A creative fan of Splatoon has taken it upon themselves to recreate the CQ-80 from Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion. The impressive Splatoon recreation is accurate in its resemblance, and has surprising functionality built-in.
Right now, Splatoon 3 is getting most of the attention, as the chocolate Splatfest rapidly approaches and fans excitedly await the new Expansion Pass content. While details are sparse, many have speculated that Splatoon 3's Side Order will continue the story of Agent 8 from Octo Expansion, who players took the role of in their effort to escape to the surface. Agent 8 used the CQ-80 in Octo Expansion to communicate, look at important details like Mem Cakes, and view the metro map.
Reddit user casouri shared their creation with fellow fans on the site, calling it a 110% accurate representation. The body of the Octo Expansion CQ-80 is 3D printed and looks picture-perfect, complete with the joystick and card slot. While it would have made an impressive prop at this stage alone, casouri went a step further and installed a pcb board inside the replica. This means that in addition to lighting up, it can also be connected to a PC to perform simple input commands. Casouri noted they specifically use it to control their music, allowing them to play, pause, skip, and change the volume.
Additional images can be seen on the original post.
Fellow fans of Splatoon have eagerly shared their appreciation for the creation in the comments of the post. Fans of posts like these often wonder if the creator is selling their replicas. In this case, casouri has indicated that plan to share the 3D file to print the unit, as well as the schematics for the pcb board. With the right know-how and equipment, this will let anyone create their own version of the CQ-80 device, and commenters were quite eager to hear it.
Splatoon fans are in a bit of a flashback mood following the recent Nintendo Direct. With the new Expansion Pass first taking players back to the original Splatoon's Inkopolis, those who are nostagic for the original or who never got to experience the Wii U game are quite excited. With Splatoon 3's Side Order potentially returning the focus to Agent 8, or at least bringing Splatoon 2 idols Pearl and Marina back in its story, there's a lot for long-time fans of the series to look forward to. While it's unlikely for the CQ-80 to return, the handy piece of tech clearly left an impression on players.
Splatoon 2 is available for the Nintendo Switch.
