The Splatoon The series is widely regarded among fans as one of the coolest franchises in the Nintendo lineup, showcasing the style and modern sensibilities that other IP touched on in its catalog.
with Splatoon 3However, it appears that Nintendo has taken a bigger step in the direction of diversity and representation. As part of her latest live show, has been detected that a new trio called “Deep Cut” will handle in-game news, replacing “Squid Sisters” from Splatoon 1 and Pearl and Marina from last match. The group consists of Shiver, Frye, and Big Man, with the former proving to be a popular talking point among fans, many of whom believe Shiver might be Nintendo’s first major non-binary character.
Although not explicitly confirmed or denied by Nintendo itself, fans have noted that all references to Shiver thus far have conspicuously refrained from mentioning their gender or using gender-specific references.
This appears to be consistent across all languages, with written dialogue to avoid requiring adjectives or verbs to be conjugated in a way that explicitly indicates gender (as in French or Spanish, for example). Due to the extensive work that is being done in localizing the games in different regions, it is almost impossible for this to be a coincidence.
Furthermore, the Japanese script of the game never refers to Shiver by any first-person pronouns. Typically terms such as “achi” (for females) or “buku” (for males) are used, but again, there seems to have been a very conscious decision made not to use such signs. Regarding Frye and Big Man, both characters are referred to in gendered terms, with Frye specifically referring to herself as the “Queen of the Serpent” In the French version of the introduction to Deep Cut.
Many fans have responded positively to the possibility of a non-binary character in the massive Nintendo franchise:
In addition to, Fans also noticed That the game’s logo and general color scheme are remarkably similar to the non-binary flag, with extensive use of yellow, purple, white, and black, as shown in the sample below. This may, of course, be a coincidence in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a great detail to note, regardless!
In fact, if true, the introduction of a notable non-binary character to Splatoon 3 would signal a huge step forward for representation in Nintendo video games, and we’re all here for it!
What do you think of the characters introduced to Splatoon 3 so far? Glad to see Nintendo making progress? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and please remember community rules when you do it!
