Inkling
- For fighter info, seeInkling (SSBU).
| Inkling | |
|---|---|
   Official artwork of an Inkling fromSplatoon. | |
| Universe | Splatoon |
| Debut | Splatoon (2015) |
| Smash Bros. appearances | SSB4 Ultimate |
| Most recent non-Smash appearance | Splatoon 3 (2022) |
| Console/platform of origin | Wii U |
| Species | Inkling |
| Gender | Varies |
| Place of origin | Earth Inkopolis (surrogate home) Splatlands (surrogate home) |
| Created by | Shintaro Sato Hisashi Nogami Tsubasa Sakaguchi Yusuke Amano |
| Designed by | Seita Inoue |
| Voice actor | Yuki Tsuji |
| Article on Inkipedia | Inkling |
TheInkling (インクリング,Inkling) is the species of player characters from theSplatoon universe.
After making cameos inSuper Smash Bros. 4 as adownloadabletrophy andMii Costume, Inkling transitioned into a playable character inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Origin[edit]
Inklings are creatures that can transform between a squid form and a humanoid form. They act as the players' avatars in theSplatoon series, although players can also choose to play asOctolings inSplatoon 2 if they have purchased and completed theOcto Expansion and from the start inSplatoon 3. Newborn Inklings initially only have access to their squid form and slowly go through a metamorphosis into their humanoid form, reaching maturity after about fourteen years.[1]
Turf War battles between teams of Inklings involve using a variety of weapons to cover the map with their team's colored ink—which they can swim in while in squid form—while disrupting the other team's attempt to do the same within the time limit of three minutes. Inklings are also very fashionable, as they can be seen wearing different outfits as well as sporting different hairstyles (though alternate hairstyle options are introduced inSplatoon 2). Inklings are also colored based on the color of their team in battles.
The Inkling outfits and headgear forMii Fighters resemble the most prominent Inklings featured in promotional art, which are also used for theiramiibo designs.
- An orange female Inkling with the Hippie hairstyle wearing theWhite Tee andPink Trainers, introduced inSplatoon.
- A blue male Inkling with the Topknot hairstyle wearing theZink Layered LS andPurple Hi-Horses, introduced inSplatoon.
- A green Inkling squid, introduced inSplatoon.
- A pink female Inkling with the Haircut hairstyle wearing theKing Flip Mesh,White King Tank, andMint Dakroniks, introduced inSplatoon 2.
- A green Inkling with the Slick hairstyle wearing theSquidfin Hook Cans,Black V-Neck Tee, andYellow-Mesh Sneakers, introduced inSplatoon 2.
InSuper Smash Bros. 4[edit]
As a costume[edit]
The Inklings are shown in the original promotional art forSplatoon are the basis for two paiddownloadable contentcostumes: the Inkling Outfit forMii Gunners (with matching Inkling Wig headgear) and a standalone piece of headgear, the Inkling Squid Hat. Two QR codes were also released for those who wish to have the exact Miis used in the Inkling Outfit's advertising – one forthe male Inkling and one forthe female one.
These outfits could be obtained for free with copies ofSplatoon purchased from GameStop in North America before June 13th, 2015. Otherwise, they were made purchasable on the eShop beginning on June 14th, 2015.
Trophy[edit]
The Inkling trophy was automatically unlocked after purchasing the Inkling Outfit.
- Inkling
Meet the Inklings, a mysterious race of beings that can transform into squid at will! They like to octopi their time with frantic, multicoloredturf wars, and they won't miss out on any oppor-tuna-ty to get to the top. And we wouldn't go so far as to call them cod's gift to fashion, but check out that fresh style!
:Splatoon (05/2015)
Meet the Inklings, a mysterious race of squid that can take a humanoid form at will. They like to octopi their time with frantic, multi-coloured turf wars between rivals, and they won't miss out on any oppor-tuna-ty to get to the top! And we wouldn't go so far as to call them cod's gift to fashion, but check out that style!- :Splatoon (06/2015)
InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
As a playable character[edit]
Both male and female Inklings appear as unlockablenewcomers inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. The initial teaser trailer for the then-untitledUltimate featured theorange Inkling girl and theblue Inkling boy fromSplatoon's original promotional art, although they were not explicitly confirmed to be fighters until Nintendo's E3 2018 presentation, where Inkling Girl was confirmed to be the default. Inkling can potentially be the first fighter unlocked due to being the first fighter inSamus' Classic Mode unlock tree.
InUltimate, Inkling incorporatesink as a key component of her moveset, and can applyit via a number of attacks. Inkling can also change into her squid form via herdash,spot dodge,air dodge,roll, up throw, back throw andSuper Jump, as well as while refilling herInk Tank. Although Inkling dissolves in water in theSplatoon series, this trait is not carried over intoUltimate; instead, it is referenced by Inkling receiving continuous damage whileswimming.
Inkling's moveset in the game mostly consists of kicking-based attacks and hitting the opponent with their weapons, something they have not demonstrated in theSplatoon games, as well as using the weapons in a different manner (like swinging the Inkbrush like a bat).
As a costume[edit]
In addition to the returningSplatoon costumes fromSuper Smash Bros. 4,Splatoon 2 costumes for theMii Gunner are available. TheSplatoon 2 costumes are based on the pink Inkling girl and the green Inkling boy featured in that game's promotional art.
Spirits[edit]
Fighter spirits[edit]
1,025.Inkling (Girl)
1,026.Inkling (Boy)
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Support spirit[edit]
| No. | Image | Name | Class | Cost | Ability | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,027 |  | Inkling Squid | ★★★ | 1 | Up Special ↑ | Splatoon Series |
Gallery[edit]
The Inkling Squid Hat headgear.
Inkling costume for a female Mii Gunner.
Inkling costume for a male Mii Gunner.
Inkling Squid Hat for a Mii Fighter.
The default male Inkling as he appears inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese | インクリング,Inkling | — |
 English | Inkling | — |
 French | Fille inkling ♀ Garçon inkling ♂ | Inkling girl Inkling boy |
 German | Inkling | — |
 Spanish | Inkling chica♀ Inkling chico ♂ | Inkling girl Inkling boy |
 Italian | Ragazza Inkling♀ Ragazzo Inkling ♂ | Inkling girl Inkling boy |
 Chinese | Inkling | — |
 Korean | 잉클링,Inkling | — |
 Dutch | Inkling | — |
 Russian | Инклинг | — |
 Portuguese | Inkling | — |
Trivia[edit]
- The skin color of most Inkling headgear and outfits forMii Fighters inSmash 4 andUltimate changes to match the skin color of the Mii wearing them, mirroring the ability to customize the playable Inkling's skin color inSplatoon games.
- Oddly, the European version ofSSB4 doesn't change the spelling of "colored" to "coloured" in the Inkling's trophy description.
- Inkling andWii Fit Trainer are the only fighters with male and femalevariants where the female is the default variant.
- Inkling is also the only fighter to have male and female variants where both genders have the same voice actor.
- Inkling andAlph are the only fighters whose console of origin is theWii U. Unlike Alph, however, Inkling Girl is a standard fighter in her own right (having her own character selection screen slot, being acknowledged by various battle records in-game, etc.), whereas Alph, like Inkling Boy, is an alternate costume character that shares a character slot withCaptain Olimar.
- Due to Alph being an alternate costume character to Olimar (who debuted on theNintendo GameCube), Inkling is the only standard fighter to debut on the Wii U. By extension,Splatoon is the only franchise to have debuted on the Wii U.
- As with the other fighters with male and female variants, the default male and female Inklings have been established as separate entities. This has been shown in cinematics that promoteUltimate, such as the opening movie ofWorld of Light.
- In some languages, Inkling has two different names to refer to the female and male variants.Villager,Wii Fit Trainer,Pokémon Trainer,Byleth, and theMii Fighters also share this trait. While "Inkling Girl" and "Inkling Boy" have been officially used in English as well as Japanese, German and Dutch in theSplatoon series andMario Kart 8 Deluxe, the English, Japanese, German and Dutch versions ofUltimate do not make this name distinction.
- The French localizations are the only ones not to capitalize "inkling", treating it as a species name instead of a character name.
- Inkling appears as a playable guest character inTaiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun!, alongsideKirby, with "Splatoon 2 Medley" also being one of the game's songs.
References[edit]
| Playable characters | |
|---|---|
| Super Smash Bros. | Captain Falcon ·Donkey Kong ·Fox ·Jigglypuff ·Kirby ·Link ·Luigi ·Mario ·Ness ·Pikachu ·Samus ·Yoshi |
| New inMelee | Bowser ·Dr. Mario ·Falco ·Ganondorf ·Ice Climbers ·Marth ·Mewtwo ·Mr. Game & Watch ·Peach ·Pichu ·Roy ·Sheik ·Young Link ·Zelda |
| New inBrawl | Diddy Kong ·Ike ·King Dedede ·Lucario ·Lucas ·Meta Knight ·Olimar (Pikmin) ·Pit ·Pokémon Trainer (Squirtle ·Ivysaur ·Charizard) ·R.O.B. ·Snake ·Sonic ·Toon Link ·Wario ·Wolf ·Zero Suit Samus |
| New inSmash 4 | (Alph) ·Bayonetta ·Bowser Jr. (Koopalings) ·Cloud ·Corrin ·Dark Pit ·Duck Hunt ·Greninja ·Little Mac ·Lucina ·Mega Man ·Mii Brawler ·Mii Gunner ·Mii Swordfighter ·Pac-Man ·Palutena ·Robin ·Rosalina &Luma ·Ryu ·Shulk ·Villager ·Wii Fit Trainer |
| New inUltimate | Banjo &Kazooie ·Byleth ·Chrom ·Daisy ·Dark Samus ·Hero ·Incineroar ·Inkling ·Isabelle ·Joker ·Kazuya ·Ken ·King K. Rool ·Min Min ·Mythra ·Piranha Plant ·Pyra ·Richter ·Ridley ·Sephiroth ·Simon ·Sora ·Steve (Alex,Zombie,Enderman) ·Terry |
| Character Inspirations forMii FighterCostumes inSuper Smash Bros. 4 | |
|---|---|
 Mii Brawler | Akira ·Captain Falcon ·Flying Man ·Heihachi ·Jacky ·King K. Rool ·Knuckles ·Toad |
 Mii Swordfighter | Ashley ·Black Knight ·Chrom ·Dunban ·Gil ·Link ·Lloyd ·Monster Hunter ·Takamaru ·Viridi ·Zero |
 Mii Gunner | Fox ·Geno ·Inkling ·Isabelle ·K.K. Slider ·MegaMan.EXE ·Proto Man ·Samus ·Tails ·X |
| Headgear only | Barbara ·Chain Chomp ·Chocobo ·Daisy ·Inkling Squid ·Luigi ·Majora's Mask ·Mario ·Meta Knight ·Peach ·Red Shell ·Sheik ·Shy Guy ·Spiny ·Super Mushroom ·Waluigi ·Wario ·Zelda |
 Splatoon universe | |
|---|---|
| Fighter | Inkling (SSBU) |
| Assist Trophy | Squid Sisters |
| Stage | Moray Towers |
| Other | Judd ·Octoling |
| Spirits | Spirits |
| Music | Ultimate |
