While the toys-to-life video game craze has died down since its height, Nintendo’s amiibo figurines are still available and used in modern games. But what exactly are amiibo, and why would you want them?
Let’s take a look at amiibo to understand what they are, examine their history, and see how they’re still used today.
What Is an Amiibo?
Amiibo is a series of toys-to-life figurines created by Nintendo. It was launched in November 2014, shortly after the launch of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Note that the plural of the word is also “amiibo.”
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If you’re not familiar, the toys-to-life genre includes games like Skylanders and Disney Infinity. These games all involve purchasing physical figurines, which you can then scan using special hardware. Scanning lets you put the toy “into” the game, allowing you to unlock new characters and other content to use in-game.
Titles like Skylanders were built around buying and using more figurines, making the game near-pointless without them. In comparison, Nintendo offers few games that require amiibo. Most titles use them as an accessory, but they aren’t necessary to fully enjoy the game.
In addition to their in-game functionality, amiibo are well-crafted and look good on a shelf, making them a popular collector’s item.
How Do You Use Amiibo?
Amiibo all have a small NFC (Near Field Communication) chip in their base. If you’re not familiar, NFC is a technology that allows two devices in close proximity to exchange information. It’s the same system that allows for contactless payments with your phone in stores.
The NFC chip in an amiibo is readable by sensors that are built into every modern Nintendo system. You’ll find them in the following locations:
- Nintendo Switch: The control stick on the right Joy-Con, or the Nintendo Switch logo on the Pro Controller.
- Wii U: The white rectangle icon on the left side of the Wii U GamePad, below the D-pad.
- New Nintendo 3DS series: The bottom screen. Applies to the New Nintendo 2DS XL, New 3DS XL, and New 3DS.
- Nintendo 3DS series: Requires the Nintendo NFC Reader/Writer Accessory, which is sold separately (and expensive nowadays). Applies to the Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL, and 2DS.
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Depending on the game you’re playing, the prompt to scan amiibo will appear at different times. It may be an entry on the main menu, a toggle you have to enable in the game’s options, or available all the time. Check the manual for your current game if you’re not sure.
What Purpose Do Amiibo Serve in Games?
Amiibo can perform a variety of different functions, depending on the game you’re playing. There are two main uses for amiibo: read-only bonuses, and read-write functionality.
We recommend visiting amiibo life for tons of information about how amiibo work in various games. You can browse by amiibo series, game franchise, release date, and much more. Each amiibo’s page has a list of compatible games, and each game’s page shows you what all the compatible amiibo unlock.
Read-Only Amiibo Functions
In a lot of cases, amiibo are read-only and unlock something when scanned. For example, scanning the wedding outfit Mario amiibo in Super Mario Odyssey unlocks that costume for Mario in-game, as well as granting temporary invincibility.
In many of these cases, amiibo provide a shortcut to unlock something that you can earn through normal gameplay (like that outfit in Mario Odyssey). But in other games, the functionality that amiibo offer is locked to a figurine.
In Metroid: Samus Returns, tapping the Zero Suit Samus amiibo grants you an extra Energy Tank to increase your health capacity. If you tap it again after you beat the game, you unlock Fusion mode, which is the game’s hardest difficulty option. There’s no way to unlock Fusion Mode without the amiibo, meaning that part of the game is locked behind a paywall with limited supply.
Similarly, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD locks a quality-of-life feature behind an amiibo. With the Zelda & Loftwing amiibo, you can quickly travel between the cloud and surface worlds of the game at any point. This saves a lot of time compared to traveling back and forth manually, which is your only option without the amiibo.
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The amiibo required for this function costs $25, and sold out quickly after its announcement. Many have criticized Nintendo for moves like this. Locking a useful feature behind an expensive figurine that’s already difficult to find—and will one day be impossible to obtain—is frustrating.
Read and Write Amiibo Functionality
A few games also include the ability to write data to amiibo, instead of just scanning it. The most notable example is the Super Smash Bros. series, which amiibo were initially created for.
In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS and Smash Ultimate, you can scan a compatible amiibo to create a “figure player”. This is a computer-controlled character that learns new tactics as you fight against it. Thus, every figure player is unique, thanks to it learning from the people it fights against. And because you can write data to the figurine, you can take it to a friend’s house and fight against the same figure player.
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Amiibo only have a small amount of storage, so they can hold data for just one game at a time. If you want to use an amiibo for another read/write game, you have to overwrite the older data.
Other Forms of Amiibo
Notably, there are a few amiibo figures that aren’t from first-party Nintendo games. Several of these are from the indie standout Shovel Knight, though there are also a few third-party fighters from Super Smash Bros. that have amiibo figurines. These include Joker from Persona 5, as well as Banjo and Kazooie.
And while we’ve focused on the amiibo figurines here, there are a few other types of amiibo, too. Alongside the release of Yoshi’s Wooly World, Nintendo released a few yarn Yoshi amiibo. These are plush toys, not figurines, but still have the NFC chip inside the bottom.
There are also several series of Animal Crossing amiibo cards. These were released for the poorly received Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, but they have use in other Animal Crossing titles, too.
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Finally, the strangest example of amiibo comes in the form of a cereal box. Along with Kellogg’s, Nintendo released Super Mario Cereal in late 2017. The box itself is an amiibo, though it doesn’t have any unique function.
Amiibo Availability and Rarity
Like most collectibles, amiibo availability and value varies greatly. You can find common amiibo in stores like Walmart, or available online. The initial MSRP for most figurines was around $13, but prices vary in secondhand markets. If you’re interested, check out Price Charting’s amiibo list.
As mentioned above with Skyward Sword HD, Nintendo continues to release amiibo today, often alongside new game launches. If you see a new figure that you’re interested in at a fair price, it’s worth grabbing. New amiibo sell out quickly thanks to scalpers and collectors snatching them up.
If you’re looking to buy amiibo for a certain purpose, keep in mind that most games treat variations of the same character as identical. For example, scanning a Link amiibo in Bayonetta 2 unlocks a Link costume. It doesn’t matter if you scan the Smash Bros. Link amiibo, the Link from Link’s Awakening amiibo, or another one—as long as it’s a Link amiibo, it will have the desired effect.
Collect Amiibo and Expand Your Games
Now you now what amiibo do and how they work in games. In most cases, they’re a cool collectible that comes with a little in-game bonus. You might wish to buy a specific amiibo to unlock an in-game function, or just collect your favorite characters for fun.
If you have a Nintendo Switch, amiibo are just one of the handy accessories worth considering.