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REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– With the Splatoon 2 game launching exclusively for the Nintendo Switch console in just a couple of weeks, Nintendo partnered with the renowned Squid Research Lab to provide a refresher on some of the new and returning features coming to the squid sequel. The special Nintendo Direct presentation highlighted many of the game’s new features, new weapons, new locations and, most importantly for all the fashion-forward cephalopods out there, its fresh new styles. The video also touched on SplatNet 2, the new service for mobile devices that displays information about Splatoon 2 like stage schedules, gear and stats. SplatNet 2 is part of the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app launching on July 21, which lets players send multiplayer invites to their friends via social media, as well as enables the use of voice chat in battles.

“Splatoon 2 is a huge, robust sequel to the original Splatoon,” said Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Fans that played and loved the first game will have plenty of new stuff to enjoy, while the game is also a great introduction for players new to the colorful and stylish series.”

Before the game launches on July 21, Nintendo Switch owners can dive into the fun with the Splatoon 2: Splatfest World Premiere demo. This special Splatfest will happen July 15 from 3 to 7 p.m. PT. Players just have to download the free demo in Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch and choose a team before the Splatfest begins. The demo can be downloaded early before the Splatfest goes live, starting later today.

To view the Nintendo Direct video in its entirety, visit http://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-direct. Some of the highlights revealed in the video include:
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Missed today’s Splatoon 2 Direct? If so, that’s not a problem, as we now have the presentation in full below.

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Splatfests are back in Splatoon 2, and the first one will technically be hosted before the game even launches. On July 15, Switch owners can participate in the Splatfest World Premiere demo event. The first Splatfest asks fans if they prefer cake or ice cream.

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Today’s Splatoon 2 Direct will be beginning soon. Nintendo will be starting the presentation at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET / 3 PM in the UK / 4 PM in Europe.

You can watch today’s Direct as it happens below. Details from the broadcast will be added in after the video embed attached to this post. If any significant announcements are made, we may make separate posts as well.

Live blog

– Turf War, Ranked Battles are still in
– Inkopolis Square: equip gear and weaponry here
– Choose skin, eye color, hair, legwear
– Clothing and shoes are called gear

Gear

– Galleria in Inkopolis has gear and weapon shops
– Headspace: head wearshop
– Buy head gear from Flow here
– Ve Olde Cloth Shoppe: buy clothes from Jelfonzo
– Shella Fresh shoe shop, buy from Bisk
– Ammo Knights: weapons shop, buy from Sheldon
– Speed up what Sheldon says with the press of a button

Weapons

– Main weapon, sub weapon, special weapon
– Each weapon type has strengths and weaknesses
– Some weapons have extra functionality not in the first game
– Chargers now let you keep charge while swimming in ink
– Rollers now let you fire vertically
– New dualies let you dodge roll
– Autobomb subweapon: locates and hunts down enemies
– Toxic Mist subweapon: thrown at enemies, surround them in harmful gas
– New subweapons in development
– New Clash Blaster, Fingza Roller, Goo Tuber, Dapple Dualies

Specials

– Enemy’s UI icon will glow when ready
– Tenta Missles: lock onto enemies, fire multiple projectiles
– Inkjet: fly through air, throw blobs of ink
– Sting ray: fires high pressured ink that shoots through walls
– Splashdown: clears out enemies with an inksplosion after you dive from the air
– Ink Storm: rain ink
– Bomb Launcher: launch a barrage of bombs
– Ink Armor: increase defense of allies
– Baller: puts you in a giant hamster ball, can climb up walls

Turf War

– Battle for territory
– If you ink the most turf, victory is yours regardless of kills/deaths
– Included stages: The Reef, Musselforge Fitness, Inkblot Art academy, Starfish Mainstage, Humpback Pump Track, Sturgeon Shipyard, Port Mackerel, Moray Towers

Ranked Battle

– Splat Zones: fight for splat zones on the stage; team that controls the longest wins
– Tower Control: fight for control of tower that moves when you’re standing on it
– Rainmaker: carry to other team’s goal; rainmaker can fire powerful charge shots
– As you win Ranked Battles, your rank increases; get matched with players of similiar skill
– Separate rank for each mode this time around
– May move up 2 or more ranks at a time depending on your forces
– Can connect with another person or 3 friends
– If you play well, receive an in-game medal

Gear Abilities

– Some for headwear, smoe for clothing, shoes
– Thermal Ink: track distance players
– Object Shredder: increases damage dealth to non-player objects
– Quick Respawn: reduces respawn time
– Respawn Punisher: increases respawn time
– Drop Roller: tilt left stick during Super Jump to perform a roll when you land
– Can see other players’ gear on the map screen
– Murch can add or remove gear abilities

Salmon Run

– Only open at certain times online
– Steel Eel: block your path with long bodies and lay down ink
– Flyfish: hovers and uses missiles
– Steelhead: builds bombs up its head and throws at targets
– Other undiscovered enemies as well
– At night, enemies will rush you with incredible speed
– Some items can only be earned here

SplatNet 2

– Service that puts information such as stage schedules and stats at your fingertips
– Can view detailed results for last 50 battles
– See weapons and gear of the players
– Win rates of specific modes and stages
– View lifetime ink gauge; shows how much you’ve inked compared to real world places
– Shop lets you send gear to Murch in the game
– Nintendo Switch Online app is where these features are
– Communicate with players via voice chat
– Automatically split with in-game teams
– Use social media to invite friends

– Set control sensitivity separately for TV and handheld modes
– Save control settings and weapon loadouts to any Splatoon amiibo
– Tap the amiibo on any console to use those settings
– Get exclusive gear from amiibo
– Snap a photo with amiibo

– Can draw things and have them show up in the game and share them online
– Crusty Shawn food shop: get more points and money from battles

The Shoal

– Play locally with friends
– Pick any mode or stage
– Wireless multiplayer and LAN play possible

Squid Beats 2

– Time button presses to the beat

Single-player mode

– Take on challenges and fight Octarians
– Take different weapons into battle
– Marie looks awfully worried about something

Updates

– New weapons in development
– Splat Brella: press and hold the button to open the umbrella and block attacks; continue holding to charge it at players
– Bubble Blower coming
– New gear on the way
– More stages in the works
– Updates for around a year
– 2 years of Splatfests
– Fight along friends on the same team in Splatfests
– Marina, Pearl seem to have replaced the Squid Sisters
– Splatoon 2: Splatfest World Premiere on July 15
– First Splatfest theme: Which is better: cake or ice cream?

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Check out some screenshots of this week’s Nintendo Downloads in Europe:

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With Pokemon GO celebrating its first anniversary, The Verge spoke with Niantic CEO John Hanke. Hanke weighed in on the state of the game, how the initial success meant the team had to focus on making the game stable instead of working on features, and much more.

Read some comments from Hanke below. The full interview is located here.

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This week’s European Nintendo Downloads are as follows:

Switch Download

ACA NeoGeo Metal Slug 2 – €6.99
Flip Wars – €9.99
I and Me – €9.99
Implosion – €12.00
Shephy – €4.99
Vaccine – €9.99

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The newest issue of Weekly Jump provides another update on Dragon Quest XI. Another with details about the protagonist, party member Camus is detailed.

Here’s the full rundown:

Protagonist

– The protagonist can use spells and special skills unique to a hero
– Can equip both a one-handed sword and two-handed sword
– “Sword Dance” – A sword god skill in which the protagonist attacks the enemy many times over as if he’s dancing
– “All-Out Slash” – A two-handed sword skill in which the protagonist hits the enemy with a blow from his sword that has all of his power put into it
– “Zone Hit” – A hero skill that guarantees the protagonist will enter the powered up Zone state
– “Dragon Slash” – A two-handed sword skill in which the protagonist unleashes a strong blow to enemies of the dragon family
– “Kaclang” – Turns one ally into iron and makes them invulnerable to damage

Camus

– Can use daggers, two-handed swords, and boomerangs
– This allows him to adjust how he fights based on the situation
– “Clone” – A divine skill that triples Camus’ effect by creating two duplicates
– “Sword Guard” – A two-handed sword skill that allows Camus to easily guarding from an enemy’s attack with his weapon
– “Assassin Attack” – A dagger skill in which Camus thrusts at the enemy’s vitals for an instant death
– “Starburst Throw” – A boomerang skill in which blades of light rain down to attack every enemy
– “Jibariina” – Spreads out a magic circle that damages enemies when they perform actions

Skill Panel

– By progressing through the story, you will be able redo your Skill Panel at the church
– You will be able to distribute multiple points at once or do a reset

Source

More: details roundup, Dragon Quest XI, Square Enix

This week’s North American Nintendo Downloads are as follows:

Switch Download

ACA NeoGeo Metal Slug 2 – $7.99
Bulb Boy – $8.99
Implosion – $11.99
Shephy – $4.99
Vaccine – $9.99

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