire of Order, a tower that changes floor structure each time it's entered, which has mysteriously replaced Deca Tower, as "something wants to make the entire world orderly". Pearl, having been transformed into a drone called the Pearl Drone, accompanies Agent 8 and assists them in combat.

Acht, also known as Dedf1sh, has "wandered into" the Order Sector, and appears to travel between Floors alongside Agent 8 inside an elevator within the Spire of Order.

After freeing Marina from a machine in the Spire, Agent 8 and Pearl are confronted by a being calling itself Order. They are booted out of the Spire after it declares its goal to establish a world of pure order. When they end up back in the Order Sector Marina reveals that it is in fact part of a prototype virtual reality system she designed called the Memverse, which was originally intended to reverse the sanitizing process. After Order seized control of the Memverse, it began forcibly connecting people to the system to begin building a world of perfect order where independent thought does not exist. By "grayscaling" its victims, it will eventually be able to impose its ideal world upon reality.

Gameplay

The mode's missions take place in the Spire of Order's many different Floors; the Spire contains thirty Floors total, where a boss is encountered every ten floors. Players can unlock different main weapons, which are assigned to individual Palettes. Palettes are unlocked by obtaining Keys dropped by bosses on the 10th, 20th, and 30th floors, and using them to open the Lockers in the Memverse version of Inkopolis Square.

While the Locker cubbies containing Palettes are set (which are indicated by pulsing rings around them), the exact contents is randomized, so individual players may unlock specific Palettes earlier or later than others.

Menu for obtaining upgrades with Prlz

Before each Floor begins, the player may select one of three objectives to complete; harder objectives yield greater rewards. After selecting a floor, the player is given Color chips. The color chips provide many different enhancements, some of which are similar to gear abilities, like Ink Saver (Main) or Run Speed Up. By default the Pearl Drone can only scout sight enemies; all of her attacks are unlockable, which means her aid will be limited without the collection of Drone color chips.

Clearing Floors rewards the player with Membux, which can be used as a currency on Floors containing vending machines. However, if the player loses all their lives, they will lose all their Color chips and must restart from the first Floor. When this happens, the accumulated Color chips and Membux will be converted into Prlz, which can be used to buy permanent upgrades via Marina in the Square that will subsequently apply to all future runs through the Spire.

Permanent Upgrades

Permanent upgrades can be purchased with Prlz via Marina hacking them into effect, and will aid the player in reaching the top of the Spire:

Player

• Max Lives: Increases the maximum number of lives available per run.
• Damage Reduction: Reduces the damage the player takes when being attacked.
• Max Armor: Increases the maximum pieces of additional armor that the player can have active at once.
• Broken-Armor Jump: The player is propelled into the air when their armor is broken. Upgrades increases the height.
• Armor Recovery: Decreases the time it takes to regain armor.
• Broken-Armor Speed: Lowers the speed penalty Agent 8 gets from getting all their armor broken.
• Continue: Allows players to spend Membux to resume the fight at any given fight. More investment lowers the cost.
• Attack Damage: Increases base damage done to Jellatons.

Random Factors

• Floor Reset: Enables the player to spend Membux to reset the available floor types and rewards.
• Double-Chip Rate: Increases the chance of getting double chips during floor selection.
• Color-Chip Bias: Increases the chances of getting color chip options that are tied to a specific Palette. (e.g. Pearl's Palette will have a primary draw chance to have Lucky/Yellow-tone color chips and a secondary Support/Purple-tone color chip)

Pearl Drone

• Drone Action Slots: Allows you to have additional slots for color chips that give the Pearl Drone extra attacks.
• Specific Drone Color Chips: Enables more Drone color chips to be put into circulation.
  • Drone-Gauge Turf Charge: Increase the Drone Gauge by inking the ground.
  • Drone-Gauge Splat Charge: Increase the Dronw Gauge by splatting Jellatons.
  • Drone Ink Mine: Allows the Pearl Drone to plant Ink Mines.
  • Drone Sprinkler: Allows the Pearl Drone to spray ink akin to a Sprinkler.
  • Drone Burst Bomb: Allows the Pearl Drone to launch Burst Bombs.
  • Drone Inkstrike: Allows the Pearl Drone to use a Inkstrike capsule.
  • Drone Items: Allows the Pearl Drone to generate a item.

Enemies

• Reveal 10F Boss: Reveals the identity of the boss that will appear on 10F.
• Reveal 20F Boss- Reveals the identity of the boss that will appear on 20F.
  • Upon beating Side Order for the first time, the identity of the boss on 30F will appear permanently, as if it were a purchased permanent upgrade.
• Weaken Enemies: Jellatons will spawn already damaged on Easy (up to 20F) and Normal (up to 10F) tier options.

Vending Machines

• Vending-Machine Discount: Lowers the Membux prices at vending machines.
• Vending-Machine Reset: Spend Membux to shuffle a vending machine's selection.
• 15F Vending Machine: Ensures that there will always be an option to go to a vending machine corner at 15F.
• 25F Vending Machine: Ensures that there will always be an option to go to a vending machine corner at 25F.

Membux

• Membux Reward: Provides a multiplier to Membux upon clearing a floor.

Prlz

• Risky Rewards: Offers more Prlz in exchange for fewer active hacks upon completing a run. Failing to do so, however, results in no Prlz.
  • This upgrade is only available upon completing your first run.

Mechanics

Each Palette can unlock up to three keys used to unlock various rewards by using them on the lockers located near the entrance of the Spire of Order.

• Weapons
  • Main:
    • Order Shot
    • Order Roller
    • Order Charger
    • Order Slosher
    • Order Splatling
    • Order Dualies
    • Order Brella
    • Order Blaster
    • Orderbrush
    • Order Stringer
    • Order Splatana
    • Octoshot
  • Sub:
    • Splat Bomb
    • Curling Bomb
    • Fizzy Bomb
    • Sprinkler
    • Splash Wall
    • Burst Bomb
    • Ink Mine
  • Special:
    • Killer Wail 5.1
    • Triple Inkstrike
    • Reefslider
    • Ink Storm
    • Kraken Royale
    • Triple Splashdown
    • Wave Breaker
    • Ultra Stamp
    • Booyah Bomb
    • Trizooka
    • Crab Tank

Characters

• Agent 8 - Octoling - The playable avatar.
• Pearl - Drone (Inkling) - A member of Off the Hook who accompanies Agent 8.
• Marina - Octoling - A member of Off the Hook who supports Agent 8.
• Acht - Octoling (Sanitized) - A musician who meets Agent 8 and Pearl in the Spire of Order.
• Cipher - Owner of a stall named Cipher Siftings, selling items which can be bought with Prlz.
• Order - The mastermind behind the creation of the Order Sector.
• Various citizens of the Order Sector

Floors

Main article: Floor

Rewards

Over the course of Side Order it is possible to unlock to replicas of the weapons and gear used throughout the mode.

Additionally, clearing Side Order for the first time unlocks Inkopolis Square for New Agent 3 to traverse to.

Lockers

The Lockers, located in plain sight of spawning distance, hold various rewards, used both within Side Order and out.

Within the Lockers are Palettes, weapon sets to be used to climb the Spire of Order, entries of Marina's Dev Diary which serve as the Sunken Scrolls of Side Order, with the entries' backgrounds becoming locker stickers once read, Prlz to spend on Marina's hacks or Cipher's wares, and even splashtag banners.

To access the Lockers, players need Keys, which can only be earned by defeating the bosses found on the 10th, 20th, and 30th floors for the first time with any given weapon. Completing a run with any given Palette unlocks replica versions of that weapon for multiplayer battle usage.

Cipher's Siftings

File:SO Cipher Siftings.jpg

Cipher at Cipher's Siftings (English)

File:Side Order Store.jpg

Cipher at Cipher's Siftings (Japanese)

Cipher's Siftings is a shop found within the Order Sector run by the enigmatic Cipher, located near what would be the subway that once allowed access to the Deepsea Metro.

Items available for purchase in the store include locker decorations, locker stickers, splashtag banners, and gear in exchange for Prlz.

Cipher only appears after clearing Side Order for the first time. Additionally, Cipher's wares expand the more runs you have attempted and completed.

Decorations

Name	Cost
Marching Andante	10
Swarming Languendo	10
Battering Lento	10
celebratory pancakes	10
Panicking Alla Mambo	20
Drizzling Capriccioso	20
puzzle with missing piece	20
memorable picture book	20
Whirling Accelerando	30
Springing Spiccato	30
dead-C toy piano	30
nostalgic mobile	30
Spawning Accordo	50
Homing Arpeggio	50
inseparable anglerfish	50
Towering Nobilmente	100
Gushing Trionfale	100
beloved toy	100

Stickers

Name	Cost
dream tapestry 01	15
dream tapestry 02	15
dream tapestry 03	15
dream tapestry 04	15
dream tapestry 05	15
Marina Order graffiti	20
Pearl Order graffiti	20
Callie Order graffiti	20
Marie Order graffiti	20
pixel Big Man	30
pixel Frye	30
pixel Shiver	30
pixel Callie	30
pixel Sheldon	30
pixel Pearl	30
pixel Marina	30
pixel Eight	30
pixel Agent 4	30
pixel DJ Octavio	30
pixel Murch	30
Jelleton Sticker	50
Pearl wallpaper	100

Banners

Image Details	Cost
Memverse Inkopolis Square	200
Pearl Drone	200
Graffiti	200
Pixel Characters	200

Gear

Image Details	Cost
Order Regulator Replica	333
Controller VM	333
Parallel Mask	333
Pearl Plushie	888

Music

Side Order's music is very unique from the music of the main game, and includes some very unique and different songs.

Part of Side Order's music is based on or made by Off the Hook, as the DLC's main plot revolves around their music group. Songs like Spectrum Obligato ~ Ebb & Flow (Out of Order) and Short Order show a heavy emphasis on the duo. Marina also produces a new solo called Unsconscience, played during the Marina Agitando boss battle.

In addition, Acht (a.k.a. Dedf1sh) has a heavy musical influence, with some of their songs from Octo Expansion influencing songs in Side Order, like ＃0.1 style refrencing ＃0 shell and ＃12.2 awakened refrencing ＃12 awake.

The other type music in the campaign is made by a group called Free Association, and is used in the campaign's levels. For normal levels, different songs play based on the objective of the level and area of the floor within the spire. Songs can be grouped by objective, using different names ("demolish", "jesting", "routines", "souvenir", and "jitters"), or by area, using numbers to replace letters in the titles (either a 1, 2, or 3), reflecting intensity. Songs using a 1 play in the first ten floors of the spire, songs using a 2 play in the second ten, and songs using a 3 play in the last 10. Each of the five types of music have their own style and select instruments.

• Songs using demolish in the title (demol1sh, demoli2h, d3molish) play on portal destruction floors. These songs have very heavy, strong bass parts and are generally accompanied by synth background melodies. They keep a steady pulse as well.

• Songs using jesting in the title (jest1ing, je2ting, j3sting) play on enemy pursuit floors. These songs mainly feature several fast groupings of notes, usually happening at the same time. The notes are very unpredictable, and each song features various sudden rhythm and melodic changes. This alludes to the unpredictability of the Panicking Alla Mambo, the enemy Agent 8 must chase in this game mode.

• Songs using routines in the title (rout1nes, routine2, routin3s) play on Splat Zones floors. These songs are generally characterized by heavy layers of percussion and rhythmic lines, as well as various background melodies from synths. These songs also feature a sound effect which resembles a piece of metal clanging into an object.

• Songs using souvenir in the title (souven1r, 2ouvenir, souv3nir) play on ∞-ball floors. These songs are often the simplest of the five types, and feature very airy and light melodies and layers. "Nostalgic" chords play in the background, while mellowed synths play a simple melody. Every so often, the track will randomly change to a small, differing clip of music from what was previously played, then return to the original melody. This is likely meant to resemble a memory flashback, alluding to either the name of the song ("souvenir" meaning "to remember" in French), to the Memverse and Marina's project to restore memories, or Agent 8's memories of 8-ball levels from Octo Expansion, as the two are quite similar.

• Songs using jitters in the title (j1tters, jitter2, jitt3rs) play on turbine tower floors. These songs are recognizable based on their short and frenzied piano excerpts, played at seemingly random times in the piece. The songs also feature dissonant background melodies and melodic elements. This alludes to the name of the song, matching the feeling of restlessness and angst that the name implies.

Different music plays on boss levels, also made by Free Association.

• Parallel Canon boss fights use the song EchΘ Θnslaught.
• Pinging Marciale boss fights use the song CΘld StΘrage.
• Asynchronous Rondo boss fights use the song ΘctΘpticΘn.
• The final boss, the Overlorder uses the song New World Order in its first phase.
  • It also uses Spectrum Obligato ~ Ebb & Flow (Out of Order) in its second phase and Short Order in any fight during a player's second run or beyond. These are not by Free Association, however, and are instead made by Off the Hook.

A full list of music is provided on this page.

Quotes

“	As for the second wave, we're flummoxed! What is that strange tower? Why has everything turned white and ghostly? What's on that Octoling's mind? We're going to get to the bottom - or maybe the top - of this, so stay tuned for further updates on our research.	”
— @SplatoonNA on Twitter

“	A new single-player campaign called Side Order super jumps to the Splatoon 3 game in the second wave of this DLC. See what has become of Inkopolis Square, the central area featured in the Splatoon 2 game!	”
— eShop description

“	Challenge yourself to a new single-player campaign, Side Order! See what has happened to Inkopolis Square from the Splatoon 2 game, and what would've happened if Order thwarted Chaos to rule the city!	”
— Official DLC webpage

“	As Agent 8, you wake up to discover Inkopolis Square has been drained of colour and its residents have gone missing. Alongside a drone who claims to be Off the Hook member Pearl, ascend the floors of the Spire of Order and strengthen your abilities as you climb the tower in a single-player experience that's designed to be replayed over and over!	”
— Official UK DLC webpage

“	Based on what we know so far, it's safe to speculate that Agent 8 is in for a tall order of trials in this new world. Side Order is planned to launch spring 2024 at the earliest, so please have patience while we make everything...perfect.	”
— @SplatoonNA on Twitter

Gallery

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Trivia

• Side Order is the first single-player mode in the Splatoon series:
  • to feature a returning protagonist as the playable character.
  • to not feature Octarians as the main enemies.
  • to not feature the Octostomp in any capacity.
  • to not feature any version of Calamari Inkantation.
  • to feature a roguelike style of gameplay and progression.
• Side Order's inclusion of Acht marks the second instance of a non-idol musician making a major appearance, the first having been Harmony.
• Side Order was announced in February of 2023, two years after Splatoon 3 was announced.
• February being the 2nd month of the year, Side Order's release on the 22nd of February and it being the 2nd wave of the DLC may be a reference to its main characters (Agent 8, Off the Hook, and Acht) debuting in Splatoon 2.
  • Multiplying the three twos in the release day equals to 8, a possible reference to Agent 8 as well as the Octo Expansion, which also had the number 8 as a recurring theme.
• The second part of the names of the the jelletons are based on musical terms.

Etymology

A side order is another term for a side dish, a food item meant to accompany a larger main item as part of a meal. The title is a pun on the mode being a side story about Team Order, the Splatfest team led by Marina that lost the Final Fest in Splatoon 2.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	サイド・オーダー Saido Ōdā	Side Order
Dutch	De Toren der Orde	The Tower of Order
French	Tour de l'Ordre	Order Tower
German	Ruf zur Ordnung	Call to Order
Italian	Torre dell'Ordine	Tower of Order
Russian	Порядочная порция Poryadochnaya portsiya	Decent serving
Spanish	La cara del orden	The face of order
Chinese	秩序篇 Zhìxù Piān	Order Chapter
Korean	사이드 오더 Saideu odeo	Side Order