Topic: Splatoon 4- Hopes, Theories and Predictions

You guys know how Bluefin Depot has that really unique gimmick where in Splat Zones, the Zone move depending on who has control? That makes me wonder if the next game could take that to the next level. Imagine having a select few stages that are mode-exclusive! (I would assume probably one per mode at launch, with maybe some others being added later.) Some ideas I had would be:

• Zones - A stage where the zone splits apart and reforms, switching between the stage between single- and double-zone versions.
• Clams - A stage where both teams share a single basket, and it just is usable by whichever team scores a Power Clam first. (Then once the time runs out the other team can try to open it.)
• Tower Control - A stage where the Tower morphs to fit various sections of the stage, such as becoming tall and thin to go through a valley or short and fat to cross a gap.
• Rainmaker - A stage where the Rainmaker has a normal, two-checkpoint route, and a super-risky route with a single checkpoint but if you die the Rainmaker gets completely reset.

What do you guys think?

Please let me wear jeans 🙏🏻

Personally hoping the team is working on the next Animal Crossing before making a Splatoon 4. The switch generation had two games, so I feel like it's overdue for another Animal Crossing.

@KidSparta AGREED! I need my jeans, that is what I wear almost exclusively irl...
@VoidofLight They probably are, but it's never to early to start hoping!!

@VoidofLight I love both series a whole lot, but I technically hope the same. Splatoon 2 and 3 are both really solid experiences, but I feel like New Horizons was a particularly weak Animal Crossing game (despite the excellent Happy Home Paradise). To be fair, that’s partially because of lockdowns really complicating their post-launch content plans, but still, I’d really like to see them take another shot at next-gen Animal Crossing as soon as possible. Splatoon 3 can keep me occupied for a while longer, even though the thought of 4 is very exciting.

@CaleBoi25 exactly bro. I want my inkling’s outfits to look like something I’d wear, and I rock a lot of denim

@KidSparta Yeah, New Horizons was a pretty weak title for the series. I feel like looking back, a good chunk of that was because of the move into HD. They modeled all the furniture, NPCs, and environments with an immense amount of detail, and so that probably ate into the development of the actual gameplay. I'm hoping that the next Animal Crossing will be a more complete experience at launch (instead of trickling content), and that the content they do add via updates (if they do updates again) will end up being brand new to the series and not stuff like diving, the roost, etc.

@VoidofLight @KidSparta I see New Horizons as a bit of a soft reboot of the series. New Leaf was the best in the series IMO, so rather than try to make miniscule improvements on that formula, they went in a new direction. I fully expect the next game to be fantastic!
That said, there have been rumors of the dev team being split apart to work on both series at once.

It's weird considering the same team works on both games, and I would agree that Nintendo would give Animal Crossing more of a priority, but I'm not at all expecting it to be a Year 1 Switch 2 game. 2026 seems like a safer bet to me even though I've thought of Splatoon 4 with a late 2026 launch. The next Animal Crossing will be a massive game that could naturally take a while longer. Splatoon can be rolled out fairly quickly by comparison. Maybe they'll work something out?

@CaleBoi25 I genuinely hope it wasn't a soft reboot and was moreso a fluke. The game lacks everything I actually liked about the series and takes it into a direction that I can't enjoy. New Horizons is probably the game I have the least amount of hours in for the series because of how sterile it feels compared to something like New Leaf, City Folk, Wild World, and the Gamecube Original.

I've adored New Horizons while New Leaf didn't do anything for me, but I blame that on my sister holding my hand the entire time in that game, so not putting in the hard work didn't make it special for me even if it's technically the better game. I've almost completely forgotten about it while New Horizons has been so much more special to me than just the pandemic period. It was what got me into the series. Maybe Nintendo can balance between the old and the new with that series to bring the best of both worlds, but the next Animal Crossing likely won't be much different from what was the entry point for many.

But, again, I just don't see it coming so soon. Nothing like the long eight year gap between New Leaf and New Horizons, but still.

@VoidofLight Based on what I have seen online, I think (if Nintendo is paying attention) they will agree. I still think then next entry will be heavily inspired by New Horizons (which, by the way, I love), but will try to incorporate more of the classic "feel" into it.
@Dev1024 My hope is that, regardless of how quickly it can be made, Nintendo will let S4 cook for as long as it needs. I really don't want it to be rushed!!

@Dev1024 Animal Crossing used to have much lesser gaps. The Wii U kinda messed things up for the series along with the move to HD. The next game is most likely going to be reusing a lot of assets, so it shouldn't take as long.

@CaleBoi25 I just hope that they'll go back to tools no longer breaking, along with having actual holidays that you build up towards. The option to let villagers move out of your town on their own again, instead of having the village be a hostage situation- and a reason for watering flowers outside of just growing more of them. I also hope there'll be more progression in the game outside of just customization (given I don't really play the games for the customization aspect as much as I do the other aspects).

It's weird that even golden tools break. Nintendo seemed obsessed with things breaking this generation (e.g. Zelda). Imagine if the weapons in Splatoon randomly broke halfway through a match. Or Marios fireballs 🤔

@FishyS Yeah, that's what I don't get. I'm fine with wooden tools breaking and the normal tools breaking- but if they're going to have that, then why are Golden tools breaking too? Those are meant to basically be the ultimate tools in the game. It's ironic as well, seeing as the Golden Axe's ability was to never break (which isn't the case in New Horizons).

I also miss the silver tools as well. I get that technically you don't need them because New Horizons incorporates the abilities of those tools into the base tools (like the watering can watering multiple flowers at once), but I miss when you got special tools that had special abilites. It added a sense of progression to the game (something New Horizons just sort of lacks).

@VoidofLight Oh, definitely! I actually think that there could a be a workaround to that "hostage situation" though.... I always thought it was weird that villagers live in your town for, what, a couple of weeks? I think having villagers average more like at least a month would be better. Then, for the more "constantly changing" feel, have some sort of hotel or the like (possibly an upgrade to the campsite?), where villagers move on a weekly basis. In other words, villages would be set up like

• 5 "steady" villagers, who move about once a month, and can be convinced to stay.
• 5 "apartment" villagers, with 2 or 3 of them rotating per week, and an option to convince them to move in more permanently.

Back to the actual topic of this thread, I hop S4 includes some sort of custom kits... One idea I have seen tossed around is each weapon has 2 or 3 sub and specials, and you can then mix and match them to your liking.
EG:
Main Weapon: Splat Roller
Possible Subs: [torpedo] [splat bomb] [ink mine]
Possible Specials: [trizooka] [reefslider] [ultra stamp]
Or, each sub and special is worth a certain number of points, and you can have whatever you like so long as the final model does not exceed 10 points.
EG:
Splattershot: 3 Points + Ink Mine: 2 Points + Zipcaster: 4 Points = Total: 9 Points (OK)
Carbonm Roller: 4 Points + Suction Bomb: 3 Points + Trizooka: 5 Points = Total: 12 Points (Not OK)

@CaleBoi25 I wouldn’t be opposed to custom kits, but I also like the excitement of seeing what the next kit will be for existing weapons (you wouldn’t believe how hyped I was for squiffcaster).

I think this current system would be a lot more well received if kits came out more often. Some weapons in Splatoon 3 had to wait longer than a year just to get a second kit. I don’t want to underestimate how much work goes into making new kits even for existing weapons, but it can’t be as hard as developing completely new main weapons. Ideally if they had 4, 5, even 6 kits for each weapon, I don’t know if there would be as much need for custom kits. Then again, maybe they don’t want to do this because if they make a real stinker of a kit, it will very rarely see play if there are several superior options.

@KidSparta Oh, same here! Since the games launch I had "Squiffer with Auto and Zip" on my bingo card... AND THEN IT HAPPENED?!?! I was over the moon! Totally agree, tho. If we can get 3rd kits by the end of year 1, and focus on 3rd kits for year 2... It would be a dream come true!

I just recently joined Nintendo life so I’m just now getting to these discussions, but here’s a list of things I want to see:
New mode on launch
Challenges open 24/7
No more shell out machine (it makes me broke)
Give us the apartments we thought we were getting
4 idols (squid sisters + two new ones maybe a male?)
Custom kits that work like ability chunks (winning with certain subs and specials fill up a supply of points, perhaps 25 wins for one)
New movement options
Endless salmon run
Off the Hook must be somewhere

I have an idea for Custom Kits/Weapons. Kinda building on @Xenoblade-Fan for custom kits you unlock subs and specials by winning with certain specials or splatting X amount of with splat bomb.

But as a separate idea for fully customizable weapons. At level 10 you unlock the ability to make weapons. You choose the weapon type i.e. Charger, you pick your design, and customize the range, charge speed, mobility, ink efficiency, and whether it can save charge or not. So you don't become too OP when you increase charge speed, range decreases. When you choose Light Weight mobility your ink efficiency goes up, and Heavy, decreases efficiency. And so on. I think this idea would work only for a separate mode with wide stages. To also make a community you can save other people's custom weapons and share yours. You can customize almost everything for every weapon type. After you make your weapon you choose special and sub. The hard part is balancing everything so the custom weapons don't come too OP. But it would be a separate mode with extra wide stages so everything works. I feel level 10 or maybe even 15 is a good level so newbies don't get destroyed.

Other ideas I had are pretty similar to @Xenoblade-Fan I really hope Challenges are 24/7 just like Salmon Run. But, I didn't like how they handled it, most challenges weren't challenges. Like everyone uses Splatlings or Dualies. I would like if it was like, only subs or can't refill ink. And I want every challenge in Turf War unless it's a ranked challenge.

Those are my thoughts!