amiibo
amiibo (アミーボ, amiibo) are a line of interactive figurines available for usage with the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS systems. By scanning an amiibo with near field communication technology, players can receive various effects in games. For the Wii U, amiibo are scanned using the Wii U GamePad. The New Nintendo 3DS models are also natively compatible with amiibo, while older 3DS models will require an adapter to use the figurines.[1] While the concept of figurines using NFC technology to interact with the Wii U was previously explored with Pokémon Rumble U, Super Smash Bros. 4 was the first game to feature the amiibo branding, acting as the debut and flagship title for the line.
In Super Smash Bros. 4
Super Smash Bros. 4 supports the use of amiibo, with its series of figurines representing the various characters available for play in the games. While all playable characters are to be represented, alternate costumes, such as Alph for Olimar, are not confirmed to be featured in the line. amiibo figurines are not required to unlock any characters or other features in the games, and they are completely optional for playing both versions.[2]
amiibo, when scanned by the console, allow the character represented by the figurines to be used in-game as a customized CPU opponent; the character can be modified by players with character customization options available in the game, and their stats can be modified further by "feeding" equipment to them. Unlike normal fighters, amiibo fighters can be given any kind of equipment, including the ones that they're not normally compatible with; for example, an amiibo Mario can be given Hammer equipment, which would normally be impossible. There is a limit to how many times the amiibo can be fed in one session, however, and any equipment that's given to an amiibo is permanently lost. Also, when boosting an amiibo's stats, the amiibo's stat total can't go higher than 120. As with other player-designed custom sets for characters, amiibo can be assigned a specific alternate costume as well.
After this, they can be used as a specialized computer player, with the tag "FP" (Figure Player) above them. Figure Players start at level 1 like regular CPU players, but as they fight more often, they can continue to level up, to a cap of 50. As they gain levels, amiibo can potentially "learn" techniques from other characters: if a player frequently uses long-ranged, camping techniques, then the amiibo will also begin to emulate this behavior. This learning continues even after the 50 level cap is reached. In addition, an amiibo can gain improved fighting statistics, such as improved damage, knockback, and reaction times, the higher its level is. Finally, higher-leveled amiibo can adapt to individual matches faster than lower-leveled amiibo; if an opponent takes on an aggressive, rush-down style against an amiibo in one match, for instance, it will begin to make more use of defensive techniques like spot dodges and rolls.
amiibo also gain gold and other items while fighting, which are retrieved when checking them in the amiibo menu. Aside from gold, players may also receive custom parts or trophies. The longer the amiibo has fought, the more presents and gold are received. These items can be retrieved when the amiibo is scanned on its owner's console under the amiibo menu.
amiibo can be used on any copy of the game, and the character on the amiibo is tied to the figurine, allowing for players to use its customized moveset and fighting style wherever they desire.
While Super Smash Bros. for Wii U natively supports amiibo, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS was unable to do so until version 1.0.5, released on February 9th-10th, 2015. The user must have the appropriate hardware to use amiibo, as noted above.
Release
For Smash, amiibo are being released in waves. Several staggered release dates have been announced, with each date containing a subset of the entire Smash lineup. The known waves, the figurines they contain, and their release dates are detailed below; waves are listed in their North American sets and dates, although the contents of each wave sometimes vary by region.
Smash-related amiibo are priced at $12.99 USD in the Americas, £10.99 GBP in the United Kingdom, $17.95 AUS in Australia, ¥1200 JPY in Japan, and €14.99 EUR in Europe.
Wave 1
The first wave of amiibo launched on November 21st, 2014, alongside the North American release of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Wave 2
The second wave of amiibo was released on December 14th, 2014 in North America and on December 19th, 2014 in Europe.
Wave 3
The third wave of amiibo released in Japan on January 22nd, 2015, in Australia on January 29th, 2015, and in North America on February 1st, 2015. In North America, several of the amiibo are exclusively available through specific retailers.
In Europe, Wave 3 was split in two. Bowser, Ike, Lucario, Rosalina & Luma, Sheik, and Toon Link were released on January 23rd, 2015, while King Dedede, Mega Man, Meta Knight, Shulk, and Sonic were released on February 20th, 2015.
 Lucario |
Toys "R" Us exclusive 
|
 Meta Knight |
Best Buy exclusive
|
 Rosalina & Luma |
Target exclusive 
|
 Shulk |
GameStop exclusive EB games exclusive 
|
Wave 4
The fourth wave of amiibo was released in Japan on April 29, 2015 and in North America on May 29th, 2015. This is the first wave of amiibo that includes unlockable characters. In Europe, this wave was released in two portions, with Charizard, Lucina, Ness, Pac-Man, Robin, and Wario released on April 24th, 2015 and Greninja and Jigglypuff releasing on May 29th, 2015. Like Wave 3, in North America, several of the amiibo are exclusively available through specific retailers.
 Greninja |
Toys "R" Us exclusive
|
 Jigglypuff |
Target exclusive Walmart exclusive
|
 Ness |
GameStop exclusive EB Games exclusive
|
Wave 5
The fifth wave of amiibo was released in Europe on June 26th, 2015, in Japan on June 11th, 2015, and will be in North America in late July 2015, with Dark Pit releasing on July 31st, 2015, and Palutena releasing on July 24th, 2015. This wave also marks Palutena as the very first amiibo to be Amazon-exclusive in North America, as well as being the only wave containing only exclusives.
 Dark Pit |
Best Buy exclusive
|
 Palutena |
Amazon exclusive
|
Wave 6
The sixth wave of amiibo will be released in North America in September 2015. In Europe and Japan, Ganondorf and Zero Suit Samus will release alongside Wave 5 and Dr. Mario, Bowser Jr., and Olimar will release on July 17th, 2015, with the remainder of the wave releasing in September 2015. This is the final set of amiibo featuring starters. The Mr. Game & Watch amiibo features multiple, swappable poses.
- Mr. Game & Watch amiibo (Swappable).jpg
Mr. Game & Watch's multiple poses.
R.O.B. (Japan)
R.O.B. (international)
Wave 7
The seventh wave of amiibo will be released in North America "This holiday"[3]. The only character currently confirmed for this wave is Falco.
Future releases
Shinya Takahashi of Nintendo's SPD division confirmed that the plan is to ultimately release amiibo figurines for all characters on the roster[4]. It has been confirmed that DLC characters Mewtwo, Lucas, Roy, and Ryu will have amiibo.[5][6]
Sales
Over 710,000 amiibo from Wave 1 were sold prior to the introduction of Wave 2, with Nintendo also stating that sales were approximately equal to those of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.[7] amiibo of Link were said to be the most popular, with Mario and Pikachu being the second and third most popular, respectively. At the end of 2014, it was announced that amiibo had outsold Super Smash Bros. for Wii U by a factor of at least two to one, with over 2.6 million figurines being sold [8]; a later quarterly report from Nintendo claimed that over 5.7 million amiibo were shipped worldwide.
Pre-orders for Rosalina & Luma also notably broke sales records for Target, with the figurines selling out in only 35 minutes.[9] amiibo from wave 4 caused such huge demand that the web servers for GameStop crashed when pre-orders became available[10]. GameStop also sold out of pre-orders for all Wave 4 amiibo in less than five hours.[11]
Cross-compatibility
Games compatible with Super Smash Bros. series amiibo
The following games have effects when an amiibo from the Super Smash Bros. series is scanned:
| Game | amiibo | Function |
|---|---|---|
 Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy Plus |
                |
Unlocks skins for the player's fighter based on the scanned characters. |
| amiibo tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits |
 |
Unlocks demos of various classic games. |
 Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker |
|
Gives the player 1-Up Mushrooms. |
| Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. |
    |
Makes the scanned character usable once per level, although they cannot be revived at checkpoints. |
 Fire Emblem Fates |
|
Allows the player to challenge the scanned character to battle and recruit them. |
| Girls Mode 3: Kirakira ☆ Code |
  |
Gives the player themed outfits based on the scanned character. |
 Hyrule Warriors |
|
Unlocks the Spinner weapon for Link. Permanent unlock. Gives the player a weapon for Link with at least three stars every time after the first. |
 |
Gives the player a weapon for the scanned character with at least three stars. | |
|
Gives the player a weapon with up to three stars, a random material, or a random number of rupees. Up to five can be scanned daily. | |
 Kirby and the Rainbow Curse |
|
Unlocks infinite star dash for Kirby for one level per day. |
 |
Unlocks a Meta Knight mask for Kirby and increases the speed of his tap dash for one level per day. | |
 |
Unlocks a King Dedede hat for Kirby and gives two additional health bars for one level per day. | |
| Mario Kart 8 |
     |
Permanently unlocks racing suits for the player's Mii themed after the scanned characters. |
| Mario Party 10 |
|
Compatible with amiibo Party mode. |
|
Allows the player to play Scratch Bonus and win Mario Party points. | |
| One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X |
 |
Unlocks matching costumes for various playable characters; see here for more details. |
 Xenoblade Chronicles 3D |
 |
Awards tokens that can be used to unlock music and character models. |
 Yoshi's Woolly World |
|
Activates Double Yoshi mode. |
       |
Gives the player a Yarn Yoshi with a design based on the amiibo that was used. | |
     |
Gives the player a Yarn Yoshi with a generic design of the amiibo logo. |
Other series of amiibo compatible with Super Smash Bros.
The following amiibo from other release sets are compatible with Super Smash Bros. 4. All color variations from these sets will function identically in Smash.
| Series name | Compatible amiibo |
|---|---|
| Super Mario |
|
| Super Mario Bros. 30th |
|
| Yoshi's Woolly World |
|
| Skylanders: SuperChargers |
|
Gallery
How to work amiibo figures with the Wii U.
Promotional art depicting Mario and Link's amiibo in Smash 4.
Trivia
- A level 50 Fox amiibo called "WaveShine" was entered into a small, local tournament in Canada as a joke; initially losing its first match, the amiibo ended up making it to the loser's semifinals before finally being knocked out by semi-professional Brawl smasher Firefly.
- Various amiibo with production defects have been discovered, with the first of these attaining notoriety being an amiibo of Samus with two arm cannons instead of just one on her right arm; it later sold for $2500 USD on eBay. Following its discovery, several reports of other defective amiibo also surfaced, with some of them also being sold on eBay. (e.g. Mario without his right hand.)
- Shulk's amiibo is exclusive to GameStop in North America, the same store his game, Xenoblade Chronicles, was exclusive to in its North American release.
- The word "new" in the New Nintendo 3DS logo is stylized similarly to the amiibo logo.
- The R.O.B. amiibo is currently the only one that has a different appearance depending on the region.
- Mr. Game & Watch's amiibo comes with multiple unique poses that can replace the original pose. One is based on his official SSB4 artwork, as are other amiibo; others feature his parachute from Fire, getting a 9 using Judge, and a bell-ringing pose resembling his side taunt and artwork pose from Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
References
- ^ Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U: amiibo
- ^ IGN: Super Smash Bros. Wii U Gameplay Demo -IGN Live: E3 2014
- ^ http://www.nintendo.com/amiibo/detail/lcmuji-eyH9hNhru1Ud1Yq9WXrh7XOps
- ^ IGN: E3 2014: Nintendo on Amiibo, Smash Bros., and Custom Figurines
- ^ Nintendo Direct 4.1.2015
- ^ Super Smash Bros. - New Content Approaching 6.14.15
- ^ Nintendo Has Sold 710,000 Amiibo in the US
- ^ http://www.screwattack.com/news/amiibo-figures-outsold-smash-wii-u-nearly-2-1-2014
- ^ Target-Exclusive Rosalina amiibo Sold Out in Record Time
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
External links
| Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS menu items | |
|---|---|
| Smash | Smash (Solo · Group · Time · Stock · Team Battle) · Rules |
| Smash Run | Solo · Group · Custom · Select Music |
| Games & More | Classic · All-Star · Stadium (Multi-Man Smash · Target Blast · Home-Run Contest) · Training · Custom · amiibo · Vault (Trophies · Trophy Rush · Album · Replays · Sounds · Records · Tips) · Options (Controls · Sound · Character Outline · Damage Display · Internet Options) |
| Online | Spectator Mode · With Anyone (For Fun · For Glory) · With Friends · Conquest · Share |
| Other | Challenge · StreetPass · Wii U |
| Super Smash Bros. for Wii U menu items | |
|---|---|
| Smash | Smash (Time · Stock · Coin Battle · Team Battle) · 8-Player Smash · Special Smash · Rules · Controls |
| Games & More | Classic · All-Star · Stadium (Target Blast · Home-Run Contest · Multi-Man Smash) · Training · Events · Special Orders (Master Orders · Crazy Orders) · Custom · Stage Builder · amiibo · Vault (Trophies · Trophy Rush · Album · Replays · Movies · Sounds · Records · Tips · Masterpieces) · Options (Controls · Sound · My Music · Internet Options) |
| Online | Spectator Mode · With Anyone (For Fun · For Glory) · With Friends · Online Events (Tourney · Conquest) · Share |
| Other | Challenge · Smash Tour · 3DS |
