The reason, again, was in the content, but in one that had little to do with sneakers and hats: Super Mario Galaxy contained ideas, hundreds, thousands, and each one lasted exactly as long as it took for the next to appear. They are hallmarks that amazed us on Wii, and that they repeated in its sequel, one of the best games in history and a title that no one in their right mind would dare to accuse of being derivative. It is easy to remember when we fly to a new world, when we land on it and orbit the camera studying the archipelago of floating islands that make it up, or when we overcome each of those small challenges and a small propeller appears on the scene to catapult us to the next. There’s a lot of Galaxy in this Splatoon, or more specifically in its single player side.

I’m talking, of course, about Super Mario Galaxy 2. However, with three of the worlds that articulate its story mode surpassed, I think it is reasonable to use another reference, one that also wore that number on the shirt. Offering more of all this and going to sleep sounded like the most sensible option, and in that sense all the material centered on rollers that now allow vertical splashing and pairs of inkers that allow somersaults have not helped much: the new Splatoon, despite to that squid-shaped 2 that adorns its cover, it smelled like Splatoon Deluxe, something that wouldn’t necessarily have been dramatic either. They are also titles that base much of their appeal on a portable adaptation, and titles based on content: more tracks, more vehicles, more weapons, more arenas, more T-shirts and caps. Switch is, if everything continues as before and the production lines are lenient, his opportunity to shine in the face of the general public, his bath of masses, and return to take the exam with the lesson learned should be enough.

On the one hand, there is the obvious: both titles were resounding successes in the catalog of a console that nobody bought, and the two most immediate cartridges in a shotgun that Nintendo seems determined to fire twice. Despite its status as a direct sequel, and the weight that rests on the shoulders of a team in charge of proving that the original was not an anomaly and that the youngest of the old Nintendo are not a publicity claim, the parallels are simply too many. From the moment of its announcement, the destinations of this Splatoon 2 and the Deluxe version of Super Mario Kart 8 seem to have traveled even paths.

Splatoon 2 octo expansion walkthrough