Alright kiddies and squiddies! In this installment of the Inkopolis 101 series, we’ll be looking at the secrets, references, and details of Arowana Mall. Who’s ready for shopping?!

Window Shopping

Window shopping at the mall is something Marie specifically tells us not to do, but if it’s in recon mode there’s no harm, right?

Some advertisements feature the Kitsune and Tanuki from Inkopolis Plaza…

There are displays for clothes, shoes, and… lawn furniture?

They also have displays for skateboards. I guess that makes sense, since they have a Skatepark…

And finally, there’s a display for your turf war weapon needs. I see a roller, splattershots, and chargers, but nothing too fancy. It looks a lot like the display in the back of Ammo Knights…

…but the Ammo Knight logo isn’t anywhere to be found. Is someone trying to rip off Ammo Knights?! How dare they!

Where are we?!

San Diego. Or at least somewhere in California. Pish, tosh, foolishness, you say? Especially since we’re already decided Inkopolis is definitely somewhere in Japan? Hear me out on this one.

Ok, first of all, we know we’ve got lots of palm trees and solar panels around here, and a beach:

And I know what you’re thinking: So what? There are palm trees and solar panels and beaches in Japan, too. And how right you are. But don’t you notice anything screwy going on here?

Still don’t see it? If you visit the same spot where you can see the ocean on the other side of the map, there’s a street with traffic. But the cars on traveling on the right side of the road. They drive on the left in Japan — and on all the other Splatoon maps with cars, too!

And I admit it, that doesn’t mean we’re in the USA, necessarily. Lots of countries drive on the right. But there’s definitely something fishy — er, squiddy? — going on. So keep your eyes open, Agent 3.

Blimps and Hot Air Balloons

The blimp flies around the stage the entire battle without setting down, but you can watch hot air balloons descend and go back up behind each spawn point.

Inklings are masters of land, sea, and sky!

Jellyfans in the Food Court

Those fresh Jellies know the food court here is the best…

Speaking of the food court: the Japanese and EU versions of the Squid Sisters’ introductory dialogue for Arowana Mall say the fries (chips) here are awesome. But in the NA version, Callie says they have the best Catfish Burgers and Marie says she’s more of a Hot Dogfish girl — which reflects the sides they represented during the Cats vs. Dogs Splatfest. Clever.

Callie:

“The food court makes the best catfish burgers ever!” Marie:

“Eh, I’m more of a hot dogfish girl myself.”

Well played, NOA, well played.

That’s all the fun stuff I noticed. Share your discoveries in the comments!

Thanks for reading.

This article is part of the Inkopolis 101 series. Read more below: