Parallel Canon
Can you help us get it done?
| Species | Jelleton |
| Habitat | Boss floors |
| Eye color | Red |
| Location | 10F and 20F (Intensifying-Harmony.Floor) |
| “ | The Intensifying Harmony Parallel Canon |
” |
— Parallel Canon's boss introduction
| ||
Parallel Canon is a boss fight featuring humanoid Jelleton enemies in Splatoon 3: Side Order.
Description
Parallel Canon is a copy of Agent 4's data acquired by Order, with the masked figure being a direct copy of Agent 4 and the helmet wearers being copies of the mask wearer.[1] Like Agent 8, they wear the Order Suit, Order Boots, replicate any visual change obtained through color chips, wield one of the Order weapons and are accompanied by a drone. Even though the Parallel Canon bodies are always depicted with red glowing eyes, their swim forms resemble normal squids with black ink.
Appearance
If the player has Splatoon 2 save data on their Nintendo Switch, the masked figure mimics the appearance of that user's Inkling in Splatoon 2. By changing the Inkling character in Splatoon 2 and proceeding into Side Order's Player Settings the appearance of the masked figure will be updated.
Otherwise, the masked figure has the feminine style and the "Haircut" hairstyle by default.
Strategy
Parallel Canon is battled in a series of waves, with the exact number of foes per wave varying depending on whether it is fought on 10F or 20F.
- The first wave is one or two enemies.
- The second wave is two or three enemies.
- The third wave is four or five enemies.
Parallel Canon always enters the arena by dropping off from a cage on the side opposite where Agent 8 lands. Each of Parallel Canon's bodies are equipped with one of the following weapon sets:
Only the enemy with visible hair wields the Order Shot, entering the battlefield by using their Triple Splashdown. They always appear at least once.
The drones lock onto the player at all times, making hiding from them ineffective, but also drawing attention to their location. They can also summon Jelleton reinforcements.
Sub and special weapons that reveal the positions of enemies in online matches, like the Ink Mine or Wave Breaker, can reveal the Parallel Canon enemies' location.
Quotes
The following text is quoted from the Jelleton Field Guide.
 (1) |
They're tough opponents who look...a lot like Eight. It goes past looks too. The more powered-up your Palette is, the more resourceful they get. |
 (3) |
Don't get caught in a pincer maneuver! Use the high ground in the middle to force one-on- one skirmishes. |
 (8) |
They can do Triple Splashdowns out of nowhere?! Where'd these biters learn THAT trick? |
| Conclusion Pick 'em off one at a time! | |
Gallery
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Parallel Canon's icon
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Parallel Canon with no hair
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Parallel Canon with the Mush Cut. Their weapon also has the visuals when enough color chips of a select type is collected.
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Parallel Canon with the Haircut style
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Parallel Canon's swim form
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Different angle
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Concept art
Trivia
- The Parallel Canon bosses use distorted voice clips from Inklings, both male and female. The only exception is the initial boss cutscene, where it will always use the female voice clips.
- Despite ostensibly being enemies to Agent 8, the sounds produced by Parallel Canon are notably associated with teammates in online matches: as they enter battle from their cage, they emit the same alert sound heard from allies Super Jumping to the player's position; and when they are splatted, they emit the voice clips allied Inklings use when they issue an "Ouch..." signal.
- In Smollusk's top-secret notes, it is implied that Agent 4 was used as the template for the Parallel Canon. An interview with Famitsu confirmed it was a copy of Agent 4's data and that the look of the Inkling player in Splatoon 2 affects the appearance of Parallel Canon.
- Unlike other bosses which are already in the stage, Parallel Canon originally starts in a spawn area similar to Agent 8's.
Etymology
Parallel refers to two lines that are equally distant from one another and never intersect, or two analogous, comparable elements. It is also a term used in science fiction to refer to an alternate version of something, for example, a "parallel universe". The boss' name could allude to the figures being a "parallel" to the player character. It could also refer to be a parallel to Agent 8 specifically, since they are based of Agent 4, the alternate player character in Splatoon 2. Finally, the word "parallel" may be a reference to parallel processing, a term in computing referring to when multiple processes are executed simultaneously.
A canon in a musical composition sense is a technique where an instrument plays a melody then different instruments copy the same melody afterwards. It can also refer to a generally accepted principle or rule, or a group of official sources regarding a work considered part of a franchise's main continuity within its fictional universe.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese |
イカイノカノン Ikainokanon |
Otherworldly[a] Canon |
 Dutch |
Parallelle Canon | Parallel Canon |
 French |
Canon surréel | Surreal Canon |
 German |
Paralleler Kanon | Parallel Canon |
 Italian |
Canone parallelo | Parallel canon |
 Russian |
Параллельные мультиканоны Parallel'nye multikanony |
Parallel multicanons |
 Spanish |
Canon irreal | Unreal canon |
 Chinese (Simplified) |
异界卡农 Yìjiè kǎnóng |
Otherworld Canon |
 Korean |
이계의 카논 Igye-ui kanon |
Otherworldly Canon |
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese |
増殖し共鳴する Zoshoku shi kyomei suru |
The Multiplying and Resonating |
| Dutch |
De aanzwellende harmonie | The crescendoing harmony |
| French |
L'harmonie crescendo | Gradual harmony |
| German |
Eskalierende Harmonie | Escalating harmony |
| Italian |
L'armonia crescente | The growing harmony |
| Russian |
Распространяющие гармонию Rasprostranyayushchie garmoniyu |
The ones spreading the harmony |
| Korean |
증식하여 공명하는 Jeungsikha-yeo gongmyeonghaneun |
Propagating and Resonating |
| Internal name | Meaning |
|---|---|
 RivalKing
|
Rival refers to the boss being comparable to the player character as well as a competitor, king refers to boss enemies. |
Translation notes
- ↑ Also a pun on イカ (ika, squid)
References
