Side Order​

Side Order

Type	Single-playercampaign[1]
Players	1
Ranked
Weapons	Order Weapons & Octo Shot Various Sub Weapons Various Special Weapons
Controllers	Joy-Con Nintendo Switch Pro Controller
Release Date	22 February 2024[2][3]

Side Order is a single-player mode inSplatoon 3. It is the second wave of theSplatoon 3: Expansion Pass paid downloadable content. It was revealed through a teaser trailer during theFebruary 2023 Nintendo Direct and released on22 February 2024. The mode is designed to be highly replayable.^[4][5]

Release history

During theSplatoon 3 Direct on10 August 2022, large-scale paid downloadable content involvingOff the Hook was announced to arrive in a laterSplatoon 3 update. Atweet was put out by Nintendo of Europe the same day, reiteratingOff the Hook's association with the DLC.

During the8 February 2023 Direct,Side Order was revealed as Wave 2 of theSplatoon 3: Expansion Pass, without a release date. The teaser trailer featuresAgent 8 in a bleached-out version ofInkopolis Square. Shortly after the Direct, some brief information aboutSide Order was listed on official Nintendo websites detailing theSplatoon 3: Expansion Pass.

A longer gameplay trailer was shown during the14 September 2023 Nintendo Direct, in which the Octoling player character seen in the teaser trailer was confirmed for the first time to be theOcto Expansion'sAgent 8; additionally,Pearl andAcht were revealed as major supporting characters. The mode's floor progression system andPalette skill tree system were briefly demonstrated. After the trailer was shown, theSpire of Order's name was revealed, and the mode's release date was stated as Spring 2024 at the earliest.

The same day as the trailer's release, anofficial Japanese website went online.

On21 November 2023, an online version of the2023 winter issue of the JapaneseNintendo Magazine was made available for free; pages 42-43 of this issue coverSide Order. An English language version of the issue is also available, though its translation is noted to possibly differ from official localization choices, as the magazine is not intended for the international market.

On24 January 2024, Nintendo social media accounts posted a release date trailer for the DLC, which was shown to be22 February 2024. It also revealed the vertical artwork for the DLC, similar to past artworks revealed for the series' other campaigns.

On13 February 2024, Nintendo posted a longer overview trailer, containing extended new gameplay footage accompanied by a voiceover. On the same day, aFresh Season 2024 trailer was released, which included a shortSide Order teaser at the end. TheJapanese website was also updated.

At an unknown time before the13 February 2024 trailer's release, Nintendo invited journalists and influencers to playSide Order early at Nintendo headquarters locations in San Francisco and London for ninety minutes to two hours, depending on the location. These reviewers subsequently released reviews for the mode immediately upon the overview trailer's release. Participants of the early access demo include content creators ThatSrb2DUDE,^[6] Good Vibes Gaming,^[7] AbdallahSmash^[8] and God is a Geek,^[9] as well as journalists writing forGameSpot,^[10]Video Games Chronicle,^[11]The Mercury News^[12] andNintendo Life.^[13][14] Early reviewers claim Nintendo accommodated all travel expenses, though they were not allowed to record footage of the demo event nor share story details. Within the reviews, the mode was noted as fun, difficult, and frenetic, often compared toSalmon Run Next Wave or theroguelite genre.

All promotional material leading up toSide Order's release notably excludedMarina to not reveal her role in the mode's story.

On22 February 2024,Side Order was released.

Trailers

Splatoon 3: Expansion Pass: Wave 2: Side Order teaser trailer

A teaser trailer revealingSide Order was shown in the latter half of theSplatoon 3: Expansion Pass trailer shown in theFebruary 2023 Nintendo Direct. The teaser trailer opens with a slow pan across a dull, stark white version ofInkopolis Square fromSplatoon 2, slowly focusing onAgent 8, who is wearing new gear. This altered version of Inkopolis Square features presumed dead or bleached coral;Deca Tower has been replaced with theSpire of Order. A swarm of fish-like objects "swim" around Agent 8 towards the end of the clip shown.

Throughout the trailer,various cryptic static images and short video clips briefly flicker on-screen; the images primarily depict Agent 8 in strange bright white locations, as well asOff the Hook, while the clips seemingly depict biological components such as cells, blood, and organs.

A dull, slightly out-of-tune music box melody with steady electronic percussion accompanies the teaser trailer, which slowly grows more intense; towards the end, someone can be heard speaking.

Side Order trailer

A secondSide Order trailer, which focused on gameplay, was shown in theSeptember 2023 Nintendo Direct. The trailer opens withAgent 8 in an updated version of the dull, stark white version ofInkopolis Square alongside thePearl Drone, a drone resemblingPearl, as the same out-of-tune music box melody featured in the first trailer plays.

Agent 8 is shown descending into an unknownfloor via a grappling attachment on the Pearl Drone. The Pearl Drone, Agent 8's equipment, andJelletons are revealed, and then gameplay footage of Agent 8 in combat with Jelletons is shown. The Jelletons are seen spawning fromportals.

Cutscene footage of Agent 8 and Pearl encounteringAcht in anelevator is then shown; within it, Acht introduces themself as an old friend ofMarina's. Thefloor selection andPalette screens are shown, with Agent 8 selecting from several floors (with early names not seen in the final game), ultimately choosing the "Exposed Winding Floor". Gameplay footage of several different floors is shown in quick succession, then the trailer abruptly cuts to a clip of Agent 8's octopus ghost entering a crystalized shell resembling their form, respawning on a floor. After a cut to black, Agent 8 is shown running in slow motion alongside the Pearl Drone towardsAsynchronous Rondo. After another cut to black, the mode's title is shown with glitch and black coral effects.

Throughout the trailer, various scenes depict theSpire of Order's floors seemingly spontaneously generating with aMatrix-style code effect. Many floors shown appear to have blocky, black holes in their walls reminiscent of agreeble effect. Additionally,armor pickups andcanned specials can be spotted within certain floors.

Agent 8's ink color is significantly paler compared to the previous trailer; their ink color tint appears to change between clips, being affected by differentcolor chips. Their gear appears at various stages of upgrade throughout the trailer; the seemingly well-upgraded version includes thin, bright, hologram-like extensions on their dualies, as well as an eyepiece similar to theSee-an-Enemy HUD.

The trailer opens with the same musical box tune heard in the teaser trailer, then cuts to a slow-paced electronicglitch song with prominent industrial percussion calledrout1nes. Midway, the song swaps for a more intense electronic song, that beingdemoli2h. Then at the end, the music transitions into a slow, echoed version ofSpectrum Obligato.

Release date trailer

A thirdSide Order trailer revealing the mode's release date as well as new key artwork was posted to Twitter andYouTube on24 January 2024.

The trailer opens with the train cutscene seen inSplatoon 3'stutorial; theplayer's character is instead listening toMuck Warfare (rather thanAnarchy Rainbow) alongside a sleepingSmallfry and other passengers. As the player dozes off, the music becomes more and more distorted, accompanied by glitch effects. The yellowMatrix-style code seen in the second trailer slowly fills the screen.

The scene cuts to what is presumablyAgent 8's point of view upon waking in the Order Sector version ofInkopolis Square.Pearl calls out to wake them, as the Square is seemingly generated on the spot by the yellow code effect. The glitch effects seen in the previous scene intermittently appear. The music box theme from the previous trailers plays as someone can be heard speaking, similar to the first trailer's ending.

The trailer then cuts to the campaign's key artwork, which unfolds from the upper section, gradually descending to the lower portion: at the zenith, Marina and Pearl (in herInkling form) are displayed, alongsideParallel Canon. The middle segment showcasesJelletons circling Asynchronous Rondo, withPinging Marciale directly below it, as well as Acht andCipher. The lower segment highlights Agent 8 and the Pearl Drone. During the descent, the22 February 2024 release date slowly fades in.

Overview trailer

A fourthSide Order trailer showing an overview of the gameplay was posted to Twitter^[15] andYouTube on13 February 2024.

The trailer features a voiceover explaining the mode's basicgameplay loop, which consists of floor selection, color chip enhancement, and objective completion.

New floor objective types,Jelleton types, bosses, color chips, and available weapons were revealed in this trailer. Additionally, the Membux and Prlz currencies were introduced.

At the end of the trailer, various footage ofSide Order gameplay and cutscenes is shown, along with the announcement of replica gear and main weapons that can be used in multiplayer battles.

Fresh Season 2024 teaser

A brief teaser forSide Order was shown after the fake-out ending in theFresh Season 2024 trailer posted to Twitter^[16] andYouTube.

The teaser is a fast-paced montage of new floor and boss gameplay footage, cutscenes, close-ups of stage details, and a brief look at a customization screen for Agent 8. Most notably, it briefly shows Pearl in her regular Inkling form speaking, as well as Acht at their DJ table.

Story

Agent 8 has been unexpectedly transported to theOrder Sector, a mysterious world that is built out of its own unique rules.^[17] Agent 8 wakes up to find what appears to beInkopolis Square, suddenly drained of color and uninhabited.^[5] They are challenged to ascend theSpire of Order, a tower that changesfloor structure each time it is entered, which has mysteriously replacedDeca Tower, as "something wants to make the entire world orderly".^[13]Pearl, having been transformed into^[17] a drone called thePearl Drone, accompanies Agent 8 and assists them in combat.

Acht, also known as Dedf1sh, has "wandered into" the Order Sector,^[17] and appears to travel between floors alongside Agent 8 inside anelevator within the Spire of Order.

After reaching the Spire'sControl Room, Agent 8 encountersMarina, who has been mind-controlled through aController VM and wired into a large tentacle blob asMarina Agitando. Agent 8 destroys the tentacle blob, freeing Marina, before Agent 8 and Pearl are confronted by a being calling itselfOrder. They are booted out of the Spire after it declares its goal to establish a world of pure order. When they end up back in the Order Sector, Order fully reconfigures the Spire, and Marina reveals that the Sector is part of a prototype virtual reality system she designed called theProject Memverse, which was originally intended to reverse thesanitizing process. After Order seized control of the Memverse, it began forcibly connecting people to the system byGrayscaling them to begin building a world of perfect order where independent thought does not exist. By Grayscaling its victims, it will eventually be able to impose its ideal world upon reality.

Agent 8 re-enters the Spire, albeit with Marina supporting them from the elevator while providing them withMarina's Hacks. While they ascend the Spire, accompanied byOff the Hook and Acht, they encounter tons of hostileJelletons, at least 30floors, and at least twobosses as they ascend back up to the Control Room, where they confront Order. Marina tries to explain to Order why its idea of a perfect world is dysfunctional; however, Order malfunctions over the concept of its creator denying it before it decides that Agent 8 must be destroyed, enters a grate in the floor, and reappears as the Magistrate of Order,Overlorder. Agent 8 battles Overlorder in three phases while playingNew World Order, but it survives, and activates a program that activates a mass Grayscaling, knocking out Agent 8.

The player "brings back the beat" in a small rhythm minigame and wakes up Agent 8. Marina and Acht, in an act of resistance to Overlorder, start playingSpectrum Obligato ~ Ebb & Flow (Out of Order). Pearl declares that the "show don't stop" and lets out an immensely powerful "Booyah!" that destroys the Control Room. Agent 8 throws themselves into a battle against Overlorder, but they find out that Overlorder emptied theirPalette and placed thecolor chips inside someportals. They destroy the portals and grab the chips, which are revealed to beoversaturated, causing their effects to be heavily amplified. As Overlorder's barrier is destroyed, Pearl activates aColor Wail using the chips and fires it at Overlorder, causing it to malfunction and implode as a result of color overload.

After the destruction of Overlorder, a diminutive, childlike octopus form of a heavily damaged and restricted Order namedSmollusk appears and gets upset that Agent 8 "wuined" its "perfect world of order." Pearl and Marina jokingly declare that "there's not much to worry about here," and leave with Agent 8 and Acht on an elevator that appears in the middle of the Control Room, as thecredits roll.

After the defeat of Overlorder, Agent 8 returns to the Memverse, where Off the Hook greets them and Marina explains that Agent 8's work is not done yet. She explains that thePalettes are the souls of those who were Grayscaled and that Agent 8 must set them free. To set a Palette's soul free, Agent 8 needs to re-ascend the Spire and reach the now-destroyed Control Room for the Palette to be manually reconfigured, which Agent 8 has to do with all the Palettes to set every soul free. Smollusk is not on board with Marina's plan to free the souls and actively tries to prevent Agent 8 from reaching the Control Room and reconfiguring the Palettes. Every time Agent 8 gets to the top of the Spire, Smollusk transforms into Overlorder to try and stop Agent 8 as the final boss of the run. Agent 8 scales the Spire and defeats Smollusk ten more times to free the souls, obtaining every reward in the lockers, including allMarina's Dev Diary entries, until they receivetheir own Palette. Meanwhile, they meetCipher, a lucifer shrimp that runs a stall located in theOrder Sector calledCipher's Siftings^[18].

Once they have obtained their Palette, Agent 8 reascends the Spire and defeats Smollusk for the last time to reconfigure it. Agent 8's Palette has the special properties of being able to skip floors usingMembux (except for boss floors), while the number of active hacks decreases the maximum number of chips in their Palette. During the last ride up the Spire, Agent 8 also receivesthree additional entries for Marina's Dev Diary, which are letters from Acht to Marina.

Although Eight reconfigured all the Palettes, they can still scale to the Spire to "pway"^[sic] with Smollusk again with no limits.

Gameplay

The mode's missions take place in theSpire of Order's many differentfloors; the Spire contains thirty floors total, where a boss is encountered every ten floors.^[10] Players can unlock different main weapons, which are assigned to individualPalettes. Palettes are unlocked by obtaining keys dropped by bosses on the 10th, 20th, and 30th floors, and using them to open the lockers in theMemverse version ofInkopolis Square.

While the locker cubbies containing Palettes are set (which are indicated by pulsing rings around them), the exact contents are randomized, so individual players may unlock specific Palettes earlier or later than others (except for Eight's Palette, which will always be found in the final locker).

Before each floor begins, the player may select one of three objectives to complete; harder objectives yield greater rewards. After selecting a floor, the player is givencolor chips. The color chips provide many differentenhancements, some of which are similar togear abilities, likeInk Saver (Main) orRun Speed Up. By default, the Pearl Drone can scout sight enemies, glide with Agent 8, and activate the Step-Off Song after collecting threeDisc pieces. All of her other abilities are unlockable,^[10] which means her aid will be limited without the collection ofDrone-tone color chips.

Clearing floors rewards the player withMembux, which can be used as a currency on floors containing vending machines.^[13] However, if the player loses all their lives, they will lose all their color chips and must restart from the first Floor. When this happens, the accumulated color chips and Membux will be converted into Prlz, which can be used to buy permanent upgrades via Marina in the Square^[8] that will subsequently apply to all future runs through the Spire.

Permanent upgrades

Main article:Marina's Hacks

Permanent upgrades can be purchased withPrlz via Marina hacking them into effect and will aid the player in reaching the top ofthe Spire.

Mechanics

Each Palette (excluding Eight's Palette) can unlock up to three keys used to unlock various rewards by using them on the lockers located near the entrance of theSpire of Order.

• Weapons
  • Main:
    • Order Shot
    • Order Roller
    • Order Charger
    • Order Slosher
    • Order Splatling
    • Order Dualies
    • Order Brella
    • Order Blaster
    • Orderbrush
    • Order Stringer
    • Order Splatana
    • Octo Shot
  • Sub:
    • Splat Bomb
    • Curling Bomb
    • Suction Bomb
    • Fizzy Bomb
    • Sprinkler
    • Splash Wall
    • Burst Bomb
    • Ink Mine
    • Toxic Mist
  • Special:
    • Killer Wail 5.1
    • Triple Inkstrike
    • Reefslider
    • Ink Storm
    • Kraken Royale
    • Triple Splashdown
    • Wave Breaker
    • Ultra Stamp
    • Booyah Bomb
    • Trizooka
    • Crab Tank

Characters

• Agent 8 -Octoling - The playable character.
• Pearl - Drone (Inkling) - A member ofOff the Hook who accompanies Agent 8.
• Marina - Octoling - A member of Off the Hook who supports Agent 8 and creator of theMemverse.
• Acht - Octoling (Sanitized) - A musician who meets Agent 8 and Pearl in theSpire of Order.
• Cipher - Owner of a stall named Cipher's Siftings in theOrder Sector. Sells items which can be bought withPrlz.
• Order / Overlorder / Smollusk - A rogue AI who made the Spire of Order after being created by Marina.
• Variouscitizens of the Order Sector.

Floors

Main article:Floor

Side Order's level system consists of individualfloors within theSpire of Order, which are randomly selected in subsequent runs after thefirst climb.

Rewards

ThroughoutSide Order, it is possible to unlock replicas of the weapons and gear used throughout the mode.

Additionally, clearingSide Order for the first time unlocksInkopolis Square for the player character to traverse to.

Badges

Badges can be obtained by completing certain objectives inSide Order. An example is the color chip badges, which can be obtained by collecting the data for all of the color chips of the same tone. A list of badges fromSide Order and how to obtain them can be found below.

Image			In-game description	How to obtain
			Cleared the Initial Spire	DefeatMarina Agitando in theSpire of Order
			Cleared Side Order	DefeatOverlorder in the Spire of Order
			Cleared the Spire of Order with Every Palette	Defeat Overlorder in the Spire of Order with everyPalette
			Bought Everything from Cipher's Siftings	Buy every item fromCipher's Siftings
			Cleared the Spire of Order with the Low-Hacks Eight's Palette	Defeat Overlorder in the Spire of Order withEight's Palette with 4 hacks or fewer enabled, excludingRisky Rewards.
			Collected Data for AllColor Chips of the Same Tone	Unlock all extra Collection information for all chips in a group (indicated by a line in the Collection screen and three lit-up lines above the chip) by equipping five copies of a given chip in thePalette during one run. Unique chips (unstackable) only need to be acquired once.

Lockers

The lockers, located in plain sight of spawning distance, hold various rewards, used both withinSide Order and in multiplayer.

Within the lockers arePalettes which are weapon sets to be used to climb the Spire of Order, entries ofMarina's Dev Diary which serve as theSunken Scrolls ofSide Order with each entries' backgrounds becoming locker stickers once read,Prlz to spend on Marina's hacks or Cipher's wares, and evenSplashtagbanners.

To access the lockers, players need keys, which can only be earned by defeating the bosses found on the 10th, 20th, and 30th floors for the first time with any given weapon (barring Eight's Palette, which instead gives the final three Dev Diary entries). Completing a run with any given Palette unlocks replica versions of that weapon for multiplayer battle usage.

Locker number	Reward	Image details
1	Marina's Dev Diary 01
2	Banner
3	Agent 4's Palette
4	Random Palette
5	Random Palette
6	Marina's Dev Diary 02
7	Random Palette
8	30Prlz
9	Random Palette
10	Marina's Dev Diary 03
11	Random Palette
12	40Prlz
13	Marina's Dev Diary 04
14	Random Palette
15	30Prlz
16	Marina's Dev Diary 05
17	Random Palette
18	50Prlz
19	Marina's Dev Diary 06
20	40Prlz
21	Random Palette
22	Marina's Dev Diary 07
23	50Prlz
24	Marina's Dev Diary 08
25	40Prlz
26	Banner
27	Marina's Dev Diary 09
28	50Prlz
29	Marina's Dev Diary 10
30	60Prlz
31	Marina's Dev Diary 11
32	60Prlz
33	Marina's Dev Diary 12
34	100Prlz
35	Banner
36	Eight's Palette
Rewards from Eight's Palette:
10F	Acht's Letter 1
20F	Acht's Letter 2
30F	Acht's Letter 3

Cipher's Siftings

Cipher's Siftings is a shop found within the Order Sector run by the enigmaticCipher, located in the corner where theTableturf Battle Dojo is located in the actual Inkopolis Square.

Items available for purchase in the store includelockerdecorations, lockerstickers,Splashtagbanners, andgear in exchange for Prlz.^[19]

Cipher only appears after clearingSide Order for the first time. Additionally, Cipher's wares expand for every three locker keys that Agent 8 collects, with its full selection unlocked with all thirty-six keys.

Located around Cipher's Siftings are what appear to be individual parts of aMarching Andante.

Decorations

Main article:List of locker decorations in Splatoon 3#Cipher's Siftings

Item	Name	Cost	Keys needed
	Marching Andante	10	3
	Swarming Languendo	10	3
	Battering Lento	10	3
	celebratory pancakes	10	3
	Panicking Alla Mambo	20	6
	Drizzling Capriccioso	20	6
	puzzle with missing piece	20	6
	memorable picture book	20	6
	Whirling Accelerando	30	12
	Springing Spiccato	30	12
	dead-C toy piano	30	12
	nostalgic mobile	30	12
	Spawning Accordo	50	18
	Homing Arpeggio	50	18
	inseparable anglerfish	50	18
	Towering Nobilmente	100	27
	Gushing Trionfale	100	27
	beloved toy	100	27

Stickers

Main article:List of locker stickers in Splatoon 3#Order Sector

Item	Name	Cost	Keys needed
	dream tapestry 01	15	9
	dream tapestry 02	15	15
	dream tapestry 03	15	21
	dream tapestry 04	15	24
	dream tapestry 05	15	33
	Marina Order graffiti	20	6
	Pearl Order graffiti	20	3
	Callie Order graffiti	20	12
	Marie Order graffiti	20	12
	pixelBig Man	30	27
	pixelFrye	30	27
	pixelShiver	30	27
	pixel Marie	30	12
	pixel Callie	30	3
	pixelSheldon	30	18
	pixel Pearl	30	12
	pixel Marina	30	6
	pixelEight	30	33
	pixelAgent 4	30	12
	pixelDJ Octavio	30	18
	pixelMurch	30	18
	Jelleton sticker	50	33
	Pearl wallpaper	100	3

Banners

Main article:Banner#Cipher's Siftings banners

Item	Cost	Keys needed
	200	3
	200	9
	200	21
	200	33

Gear

Item	Name	Cost	Keys needed
	Order Regulator Replica	333	9
	Controller VM	333	15
	Parallel Mask	333	24
	Pearl Plushie	888	33

Today's Find

After purchasing all available items, players can use 100 once per day to receive one of the following rewards from the terminal:^[20]

Reward	Chance	Refund
1 Locker figure	35%	2,000
1 Locker sticker	35%	2,000
1 Food Ticket	10%	-
5 Random Ability Chunks	10%	-
30,000	10%	-

Receiving decorations via this method is the only way to receive duplicates of decorations obtained inSide Order. A total of 4,042 Prlz must be spent to unlock this function. Unlike with theShel-drone, players will only start receiving refunds of 2,000 for locker figurines and stickers when they have obtained the maximum number for each.

Music

Area	Fictional band	Song name	Audio sample
Player Settings	Dedf1sh	#0.1 style	#0.1 style
Elevator		#12.2 awakened	#12.2 awakened
Order Sector		Leaving with Pearl	Leaving with Pearl
		Origin of Order	Origin of Order (Part 1) Origin of Order (Part 2)
10F (first climb)	Marina	Unconscience	Unconscience
Spire of Orderfloors (Destroy the portal!)	Free Association	demol1sh	demol1sh
		demoli2h	demoli2h
		d3molish	d3molish
Spire of Orderfloors (Defeat the fleeing foe!)		jest1ng	jest1ng
		je2ting	je2ting
		j3sting	j3sting
Spire of Orderfloors (Protect the zone!)		rout1nes	rout1nes
		routine2	routine2
		routin3s	routin3s
Spire of Orderfloors (Sink the ∞-ball!)		souven1r	souven1r
		2ouvenir	2ouvenir
		souv3nir	souv3nir
Spire of Orderfloors (Escort the turbine tower!)		j1tters	j1tters
		jitter2	jitter2
		jitt3rs	jitt3rs
10F and 20F (vs.Parallel Canon)		EchΘ Θnslaught	EchΘ Θnslaught
10F and 20F (vs.Pinging Marciale)		CΘld StΘrage	CΘld StΘrage
10F and 20F (vs.Asynchronous Rondo)		ΘctΘpticΘn	ΘctΘpticΘn
30F (before first clear)		New World Order	New World Order
	Off the Hook feat.Dedf1sh	Spectrum Obligato ~ Ebb & Flow (Out of Order)	Spectrum Obligato ~ Ebb & Flow (Out of Order)
Credits	Dedf1sh feat.Off the Hook	#47 onward	#47 onward
30F (after first clear)	Off the Hook	Short Order	Short Order

Some ofSide Order's music is based on or made byOff the Hook, as they are major characters in the DLC. Songs likeSpectrum Obligato ~ Ebb & Flow (Out of Order) andShort Order show a heavy emphasis on the duo. Marina also produces a new solo song calledUnconscience, played during theMarina Agitando boss battle.

In addition,Acht (a.k.a. Dedf1sh) has a heavy musical influence, with some of their songs fromOcto Expansion influencing songs inSide Order, like#0.1 style being a remix of#0 shell and#12.2 awakened being a remix of#12 awake.

Much of the music in the mode is made by a group calledFree Association and is used infloors. For normal levels, different songs play based on the objective of the level and area of the floor within thespire. Songs can be grouped by objective, using different names ("demolish", "jesting", "routines", "souvenir", and "jitters"), or by area, using numbers to replace letters in the titles (either a 1, 2, or 3), reflecting intensity. How numbers are inserted is like that ofleetspeak, tying into theMemverse's themes of technology and internet culture. Songs using a 1 play in the first ten floors of the spire, songs using a 2 play in the second ten, and songs using a 3 play in the last ten. Each of the five groups of music has its own style and instruments.

• Songs using "demolish" in the title (demol1sh,demoli2h, andd3molish) play on floors with the "Destroy the portal!" objective. These songs have very heavy, strong bass parts and are generally accompanied by synth background melodies. They keep a steady pulse as well.
• Songs using "jesting" in the title (jest1ng,je2ting, andj3sting) play on floors with the "Defeat the fleeing foe!" objective. These songs mainly feature several fast groupings of notes, usually happening at the same time. The notes are very unpredictable, and each song features various sudden rhythmic and melodic changes. This may allude to the unpredictability of thePanicking Alla Mambo, the enemyAgent 8 must chase on these floors.
• Songs using "routines" in the title (rout1nes,routine2, androutin3s) play on floors with the "Protect the zone!" objective. These songs are generally characterized by heavy layers of percussion and rhythmic lines, as well as various background melodies from synths. These songs also feature a sound effect which resembles a piece of metal clanging into an object.
• Songs using "souvenir" in the title (souven1r,2ouvenir, andsouv3nir) play on floors with the "Sink the ∞-ball!" objective. These songs are often the simplest of the five types and normally feature very airy and light melodies and layers. Nostalgic-sounding chords play in the background, while mellowed synths play a simple melody. Every so often, the track suddenly changes to a small, differing clip of music from what was previously played, then returns to the original melody. This may be meant to resemble a memory or flashback, alluding to either the name of the song ("souvenir" meaning "to remember" in French), to theMemverse andMarina's project to restore memories, or Agent 8's memories of8-balls from theOcto Expansion, which are similar to∞-balls.
• Songs using "jitters" in the title (j1tters,jitter2, andjitt3rs) play on floors with the "Escort the turbine tower!" objective. These songs feature short and frenzied piano excerpts, played at seemingly random times in the piece. The songs also feature dissonant background melodies and melodic elements. This may allude to the name of the song, matching the feeling of restlessness and angst that the name implies.

Different music plays on the boss floors, also made by Free Association.

• Parallel Canon boss fights use the songEchΘ Θnslaught.
• Pinging Marciale boss fights use the songCΘld StΘrage.
• Asynchronous Rondo boss fights use the songΘctΘpticΘn.
• WhenOverlorder is fought for the first time, the first three phases of the battle use the songNew World Order. However, the final phase instead usesSpectrum Obligato ~ Ebb & Flow (Out of Order) by Off the Hook feat. Dedf1sh, andShort Order by Off the Hook plays in later rematches.

Quotes

Gallery

➤View the gallery

Trivia

• Side Order is the first single-player mode in theSplatoon series:
  • to feature a returning protagonist as the playable character.
  • to feature aroguelite style of gameplay and progression.
  • to not featureOctarians as the main enemies.
  • to not feature theOctostomp in any capacity.
  • to not feature any levels completed by touching a particular object (either aZapfish or agoal).
  • to not featureOctoling Rendezvous, or any song byTurquoise October.
  • to not feature any version ofCalamari Inkantation, or any song by theSquid Sisters.
• Side Order was announced in February of 2023, two years afterSplatoon 3 wasannounced.
• The recurrence of the number two related toSide Order's release may be referencing that its main characters (Agent 8,Off the Hook, andAcht) debuted inSplatoon 2. It is the second wave of theSplatoon 3: Expansion Pass, and released on22 February 2024, the twenty-second day of the second month of the year.

Etymology

Aside order is another term for aside dish, a food item meant to accompany a larger main item as part of a meal. The title is a pun on the mode being aside story about TeamOrder, theSplatfest team led byMarina that lost theFinal Fest inSplatoon 2.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	サイド・オーダー Saido Ōdā	Side Order
Dutch	De Toren der Orde	The Tower of Order
French	Tour de l'Ordre	Order Tower
German	Ruf zur Ordnung	Call to Order
Italian	Torre dell'Ordine	Tower of Order
Russian	Порядочная порция Poryadochnaya portsiya	Decent serving[note 1]
Spanish	La cara del orden	The face/side of order[note 2]
Chinese	秩序篇 Zhìxù Piān	Order Chapter
Korean	사이드 오더 Saideu odeo	Side Order

Translation notes

References