Splatoon 3’s ‘Grand Festival’ is the perfect goodbye
During the holiday season, we’ll be republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our campaign. Best of 2024 series. This article was originally published in September. Enjoy!
Soapbox features allow our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random things they’re mulling over. Today, Jim is reminiscing about the epic climax of Splatoon 3…
I am the latter Splatoon series. If you asked me three years ago what my favorite Turf War stage was, the 45 minutes I would have spent Splatoon 2 might have been able to make the “boat” with just one push, but that was only if I was really firing on all cylinders. The Inklings scared me, the movement control made me dizzy, and it all happened too fast for my little brain to process. But then Splatoon 3 came and stole my heart.
What inspired me to choose the third entry, I will never know. Maybe it’s the new yellow/purple color, maybe it’s the explanatory Directs, maybe it’s Smallfry and his customizable hairstyle. Whatever it was, I’m glad I decided to give this game another try because for the past two years, it’s been one of my favorite games on the Switch.
It would then be reasonable to assume that end of “regular updates” because the title is enough to make me feel a bit disappointed. Yet here I am, smiling as I wave it into the sunset. Why? Because the Big Festival is already happening and I think it might just be Nintendo’s perfect goodbye.
Like anyone else with a vague interest in the series, I had a sneaking suspicion that the Big Festival would be a memorable one. It only takes the briefest look @SplatoonNA3,724 tweets highlight this event (that’s my rough estimate) to know that this is going to be a big event, and it already is a big event.
This is more than a 72-hour Splatfest – although it is a lot used to be a 72-hour Splatfest – it’s an all-out party, a celebration of everything that makes Splatoon great, and a complete takeover from the title screen to Turf War. Seriously, even the ‘Splatoon 3’ opening logo was replaced by a billboard advertising the Big Festival.
Nintendo has made some interesting changes on the Splatfest front, with Tricolor Battles available right from the jump, Battle frequency increased tenfold, and a new Grand Splatlands Bowl stage thrown in for good measure. Good. The real star of the show, however, was the center stage, an area so filled with activity and celebration that it was difficult to get around. Not available A grin appeared on my face.
This hub is the festival’s poster child, a multi-stage venue complete with live music, merchandise stands and enough crowd members moving individually to put the Eras Tour to shame (no, Off the Hook didn’t playing Love Story, much to my disappointment). I’ve never been particularly deeply interested in Splatoon’s music, but I even spent some time standing and swaying with the crowd when Squid Sisters took the stage on opening day or when Now or Never Seven performed perform their title part.
And I see you, the Splatoon team, flexing your engineering muscles. Splatoon 3 has always been a pretty good looking game with a very good number of simultaneous moving parts, but Grand Festival takes things to the next level with crowds, lighting, ink drops and more. I want ‘Switch 2’ as much as anyone else, but it’s nice to be reminded of what Nintendo’s little hybrid is capable of.
It was all filled with joy and it was clear that I was not alone in my worship. Looking online this morning, I saw a wave of like-minded squid kids having fun, immersing themselves in music and discovering the secrets of the new area. See for yourself:
Never one to waste an ounce of design, Nintendo even gave us a back door to sneak in and relive the celebrations once the event was over. If, like me, you also find yourself in the clutches of Big Festival, you can rush over to Splatsville’s amiibo section, scan any Squid Sisters, Off the Hook, or Deep Cut amiibo and have the option of traveling Go back in time to see the display or rediscover the center. Come on, that’s neat.
There aren’t many Nintendo games that can be such a huge success, but when it comes to Splatoon 3, Grand Festival fits the bill perfectly. Of course, we still have some regional Splatfests, Big Runs and Eggstra Work shifts to look forward to, but as the final installment of new in Nintendo’s latest series, this isn’t a bad way to say goodbye.
Goodbye Splatoon 3, and thanks for all the squids.
What did you do with Splatoon 3 Grand Festival? Was it the perfect goodbye? Tell us your favorite part of the event in the following poll, then hit the comments section to share your top memories. That’s what the squids said, right?
