“Listen up! It’s going down…” Shiver announced for the Anarchy Splatcast news program on the Splatoon 3 game on Nintendo Switch. With the final Splatfest of the most recent installment to the Splatoon series, Past versus Present versus Future, fans are wondering what’s next for the series following Team Past’s victory. Throughout the entire series’ lifespan, each game’s final Splatfest results directly impact its successor, evident by the past two games’ impact on their sequels. In the first installment for the Wii U, Splatoon’s “FinalFest” was a face-off between the two pop stars of the Inkling world, Callie versus Marie, who also doubled as the news anchors for the first game. With Marie triumphant over her cousin Callie, the second game poised Callie as the story mode’s main antagonist following her loss. A similar fashion followed in Splatoon 2’s final Splatfest, which stepped things up a notch. News anchors Pearl and Marina represented Chaos versus Order respectively, with Chaos taking home the win. This victory set the tone for Splatoon 3 visually and physically, taking on a more rugged aesthetic with more intense gameplay.
Each installment runs the monthly virtual festivals for approximately two years, holiday reruns excluded. Splatoon 3’s run concluded September 13, just last month with “GrandFest,” which shook things up with a theme that leaves room for interpretation. “If anything the next installment might have a retro aesthetic,” user PandaUniverz said, “Nobody knows for sure what the implications of this win could mean for the next game.” With only two predecessors to the current installment, fans expected a more straightforward theme. It came as a shock to many when players were presented a time-based prompt.
There are several ways a victory for Team Past may affect Splatoon 4, which has reportedly started development according to data miners and insiders. The first concept is time travel, and several players are posing the possibility of a prequel to the first Splatoon. Whether this is exploring the “Great Turf War” the game referenced to be 100 years prior, or an 80’s-90’s set game, it is all still up in the air. “I want a Great Turf War era prequel more than an 80’s or 90’s one,” user OrangePop30 said. The second game had introduced the predecessors to Callie and Marie via a Japanese exclusive art book, the identities of the two cuttlefish idols active during the 80’s and 90’s remain a mystery waiting to be explored. The Splatoon developers are known for doing the unexpected, so fans will have to wait for further information to confirm or deny this idea.
Another proposed idea was a mere mood influence. “As we all know… Splatoon moves in our time,” PandaUniverz said. The game’s developers confirmed the Splatoon series does progress in real-time, a fact that has remained consistent across the current trilogy. The concept of time travel doesn’t align with the constraints set for the world’s rules, but it’s not out of the question given the Splatoon 3: Expansion Pass campaign “Side Order,” which was a parody of the “Matrix” breaks several established rules.
As for what kind of aesthetics Splatoon 4 may pull from, it’s important to remember where the game takes place. The Splatoon series takes place in the remains of Japan, heavily referencing the culture and real-life locations. Since very little western influence is shown in the Splatoon series, fans will likely see more of the traditional Japanese elements as opposed to an American 80s or 90s premise for the next installment.
The successor to the Nintendo Switch is expected to be showcased sometime in 2025, and with reports of Splatoon 4 already in development, the fourth installment to the game series may be a launch title alongside the console.
