Official Amiibo General Thread - Complete Smash Bros. Set Now Avaliable!

[JimmyTheCaterpillar]

I can say that since I've been looking for amiibos (since about January), I've never seen a Samus in stores.

That's so crazy. They're literally everywhere in the New Orleans area.

 

[Tino]

That's so crazy. They're literally everywhere in the New Orleans area.

I've only seen Samus at GameStop in my area. Haven't seen her at Walmart, Best Buy nor Target.

 

[Seige]

Hmm from what I get is that
Lvl 1-10 CPU 9 Mirror
Lvl 10-20 Player Mirror
Lvl 20-50 Player: Different Playstyles - Mirror/Grounded/Aerial
Defensive Training: Set amiibo to 300% handicap
Offensive Training: Set yourself to 60% handicap
Set Gravity to High so they learn to recover faster*
Stage = FD, Omegas, Battlefield, Smashville OR Custom Made stage with only a few ways to kill someone (off a certain part of the top about two blocks thick)**
* Unsure if this actually helps
** Does this stage thing actually improve accuracy?

So, is this right way to train one's amiibo? Or is it fine tuned for certain characters.
The example I'm using atm is so you know. Killing off the top amirite?

 

[KenboCalrissian]

Hmm from what I get is that
Lvl 1-10 CPU 9 Mirror
Lvl 10-20 Player Mirror
Lvl 20-50 Player: Different Playstyles - Mirror/Grounded/Aerial
Defensive Training: Set amiibo to 300% handicap
Offensive Training: Set yourself to 60% handicap
Set Gravity to High so they learn to recover faster*
Stage = FD, Omegas, Battlefield, Smashville OR Custom Made stage with only a few ways to kill someone (off a certain part of the top about two blocks thick)**
* Unsure if this actually helps
** Does this stage thing actually improve accuracy?

So, is this right way to train one's amiibo? Or is it fine tuned for certain characters.
The example I'm using atm is so you know. Killing off the top amirite?

Huh, interesting strategy... how often does your Fox SD? Mine falls to some stupid deaths at an annoying frequency. Maybe I'll try retraining him in high gravity like you've suggested...

 

[Seige]

Huh, interesting strategy... how often does your Fox SD? Mine falls to some stupid deaths at an annoying frequency. Maybe I'll try retraining him in high gravity like you've suggested...

Not as much as many people complain about, high gravity forces them to make options faster I think. The stage thing tho is something I need to test on. Maybe I'll try using Dark Pit and Pit on these two different methods... When I get them... Or am possible to.

 

[SilVerWinG71]

Just have them sitting on your bed as they fight in the game

 

[Supersmashbrothers.]

I don't feel like were going to get restocks of every rare amiibo, at least not any time soon.
Their statement seems to go back and forth and I really can't pinpoint whether they're restocking or giving up.

 

[izumisempai]

I don't feel like were going to get restocks of every rare amiibo, at least not any time soon.
Their statement seems to go back and forth and I really can't pinpoint whether they're restocking or giving up.

GameCube adapters to this day seem to be pretty hard to come by despite what they've said. They'll most likely restock but I don't think they'll be restocking that much.

If Palutena becomes a Walmart exclusive.......

 

[Dark Dr. Pink-Gold Pit Jr]

GameCube adapters to this day seem to be pretty hard to come by despite what they've said. They'll most likely restock but I don't think they'll be restocking that much.

If Palutena becomes a Walmart exclusive.......

That's the best of the bad options honestly. Walmart handled Gold Mario as well as they could, with preorders going up in limited amounts at 3 times during the day: morning, afternoon, evening.

And now, on another note, "I've located Dark Pit!" He's in Best Buy's system with the same 5/29/18 (yes, 18) placeholder date as Wave 4. Palutena is missing, however.

Dark Pit is likely Best Buy exclusive. There is an obvious pattern that would be fulfilled.

Target's demographic is moms/women, so they get the amiibo they would likely purchase.
Gamestop's demographic is gamers, so they get the obscure amiibo that dedicated gamers would know about.
Toys R Us' demographic is kids and also have a history with Pokemon merchandise, so they get the Pokemon exclusives (other than Jiggly.)
If Dark Pit is exclusive to Best Buy, then they will have both the "dark and mysterious" anti-heroes. Not really on the main protagonist's side but not against them, either.
Walmart gets the leftovers cause they give zero ****s.

 

[JimmyTheCaterpillar]

Hmm from what I get is that
Lvl 1-10 CPU 9 Mirror
Lvl 10-20 Player Mirror
Lvl 20-50 Player: Different Playstyles - Mirror/Grounded/Aerial
Defensive Training: Set amiibo to 300% handicap
Offensive Training: Set yourself to 60% handicap
Set Gravity to High so they learn to recover faster*
Stage = FD, Omegas, Battlefield, Smashville OR Custom Made stage with only a few ways to kill someone (off a certain part of the top about two blocks thick)**
* Unsure if this actually helps
** Does this stage thing actually improve accuracy?

So, is this right way to train one's amiibo? Or is it fine tuned for certain characters.
The example I'm using atm is so you know. Killing off the top amirite?

Never, NEVER, NEVER have you amiibo go against CPU. From level 1-10 mirror match them using all the moves they have and the overall techniques (shielding jumping etc) so they know those moves exist.

 

[KenboCalrissian]

Never, NEVER, NEVER have you amiibo go against CPU. From level 1-10 mirror match them using all the moves they have and the overall techniques (shielding jumping etc) so they know those moves exist.

I think this depends on which amiibo you're training. I've been letting CPUs train mine up to 10 and have mixed success:
has been trained/retrained 5 times, twice handraised 1-50 and three times CPU 1-10. Consistently, early CPU lead to better results. He's the second-best amiibo in our house and was CPU-raised to 10.
spammed eggs like nuts when he hit 50, but right before I was going to reset him he suddenly wised up & he's pretty good now. Just took some extra work post-50 to get him functioning properly.
was extremely suicidal, had to be reset and trained manually. Not as strong as he was, but doesn't kill himself as much either.
allows himself to take way too much damage. I haven't retrained him yet but I intend to.

 

[JimmyTheCaterpillar]

I think this depends on which amiibo you're training. I've been letting CPUs train mine up to 10 and have mixed success:
has been trained/retrained 5 times, twice handraised 1-50 and three times CPU 1-10. Consistently, early CPU lead to better results. He's the second-best amiibo in our house and was CPU-raised to 10.
spammed eggs like nuts when he hit 50, but right before I was going to reset him he suddenly wised up & he's pretty good now. Just took some extra work post-50 to get him functioning properly.
was extremely suicidal, had to be reset and trained manually. Not as strong as he was, but doesn't kill himself as much either.
allows himself to take way too much damage. I haven't retrained him yet but I intend to.

I still don't believe in it. I don't train my amiibos with CPUs at all and mine are the strongest around. My (retrained only once, the first time with other amiibos and myself and the second time just myself) has won both the amiibo tournaments we've had in town and the only amiibo who has bested him was my (trained only once by me alone).

I'm not trying to brag but I just really believe CPU training is NOT the way to to go.

To each their own though I suppose.

 

[Seige]

@ KenboCalrissian
@ JimmyTheCaterpillar
It probably depends on how the CPU works, I mean pretend you fought a Luigi SSBM bot where you know... They can't Up B to save their life. Literally. Or if you fought a Fox in this game, they have a few suicidal tendencies with their moves. While some CPU 9s have good skills with their moves, so it really does depend.

Btw did you retrain Fox with High Gravity or no? Or was that just a maybe that hasn't happened? For Link, I think some guy on YouTube showed his off and it was a defensive as ****.

 

[relaxedexcorcist]

Dark Pit is likely Best Buy exclusive. There is an obvious pattern that would be fulfilled.

/remembering MK stock.

WELP. Time to import.

 

[KenboCalrissian]

I still don't believe in it. I don't train my amiibos with CPUs at all and mine are the strongest around. My (retrained only once, the first time with other amiibos and myself and the second time just myself) has won both the amiibo tournaments we've had in town and the only amiibo who has bested him was my (trained only once by me alone).

I'm not trying to brag but I just really believe CPU training is NOT the way to to go.

To each their own though I suppose.

That's the nice thing about amiibos - they're literally reflections of how you train them. I don't doubt yours are better with the more personal touch.

Personally, I'd love some more detailed tips on how to do the pre-11 training. I think my mistake is I go all out on them even though they're little more than sandbags, and they wind up playing overly defensive to the point of running away from me. By contrast, I've noticed that if I stop to watch its behavior, they will treat my standing still and waiting for it to hit me as a tactic I'm teaching it, and then they end up standing still and taking free hits even post-50. I don't know how to teach it to shield if I can't be passive without damaging its AI.

@ KenboCalrissian
@ JimmyTheCaterpillar
It probably depends on how the CPU works, I mean pretend you fought a Luigi SSBM bot where you know... They can't Up B to save their life. Literally. Or if you fought a Fox in this game, they have a few suicidal tendencies with their moves. While some CPU 9s have good skills with their moves, so it really does depend.

Btw did you retrain Fox with High Gravity or no? Or was that just a maybe that hasn't happened? For Link, I think some guy on YouTube showed his off and it was a defensive as ****.

I did not retrain Fox with high gravity, but he's on deck to be retrained so I'll try that. I think Link needs it a bit more though since he doesn't shield or dodge properly.

I wish I was paying attention to how my girlfriend trained her - it's by a wide margin the best amiibo we have, and she was just sort of goofing off with it. All I've learned from that is trying to nail down a training regimen might not be the way to go (or she got really, really lucky).

 

[JimmyTheCaterpillar]

That's the nice thing about amiibos - they're literally reflections of how you train them. I don't doubt yours are better with the more personal touch.

Personally, I'd love some more detailed tips on how to do the pre-11 training.

Personally, I recommend you fight them as the same character while demonstrating everything the character can do, and don't destroy them. Just... You know... Teach them the basics.

1-10...Show them the moves
11-25...Mirror match them and destroy them. (Play with slow time to make sure you get combos down)
26-50+...Introduce them to different characters and stages. Start out slowly, playing the same character and stage until they start doing well against it and then switch it up.

This is what I do, and it works for me I'd say.

 

[Seige]

Personally, I recommend you fight them as the same character while demonstrating everything the character can do, and don't destroy them. Just... You know... Teach them the basics.

1-10...Show them the moves
11-25...Mirror match them and destroy them. (Play with slow time to make sure you get combos down)
26-50+...Introduce them to different characters and stages. Start out slowly, playing the same character and stage until they start doing well against it and then switch it up.

This is what I do, and it works for me I'd say.

Ooo Slow time... Actually that might make me miss my combo lol.
If I want to show them the moves at 1-10 I would expect a CPU 9 to suffice but I guess I need to destroy it by myself then. Extra work

 

[Jinx129]

Anyone know, is Toad rare? Thanks!

 

[JimmyTheCaterpillar]

Anyone know, is Toad rare? Thanks!

He's the rarest SMB by a very large margin, and I've never seen one in stores. But he isn't TOO expensive online.. Bout $25 on Amazon.

 

[Game&Watcher]

Anyone know, is Toad rare? Thanks!

He's the rarest SMB by a very large margin, and I've never seen one in stores. But he isn't TOO expensive online.. Bout $25 on Amazon.

He still pops up at MSRP on various retailer websites from time to time, so, just keep an eye on him.

 

[skylanders fan]

He's the rarest SMB by a very large margin, and I've never seen one in stores. But he isn't TOO expensive online.. Bout $25 on Amazon.

Besides gold and maybe silver mario of coarse

 

[KenboCalrissian]

What's the deal with Silver Mario right now? Has he been released? Does he have a release date?

 

[Opossum]

I thought Silver Mario was confirmed for the end of the month but I could be wrong.

 

[ChikoLad]

What's the deal with Silver Mario right now? Has he been released? Does he have a release date?

He's popping up in various retailer's systems with a projected May 29th release date, same as the rest of Wave 4.

Nintendo hasn't said anything though, so either they will announce it soon, it's a place holder date, or they are going to make finding Silver Mario like finding a Willy Wonka ticket.

 

[glokitti]

Mod EDIT: No Advertising

 

[Munomario777]

editing out the ad

2. No advertising/selling of any sort. Discussing trades is also not allowed.

 

[skylanders fan]

Sorry for the bad quality but this is my nintendo collection hope you like it and if you have any tips let me know.

 

[Eonn]

How do you get an amiibo who's been trained somewhat competitively to use items and janky stages effectively, and deal with roll and move spam? I want an amiibo that can do well against competitive players but also win against my more casual friends, I dint want the amiibo to pick up bad habits though. Also, anyway to lock my amiibo's skill level so it doesn't pick up bad habits when playing against friends after a long session?

 

[JimmyTheCaterpillar]

How do you get an amiibo who's been trained somewhat competitively to use items and janky stages effectively, and deal with roll and move spam? I want an amiibo that can do well against competitive players but also win against my more casual friends, I dint want the amiibo to pick up bad habits though. Also, anyway to lock my amiibo's skill level so it doesn't pick up bad habits when playing against friends after a long session?

There's no way to create two different ways that the amiibo can play as... However, if you want your amiibo to have some casual fun without letting it interfere with its competitive side, simply do not save it's data when you exit the CSS.

 

[Arc Quilava]

I haven't done a whole lot of experimenting myself, but perhaps using CPUs of basic/all-around characters would help them to learn the "basics" better than having them go against mirror opponents? For example, I haven't noticed any especially obvious quirks from the Mario CPU. Assuming you aren't training a Mario or Luigi, perhaps they would be less likely to pick up habits from one since they aren't an entirely relatable character. In this way they would just learn the simple stuff rather than specific things about their character since that is what the human player does for them later on anyway.

Also... is it a good or bad idea to let fully trained Amiibos fight with a new Amiibo to train them when you aren't handling the mirror matches yourself? (For example, in that last step in the list mentioned above.) After all, they would make for more difficult opposition.

 

[Seige]

I haven't done a whole lot of experimenting myself, but perhaps using CPUs of basic/all-around characters would help them to learn the "basics" better than having them go against mirror opponents? For example, I haven't noticed any especially obvious quirks from the Mario CPU. Assuming you aren't training a Mario or Luigi, perhaps they would be less likely to pick up habits from one since they aren't an entirely relatable character. In this way they would just learn the simple stuff rather than specific things about their character since that is what the human player does for them later on anyway.

Also... is it a good or bad idea to let fully trained Amiibos fight with a new Amiibo to train them when you aren't handling the mirror matches yourself? (For example, in that last step in the list mentioned above.) After all, they would make for more difficult opposition.

I think that's actually inefficient...? It may be because your skill level of the pro one goes down or something. Idk I'm super tired.

 

[Marakatu]

I haven't done a whole lot of experimenting myself, but perhaps using CPUs of basic/all-around characters would help them to learn the "basics" better than having them go against mirror opponents? For example, I haven't noticed any especially obvious quirks from the Mario CPU. Assuming you aren't training a Mario or Luigi, perhaps they would be less likely to pick up habits from one since they aren't an entirely relatable character. In this way they would just learn the simple stuff rather than specific things about their character since that is what the human player does for them later on anyway.

Also... is it a good or bad idea to let fully trained Amiibos fight with a new Amiibo to train them when you aren't handling the mirror matches yourself? (For example, in that last step in the list mentioned above.) After all, they would make for more difficult opposition.

I made my Level 50 Link train my Level 1 Toon Link. Toon Link took a lot of time to get to level 50.
In the first minutes, Toon Link was just using every attack possible. I guess he was testing to see what worked. He once hit Link with a down air, then he started to spam down air until Link started to punish him for it.
As time passed, Toon Link became really good in dodging and attacking between openings. He could hit his opponent a lot while avoiding some attacks. The thing is, he didn't know how to finish his opponent. He would make Link get to high percentages... and then jab or grab or something else. Link would kill Toon Link like 6 times until he eventually died because his percentage was insanely high.
Now Toon Link is level 50 and is a capable fighter, but Link is still slightly better than him.

 

[KenboCalrissian]

I like to set my amiibos against my other fully-trained stock post-level 45. The skill gap isn't so far off that it adversely affects the strong ones match (one or two fights against it seems to undo whatever damage the weaker one might have caused), and the one being trained seems to pick up on a few advanced skills that way - the 50 amiibos are generally way better at defending, so letting a trainee see that before 50 gives them a boost in learning to deal with that.

 

[ChikoLad]

The Splatoon Amiibo functionality is by far the worst Amiibo functionality yet.

 

[Munomario777]

The Splatoon Amiibo functionality is by far the worst Amiibo functionality yet.

How so? You get 20 missions (or twists on missions) per amiibo. That's 60 total if you have the three pack.

 

[ChikoLad]

How so? You get 20 missions (or twists on missions) per amiibo. That's 60 total if you have the three pack.

The missions you unlock use chunks of pre-existing levels, and furthermore, are clearly designed as tutorials for the various weapons classes. In other words, these missions should really be available for free and at launch, if not outright being prompted on the game's start-up. Instead, they are locked behind a €15 pay wall per weapon class. What they essentially did is like if the tutorials for Team Fortress 2's classes were locked behind a €15 pay wall. If you're designing missions that teach a player how to utilise specific mechanics, you DON'T lock them behind a pay wall, unless it's something like DLC that adds a new feature to the game (e.g. LittleBigPlanet added many new mechanics used for building levels post-launch, such as water and swimming, and so they added them as DLC, along with naturally including tutorials on how to use them for building levels, and some sample levels themed after Pirates of the Caribbean).

Furthermore, the content you unlock is just more gear and weapons, but those are available in the base game, and they are also adding more of those in free updates - so why is some of it locked behind a pay wall? Are the gear and weapons you get from Amiibos superior to the ones you get for free (recall that gear does actually effect gameplay, with various buffs and special abilities), meaning Amiibo owners essentially have an advantage online?

And locking bonus games behind them is completely stupid. Those should absolutely be unlockables in the single-player.

Amiibos shouldn't be used to lock significant (and in the case of the weapon training missions, complimentary) content behind a pay wall. They should be used for unique gameplay mechanics or modes that can only work with them, and itty bitty cosmetic extras/random bonuses in games that don't really have a focus on them (which is just to give you that extra bit of value for Amiibos that already have a more substantial use). And in both cases, this should personalise your experience rather than make you feel like your missing out on something big.

When I bought my Yoshi Amiibo, for example, I got it because I wanted to train him in Smash, which seemed cool. And it was. Then it unlocked a cute costume in Mario Kart 8, but I wouldn't care about this unless I was a Yoshi fan who genuinely wanted the figure anyway (what's more, they were clearly added after the game launched rather than being locked in content). And then I get the ability to have a partner Yoshi in Wooly World, which is yet again, another nice new feature. What's more, all of these features are personalised, as they relate to Yoshi in a very specific way. THAT'S what Amiibos should be for.

The Splatoon Amiibos are literally just locking generic content behind a pay wall AT LAUNCH, content that has every excuse to be in the game without that pay wall. Nothing more, nothing less. What's more, you'll only use them once - you'll play through the missions in about an hour or so, take your spoils, and be done with it. It isn't like the Smash functionality where your use lasts as long as your interest, or the Wooly World/Codename STEAM functionality, where the use adds to the experience in a personal way, without side tracking you from the main game.

 

[Munomario777]

The missions you unlock use chunks of pre-existing levels, and furthermore, are clearly designed as tutorials for the various weapons classes. In other words, these missions should really be available for free and at launch, if not outright being prompted on the game's start-up. Instead, they are locked behind a €15 pay wall per weapon class. What they essentially did is like if the tutorials for Team Fortress 2's classes were locked behind a €15 pay wall. If you're designing missions that teach a player how to utilise specific mechanics, you DON'T lock them behind a pay wall, unless it's something like DLC that adds a new feature to the game (e.g. LittleBigPlanet added many new mechanics used for building levels post-launch, such as water and swimming, and so they added them as DLC, along with naturally including tutorials on how to use them for building levels, and some sample levels themed after Pirates of the Caribbean).

They're not tutorials, actually; they're replaying existing levels with the added twist of using a weapon other than the standard Splattershot. Specifically, the girl amiibo has you using the charger weapon, boy has the ink roller, and the green squid has both "kraken challenges" (using a special weapon from the multiplayer) and limited-ink challenges.

Furthermore, the content you unlock is just more gear and weapons, but those are available in the base game, and they are also adding more of those in free updates - so why is some of it locked behind a pay wall? Are the gear and weapons you get from Amiibos superior to the ones you get for free (recall that gear does actually effect gameplay, with various buffs and special abilities), meaning Amiibo owners essentially have an advantage online?

The gear being superior hasn't been stated IIRC. I don't see how locking things behind amiibo makes it the worst usage when almost every other amiibo compatible game does that very thing.

And locking bonus games behind them is completely stupid. Those should absolutely be unlockables in the single-player.

A) They're minigames, nothing too huge.
B) Mario Party 10 does this with the entire amiibo party mode.

Amiibos shouldn't be used to lock significant (and in the case of the weapon training missions, complimentary) content behind a pay wall. They should be used for unique gameplay mechanics or modes that can only work with them, and itty bitty cosmetic extras/random bonuses in games that don't really have a focus on them (which is just to give you that extra bit of value for Amiibos that already have a more substantial use). And in both cases, this should personalise your experience rather than make you feel like your missing out on something big.

Ah, now I see what you mean. I do think that the cosmetic things are nice, but there should also be a few bigger features that actually affect how you play beyond a little costume to give you that incentive to buy the figures.

When I bought my Yoshi Amiibo, for example, I got it because I wanted to train him in Smash, which seemed cool. And it was. Then it unlocked a cute costume in Mario Kart 8, but I wouldn't care about this unless I was a Yoshi fan who genuinely wanted the figure anyway (what's more, they were clearly added after the game launched rather than being locked in content). And then I get the ability to have a partner Yoshi in Wooly World, which is yet again, another nice new feature. What's more, all of these features are personalised, as they relate to Yoshi in a very specific way. THAT'S what Amiibos should be for.

The Smash, Mario Kart, and Woolly World integration seem rather similar to the Splatoon features, though. Woolly World is similar to the missions in that you're tackling an existing stage with a different set of tools to work with, Mario Kart 8 is similar to the gear (except it has an actual effect on gameplay), and Smash is somewhat similar to the minigames - they add a little side challenge.

The Splatoon Amiibos are literally just locking generic content behind a pay wall AT LAUNCH, content that has every excuse to be in the game without that pay wall. Nothing more, nothing less.

You could say that (it could be there without amiibo) for the majority of the games that use amiibo, though. You could wear a Yoshi hat in Mario Kart without it. You could have two Yoshis without an amiibo (heck, they already did that in 3D World). You could train your Smash fighter without an amiibo, albeit without that same "take it to a friend's house" appeal (except with perhaps internet or something). You could do amiibo party without amiibo (they did it for the first eight Mario Party games, but better). You could play hide-and-seek in Treasure Tracker without amiibo. You could play as Fire Emblem characters in S.T.E.A.M. without amiibo. You say that it's the worst amiibo functionality, and yet you list of reasons that apply to other amiibo-compatible games.

What's more, you'll only use them once - you'll play through the missions in about an hour or so, take your spoils, and be done with it. It isn't like the Smash functionality where your use lasts as long as your interest, or the Wooly World/Codename STEAM functionality, where the use adds to the experience in a personal way, without side tracking you from the main game.

You can use the gear you unlock for as long as you like.

 

[ChikoLad]

They're not tutorials, actually; they're replaying existing levels with the added twist of using a weapon other than the standard Splattershot. Specifically, the girl amiibo has you using the charger weapon, boy has the ink roller, and the green squid has both "kraken challenges" (using a special weapon from the multiplayer) and limited-ink challenges.

"They're not tutorials, but let me explain exactly how they are tutorials".

You're playing through small chunks of existing stages with specifically set up challenges for specific mechanics with the difficulty of the missions increasing with each mission. That is exactly how the tutorials for different mechanics in other team based online games work.

I don't see how locking things behind amiibo makes it the worst usage when almost every other amiibo compatible game does that very thing.

The MK8 costumes, for example, are just small cosmetic bonuses that don't effect gameplay, but have a unique aesthetic based on the actual character I scanned in. Rather than feeling cheated out of content that actually has universal relevance to every player (gear and weapons with status effects), you get content based on the Amiibos you happened to be collecting and using in other games anyway, so it feels personalised, and those who didn't care enough about Rosalina as a character to get her super hard to find Amiibo at launcg, for example, won't be missing out if they can't use the Mii costume in MK8. This content is smart because it doesn't effect gameplay and helps personalise your experience with the game based on the characters you like most. Splatoon doesn't do that. It's just locking generic content behind a pay wall. I mean, I wouldn't even have minded if they felt like adding gear to the game as DLC, and just made it €2 packs or something. But the content the Amiibos do offer is not worth €15 by any stretch.

A) They're minigames, nothing too huge.
B) Mario Party 10 does this with the entire amiibo party mode.

A) They're unique content that you can't get in any other way, that's significant enough for me to raise an eyebrow, especially since one is available in the game.

B) That's completely different because that mode is designed around using Amiibos as peripherals. Naturally, you can't unlock the mode without an Amiibo, because the mode has no use without the constant implementation of Amiibos and their ability to save little bits of data on the fly. Splatoon just requires you to scan in the Amiibo once to unlock the missions, then you play the missions to unlock the stuff, and then you never touch the Amiibo again.

The Smash, Mario Kart, and Woolly World integration seem rather similar to the Splatoon features, though.

No they aren't, not in the slightest.

Smash allows you to train up a personal "Figure Player". It's like a pet that you watch grow and learn from you. It's really playing with the fact that you are using an Amiibo of a specific character, and you try to help that character grow, and can take it to your friends house to play and pit it against their Amiibos or have it fight alongside you. Nothing is locked away from you here. It was built to help sell Amiibos, and did it without making players who don't want them feel left out, as you can still play as the characters anyway. It's not a side challenge, especially since you never have to even fight against your Amiibo if you really don't want to.

Mario Kart unlocks cosmetic bonuses that personalise your Mii around the characters you like most and probably already own. Mario Kart's Amiibo functionality was not designed to sell Amiibos, it merely gives them extra value, evident by the fact there isn't even a Mario Kart Amiibo line.

Wooly World allows you to use any variant of Yoshi Amiibos to have a partner Yoshi that mimics your movements and can generally help you out as you play through the main game. Once again, much like the Smash Bros functionality, you are interacting and "playing with" your figure.

Splatoon is just locking generic (i.e. it isn't very specifically associated with the characters the figure represents), significant and should be complimentary content behind an unjustified pay wall. It's clearly designed to make players feel like they are missing out on substantial content if they don't fork out half the game's worth of money for these figures (and not even all regions have access to the 3-pack either - plus, in Europe, the only way to get the Squid Amiibo is to fork out extra to have it bundled with the game - unfair for those who would like to utilise the eShop discount provided by the Global Testfire Demo).

You could say that (it could be there without amiibo) for the majority of the games that use amiibo, though.

Of course you could, but the difference is those games all justify it.

Smash and Mario Party have Amiibo functionality that just serves no purpose without the Amiibos. They both encourage you to bring your Amiibos out of your home and into other peoples homes to use your own personalised character in some way. Training a Figure Player in Smash serves no purpose in Smash if there is no Figure to go along with it, or if I can't conveniently bring it around. The internet workaround you mention is a compromise - it makes the feature worse. And regardless of whether or not you like Amiibo Party compared to other Mario Party games, the exact way the mode is designed doesn't work without them (it seems you're thinking less about the read/write functionality and more about the boards, which aren't the main mechanic).

You could wear a Yoshi suit in Mario Kart without an Amiibo, but it'd likely be paid DLC like the Mii Fighter costumes in Smash anyway. But since the main advertised features of the Yoshi Amiibo are in other games, throwing small little, cosmetic bonuses into other games is fine, since it only matters to people who like Yoshi, and people who like Yoshi would probably buy a figure of him anyway for those other games where he has a bigger use. So it feels more like you are getting a bonus based on the characters you like, since you would naturally buy figures of them anyway.

All of the other Amiibo uses up to Splatoon follow those similar two patterns, and furthermore, they don't intrude the main game. They are either isolated experiences designed with the read/write functionality in mind, or they are naturally integrated, personalised bonuses that don't intrude or side track you from the main experience, merely enhance it based on the personal preferences you have regarding famous Nintendo characters.

Splatoon just takes these new characters and attaches generic, but significant unlocks to them, and you will only use them once in their main game.

 

[Marakatu]

Version 4.2 of moldyclay's amiibo Compatibility Chart is done, with more details on Splatoon:
http://t.co/LL4OCnDL0X

(tagging @ --- )

 

[---]

Got in the mail today. Beats out the Marth I bought back in January in terms of price. She looks great though.

Version 4.2 of moldyclay's amiibo Compatibility Chart is done, with more details on Splatoon:
http://t.co/LL4OCnDL0X

(tagging @ --- )

Very well, I'll update it