Imagine my surprise when I came across word of some Amiibo Challenge game. Up until that point, I hadn’t even heard of anything like it, and discussions were very lacking on /r/3ds; my amiibo that I love dearly, sadly gathering dust and being neglected, as I didn’t currently have any games to use them with. I’m just a pack-rat who loves Nintendo and shiny figurines that reflect my childhood!

Anyway, when I learned about an early access bonus to the new Mini Mario & Friends Amiibo Challenge, my bladder nearly exploded, which was actually unrelated to the announcement, but more to the fact that I had just happened to have guzzled 3 cups of coffee. I relieved myself, and upon returning to my computer, read that all I had to do was purchase an amiibo from GameStop to receive an eShop download code.

Buy another amiibo!? Well jeez Nintendo, if you’re gonna twist my arm…

Needless to say, an hour later and I’m unboxing a brand new Yoshi amiibo and downloading the MM&F Amiibo Challenge!

Let me tell you – I’ve always been a sucker for a good “Lemmings”-type game. That is, where you need to get some character from point A to point B, using some assortment of tools and strategies. The fact that I needed amiibo to do this was just icing on the cake. I started collecting amiibo partially because I could foresee them going extinct before a hot new game came out that required them.

On to the game itself, it’s actually a blast. Like I said, I’m a sucker for these kinds of gimmicky things, so my expectations were pretty much on point.

Different mini-characters are unlocked with their matching amiibo counterparts, with different abilities available for each one. Luigi can high jump, Yoshi can eat enemies, Toad can crawl through small places, etc. Of course, the true value of all these characters is dependent on whether or not you actually have all of the relevant amiibos.

At this point, certain ones are very difficult to find, and even if you find them, the price has gone up significantly from retail. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are simply not going to happen for me unless I spring for above retail price (around $25 each on Amazon), which is admittedly a bummer, as you can’t 100% complete the game without access to all the characters.

That being said, I’m a few stages in, and it’s really a jolly good time having an army of amiibo at your disposal to beat each level in new and creative ways. Now, all we need is a Pokemon version so I can get some use out of the other half of my collection…