
In its first three days _Splatoon 3_ sold a reported 3.45 million physical copies in Japan, making it one of the biggest Switch releases to date. With its ridiculous charm and extremely competitive gameplay, it's no wonder. This was my first _Splatoon_ so I was a little skeptical about giving it a shot. With more than 100 hours and a few particularly brutal Splatfests under my belt, I only regret not giving _Splatoon_ a chance sooner.

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The _Splatoon_ universe is one where humans are extinct due to climate change causing the entire world to flood. After a long period of time, water levels returned to normal and sea creatures, now the dominant life forms of the world, began to evolve and adapt. This is how the series' famous Octolings came to be. When sea levels began to rise again, turf wars broke out to control any remaining land. Those turf wars are what we now throw our controllers at the tv over while screaming for someone to please "nerf the paintbrush".

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I am completely invested in the _Splatoon 3_ universe. I think this series offers some of the most entertaining and creative worldbuilding in gaming right now. My biggest obsession is the diegetic pop bangers provided by the in-universe idol groups, like _Off The Hook_. The in-game music being produced by bands and DJs that also exist in the game is so fun!

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If you decide to jump straight into story mode, you'll get to practice with _Splatoon 3_’s vast arsenal of mass splat-struction. There is a good balance of difficulty in the array of stages, with the exception of a certain _few_. I am well at peace knowing I will never get that cosmetic item for completing every stage. Yep, _completely at peace._..

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If you head into the lobby you can meet your online friends to queue for Turf Wars and Anarchy matches. Turf wars are low stakes battles where the team that has covered most of the map in their ink within the time limit wins. Anarchy Matches are the competitive circuit for players looking for a challenge. To keep things fresh, the maps available for each mode change hourly. There's a free battlepass each season that offers plenty of incentive to queue up over and over again too!

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Around the corner from the lobby is the Tableturf station where you can get a starter deck and a rundown on the new card-battle mini game. You can also challenge other players in the square. I had fun with this. There is cool cosmetic stuff you can unlock from grinding Tableturf matches out if you want to stand out from other players.

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Now for what might be my favorite PvE mode I’ve played in
recent memory: Salmon Run! Inside the very reputable and totally
legit Grizzco building you can queue alone or with up to
three friends for a game of Salmon Run. Salmon Runners are flown to
one of several spawning grounds to secure three loads
of Salmonid eggs. Sounds easy right? After hopping out of the chopper, you’re given a randomized weapon load out to fend off the different challenges of each wave.
Good luck!  You’ll need it.

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Splatoon 3 is charming, immersive, stylish, and difficult as shell
to master. Without a doubt, this is my ♔Game of the Year♔. I’m seriously looking forward to the next Splatfest, starting 11/11, where the teams will be based on Pokémon starters to celebrate Scarlet and Violet’s release the following week!


Splatoon 3


Released in the US January of 1998 to critical acclaim,
_Final Fantasy Tactics_ became an instant classic. I’d eventually find
my copy on a shelf at EB Games during the summer of 2003 for my 10th
Birthday. This was my introduction to the series and I’d spend
countless hours after school trying different combinations of jobs,
starting new playthroughs (after getting soft locked into un-winnable
save files), and drawing my favorite sprites all over my homework.
While scrolling through the app store on my
iPad almost 20 years later, I found the iOS port of the PSP remaster, _Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the
Lions_. Quickest 14 bucks(7.99 right now!) I’d spent since my last Starb’s run.

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This port is probably the best, most accessible way to experience
the game. The touch controls are intuitive except for unavoidable
frustration when moving the cursor on craggy maps. In terms of
Tactical RPGs, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions is one of the
GOATs and absolutely a game that deserves (another) remaster for
modern consoles.

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_Final Fantasy Tactics_ is told mostly from the perspective of
Ramza Beoulve, a half-blood heir to the noble Beoulve House, as he
navigates the harsh realities of war and the rift between
the Nobility of Ivalice and everyone else. Ramza is a
self-possessed young man whose belief in doing what’s right compells him to
renounce his nobility and entreat all parties involved to end the titular War of
the Lions. Growing up with his common-born best friend Delita gave
Ramza perspective on what life is like for most people in Ivalice,
which greatly effected him. The relationship between these becomes a driving force for the story as they soon find themselves under opposing banners.

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Ramza’s journey is notably darker than other protagonists in the series.
The tone of _Final Fantasy Tactics_ is constantly bleak, even when celebrating victories. The focus put on expressing the consequences of war makes for a very grounded and compelling narrative. Many of the antagonists feel especially heinous because they explore the darker sides of human depravity that _Final Fantasy_'s typical flagship villains are just not motivated by.

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Ramza's adventures take him through several different locales around Ivalice as he finds himself tangled in political conspiracies. Conspiracies that very quickly cross over into the supernatural. The humility and grace with which Ramza carries himself is compelling and really sets him apart from other _Final Fantasy_ heroes as a cut above the rest.

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_Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions_ added a _lot_ to the base game. New animated cutscenes help contextualize certain plot points while giving life to some of the areas you otherwise only see a single zone from. The voice acting in each cutscene is pretty cool too. Much of the in game dialogue was revised, adding a little flavor to the alread ‘mm-chef’s-kiss story.

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Gameplay involves directing units around a grid-based map. Positioning on each panel is crucial as it can effect a unit's block and dodge chance. Units on both sides will queue their actions up and then execute them individually to end their turn. Any action that is
performed during a turn (except Defending) will earn a unit Job Points
that are used to unlock more powerful abilities for each job.

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_Tactics_' job system is nearly perfect and the core gameplay loop kept me in the job menu after every battle, checking to see if I'd accumulated enough Job Points
for a new spell or ability. Job level is independent of unit level and
certain jobs are locked behind combinations of other job level
requirements. This means units need to switch roles often to round out their toolkits. Further incentivizing job experimentation, each character can be assigned a sub-job to
improve their utility. This means you can have a Knight with Chemist
skills to use potions and other items in a pinch or a Black Mage that
can sling some White Magick support spells.

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There are many unique systems to consider in combat: zodiac sign
combinations working as spell multipliers between characters, a Faith
system that can make units immune to various magicks or extremely
susceptible to them, and even permadeath if any of your units falls in
battle and is not resurrected before a certain number of rounds
completes. All of these systems lend to the game’s unforgiving
difficulty level for new players in the first few chapters. Once you
have a grasp on what’s going on under the hood though, victories
become so rewarding that the game can become hard to put down.

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Two additional jobs were added with War of the Lions, and
are…interesting to say the least. The Dark Knight and Onion Knight
classes are iconic _Final Fantasy_ jobs, however, both require you to go
so far out of your way to be useful that it’s very likely you won’t
even use either job. In my play through, I did not bother with
unlocking either (although Onion Knight is my favorite Final Fantasy
job) and I wasn’t too sore about it. It's very easy to become
overpowered in the last stretch of the game, which was my biggest
gripe playing the game now. I was given so many powerful unique
characters in the last chapter that it felt like all the grinding I
did with my generic units was pointless since you are limited to a
small number of deployable units for each battle.

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I could talk about this game all day, but I'll keep it short and say that if you love tactical RPGs, there’s a good chance you’ve at least heard of _Final Fantasy Tactics_. Believe the hype for this one. This game can be a slam
dunk for anyone looking for an adventure with a rich story and
action you can take at your own pace.


Splatoon 3

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions