References to Splatoon in other media

From Inkipedia, the Splatoon wiki

This article lists all references to the Splatoon series in other media. For Splatoon content related to the amiibo function, refer to the main amiibo article.

References in video games

Animal Crossing series

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer

When a player builds a home for Octavian in Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, they are given various Splatoon-themed items, including an ink texture for the exterior of the house.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Splatoon 2 items in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

In Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, players could get Splatoon 2-themed furniture and clothing during the Splatoon 2 Crossover Event.

Splatoon 2 furniture could be obtained from Inkling's Splatted Cookies, which were available from 13 September 2018 to 11 October 2018.

A Gyroidite Scavenger Hunt was held from 13 to 25 September 2018. Players could collect Blitz Clams scattered around the map. These could also be used to craft Splatoon 2-themed clothing.

A Fishing Tourney was also held from 19 to 26 September 2018. Players could catch Inkling Squids and Octoling Octopuses to earn Splatoon 2-themed rewards. During the event, Chip was wearing a pink Knitted Hat. Catching Inkling Squids and Octoling Octopuses give their respective female character sound effects. Here are the rewards earned from the Fishing Tourney:

A purple Inkling girl wig (with King Flip Mesh), White Tee and Gray Hoodie were also received as free gifts.

In celebration of the then-upcoming Chaos vs. Order Splatfest, Splatfest Tees themed after each team were received as free gifts on 25 June 2019.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Splatoon references in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

When the player catches a squid in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a quote referencing Splatoon may be shown, including:

When the player places a squid, firefly squid, or octopus, the back of the tank will have a small Splatoon sticker depicting a squid icon.

In addition, Blathers references Splatoon while giving a short speech about the Eusthenopteron fossil. He says:

"The Eusthenopteron is famous for being the link between fish and land animals long before dinosaurs. It seems to have strong fins capable of pulling it around areas where the water was shallow. When most creatures lived in the sea... they dreamed of land. If not for them, we mightn't be here today! Imagine if we'd not left the oceans... How might fashion and music be different in an aquatic world? How would we resolve differences? Perhaps some sort of ink-squirting contest of champions?"

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Inkwell on a green background.
Inkwell's model in game.

Post Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome Amiibo update, the character Inkwell was a villager that could be moved in via scanning in the Inkling Boy, Inkiling girl, or Inkling Squid amiibo at the Campground. Therefore you could only have him in your town if you owned that amiino, considering that he could not be obtained from another player.

He wears a T-shirt bearing the Anarchy battle emblem and has his entire design based on an Inkling, being of the Octopus villager type. His catchphrase is "splat".

Art Academy

ArtAcademy.jpg

Contest

"Attention aspiring squid researchers! We've just been informed that there's a Splatoon-themed drawing contest taking place in the Art Academy Miiverse community! You can get the full details on Miiverse."
— Live from Squid Research Lab[1]

An Art Academy drawing event called "Fresh Pics" celebrating Splatoon's millionth unit sold was announced by MariChan on 31 July 2015 and lasted until 23 August 2015. Entries were judged by the Splatoon development team based on skill, artistic expression, originality, and creativity.[2]

Winners

Special Event

Squidsisters-artacademy.jpg

On 29 June 2016, along with the announcement of the Callie vs. Marie Splatfest, MariChan announced a special event called "Splatfest Memories" which lasted until 13 July 2016.[3] A second post about the event was posted on 7 July 2016.[4]

After the event was closed, Nintendo shared some highlights through their social media on Miiverse (via Archiverse), Tumblr, and during an episode of The Cat Mario Show.

Daigasso! Band Brothers P

Song Distribution

Players of the Japan-exclusive game Daigasso! Band Brothers P were able to download additional songs from Splatoon and Splatoon 2 using "tomatoes," the game's currency. The game was taken off the Nintendo eShop on 2 December 2019. Online services were discontinued afterwards at the end of April 2020.

In September 2015, the first five Splatoon songs were added: [5]

More songs were added in December 2015, including:[6]

  • City of Color (with lyrics) by the Squid Sisters
  • Metalopod by Squid Squad
  • Seaskape by Squid Squad
  • Ink Me Up (with lyrics) by the Squid Sisters
  • Calamari Inkantation (with lyrics) by the Squid Sisters

In April 2016, even more songs were added:[7]

Additionally, songs that were posted prior to this update were given longer versions. A lite version of the game, Daigasso! Band Brothers P Debut, was also released. Among the free songs exclusive to it was the traditional version of Calamari Inkantation.[8]

Song compilation

Contest

In July 2018, a contest was held to coincide with the release of Octotune. From 18 July until 20 August, players were able to submit up to five of their own arrangements of songs featured in the album, which would then be reviewed by the composers of the Splatoon games and put up for voting on the game's official YouTube channel. Likes that were given to the videos from 21 August at 3:00 UTC until 26 August at 14:59 UTC were counted as votes.[9] The winners were announced on 29 October 2018, with an in-game distribution of the winning songs beginning at 9:00 UTC on the same day.[10]

Winners

Gold Prize

Ebb & Flow (EDM REMIX) by Sanda (さんだ)

Silver Prize

Shark Bytes by Tomato ga yabai (トマトがヤバイ)
Wave Prism (with vocals) by Mira (ミラ)
Fresh Start (Japanese Arrangement) by Mio (ミオ)
Into the Light another1 by Y

Bronze Prize

Off the Hook Medley by Mellow (めろー)
#4 dunno by IC (あいし)
Ebb & Flow Bonodoru by Mio (ミオ) and Swifee (すいふぃ)
Into the Light by Tomato ga yabai (トマトがヤバイ)
Dedf1sh METRO medley by Ryo Senba (センバリョウ)
Telephone's Theme by Swifee (すいふぃ)
Into the Light 80s Style by VegaNRG


Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

In Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, there is an object called the "Octobrush" resembling an ink brush used in calligraphy, which is a reference to the Octobrush. There are also a number of items that can be collected, with number 040 called "Spla-Teen Vogue" and its description stating: "A teen magazine featuring many models just enjoying their summer. This magazine is meant for kids, not squids."

JOYSOUND

On 30 January 2016, three Squid Sisters songs were added to the JOYSOUND service in Japan, which powers Wii Karaoke U, Karaoke JOYSOUND for Nintendo Switch, and certain karaoke machines. The lyrics are the same as the ones that were in the liner notes of Splatune.

All three songs use a unique music video to play in the background. Calamari Inkantation uses the "Splatfest Incoming!" promotional video, City of Color uses a slightly different version of the performance seen in the Splatoon Direct, and Ink Me Up uses a montage of other promotional videos and stock footage.

The songs, with romanized lyrics, were added to the European catalogue of Wii Karaoke U on 28 July 2016 in celebration of the Callie vs. Marie Splatfest.

On 2 February 2018, Off the Hook's Color Pulse was added onto the JOYSOUND service. The lyrics are the same as the ones that were in the liner notes of Splatune with some additional lyrics. The introduction video featured on the Splatoon 2 Direct is used for the background.

Jump Rope Challenge

Costumes of various Nintendo characters were added to Jump Rope Challenge for free a few weeks after the game's release. Two of the costumes were based on the Inkling girl and boy from Splatoon.[11]

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Main article: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Inklings appear as playable characters in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Urchin Underpass appears as a battle course.

Miitomo

Main article: Miitomo

A series of Splatoon-themed clothing items were made available in the drop games, shops and on My Nintendo, for Miitomo. As part of a promotion for the event, Nintendo held a Twitter event where when specific tweets from @Miitomo_JP, @NintendoAmerica, and @NintendoEurope collectively reached 10,000 retweets, it granted all users a free Inkling Boy wig in the game, with 20,000 retweets granting a free Inkling Girl wig as well. Both goals were met and the wigs could be redeemed until 30 May 2016.

From 4 to 25 July 2016, Callie and Marie Splatfest Tees were made available in the gear shop for 2000 coins each to celebrate the Callie vs. Marie Splatfest. Among these were special pins that represent Callie and Marie. Marie's winning pin was given to every player to redeem after the Splatfest, with the other being made available to purchase with coins.

On 10 November 2017, as part of the promotion for Splatoon 2's Version 2.0.0, players were able to unlock Splatoon-themed wallpaper and flooring for their apartment by launching the app two and three times, respectively.

Nintendo Badge Arcade

From launch, Splatoon-themed badges were made available in the game. Another wave of badges was put in rotation on 27 August 2015.

Shortly after the release of Nintendo Badge Arcade in North America, Splatoon-themed badges were made available via the game's crane machines on 12 November 2015, featuring multicolored Inklings in both forms as well as blots of ink. Some of these badges also make a cameo on the title screen. Over time, more Splatoon-themed badges were put in the arcade's rotation of crane machines in North America and Europe.

On 2 June 2016, more Splatoon-themed badges were made available in celebration of the game's first anniversary in North America. This included crossovers with Nikki & Friends, WarioWare, and the Arcade Bunny himself.

On 7 July 2016, badges based on the Splatoon amiibo were first made available in Japan. Later in September, a Super Mario Maker-themed crane machine with badges based on the 8-bit Splatoon costumes in the game was added in the rotation in the West.

Ring Fit Adventure

In a free update to Ring Fit Adventure added on 26 March 2020, a rhythm game mode was added. This mode allows the player to move and exercise to music tracks from various Nintendo games, including a medley of Splatoon 2 tracks. The songs featured in the medley are Color Pulse and Inkoming!.

Skullgirls

In Skullgirls, the downloadable playable character Marie has a recolor based on Marina.

StreetPass Mii Plaza

MiiSplatoonHat.jpg

On 16 April 2015, it was revealed that a Splatoon-themed hat would be added to the item list for StreetPass Mii Plaza.[12] It is one of the many hats available to wear, acquired in Find Mii, StreetPass, or by other means.

Style Boutique (Style Savvy) series

New Style Boutique 2: Fashion Forward

This game was released as Style Savvy: Fashion Forward in North America.

In celebration of the release of Splatoon, a set of six Splatoon-themed clothing items were made available to download on 28 May 2015.[13] This set was made available in Europe on 28 January 2016.[14] It is available in Australia as well.

New Style Boutique 3: Styling Star

New Style Boutique 3: Styling Star (released as Style Savvy: Styling Star in North America) features a variant of the Inky Leggings from the previous game. It is included as an item from the Purple Moon brand.

Super Mario Maker

Main article: Super Mario Maker

Five of the costumes that can be used by Costume Mario are from Splatoon: Inkling Girl, Inkling Boy, Inkling Squid, Callie, and Marie. Additionally, the game's files include unused gear icons from a pre-release version of Splatoon.

Super Mario Maker 2

Although the amiibo costumes do not return in Super Mario Maker 2, the Splatoon series is referenced in the game's story mode, where levels are seen by anonymous designers named "Agent 1", "Agent 2", "Celebrity MC", and "Celebrity DJ". These names are based off of the aliases Callie, Marie, Pearl, and Marina go by in Octo Valley and the Octo Expansion, respectively. Additionally, the manner of speech of these four characters matches the manner of speech of the idols themselves, most easily notable with Celebrity MC, whose description for the level Swinging Claw Ropes Course contains the line "Yo, this rope course I made is straight up SLOPPY!", a direct reference to Pearl's dialogue for Goby Arena. Celebrity MC even uses the phrase "off the hook" for the level That's One Hot Car! Additionally, the Taskmaster occasionally says "take care out there" after choosing a level, which is what C.Q. Cumber says when talking to the player at the beginning of each mission in the Octo Expansion.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U

SSB4 Inkling Mii Fighters.jpg

It was confirmed in the Splatoon Direct that to celebrate the release of Splatoon, players who had pre-ordered or purchased Splatoon from GameStop between 8 May 2015 and 13 June 2015 would receive a download code for Inkling Mii Fighter costumes in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. These costumes were later made purchasable for everyone on 14 June 2015.

Both the Inkling Outfit and Inkling Wig are available as one item set, and the Inkling Squid Hat is separate. These costumes are represented in the characters' respective default colours for each gender - orange for female (wearing the Fake Contacts, White Tee, and Pink Trainers) and blue for male (wearing the Fake Contacts, Zink Layered LS, and Purple Hi-Horses). The Inkling Squid Hat appears simply as a green Inkling squid, in the same way as its amiibo.

An Inkling trophy is given to the player if they purchase any of the Splatoon costumes.

Meet the Inklings, a mysterious race of beings that can transform into squid at will! They like to octopi their time with frantic, multicolored turf wars, and they won't miss out on any oppor-tuna-ty to get to the top. And we wouldn't go so far as to call them cod's gift to fashion, but check out that fresh style!
— North American trophy description
Meet the Inklings, a mysterious race of squid that can take a humanoid form at will. They like to octopi their time with frantic, multi-coloured turf wars between rivals, and they won't miss out on any oppor-tuna-ty to get to the top! And we wouldn't go so far as to call them cod's gift to fashion, but check out that style!
— European/Oceanian trophy description

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Main article: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Inklings appear as playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Moray Towers appears as a stage. The Splatoon Mii Fighter costumes from the previous game return, along with several new Splatoon costumes.

Swapdoodle

Purchase screen for the "Splatoon Inklings and Things" lessons

Swapdoodle featured drawing lessons that could be purchased from its store. A drawing lesson for a Splatoon Inkling in squid form was included in the free Starter Pack. Two sets of Splatoon-themed paid lessons were also available at launch, "Splatoon Inklings and Things" and "Splatoon Inkopolis".[15]A stationery set is also available for purchase.

Stationery sets

Taiko no Tatsujin series

A performing character dressed up as the Splatoon Inkling girl

In Taiko no Tatsujin: Yellow Version (太鼓の達人 イエローVer.), one of the playable songs is Calamari Inkantation. Banapassport holders can unlock an Inkling Girl costume after playing the song. Its sequel, Taiko no Tatsujin: Blue Version (太鼓の達人 ブルーVer.), also includes a Splatoon 2 Medley. It is composed of Wet Floor's Rip Entry, Now or Never!, Victory! – Jingle, and Turf Master. All Splatoon-related content have been carried through subsequent releases of the arcade game.

The Splatoon 2 Medley is also available in Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun. The game features a pink Inkling Squid as a performing character, which has the benefit of filling the player's Soul Gauge faster and also lessening any loss in the gauge.

Tetris 99

The board with the Splatoon theme

From 12 to 15 July 2019, the 5th Maximus Cup event was held in Tetris 99 to promote Splatoon 2's final Splatfest, Chaos vs. Order. By taking part in enough online matches and collecting 100 points within the event time, players could permanently unlock a Splatoon 2 theme for the game, changing the graphics, music, and sound effects to those from the Splatoon franchise. Despite it being a Splatoon 2 theme, the three songs used are all from Splatoon: Splattack! plays at first, Ink or Sink starts playing when there are 50 players remaining, and Now or Never! starts playing when there are 10 players remaining. Version 2.0.0 gave the theme its own targeting icon that resembles a squid. As of version 2.1.0, players who did not unlock the theme from the original event can instead redeem thirty tickets to unlock it permanently.

Transformice

In Transformice, the Inkling's Hippie hairstyle, Octoling's Tentacurl hairstyle, and a Splattershot (based on its Splatoon 2 design) appear in the shop.

WarioWare series

WarioWare Gold

In WarioWare Gold, scanning any Splatoon or Splatoon 2 amiibo (except for those based on playable Octolings) in "amiibo Sketch" causes Wario to poorly draw the scanned character, and the drawing can be sold for coins.

WarioWare: Get It Together!

In WarioWare: Get It Together!, one of 9-Volt's Nintendo Classics microgames is named "Splatoon 2". It takes place on the results screen, where Judd and Li'l Judd are calculating the final score for a Turf War battle. The player has to choose which team they think won by moving their character to the team's respective side. The player wins if the side they chose is revealed to be the winning team. The first level of difficulty takes place at The Reef, the second at Sturgeon Shipyard, and the third at Humpback Pump Track.

The microgame's description reads: "Hmm... can you tell which team inked more turf? Pick a side and head that way! The honorable Judd and Li'l Judd will deliver the final verdict."

Yoshi's Woolly World

InkingF YoshiWW.jpg

In Yoshi's Woolly World, scanning the Inkling Girl, Inkling Boy, or Inkling Squid amiibo unlocks a Yoshi design based on that character.

Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World

Poochy & Yoshi's Wooly World amiibo.jpg

In Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, the three Splatoon-themed amiibo costumes from Yoshi's Woolly World return, along with new Yoshi designs for the three recolors of the original Splatoon amiibo, as well as Callie and Marie.

References in television

Coronation Street

Coronation Street 23-06-20.png

In the 19 June 2020 episode of the British soap opera Coronation Street, a character can be seen playing Splatoon 2 in Turf War at Camp Triggerfish with the Splattershot Jr., saying "I'm nearly at the end of this level".

Dear White People

Near the start of Volume 2 Episode 8, the character Wesley mentions leveling up in Splatoon as he and Lionel leave the room.

Osomatsu-san

There is a scene in Season 2 Episode 23 where the characters of Osomatsu-san can be seen playing Turf War.

Owarimonogatari

Owarimonogatari reference Inkling Girl.jpg

During Episode 3, when the characters Araragi and Ougi from Owarimonogatari are talking to each other, a game show depicting a girl which resembles Callie appears.

New Game!

New Game! reference Ikatoon 3.jpg

In the anime New Game!, there is a scene where a magazine can be spotted which advertises a parody of Splatoon 2 called "Ikatoon 3", where 'ika' means 'squid' in Japanese.

Bluey

Bluey character seen with splattershot.png

In Season 1 Episode 22 and Season 2 Episode 45 of Bluey, different characters use water guns that have striking resemblances to the Splattershot in Splatoon. In the former episode, the colors are exact and in the latter, the water gun is recolored.

References in publications

Monster Musume

There is a panel that shows a character from Monster Musume playing a parody of Splatoon called "Octo Game" while holding a controller that resembles the Wii U GamePad. Both Burst Bombs and rollers are mentioned.

Mousou Telepathy

Two characters from Mousou Telepathy during Chapter 488 are seen playing Turf War, where one of them is giving advice on how to play the game.

Guinness World Records 2017 Gamer's Edition

There are 2 Splatoon references in the Guinness World Records 2017 Gamer's Edition. The first reference is on the cover where a singular Inkling can be found, at the top left of the word Guinness. The other reference is in the book where, on the page about third person shooters, page 160, Splatoon is referred to as being "The best-selling third-person shooter on the Wii U." It is a very small and minor section of the page.

Excerpt about Splatoon in the Guinness World Records 2017 Gamer's Edition book.

Guinness World Records 2018 Gamer's Edition

The Squid Sisters are mentioned in the book, as they hold the record of being the "Most viewed concert by videogame characters" according to Guinness World Records 2018 Gamer's Edition.[16]

Guinness World Records 2019 Gamer's Edition

The Guinness World Records 2019 Gamer's Edition has a section on Splatoon 2 where the game is mentioned as having the record of "Most ink painted in a video game" according to the book. It also has a section on how many Golden Eggs have been collected in Salmon Run.[17]

The Perfect Parent Project

In Chapter 25 of The Perfect Parent Project, it says Riley is playing Splatoon on his Nintendo.

One Piece

In Chapter 1028 of the manga One Piece, there is a cover page which features the main cast dressed as characters from various video games. Among them is the character Sanji who is holding a gun which heavily resembles a Splattershot with its design from the original Splatoon.

Bocchi the Rock!

Bocchi The Rock Splatoon Reference.png

In Chapter 55, multiple characters play a parody of Splatoon called "Squidoon", with cartoon squids holding guns similar to the Splattershot. A spawn point can also be seen in another panel.

References in miscellaneous web media

Google

A Splatoon-themed Easter egg can be found on Google by searching for "splatoon", "splatoon 2", or "splatoon 3" and clicking on the ink splotch animation in the game knowledge panel. This activates the Easter egg, where users can click or tap to shoot globs of ink at the screen, which plays a "plop" sound and creates a splotch of ink on the page. Upon impact, the ink makes a "splash" sound. Ink splotches can be shaped normally, have a set of squid eyes in them, or can be shaped like a squid or octopus. The color of the splotches of ink match the colors of the Google logo. There is also a button with a drop of water on it that the player can click to deactivate the Easter egg, causing water to cover the page (with an accompanying sound effect) and remove the ink splotches. This Easter egg was added at some point around the release date of Splatoon 3.

Screenshots

My Nintendo

When accessing the main page of the My Nintendo website after logging in, the user's Mii will participate in one of a set of randomized activities. In one of these activities, they can be seen painting on an easel. If the user clicks on their Mii, the Mii reveals their artwork, chosen randomly among eight possible canvases — one of which depicts an Inkling. In another activity, the Mii can be seen playing a game on TV; one of the possible games is Splatoon 2 on a Nintendo Switch. If the user clicks on their Mii, the TV will shut off, frustrating the Mii.

Screenshots

Gallery

Image linking to the gallery page
View the gallery

References