Nintendo of America has revealed the Grand Festival for Splatoon 3. The Splatfest will celebrate the game’s two-year anniversary and feature the following options: Past vs Present vs Future.
Nintendo initially released Splatoon 3 in September 2022. Previously, the game was going through its 2023 Chill Season. The season initially began on December 1 and features a wealth of new weapons, the returning Bluefin Depot map, new clothing, and so much more. On March 1, Splatoon 3 began its Fresh Season, which included new maps, weapons, and more. It is currently unknown if the upcoming event will serve as the game’s final Splatfest.
Splatoon 3 Confirms Grand Festival and Announces Theme: Past vs Present vs Future
Nintendo has announced the upcoming Grand Festival for Splatoon 3, a special Splatfest with a unique theme: Past vs Present vs Future. While the Nintendo of America account doesn’t describe it as the final Splatfest, the Nintendo of Japan seems to describe it as the “final battle.” Each of the idols from the Splatoon series will return for the upcoming Splatfest. The Squid Sisters from Splatoon will represent the past, Off the Hook from Splatoon 2 represents the present, and Deep Cut from Splatoon 3 represents the future. Check out the trailer for the upcoming Splatfest below:
Splatoon 3‘s big story expansion, Side Order, is available now. Nintendo provided an overview for the DLC via a trailer released in February. The trailer reveals what fans can expect from the expansion’s gameplay loop. Players can try to traverse the massive “Spire of Order.” Along the way, they can which floor to go to and whether to set the difficulty to easy, medium, or hard. The higher the difficulty, the harder the challenge for completing the floor. It also means better rewards and better color chip enhancements.
The color chip enhancements are upgrades similar to those you might find in a rougelite like Hades or Sifu. Essentially, they upgrade Agent 8’s abilities and enhance them in certain ways. For example, it can increase your firing rate, give you a faster cooldown on abilities, and more.
However, much like a roguelite, if you die/fail to complete your objection, you are forced to start from the beginning and you lose all enhancements. That said, the enhancements you earned are converted to points which you can use to install permanent upgrades to health and more.
Splatoon 3 is available now on the Nintendo Switch. The Grand Festival will begin on September 12.
