Yes, Link's Improved "Fast Travel" In Skyward Sword HD Really Does Seem To Be Locked Behind An amiibo

Nintendo is my best friend. I’m going to invite them over for thanksgiving just so I can thank them for giving me the privilege of honouring them with my monies.

By the way I hate ea, activision, and Microsoft while I pray that they burn in Hell for their greedy corporate practices.

Probably not even gonna get the Skyward Sword remake, because while I love the aesthetic and story, the gameplay was too much of an endless dungeon slog, but...

I NEED THAT AMIIBO

Skyward Sword Zelda is the best Zelda

It is nothing short of a scumbag move.

If the game had a $25 DLC just for Ooccoo then it would look worse. But wow, pretty plastic.

@Rika_Yoshitake I much prefer paying extra for the amiibo versus them giving it to us for free like in Zelda Twilight Princess. This way I can prove how loyal a fan I am to the best and most family friendly company in the world.

Honestly not as bad as gating an entire difficulty behind an amiibo in Samus Returns. Still not great though. That said I am midly upset that just how many more people are throwing hands about this than the Samus Returns one, just goes to show how much more popular Zelda is than Metroid.

Controversy aside, even if this was standard in game, my first thought when I saw this was "wow, that's useless."

Time to dust off my powersaves tag.

@AnnoyingFrenzy To be fair, the Switch is way bigger than the 3DS was when Samus Returns came out. So it might not be Metroid’s lesser popularity that’s the differential!

@AnnoyingFrenzy well Metroid came out when people had moved on so perhaps people didn’t even notice.

I laughed pretty hard over this. Rofl. I was REALLY on the fence with SS anyway. It's easily my least favorite Zelda. But this was pretty much the clincher for not picking it up

The Australian price is $34.95.

@sixrings @nessisonett Those are fair points. It is harder to compare a late stage 3DS game to a mid-life Switch game when it comes to visibility.

Ugh. I don't even know if I want this game. But I saw a pre-order link, and it was available, so I grabbed one on impulse. I'm sure I'll have no problem selling it if I change my mind

Another great reason to not play skyward sword

That's yucky, no approve.

@AnnoyingFrenzy I kind of think all dlc should at least be offered in a digital form. What if you simply don’t want to ruin the environment with a extra piece of plastic.

I don't care for Amiibos but enjoy the Zelda games. Why would Nintendo do this and why are they given a free pass when folks pounce on companies like EA for similar shady tactics.

It would be one thing it was like typical preorder bonuses that unlock something early but this doesn't seem right. I've never played Skyward Sword but one of the biggest criticisms I've heard is it can be a tedious slog. So this quality of life improvement seems like a natural inclusion for an updated release. Even if it didn't occur till halfway through the game and the Amiibo unlocked it from the get go would be better than locking it completely behind something that will have limited availability. While I don't agree with this current situation, at least make this short cut available by using any Zelda related Amiibo. I still think it should be included in game though.

I will be buying the amiibo but this is a pretty small feature given the structure of the game (SS is one of the easier 3D Zeldas) anyway. It isn’t like they stripped the game of the existing fast travel system and they added also physical controls (after all of THAT whining).

So this isn’t really the crime people are exaggerating this to be. Also amiibo have to have some actual value. Which is usually a minor but exclusive feature. You can still play the game as is and enjoy it. When they start locking the master sword or the ending behind a paywall (Capcom) then I will grab a pitch fork. However if someone wants to feel some kind of way about it that’s on them. I will just play the game again.

I am more annoyed that preorders sold out like lightning in the middle of the day. Some of us have to work.

Next time to save ur file, u need a separate Amiibo

This is an utter non-problem. Not remotely worth getting upset over.

But it's Nintendo and the internet, so get ready for the riots and death threats.

So basically, fast travel is locked behind a $24.99 PLC (physical content).

I think it's fine, I don't see why people are getting so worked up over a feature that fans weren't even looking to get, but once they make it a small amiibo addition people just "HOW DARE THEY!!!"

@Jumwa

Everyone is free to have their own opinion, but Twilight Princess Zelda is best Zelda

@Heavyarms55 you do realize ea bought codemasters said everything would remain the same and the internet went nuts. At the very least we don’t know if ea is going to unlock tracks and cars behind future overpriced amiibo

@FroZtedFlakerZz upscale a Zelda game on wii u and charge full price by justifying said price with a free amiibo. Release upscale Zelda game on switch and damn it let’s double the price of the amiibo and take some more monies. How dare people question this.

I'm hoping that the feature is activated by any Zelda (the character, not the series) amiibo - not sure if it's been confirmed yet whether this is specific to the new amiibo or will work with any Zelda one.

Bowser's Fury also had a QoL feature locked behind amiibo, but I was able to use my old Bowser Skylander for it since it was triggered by any Bowser amiibo.

It took six and a half years, but we’ve come full circle; a regular amiibo now costs twice as much as when the line launched.

Yeah man. If it's really locked behind an amiibo then it's a scumbag move full stop. It doesn't matter how many scumbag moves they've gotten away with before, it's still scum and still sucks. It also doesn't matter how many people buy it. It's still a scum move.

@JimmySpades lock something considerable behind a paywall. Double said paywall. Not being ok with this shouldn’t be considered a hot take. But ok. No ones entitled. But don’t tell me ea or activision is greedy when this is what Nintendo is doing.

I'm looking forward to Skyward Sword HD, but I'll happily deal with having to find a save point to return to the sky. Would I like this feature to be accessible? Yes, but not badly enough that I'm willing to buy the figurine. Maybe like @TuragaNuva said, it'll be accessible by any Zelda amiibo. Still, it'd be annoying not just being able to access the feature in-game without a figurine. Maybe if they let you scan the figurine once to unlock the feature permanently that'd be better. In any case, having to find a statue to return to the sky never bothered me too much.

@Rohanrocks88 in Bowser's Fury, you can summon Bowser with a Bowser amiibo. You need him to show up to break certain blocks to get a number of the cat shines (and if you're going for all the shines, there's more toward the end that you can only get when he shows up). Without the amiibo, you just have to wait for him to eventually appear each time you need him for a particular cat shine.

Amiibos are DLC you can keep on your shelf. Also they work with multiple games.

I see a lot of hate for this game...and to that I say OoT is overrated.

Why do people act as if they arent getting a gorgeous figuring for display and collection along with the stupid warp effect that you will use only once because its so cumbersome to bring out amiibos and scan them.

This is stupid to make people buy this amiibo instead of that function being in-game already. This and the stopping production of those Mario games is just sad. I wish Satoru Iwata was still in charge because I bet he wouldn't allow this crap to happen.

One more reason to despise Amiibos

@Rohanrocks88 @sixrings QoL = Quality Of Life = Not Necessary you can play the game normally, but for those who do enjoy collecting amiibo, it is an upside. Also if you think it's scummy, unfair, or too expensive THEN DON'T BUY IT, gosh not that hard to understand, and guess what I'm not "A true fan who buys anything." They have a lot of stupid stuff, but there is no problem with this, it's a small improvement that doesn't need thousands upon thousands of people hating on it.

@Crockin The way your avatar react that was exactly my reaction to this article. Something that should be easily on the game locked behind a paid amiibo. Well at least i finished the game when it came out back on the WII days.

Very consumer friendly of Nintendo 🙄

Another reason not buy this piece of crap. Apparently charging $60 for an old game with very few new features isn't enough and the fat cats felt the need to charge extra for one of the two new features this port does have. And you can bet scalpers are going to make things even worse because they're opportunistic jerks who insist on ruining everything! The physical key method sucked when it was popularized by Activision and Disney, it sucked when Lego and Ubisoft kept it going, and it sucks now! I never even intended to buy this game in the first place so I don't know why I'm so pissed off, but somehow I find myself infuriated all the same.

Sometimes I forget just how toxic Nintendo coverage can get on the internet.

@Dman10 This site is like 80% fanboys so its not a great example. I cant even tell if things like what #1 said are jokes anymore.

@JimmySpades well you can disagree all you want but just the same others are allowed to disagree with you. I’m just happy this is for a game I have very little interest in. I’ll stick to Mario golf.

I of course JUST find out about this after working all day, and theres no preorders available anywhere.

A full price 10 year old game and they shove this in it. Nintendo is the most anti consumer console developer there is.

If people are really ‘just buying it for the figurine’ then they should just sell the specific fast-travel function for like 99p. Obviously it would be better if it was included in the game for free as that’s literally the point of a remaster but I’d take a cheap DLC over an exclusive feature for $25

@nessisonett my thing is my amiibo are tucked away under a giant collectors case. I don’t actually want to play or touch them. This is forcing me to use it if I weren’t interested. I think that in itself is dumb. I don’t want to be tapping a stupid amiibo every few minutes

$25 to “cheat” in an already awful Zelda?

Makes me want it even less.. I’m now into negative figures.

Besides, the game is super short already, this will just make it shorter and make you regret the price you played for this easy, by the numbers, bore fest..

What a great idea! Maybe when Metroid prime 4 finally releases, they will release an exclusive collectible controller that has a special Metroid button. That button when pressed will unlock Mother Brain at the final part of the game to give you the “real ending.” Everyone else will have to replay the boss fights of Ridley and Kraid gauntlet style. After beating the duo, a disheveled and broken Samus crawls back to her ship as the timer crosses zero, her armor falls apart, she mutters a line for the first time in history “I guess I shouldn’t have skimped on the accessories!” The planet explodes. Zinger.

beyond pathetic

@Heavyarms55 $25 for a feature that's basically in every modern game, yet "This is an utter non-problem." The hell you on about, baby?

Don’t people get mad when amiibos don’t do anything useful? To me, this is the perfect thing for an amiibo to do. Something kinda cool and helpful without being even remotely necessary.

I mean, look, I get it...$60 for a Wii game and an additional $25 to get something they could have included for free. But also, eh. Is it that big a deal to play without it?

@Krambo42 It really isn't a big deal. It's just a nice little bonus for people who care enough to buy amiibo, which I couldn't care less about. Nintendo's getting too much good press for some people to handle. It's time for them to attempt to manufacture a scandal. We already saw how the vocal minority failed to boycott multiple "controversies" regarding the Switch so far, but this one is definitely the most insignificant.

Can we all agree that double the amiibo price is wrong.

In a game as notoriously backtrack heavy as SS is, that amiibo is really important. Unfortunately, people who want it probably won't even be able to get it because scalpers are a blight upon humanity.

There's always two results with a new amiibo: people complain it DOESN'T do anything, or people complain it DOES do something. No one is ever satisfied. I collect them just for the fun of it, but I can also understand why people don't like that something is locked behind it. On the other hand, though, people complained when things weren't accessed with them when amiibo was a new concept. There are extremely cheap alternatives if you don't want to buy the figure. "But I shouldn't have to buy anything!" Yeah, you're 100% right, but if you can make the multi-million dollar corporation care what you think, that would be pretty cool.

@Rika_Yoshitake Got it, people can't feel mad.

Nintendo....You will get no respect from me.

People on the internet:

• Complain when a company re-releases an old title without new features.
• Also complain when a company adds new features but hopes to get paid for it.

@Krambo42 Look, I wouldn't be to mad if it was the same 16$ price as normal amiibo, but bc they now how much people wanted this to be in the game, they bump it to 25$, thats what makes me mad, its just a really scummy thing to do.

@N8tiveT3ch of all the hurtful and sad things said in this comment section...no one could prepare me for what you have spoken on this day. I will now have a drink in honor of you, and ponder what life is really all about....😉

So scanning an amiibo every time you want to quick travel is better than just pushing a button to do it how exactly?

@Snatcher Yeah, fair enough, the price is pretty bogus. Still, though...I don’t know, it’s just fast travel.

@MsJubilee Exactly what I said. It's a non-problem. It's not even a first world problem. This is the kind of thing that first world problems look at and think "Wow, they're upset about that? Seriously?"

Ok people, i'm about to lay down this nice and simple for you, yall keep defending nintendo, and there BS, fine, but people like you is the reason this will keep happening, and you can think that nintendo's idea to do that is ok, but when you go bashing people that disagree with you, over the head, now I have a problem.

You an show your thoughts, without getting nasty about it,
There should be no reason you should call somebody a idiot over what they think, And if we were, I would say 2% have the people that defend nintendo, have something wrong with them, oh but you don't want to hear that, so don't go ahead and do it to others
Just bc you feel your actions were justified, bc news flash, its not!

Lets get to the real meat now, shall we? When people are getting mad about the amiibo, there getting mad about three things.

1. the fact nintendo would lock such a good feature behind, a pay wall, that would not only make the game better, but would get more people that once hated the game, like it a little more, I know for a fact I would totally be buying the game, over just that one extremely helpful feature.

2. People were already not happy about that but you know whatever, amiibo are pretty cheap for the most part, so not only if you would miss them (And I mean what scalper wont) You were going to have to play more, but then, just bc you know for a damn fact that people wanted this feature, they put it behind a 25$ pay wall??? its the same damn amiibo, made like any other, so why is it 25$, cuz they know you will buy it for that quality of life change, and that is a really, really, realllly scummy move.

3. and three, The damn thing is sold out anyway, just like I said, you would have to pay more for this thing anyway, and guess what, if you didn't think the scalp prices were high?? they can amp it up even more, and its justifiable, the thing was already 25$ so make it it extra wouldn't be that hard, scalp prices was going to go up to 60$ most of the time anyway, but scalpers oh ho ho, they now the value, they now how mad people are, and there is no way in hell, there not going to use that.

hopefully this comment of mine showed you the so called "complainer's" point of view, and if it didn't the you just wasted your time. (Not saying you have to agree, just see are point of view, two different things)

Oh and sorry if there is bad spelling, I was mad typing LOL.

@Krambo42 Well I think the main issue, is that it just coms off as scummy on nintendo's part, and less about the feature its self.

Is Nintendo trying to sour me on the Switch? Seriously, this and the lack of support for old eShop purchases... I've been glued to my PC and XSX for the past like six months, Switch has been sorta neglected. It's still my favorite current console, in theory, but my Joy-Con drift ruins the portable aspect of the console, soooooooo

Haha, whatever. That vice reporter should go report something that matters, such as large corps buying up small corps or something.

Literally going to wait for the code to get released and make my own for free.

@screechums It is accurate if you've seen the news articles about this re-release since it was announced.

Wow, these comments got real toxic real fast. Nintendo Life needs to do a better job with booting some of these awful people off of the site sooner.

@B_Lindz agreed. Anyone who says anything negative should be cancelled.

This doesn’t really upset me. A feature that kind of breaks the adventure feel of a Zelda game is locked behind a paywall. I can see why they thought it would be okay to attach it to the amiibo. Getting to soar off mid dungeon? I thought everyone wanted games to challenge them, and not handhold them the whole way through? But if you want that get the amiibo. I’m okay playing it clean traditional.

@Snatcher
I’m not defending it fully, but I can see Nintendo’s perspective on it. Zelda is an adventure game. A feature that allows you to zip a do and da as you please is not a feature I would want to be a button press away from me at all times. You really aren’t the audience for this game if you really want a feature like that so badly. To return to the place you exactly were in the dungeon. So right before a boss you can stash up freely if you wanted to. Like it’s a handhold feature. It wasn’t in the game before and as far as I can see it’s basically like having a cheat code. I see the amiibo as a fun little gimmicky way of doing it, but yeah having it as an option in game just kills completely the dungeon aspect of the game and that would be for every single person playing it if it was. This is more an out of game way of doing it while keeping the core experience there.

@Desa Exactly. Not using the amiibo means the re-release will be exactly as functional as the original title. It's not as if Nintendo is taking an existing function away.

Ridiculous how many entitled people are getting their panties in a twist.

I already pre-orderd the Amiibo, it looks beatiful. And yeah, other Zelda Amiibo are €29,99 as well. I can't really complain about that. Were normal "figurines" are 2x or even 3x as much.

It's a bit poor that it's locked behind an amiibo but I don't really see how it discourages me from wanting the game. It's a great game and I wasn't wanting this feature anyway.

To be honest, I think this is fair. If they are gonna give us an amiibo, it might as well do something useful or else what would be the point of going to the trouble of buying it (besides collecting it) and plus the feature would be too broken if we could do it whenever we feel like it in-game with no catch or restrictions which would ruin some aesthetic of the game. So in my opinion, this is a fair and reasonable trade.

Not sure how anyone's dead piss about this. You either buy the game and play it like it's suppose to or buy it with the toy and get a little tiny boost of enhancement. After all the game progress the same whether you beat it fast or not. It's like buying a Game Genie just so you could use a level select code for the game.

I think the biggest disappointment here is Fi will give you a reminder “Are you sure you want to fast travel?”........Fekov!

I will grab the Amiibo and once I've completed the game will just sell it on, I don't collect them or want plastic tat kicking around the house.
That's better than having to pay for DLC If you ask me.

@Desa I agree with you here, I don't want it that bad to the point of not picking up the game, I mean its a zelda, and leaving in and out of dungeon ruins the game, I mean, I have played at least three zelda's (I know its a small number) and I don't hate the dungeon's at all, plus I loved all the ones I have played so far, But my main issue is that even tho its a fun way to do said feature, why in the world should some won pay 25 bucks for it?

And I still think they could handle the feature a little better, like maybe outside of dungeon's you can go back and forth, and if you have the amiibo, then you can do it in dungeon's or somthing.

I'm going to play the game anyway, I have never played it before, and I think the fact that this is the least liked zelda kinda makes me think they should make little tweaks, wile maybe not the fast travel any time, But other things, as I was watching some video's on this, and alot of the issues in this game, sound like it will annoy me (Maybe never played it), Like the fact that Fi talks to you almost 24/7, dose not sound like a hard fix, all in all, I think they can still makes improvements, and it doesn't need to be exactly the same game, as it didn't do so well first time around.

Barely anyone will be able to use this feature when the amiibo is located in scalpers' houses anyway.

@electrolite77
Yeah they totally could have, but at the end of the day it’s an option that we didn’t even expect to be in the game in the first place, nor is it one that is truly necessary to finish or complete the game. I’m just saying it doesn’t change the perspective I originally had since it’s not something they removed from the original framework and tied to the amiibo. It’s simply an option that makes the overall game even easier than it kind of was in the first place.

This is perfectly fine by me. The "improved" fast travel isn't really a necessity by any means.

It wasn't in the original so don't start calling it a basic or standard feature.. It's hardly a Breath of the Wild open world map. Quit yer crying. No one is missing out if you don't buy the Amiibo (and it's a nice thing if you do.)

Honestly, it's the equivalent of popping into your car to go to the corner shop these days. And if you call that a quality of life improvement, then hells bells, just make gaming zero effort shall we?

What a load of hot air.

That's really stupid. It's weird, I didn't care all that much about fast travel nor the amiibo itself, but it still turns me off knowing that something like this is locked behind a $25 figure that will likely become impossible you find a day after release.

Why should anyone be surprised? Remember what Nintendo did with Samus Reurns and how you’re required to have the Metroid amiibo to unlock hard mode and art galleries?

They could have easily included this in the game to slightly justify the price but chose not to and I’m beginning to fear that Nintendo is slowly turning into EA due to these signs

I mean, imagine Splatoon 3 with a battle pass with unlockable weapons, skins and all . That sounds nice, right?

@Snatcher
Oh, I agree with you there. Hopefully they did tweak the game in some regards like being able to completely skip Fi talk and other things that will help new and even returning players enjoy the experience even more. I do also agree that the price is completely ugly. It shouldn’t be any more than the 12 to 15 dollars amiibo averagely are. However, if this is a bigger amiibo like the guardian one I can understand why. If it’s not, then I’ll join everyone with my pitchforks and torches ready because then it’s obviously a cash grab and that would suck for them to do that.

@Desa Oh ya if its bigger I wont have to much of a issue, but if its the same size, were going to have a problem.

It's just like the ancient armor on Breath of the Wild.
Nintendo said that ALL items are accessible without the Amiibos, which was a MASSIVE Lie

Imagine if the Swift Sail was locked behind an amiibo back when The Wind Waker HD came out.

Now imagine that all of Zelda’s 35th anniversary is spent celebrating a decade old mediocre game, only now it’s slightly more expensive.

@Dman10 Honestly? Because the gamers EA attracts (the ones who pay their salaries, not the smart gamers) buy their games in droves, all of which support the exact same anti-consumer services interlaced with their games, and proceed to drop money. Supporting EA is paramount to ruining the entire industry/hobby, which is currently happening. Supporting Nintendo's one bad decision (and I'm still acknowledging that it's bad) with a 1/3rd of the sales of any EA title, is like throwing out a plate of food over burning down half of California. Supporting EA, Activision, or Xbox/Gamepass is to nuke a country, whereas the ONE Nintendo game every 4 years to make a bad decision is robbing a liquor store with a water pistol. Don't pretend Nintendo is much worse and deserves as much ire as the others.

@electrolite77 it's a bad move but it is completely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Now if they do like EA or Xbox and have an ad flashing at all times on the main menu to purchase the Amiibo for instant fast travel, then okay, but 90% of SS fans won't even be aware this exists, and if they do they won't care. In a world where patience is an unknown it's good to have some patience. If that's really your complaint, that you have to be just a few seconds slower, then you should reevaluate your life and priorities.

Nintendo really paid a blinder with the idea of tying micro dlc to collectible figures.

If this improvement existed by default in the original, I might raise an eyebrow at its "locking" myself. Otherwise, it doesn't feel different from all the neat but optional stuff I can't do without specific amiibos in BotW.

This amiibo, that is a "Run Away" option. If you think a "Run Away" option is a much needed option, you suck at Zelda games. Even in the middle of a dungeon if things are going rough, you can just choose an option to run away and stock up then return right to the exact same place you were having trouble? Why bother buying the game if you can't handle it? This is worse than an easy mode. I'll be buying the amiibo, but only for the model. I won't be unboxing it. I don't need to run away.

I can't agree with the headline. This doesn't confirm anything. It's just Nintendo's typical "We have no additional information at the moment" response.

Dammit Nintendo, stop hanging out with EA & Activision, they're not your mates!

This is so disappointing for a variety of reasons.

1. Skyward Sword is one of my least favorite Zelda games, not only because of the forced motion controls (which are now optional in this version) but also the ridiculous amount of backtracking required in the latter half of the game. Having a fast travel feature like this will most definitely help mitigate the pacing problems lots of people had with the game. Oh, wait...It's locked behind an amiibo.

2. It's a Zelda amiibo that is not only double the price of a standard amiibo, but is also sold out everywhere, and likely will be impossible to get unless you get extremely lucky.

3. Forcing you to bring up the menu and physically tap an amiibo every time you want to warp is so stupid. It's so tedious that it almost negates the helpfulness of this feature.

4. I personally don't have a lot of time to play games (around 5 hours a week or so), so locking a feature that would greatly enhance the enjoyment of the game for lots of people in my similar situation behind a paywall is super dumb.

5. And for people that say that this feature breaks the game, guess what? YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE IT! Having the option available for people who want to use it is all that matters. Mario Odyssey literally had a mode with arrows telling you where to go as an option for young players, but did people complain about that optional QoL feature for young players?

TL;DR Nintendo should not be locking features that would be nice to have in the base game, behind a $25 paywall, and even if you personally wouldn't use it, that doesn't mean that a lot of other people wouldn't appreciate having it in the base game.

I'd be more perturbed by this if it weren't for the fact that I don't intend to buy Skyward Sword HD in the first place.

Nintendo: Don't like the inconvenience of motion controls? Well, do we have the solution for you!

Also Nintendo: Hate pressing a single button for a command, and would prefer digging through your cushions to find an essential part of the gaming experience? Well, do we have a solution for you!

An Amiiqo N2 Elite seems in order now.

If fast travelling from anywhere made the game better, it would have been there from the start. It's not something made possible by porting the game to the Switch. I think it's dumb, locked behind amiibo or not.

Was thinking about getting this game.
Not any more.

I canceled my preorder. I keep hearing the game wasn’t that good, it’s a modest remaster already at full price, and then I see the team holding out key improvements and locking them to a $25 toy that will sell out and I think... I will get Mass Effect Legendary Edition instead.

Ah the age old amiibo conundrum, give it too much functionality people complain that it's locked behind a figure, don't give it enough and people complain that the figure doesn't have enough in-game content.

I'm not going to get the remake anyway so my thoughts are maybe moot. But honestly, this seems like a weak amiibo unlock to me. I don't care that it's a QoL thing I wouldn't get without the amiibo, I probably wouldn't notice not having it, but adding a QoL thing to an amiibo seems lame. Give me a special colour Loftwing or cool outfit or something.

On the one hand nintendo shouldn't really lock features like this behind an amiibo. On the other I finished the game on Wii, and never felt I was missing out on this extra feature. So all in all, there are more important things to complain about.

The sheer volume of "waahhhh" here is astounding.

You do not need this feature, just like you did not need the amiibo armor in Breath of the Wild. If you want to buy it, buy it. If not, don't. It's really that simple.

@Ashunera84 meta complaining is still complaining

The same people complaining about this ludicrously overpriced feature never complained about how Breath of the Wild forced players to pay if they wanted Master Mode and the Trial of the Sword. Come on guys, stop looking for more reasons to hate on Skyward Sword HD.

@koffing not really complaining, just making an observation. Would prefer thoughtful content here. This article is just whining.

@Ashunera84 So, just because a particular issue doesn't affect you personally means you should have the right tell people to shut up when they have an issue with something?

It's bad enough that Nintendo and other game companies think that they can screw us over with overpriced, undercooked games and remasters with dlc and battle passes; but it's abhorrent for someone like you to try to silence anyone who disagrees with those practices and belittle them for their concerns in the process.

Meh. I’ll just pirate an amiibo card with an amiibo ripper. Not paying that bs

@ModdedInkling That content was created after the game released, which is slightly less contentious than locking a quality-of-life feature behind a figurine that will inflate in price at launch thanks to a-hole scalpers. It's a sucky move, and there's no real way to defend it.

@Meehanuk But it's an optional privilege, nobody is being forced to pay for it. And if you don't pay you still get a functioning product.

It's like when a car maker updates its models and offers new features as paid add-ons, say a sunroof or better audio system, that were not available for the earlier edition. Do car buyers make a big fuss? No.

This is literally the same concept.

At this point I'd just be glad to get one without paying scalper prices.

@FroZtedFlakerZz,

So true, a feature that's not in the original game and is an extra, hardly the end of the world as some are making out, most people that buy this will neither be aware or even care.

@Iggy-Koopa,

You can't blame Nintendo for the scalpers, the same way you can't blame Sony or Microsoft for people scalping their latest consoles, it's the individuals own decision to buy items and sell them for inflated prices on e-bay etc, if anything blame e-bay for this allowing any of this in the first place, even then it's still the scalpers fault, as they know what they are doing is unfair, but they still do it anyway.

@Ashunera84,

Another article for outrage and clicks.

@Ryu_Niiyama Whining? You mean accurately pointing out that the motion controls barely worked, constantly needed to be re-calibrated, or often misinterpreted player input? Or are you referring to the fact that a lot of people didn't want to flail there arms around like an idiot when a button press could have accomplished the same thing?

@SeantheDon29 "screw us over" - they aren't. Its an old game and information is readily available on it. You don't have to buy it. Feel free to get the much cheaper Wii U version. Or wait for a price reduction. Or don't at all.

"Overpriced" - let them know by not buying it.
"Undercooked" - it's a remaster. That means minor updates, usually not much more than resolution and sound. Other updates don't really fall under the "remaster" definition.

Video games are not a right, they are not a necessity. If it's worth the price to you, buy it. If not, don't. Complain about the real issues in game monetization, specifically randomized loot boxes using gambling addiction tactics. This clearly advertised one-time purchase is how it should work.

@Ashunera84,

Such a simple well reasoned post, of course it will fall on deaf ears for some on here.

Such a simple solution, if you do not like something then do not buy it, nobody is forcing anybody.

I think I honestly would only double dip for this game if there was an option to keep Fi quiet.

@QueenOfHearts38 glad some people realise that 😤😤

Why, just why? Who thought this would be a great move?

Get used to this. As Nintendo's install base grows and it becomes less and less interested in giving a crap about NA, we'll see this in every game. Why? Because it's already part of every game in Japan. Nintendo is the hold out because they sell to an international market on a larger scale.

Most of the world doesn't see themselves as the privileged children of history, entitled by birth right to have every experience tailored to them and never left out of anything. so the idea of being offended that Nintendo has the audacity to sell an advantage isn't really a thing. Megadimenson Neptunia Atelier, Persona, Disgaea ... they all have the option to dump up to $70 on DLC that makes you level faster, gives you items, makes monster drop more money, make you run faster, or unlocks the camera for the sweet, sweet panty shots. It's common, it makes the developers a boatload of money, and outside of NA and EU no one really cares or sees this as a problem.

I thought the whole point of western capitalism is that you're a lazy, worthless POS who should just pull yourself up from your bootstraps if you can't afford something, the right to make money for your share holders at any cost needs to be defended, and that people who want free "handouts" are subhuman monsters who burden humanity?

Funny how that all applies to homeless people wanting food from companies that are just tossing it out and could easily give it away instead at no cost, but as soon as you don't get to buy a statue you want and have to spend a few extra minutes playing the $60 game for you $200 toy, the company demanding you pay for something is EVIL and no one should be allowed to do this, and it's unfair, and I'm going to cry to my mommy.

Pathetic hypocrisy is pathetic

That is a huge scumbag move. I expect that from EA, Activision and now Ubisoft. But Nintendo? Thats next level scummy

Sorry, I love the Switch and the sheer range and diversity of games that are on it, and I don't necessarily have a problem with DLC, but if it's tied to a physical purchase to an item that's of a finite supply, then you're artificially limiting the full potential of what sounds like a pretty straightforward QoL improvement.

I'm happy to play the game as it originally was intended, TBH.

Everyone is freaking out because of something that gives them the mildest of inconvenience.

@Ashunera84 Oh come on.
The original version can still be pretty damn expensive and only on eBay so there is price gouging going on.
Very few people still have a Wii and even less have a Wii U.
We know Nintendo doesnt price drop first party games, they always stay at full retail. Even a rare sale sometimes drops them by $10 but that might be in 2 years if at all.

Not buying something to show them its over priced has never worked, because they only look at sales and you cant stop everyone from just not buying it. It is absolutely over priced and we all know it.

I wouldnt say undercooked like the other person. But adding fast travel, which is a simple modern mechanic..then locking it behind a very expensive pay wall is extremely scummy. Not to mention that with Amiibos being physical only eventually they will stop making them. Its impossible to find most older ones already. That means they are locking a main standard feature behind a limited edition paywall...that is not ok at all.

As for not being a necessity, of course that true. But this is still an inexcusable tactic. Hobby or not it doesnt make over pricing and scum back tactics any better. Just look at loot boxes.

Every game does NOT need fast travel. Some games are designed around the travel feature and a game that takes place in the sky, with a skyloft, would OF COURSE be designed around traveling with your skyloft. Thus Skyward Sword is not the kind of game that would benefit from a universal fast travel all the time. Which means this is an extra 'cheat code' for those that wish to use it. It is NOT a scumbag move on Nintendo's part, but providing a fun thing for the young kids that would buy this amiibo. Now lets move on from this asinine complaining.

@earthinheritor the original version remains in digital format on the Wii U for $22.

Not buying something is your vote. Do you think you should have more say than that? Seems reasonable that your vote should count the same as everyone else's.

Amiibo cards are readily available and quite cheap typically. They aren't even all that hard to make.

Fast travel already exists in the base game., sure, you can't fast travel out of a dungeon, but this is hardly a big deal.

Loot box tactics are scummy. Clearly advertising a product and selling it at a specified value is not.

@nimnio LMFAO this is far from the first scumbag move in Nintendos history 😂🤣😆

@Ambassador_Kong you didn’t have to flail and the motion controls were fine. I beat the game twice with minimal recalibration and that was usually due to me having played a different game prior like wario ware or due to how I was holding the controller initially.

But if you wish to use needless hyperbole, you are welcome to do so. That merely reinforces the note from my post that you took issue with. So yes, whining is still accurate. Though, by all means continue... I won’t indulge you however.

Voting with your purchase is your best option.

Got to love downloadable content locked behind a physical piece of plastic that is almost guaranteed to be scalped by people to artificially increase the price in order to resell said downloadable content. Physical downloadable content was SUCH a good idea! I'm glad Nintendo really thought about the customer when making the decision to do such a thing

@johnvboy I'm not blaming Nintendo in the slightest, they have no control over the situation.

I do blame Nintendo for locking what could have been an easily included feature behind one of their figurines, that's totally on them (whether its a paltry feature or not).

@Iggy-Koopa,

I do see your point, but the strength of the feature has to come into the equation, for instance if Nintendo decided to lock a new improved control scheme, or a feature that was available in the original code then I would agree with you more.

They have simply decided to reward purchasers of a more expensive amiibo figure access to a cheat code, and of course the figure has it's own inherent value in the first place, the cheat code itself neither makes the game unplayable without it, or on the other hand a lot better with it's inclusion.

@Ryu_Niiyama

Ahh... The Anecdotal evidence logical fallacy argument. I didn't have a problem, so the problem doesn't exist. Yet, contrary to your claim, my personal experience (which is shared by hundreds of people that wrote many complaints at the time) was that the controls were terrible and buggy. Apparently, Nintendo agreed since they've adopted button controls for the re-release.

Btw, what flavor are Nintendo's boots?

@johnvboy Yes, but I do feel that it sets a very strange precedent for their future releases. Imagine Metroid Prime 4 having features locked behind Amiibo......

@Iggy-Koopa,

Again it would depend on the feature, and I do feel in this instance it's a slight reward for the collectors wanting to celebrate the Skyward Sword release, with a higher priced amiibo figure.

I very much doubt this is going to pave the way for game features locked behind amiibo for upcoming releases, in the past it's been more cosmetic changes than anything else, and few bat an eye when there are more expensive editions of triple AAA games, with exclusive features, that come at an additional cost.

But I really think people are reading far too much into this current situation with Skyward Sword.

@Ashunera84 Uhhh no...you're complaining about complainers 😂🤣😆

TAGMO I CHOOSE YOOOUUUU!

@sixrings You sound like a user who used to be here. Mesome713 I think. She was obnoxious, basically like that but unironic.

@Ambassador_Kong
Sure, I used an anecdotal response. Which, while not as hyperbolic as your original tag to me fits what I was given to work with. Or I guess that doesn’t count because I didn’t say that I had to flail around as you did. Anecdotal responses are apparently only invalid when they aren’t negative based upon your post. Nintendo also never patched out the motion controls even in this remake so I suppose I am not the only one that didn’t get a broken game. Adding an option for those that scream the loudest doesn’t mean that the original controls were not viable. Just that they are giving a new option just like the fast sail in WWHD.

As for the boots...

They have the flavor of courtesy... which you don’t seem to have. Since you seem to think implying I am a boot licker simply because you don’t like what I said we can keep it moving.

Edit: It’s a game company. Buy what you like and pass on what you don’t, but the drumbeats for attention (this is not a Nintendo monitored website after all) is a waste of everyone’s time.

I never understand why having the ability to not get emotionally invested an simply enjoy a product or pass quietly is deemed zealotry. Meanwhile the supposed critics are having a meltdown in a closed space. It’s unproductive.

Have a nice day.

Ugh. Cosmetics locked behind Amiibo is fine. Features locked behind Amiibo, even if it's a useless, game-breaking feature, just looks all kinds of wrong.

In regards to "paywalls" and "quality of life" content, I think it's all hyperbole and over the top reactions.

The feature, is just a lazy fast track. It does something that a 2/3 minute walk can do without the Amiibo anyway. Anyone would think they'd locked button controls in there or something! All they've included, is a lazy, dungeon breaking mechanic. Where you can pop out of a dungeon mid fight, buy some ammo, and pop back with no difficulty whatsoever. I think as a feature it's actually a disservice to the game!

And before anyone drags up the argument of "well if it's so small why not just include it?!"... why bother with any Amiibo features then?! Why have Cat Mario offer an invincibility suit? Or have Wolf Link summon him to help along your side in Breath of the Wild? Why bother at all eh?!

Nintendo in that respect simply can't win. They either put something insignificant in like extra hearts or rupees and people say it's pointless, or they put a decent incentive to own it in there and it's considered a paywall!

Amiibo's have been around since 2014. Going by their original name in Smash Bros, they are "Assist Trophies". They "assist" you. That's their primary function. And the way this Amiibo "assists" you, is by offering you a feature that's dotted all over the map anyway, but just in a custom, lazy, dungeon breaking manner.. And only now, because of the stupid cost press Skyward Sword HD has already had, has this particular Amiibo being targeted. It's so, so over the top...

As for the price? Well, if it's the same size as other Zelda Amiibo's, then yeah it's over priced. I'll agree. But if it's Detective Pikachu sized, then again, the cost is warranted. With that one we shall have to see.

@electrolite77 whether it's an improvement is the real argument here. Because if anything it lessens the puzzle/logic element of dungeons completely. You can leap in and out at the drop of an Amiibo and stock up willy nilly, and then zip back where you left off again. It's pointless. And the whole argument is over the top anyway.

@Iggy-Koopa but that's where social media overhypes things like this and reads far far too much into it. Nintendo wouldn't go that far. This feature people are going on and on about is nothing special, they've just needed another reason to knock a Skyward Sword price and purpose. When it was Cat Mario for 3D World noone commented. When it was Epona locked in an Amiibo in Breath of the Wild (That's worse! Link's horse, not in the game, without an Amiibo!) Noone commented.

Lazy fast track that spoils dungeons in Skyward Sword? Outrage!!!!

@Northwind LEGO Dimensions characters were the same cost in some cases, as were Skylanders and Disney Infinity. That's toys to life, and the cost the consumer many years ago helped establish.

@John_Deacon But that's not what is happening? It's the smallest of bonus features, being insanely blown out of proportion by social media. It's not even that great a feature, and makes dungeons far far too easy now. It spoils the challenge more than anything.

It's not hiding HD graphics, it's not forcing you to buy it if you want button controls... it's a portable version of what statues do in the game anyway. That's all it is!

@electrolite77 It's not really DLC. It's a little bonus feature. It's a lazy version of something that's already in the game. People really have made this more than it needs to be.

Amiibo's, going by their original name in Smash Bros, are Assistance Trophies. They "assist" you. That's their primary function. And the way this Amiibo "assists" you, is by offering you a feature that's dotted all over the map anyway, but just in a custom, lazy, dungeon breaking manner.

@PBandSmelly I don't see how anyone can call this a quality of life improvement. It's like the Amiibo is how you gain access to button controls or something.

The feature of fast travel is in the game anyway, with many many points located on the map to do so. All the Amiibo does is break dungeons by allowing you to pop in and out for ammo at the drop of a hat (or Amiibo), and then zip back to the exact point you left. That's a disservice to the level design if anything, not a "quality of life" improvement.

@SortingHat Of course it's someone with a Hairy Porper name that's behaving like this.

Soooo.... essentially another version of a pay wall. If you want this, you gotta shell out 85 plus tax just to change up the gameplay a bit? Nah. Skyward Sword and Majora's Mask are the only 2 Zelda games I've missed and looks like it'll stay that way. We'll, maybe down the road Skyward Sword but f that amiibo.

Why anyone with a switch doesnt just buy the blank amiibo tags on Amazon is beyond me. Its so easy to make your own amiibos to use for the games. Cost aboyt $10-$15 for like 30 blank amiibo coins

I don’t know why anyone cares, because it’s not an essential feature and you don’t have to buy it.

Thanks for opening Pandora’s box for Nintendo haters on this site though, we really needed more of that /s

@Ashunera84 My point is, as most people seem to agree, adding a feature the original didnt have, that effects the game, and isnt just cosmetic, just for the pure purpose to sell an expensive Amiibo is still pretty bad.
All the other Amiibos add a costume or mostly cosmetics. So adding an entire feature based on an extra piece, isnt good.

It also sets a precedence. People were so mad when Elder Scrolls had horse armor and it opened the door for DLC and now we have constant addons. Microtransactions and Loot boxs started with games like COD and now they are freaking everywhere. I mean, even single player games now sell currency or its hours and hours or work to get something.

Something like this can open the doors for Nintendo, or others, to do something like this but worse.
It'll sell regardless but all it does it shows Nintendo they can sell lock features behind a paywall.

@electrolite77 No, it's fine to be disappointed or not like something. It's also fine for other people to be surprised that people get up in arms over something so incredibly minor.

I am not a fan of them adding qol, difficulty or dlc (like with twilight princess) to amiibos. ok sure if they want to add DLC to the figures that is fine as long as they release the dlc at a much cheaper price (including skins) that would be at least fine.

I can understand the increase price on some amiibos. But when you start adding qol or diffulity like with Seamus returns and again twilight princess with the Ganon amiibo that is just scummy to me.

@Dezadocys90 Because people enjoy and appreciate the figures themselves, and have collections. They don't want random bits of blank plastic with sharpie'd names on them as replacements. So while Nintendo keep making nice figures, fans will buy them.

@electrolite77 I don't think in this case it's about defending Nintendo, I think it's the over dramatisation of what the Amiibo's functionality is. And people making out like some horrific essential feature is locked behind a paywall. When it isn't.

In Breath of the Wild, the only way you can access Epona as Link's horse, is by using the Epona Amiibo. To me, that's more of a deal than something like Fast Travel that is already in Skyward Sword anyway... just not in such a lazy fashion.

It's not any different to Cat Mario amiibo offering the invincibility suit. It's just a way to make the game easier. It's not changing the game, or removing any features... it's just a lazy fast travel option.

Anyone would think they'd locked button controls in the Amiibo or something.

@electrolite77 If that feature wasn't there, noone would have missed it. The game isn't altered without its presence. It's not a whole new dungeon, or a key weapon that you need to complete the game... it's something that's already there, in a different form. It's all very silly.

Hell yes I’m getting the amiibo and the game. Take my money Nintendo.

@earthinheritor It's not a new feature though, it's a feature already in the game, in a different form. There are warp statues all over the game, it's a function that is already there to use. It's just attached to an Amiibo to be lazy.

How to make an already aggravating game design seem positively infuriating!!

@electrolite77 Like, there's legitimate complaints, there's things people just don't like, and then there's the haters who look for anything to use to attack.

Legit complaint examples: Joycon drift, lack of virtual console, unreliable paid online support

Things people just don't like: Amiibos that actually do something (like this one), tree textures and lack of National Dex in Pokemon

Haters: Commenting on every article about a topic with nothing but negativity no matter what the article is about. Sticking around talking about things your don't like for weeks, months or years instead of just moving on to something else you actually do like.

I wouldn't be caught dead possessing a plastic video game character figurine. I guess Nintendo just saved me from buying an overpriced Wii game.

Very lame move. Nintendo deserves all the criticism here for this. I love fast travel but have nearly no interest in Amiibos. Booooo.

@Dezadocys90 With a hacked Switch, you can even use a piece of Switch homebrew called Emuiibo, which can emulate any Amiibo on the Switch itself, requiring no external accessories whatsoever.

It might be an anti-scalper tactic, because who is going to get this thing? It has a smaller function than normal amiibo.

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Didn't expect anything less from this modern scummy Nintendo.

I was on the fence about buying this game. This probably means I won't.

@Iggy-Koopa
Except it's returning content rather than new content. People don't complain about an old feature in a new game, but complain about a new feature in an old game?

I'm glad that lots of people are disappointed by this. I don't understand why Nintendo is trying to force sane adults to buy a stupid action figure. I wouldn't take an Amiibo even if Nintendo paid me. I have a sense of self-worth and don't think adults should have Nintendo dolls in their houses.

That’s ridiculous. Even the Mew locked into the Pokeball Plus I can understand due to it being an “in game item” but locking a simple game mechanic? Imagine if breath of the wild had a “shrine amiibo” that you had to use on launch

Hahahahahahaha, well people that buy these games at full price deserve to be screwed to the max...

@EVIL-C it's a good thing there's still a fast travel feature in the game, then.

Oh God. Nintendo is soooo evil doing this. Weep! End of the world is near! This is so serious, so, so serious... you'd better stop playing Nintendo games completely and change to Playstation or Xbox. They are angelic companions, with games like GTA where you can kill innocent civilians as much as you like- with no need for Amiibos! Oh, the benevolence.

@Ashunera84 What? Locked behind a paywell?

@EVIL-C fast travel is not locked behind a pay wall. There are many fast travel points throughout the game world.

@Ashunera84 However, the improved functionality is locked behind a paywall. It's like only allowing a Toon Link Amiibo to unlock the Swift Sail in Wind Waker HD. The new sail was unlocked via normal gameplay.

@EVIL-C yes, yes, you and others have made this poor comparison many times.

But it's not like that. It's actually more like the swift sail only being 2% faster and being behind a pay wall. Much closer to functionally irrelevant.

@Cia

Yet, you're complaining about other peoples' complaining. Yet, you refuse to acknowledge the irony in that, while failing to provide any evidence or proper counter-arguments to the valid points regarding Nintendo's increasingly less consumer-friendly practicies.

I get it - People do complain too much, but simply acknowledging that some people miss when Nintendo took more consumer-friendly approaches to business does not automatically make them whiny people, nor false in their assertions.

And I hate to admit it, but I find myself on steam just as much as I do on switch, as of late.

@Ashunera84 ROFL, 2% faster. Keep telling yourself that. It's a fair comparison. Don't be a Nintendo "they can do no wrong" fanboy.

This personally doesn't effect me much since I technically have all of the Zelda amiibos. I bought these little cards that have the NFC code on it off of Etsy for like 8 bucks so I have access to all of the amiibo content. I recommend this route if you don't want to shill out the money for the actual amiibos

Something something The scorpion something something and the Toad.

@EVIL-C anything is a fair comparison by some definition. The sail being a much more important aspect of Wind Waker HD than this "fast travel" is for Skyward Sword is a fair comparison.

Nintendo does wrong sometimes. Joycon drift is the big one recently. This is not one such time. They have been quite clear about the product and the pricing, and it is your decision on whether or not it is worth it to you. You're informed. There is nothing anti-consumer about this.

You could just use a joy-con emulator on your phone if it's new enough, it is called Joy-Con Droid, it solves your problem.

I guess they wanted to replicate the experience of buying the game back in the day while not already owning a Wii motion plus.

@Bentendo1609 Ummmmm, I commented. Didn't like it then, don't like it now. I get that Nintendo want to sell Amiibo, but I don't have to be happy about it is all.

Garbage! And like this wouldn't sell without the "bonus", or what? ***** right off with this *****, Nintendo!

I hear people complain that amiibos only unlock minor bonuses.
Maybe Nintendo listened.
Now it unlocks a major feature and people are still bummed.

I won't fault them for trying to sell the amiibos by putting more stuff behind them. If only they made enough for everyone...

I was seriously considering this game as my next purchase and the added controls were helping me make that decision. Now, this decision to paywall a game mechanic, behind a $25 Amiibo that you likely will not be able to get is a bad move by Nintendo.

I am holding off until Nintendo rethinks this poor decision.

Hopefully this will save a few people from wasting their money on this bad game

QoL feature locked behind a $25 toy? If this is accurate, it rivals other scummy practices for being one of the worst paywalls. This isn't a good road for Nintendo to go down.

Scumbag Steve.

The fact that Nintendo is even playing with this idea is troubling. Nobody should buy this.

At the moment,
this amiibo is just fast travel for Skyward Sword,
but have y'all figured out yet that it would also be eventually utilized for Breath of the Wild 2?

Thank god I can make my own amiibo with the NFC cards