Prerelease:Splatoon 3/Nintendo Direct Announcement
This is a sub-page of Prerelease:Splatoon 3.
Contents
17th February, 2021 - Reveal Trailer
Trailer Details
The game was announced at the very end of the Nintendo Direct on 17 February 2021, sporting an incredibly different look to the final game's lighter and more detailed shading.
Multiple things were revealed, such as:
- The brand-new stage Scorch Gorge, featuring a modified layout with a more open area that contains more flanks.
- The new Tri-Stringer weapon, alongside new designs for the E-Liter 4K, Range Blaster, Splattershot, Hydra Splatling, .96 Gal, Sloshing Machine, and a slightly modified design for the Dynamo Roller.
- Splatsville, the game's new hub world of choice.
- 2 new movement options, being the Squid Surge and Squid Roll.
- 3 new specials, the Trizooka, Crab Tank, and Killer Wail 5.1.
- The brand-new spawn system that had players start off in the air instead of on the ground like the previous games.
Differences and Oddities
- The game's shading is nearly unrecognizable compared to the final, using a much softer and cleaner shading type in comparison to the final game, which may have been a design choice or in-development at the time.
- The introduction cutscene and character creation is quite different, with the player using a different animation set near the end of the character creation screen, instead picking up the Tri-Stringer in order to seamlessly move into the tutorial area, rather than picking up a Splattershot Jr. after learning how to move and use the motion-controlled camera.
- Interestingly, the game shows the Tri-Stringer weapon using the Trizooka special, despite the Tri-Stringer variants in the final game getting Killer Wail 5.1 and Super Chump respectively.
- The Crab Tank shown in the trailer looks significantly different from the final game, sporting a flatter design compared to the final game's rounder body.
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- The Gold Dynamo Roller would be seen here, which would appear in many, many trailers later on, despite never appearing in the base game of Splatoon 3. The weapon would only be added in the Drizzle Season 2023 update, over 2 years later.
- The player with the Gold Dynamo Roller is holding it in the horizontal position sticking out. In the final game, it is placed into a vertical position instead, as are the rest of the Rollers.
Promotional Screenshots
Twitter Quotes
Attention, worldwide squid researchers!
Splatoon 3 was just announced via video transmission. It doesn’t launch for some time, but we learned some fascinating ecological details: a new Inkling & Octoling habitat has been discovered! And it seems quite different than Inkopolis...
It’s no secret that Inklings and Octolings can arrange their head tentacles in various “hairstyles.” However, it seems these wonderful creatures are capable of more intricate designs than previously known. Just look at this Inkling… It has a braid! What a day for science.
In the new video transmission, an Inkling is seen accompanied by a juvenile Salmonid called a Smallfry. Our studies have long shown the Salmonids to be a dangerous species. How this seemingly symbiotic relationship evolved is a thrilling mystery. Further research is required!
Here we see Splatsville, the newly discovered “city of chaos.” It has a dated feel yet seems densely populated. Research indicates that Splatsville’s development has accelerated rapidly since the Final Splatfest a year and a half ago, even though it’s located far from Inkopolis.
We’ve learned that Splatsville is located in a broader region called the Splatlands. It seems the intense sun and harsh environment have had a profound effect on its inhabitants. In recent years, trendsetting Inklings have been drawn to this culture like moths to a Bunsen burner!
Even in the Splatlands, Inklings seem devoted to the popular pastime of Turf War. The basic rules appear unchanged—two teams of four compete to ink the most ground. However, the denizens of Splatsville appear to have taken their battles into the surrounding wilds of nature!
In the Splatlands, Inklings seem to favor entering the battlefield by launching themselves out of some sort of midair spawner drone. It appears they can even choose their landing spot before flying into action!
We’ve identified two new ways that Inklings can move. A “squid roll” allows them to leap and twirl out of their ink, and a “squid surge” allows them to quickly swim up ink-covered walls and jump out at the top! Just think how these abilities could be used in the heat of battle…
We’ve also discovered a new weapon with a shape like a bow. It looks a bit primitive at first glance, but on closer inspection, it’s packed with technology, including a mechanism capable of launching three strings of ink simultaneously!
In the video transmission, we also spotted some special weapons! In addition to a brand-new one, some seem like reconfigured versions of special weapons found in Inkopolis. How perfectly fitting for the city of chaos…
Classic main weapons appear viable in the Splatlands, although their appearance seems evolved to suit this unique culture. The .96 Gal and Range Blaster look markedly different than we’re used to, which will seemingly make them stand out more from other weapons of the same type.
We’ll be back in touch when we have more to report. We anticipate it may be a while, though, as good science takes time. Until then, we hope players continue to enjoy #Splatoon2. Keep up the squid research, everyone!
18th February, 2021 - Job Listing
Nearly instantly after the reveal trailer, Nintendo of Japan put out a job listing asking for a stage designer for Splatoon 3. Interestingly, this seems to perfectly line up with a set of TestField references left in Splatoon 2, implying that the developers may have built off Splatoon 2 maps in this job recruitment. Due to the nintendo.co.jp link being changed to nintendo.com/jp in late February 2024, the website now no longer loads and the link will simply redirect too many times, but the tweet is still up.
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6th July, 2021 - Nintendo Switch OLED Trailer
Trailer Details
A trailer for the Nintendo Switch OLED came out on the 6th of July, 2021. Between the games that were shown in the trailer was additional footage of Splatoon 3 during development. Most of the trailer itself seems to mirror the build that was shown at the release trailer, but it shows additional details that were previously not seen in the original reveal trailer.
- The early shading is shown here, this time using the player's angle instead of a top-down view.
- Tri-Stringer had a charge hold in this version. Interestingly, it looks like this was either scrapped later in development, as there is still implementation for the Tri-Stringer's charge hold, albeit effectively disabled due to there only being 1 frame to hold it.
- More angles of the early Scorch Gorge variant can be seen here, with an earlier right path that allows the player movement towards the side of the map without going through the grate bridge.
- In the final game, this is only seen in Scorch Gorge's Clam Blitz map, albeit with a ramp preventing blockage rather than a fully fledged right path.
- A stray Tenta Missile can be seen in the first part of Splatoon 3's section in the trailer, at 1:43. Interestingly, none of the weapons shown ended up getting Tenta Missiles as one of their kit's specials in the final game.
Trailer Screenshots
14th July, 2021 - Artwork Release
Nintendo published a new piece of official artwork for Splatoon 3 on all official accounts. The art features the promotional characters VeronIKA, Hirooooo, AnemoneNo1, and TakoTruck posing at Scorch Gorge, with YARRwhal behind them, striking a pose incredibly similar--but likely unrelated--to the Tricolor Turf War win emote when the other attacking team wins.
