Splatoon: First Impression

Mephisto Mori/ June 7, 2015/ Video Games/ 0 comments

Splatoon is the best example of what Nintendo can be. I’m critical of Nintendo these days. Pretend their handhelds are in a nice little protective bubble of awesome that is untouched by my criticism. Nintendo continues to mine an archaic business model and stagnant IPs with forced first party development. Add their horrible monetization policies for YouTube that they doubled down on back in February and my cynicism is merited.

Enter Splatoon. Sure it doesn’t fix that YouTube business but it is a fresh IP developed from the ground up with fun as the guiding star. Its execution and premise remind me of old school Nintendo (that’s the highest compliment I have). It has a tongue-in-cheek approach to design that’s just downright enjoyable. Remember when games didn’t need to make sense or take themselves too seriously? Ghost and Goblins – King Arthur strips naked and saves the princess. Ninja Gaiden – A ninja wears purple, doesn’t stealth, and kills robots, demons, and birds… because.

Squid kids shooting upgradeable ink-goo guns while doing some objective-based action platforming? I’m in.

Splatoon isn’t just a good Nintendo game. It’s a great example of what any game can be when a classical “fun first” approach to a game’s premise is combined with modern gameplay. There’s an obvious game analogy I can make here. For the last year I’ve repeated a single sentiment: “I love TLoU and Uncharted 2, but where is my ‘Next Gen’ Ratchet and Clank?”

It’s on Nintendo. It’s called Splatoon.

And while the single-player mode isn’t exactly the focus, it wasn’t neglected either. Making a complete single-player experience in a multiplayer game has toppled so many other shooters in my eyes. Not Splatoon. Love the single player.

So how about that team-based, 4v4 multiplayer? It’s as fun as you remember N64 Golden Eye matches to be. Describing the multiplayer is difficult. There’s turf wars with your goo guns and it’s pretty fun – imagine something between TF2 and Jet Set Radio. Basically I’m saying you should go play it for yourself.

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