Nintendo is currently generating a lot of headlines in the lead-up to Illumination’s first Super Mario Bros. movie trailer debuting this Thursday. A number of video game franchises have seen great success with animated or hybrid live-action film adaptations in recent years, notably Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog, but this is just one avenue for multimedia content that can advertise a particular series. Splatoon 3‘s Rise of the Mammalians lines up one option by suggesting a character has been running their own in-universe podcast.
As with the first two Splatoon games, Rise of the Mammalians has players collect Sunken Scrolls to provide tidbits of lore about new and returning characters – though Nintendo moved these collectibles to the Alterna overworld rather than hiding them within levels. These scrolls include a brief look into the lives of Splatoon 3‘s new idol group Deep Cut, all the shopkeepers around Splatsville, and some exposition regarding the whereabouts of idols from previous games. From a marketing perspective, Marie has the most interesting pitch via a long-running podcast called “Marie After Midnight.”
The Rise of the Squid Sisters in Splatoon
The Squid Sisters were central characters in 2015’s Splatoon on Wii U. They ran the Inkopolis News broadcast that kept players up-to date on current multiplayer map rotations and Splatfest themes, but the Octo Valley story mode also revealed they were Agent 1 (Callie) and Agent 2 (Marie) of the New Squidbeak Splatoon. Working alongside the player character, dubbed Agent 3 by the duo’s grandfather Cap’n Cuttlefish, Callie and Marie helped rescue the Great Zapfish from DJ Octavio and the Octarian army.
Despite performing under the stage name Squid Sisters, Callie and Marie are actually cousins, and after Marie’s victory in Splatoon‘s final Splatfest they decided to try having solo careers. Splatoon 2‘s Octo Canyon story opens with Callie having gone missing, so Marie helps the player – dubbed Agent 4 – rescue her cousin once it’s revealed she has been mind controlled by DJ Octavio. By the time Splatoon 3 rolls around they’ve come back together as part of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, now working underneath the original Agent 3 (who became their own NPC during Splatoon 2‘s Octo Expansion).
Even when they aren’t performing together, Callie and Marie are popular celebrity idols in the Splatoon world. Their performance of “Calamari Inkantation” during the final battle of the Wii U title is even considered a pivotal moment when Octolings began to defect from the Octarian army. Integrating Inkling and Octoling cultures only made the duo more popular, with characters like Marina from Splatoon 2‘s idol group Off the Hook expressing a deep admiration for the Squid Sisters.
Callie and Marie are not just popular within Splatoon‘s universe, they’re essentially mascots for a shooter series that otherwise leans on customizable player characters. Generic Inklings serve as fighters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but the Squid Sisters also perform as an Assist Trophy. Splatoon 3‘s Sunken Scrolls reveal Marie is 100 episodes deep into a podcast at the same time as Off the Hook joins a new band called Damp Socks, and there’s a good chance “Marie After Midnight” would be just as popular among real-life fans.
This pitch isn’t that farfetched considering how much Splatoon has leaned into multimedia storytelling and outreach compared to other Nintendo franchises. For example, the initial breakup of the Squid Sisters was chronicled through a web series called “Squid Sisters Stories” uploaded in weekly installments prior to Splatoon 2‘s launch. Callie and Marie also appeared alongside Off the Hook’s Pearl and Marina as “live” hologram idols during a real-world Splatoon concert in 2019.
Splatoon is currently one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises, and its influence continues to grow – evidenced by the huge initial sales of Splatoon 3 in Japan that surpassed games like Breath of the Wild and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. There’s a good chance many of those fans would listen to a podcast advertising Splatoon 3‘s features under the guise of interviews conducted by Marie, even if Nintendo leaned into garbled Inkling language for each episode. However, a more serious product that let Splatoon‘s voice actors come together to talk about in-universe events or some behind-the-scenes details would be a much more exciting prospect.
Splatoon 3 is available now on Nintendo Switch.
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