Thearcade machine is a video game cabinet. It offers retro-style minigames inSplatoon andSplatoon 2, and appears inSplatoon 3: Expansion Pass, although inactive. InSplatoon, all minigames are played on theWii U GamePad; they can be played in thelobby while waiting for a battle to start as well as accessed on their own via the physical arcade machine inInkopolis Plaza. InSplatoon 2, only the physical cabinet inInkopolis Square is accessible.

Splatoon

Judd's Advice

Meow! (While waiting for players to join, you can play minigames on. It can make a nice change from all that intense battling!)

The physical arcade machine is found on the left of Inkopolis Plaza, in front of a closed store next toShrimp Kicks. It is a mainly blackupright cabinet, with a splash of pinkink, a drawing of a large blue squid and a black shell on each side. The part around the screen and the control panel is purple, with white strikes surrounding the screen. Below the control panel is a splash of yellow ink and a dark text, and above the screen is a logo of three orange square letters. The arcade machine features a red stick and tree buttons blue, pink and yellow respectively. A power cable can be seen on the right of the machine, sticking into a white wall socket.

Four minigames in total are available through the arcade machine: Squid Jump, Squid Racer, Squidball, and Squid Beatz. Only Squid Jump is unlocked by default; the other three are given as rewards for defeatingThe Ravenous Octomaw! inamiibo challenges. There is no reward for completing any of the minigames. Once the player has passed all of the stages in one of them, a sign saying "Congratulations!" will pop up and the game will reset to the first level.

When a minigame is interrupted by a battle, with the exception of Squid Beatz, it is paused and can be unpaused the next time it is playable. However, progress is not saved whenSplatoon itself is closed; the game will start from the first level the next time it is played. The highest score obtained in each of those three minigames will however be saved.

Squid Jump

Squid Jump is the first of these games, and was the only minigame playable in theSplatoon Global Testfire.

The objective is to make a squid jump from platform to platform by holding down the button to jump and using the or the to move, to reach aZapfish placed above the highest platform. The longer is pressed before a jump, the higher it will be. Purple ink will continuously rise for a certain amount of time, effectively requiring the player to reach the goal within a certain amount of time. As the stages progress, different types of platforms are added: ice (which are slippery), clouds (which move back and forth), and conveyor belts (which run at multiple speeds and move a squid resting on one). This minigame also has no borders, meaning that moving to the right of the screen will make the squid appear on the left, and the other way around. The game has 25 stages ; a checkpoint exists after every five stages, and the background changes after every ten.

Once a stage has been completed, the player is awarded a stage bonus and a time bonus: the first one, with a fixed value, is worth 300 points up to level 10, 600 points up to level 20, and then 1000 points up to level 25; the second bonus depends on the time taken to complete the level, and drops continuously to zero, at which time the purple ink will have completely rose to the top of the stage. The player has three lives, and gets an extra life for every 10,000 points. Once all lives have been lost, they can choose to either reset the game or go back to the last checkpoint.

Some power-ups also appear throughout the stages, which are:

• A red fish, which makes the player high jump immediately upon contact.
• AJellyfish, which lets them jump once in the middle of the air for about 10 seconds; they cannot jump in the air again until they either land on a platform or pick up another Jellyfish.
• A starfish, which increases the player's acceleration for about 10 seconds; this means that the squid will make faster jumps, but will also fall faster. If the squid is jumping upward while the star's effect wears off, an extremely high jump can be made.

Squid Racer

The second game isSquid Racer, which is unlocked by the Inkling Boyamiibo.

This minigame is a race between the player, a white squid, and several blue jellyfish on stages of different shapes seen from above. The aim is to reach the end of the map before time runs out, avoiding touching the jellyfish and the sides of the stage, which slow the player down. Every track has a time limit; once time runs out, the player will lose a life.The or the is used to steer, for accelerating and for drifting. The player cannot change direction while they drift, but can instead rotate the squid with the steering controls; releasing the button shoots the player's squid in the direction it faces. Holding the button during the second half of when the number 2 appears during the countdown triggers a starting boost very similar to therocket start in theMario Kart series. The game has 30 stages, and a checkpoint exists after every five stages.

Once a stage has been completed, the player is awarded three bonuses: the first two, stage and time bonus, are identical to the bonuses of the first minigame; the third, a rank bonus, rewards the player according to their position at the finish line (500 in first place, 300 in second, 200 in third, and 0 for subsequent places). The player gets three lives, with additional lives being earned every 10,000 points. Once they have lost all their lives, they can continue from the last checkpoint reached, or restart from the beginning. It is not necessary to finish at a particular rank to continue playing.

Power-ups also appear throughout the stages, visible on the minimap on the bottom right:

• A red fish, which gives the player a speed boost.
• AZapfish, which lets the player swallow jellyfish by touching them, making the squid larger and faster.
• A green sunfish, which dramatically increases the player's turning speed while drifting.

The player can benefit from only one power-up at a time, so it can sometimes be advantageous to avoid picking one up so as not to replace a more useful one.

Squidball

The third game isSquidball, which is unlocked by the Inkling Girl amiibo.

In this game, the player (a white squid) has to hit a certain number ofJellyfish on the other side of a net with a ball (shaped like aZapfish) to score points and pass on to the next stage. The mechanics are similar tovolleyball, with a bump, set, and spike. First, the squid is stuck to the ground and can move using the stick or the. The ball is then automatically sent on the player side, which has to bounce it upward by letting the ball bounce off the squid (at an angle based on where on the squid the ball struck). The player must then press once to jump and again while touching the ball to hit it, or continue to hold the button from jumping to hit the ball when in contact. The angle of the ball changes with the direction held when launching it, which can be either neutral, back or forward. The player must spike the ball for it to count; a ball immediately bounced over the net will pass through the jellyfish harmlessly. The ball will also be lost if it touches the ground on the player side. There are 30 stages, with a checkpoint after every five stages.

The player gets three balls per stage: one small, one medium, and one large. If the specified number of targets is not reached with all three balls, the game ends and the player can restart from either the beginning or the last checkpoint. Each stage awards the player with three bonuses: a stage bonus, identical to the first two games, a point bonus corresponding to 100 points per additional target hit, and a ball bonus worth 200 points per ball remaining after the goal has been reached.

In addition to jellyfish, other creatures can appear on the far side of the net:

• Starfishes, worth three jellyfish.
• Green sunfishes, which burst into fragments that can hit other creatures when hit.
• Sea urchins, acting as obstacles: a small ball will be stopped completely, a medium ball will destroy the urchin but will bounce back, and a large ball will destroy the urchin and keep going, but with greatly diminished momentum. This is useful if the ball has overshot.

Squid Beatz

The last minigame isSquid Beatz, which is unlocked by the Inkling Squid amiibo.

This game is amusic player featuring all 31 tracks fromSplatoon coupled with a standard rhythm game. switches between no game, normal mode, and hard mode, and pauses the music. The player has to press the control pad and buttons represented on the line at the bottom at the correct time to keep in rhythm with the music, and turn theJellyfish into yellow rabbits. The player can press any direction on the (or) when a control pad icon shows up, or,,, or when a corresponding icon shows up to play the song correctly in tune. There is no penalty if the player misses an input, and the music will keep on going no matter what.

This minigame does not feature a numbered scoring system - instead, it uses yellow rabbit-type creatures to track the score. It is also the only game not to save progress between matches.

Each of the buttons has two different sounds depending on whether the normal or hard mode is selected.

	Left on		Down on		Up on		Right on
Normal	a Japanese-sounding drum	a Japanese-sounding drum	a female Inkling voice clip	a male Inkling voice clip	a cymbal	a light cymbal, or bell	a clap	a clap	a diminuendo Inkling chant	a crescendo Inkling chant
Hard	a lower sounding drum	a higher sounding drum	an electronic sounding drum beat	an electronic sounding drum beat	similar to a hi-hat cymbal	similar to a crash cymbal	a drum beat	a drum beat	similar to a high sounding crash cymbal	similar to a low sounding crash cymbal

By accessing this game from thelobby while waiting for a match,Bob Dub'sDubble Bath will play by default. By pressing and at the same time, any selected song can be played as if one was using the arcade machine.

Squid Beatz was updated in version2.0.0 to include the four new tracks added and their information.

List of tracks

All text is stylized in capitals in Squid Beatz.

Splatoon 2

The arcade machine inSplatoon 2 is only accessible from the physical arcade cabinet inInkopolis Square, located in front ofThe Shoal between a dancing arcade game used by a NPC and a claw machine that seems to be out of order.

The arcade machine itself has a much more futuristic style than the one inSplatoon: it is much larger and wider, mainly dark grey and white, and features large speakers above the screen. Unlike the arcade machine in the first game, this one appears to be a paid cabinet with a coin slot in the center below the control panel. The panel itself is very wide, looking as if it could be used by two players; it features two round buttons green and pink on each side, with two smaller arrow-shaped ones in the center. Just below the screen are what appear to be small speakers, and a game sticker in the center. Two metal bars surround the screen, extending from the panel to below the large speakers on top. Another set of metal bars are in front of these, supporting a sign displaying the video game title. A white sticker with text inInkling script can also be found below the control panel on the right.

Squid Beatz 2

The only arcade game available on this arcade machine is Squid Beatz 2. As the sequel to Squid Beatz, it is also a rhythm game in which the player presses buttons to the beat of songs fromSplatoon 2.

Tracks 1 through 8, 20 through 30, 43 through 49, and 51 through 54 are available from the start; 35 through 42 and 55 through 57 are unlocked byamiibo; the rest are unlocked after they have been heard in-game for the first time. Prior toversion 5.2.0, tracks 20 through 26 had to be heard in-game in aSplatfest in order to be unlocked.

Registering thePearl or Marina amiibo as friends and fulfilling certain requirements allows the player to unlock two new themes for Squid Beatz 2, which are based on the corresponding character.

List of tracks

Splatoon 3

The arcade machine inInkopolis Plaza reappears in theSplatoon 3: Expansion Pass, but it no longer functions as an arcade machine, instead being covered by a sheet held with ropes, with a monitor placed on it and a board on top. It functions as a terminal for remote access toHotlantis inSplatsville. This terminal also appears inInkopolis Square next to theGalleria, with the original Inkopolis Square arcade machine being removed entirely and replaced with the claw machine which was to the right of it, now functional and used by a NPC.

Although the games are not featured inSplatoon 3, several locker decorations reference them:

• The front cover of the Squidgital Game Guide is one of the frames from the jumping animation in Squid Jump, and the game's layout is referenced on the back cover of the Nostalgia Power Magazine.
• Squidball's layout is referenced on the front cover of the Nostalgia Power Magazine. The Commander Cephaloid game box features Squidball's icon, though it uses a monochrome yellow palette.
• A vertical version of Squid Racer's icon is featured on the front cover of the sports comic.
• A slightly altered Squid Beatz icon is used on the Volley Volley Panic game box, and the Squidgital Gameguide references the game's layout on its back cover.
  • Notably, the name of the Volley Volley Panic game box appears to reference Squidball instead of Squid Beatz, even though the latter's artwork is used in its box art. The Japanese name of the item, リズムDEイッカー ("Rhythm in the Air"), appears to reference the rhythm game nature of Squid Beatz instead.

Gallery

Splatoon

• 

  The Squid Jump icon.

• 

  The Squid Racer icon.

• 

  The Squidball icon.

• 

  The Squid Beatz icon.

• 

  Icon on.

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  Arcade machine selection after unlocking all four games.

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  The selection menu on for Squid Beatz.

• 

  Clear view of the arcade machine inInkopolis Plaza.

• 

  The pixelated squid, seen when starting up the arcade machine.

• 

  AnInkling looks at two arcade machines atAncho-V Games, one identical to the one in Inkopolis plaza.

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  Twojellyfish in a small room next to another arcade machine.

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  Magazines at Ancho-V Games, with the squid and a scene from Squid Jump as well as a scene from Squid Beatz.

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  Another set with Squid Jump (center).

Splatoon 2

• 

  The title screen for Squid Beatz 2.

• 

  Icon on themap.

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  Screenshot of the gameplay of Squid Beatz 2.

• 

  The unlock screen for new styles.

• 

  Pearl's Squid Beatz 2 style.

• 

  Marina's Squid Beatz 2 style.

Splatoon 3

• 

  TheInkopolis Plaza arcade machine, converted into a terminal forHotlantis.

• 

  The Squidgital Game Guide.

• 

  The Nostalgia Power Magazine.

• 

  The Commander Cephaloid game box.

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  The sports comic.

• 

  The Volley Volley Panic game box.

Trivia

• The gameplay of Squid Beatz and its sequel, Squid Beatz 2, are based on the Bandai Namco rhythm game seriesTaiko no Tatsujin.
  • Squid Beatz 2, in particular, takes its aesthetic cues from the Konami rhythm game seriesBeatmania, particularly the dancing Inkling and jellyfish silhouettes.
• Jellyfish are featured in some way in each ofSplatoon's arcade games.
• Squid Racer's name may be a reference to the Japanese manga seriesSpeed Racer.
• The rabbits in Squid Beatz are likely a reference to an early stage ofSplatoon's development wherein the protagonists were to be humanoid rabbits.
• The art for each of the four games parodies that ofNES games from popular studios. Squid Racer's artwork is based onIrem's titles, Squid Beatz' is based onNamco's, and Squid Ball's is based on those ofNintendo.
  • The art for Squid Jump resembles the Famicom box art forSuper Mario Bros.
• The arcade machine is also featured inAncho-V Games, with four individual machines throughout thestage. Unlike the one inInkopolis Plaza, they cannot be interacted with.
• Ancho-V Games is said to have developed Squid Beatz.^[1]
  • Several official sources also cite them as the developers of Squid Beatz 2.^[2]
  • According to anInkopolis Newsquote from theSquid Sisters, they also created Squid Jump.
• The red fish from the minigames are similar toCheep Cheeps found in Mario games.
• InSplatoon 2, arcade machines featuring the artwork from Squid Jump, Squid Ball, and Squid Racer can be seen inside the Shoal when looking in from outside the entrance.
• In Squid Beatz 2, songs from theOcto Expansion go out of order and start at 80, following the prominent theme of the number 8 in theOcto Expansion. However, theDedf1sh songs unlocked through theOctolingamiibo do not follow this pattern.
• InSplatoon 2, when standing near Murch in Inkopolis Square, the sound effects of Squid Jump can be heard from his phone. However, the screen of his phone is blank.
• In Squid Beatz 2, in the arcade machine, and on the title screen, the title "Ika Radio 2" can be seen. 'Ika' in Japanese means squid.
  • This is also referenced in the Japanese name for Squid Beatz 2.
• Some of the walls of Ancho-V Games can be seen to have the arcade games silhouette.
• In theOcto Canyon levelThe Octogalaxy, Marie references Squid Jump while talking to herself, saying that she misses it.

Names in other languages

Squid Jump

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	イカジャンプ Ika janpu	Squid Jump
French	Saute-qui-peut[note 1]	Jump for your life
German	Squid Jump	Squid jump
Italian	Saltaseppia	Jumping Cuttlefish
Spanish	Brincalamar	Jumpsquid

Squidball

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	イカボール Ika bōru	Squid Ball
French	Smash-qui-peut[note 1]	Smash for your life
Italian	Seppiavolo	Cuttlefishball
Spanish (NOA)	Sepiabol	Cuttlefishball
Spanish (NOE)	Chipivóley	Cuttle-volley

Squid Racer

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	イカレース Ika rēsu	Squid Race
French	Sprint-qui-peut[note 1]	Sprint for your life
Italian	Turboseppia	Turbo Cuttlefish
Spanish	A toda tinta	Full Ink

Squid Beatz

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	イカラジオ Ika rajio	Squid Radio
French	Swing-qui-peut[note 1]	Swing for your life
Italian	Radio Seppia	Cuttlefish Radio
Spanish	Jibia FM	Cuttlefish FM

Squid Beatz 2

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	イカラジオ２ Ika rajio 2	Squid Radio 2
Dutch	Ika Radio	Similar to Japanese
French	Calam FM	Squid FM[note 2]

Translation notes

References