Originally posted May 3rd 2015 on the Seafoam Gaming forums

Title: Amiibo Tap: Nintendo’s Greatest Bits

System: Wii U (eShop)

Price: Depends on Amiibo

Release date: 4/30/2015

The Main Game

This is a pretty simple application which was born from a meeting earlier in the year, where Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stated how they had plans to make an amiibo app which would let you try out Virtual Console demos using amiibo. Now that it’s finally out, is it worth it? Well, it does do as it’s advertised, but each demo is given out at random, so don’t expect your Mario amiibo to give you Super Mario World, as it could give you Mach Rider instead. Likewise your Link amiibo could give you Wrecking Crew, which would be the strangest Zelda game ever if it assigned them based on series.

Graphics

For the most part, they all stay true to the original games, with the menus for the application itself being similar to those found in Super Mario 3D World. However, one major problem I have with these demos are the fact that they look significantly brighter than the actual Virtual Console versions themselves, especially regarding the NES games. It’s a bit disappointing to see them look so good on this app only to have them look much darker on the actual Virtual Console release. However one thing that the Virtual Console versions do better than these demos are the screen smoothing. While NES games on Wii U Virtual Console are notorious for having screen smoothing that can’t be turned off, SNES games look clean and crisp. However, in this application, the SNES games have screen smoothing, which makes some classics like Super Mario World and Kirby Super Star significantly worse than their original versions, and even the Virtual Console versions you can buy on the eShop.

Music and Sound:

Everything is true to the source material here, and the unique theme for the main menu is rather nice and relaxing, so there’s not much to say here.

Gameplay

This is the main attraction of amiibo Tap, as the entire premise of this game is to use any amiibo you have (Which each cost $13 by the way) to see which demo it assigns to that specific amiibo. No two amiibo are guaranteed to have the same game, so don’t be surprised if your Mega Man amiibo gives you Kirby’s Adventure only for your friend’s Mega Man amiibo to give him The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Thankfully you can’t get duplicates, but it is a little frustrating not knowing which game you are going to get, as it would be incredibly disappointing to have four amiibo to use with this application, only to scan them all and have every demo be a NES launch title.

It isn’t just an ordinary timed demo like the Super Smash Bros demos either, as you choose between specific scenes by tapping your amiibo again. Want to fight Ridley in NES Metroid over and over again? You got it! Want to get revenge on Digdogger for making you spend hours on end figuring out his weak point in the original Zelda? You got it! While it isn’t meant for those of us who have replayed these games constantly, I did find it fun to use when I invited a friend over the other day.

This friend had never played the original Zelda or Metroid before, but thanks to amiibo Tap, he managed to beat all eight dungeon bosses in the original Zelda, and beat Kraid in the original Metroid, all without having to require me to go to each place individually in the actual game. I can see this being used as a neat way to introduce people to old classics without having to go through the slow starts of some of these games.

Conclusion

In conclusion, amiibo Tap does just as it advertises, giving you the chance to play demos of Nintendo classics using your amiibo! While a fun way to replay your favorite scenes from those classics, it’s more or less meant for the younger audience, who never got the chance to grow up with these games back in the day, and I say it does so pretty well.

Unfortunately, considering how each amiibo will cost around $13 each, that makes the amiibo themselves more expensive than the actual games on the Virtual Console, meaning that this is definitely not a game that you should rush to Amazon and buy amiibo for. If you have some amiibo lying around, I recommend you at least give this game a shot, especially if you have friends who never played these classics before. I give amiibo Tap: Nintendo’s Greatest Bits a 5 out of 10, and only recommend it if you already have amiibo lying around for other purposes, as this app is definitely not for everyone, and it is overpriced compared to the original games.