They’re power-ups
I managed to get my hands on Kirby: Planet Robobot, and the first thing I wanted to try out is the amiibo functionality. As luck would have it I actually had to wait a few levels before it popped up, and when it actually did, it emerged as the sort of muted, safe mechanic that Nintendo has implemented in the past — which I’m more than fine with.
Basically, at any point during a level players can opt to press the “amiibo” button on the bottom of the screen to pause the game and scan a toy. While any figure will work, the “big four” — Kirby, Meta Knight, Dedede, and Waddle Dee — trigger specific copy ability powers. In case you’re wondering, yep, I imported the latter for science (he’s not due in the west until June 10), and used the original “Generation 1” Smash amiibo for the others (they work).
In addition to granting a fixed or random copy ability (for Kirby, not for the robot suit), they’ll also net you a random item, like a sticker or a piece of healing food (cheat codes). The series seems to matter (for instance, Isabelle unlocks an appropriate generic Animal Crossing series-themed ability like “Leaf”), but it also looks to be tied to select franchises, as Olimar didn’t trigger a “Pikmin” power. Like any ability they can be lost when Kirby is attacked or chucked at will. Each figure can be used once per level.
So yeah, that’s it! Expect our review before launch.
