Pardon me for the huge wall of text that will follow, but with my English I can't keep things short.
Because we've heard the same song and dance before over and over and over and over and usually it is concern trolling, like arguing that this game is a stop gap for a real Splatoon sequel, saying that there are no new gameplay mechanics, etc. None of that is "criticism". And that's not going to the more obvious trolling I've seen outside the forum. It gets tiring and yeah it should get called out.
As for actual legit complaints, sure, the trailers for new people have been lacking since the initial reveal trailer, that's a criticism I understand but at the same time maybe they can show gameplay to those who want it? This is out first time seeing a full match. It actually does showcase a whole bunch of new things such as how dodging has armor, new specials, the new quick movement weapon. This is important for fans because they can see the differences and see why they would want to buy it. I'm like 99% positive we're getting more "oooo look at this" trailers in the future anyways.
Even if you continue to hear it again and again, that doesn't mean it's trolling. You don't call someone concern trolling because they're disappointed with the reveals so far and have different opinions on how it's handled. Even if you don't understand it or find it outrageous. What you do is either ignore it or engage in conversation to better understand each other.
They can show whatever they want, no one is saying they can't show gameplay. Heck, that's the thing I love about Nintendo games is that it's not all CG crap, but gameplay first.
What this latest trailer showed is a whole bunch of new things that I don't feel makes a sequel. New specials? Well I would hope so, that's what they did with Splatoon 2, but they also remove the old ones so we're probably not gaining much (not that I'll complain if it better balances stuff). A new dodge jump isn't something I find worth praising when bigger improvements are mostly absent so far. What new weapon have we seen besides the bow? The slinging power up is a special move, not a weapon if that's what you're referring to. It's really awesome though.
But most these things so far don't explain to me why this had to be a sequel, the only big thing so far is the singleplayer campaign which most people are hyped about. The whole package so far is lacking. Besides the singleplayer, what else is worth being a sequel right now? 2 new Salmonid bosses and the ability to throw eggs? A giant Salmonid? A dodge jump? New launch platforms for the start of matches?
I'm getting this game day 1, but that's just because I'm a huge Splatoon fan. I'd like to see stuff truly building on the foundation that's been set, where are those improvements? The octo expansion in Splatoon 2 is a great example of that. Most people are praising it left and right and calling it the best the series has to offer. I would hope they implement stuff from that. Where are the co-op PvE content? Where are the new PvP modes? New Salmon Run rules like a endless survival mode? Of course I'm not saying any of this needs to be included, but I'm just giving examples of the scale of things they could reveal that would hype a critic (and fan) like me. That is imo how you can iterate on the series.
Probably because most of the complaints about there being nothing new boil down to:
- Not understanding (or not wanting to acknowledge) how different moves/weapon kits can make a multiplayer game feel drastically different than its predecessor. Multiplayer games are inherently dynamic, and even just a few changes can allow for tons of new interactions in matches. The turf war gameplay showed battles that will allow players to be much more aggressive with the squid roll and powerful specials (compared to the more passive ones in 2 that generally required coordinating with teammates to get much out of). All of these have different properties than specials in past games, and will allow people to come up with new strategies to use/counter them. They also don't need to reinvent the wheel to make a game that feels different than its predecessors, it's okay to create new content that improves the current formula.
- Wanting a primarily multiplayer game to have some grand single-player adventure. It's okay to want the series to have good single-player content, and there is a lot of potential for campaigns in this series, but it honestly feels like people complaining about this think it should be the focus of the game (basically the inverse of "forced multiplayer" complaints people have made about other games over the years).
- The same complaints that happen with almost every Nintendo game, showing that a lot of people still haven't learned how Nintendo markets their games. It's true that we still haven't seen any major new modes 5 months out from launch, but this same conversation has been had about so many Nintendo games, and it almost always ends up not being the case that what we've currently seen is all the game has to offer. Someone brought up Kirby earlier in the thread, and that was a game where a major new feature was revealed less than two months before launch.
It's perfectly fine to be disappointed with what has been shown so far, but there's a little too much gamer hyperbole drowning out actual discussion of the game. To an outsider reading this thread, it would probably seem like this series is more divisive than recent Pokémon games.
- Who's talking about the need to reinvent the wheel or saying it's not okay to improve the current formula? I really don't get this point. How do you come to the conclusion that people don't understand? Most stuff you've mentioned could have been an update to Splatoon 2. Yes, these changes change how matches play out in these type of games and they are indeed very dynamic, the smallest additions can lead to big changes in gameplay. But why does that need to translate into a sequel? We've had new specials added as an update in previous games, this is nothing new or a big improvement. The dodge jump is the only thing that's worth mentioning imo.
- You said it yourself: you feel like they think it should be the focus of the game. So, you're not sure what they mean? Why don't you ask them? Why does that mean they're trolling? And it's okay for people to have different expectations.
- 5 months is still plenty of time to show off new stuff. But the game has been announced over, what, a year ago? And we've had like 4 trailers I think? If nothing out of those is something new, that people feel is not explaining why this sequel is worth buying then that's on them. This is the second time we've seen gameplay on the same map, with most of the subweapons and specials shown again. That doesn't sound convincing to me. I don't blame others for thinking there isn't much new coming out though, even if I don't agree. Kirby is a different situation, it wasn't revealed more than a year away from release, so marketing couldn't start that early. And it's a totally new type of game compared to previous iterations, it's a singleplayer game and almost everything about it is new. You'd need to use another multiplayer focused game to make a better comparison. Like Mario Tennis, Gold, Strikers etc. And the former 2 aren't exactly what I want Splatoon to be compared to. But that's just me.
IMO the thread feels more divisive because of people constantly calling others trolls. It's adding needless frustration to others, which will just result in negativity and perhaps even toxicity. Let's try to stay civil and have a good discussion, both for those excited with what's shown and those who are disappointed or concerned.
Happen with every Nintendo game
this game could turn out to be a glorified DLC for Splatoon 2 and people here who are calling every criticism as just trolling/people doesn't know what they're talking about will ignore the conversation even happened
The trailers for this game have been mediocre and signaling that the franchise despite being fresh and unique is already looking creatively bankrupt
Is Nintendo hiding something still ? of course, but just potentially one cool addition to what Splatoon 2 offered is hardly enough, and at this point and after 3 trailers that's the most we can hope for
I don't agree the series is creatively bankrupt, it's still the freshest series out there imo. Yes, what they've shown so far is not much, but who knows what they have planned.
There's nothing wrong with being critical of something, but when you start making definitive statements about a game months before it releases and which we know little about then don't be shocked if people call you out. A lot of the "criticism" in this thread reeks of the old "Splatoon 2 is Splatoon 1.5" nonsense.
The game releases in five months, hell we barely knew anything about Splatoon 2 until a few weeks before release. Fuck off with your "Creatively bankrupt" bs.
There is barely any "definitive" statements. Not everyone is a troll if they don't agree with you. You don't have a right to call them that. If you don't understand the disappointment or criticism, you engage in conversation than throw a label on them.
There is plenty of time for more stuff to be revealed. I'm expecting a dedicated direct some time this summer. But the game has been announced over a year ago. If in all this time they've barely shown anything worth a sequel then I can get any criticism.
And Splatoon 2 was announced 6 months before it released, of course we didn't know much about it early on. It was also the launch year of the Switch, marketing strategy was very different back then because of the position of the system and other things.
