Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Not long after the previous Maximus Cup in Tetris 99, for Star Fox (on the Nintendo Switch 2) is another one based on a major Nintendo release for July 2026, and this time, it’s Splatoon Raiders. I wonder if there will be one for Rhythm Heaven Groove, which has been selling better than expectations. There have been Maximus Cups for Splatoon in the past (for Splatoon in general, Side Order, and Raiders makes the third one to my knowledge), but not one for Rhythm Heaven yet!
In Splatoon Raiders, you play as the Mechanic, who assists the members of Deep Cut, a music group and fighter trio consisting of Shiver, Big Man, and Frye (left to right), as they explore the Spiralhite Islands to find relics to sell to help pay off a debt their home city of Splatsville has accrued. They quickly run into hostile Salmonids though, who are all over the islands for reasons they don’t know.
Each Mino depicts a Salmonid, which are the main enemies in Splatoon Raiders (as the Octarian threat has ended with Rise of the Mammalians). I Blocks show a Stinger, J Blocks show a Saltytongue, L Blocks show a Cohock, O Blocks show a Chum, S Blocks show a Smallfry, T Blocks show a Salivator, and Z Blocks show a Steelhead. Garbage Blocks don’t seem to be based on anything in particular, but imminent ones on the left resemble the lava seen in-game.The background is the main official artwork for the game, and the crosshair resembles the one used in the game (and the Splatoon series in general). Players you’ve KOed are depicted with a green swirled splat mark, while everyone else KOed have salmon pink splat marks. Badges resemble Mega Power Eggs.
I have not played Splatoon Raiders myself though, so I don’t know the musical and sound references in this skin.
00:09 Match #1
Skin: Special Theme 46 (Splatoon Raiders)
Mode: Normal
I was surprised I did this well—and the match kept going on for a while too, taking about as much time as the other two matches in this video combined! That must mean two or more players were evenly matched.
08:44 - Match #2
Skin: Special Theme 46 (Splatoon Raiders)
Mode: Normal
Like last time, I unlocked the skin with this match. But as the previous match took me to 90 points, out of the 100 needed to unlock the skin it didn’t need a very high placement to reach…and not very high is what I got. It usually takes about 9 to 10 minutes to complete a match all the way to the top 10; I was taken out in about three minutes. but it got me the points I needed!
12:28 - Match #3
Skin: Special Theme 46 (Splatoon Raiders)
Mode: Invictus
And here is the 1st place finish—a bit surprising, it may be, considering it’s less than 6 minutes in length, and these usually wrap up in far more time than that. I thought that perhaps there is an expert in this room taking out lots of people, but for the first half, I think that was me. I fell behind later on though, not being able to score any KOs at all until somehow entering the top 3. Bit of a shame that the match-ending theme, whether you place 1st or lower than that, is the default one. Splatoon Raiders doesn’t have anything suitable for them?
Not long after the previous Maximus Cup in Tetris 99, for Star Fox (on the Nintendo Switch 2) is another one based on a major Nintendo release for July 2026, and this time, it’s Splatoon Raiders. I wonder if there will be one for Rhythm Heaven Groove, which has been selling better than expectations. There have been Maximus Cups for Splatoon in the past (for Splatoon in general, Side Order, and Raiders makes the third one to my knowledge), but not one for Rhythm Heaven yet!
In Splatoon Raiders, you play as the Mechanic, who assists the members of Deep Cut, a music group and fighter trio consisting of Shiver, Big Man, and Frye (left to right), as they explore the Spiralhite Islands to find relics to sell to help pay off a debt their home city of Splatsville has accrued. They quickly run into hostile Salmonids though, who are all over the islands for reasons they don’t know.
Each Mino depicts a Salmonid, which are the main enemies in Splatoon Raiders (as the Octarian threat has ended with Rise of the Mammalians). I Blocks show a Stinger, J Blocks show a Saltytongue, L Blocks show a Cohock, O Blocks show a Chum, S Blocks show a Smallfry, T Blocks show a Salivator, and Z Blocks show a Steelhead. Garbage Blocks don’t seem to be based on anything in particular, but imminent ones on the left resemble the lava seen in-game.The background is the main official artwork for the game, and the crosshair resembles the one used in the game (and the Splatoon series in general). Players you’ve KOed are depicted with a green swirled splat mark, while everyone else KOed have salmon pink splat marks. Badges resemble Mega Power Eggs.
I have not played Splatoon Raiders myself though, so I don’t know the musical and sound references in this skin.
00:09 Match #1
Skin: Special Theme 46 (Splatoon Raiders)
Mode: Normal
I was surprised I did this well—and the match kept going on for a while too, taking about as much time as the other two matches in this video combined! That must mean two or more players were evenly matched.
08:44 - Match #2
Skin: Special Theme 46 (Splatoon Raiders)
Mode: Normal
Like last time, I unlocked the skin with this match. But as the previous match took me to 90 points, out of the 100 needed to unlock the skin it didn’t need a very high placement to reach…and not very high is what I got. It usually takes about 9 to 10 minutes to complete a match all the way to the top 10; I was taken out in about three minutes. but it got me the points I needed!
12:28 - Match #3
Skin: Special Theme 46 (Splatoon Raiders)
Mode: Invictus
And here is the 1st place finish—a bit surprising, it may be, considering it’s less than 6 minutes in length, and these usually wrap up in far more time than that. I thought that perhaps there is an expert in this room taking out lots of people, but for the first half, I think that was me. I fell behind later on though, not being able to score any KOs at all until somehow entering the top 3. Bit of a shame that the match-ending theme, whether you place 1st or lower than that, is the default one. Splatoon Raiders doesn’t have anything suitable for them?
