{"id":15054,"date":"2016-06-03T00:01:42","date_gmt":"2016-06-03T00:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/?p=15054"},"modified":"2016-05-01T05:02:55","modified_gmt":"2016-05-01T05:02:55","slug":"mini-mario-friends-amiibo-challenge-wii-u-3ds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/03\/mini-mario-friends-amiibo-challenge-wii-u-3ds\/","title":{"rendered":"Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge (Wii U, 3DS)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MINI_BOX\"<\/a>There\u2019s a new free-to-play puzzler in town that\u2019s downloadable on the Wii U and 3DS (reviewed on Wii U here). It stars everyone\u2019s favorite wind-up toys from the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series.\u00a0 Help Mini Mario and pals make it to the goal in each level, and you unlock new characters by scanning amiibo figures.\u00a0 I guess that\u2019s why the game is free-to-play.<\/p>\n

Even though you can download and play it on both the Wii U and 3DS, I opted for the Wii U version because it\u2019s easier to scan amiibo figures on it as opposed to the 3DS. I don\u2019t have a New 3DS, so I have to use the remote infrared scanner to read my amiibo figures.\u00a0 Plus, while I can take my 3DS anywhere I go, I generally don\u2019t take my amiibo figures out and about with me, as they\u2019re not quite as portable.\u00a0 And you need to scan an amiibo to start the game anyway.<\/p>\n

So this game is a lot like most of the other titles in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. A little wind-up toy of Mario or another character will march forward, never stopping, only turning around if it hits a wall.\u00a0 You must use the stylus to draw girders, create springpads, and other items to guide the wind-up to safety.\u00a0 Avoid hitting spikes, pits, or enemies or it\u2019s Game Over.\u00a0 So yeah, it\u2019s a lot like Lemmings.\u00a0 Except in this one you only guide one wind-up at a time so it\u2019s less taxing.\u00a0 Gather coins and make it to the door quickly to earn a gold trophy for your high score.<\/p>\n

There are 12 regular stages that any of the amiibo characters can do. Most of these stages have an alternate exit door that only one of the characters can reach with his or her special skill.\u00a0 Once you go through the door with that character, you\u2019ll open an alternate exit and can complete four extra stages designed around that character.\u00a0 At the end of the 12 regular stages, you can open up Star Road, with ten super challenging stages.\u00a0 But you\u2019ll need amiibo cards to unlock these levels.\u00a0 Scattered about the other stages are amiibo cards with a character\u2019s face on them.\u00a0 That lets you know which character can reach them.\u00a0 They can be in challenging spots to reach, though, but that\u2019s the only way you can unlock all the extra stages.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take a look at the compatible amiibo figures and the special stages and skills they have.\u00a0 I own all the amiibo figures so I was able to play all the stages!<\/p>\n

Mini Donkey Kong<\/strong><\/p>\n

His stages are set in a jungle and they play the main Donkey Kong Country theme in the background. Donkey Kong can run up slopes quickly without sliding.\u00a0 His stages feature barrel cannons.\u00a0\u00a0 Hop into one and tap it to blast yourself in the direction the barrel is pointing.\u00a0 You can unlock Donkey Kong by scanning his Smash Bros. or Skylanders amiibo.<\/p>\n

Mini Diddy Kong<\/strong><\/p>\n

His levels are called Mine Cart Cove and they play the bonus stage music from Donkey Kong Country. Diddy Kong can grab onto a ledge under him if he falls, and can pull himself back up.\u00a0 In his stages, if you hop into a mine cart and tap it, you can roll in it until you hit a wall.<\/p>\n

Mini Yoshi<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yoshi\u2019s wind-up can eat enemies in his path. His levels look like the ones in Yoshi\u2019s Woolly World, but they play the main Yoshi\u2019s Island theme in the background.\u00a0 His levels feature egg launchers.\u00a0 Hop inside one and tap the button and Yoshi will bounce around in an egg, just like how he throws eggs in the Yoshi games.\u00a0 There are tons of Yoshi amiibo figures you can use; even the Yarn Yoshi will work.<\/p>\n

Mini Mario<\/strong><\/p>\n

His levels look like standard Mario fare, with green hills and a flag and castle in the background. Mini Mario can wall jump, and his stages feature dash pads.\u00a0 Go across them to run fast in the direction of the arrows.\u00a0 If Mario touches a dash pad on the walls and ceilings, he\u2019ll be able to run up those surfaces, too, making his levels extra zippy.\u00a0 Like Yoshi, there are tons of Mario amiibo figures you can scan, even the blocky retro one!<\/p>\n

Mini Peach<\/strong><\/p>\n

Her levels are full of pink blocks and her castle is in the background. They even play her castle music from Mario 64.\u00a0 Peach can glide over small pits, and her levels have balloons that you can hold onto to rise into the air diagonally.\u00a0 You can pop them by tapping the balloons with the stylus.\u00a0 You can scan either a Smash Peach or Mario series Peach to unlock her.<\/p>\n

Mini Toad<\/strong><\/p>\n

Little Toad can wriggle into small spaces, and his levels feature lots of mushrooms that can bounce you high in the air if you tap on them. I don\u2019t recognize the song from his levels; you\u2019d think they could\u2019ve used Captain Toad\u2019s theme or something.\u00a0 But oh well.\u00a0 Toad is my favorite Mario character, by the way.<\/p>\n

Mini Luigi<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is where the levels start getting a little trickier. Like in other games, Luigi can jump high and reach ledges that other mini toys can\u2019t.\u00a0 Of course his levels are set in a spooky mansion filled with wind-up Boos, and they play a remix of Luigi\u2019s Mansion themes as the background music.\u00a0 Luigi\u2019s levels feature candles.\u00a0 Tap them on the touch screen to light them, which will make certain blocks appear and make roving Boos transparent so you can pass through them without getting hit.\u00a0 Timing is tricky as the Boos move and you can only light so many candles at once.\u00a0 Both the Smash and Mario series Luigi amiibo will scan.<\/p>\n

Mini Bowser Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since he rides in his Clown Copter, he can hover over obstacles. But it\u2019s different than Peach\u2019s glide.\u00a0 He\u2019ll still fall, but he can hover over spiky surfaces.\u00a0 His levels have an airship theme, with fans that can blow you around when you tap them.\u00a0 You\u2019d think they\u2019d play the Mario 3 airship music, but the background tune is something more upbeat.<\/p>\n

Mini Bowser<\/strong><\/p>\n

He can jump and crush breakable blocks below him, but he has to be able to jump first. So walking over blocks won\u2019t work.\u00a0 His levels feature fire jets that you can turn off and on.\u00a0 Some even have lids you can walk on; just make sure that he doesn\u2019t run into any fires!\u00a0 They play the Bowser battle music from Mario 64 in his stages.\u00a0 You can scan either the Smash, Mario series, or Skylander Bowser amiibo figures to unlock him.<\/p>\n

Mini Rosalina<\/strong><\/p>\n

This Galaxy starlet can fly super high in the air. You\u2019d think that would make Luigi\u2019s jump obsolete, but Luigi will actually jump to the next ledge.\u00a0 Rosalina just goes up and comes back down.\u00a0 So you have to make sure there is an upper ledge she can go through if you want her to go higher.\u00a0 Ah, video game logic.\u00a0 You know those stars in Mario Galaxy that you could point to with the Wii Remote, and Mario would be drawn to them by gravity.\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s how the special stars work in Rosalina\u2019s stages, and that\u2019s how you\u2019ll get around mostly.\u00a0 She can even go through walls with them.\u00a0 Her stages have a crystal outer space look to them, and they play a piano remix of the Comet Observatory theme in the background.<\/p>\n

Mini Toy<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you scan any other amiibo figure, you\u2019ll just get the Mini Toy, a standard wind-up grey block with eyes. Too bad you can\u2019t get like a wind-up Ryu or whatever.\u00a0 It has no special skills, but sometimes that can be good if you want to solve a level without any of the other characters\u2019 skills getting in the way.\u00a0 By the way, the Star Road map and music looks just like the one in Super Mario World, which is a cool reference.\u00a0 The levels also have a spacey look, and mix up the special items in other stages for extra challenge.\u00a0 The stages will either play a remix of the Star Road\/Invincible theme, or the \u2018athletic\u2019 theme from Mario 3. I\u2019m a little disappointed there are no Mini Wario levels, as there is a Wario amiibo.<\/p>\n

And those are all the characters! Personally, I had a blast with the game, even if it is a bit short. The mini toys will even dance together on the title screen, which I thought was adorable.\u00a0 But while the game is free, it\u2019s definitely not worth the price of buying a bunch of amiibo figures just to play this game.\u00a0 I really consider it as more of a reward for folks who have avidly collected the figures over the past couple of years.\u00a0 And it\u2019s too bad that it may be hard to unlock some of the levels and characters as some of the figures have gotten rather hard to get.\u00a0 Like Bowser Jr. and Rosalina, who were store exclusive at Toys R Us and Target, respectively.\u00a0 But if you do have a lot of amiibo figures, especially ones in the Mario department, I\u2019d definitely download this!\u00a0\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have any amiibo figures but want to play a game like this, I recommend Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars.\u00a0 It\u2019s not free, but it has a lot more levels and you can make and share your own using a tool that\u2019s similar to the one found in Super Mario Maker.<\/p>\n

\"MINI_SCREEN\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kid Factor:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge is rated E for Everyone with an ESRB descriptor of Mild Fantasy Violence. If a mini toy hits an enemy or spikes, it\u2019ll explode.\u00a0 But since they are just robots, nobody really dies and they\u2019ll just start right back again at the beginning.\u00a0 Reading skill is helpful for some of the text, but since most everything has picture cues, it\u2019s not really necessary.\u00a0 Since the game encourages using thinking skills, it might be considered somewhat educational.\u00a0 Younger gamers might get frustrated at the tougher puzzles, though.\u00a0 But the most important thing to ask yourself is this: Are your kids responsible enough to take care of their toys and not lose them?\u00a0 Because this game requires amiibo figures to play, and if they lost or broke theirs, they won\u2019t be able to enjoy the game (but at least it\u2019s free).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a new free-to-play puzzler in town that\u2019s downloadable on the Wii U and 3DS (reviewed on Wii U here). It stars everyone\u2019s favorite wind-up toys from the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series.\u00a0 Help Mini Mario and pals make it to the goal in each level, and you unlock new characters by scanning amiibo figures.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15054"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15056,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15054\/revisions\/15056"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}