‘Amiibo Tap’ Launches On Wii U: What Did You Unlock?

Nintendo has launched Amiibo Tap: Nintendo’s Greatest Bits as a free downloadable application on the Nintendo eShop for Wii U in North America today. Amiibo Tap is compatible with all amiibo and gives each figure the functionality to unlock one of 30 classic NES and SNES games.

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata first discussed how Amiibo Tap is designed to work at Nintendo‘s third quarter financial briefing.

“With this app, once you tap your amiibo on the NFC area of the GamePad, you will be able to play highlighted scenes of one certain title for NES or Super NES. You cannot play the entire game due to a time limit, but another tap of the amiibo will enable you to try another highlighted scene in the game.”

Now that Amiibo Tap is available, the time limit has been revealed to be 180 seconds, or three minutes. While some fans may be disappointed that an entire game does not unlock when an amiibo is tapped on the Wii U Gamepad, Iwata notes that the decision is part of an experience designed as a throwback to the cartridge-based culture of old school gaming.

We hope that when you tap your amiibo, the quickly changing game scenes will pleasantly surprise you and make you feel as though you have just exchanged a game cartridge.

While tapping the same amiibo on the Wii U Gamepad unlocks additional scenes in the same game, swapping amiibo allows the player to quickly change games. If players wish to enjoy more than the free, demo-esque scenes provided by Amiibo Tap, full versions of these retro games are available for purchase via eShop and the Wii U Virtural Console service. Some of the unlockable titles in Amiibo Tap include Metroid, Excitebike, F-Zero, Dr. Mario, The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past, Super Mario World, and Kirby’s Dream Course, to name a few.

The games that unlock are not amiibo-specific, either. To ensure gamers everywhere have a clear understanding of what that means, Iwata has infamously channeled Forrest Gump in his Nintendo Direct presentation on April 1, 2015, to explain.

“Titles are randomly assigned when you scan the amiibo of choice for the first time. So, in that way, it’s like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.”

Now that Amiibo Tap is available, what games have you unlocked with your amiibo collection? Are there games missing from Amiibo Tap that you would like to see added in the future? Or have the shortages soured your amiibo experience beyond repair? Sound off in the comments below.

[Images Courtesy of Nintendo]