splatoon 3 launched Friday, and thanks to boss battles in the new shooter, you can now relive the horrors of one of the worst levels ever super mario sunshine,
Splatoon 3. InIn this game, you play as cephalopod-inspired characters called Inklings and Octolings, who shoot colored ink from guns and other weapons. The game is known for its online competitive multiplayer, but it also features a single-player campaign in which you explore the arctic land called Alterna. One of these levels contains an easter egg that refers to super mario sunshine,
[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for one of the later boss fights in Splatoon 3’s single-player campaign.]
the level that refers mario sunshine The single-player campaign features a boss fight for the sixth realm of Alterna. In it, you fight the lovable giant Manta Ray Big Man from Deep Cut. When you start the fight, he disappears into the ground and you see a light shadow of a giant manta ray appear on the ground covering the floor with paint. As you spray the silhouette, it will split into smaller and smaller manta ray shadows. If you split them up enough, you eventually signal the next stage of the fight:
Image: Nintendo via Polygon
The fight is actually a nightmare level reference mario sunshine Called “The Manta Storm” which occurs in the Sirena Beach area. In Very good mario sunshineIn Splatoon, Mario is tasked with cleaning up a paint-like goop scattered throughout a beachfront resort town, while in Splatoon, the whole point is to cover the area with as much paint as possible. The context seems thematically relevant given the gameplay similarities between the two games.
In the level, Mario has to spray water on a giant shadow manta ray that is covering the beach with paint. As he splashes water on the manta ray-sized threat, it splits into smaller and smaller volumes. The Splatoon developers aren’t the one to be subtle about connections. mario sunshine Level and Big Man Fight also use the same trippy yellow and greenish-blue dual-tone pattern.
The context can be either frightening or delightful, depending on your experience with the GameCube platformer. At the time, the Mario level gained a reputation for being quite difficult, because you had to chase so many manta rays across the beach, and it is remembered as one of the most absurd levels in the game – so little Cruel is ironic for the context.
