Splatoon Which Splatoon is best for Single Player ?

[Princess Mipha]

Hello guys!

So after a long time I've finally decided to pick up Splatoon.
I didn't want to, because I thought it's useless,
since I won't be able to play online
(I have Nintendo Online, but my internet
doesn't allow me to play online..
hopefully they will finally finish the
fiber internet they work on since
years in front of our house )
So.. my question now is: Which of the games has
the best Single player story / campagne ?
I'm completely new to the game.
I only know that I really love the aesthetic of it ​

 

[Holla]

Hands down Splatoon 2 has more/better single player content. In the first game you are stuck using the same weapon through the whole thing while in 2 you get to do levels with different weapon types such as a roller, inkbrush, brella, blaster, charger etc. You can also replay levels you previously finished with different weapon types which can add new challenges for you if you want.

I'd wait on getting the Octo Expansion though. While I love the single player in it, the difficulty is a pretty big step up from the base game single player. It does take the added difficulty into consideration by letting skip levels you are struggling with in order to move on and finish the story but skipping half of the levels wouldn't be fun in my opinion. If you finish the single player in the base game and love it and are up for a bit more challenge then I'd say give the Expansion a go as it is a ton of fun.

Bummer your internet doesn't let you play stuff online. I remember back in the ACNL days my internet was so bad I often couldn't even connect my 3DS to do trades with other players. It's a little better now but I still get dropped when playing Splatoon 2 online from time to time. I plan on moving soon and my new place will have high speed so I look forward to that. I hope your internet will let you play online one day. The online in the first game is still really active today so odds are Splatoon 2 will still be going online for a while even after many players move on to Splatoon 3.

 

[Princess Mipha]

Hands down Splatoon 2 has more/better single player content. In the first game you are stuck using the same weapon through the whole thing while in 2 you get to do levels with different weapon types such as a roller, inkbrush, brella, blaster, charger etc. You can also replay levels you previously finished with different weapon types which can add new challenges for you if you want.

I'd wait on getting the Octo Expansion though. While I love the single player in it, the difficulty is a pretty big step up from the base game single player. It does take the added difficulty into consideration by letting skip levels you are struggling with in order to move on and finish the story but skipping half of the levels wouldn't be fun in my opinion. If you finish the single player in the base game and love it and are up for a bit more challenge then I'd say give the Expansion a go as it is a ton of fun.

Bummer your internet doesn't let you play stuff online. I remember back in the ACNL days my internet was so bad I often couldn't even connect my 3DS to do trades with other players. It's a little better now but I still get dropped when playing Splatoon 2 online from time to time. I plan on moving soon and my new place will have high speed so I look forward to that. I hope your internet will let you play online one day. The online in the first game is still really active today so odds are Splatoon 2 will still be going online for a while even after many players move on to Splatoon 3.

Oh wow, that's definitely a good point with the weapons! I guess I am going to stalk the marketplace for a Splatoon 2 now, haha =)
Thank you for the advise!

Oh, I'm jealous of you for getting high speed internet. Enjoy it!!
They announced that we would get better internet at the end of 2020 and they are still stuck.
I mean, I can literally see them working on it all the time from my bedroom window.. well, if you can count sitting on
the sidewalk and laughing while being on the phone 90% of the time "work"

 

[Mr_Persona]

Gotta say l like 1 and 2 the best! Octo Expansion was pretty boring actually, not much splatting and the bosses were the same as splatoon 2 story mode only instead in OE they tried to make them harder. Puzzles were slow and not fun, they were just mostly boring. But l had a lot of fun with 1 n 2 because it was just more motivated and more enemies to splat a long the way. I really liked the maps too!

 

[ManzarekMorrison]

Splatoon 1 single player is perfect for people completely new to the game, giving you small baby steps in the first 5 levels, then the difficulty slowly goes up more and more, until you get to the final boss, which is overall super tough. The boss mechanics are simple and easy to beat. Again, it is an excellent single player for beginners.
Splatoon 2 single player acts more like an expansion to the Splatoon 1 single player in ways. The levels are more complex at the beginning, and some of the boss mechanics are very hard (one of them a little too hard for my taste *cough cough*). It's a great single player for one with past experience with Splatoon 2 or shooter games in general.
Octo Expansion is it's own little thing. Sure it resembles the past single players in some ways, but while nintendo was doing the levels, they broke the bar on the level difficulty. Octo Expansion is for people with some legendary fingers. My hat goes off to you all who have completed it without skipping over.

 

[Tao]

Even without the Octo Expansion, Splatoon 2 has the better single player. You get to play around with more weapons and thus you get far more challenges based around them. Splatoon 1 got a bit repetitive and feels a lot more like it's just preparing you to go online.

Octo Expansion is alright. If you own Splatoon 2 and want more to do then it's worth buying.

 

[Mr_Keroppi]

I would say the Splatoon 2 Expansion is the best but my favorite is Splatoon 1's. I feel like it was more inspired and fun than 2's story mode even though they are very similar. But hands down Octo Expansion was way better than both of them!!

 

[Introspective Onlooker]

I find Splatoon's Single-Player mode to be somewhat of a distraction, because of the obvious focus being placed on the Multiplayer component of these games. Nonetheless, here's my take on each campaign, including DLC:

• As someone already mentioned here, the first game's Octo Valley might serve as a good beginning for people who didn't already play the second game. However, since I played the sequel first, the game was a breeze to go through. I still enjoyed my time with it. It had a better OST and the fight with DJ Octavio seemed more thematic. The Sunken Scrolls also do a fine job providing some established lore, too.
• It probably wouldn't be fair to label Octo Canyon as just "Octo Valley Again", but it does basically rehash Splatoon 1's already basic plot, with the only exception being one of the main characters' kidnapping kick-starting the events in the sequel. It does add a bit more, but that's to be expected. We can finally use other weapons, but they're locked behind progression, and you're forced into a specific one your first time through some of the levels; I'd prefer them being readily available from the get go without the game dictating your choice. I suppose it does add some replay value, but it's ineffective. I think the Boss Battles are more dynamic and challenging, but still not too difficult. DJ Octavio doesn't have the same presence he does in the first game, and I can't tell if his fight is actually easier in this game or not. It's generally agreed that it's not as good, though. The Octarians have a few new units replacing a few old ones, and just like Agent 4, Octolings can utilize different weaponry — their A.I. doesn't seem any smarter, unfortunately. Splatoon 2 also has a new collectible which is another requirement of upgrading weapons — Sardinium. Speaking of collectibles, both the Sunken Scrolls and Sardinium you've already collected in a level can net you five Power Eggs, something that felt missing when I played Octo Valley.
• Octo Expansion is definitely the best out of the three; no question about it. While I think people are a bit hyperbolic when it comes to the difficulty of these games, this Single-Player DLC legitimately has some really challenging "Tests", and its Secret Boss almost delves into NES-territory in terms of difficulty. Not all of OE is this tough, though. Many levels allow you to choose up to three weapon types which drastically alter how you can approach these levels and you can skip a great deal of the game and tackle the Escape sections. The fact that the protagonist, Agent 8, can actually die during these sections elevates the tension of the plot. Speaking of wish, I enjoy the fact that 8 has Mem Cakes which are written as poems (they're written in Tanka form in the Japanese — 5-7-5-7-7); they really help flesh out the character you play as. This game also has a bangin' OST; it's funky, catchy, and throws you in the moment. I heard somewhere in a YouTube comment section that this DLC was an apology for how Octo Canyon turned out. I think most people have accepted Nintendo's apology, because it fixed A LOT of issues people have with the base game's campaign, and made something unique. Which is why I don't understand the poll options for Splatoon 2, and it's more perplexing why people would choose the option where the game has less options when it comes to offline gameplay.

I'm hoping Splatoon 3's Return of the Mammalians campaign will follow OE's footsteps and delivery an experience unique to only Splatoon 3, not just blatantly copy what was done before, because people have already accused the game for being "Splatoon 2.5" for far too long.

 

[Khaoticnoize187]

for me it was splatoon 3 that i had a good time with cept for some certain bosses **** those guys.

 

[AshtonDraws]

I think Splatoon 3's storymode is just right. A mix between Octo Expansion and just the classic storymode from 2. ^^
As for the first two games, Octo Expansion DLC, then Splatoon 2's mode. Then Splatoon 1's.

 

[Yanrima~]

Splatoon 2 has a good single player mode especially when you play it with Octo Expansion.

Octo Expansion is a pretty good storyline for single player in terms of both lore and the gameplay. Although there were sections that were highly challenging (*cough* Girl Power Station *cough*). Although, if you really are invested in Splatoon's entire lore. I recommend playing Splatoon 2's story first along with Octo Expansion then Splatoon 3's story mode especially with the upcoming Side Order expansion.

I didn't have a Wii U at that time so I just watched a YouTube video where the uploader played through the entire single player mode of the first Splatoon game.

 

[Introspective Onlooker]

All these years later (well, maybe one-half of a year, but whatever), and looking back at my post, I'm a bit embarrassed with what I typed. Not just the numerous typos and grammatical errors (which I did eventually address), but I set my hopes a little too high for something that, while is much better than being yet another rehash of Octo Valley, is essentially just a lesser version of OE. It's not a bad thing, I don't think, but the real disappointment is the writing not doing any of these characters justice. Squid Sisters are back as Agents, but their roles are the same as they were in the later half of the first game's Campaign without expanding on them, and it might've been better if Neo Agent 3 was working with Deep Cut instead. They definitely needed to be more interesting than being the novelty of battling idols for the first time in a Splatoon game.

Spoiler

Going to space and seeing the Blue Marble in that perspective was nice — definitely one of the more memorable moments of the game. It gets undercut, though, because of this dumb final boss being EXACTLY what everyone expected to be. God forbid Nintendo actually does something subversive when it comes to the story in their games. It's why Craig Cuttlefish survives his fate, despite how ballsy it'd be had he actually died. It's a bit ridiculous how the Captain reacts more sorrowfully at his supposed demise when Agents 1 and 2 don't elicit a similar response. He's their grandfather, for goodness sake.

Some of the music slaps HARD, too.