Player Settings
The name(s) presented could be conjectural.
Reason: Names of options in quote marks are conjectural.
Upon starting the Splatoon games for the first time or selecting Player Settings from the Options menu, the player is given a variety of options to customize their Inkling or Octoling.
Splatoon
In Splatoon, the player can only play as an Inkling and is able to select a gender, skin tone, and eye color. If it is the player's first time picking a character, the default girl Inkling has the second lightest skin tone and orange eyes, while the boy has the third lightest skin tone and blue eyes. Both of these are based on the main Inklings often featured in promotional material. On subsequent customizations, both Inklings have the same skin tone and eye color as the player's most recent choice.
Gender
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Girl
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Boy
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Skin tone
Selection
Previews
Eye color
Selection
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"Black"
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"Brown"
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"Pink"
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"Orange"
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"Yellow"
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"Green"
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"Blue"
Previews
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"Black"
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"Brown"
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"Pink"
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"Orange"
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"Yellow"
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"Green"
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"Blue"
Splatoon 2
Splatoon 2 introduced alternate hairstyle and legwear options (with further options added in version 2.0.0), and added several more eye color options. Hairstyles and legwear can also be changed on the equipment screen. The Octo Expansion added the ability to play as an Octoling upon completion.
The character animates differently for each stage of customization, such as looking down when deciding on legwear or hunching over towards the camera when picking an eye color. These animations are the same between both Inkling genders, but have slight variations for the female Octoling, who has a "shy" demeanor.
In a similar fashion as Splatoon, one of the Inklings and one of the Octolings correspond to the most recent Inkling and Octoling used by the player, while the other two assume their default look. When switching from an Inkling to an Octoling or vice versa, the game saves the player's most recently used appearance as the opposite species, which is used for the single-player modes: Octo Canyon always uses the player's Inkling, while the Octo Expansion always uses the player's Octoling. The default Inklings and Octolings have both girls with the middle skin tone and orange eyes, while boys have the third lightest skin tone and blue eyes. This is again based on the main Inklings and Octolings featured in promotional materials.
The introduction of the Splatfest team names in version 4.0.0 revealed official names for the hairstyles for the first time in the Splatoon series.
Species and gender
- Inkling girl
- Inkling boy
- Octoling girl (available after Octo Expansion completion)
- Octoling boy (available after Octo Expansion completion)
Skin tone
Selection
Previews
Eye color
Selection
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"Blue"
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"Green"
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"Yellow"
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"Orange"
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"Red"
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"Pink"
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"Purple"
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"Black"
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"White"
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"Teal"
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"Olive"
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"Tan"
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"Brown"
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"Gray"
Previews
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"Blue"
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"Green"
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"Yellow"
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"Orange"
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"Red"
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"Pink"
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"Purple"
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"Black"
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"White"
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"Teal"
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"Olive"
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"Tan"
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"Brown"
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"Gray"
Hairstyle
Inkling girl
Selection
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Hippie
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Haircut
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Double-Bun
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Wave
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Pigtail
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Banger
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Previews
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Hippie
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Haircut
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Double-Bun
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Wave
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Pigtail
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Banger
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Inkling boy
Selection
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Topknot
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Slick
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Buzz-Cut
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Hipster
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Spiky-Haired
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Mush-Cut
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Previews
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Topknot
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Slick
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Buzz-Cut
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Hipster
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Spiky-Haired
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Mush-Cut
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Octoling girl
Selection
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Tentacurl
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Pony
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Previews
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Tentacurl
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Pony
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Octoling boy
Selection
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Punk
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Afro
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Previews
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Punk
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Afro
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Legwear
Girl
Selection
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"Classic Shorts"
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"Skirt with black shorts"
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"Tight capri sweatpants"
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"Leggings"
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"Loose sport shorts"
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Previews
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"Classic Shorts"
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"Skirt with black shorts"
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"Tight capri sweatpants"
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"Leggings"
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"Loose sport shorts"
Boy
Selection
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"Classic Shorts"
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"Loose shorts with leggings"
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"Drawstring cargo shorts"
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"Leggings"
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"Loose denim shorts"
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Previews
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"Classic Shorts"
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"Loose shorts with leggings"
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"Drawstring cargo shorts"
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"Leggings"
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"Loose denim shorts"
Octo Expansion
Agent 8
There is a separate player customization screen in Splatoon 2's Octo Expansion, having the playable Octolings floating naked in a test tube full of green liquid with lime-green stains across their bodies. It is functionally identical to the normal one, except that Inklings and the legwear option are omitted. As such, if the player uses this screen to customize their Octoling, then they always have the "classic shorts" outside of the Octo Expansion.
In a similar fashion as the normal customization screen, there is an animation sequence for the characters. The selected Octoling appears to "wake up" more and more as they are customized, going from having their eyes shut and being completely still (or sleeping) when picking gender, to progressively opening their eyes and looking around as more options are selected (waking up), to looking at the camera and crossing their arms with a determined expression (representing being fully awake) once their appearance is finalized.
Agent 3
Later on, after collecting three thangs, the player is prompted to customize Agent 3 through a missing poster drawn by Cuttlefish. Agent 3's appearance is limited to the options available in Splatoon, and the choices are permanent upon completion. Agent 3 is female by default, but this can be changed, and there are no default presets for the skin tone nor the eye color.
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Sketch of a female Agent 3
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Sketch of a male Agent 3
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Gender selection
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Skin tone selection
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Eye color selection
Splatoon 3
Splatoon 3 differentiates players by styles rather than explicit gender or species, removing gender restriction on hairstyle and legwear, and adds more customization options. This game also allows the player to play as both Inklings and Octolings from the beginning of the game.
Inklings have sixteen available hairstyles (four of which are introduced in this game), while Octolings have eight (four of which are also introduced in this game).
The player can also change their character's eyebrows. In previous games, there is only one eyebrow shape for each style. In Splatoon 3, each style has four pairs of eyebrows to choose from, amounting to sixteen pairs of eyebrows total. The specifics of each eyebrow shape vary from style to style.
There are twelve legwear options in total. The "classic shorts" option is still shorter on feminine styles like in previous games, while the four "leggings" options are collapsed under a "black leggings" icon with an ellipsis under it.
The Smallfry companion also has customizable hairstyle, with seven options.
The animation sequence is more elaborate than in Splatoon 2. After selecting an option, going back does not show the associated animation again. As the player customizes their character, the following happens in order:
- Before selecting a style, the player's character is sitting with their hooded cape, shades, and facemask on.
- After selecting a style, while picking a skin tone, the player's character takes off their facemask.
- The character takes off their shades to reveal their eyes, allowing the player to choose an eye color.
- The character takes off their hood to reveal their hair, allowing the player to choose a hairstyle. Eyebrow shapes become available immediately afterwards, with no additional animation.
- The character stands up and lets their cape fall to the ground, looking down as the player chooses their legwear. The confirmation screen then appears, with the player's character looking satisfied and resting their left hand on their hip.
- When comes the time to choose a hairstyle for Smallfry, it hops before the screen zooms in on it.
- When both the player's character and Smallfry's appearances are finalized, the player character now wears their ink tank and the Cephalo Pods and both of them walk off together.
Unlike in previous games, returning to the customization screen completely resets the player's character. Regardless of style and species, the default Inkling or Octoling will always have the middle skin tone, "black pupil + blue iris" eyes, "classic" eyebrows, and "classic shorts". Smallfry's appearance also reverts to the default hairstyle.
Style
Quotes
“ | Wow... between new features and returning favorites, it seems players will have more options than ever to create characters that express their individual styles. I'd call our mathematician for an estimate, but I'm still mad that she tricked me into dividing by zero. | ” |
— @SplatoonNA on Twitter[1]
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“ | Between new features and returning favourites, players will have more options than ever to create characters that express their individual styles. | ” |
— @NintendoEurope on Twitter[2]
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Feminine Inkling
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Masculine Inkling
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Feminine Octoling
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Masculine Octoling
Skin tone
Selection
Previews
Eye color
Quotes
“ | Squid Research Lab here, fresh off the excitement of customizable eyebrows with another ocular observation - tricolor eyes! Apparently unique to the Splatlands, these player-selectable, triple-tone peepers are so cool, I don't even have a cornea pun to make! | ” |
— @SplatoonNA on Twitter[3]
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“ | These player-selectable, triple-tone peepers are unique to the Splatlands! | ” |
— @NintendoEurope on Twitter[4]
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Selection
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"Black pupil + Blue iris"
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"Black pupil + Green iris"
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"Black pupil + Yellow iris"
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"Black pupil + Orange iris"
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"Black pupil + Red iris"
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"Black pupil + Pink iris"
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"Black pupil + Purple iris"
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"Black pupil + Black iris"
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"Black pupil + White iris"
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"Black pupil + Teal iris"
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"Indigo pupil + Sky blue iris"
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"Black pupil + Olive iris"
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"Black pupil + Tan iris"
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"Black pupil + Brown iris"
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"Black pupil + Gray iris"
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"Brown pupil + Cyan iris + Coral ring"
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"Teal pupil + Lilac iris + Lime ring"
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"Black pupil + Yellow iris + Orange ring"
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"Navy blue pupil + Red-orange iris + Sky blue ring"
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"Navy blue pupil + Beige iris + Light red ring"
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"Magenta pupil + Pink iris + Green ring"
Previews
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"Black pupil + Blue iris"
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"Black pupil + Green iris"
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"Black pupil + Yellow iris"
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"Black pupil + Orange iris"
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"Black pupil + Red iris"
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"Black pupil + Pink iris"
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"Black pupil + Purple iris"
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"Black pupil + Black iris"
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"Black pupil + White iris"
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"Black pupil + Teal iris"
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"Indigo pupil + Sky blue iris"
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"Black pupil + Olive iris"
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"Black pupil + Tan iris"
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"Black pupil + Brown iris"
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"Black pupil + Gray iris"
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"Brown pupil + Cyan iris + Coral ring"
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"Teal pupil + Lilac iris + Lime ring"
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"Black pupil + Yellow iris + Orange ring"
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"Navy blue pupil + Red-orange iris + Sky blue ring"
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"Navy blue pupil + Beige iris + Light red ring"
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"Magenta pupil + Pink iris + Green ring"
Hairstyle
Quotes
“ | Squid Research Lab here, bristling with excitement to reveal new hairstyles! These new looks for Inklings and Octolings are a follicular phenomena that- Pardon me. An intern SPRINTED in here waving some papers. Oh! It seems the "hair" is tentacle based. NEW TENTACLES DROPPED! | ” |
— @SplatoonNA on Twitter[5]
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“ | Check out these four new hairstyles for Inklings and Octolings! Well, they're tentacles to be exact, but let's not split hairs. | ” |
— @NintendoEurope on Twitter[6]
|
Inkling
Icons
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Megalobraid
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Cornrows
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Bed Head
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Soaked
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Hippie
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Topknot
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Haircut
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Slick
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Wave
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Buzz-Cut
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Double-Bun
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Hipster
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Banger
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Spiky-Haired
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Pigtail
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Mush-Cut
Previews
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Megalobraid
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Cornrows
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Bed Head
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Soaked
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Hippie
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Topknot
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Haircut
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Slick
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Wave
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Buzz-Cut
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Double-Bun
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Hipster
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Banger
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Spiky-Haired
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Pigtail
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Mush-Cut
Octoling
Icons
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Tentatwists
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Octolocks
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Fade
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Surfcurl
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Tentacurl
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Punk
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Pony
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Afro
Previews
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Tentatwists
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Octolocks
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Fade
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Surfcurl
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Tentacurl
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Punk
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Pony
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Afro
Eyebrows
Quotes
“ | Squid Research Lab here with another hair-adjacent update. It seems that Inklings and Octolings now have full eyebrow autonomy. In layperson's terms, you can literally browse brows! OW. I told Linguistics to pinch me every time I made a pun, and they are NOT messing around. | ” |
— @SplatoonNA on Twitter[7]
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“ | It seems that Inklings and Octolings now have full eyebrow autonomy. In other words, you can literally browse brows! | ” |
— @NintendoEurope on Twitter[8]
|
Feminine Inkling
Icons
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"Classic"
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"Slit"
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"Thick"
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"Thin"
Previews
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"Classic"
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"Slit"
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"Thick"
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"Thin"
Masculine Inkling
Icons
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"Classic"
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"Slit"
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"Thick"
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"Thin"
Previews
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"Classic"
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"Slit"
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"Thick"
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"Thin"
Feminine Octoling
Icons
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"Classic"
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"Slit"
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"Thick"
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"Thin"
Previews
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"Classic"
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"Slit"
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"Thick"
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"Thin"
Masculine Octoling
Icons
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"Classic"
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"Slit"
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"Thick"
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"Thin"
Previews
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"Classic"
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"Slit"
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"Thick"
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"Thin"
Legwear
Icons
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"Classic shorts"
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"Black leggings"
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"Colored leggings"
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"Colored patterned leggings"
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"Ripped black leggings"
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"Sarouel Pants"
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"Loose sport shorts"
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"Tight capri sweatpants"
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"Skirt with black shorts"
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"Loose denim shorts"
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"Drawstring cargo shorts"
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"Loose shorts with leggings"
Previews
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"Classic shorts" (feminine styles)
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"Classic shorts" (masculine styles)
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"Black leggings"
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"Colored leggings"
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"Colored patterned leggings"
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"Ripped black leggings"
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"Sarouel Pants"
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"Loose sport shorts"
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"Tight capri sweatpants"
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"Skirt with black shorts"
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"Loose denim shorts"
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"Drawstring cargo shorts"
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"Loose shorts with leggings"
Smallfry
Previews
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"Classic"
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"Mohawk"
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"Spiky"
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"Pompadour"
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"Swept"
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"Bun"
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"Pineapple"
Return of the Mammalians
In Splatoon 3's Return of the Mammalians, the player can customize the Captain's appearance by interacting with a notebook in Cuttlefish's camp in the Crater, with the same limited options as in Splatoon. However, unlike in the Octo Expansion, this customization is optional and can be repeated.
If the player has imported save data from the Octo Expansion and has already customized the Captain (known as Agent 3 there), the customization carries over; otherwise, they have the feminine style, third lightest skin tone, and green eyes by default.
Gallery
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Sketch of a feminine Agent 3
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Sketch of a masculine Agent 3
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Style and hairstyle selection
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Skin tone selection
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Eye color selection
Side Order
Agent 8
The protagonist of Side Order, Agent 8, can be customized with any option available for an Octoling in Splatoon 3, excluding legwear. If the player has Octo Expansion save data on their Nintendo Switch, the initial appearance of Agent 8 when customizing them for the first time is imported, even if the save data was not manually imported. Otherwise, it defaults to the feminine style.
Each style has their own default choices:
- A feminine Agent 8 has the sixth lightest skin tone, the Tentacurl hairstyle, "black pupil + gray iris" eyes, and "classic" eyebrows.
- A masculine Agent 8 has the third lightest skin tone, the Punk hairstyle, "black pupil + white iris" eyes, and "classic" eyebrows.
Gallery
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Style selection
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Skin tone selection
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Hairstyle selection
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Eye color selection
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Eyebrows selection
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Final confirmation
Parallel Canon
Alongside Agent 8, the look of the masked figure of the Parallel Canon boss can be affected as well, as they mimic the Inkling player character of Splatoon 2. By changing the Inkling character in Splatoon 2 and proceeding into Side Order's Player Settings the appearance of the masked figure will be updated. Otherwise, the masked figure has the feminine style and the Haircut hairstyle by default.
Impossible configurations
Under normal circumstances, Inkling players are not able to choose Octoling hairstyles and eyebrows (and vice versa). Via use of glitches, misconfigured Inkling and Octoling player characters have previously been accessible. Similarly misconfigured Octolings have also been mistakenly featured in certain official promotional material.
Through the use of now-patched glitches, players were able to cosmetically alter their player character to show mismatched Inkling and Octoling features; the resulting effect would not be visible in multiplayer battles.
- Until version 3.0.0, players could generate mismatched Inkling or Octoling characters exclusively in shop menus through the use of amiibo.
- During the Spicy vs. Sweet vs. Sour and Dark Chocolate vs. Milk Chocolate vs. White Chocolate Splatfest events, Octoling characters would mistakenly be rendered as Inklings with Octoling hairstyles when boarding a Splatfest Float.
In a Japanese advertisement for the Nintendo Switch, Octoling players with Inkling hair and eyebrow styles can be briefly seen; the addition of these characters seems to be an oversight.
Gallery
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An Octoling player with Inkling hair and eyebrow styles in a shop after performing the amiibo glitch
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Three Octoling players displayed with Inkling body models when aboard a Splatfest Float
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An Octoling with Inkling-exclusive hair and eyebrow styles wielding a Trizooka in an official advert
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An Octoling with Inkling-exclusive hair and eyebrow styles wielding a Nautilus 47 in an official advert
Statistics
By multiplying the customization options, the number of all possible character creation combinations can be determined.
Splatoon
Splatoon offers 2 genders, 7 skin tones and 7 eye colors, for a total of 98 possible looks.
Splatoon 2
Splatoon 2 offered more and more options over the course of both its updates and added DLC. At launch, there were 2 genders, 7 skin tones, 14 eye colors, 4 hairstyles, and 3 legwear options, for a total of 2352 possible looks. Version 2.0.0 added 2 more hairstyles, and 3 more legwear options, increasing this total to 5880 possible looks.
The Octo Expansion gives the option between 2 genders, 7 skin tones, 14 eye colors, and 2 hairstyles, for a total of 392 possible looks for Agent 8. After finishing the Octo Expansion, players are able to change legwear for Octolings, increasing this total to 1960 possible looks.
Adding all final Inkling (5880) and Octoling (1960) options together gives a total of 7840 possible looks for the playable character.
Splatoon 3
Splatoon 3 offers an even higher amount of options due to the addition of more customization features and the availability of all hairstyles and legwear across the four different styles.
Inklings have 2 styles, 9 skin tones, 21 eye colors, 16 hairstyles, 4 eyebrow, and 12 legwear options, for a total of 290304 possible looks. Octolings only have 8 hairstyles, and thus only half the possible looks compared to an Inkling, for a total of 145152 possibilities.
Combining the possible looks for both species amounts to a total of 435456 possible looks for the playable character.
Despite Smallfry's 7 hairstyles not being part of the player character options, they are still part of the customization options available in Splatoon 3. This means that there can be a maximum of 3048192 accounts where no sequence of options is exactly the same.
Side Order allows to customize Agent 8 with all options in Splatoon 3 for Octolings, excluding the legwear option, for a total of 12096 possible looks for Agent 8 in Side Order.
Music
Area | Game | Song name | Audio |
---|---|---|---|
Player Settings | Splatoon | Character Creation | |
Player Settings | Splatoon 2 | Fest Zest (Player customization version) | |
Player Settings | Octo Expansion | Player Editor | |
Player Settings | Splatoon 3 | What's Your Style? | |
Player Settings | Side Order | #0.1 style |
Trivia
- Some artwork for Splatoon depicted Inklings with purple eyes despite that not being an option in the game at the time. In Splatoon 2, purple eyes were added as an option.
- In the announcement trailer for Splatoon 3, there are a number of differences in the customization sequence shown.
- There is no eyebrow selection, with the character in the trailer defaulting to the "Slit" brows.
- The Tri-Stringer present in the trailer is also absent in the final customization screen, with the player starting out unarmed, then picking up a Splattershot Jr.
- The third-last eye color option appears more pinkish and purple in the announcement trailer, but in the game it is more of a reddish color.
- The third legwear option has a slightly different icon that appears to resemble shorts more than the baggy sweatpants in the final game. As the trailer never shows the actual model of the option, it is uncertain if the legwear itself was actually different from the final game, or if it was simply represented by a different icon at the time.
- The tutorial section that occurs after customization is finished in the final game is not shown in the trailer, instead skipping to the cutscene of the player character boarding the train to Splatsville.