Side Order

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Side Order
Type Single-player campaign[1]
Players 1
Ranked
Weapons Order Weapons & Octo Shot
Various Sub Weapons
Various Special Weapons
Controllers Joy-Con
Nintendo Switch Pro Controller
Release Date 22 February 2024[2][3]

Side Order is a single-player mode in Splatoon 3. It is the second wave 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 designed to be highly replayable.[4][5]

Release history

The first teaser

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 2023 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 the 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 voiceover. 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.

At an unknown time before the 13 February 2024 trailer's release, Nintendo invited journalists to play Side Order early at Nintendo headquarters locations in San Francisco and London for ninety minutes to two hours depending on the location.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] 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 in order to not reveal her role in the mode's story.

On 22 February 2024, Side Order was released.

Trailers

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

The title reveal

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

Agent 8 listening to the Pearl Drone in the Order Sector as seen in the 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 are revealed, then gameplay footage of Agent 8 in combat with Jelletons is shown. The Jelletons are seen spawning from portals.

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, which no longer exists in the final game. Gameplay footage of several different 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, respawning into a floor. After a cut to black, Agent 8 is shown running in slow motion alongside the Pearl Drone towards Asynchronous Rondo. After another cut to black, the mode's title is shown with glitch and black coral effects.

Agent 8 in a manifesting stage.

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 canned specials 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, 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 called rout1nes. Midway, the song swaps for a more intense electronic song, that being demoli2h. Then at the end, the music transitions into a slow, echoed version of Spectrum Obligato.

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 Parallel Canon. The middle segment showcases Jelletons circling Asynchronous Rondo, with Pinging Marciale directly below it, 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 floor map view of a run inside the Spire of Order as seen in the overview trailer.

A fourth Side Order trailer showing an overview of the gameplay was posted to Twitter[15] 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 that 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[16] 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

Pearl Drone, Acht, and Agent 8 in an elevator together.

Agent 8 has been unexpectedly transported to the Order Sector, a mysterious world that is built out of its own unique rules.[17] Agent 8 wakes up to find what appears to be Inkopolis Square, suddenly drained of color and uninhabited.[5] They are challenged to ascend the Spire of Order, a tower that changes floor structure each time it is entered, which has mysteriously replaced Deca Tower, as "something wants to make the entire world orderly".[11] Pearl, having been transformed into[17] 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,[17] and appears to travel between floors alongside Agent 8 inside an elevator within the Spire of Order.

Marina being mind-controlled through a Controller VM.

After reaching the Spire's Control Room, Agent 8 encounters Marina, who has been mind-controlled through a Controller VM and wired into a large tentacle blob as Marina Agitando. Agent 8 destroys the tentacle blob, freeing Marina, before 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, Order fully reconfigures the Spire, and Marina reveals that the Sector is in fact part of a prototype virtual reality system she designed called the Project 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 by Grayscaling them 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.

Overlorder using Grayscaling in the Control Room.

Agent 8 re-enters the Spire, albeit with Marina supporting them from the elevator while providing them with Marina's Hacks. While they ascend the Spire accompanied by Off the Hook and Acht, they encounter tons of hostile Jelletons, at least 30 floors, and at least two bosses as they ascend back up to the Control Room, where they confront Order. Marina tries to explain to Order why its idea of a perfect world is dysfunctional, however Order malfunctions over the concept of its creator denying it, before it decides that Agent 8 must be destroyed and enters a grate in the floor, and reappears as the Magistrate of Order, Overlorder. Agent 8 battles the Overlorder in three phases while playing New World Order, but it survives, and activates a program that activates a mass Grayscaling, knocking out Agent 8.

Acht and Marina during the ending of Side Order.

The player "brings back the beat" in a small rhythm minigame, and wakes up Agent 8. Marina and Acht, in an act of resistance to Overlorder, start playing Spectrum Obligato ~ Ebb & Flow (Out of Order). Pearl declares that the "show don't stop" and lets out an immensely powerful "Booyah!" that destroys the Control Room. Agent 8 throws themselves into a battle against the Overlorder but they find out that Overlorder emptied their Palette and placed the color chips inside some portals. They destroy the portals and grab the chips, which are revealed to be oversaturated, causing their effects to be heavily amplified. As Overlorder's barrier is destroyed, Pearl activates a Color Wail using the chips and fires it at Overlorder, causing it to malfunction and implode as a result of color overload.

Agent 8, Pearl, Marina, and Acht ascending the elevator in the credits sequence

After the destruction of the Overlorder, a tiny octopus form of a heavily damaged and restricted Order named Smollusk appears and gets upset that Agent 8 "wuined[sic] [its] perfect world of order." Pearl and Marina jokingly declare that "there's not much to worry about here," and leave with Agent 8 and Acht on an elevator that appears in the middle of the Control Room, as the credits roll.

After the defeat of the Overlorder, Agent 8 returns back to the Memverse, where Off the Hook greets them and Marina explains that Agent 8's work is not done yet. She explains that the Palettes are the souls of those that were Grayscaled and that Agent 8 must set them free. To set a Palette's soul free, Agent 8 needs to re-ascend the Spire and reach the now destroyed Control Room for the Palette to be manually reconfigured, which Agent 8 has to do with all the Palettes to set every soul free. Smollusk is not on board with Marina's plan to free the souls, and actively tries to prevent Agent 8 from reaching the Control Room and reconfiguring the Palettes. Every time Agent 8 gets to the top of the Spire, Smollusk transforms into Overlorder to try and stop Agent 8 as the final boss of the run. Agent 8 scales the Spire and defeats Smollusk ten more times to free the souls, obtaining every reward in the lockers including all Marina's Dev Diary entries, until they receive their own Palette. Meanwhile, they meet Cipher, a lucifer shrimp that runs a stall located in the Order Sector called Cipher's Siftings[18].

Agent 8 obtaining their own Palette.

Once they've obtained their own Palette, Agent 8 reascends the Spire and defeats Smollusk for the last time to reconfigure it. Agent 8's Palette has the special properties of being able to skip floors using Membux (with the exception of boss floors), while the number of active hacks decreases the maximum number of chips in their Palette. During the last ride up the Spire, Agent 8 also receives three additional entries for Marina's Dev Diary, which are letters from Acht to Marina.

Although Eight reconfigured all the Palettes, they can still scale to the Spire to "pway"[sic] with Smollusk again with no limits.

Gameplay

Agent 8 and Pearl Drone shooting at Jelletons.

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.[12] 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 are randomized, so individual players may unlock specific Palettes earlier or later than others (with the exception of Eight's Palette, which will always be found in the final locker).

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 scout sight enemies, glide with Agent 8, and activate the Step-Off Song after collecting three Disc pieces. All of her other abilities are unlockable,[12] which means her aid will be limited without the collection of Drone-tone color chips.

Clearing floors rewards the player with Membux, which can be used as a currency on floors containing vending machines.[11] 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[13] that will subsequently apply to all future runs through the Spire.

Permanent upgrades

Main article: Marina's Hacks
Menu for obtaining upgrades with Prlz.

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.

Mechanics

Each Palette (excluding Eight's 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.

Characters

Floors

Main article: Floor

Side Order's level system consists of individual floors within the Spire of Order, which are randomly selected in subsequent runs after the first climb.

Rewards

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

Additionally, clearing Side Order for the first time unlocks Inkopolis Square for the player character to traverse to.

Badges

Badges can be obtained by completing certain objectives in Side Order. An example are the color chip badges, which can be obtained by collecting the data for all of the color chips of the same tone. A list of badges from Side Order and how to obtain them can be found below.

Image In-game description How to obtain
Cleared the Initial Spire Defeat Marina Agitando in the Spire of Order
Cleared Side Order Defeat Overlorder in the Spire of Order
Cleared the Spire of Order with Every Palette Defeat Overlorder in the Spire of Order with every Palette
Bought Everything from Cipher's Siftings Buy every item from Cipher's Siftings
Cleared the Spire of Order with the Low-Hacks Eight's Palette Defeat Overlorder in the Spire of Order with Eight's Palette
with 4 hacks or fewer enabled, excluding Risky Rewards.
Collected Data for All Color Chips of the Same Tone Unlock all extra Collection information for all chips in a group
(indicated by a line in the Collection screen and three lit up lines above the chip)
by equipping five copies of a given chip in the Palette during one run.

Unique chips (unstackable) only need to be acquired once.

Lockers

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

Within the Lockers are Palettes which are 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 each 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 (barring Eight's Palette, which instead gives the final three Dev Diary entries). Completing a run with any given Palette unlocks replica versions of that weapon for multiplayer battle usage.

Locker number Reward Image details
1 Marina's Dev Diary 01
2 Banner
3 Agent 4's Palette
4 Random Palette
5 Random Palette
6 Marina's Dev Diary 02
7 Random Palette
8 30 Prlz
9 Random Palette
10 Marina's Dev Diary 03
11 Random Palette
12 40 Prlz
13 Marina's Dev Diary 04
14 Random Palette
15 30 Prlz
16 Marina's Dev Diary 05
17 Random Palette
18 50 Prlz
19 Marina's Dev Diary 06
20 40 Prlz
21 Random Palette
22 Marina's Dev Diary 07
23 50 Prlz
24 Marina's Dev Diary 08
25 40 Prlz
26 Banner
27 Marina's Dev Diary 09
28 50 Prlz
29 Marina's Dev Diary 10
30 60 Prlz
31 Marina's Dev Diary 11
32 60 Prlz
33 Marina's Dev Diary 12
34 100 Prlz
35 Banner
36 Eight's Palette
Rewards from Eight's Palette:
10F Acht's Letter 1
20F Acht's Letter 2
30F Acht's Letter 3

Cipher's Siftings

Cipher at Cipher's Siftings (English).

Cipher's Siftings is a shop found within the Order Sector run by the enigmatic Cipher, located in the corner where the Tableturf Battle Dojo is located in the actual Inkopolis Square.

Items available for purchase in the store include locker decorations, locker stickers, Splashtag banners, and gear in exchange for Prlz.[19]

Cipher only appears after clearing Side Order for the first time. Additionally, Cipher's wares expand for every three locker keys that Agent 8 collects, with its full selection unlocked with all thirty-six keys.

Located around Cipher's Siftings are what appear to be individual parts of a Marching Andante.

Decorations

Main article: List of locker decorations in Splatoon 3#Cipher's Siftings
Item Name Cost Keys needed
Marching Andante Prlzs 10 3
Swarming Languendo Prlzs 10 3
Battering Lento Prlzs 10 3
celebratory pancakes Prlzs 10 3
Panicking Alla Mambo Prlzs 20 6
Drizzling Capriccioso Prlzs 20 6
puzzle with missing piece Prlzs 20 6
memorable picture book Prlzs 20 6
Whirling Accelerando Prlzs 30 12
Springing Spiccato Prlzs 30 12
dead-C toy piano Prlzs 30 12
nostalgic mobile Prlzs 30 12
Spawning Accordo Prlzs 50 18
Homing Arpeggio Prlzs 50 18
inseparable anglerfish Prlzs 50 18
Towering Nobilmente Prlzs 100 27
Gushing Trionfale Prlzs 100 27
beloved toy Prlzs 100 27

Stickers

Main article: List of locker stickers in Splatoon 3#Order Sector
Item Name Cost Keys needed
dream tapestry 01 Prlzs 15 9
dream tapestry 02 Prlzs 15 15
dream tapestry 03 Prlzs 15 21
dream tapestry 04 Prlzs 15 24
dream tapestry 05 Prlzs 15 33
Marina Order graffiti Prlzs 20 6
Pearl Order graffiti Prlzs 20 3
Callie Order graffiti Prlzs 20 12
Marie Order graffiti Prlzs 20 12
pixel Big Man Prlzs 30 27
pixel Frye Prlzs 30 27
pixel Shiver Prlzs 30 27
pixel Marie Prlzs 30 12
pixel Callie Prlzs 30 3
pixel Sheldon Prlzs 30 18
pixel Pearl Prlzs 30 12
pixel Marina Prlzs 30 6
pixel Eight Prlzs 30 33
pixel Agent 4 Prlzs 30 12
pixel DJ Octavio Prlzs 30 18
pixel Murch Prlzs 30 18
Jelleton sticker Prlzs 50 33
Pearl wallpaper Prlzs 100 3

Banners

Main article: Banner#Cipher's Siftings banners
Item Cost Keys needed
Prlzs 200 3
Prlzs 200 9
Prlzs 200 21
Prlzs 200 33

Gear

Item Name Cost Keys needed
Order Regulator Replica Prlzs 333 9
Controller VM Prlzs 333 15
Parallel Mask Prlzs 333 24
Pearl Plushie Prlzs 888 33

Today's Find

Today's Find

After purchasing all available items, players can use Prlzs 100 once per day to receive one of the following rewards from the terminal:[20]

Reward Chance
1 Locker figure 35%
1 Locker sticker 35%
1 Food Ticket 10%
5 Random Ability Chunks 10%
30,000 10%

Receiving decorations via this method is the only way to receive duplicates of decorations obtained in Side Order. A total of Prlzs 4,042 Prlz must be spent to unlock this function.

Music

Area Fictional band Song name Audio sample
Player Settings
Dedf1sh
#0.1 style
Elevator #12.2 awakened
Order Sector
Leaving with Pearl
Origin of Order
10F (first climb)
Marina
Unconscience
Spire of Order floors
(Destroy the portal!)
Free Association
demol1sh
demoli2h
d3molish
Spire of Order floors
(Defeat the fleeing foe!)
jest1ng
je2ting
j3sting
Spire of Order floors
(Protect the zone!)
rout1nes
routine2
routin3s
Spire of Order floors
(Sink the ∞-ball!)
souven1r
2ouvenir
souv3nir
Spire of Order floors
(Escort the turbine tower!)
j1tters
jitter2
jitt3rs
10F and 20F (vs. Parallel Canon) EchΘ Θnslaught
10F and 20F (vs. Pinging Marciale) CΘld StΘrage
10F and 20F (vs. Asynchronous Rondo) ΘctΘpticΘn
30F (before first clear) New World Order
Off the Hook feat. Dedf1sh
Spectrum Obligato ~ Ebb & Flow (Out of Order)
Credits
Dedf1sh feat. Off the Hook
#47 onward
30F (after first clear)
Off the Hook
Short Order

Some of Side Order's music is based on or made by Off the Hook, as they are major characters in the DLC. 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 song called Unconscience, 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 being a remix of #0 shell and #12.2 awakened being a remix of #12 awake.

Much of the music in the mode is made by a group called Free Association and is used in floors. 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. The manner in which numbers are inserted are like that of leetspeak, tying in to the Memverse's themes of technology and internet culture. 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 ten. Each of the five groups of music have their own style and instruments.

  • Songs using "demolish" in the title (demol1sh, demoli2h, and d3molish) play on floors with the "Destroy the portal!" objective. 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 (jest1ng, je2ting, and j3sting) play on floors with the "Defeat the fleeing foe!" objective. 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 rhythmic and melodic changes. This may allude to the unpredictability of the Panicking Alla Mambo, the enemy Agent 8 must chase on these floors.
  • Songs using "routines" in the title (rout1nes, routine2, and routin3s) play on floors with the "Protect the zone!" objective. 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, and souv3nir) play on floors with the "Sink the ∞-ball!" objective. These songs are often the simplest of the five types, and normally feature very airy and light melodies and layers. Nostalgic-sounding chords play in the background, while mellowed synths play a simple melody. Every so often, the track suddenly changes to a small, differing clip of music from what was previously played, then returns to the original melody. This may be meant to resemble a memory or 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-balls from the Octo Expansion, which are similar to ∞-balls.
  • Songs using "jitters" in the title (j1tters, jitter2, and jitt3rs) play on floors with the "Escort the turbine tower!" objective. These songs feature short and frenzied piano excerpts, played at seemingly random times in the piece. The songs also feature dissonant background melodies and melodic elements. This may allude to the name of the song, matching the feeling of restlessness and angst that the name implies.

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

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[21]
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[22]
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[5]
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[23]

Gallery

Image linking to the gallery page
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Trivia

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
Japan Japanese サイド・オーダー
Saido Ōdā
Side Order
Netherlands Dutch De Toren der Orde The Tower of Order
CanadaFrance French Tour de l'Ordre Order Tower
Germany German Ruf zur Ordnung Call to Order
Italy Italian Torre dell'Ordine Tower of Order
Russia Russian Порядочная порция
Poryadochnaya portsiya
Decent serving[note 1]
SpainMexico Spanish La cara del orden The face/side of order [note 2]
China Chinese 秩序篇
Zhìxù Piān
Order Chapter
South Korea Korean 사이드 오더
Saideu odeo
Side Order

Translation notes

  1. A wordplay on the words порядок poryadok ("order") and порядочный poryadochnyy ("decent") having the same root.
  2. The "cara" of something can mean either literally the face of it or its side.

References

  1. Nintendo Splatoon™ 3 Expansion Pass for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site
  2. YouTube Splatoon 3: Expansion Pass - Side Order DLC Release Date Reveal
  3. Nintendo 『スプラトゥーン3』の有料追加コンテンツ第2弾『スプラトゥーン3 エキスパンション・パス サイド・オーダー』は2月22日に配信。紹介映像も公開中。
  4. YouTube Nintendo Direct 9.14.2023 - Nintendo Switch
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Splatoon 3 Splatoon 3 | Nintendo Switch games
  6. YouTube Splatoon 3 Side Order DLC EARLY Experience - DUDE
  7. Preview: Side Order on Splatoon 3 is a course with plenty of depth - Gieson Cacho for The Mercury News
  8. Splatoon 3's Side Order expansion brings something truly fresh to the series - Alan Wen for Video Games Chronicle
  9. Hands On: Splatoon 3's Spicy 'Side Order' DLC Isn't For The Faint Of Heart - Alex Olney for Nintendo Life
  10. YouTube We Played Splatoon 3: Side Order - Good Vibes Gaming
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 YouTube We've Played Splatoon 3: Side Order - Is It Any Good? - Nintendo Life
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 YouTube Splatoon 3's Take on a Roguelite Is a Perfect Addition | GameSpot Hands-On Preview
  13. 13.0 13.1 YouTube Splatoon 3 Side Order is THE BEST MODE EVER! - AbdallahSmash
  14. YouTube Splatoon 3: Side Order preview | A surprisingly deep roguelite - God is a Geek
  15. Twitter @SplatoonNA on Twitter
  16. Twitter @SplatoonNA on Twitter
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Nintendo Nintendo Magazine 2023 winter pgs. 42-43
  18. Twitter @NintendoEurope on Twitter
  19. Twitter @SplatoonNA on Twitter
  20. Twitter @LeanYoshi on Twitter
  21. Twitter @SplatoonNA on Twitter
  22. Splatoon 3 Splatoon™ 3 for Nintendo Switch™ – Expansion Pass - Inkopolis & Side Order DLC (archived)
  23. Twitter @SplatoonNA on Twitter