After ten years of Splatoon, it’s still one of my favorite Nintendo franchises

Ten whole years. Ten years ago, I was finishing university and desperately trying to scrape money together for a Wii U, so I could play the brand new ink-slinging game Splatoon. Here we are in the year 2025, with three entries to the series, and the feeling of getting old.

Say what you will about the Wii U. It may have flopped in the grander scheme of things, but it introduced some excellent games. Not only Splatoon – it had Mario Kart 8, a Wind Waker remaster, Yoshi’s Woolly World, and Super Mario Maker. We, um, don’t talk about the Animal Crossing game, though.

Splatoon leapt into fruition on May 28, 2015, in Japan, and on May 29 for the rest of the world. That’s ten years ago. I know I mentioned that before, but I still can’t quite get my head around it. The game is one of the more successful ones on the Wii U, selling nearly five million copies, which is really impressive when only around 13 million Wii Us ever got sold. Since then, the franchise has had two more entries on the Switch, and we’re eagerly awaiting news of a potential Splatoon 4 release date on the Nintendo Switch 2.

What grabbed me, despite never having played a team shooter game or really enjoyed the idea of aiming a gun, is how bright and fun-looking Splatoon is. I picked up Splatoon 2 a few months after release, and got absolutely hooked. I then got the original game on the Wii U and was pleasantly surprised to see that the servers were still populated, though this was back in 2018.

While the main point of the game is to chuck paint at each other using guns, buckets, umbrellas, paintbrushes, and paintrollers, there’s always a single-player campaign that not only shows you the ropes but also introduces formidable bosses that haunt you through the three titles. You’re encouraged to get some cool clothing to up your street cred, while adding different abilities to your arsenal. I tried to get a black Inky Rider jacket with the right sub on it for years in Splatoon 2, and then got one within the first week of Splatoon 3.

I just think Splatoon is really neat with its sea creature themes, really good soundtrack that’s finally on Nintendo Music, cute Splatoon characters, and refreshingly different battle style. If you haven’t played it yet, I highly recommend grabbing Splatoon 2 or 3 on the Switch. I promise you it’s worth your time, and you don’t have to use the infernal motion controls.

So, does Splatoon land on your best Switch games list? It should – if not, maybe we can tempt you with these upcoming Switch games instead.