Well, the Switch is out – literally, out, as in, sold out in most places. But if you were one of the lucky first to get your hands on one, and happen to be a kid or a squid, chances are you’re counting down to Splatoon 2’s global testfire event. Matches will be played in Turf War mode, where combatants must color more of the stage than the enemy team. But you most likely already knew that huh. It begins this Friday, at different hours depending on your time zone. Here are the times:
Friday, March 24:
12 – 12:59 pm PT / 2 – 2:59 pm CT / 3 – 3:59 pm ET
8 – 8:59 pm PT / 10 – 10:59 pm CT / 11 – 11:59 pm ET
Saturday, March 25:
4 – 4:59 am PT / 6 – 6:59 am CT / 7 – 7:59 am ET
12 – 12:59 pm PT / 2 – 2:59 pm CT / 3 – 3:59 pm ET
8 – 8:59 pm PT / 10 – 10:59 pm CT / 11 – 11:59 pm ET
Sunday, March 26:
4 – 4:59 am PT / 6 – 6:59 am CT / 7 – 7:59 am ET
In other words, early morning, midday, and late night. At least it’s a weekend. In addition to announcing the times, Nintendo also inked out an image explaining Splatoon 2’s basic control scheme for the joy-cons and the pro controller (not to worry, they’re the exact same).
Please direct your attention to… that fresh new haircut!
No need for a magnifying glass, I’ll explain. ZL turns you into a squid, ZR shoots ink, R uses your sub weapon, X brings up the map (use the direction pad to select a teammate and R to super-jump to them), Y resets the camera, B is for jumping, and the right stick lets you look… left and right. Oh yeah, and tilting the controller forward is how you run. So Splatoon 2’s controls are largely the same as they were in the original.
Last but not least, Amiibo. To no one’s surprise, Splatoon 2 will feature Amiibo functionality. Not that any details about who does what have been released yet. Sorry about that.
Matt Eschbach is a PC, Mac and Android indie game developer and fiction writer. His works have won multiple monetary awards from various contests. Graduating college in 2012 with a major in Game Design, Matt spends his time making stuff up and then building it. His favorite hobby… is sleeping.
