Leave a Comment / December 1st, 2017 / Jennifer Burch

Splatoon 2 art book shows Off the Hook’s Pearl as an Octoling – and more!

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2017 is full of Nintendo goodies! A new Splatoon game was released, so naturally, a new art book has been in the works for some time. Those of us who are in North America only have the opportunity to get our hands on the translated version of the very first Splatoon art book though, so we’re writhing with envy knowing that fans over in Japan have already received their Splatoon 2 art books. Lucky for us, Twitter user Raissa (going by the handle @knitcapchan) imported the new art book and has been sharing images since receiving it.

There’s some surprising bits and pieces of information about the newest music duo in Inkopolis, Off The Hook. For one thing, Pearl is 21 years old, whereas Marina is only 18. We knew that Pearl was the older of the two, but by three years? She certainly doesn’t look it…

Early designs and concepts of Pearl and Marina have been shared as well. From what’s been posted so far, Marina hasn’t experienced any massive changes, but her BFF has had quite a design history.

 

 

 
Most shocking is discovering that Pearl was drawn as an Inkling and an Octoling! The gamut is impressive, with Pearl looking more like Marina in one image to swapping out her preference for pink with yellow and orange instead, or switching her princess persona for a complete rapper image. With new images continuing to surface, we can’t wait to see what other versions of her existed during the design process.

 

 
With that said though, what would the world of Splatoon 2 be like with Pearl as an Octoling? The previous pop duo, the Squid Sisters, were Inklings living in a world where Octolings were the “bad guys.” In between Callie and Marie’s reign and Off The Hook becoming the new hosts of Inkopolis News, views towards Octolings had to have changed. Granted, Splatoon 2 had us as Agent 4 splatting members of the Octarian race just like we did as Agent 3 in the first Splatoon. Still, nothing about the acceptance of Octolings has been outright explained within the game’s canon; there have just been inferred bits from Sunken Sea Scrolls. Developers have stated in interviews that Inklings couldn’t care less if another citizen is an Inkling or an Octoling in Splatoon 2, yet the first game doesn’t exactly support that. The squid kid in me is still wondering what caused the shift.

 

 

 
We’re still waiting for Octolings to be playable characters in Splatoon 2. Perhaps part of Marina’s role as a character in the spotlight is to help the story develop in regards to the two races. Showing that Marina is a beloved octo kid in pop culture undoubtedly eases players into the idea that both the Inklings and Octolings can be the good guys, thus making us embrace them both as playable character types.

To check out all the images shared, head on over to @knitcapchan’s Twitter feed — but beware! There are spoilers posted concerning the final boss fight. So if you haven’t seen what happens in Octo Canyon, you may want to avoid browsing the page so you can stay fresh for your playthrough.

Here’s hoping that there are more details and interviews inside the latest art book! Please, Dark Horse, can you have this localized for 2018? If not, then you’ll be on the hook for 2019!

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Jennifer Burch

Written by Jennifer Burch

Illustrator, designer, writer and big Nintendo geek, you can find Jennifer with an N3DS within reach 24/7. As the oldest of three, she has survived many Mario Party, Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart sessions intact in addition to getting her brothers hooked on some really weird games. (Cubivore anyone?)