I can't say much good or bad about Splatoon. The game seems like good fun, and having played a kiosk demo of it I got just that... and nothing more or less. Its just fun. I wish the multiplayer had bot support, then it'd be an easier purchase, but for now I'll keep my distance and just wish nintendo luck on their first IP in the 3rd person shooter genre. However I hope their amiibo idea isn't going anywhere, because I think Splatoon sort of crossed the line or comes close enough to it with how the amiibo enhances the experience.
Now for starters, I'm not one of those people that goes out there and proclaims Nintendo's Amiibo system was as bad as on disc DLC, even if it is quite literally that through a plastic figure. I'm fine with unlocking a samus outfit for my racer in Mario Kart 8, and I'm fine with becoming a trainer for a character in smash bros with a figure. I think those are actually really great ideas for a collectible series, and it gives you something interesting to shoot for as a gamer and collector with both real life and in game feelings of a reward to big fans without costing those lacking them anything of serious value. I'm not going to feel left out because my mii doesn't look like Yoshi in MK8, and I was doing a heck of a lot in smash bros before ever feeling like I needed that amiibo training function. Actually with smash bros specifically, that feels like a case where the idea was inspired by the accessory rather than a held back feature.
So what does Splatoon do wrong to change this? Well... it basically does give you a new costume, boosts your online money progression through its levels (not too sure if I'm opposed to that, I suppose I need to read into it more), and those levels tend to come in the form of 15 challenge mode levels per figure. Yes, 15 levels per figure exclusively hidden away unless you have the amiibo, AND again they contribute to the funds you can use online. In a bad game design, that would mean pay to win. We're also talking about locked up content of up to 45 small levels (for $45 if you get the typical retail price of the amiibo) that were in the release on day 1. Now in Nintendo's defense, the levels aren't supposed to be massive hand-crafted works of geniuses or anything, its recycled stages from the game with a new twist, which is why its being called challenge mode. However despite that brief sigh of relief that they aren't holding back too much work, they still are actually holding back a massive mode that is stock material, or at least more easily accessible real DLC for other games. Its essentially like if MK8 held back time trial mode unless you bought the racer amiibo who could then race on whatever track you wanted in time trial. Even if you could forgive this and shrug it off, it still tugs at the question of where will that line be drawn, because we sure haven't had anything this big come out yet. Its the first major game changer to meet the launch day of the game, and it strikes me as this thing that really shouldn't happen again.
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| A slipper slop indeed |
What baffles me is that some, like the Completionist in his single player review, have even praised this move of Nintendo suggesting their Amiibos have never felt this valuable, but that's kind of the problem isn't it? If you wanted to make them of high gameplay value, just make a pokemon game entirely based around them and watch as people actually need these things to progress. That's value for amiibo hunters and those willing to put down huge amounts of money, but that's horrible for the game itself where everything depends on those plastic figures. See where that logic falls apart? Amiibos are at their best when they aren't highly valued as gameplay elements, because that means the game stands better on its own; that you buy a complete game and not just a starter pack of digital card collecting. When those "cards" are increasingly more ridiculous to obtain because of the absurd supply vs demand situation (emphasis on vs rather than an "and"), you've got a horrible idea on your hands when you're trying to look at amiibos as game changers instead of as a collectible (though the supply thing is even horrible on a collector).
Oh and that supply situation could be its own discussion, if not for the fact that others more well researched and bothered on the subject have already put out way better articles than I could have. Still its something to take in mind with this situation. Nintendo can't get a grip on its supply situation, so why the heck should they be encouraged to suddenly build their games around these figures they have no sane evidence of control over? Even so much as simple cosmetics now can start to feel a bit harsh given how things have evolved over time with the collectible craze, where suddenly your favorite character's awesome unlockable costume is stuck far away from you at $60+ because some guy on the internet who doesn't even own a Wii U bought 15 of these to hold at a high price he can actually get away with since the stock was so low. Its not supply & demand, but rather supply fighting demand, and both sides seem like they lose in that struggle and its only made worse when the game is effected more by these figures. Nintendo needs to get their Amiibo situation together first before they ever even come close to thinking of pulling another splatoon again where an entire mode is strictly sold to only 10% of the audience that might actually want it. At the very least, they need to start offering cheaper standard DLC functions for these features, which'll surely make splatoon look like the dumb day 1 DLC function that it is, but at least fans can actually find a way to enjoy that mode even if they need to pay more than they should for launch day functions.
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