All content in Nintendo games that could be accessed by Amiibo scan does not magically write new codes into the game. The games already have the code for the Amiibo feature but Nintendo is forcefully locking the content away unless you buy their $10-$13 amiibo.

Initially, this wasn't really a big deal. The game that launched the Amiibo was Super Smash Bros 4 Wii U. It allowed Amiibo collectors to scan in their toys to have a tag team computer that you could fight and train with you.  This was a pretty cool feature that was locked away and some people were upset about it but it didn't really impact the game in significant way. You could still unlock all the characters and play against your friends and even forget this was a feature at all. Mario Kart 8 continued this trend by only locking away special costumes. While this did impact the game aesthetically, the fundamental part of driving around courses was not locked away.

But then we get to games like Mario Party 10 and Splatoon where entire modes and a few selection of weapons were already programmed in the game but could only be unlocked by Amiibo. In Splatoon's defense, although weapons are fundamental part in Splatoon's online gameplay, the game offered a bunch of free weapons from its launch to this month and the locked challenge levels weren't that great either. But in Mario Party 10's case, a whole different game mode already programmed into the game could only be unlocked with an Amiibo. How is this not on disc dlc? Nintendo may have noticed this so they decided to give the title a budget $50 price but the bundle with the Amiibo is $60.

But the biggest offender of Amiibo has to do with Nintendo's latest Zelda remaster. And I'm not upset about the Wolf-Link amiibo functionality. I'm upset about another Amiibo locking a funadmental part of the game. The Ganondorf Amiibo:

Fans that love Amiibo will be thrilled to see that this game gives them the option to engage in a masochist difficult setting where any game mode from normal or Hero will let you take 2x more damage from enemies. That's great! For amiibo collectors.... What about us conservative gamers who only care about buying games and not plastic figures? Nintendo is locking a difficulty setting, a fundamental aspect of gameplay, already programmed into the game with this Amiibo! Why is this allowed? I think it's at this point we can safely say Amiibo is as a bad as on disc dlc.

What do you guys think? Do recent and past Amiibo functionality show that Nintendo is using them as on disc dlc?

I thought Hero Mode was included as a part of the game, for 2X damage and no heart drops, and then Ganondorf just made it so you could double that again to 4X damage?

A game can have more than two difficulty settings!?!?!?

Is a x4 multiplier that only exist because they needed to think something to implement in the Ganon amiibo. There is never have been anything above Hero Mode in Zelda before, and that would still be the same if wasnt because amiibo. But yeah lets the amiibo drama begin again, twice a day is not enough.

We should give it a different name. But on Nintendo's defense, when they lock big parts of the game through amiibo, they usually bundle the game with the amiibo so you get it either way.

Not the best they could do, since it just increases the price of the game unnecesarily, but egh.

As for TP's Hero mode x2, there are tons of ways to increse the difficulty. I love doing no heart containers run on Zelda.

it is but at least its physical, meaning you will be able to enjoy the DLC even in 20 years from now on when the servers are down. There will be Amiibo flash cart-like devices at that point in time too. Its a love hate thing

"Big parts of the game" Yeah, I did the maths and a empty room with monster and a x4 multiplier is about 0.0000000001% of the game. A massive chunk behind a paywall, indeed. JK

Couldn't you use that same logic and say hero mode itself is unneccessary because you can already do a 3 heart challenge run in normal mode?

The fact that Nintendo could have give us two difficulty settings fore free but is locking one away by a pay wall is unexcusable. Especially because difficulty fundamentally impacts the game and both are already programmed into it!

First off, I gave plenty of examples on how amiibo worked okay in the past and how Nintendo tried to circumvent its ability to lock content with Smash 4 to Splatoon so don't view this as an blind rant against Amiibo.

Secondly, Link Between Worlds already had hero mode where enemies did 4x more damage than normal so a 4x damage hero mode is not unheard of.

Third, do you really think its necessary that more additional difficult settings should be charged as DLC? What about Smash Bros Easy to Brutal mode? Or how Mario Kart 8 gave us 200 cc for free?

And lastly, why should it be locked away in the first place if its already programmed into the game?

Yes. Yes you can.

There are bigger problems with Amiibo than a difficulty setting.