Splatoon 2 global testfire is just days away, so Nintendo Japan and America have begun to showcase what the limited-time demo will include. Between tweets and Tumblr posts, here’s all the sweet details from maps to weapons.
First and foremost, the easiest way to explain the Splatoon 2 global testfire is that it’s essentially an online version of the demo played by press at the Switch event in January. As noted by our colleagues at International Business Times earlier in the week, players will be able to enjoy two randomly-selected maps during the event.
Read: Splatoon 2 Release Date May Be In August According To Retail Leak
Following that report, however, the map names have changed to reflect English localization. Barnacles Sports Club is now Musselforge Fitness and Battera Street is called The Reef. Beyond that, both arenas look the exact same as their Japanese counterparts. In fact, you can get a deep look at Musselforge Fitness in the tweet below. The translation reads as follows:
ごく短いものだが、試射会で遊べる「フジツボスポーツクラブ」の映像を入手した。
— Splatoon（スプラトゥーン） (@SplatoonJP) March 17, 2017
中央には左右に大きなスロープがついた木製の足場があり、開幕直後はここが攻防の舞台となるだろう。見通しが良い一方で障害物が多いので、使うブキに合わせて、いろんな進攻ルートを探してみると良いだろう。#試射会 pic.twitter.com/iXJddajh9m
Although it is very short, I got a video of Musselforge Fitness that you can play in the testfire. In the center, there is a wooden scaffolding with large slopes to the left and right. This will be the first stage right after the testfire begins. Since there are many obstacles, it is good to look for various alternate routes according to the weapon used.
As with any translation, this should be taken with a grain of salt, but we cleaned it up in a way that makes the most sense. There is currently no video overview for The Reef, but we’ll try to keep you posted. From those words alone, however, Musselforge seems like a very versatile map. The scaffolding will be helpful for Chargers, while the slopes can be leveraged by ground-based weapons. Like the post says, you’ll have to respond based on the part of the environment your opponents are taking advantage of.
As far as we’re aware, the global testfire will consist of 4v4 Turf War matches on both of the above maps. For weapons, Nintendo has confirmed that there will be four to choose from. This includes the new Splat Dualies and remixed versions of the Splat Roller and Splat Charger. We’d have to imagine the classic Splattershot will fill the fourth slot.
The Splatoon 2 global testfire takes place March 24 - 26 exclusively on Nintendo Switch. For more insight on the demo, check out our hands-on report from January.
Splatoon 2 releases this summer exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
Do you plan to join the Splatoon 2 global testfire next week? What do you think of the maps? Tell us in the comments section!
