One of the most interesting aspects of the Splatoon series is its penchant for surprisingly deep lore. The first two games featured numerous hints to the flooded world that existed before Inklings became a dominant species, while Splatoon 3 gets a lot more overt with the truth of the matter.
In spite of the numerous questions that Splatoon 3's story finally answers, there are still just as many stones left unturned. In fact, despite the fairly solid resolution, the ending of the story actually presents a gaggle of entirely new conundrums for us to ponder.
Obviously, we'll be getting into severe spoilers for Splatoon 3's Hero Mode. Go play it first, it's quite a ride!
10 How Long Has O.R.C.A. Been Active?
When you first enter Alterna, you're greeted by its automated guidance system, O.R.C.A. According to the Alterna Log, O.R.C.A. was originally created by the scholars of Alterna to function as a digital record keeper, keeping track of both human history and their own discoveries.
What isn't clear is how long O.R.C.A. has been active. Was it still up and running when Alterna fell, and it's just been humming along quietly for thousands of years? Or did it go dormant with the fall of humanity, and was only recently reactivated by Mr. Grizz to run his operation?
9 Why Does O.R.C.A. Dispense Power Eggs And Ink Weapons?
As you trek through Alterna's various tests and challenges, O.R.C.A. regularly rewards you with Power Eggs and cycles out your ink weaponry. Why does O.R.C.A. have access to either of these, though? Power Eggs, at least presumably, come from Salmonids, which didn't exist until well after the fall of humanity, and the same goes for ink weaponry and Inklings.
It's possible that Mr. Grizz retrofitted O.R.C.A. with this tech while he was creating his egg-gathering operation, but even then, why would it offer ink weapons in Alterna? It's one thing to rent out weapons from Grizzco proper, but as far as Mr. Grizz was concerned, Inklings should never have set foot in Alterna.
8 How Many People Actually Lived In Alterna?
According to the Alterna Log, the remnants of humanity lived in their dome for a few decades, at least long enough for a new generation to be born and reach adulthood. As you walk through Alterna yourself, though, it doesn't exactly look… habitable. There are only a handful of islands with anything even resembling housing facilities.
The dome barely seems big enough to sustain a small community, let alone humanity's remnants. Granted, the collapse of the rock structures around the dome might have caused some flooding, so it's entirely possible there's a whole city under the islands that we're just not seeing.
7 Is There A Connection Between Alterna And Kamabo Corporation?
If you've played Splatoon 2's Octo Expansion, then it's pretty hard to dismiss the similarities between Alterna's systems and those of the Kamabo Corporation. The layout of the tests, the reward and toll structure, the ink weapon systems; it's all too close to be a coincidence.
Commander Tartar mentioned that it and Kamabo were created by a brilliant human scientist who sought to pass humanity's wisdom onto the next dominant species of Earth. Given Alterna's population of brilliant scientists, it's possible, and in fact likely, that Kamabo's founder was an Alterna native.
6 How Did Mr. Grizz Start Grizzco?
According to the Alterna Log, the test subject bear that would come to be known as Mr. Grizz gained super-intelligence after spending thousands of years dreaming in cryo sleep before returning to Earth. This was how, upon rediscovering Alterna, he was able to repair it and develop the first samples of Fuzzy Ooze. However, to facilitate the Ooze's creation, and his own plan to spread it, he needed Golden Eggs, which is what Grizzco is for.
How did Mr. Grizz actually secure the capital and equipment for Grizzco, though? Presumably, he's got some cutouts handling things above-ground, but he had to have made contact with Inklings here and there to get his business off the ground. Even if he never revealed himself, how was he able to wire any money to buy things like real estate?
5 How Did Mr. Grizz Get Octarians?
On the subject of acquisitions, the Alterna test chambers are absolutely lousy with Octarians, converted to Mr. Grizz's cause thanks to the Fuzzy Ooze. Presumably, he assembled this little army to repel intruders, as well as to have a steady supply of test subjects for the Ooze. How did he get them in the first place, though?
DJ Octavio, for his numerous faults, is protective of his troops. That's why he's flying around in the Octobot King in the Crater, because he's out looking for them. How did Mr. Grizz manage to snag his Octarian subjects right from under Octavio's proverbial nose, and presumably without actually leaving Alterna?
4 Why Can Smallfry Eat Fuzzy Ooze?
Salmonids have proven that they are capable of incredible feats of both physicality and invention, despite their… unusual ways. That said, they are just as vulnerable to ink weaponry as Inklings, Octolings, and presumably any other sea creature. Why, then, is Smallfry able to ignore the detrimental effects of Fuzzy Ooze and devour Fuzzballs whole?
Cap'n Cuttlefish notes offhand that Salmonids are capable of some pretty wild feats when empowered by their own Power Eggs. This is certainly evident given the wide variety of Salmonid subspecies. Perhaps sufficient empowerment improves Smallfry's metabolism to the point that he can digest the Ooze faster than it can digest him?
3 What Happened To Cap'n Cuttlefish?
In the climax of Hero Mode, Mr. Grizz explains over the radio that he needs the collective knowledge of humanity contained in the liquid crystals. These crystals are apparently stored in Cap'n Cuttlefish's brain, for which Mr. Grizz dehydrates him to steal. In spite of his apparent lack of a brain, however, Cap'n Cuttlefish is still fully cognizant and ambulatory, if not a lot smaller and more wrinkly.
Since we don't actually see what Mr. Grizz does to Cap'n Cuttlefish, it's difficult to guess what he actually took from him. It's possible that he didn't need all of his brain, just a few important bits. Inklings are biologically flexible creatures, after all, so perhaps Cap'n Cuttlefish's body was able to restore the important bits after being rehydrated.
2 Why Did Smallfry Turn Into Hugefry?
Previous Splatoon games have shown that singing the Calamari Inkantation can make miraculous things happen, usually in the ballpark of undoing brainwashing or empowering heroes. That said, there's a gulf of difference between "undoing brainwashing" and "transforming a little fish guy into a giant flying fish monster."
And yet, perhaps because Callie and Marie were singing alongside Deep Cut, the Inkation manages to spontaneously infuse Smallfry with the power of all of Earth's marine life, and transform him into the aptly named Hugefry. Is this something all Salmonids are capable of doing, or can only Smallfry do it because he's your little buddy?
1 Who's Running Grizzco?
During the credits roll of Splatoon 3, you can see Mr. Grizz floating around in space, presumably still alive but likely trapped in orbit. By this point, his plan has been completely scuttled, and even if it hadn't been, he's hardly in a position to secure any more resources from the planet. So… why is Grizzco still open?
Obviously, Grizzco can't close because then you couldn't play Salmon Run, but even putting that aside, Mr. Grizz still calls you during your shifts to issue orders and whatnot. We're just speculating here, but the likely answer to this one is that all of Mr. Grizz's calls have been pre-recorded from the start, and the egg-gathering process is mostly automated. All the collected eggs going forward are probably just going to end up in a big, unattended pile somewhere.
Source: Read Full Article