AverageArtistAmber!

(Sighs)

Okay, here's a bit more of "the vision" with Donkey Kong Salmonids (since the last few days of the Raiders wait have me deep in brainrot-induced agony). My only real experience with DK is like, Bananza and that one cartoon adaptation that's a massive meme.

Listening to the Bananza soundtrack made me have a Cursed Thought about how the Salmonids would lowkey fit in the Donkey Kong universe.

So the Deltarune update...

Alright, seeing as the direct is like, tomorrow and they’ve just announced the time, I thought I’d throw out a few last-minute ideas and predictions.

I had initially guessed that the Direct itself is that it will be around 20 to 30 minutes in length, though it’s since be confirmed to be 15-followed interestingly by another Treehouse demo, this one being half an hour.

A lot of my guesses here are gonna be pretty “safe”, but I have been feeling like a lot of this game is being kept under wraps, and there’s still a lot to be explained (as someone who’s watched each trailer probably a dozen times from seeing other people’s reactions and attempting my own analysis, there’s quite a few “tiny details” of note.).

Here’s some things I think will be shown off and explained in the direct itself (or shown off in the Treehouse):

Dungeons-Almost definitely, firstly with a full explanation of how they are unlocked. Do you find them in the raids/levels? Or maybe you purchase Dungeon Maps from an NPC (I could see a character akin to Captain Toad or Gerald from my potential characters series used for this purpose).

I think showing dungeons will also be where they showcase the Co-Op multiplayer, with examples of the game’s difficulty scaling depending on the number of participants.

We have noticed that Sunken Scrolls are in the game (found in the levels like in previous Splatoon games), there could be another “lore collectable” that you get in dungeons too? This would be like the Alterna Logs or Marina’s Dev Diaries…Though given the setting they might not necessarily be digital files (unless we’re getting more Human lore or something).

Base Customisation-This is gonna be the second “big” thing shown off, explaining what exactly the customisation entails. Is it adding facilities and services to the base? If so, this might be how a new character is introduced. Or is it something like the “dorm creating” feature that folks have wanted since Splatoon 1 where you can find furniture to decorate with?

I could see there being unlock conditions for the different things you can add to the Hideout Ship, with the direct perhaps showing an early one (like a raid where the gang stumbles upon some old machinery that gives Mechanic some ideas). We’ll maybe see a very brief glimpse of what a fully built late game base looks like.

The Ink Tanks-Many have noticed that there appear to be three different ink tanks, with the Splatfest (Power vs Speed vs Technique) hinting at the different playstyles between each one. I could see a few minutes dedicated purely to showing off different load outs and build you can make with each tank.

At the same time we’ll probably get an explanation of Relic Powers. Hopefully with some hints towards potential lore?

Some hints towards the game’s plot, obviously not too much but to give an example: I could see the narrator saying something along the lines of, “It appears that there’s something a bit…off with the Salmonids here…The Mechanic and Deep Cut will have to investigate!” if ‘Salt Corruption’ theory is accurate.

This would also be a good chance to introduce a new plot relevant character (either an ally like Glitter, or an antagonist like the Treasure Trawlers I feel are the most relevant.).

We’ll likely be shown more of the new Salmonids (like the Side Order Sprinkler Clones and the Chums on Springs that are in some of the previous trailers, as well some completely unseen ones.) and get some official names (kinda odd that Salty Tonguegot his but the Bird Guy who was given equal focus in the same trailer didn’t, but Salty seems to be being pushed as the “Mascot Mook” of the game.).

The boss fight with the big flying guy from the second trailer could be shown off (Maybe with de/confirmation on whether he’s a new King Salmonid or not.).

It was showcased in the Treehouse, but the environmental features like the wind and ice plants will probably be introduced and briefly explained. Speaking of environmental hazards, a shot of Mekkie jumping into lava is totally something I could see them doing seeing as a lot of folks memed about it.

Last but not least, we’ll get to see what the Amiibos do. I think the most plausible answer is special outfits and minor visual customisation for the base (and maybe the bot?).

More general predictions for the game, warning for the potential of “Apollo and the Gift of Prophecy” type spoilers…Maybe? Idk…:

Now I’m not expecting much, but I hope there’s a least one scene where the gang discusses whether their treasure hunting is an ethical endeavour. Yeah, I am expecting more of a “Hype Moments and Aura” kind of plot where you’re expected to turn your brain off at this point (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), but the whole “taking stuff from natives” thing is kind of an elephant in the room, y’know? Or at the very bare minimum some proper acknowledgement that the Salmonids are People (maybe having DC realise that over the course of the game?)…Eh, I dunno.

At some point in the game, the gang decides to split up for one reason or another and there are branching paths to explore the islands and do the levels in different orders (though you can likely go back to ones you “missed”). These might not change the bigger story too much, but potentially add a bit of encouragement for future playthroughs.

For an example of this in action, a story moment about halfway through the game where Deep Cut all get in a huge argument about something and decide to temporarily part ways. Mekkie is forced to “pick a side” and go with one member for the next few raids (and is locked to only that character as their bot buddy). The other two probably end up needing to be rescued from a boss or something, but obviously all reconcile in the end.

Scenes where the individual Deep Cut members have a heart-to-heart with either Mechanic or another character that reveals some of their backstory or an issue they have (for example, there’s a somewhat popular head-canon that Shiver has a strained relationship with her family, and that’s something that could come up if she asks Mekkie if they miss home. This conversation could easily happen with Frye too, seeing as she has a more positive relationship with hers.).

Seeing as we’re dealing with Salmonids-there’s probably gonna be something in the game that’s kinda gross. This could be a new enemy design that’s grotesque in some way-maybe a Fred Crumbs sort of situation where there’s a dude who’s already been ‘prepared’ into something or a stationary Salmonid who’s simple too large/awkwardly proportioned to move under their own power (We’ve got wing feet now, who’s telling how accursed these guys can get)?

Some of the ‘salt infection’ going into genuine body horror territory (we already see it starting to calcify over the ‘hair’ and heads of some enemies, there’s probably some poor bastard out there who’s completely encased), or even a sequence of the game where the gang gets Jabu Jabu’d (for a dungeon or boss fight? Maybe a Joe variant where she needs to be destroyed from inside?).

(Speaking of Jabu Jabu, I could totally see some reference to him somewhere seeing as we’re getting an Ocarina remake at the end of the year).

Potentially some kind of unlockable minigame. This could be unlocked by salvaging an arcade cabinet (there is one in the base in some trailers and screen shots, but that’s probably for multiplayer) or games console. Other diegetic minigames could be unlocked on the base via the customisation or story events, one with the surfboard mechanic they showed off in the Treehouse would go incredibly hard.

A little bit more Neo 3/Veronika and Little Buddy in Raiders content since I've kinda been trapped in a sort of art block for the past few weeks (and the current heatwave really isn't helping).

I haven't really talked much about My Vera, but she would definitely be super interested in this venture given her borderline-special interest in Salmonid Lore. Also, being the "Team Mom" of the Agents is gonna come in super clutch (she's probably the only person here who knows how to cook, for example).

The idea of a moody pre-teen Little Buddy could be fun to explore too. Like, I head-canon him being three when his debut game came out, so he'd have grown a bit since RoTM.

I DID consider dragging Hiro kicking and screaming into this too, but his inclusion is highly dependant on if and how many new characters are introduced in Raiders (since adding Two is potentially already a lot, and a third might be excessive if Raiders has a lot of New Guys.)

This was the point where my brain was fully getting fried.

Updated ref sheets for Mechanic and Deep Cut for when Raiders actually comes out and I'll be properly able to make some content on it.

I mean, making updated drawings for the major characters (Idols and Agents for example) is something that's been long overdue. Might get around to it while I wait.

Yeah, another one of these. They showed a lot of old footage and said things we already know, but there are a few things of note.

My sources (random shower thoughts) have sent me a "Raiders meme from the Future (or maybe alternative timeline depending on the translation)."

Thought it'd be fun to try getting a short comic out before we get the Splatoon Raiders Direct, and, well, this probably isn't gonna be anywhere near canon once the game actually comes out.

Yeah, so as said before, this is pretty much al bases covered when it comes to the types of characters that could potentially be in Splatoon Raiders (with the exception of the main villain, since to try speculating on them I wanna see if we get more information on the game's actual plot.)

A few more possible characters. I really like the idea of having a team of rival-like side antagonists who go alongside the main villain. These guys would be fun for Deep Cut to be played off to develop their characters more.

Okay, so for the most part I think most of my bases are covered when it comes tro my speculative characters (the main "gap" that's left I think is Major Villain-who I could come up with something for, but I almost wanna wait until we get like a "story trailer" or something before I get too deep into theorising.)

Okay, so I do wanna note that Dr Takos is based on a jokey prediction from my Raiders Trailer breakdown. Looking at this screen shot it appears that we're getting a generic narrator fir treasure flavour text.

A character who provides lore and world building info is still very possible.

So, in the lead up to Raiders I thought I'd try throwing out some speculation about the kinds of characters Mechanic and Deep Cut could potentially meet. (Mostly based on NPC archetypes you'd expect to see in a Splatoon game, like plot characters, exposition givers and vendors in this case).