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[EmCeeGramr]

Full translation from Nintendo Everything
Video recap of NE article by GameXplain



On being a sequel:

The new Splatoon title has finally been announced. Can you tell us again what the idea behind this game is?

It's a proper sequel to Splatoon, as you can see by the ”2" in the name. We're making a game that fans of the first can enjoy. I also want to give anyone who was interested in the first, but did not play it, a chance to jump into the fun. That way, it will truly be a proper sequel.


The fact that the title just has a ”2", and no subtitle, feels very straight to the point. What reason did you have for naming it like that?

I believe fans were expecting a ”second" Splatoon, so our response was to give them what they wanted.


The situation reminds me of the original Animal Crossing on the Nintendo 64 (note: Japan-only), which received an updated release on the Nintendo GameCube. Did you also consider doing that?

Mhmm. We had given it some thought, but in the two years since Splatoon launched, players have already experienced all of the fun that was possible to have in it. So I thought we should not only add features, but wipe the slate clean. We wanted to give people who have played up until now the ability to experience the feeling of a fresh new start once again.


So you're saying, as a proper sequel, it's a fresh new take on various things.

The gameplay fundamentals are still the same, of course, and the basic Turf War rules haven't changed [...] but the Special Weapons have all been given makeovers. I decided to have the weapons be gradually released as well, like before. We plan to have more weapons than the first game, with the available choices at the start being more numerous than the original. But I wanted players to once again enjoy the changes in the weapon trends as new ones are steadily introduced. The combinations of Main Weapons and Specials have been changed, and the Sub Weapons are also being revised, so I hope everyone who played the first will enjoy testing out all of the new combinations for themselves.

On the pose:

Speaking of ”2", that ”2" pose during the presentation was really something...

I... was prepared for the cold reception. (Dry laugh)


Still, I didn't think you would do it twice in such a tense, crowded atmosphere. And the second time made me think ”He did it!!", it had a strangely emotional feeling to it. (Laughs)

I thought just once wasn't enough. The second time also had that slight pause. (Laughs)


Your spirit was amazing! This is getting a little off topic, but it seems the foreign developers who were present were thinking ”This is what that Nogami guy is like?" (Laughs)

(Both laugh)

No no, that was the Squid Researcher, not me. (Laughs)

All main weapons from the first game will appear in 2, and they plan to have more variety at launch and update the game similarly to 1, with a larger final weapon count:

By the way, will there be any weapon similar to the Dynamo Roller in this game? I bet its vertical swipe would have the same reach as a Charger...

Its stats will be adjusted, but yes, all of the Main Weapons from the first game will appear again. Their specific abilities are still being researched.

On the topic of weapon categories, you haven't announced anything about Sloshers and Splatlings, have you? (Note: when this interview took place, no information on them had been revealed yet)

If you look at the image accompanying the announcement for the event, you'll see there is a Splatling. Sloshers will be in too, of course. Also, Blasters, and Brushes, and all of the other secondary variations are all in the game as well. Every Main Weapon from the first game will appear in 2.


So the weapon lineup in 2 will be an expansion upon what was available in the first game?

That's right. They have all had their parameters adjusted, and we plan to have more available in the end, compared to the first game.

I've heard that the special weapons have all been completely redone.

That is true. All of the special weapons from the previous game have been changed.


Did you change them because of the difference in control schemes?

Yes and no. I wanted to reset the tactics used in the game as well. The most used weapons in the game are the Mains and Subs, so the fundamental strategies will be similar to the first game. However, Special Weapons can turn the tide of battle, so strategies revolved around them. Therefore, changing the Special Weapons will greatly shift players' strategies. I mentioned earlier that I wanted everyone to enjoy the game from a fresh start once more. These changes are part of that.

On how much they showed at the event:

You've already shown the Dualies, but will there be even more new weapon types available?

I wonder... These things are still being researched, so I can't say much about them, but even things that were announced here will probably be subject to change in the future.


I suppose that's true. With the first game, there were big changes made to the stages and such between E3 2014 and the final release.

Indeed. We changed many things. We studied various things from the first game, and acquired a lot of know-how. So, we will be spending a lot of time playing this title, so that we can give fans the most balanced game we can.

I see. Only the most basic parts of the game were announced here.

What we revealed today was a bit more than what we did for the first game at E3 2014. Since the online battles are still the biggest draw of the series, we only showed a small part of the changes in store, not the full picture. I mentioned that Hero Mode would be included, but the other features we're bringing to the game will be announced when the time is right. They're still being researched, after all...

On single player and the game's setting:

Let's turn to the setting of the game. It's been established that two years have passed in the in-game world. There are much grander settings in foreign shooting games, so I think it's a little uncommon to have such a down-to-earth game world.

I wanted to make it feel connected to the real world, where two years have passed since the first game. I mentioned this when the first game came out, but the younger Inklings are obsessed with the trendy cutting-edge Turf Wars. There's a whole culture surrounding it with the gear and everything. I wanted the changes in these fads to parallel the changes in the players over these two years, so we set the game two years later.


The protagonist Inklings were around 14 years old in the first game, so now they'd be around 16...

The previous playable Inklings would be around 16 now, so the new 14 year old Inklings will step up to the plate. The playable Inklings will still be around 14.


There were a number of interesting shots shown in the second half of the announcement video... I'd like to know more about them, especially since the Octarians seem to be back.

Of course. We're planning on bringing back Hero Mode, and of course, there will be villains. However, this is still under heavy investigation by the squid researchers. (Laughs)


And something that seems to be Judd's child makes an appearance.

We don't know for sure if it's Judd's child yet, but since they judge matches along with him, they may be related. We may find the answers to this someday, too.


We also saw the back of a character that looked like Marie. They seemed downcast, so I was wondering if maybe the Squid Sisters disbanded...

Callie will definitely appear as well. (Dry laugh) She was a little busy, so she didn't show up in the video. I hope you look forward to finding out she was up to.


I also found it interesting that Crusty Sean showed up with a food stand.

Oh! Good job spotting such a small detail. (Laughs) I wanted to have characters like him show up in this game too, but since we've changed the location from Inkopolis Plaza to Inkopolis Square, their roles have also been changed. For example, Crusty Sean worked as the manager of a shoe store in the first game, and now he's running his own independent shop.

HD Rumble confirmed:

I can't wait! Since the Nintendo Switch features HD Rumble, will this game be using it?

It will indeed make use of HD Rumble. Since it's capable of very expressive feelings, we're putting a lot of effort in to get the best tactile sensations possible.


I think it would be cool if it shook whenever you scored a good hit with a Charger.

Yeah, exactly. (Laughs) If the vibrations connected you to the moments where you splatted an enemy, or did something awesome, then you'd be more immersed in those moments. That's the kind of use I'd like to include.

Other notes include:
-You can actually go into squid form while using the Inkjet to lower your hovering height
-The curling bomb has a timer you can hold to determine how long until it explodes; it won't blow up on contact, only knock back enemies
-The new Bomb Rush looking special (with the mechanical launcher) is based on the Nintendo Ultra Machine, which was a pitching machine
-Nogami notes that they're improving the graphics, but focusing on 60fps

There's more info behind the link, but it's mostly known things.

 

[RampagingSoul]

Good to know they are looking to improve graphics, but they are focusing on 60 fps. Lots of great and interesting information about the game from the interview too.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

Awesome interview! I can't wait to see the new weapon types, since he pretty clearly hinted at them.

Of course, I'm also preemptively groaning at all the people who still won't think it's a sequel despite this interview literally having 4 questions meant to establish it's a sequel

 

[skypunch]

This is cool 'n' all, but where's the Xenoblade 2 interview?

 

[atom519]

Would have liked to hear a bit more about the single player, but game is shaping up to be a killer sequel. The test fire event late March is going to be an awesome break from BoTW.

Can't wait!

 

[PadWarrior]

Hero Mode?

 

[AcademicSaucer]

I hope the campaign is bigger this time.

 

[Omega Kirby]

As long as the Hydra Splatling returns, I'm ready

 

[James Scott]

I imagine Splatoon 2 is gonna get a resolution bump. Can't imagine there's any reason for the docked mode to be exactly the same as the handheld mode if not for it not being optimized yet and it would run poorly at the moment.

I hope the campaign is bigger this time.

The first campaign was really good, but they can probably make it a tad longer for sure.
Maybe the amiibo modes can be made in game this time around.

 

[DecoReturns]

Funny, he saids people were expecting a sequel, but a lot were actually expecting a port.

Also Glad they just put the 2 in the title. I like simple sequel titles

 

[AdanVC]

So freaking hyped for this game. I started from not giving a damn about Splatoon when it was first revealed to be one of my favorite games of the last 5 years.

 

[HawthorneKitty]

Haha, yeah, Nogami and the crew are totally serious about their roles at the Squid Research Labs in their public outings.

 

[random25]

So it was actually Crusty Sean who is on that food stand. I thought it was a different tempura lol.

 

[JershJopstin]

All the main weapons are back? Sweet, was kinda worried I'd have to get used to something that isn't a squiffer.

Hero Mode?

Campaign.

 

[PadWarrior]

Ah thanks!

 

[Yukinari]

Im happy that all the weapons from the 1st game are coming back but i hope they dont drip feed already finished content to the players again and allow the map rotation to be bigger.

Or just you know, let people pick what mode they wanna play?

 

[OCD Guy]

I'll be in the minority but I'm actually looking forward to the campaign more than anything.

The first one surprised me with regards to how much I enjoyed it, and if they can expand on it and make it feel a bit more "meaty" I'll be in for a treat.

 

[James Scott]

Im happy that all the weapons from the 1st game are coming back but i hope they dont drip feed already finished content to the players again and allow the map rotation to be bigger.

Or just you know, let people pick what mode they wanna play?

I think they'll need a bigger variety at launch, but the drip feed thing was actually really cool.
It gave a reason to return to the game ever week way after launch.

 

[ThanksVision]

Your spirit was amazing! This is getting a little off topic, but it seems the foreign developers who were present were thinking “This is what that Nogami guy is like?” (Laughs)

(Both laugh)

No no, that was the Squid Researcher, not me. (Laughs)

i love this

 

[B00TE]

So looking forward to trying this and getting a feel for the changes.

 

[-Horizon-]

I'm intrigued with how they'll put in HD rumble.

 

[Yukinari]

I think they'll need a bigger variety at launch, but the drip feed thing was actually really cool.
It gave a reason to return to the game ever week way after launch.

Splatfests, balance changes and actual new DLC not already finished would be reasons to come back.

Wasnt a fan of them holding back finished maps that took ages to come out.

 

[Malus]

LOL the first few questions and answers.

"So it's a sequel?"

"yes"

"Why is it Splatoon 2?"

"Because it's a sequel"

"This reminds me of that animal crossing updated release"

"Yeah but it's a sequel this time"

"So you're saying as a sequel it'll be different"

"yes"

 

[UnemployedVillain]

I think they'll need a bigger variety at launch, but the drip feed thing was actually really cool.
It gave a reason to return to the game ever week way after launch.

He flat out said there'd be

We plan to have more weapons than the first game, with the available choices at the start being more numerous than the original.

I really want a good story mode that is something along the lines of Ratchet & Clank, that could be amazing. I didn't like Splatoon 1's campaign

You're not going to get a story mode at the leve of a single player game in a primarily multiplayer game

 

[essenn]

I really want a good story mode that is something along the lines of Ratchet & Clank, that could be amazing. I didn't like Splatoon 1's campaign

 

[watershed]

Great interview. I'm loving everything I hear about Splatoon 2. I'm glad they're gonna have more content at launch than Splatoon 1 but also keep the rolling updates of new weapons and stuff.

 

[Glass Joe]

Nice to hear they're still working on improving the graphics but not at the expense of 60fps. Would be great if they could get this going at 1080p like Mario Kart (or at least 900p like Zelda). 720p on the handheld and 720p when docked seems like there's no optimization for TV play at all.

 

[tonyh24613]

I need more words on the music.

I hope the campaign is bigger this time.

Same amount based on last 4gamer interview.

This is cool 'n' all, but where's the Xenoblade 2 interview?

I doubt Nintendo will ever talk about it before E3. lol

 

[phanphare]

glad to see it'll implement hd rumble

with how on point their sound design and visual cues were in the first game I'm sure it'll do an extremely good job of conveying what's happening in the game

 

[Blues1990]

I do wonder if the Splatoon amiibo made for the first game are compatible with Splatoon 2. Be a shame if they won't be supported.

 

[watershed]

The full interview is really in-depth. Nogami also confirms the return of Splatfest, though I don't know if that was ever in question.

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

I wish they'd come out and say how big the campaign is in comparison to Splatoon 1.

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

Same amount based on last 4gamer interview.

Dam well that's disappointing.

 

[ZeoVGM]

I wonder if they could us HD rumble to somehow replicate the amount of ink in your tank.

 

[Eliseo]

LOL the first few questions and answers.

"So it's a sequel?"

"yes"

"Why is it Splatoon 2?"

"Because it's a sequel"

"This reminds me of that animal crossing updated release"

"Yeah but it's a sequel this time"

"So you're saying as a sequel it'll be different"

"yes"

This https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uItBqcvJSic lol

 

[udivision]

Of course, I'm also preemptively groaning at all the people who still won't think it's a sequel despite this interview literally having 4 questions meant to establish it's a sequel

I wondered what Japan thought about it being a "true" sequel, and it seems like they were worried about that too. Dude kept asking, lol.

 

[Eliseo]

Double post, stupid net.

 

[ss-hikaru]

The full interview is really in-depth. Nogami also confirms the return of Splatfest, though I don't know if that was ever in question.

And confirmed that they will be regional once again. I might have to play Splatoon in Japanese again for the superior splatfests. I saw what European/Australian lagfests were like and I sure don't want to experience them!

 

[ThatRandomCliff]

Funny, he saids people were expecting a sequel, but a lot were actually expecting a port.

Also Glad they just put the 2 in the title. I like simple sequel titles

I feel like a lot of people were expecting a port simply because of the rumor, on here anyways.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

I feel like a lot of people were expecting a port simply because of the rumor, on here anyways.

Yeah. A lot of us got played pretty hard.

Kind of interesting (not really) how all the leakers suddenly ran out of things to talk about after January 13th.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

Yeah. A lot of us got played pretty hard.

Kind of interesting (not really) how all the leakers suddenly ran out of things to talk about after January 13th.

Yeah, I said the same thing how it was really odd how right after the presentation suddenly there are ZERO leaks. Okay...

 

[Cerium]

Yeah, I said the same thing how it was really odd how right after the presentation suddenly there are ZERO leaks. Okay...

It helps that all of the ones on this forum were banned.

Liam Robertson is still salty.

 

[Christberg]

Nice to hear they're still working on improving the graphics but not at the expense of 60fps. Would be great if they could get this going at 1080p like Mario Kart (or at least 900p like Zelda). 720p on the handheld and 720p when docked seems like there's no optimization for TV play at all.

Probably getting all the levels nailed to 60 FPS on handheld specs before looking into docked mode changes. Get it figured out during the final optimization pass.

 

[marc^o^]

It will indeed make use of HD Rumble. Since it’s capable of very expressive feelings, we’re putting a lot of effort in to get the best tactile sensations possible.

Oh yes.

 

[DecoReturns]

It helps that all of the ones on this forum were banned.

Liam Robertson is still salty.

Kinda deserved his banned honeslty, got hostile with the leak that caused him to be banned

 

[javadoze]

Speaking of “2”, that “2” pose during the presentation was really something…

I… was prepared for the cold reception. (Dry laugh)


The hero we need.

 

[watershed]

It helps that all of the ones on this forum were banned.

Liam Robertson is still salty.

Everyone who was banned deserved it. A lot of "leakers" were SWEARING by their leaks.

 

[Jaagen]

Nice to hear they're still working on improving the graphics but not at the expense of 60fps. Would be great if they could get this going at 1080p like Mario Kart (or at least 900p like Zelda). 720p on the handheld and 720p when docked seems like there's no optimization for TV play at all.

If it runs ar 720p/60 in handheld mode, they'll at least have 60% more GPU power to play with docked. I hope 1080p is a priority, since the first one looked rather jaggy on a TV.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

What is HD rumble?

 

[whyamihere]

LOL the first few questions and answers.

"So it's a sequel?"

"yes"

"Why is it Splatoon 2?"

"Because it's a sequel"

"This reminds me of that animal crossing updated release"

"Yeah but it's a sequel this time"

"So you're saying as a sequel it'll be different"

"yes"

It was pretty incredible