A few months back, it was announced that Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge would be arriving on both Wii U and 3DS. The sort-of sequel in the long-running Mario & Donkey Kong series aims to take a free-to-play approach to things, with the caveat that you need amiibo to unlock see everything the game has to offer. The game was given out with every amiibo purchase starting at the end of March, and it made its official debut on the eShop last week.
Perhaps in an effort to better communicate what exactly is being offered, Nintendo recently put together a brief launch trailer which outlines the key features of the games and displays the various special abilities of the toys you can unlock in the game. Though it doesn't look like this game exactly reinvents the wheel, it nonetheless is nice to see new games being released that give your amiibo that much more value. Check it out below:
What do you think? Will you be picking this one up? Would you like to see Nintendo put out more free amiibo-themed projects like this? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 25
I picked this up since it was free and wanted to see what it about. It's a nice little extra, but nothing too terribly special. You can access about 11 (I think?) stages using any amiibo, and using one of the 10 supported amiibo will unlock 4 levels dedicated to the abilities of that particular character. There's also a bonus world only unlockable by collecting cards in all the levels, each one requiring a specific amiibo.
I Got a Luigi Amiibo to try this out, so excited to play this game, then use that Luigi amiibo on something else
I like it, it's fun. It's a cool extra seeing as I already have all the amiibo but not really a reason to go out and get them if you don't, which I'm guessing is what they are hoping for.
I didn't have to download it, it was already installed in my Wii U one day. Anyway, not a bad idea. I liked it to the point to purchase Tipping Stars for the 3DS (can be played on Wii U too) and I also plan to get some new amiibos (that I already wanted to collect, but hey, now I'll have another use for them, if a limited one).
Tried it because I have amiibo, having never played a mario vs dk game, and was pleasantly surprised. The family was offering suggestions on how to solve puzzles and wanted to play it too. Good time.
I have five of the compatible Amiibo so I will definitely give it a try and if I like it enough maybe I will pick up one of the more traditional Mario Vs Donkey Kong games. Can't argue with free anyway.
This downloaded automatically on my 3DS on Friday, and my Wii U on Sunday. It's a jolly little surprise which I probably wouldn't of thought of buying, but would of missed out on a tight little game.
I can't help but think it was developed as a full price title, but then made free just to fill 2016 a bit an give amiibo owners a little gift.
Part of me is surprised that Nintendo Life hasn't reviewed this yet.
But based on what I've played with the Mario, Yoshi, Toad, and Peach amiibos, I find this to be a good game. I especially love the mechanics that are used in the character exclusive levels combined with the abilities of the respective character. It feels like, because this is a 'free' game, they experimented a little more with ideas and generally used this game as a playground for the series. I would love to get a bigger game in the series that incorporates the ideas that resulted from the experimentation here.
I've already been collecting amiibo, but this has made me want to prioritize getting more Mario characters first.
I do have one small criticism... why no mini-Wario?
I forgot about this game. I think I'll pick this up.
I liked the mashup of the Donkey Kong and Mario themes in this video (which is probably a running theme of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, and I'm just hearing it now). I may give this a try one day - I only have one amiibo that will work with this though (Yoshi), so I'm not that psyched about it.
I do wish more amiibo were compatible outside of the 10 characters that are in. Some of the amiibo like Mario and Donkey Kong have so many things they can do over so many games, while others really don't get the same love. This feels likewa game that could have expanded its scope a bit to some other first party characters.
I love it and beat it as far as I could without buying more amiibos. Diddy was my main except for the times I had to swap to certain characters. Mini Diddy is too adorable.
Some of the music is great too. It has some cool variations of the Luigi's Mansion theme and a few classic DK and Mario songs.
It does tease you A LOT, though. First there are the 4 locked levels per amiibo, then on the levels that anyone can play, there are character-specific cards to collect. Makes it hard for completionists, if you don't have all the amiibos. I still have 3 levels left on Star Road because I don't care for Bowser Jr, Peach, Toad, and Rosalina.
I've downloaded it but I've yet to try it, will probably bring a couple of my Amiibo's tonight and have a go.
It is a shame that this game does not work with every first party amiibo. It would have been so cool if there would have been levels for Splatoon or Star Fox or Kirby.
Downloaded this a few days back, and I'm really enjoying it. It's a nice little extra, even if you don't have all the compatible amiibo. The graphics and music are great; I think this game is actually a bit better than Tipping Stars, if you don't count that Tipping Stars has a level editor.
Looks fun!!
Hopefully more "all access" levels get added? I have 4 compatible Amiibo and it appears that I will get through this very quickly.
It is a nice extra but why add a progression % when getting Rosalina is impossible now and was never really possible in Canada thanks to Targets closure. At least re-release them.
It was a nice introduction to the Mario vs Donkey Kong series and is worth it if you have a few compatible amiibo lying around. I am not a fan of always having to scan in the amiibo, but I can tolerate it on a "free" (w purchase of amiibo) game.
Overall this effort was much better than the effort made on amiibo Greatest Bits.
I had a lot more fun playing this than I did Tipping stars. The DK stages were great! Barrel Blast bananza!
I don't see why not. It IS free, and I really enjoyed Mini-Land Mayhem.
For the video referred to in the article, getting a "This video has been removed by the user." error.
Had a go, had me some good fun. Second the mini-Wario though.
Removed by user. I'm guessing copyright shenanigans.
@A01 Agree, Like anorther game that i know and isn't a f2p game... looking at u Amiibo Festival
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