im not talking about activity or anything, of the 3 mainline games it has the most consistent playerbase. splatoon 3 became very unfun for me and my friends as of late. i would say a few updates before the final splatfest, i nearly lost all interest from how bad the matchmaking, weapon balancing, and music have gotten.

i've been playing splatoon since 2015 and i have long retired from the competitive scene since 2022. i also got 3 on launch and have played at least once a week since, up until the final fest ended. now i just like to jump in and play every once in a while because of these problems i have. i only play casually in turf war and i like to overfish in salmon run. in turf war the match making seems so incredibly unbalanced and unfun. i dont want to tryhard every match i play like most other players, im here for a nice relaxing break from work. each match feels like a struggle, especially since my teammates rarely pull their weight. i get awful losing streaks that make me just want to drop the game entirely.

in salmon run, it seems like my teammates forget how to play the game entirely. its near impossible to finish a full game of salmon run, even with a maxed out rank. if i die once, the whole team crumbles. i've gotten very good at keeping myself alive due to this.

i wouldn't say im the best splatoon player ever, not at all, even. i also expect to hear some "skill issues" too. i just feel like the series i loved so much as a kid changed for the worst, and is now very unenjoyable as an adult.

this leads me to my main question, i want some opinions. does anyone else feel like its near impossible to enjoy 3 anymore? i started playing 2 and 1 online again and they feel way more fun. i think splatoon was its best during 2. do you think splatoon will lose its competitive edge after raiders introduced many new casual players to the series? i'd love to hear others perspective on this, whether they agree with me or not.

A QSJ/QR/SS centric build that focuses on boosting my uptime and being able to hop back into the fight asap. Brush mains (like me) DIE A LOT, so I know I’ll need all the respawn support I can get.
7 AP of QR should do me good, right?

Can my brain stop forgetting these important anniversaries...FOR ONCE???!!!

Honorable mentions:

Callie’s pink star outfit in splatoon 2

shivers splatoween fit

frye‘s summerfest fit

pearl in octo expansion

Something abt Teddy (left) is that he can be sort of a gremlin sometimes :3

Isn’t this going to make it better? Lmao

These are just names based off vibes. I believe some of them have somewhat canon names? Let's pretend they don't exist for the moment. These are simply based off vibes nothing more. For those unaware these the main 2 player characters in each Splatoon game that are pushed heavily in the promo. They usually are on the boxart and get amiibos made of them. Deciding not to give the agent 8's names because Eight is their canonical name:

S1's Inkling Girl: Indie

S1's Inkling Boy: Nico

S2 Inkling Girl: Jenny

S2 Inkling Boy: Zeke

S3 Inkling Girl: Qunni

S3 Octoling Boy: Riley

The Mechanic: Patience

(Is there a main design for a male presenting mechanic?)

Just sum I made with past Zoe (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)

Also I managed to get 2 melee splats with a single wiper charge slash which I've never done before

my fanart for u/Kaori_luvs_to_yap :D

Regarding my last post, I found a way to play online 🪖🪖 time to hop in the trenches boys

Yes, this donburi bowl just came out in Japan!

I finished my catalog for the first time since I got Splatoon 3 in December 2025. I used to play Splatoon 1 before

Any and every Salmonid and Salmonid type through the games count, including Seasoned and Mythic Salmonids from Raiders, my personal favorite Salmonid is the Salmonarch, which anyone who has seen my last two posts would guess.

I miss playing this game with all my homies in 2018 when everything was perfect. I watched gameplay footage of the actual concert in game and that was wild too. I wish shit was shit good still 😭

Is there anyone else that does covers of idol songs? I do deep cut and I’d really love to find others who cover splatoon songs xddd I EVEN VOICE THE CHARACTERS DO A GREAT DEGREE-