The details regarding the amiibo functionality in Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury have been revealed, with players able to conjure power-ups and summon help from unlikely sources. Nintendo has slowed down the production of amiibo figures significantly since the Wii U days, outside of the toys-to-life collectibles arriving for a few select titles and the remaining DLC characters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is an upcoming Switch port of one of the last Wii U exclusives that have yet to make their way over to the Nintendo Switch. Along with the base version of the game, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury includes a new mode starring a giant version of Bowser. In this mode, the player needs to complete tasks, while working alongside Bowser Jr. Bowser, as a colossal Kaiju-styled version of Bowser constantly emerges. Evidently, it's up to the player and their unlikely ally to power up Mario in order to fight back. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury also includes QoL improvements, such as speeding up all of the playable characters. The touchscreen functionality of the Wii U GamePad has also been replaced with gyro controls, so players won't need to move to handheld mode to finish certain stages.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury will let players use a variety of amiibo, and these have different functions within the game. According to Destructoid, the amiibo figures do different things depending on whether the player is going through the original Super Mario 3D World levels or if they're playing through Bowser's Fury mode.
When playing through the Super Mario 3D World stages, the player can bring up the amiibo menu by holding the left button on the D-pad. The majority of amiibo figures will conjure a power-up or an extra life when scanned. If the Cat Mario figure is scanned, then it will summon an invincible Super Bell power-up. Meanwhile, the Cat Peach figure will summon a random power-up. In Bowser's Fury mode, amiibo are used in the same way and most figures will conjure power-ups or extra lives. The exception to these are the Bowser figures which will summon the giant version of Bowser – causing it to go on a rampage – and the Bowser Jr. figure which will create an explosion in the game world.
The ability to summon the Kaiju Bowser at any time is an awesome feature, and it's sure to make the value of Bowser amiibo increase for a while, once the game launches next month. The rest of the amiibo functionality is standard fare, though they'll become useful once the player reaches the incredibly difficult special stages in the Super Mario 3D World section of the game.
Super Mario World 3D + Bowser’s Fury will be available for Nintendo Switch on February 12, 2021.
Source: Destructoid