Splatoon 2's teasing a rift between the Squid Sisters… and IT'S ALL OUR FAULT

Wonder why the trailer for Splatoon 2 shows a morose-looking Marie with Callie nowhere to be found? The Squid Sisters were inseparable in the first game, despite throwing occassional disses at each other when things got heated in their TV host segments. The explanation, it turns out, may lie in the conclusion of the game's final Splatfest.

Every other Splatfest let players pledge their support for fairly neutral concepts like Cats vs. Dogs or Burgers vs. Pizza, then determined the victorious side by tallying the results of Turf War battles. Splatoon's last Splatfest asked players to pledge their allegiance to either Callie or Marie. Marie won the day in all three online territories, but it was just in good fun, right? Maybe not...

The prologue for Splatoon 2's "Squid Sisters Stories" is surprisingly downcast for a game about shooting ink guns and buying cool clothes. Distant memories and better times, it reminisces, before arriving at the last night of the final Splatfest.

"The showdown of Callie versus Marie ended in victory for Marie, but there was no ill will between the two. The girls left the studio arm in arm, smiling and laughing as they always had. The bond between them would continue, unbroken, for years to come. Or so it seemed at the time…"

Hold the phone. Is Nin "Friend Codes" Tendo actually going to let the player-determined conclusion of an online event profoundly influence the story of its upcoming game? That would be so, so fresh. Between The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the "just works" hybrid sensibility of Nintendo Switch, and these clever ideas for Splatoon 2, the company's latest console generation has already been full of pleasant surprises.

Although… you don't think that being spurned by the inkling masses caused Callie to go over to the evil octoling side, do you? I don't know if my heart could stand a War Between the Squid Sisters.