Splatoon 2 is hosting a Super Mario Splatfest this weekend as part of the celebration for the Italian plumber's 35th anniversary. There hasn't been a new Splatfest since July 2019 when Splatoon 2 hosted the final Splatfest, Splatocalypse. In that Splatfest, players had to choose between Team Chaos and Team Order, and Team Chaos ultimately prevailed. However, there have been several reruns of Splatfests in Splatoon 2 to keep the game's online community alive.
When players participate in a Splatfest, they are typically rewarded with Super Sea Snails and a commemorative T-shirt specific to that particular Splatfest. Super Sea Snails may be used to unlock new ability slots on players' gear or re-roll slots. Since July 2019, however, little has been said about Splatoon 2 or its speculated follow-up title, Splatoon 3. All this to say that there's been somewhat of a Splatoon drought recently.
This weekend, Splatoon 2 is bringing the Splatfest back with a new Super Mario Splatfest, as reported by GameSpot. Players will choose between Team Super Mushroom and Team Super Star. Players will need to register in Inkopolis Square in the game, and the event will last from January 15 at 5 p.m. ET until January 17 at the same time. Nintendo will also be rewarding the best 35 players of each team with Splatoon 2/Super Mario coins. Players will need to sign up for the Online Challenge on Nintendo's website if they wish to be eligible.
Although this information was initially revealed back in August, it's exciting that Splatoon 2 will be thriving again with a brand-new Splatfest. In July 2019, it was sad to see that Nintendo was throwing the final Splatfest, especially because nothing is known of a new Splatoon game. In a sense, it felt like Nintendo was putting a nail in the coffin of Splatoon 2. However, it seems that the company is resurrecting the game to celebrate Mario's 35th anniversary, and it's incredibly charming. It truly does feel like Nintendo is celebrating Mario this way, unlike the strangely limited windows of Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Super Mario Bros. 35.
Those commemorative coins are pretty enticing, as well, even if they are nearly impossible to obtain. Still, it's nice that Nintendo is rewarding the most dedicated players with something so idiosyncratic. It's also likely been quite some time since Nintendo fans loaded up Splatoon 2, and a new Splatfest is surely one way to breathe new life into the 2017 game. Selecting teams by using Mario's power-ups is another way to add some Mario-themed charm. Though picking between Mario and Luigi certainly would have been a much more controversial route, this team split will likely be fairly half-and-half.
Source: GameSpot, Nintendo of America