Nintendo has announced that in preparation of Splatoon 3’s imminent release, it’s going to be giving the Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion DLC. If you’re subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack and own the base game, you can download the expansion for free. The costlier tier for Nintendo’s subscription service also offers free access to expansions released for Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Splatoon 3, meanwhile, is not far away either. It launches exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on September 9, so stay tuned for more details on that in the lead-up to its release.

Ahoy #NintendoSwitchOnline + Expansion Pack members! You can now enjoy the #Splatoon2: Octo Expansion DLC as part of your membership at no additional cost.

Not a member? Join today! https://t.co/E9AnYyH01N pic.twitter.com/pt3Ufk0d0k

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) April 22, 2022

Sephiroth – Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2

Kingdom Hearts players had a taste of Sephiroth’s power in the first game when fighting him in the Final Mix version of the game. Surprise, surprise, he’s even more difficult in Kingdom Hearts 2. On top of multiple health bars, he moves incredibly fast and can kill Sora with the first combo alone. He can also throw homing orbs, draw Sora into a fire wall and unleash Heartless Angel which, if successful, drops Sora to 1 HP. Sephiroth’s attack speed and damage also increase as he loses health, making for even more fun times.

Inner Agent 3 – Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion

Accessible only when all 80 challenges and the final event have been cleared in the Octo Expansion, Inner Agent 3 challenges you to “surpass the hero within”. Bombs galore, an infinite ink tank, the ability to fly and bombard you from above, splashdowns with huge impact radius – Inner Agent 3 can do it all and then some. And make no mistake – all of these attacks hurt.

One year out from bringing the funky fresh Nintendo style shooter Splatoon 2 to the Nintendo Switch, and a little ways from the introduction of the Octo Expansion content, Famitsu caught up with the development team behind the game to discuss the game in retrospect. The rather lengthy interview discusses a lot about the game, but most interestingly is how Rank X has kept the player base alive.

Producer Nisashi Nogami, Director Yusuke Amano, Lead Programmer Shintaro Sato, Sound Designer Toru Minegishi and Art Director Seita Inoue all pitched into the rather lengthy interview, which was translated from the Famitsu Japanese original courtesy of Nintendo Everything (which you can read here). Of interest here is Satou confirming that the number of players who have earned the rank is actually rising.

In addition to the weapon balancing the team takes pride in, with the communities preferences in mind, there’s a lot of players reaching for that elusive rank X in the game. “The number of active users at that rank is actually rising,” Satou said. “It’s now slightly higher than the users that were before above S+10. And that number always rises a little towards the end of the month before the reset in the new season where the numbers are re-adjusted. Then some users go back to S+.”

“It’s more or less what we expected,” he said when asked if the numbers are increasing his expectations. “But the amount of users pushing their limits and really trying hard to reach the Rank X status was a little more than we predicted,” said Satou. 

Did you return to Splatoon 2 with the Octo Expansion? Let us know in the comments.