Super Sea Snails are powerful creatures that can upgrade your gear. But you'll need to find a specialist... Someone who knows how to unlock the power of Super Sea Snails. I hate to say it, but maybe you should check that sketchy back alley. Super Sea Snails are mega valuable. Don't let 'em go to waste!
”
— Receiving Super Sea Snails for the first time in Splatoon.
Super Sea Snails (Japanese: スーパーサザエSuper Sazae) are a species and type of currency in Splatoon and Splatoon 2. Their sole use is to increase the number of slots on gear or reroll all secondary gear abilities on a select piece of gear.
Judd awards Super Sea Snails to players that talk to him after winning thirty Regular Battles or Ranked Battles. The wins do not need to be part of a consecutive win streak. Judd stocks up multiple snails as the player racks up wins, and he keeps them even if the stage rotation changes. If more than nine snails are stockpiled, Judd gives the player nine for every instance he is spoken to and continues to do so until the amount of snails that were stockpiled is reached. As of the final Splatfest, this is now the only way to acquire Super Sea Snails.
While Splatfests were occurring, Super Sea Snails were awarded to participants based on their Splatfest title and on whether or not their team won. Users who participated could win at least two Super Sea Snails and up to 24 if the player's team was the winner while the player was at the highest tier.
Title
Total EXP required
Super Sea Snails
Winning team
Losing team
[Team] Fanboy/Fangirl
–
4
2
[Team] Fiend
10
6
3
[Team] Defender
35
10
5
[Team] Champion
85
16
10
[Team] King/Queen
184
24
18
Use
Super Sea Snails may be given to Spyke, who uses them to increase the number of slots on gear or reroll all gear abilities on a select piece of gear. Spyke can also do this without a Sea Snail, but the player must be Level 20 or higher, and it costs 30,000 Cash.
Splatoon 2
Earning
Judd awards Super Sea Snails to players that talk to him after reaching Level 30. Each level earns the player one snail. Judd holds snails indefinitely, so there is no need for players to talk to him every time they level up.
At the end of each Splatfest, Super Sea Snails were awarded to participants based on their Splatfest title and on whether or not their team won.
Title
Total EXP required
Super Sea Snails
Winning team
Losing team
[Team] Fanboy/Fangirl
–
3
2
[Team] Fiend
100
5
3
[Team] Defender
350
9
7
[Team] Champion
850
16
13
[Team] King/Queen
1849
24
21
Use
Super Sea Snails may be given to Murch, who uses them to increase the number of slots on gear or reroll all gear abilities on a select piece of gear.
The gear slot properties of Super Sea Snails seem to lie more in their actual shells than the snails themselves, which according to Spyke are "juicy". This implies the snails are irrelevant to the process but can be consumed by certain species like urchins.
Super Sea Snails seem to be capable of fear: when looking at the ones owned by Spyke and Murch, it is possible to see them shake as if certain of their fate of being consumed by Spyke and Murch.
In Splatoon, a total of 322 are needed to fill every gear slot, if the player does not use cash. As of Version 2.10.0, if one wanted to gain at least that many snails - excluding any that Judd awards for winning matches - they need to have won at least six out of sixteen total Splatfests (assuming they reach King/Queen rank every time).