Parents' Guide to

Mini Mario & Friends Amiibo Challenge

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Free puzzler forces players to buy amiibo to unlock content.

Game Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii U 2016
Mini Mario & Friends Amiibo Challenge Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Mini Mario & Friends Amiibo Challenge Game: Screenshot #1
  • Mini Mario & Friends Amiibo Challenge Game: Screenshot #2
  • Mini Mario & Friends Amiibo Challenge Game: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 5+

Based on 1 parent review

nduns
nduns Adult
May 5, 2016
age 5+

Would have kept playing if not for the obvious money-making scam

Yeah, see, this is the issue I have with all of Nintendo's 'free' E-shop games. (Except for the limited free offer of the Zelda Oracle games, but that was only a limited time offer) Every single one of these is a scam because in order to get the full experience with them, you have to spend even more money than if you had simply shelled out the 40+ dollars for a physical version with the exact same premise. Though at least with those 'free' Pokemon games, you didn't really need to spend money to completely enjoy them. You just needed the patience to wait another hour or so to get in some play time again. This, on the other hand, REQUIRES you to spend extra money to enjoy it. It's a shame, too, because of all these 'March of the Minis' type games, this does seem to be the most inventive, giving you other characters with their own unique talents to experiment with. Again, the only issue is that this game requires you to own at least one Amiibo based off of a certain character to keep playing it, and as someone who has no interest in those, this doesn't appeal to me at all. So yeah, great idea, but the obvious scam ruins it. Maybe if Nintendo decides to release a physical version that doesn't require you to buy the Amiibos to enjoy it, I would recommend this.

This title has:

Easy to play/use
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

MINI MARIO & FRIENDS AMIIBO CHALLENGE follows the same formula established by previous games starring a windup version of Nintendo's dungaree-clad plumber. Each small level consists of a series of platforms, hazards, enemies, and collectibles. Your goal is to guide a little mindless marching toy from level start to level end by using the stylus to draw bridges, ramps, and walls or drag key items such as spring platforms to the right areas at the right time. What separates this entry from those that came before is that players can swap out Mini Mario for mini versions of nine other characters, including Yoshi, Bowser, Rosalina, and Luigi. Each has his or her own special power -- Donkey Kong can scrabble up ramps, Princess Peach can flutter across gaps -- necessary to access and beat specific puzzles. But characters can only be unlocked with specific amiibo figurines, which are sold separately. At least one amiibo figurine is required to play the base levels.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (3):

A free game without in-game purchases would be a no-brainer for most players, but whether you should download this puzzler depends less on its cost and more on how many (and which) amiibo you currently own. If you don't own any, you can't play. If you own one, you can do the base levels. But to get the most out of it, you need about $130 worth of amiibo characters. Avid collectors -- of which there are admittedly many -- probably have enough figurines to make it worthwhile, but players who have none or only one or two won't get much out of the experience.

The puzzle action will prove very familiar to any who has played previous Mini Mario games. The only new elements come from the special abilities that come with each amiibo character. Most of them aren't particularly revolutionary (we've seen Yoshi gobble up enemies in countless other games), but at least they create fresh possibilities within the Mini Mario formula. If you happen to have most of the required amiibo figurines, you'll likely have some fun playing each character's handful of levels. But there's the rub: If you don't have many characters, there's really not enough to do to make it worth downloading. Since it's so short (only a few hours), it's also not worth spending money on figures. Best to think of it as a little gift from Nintendo to serious amiibo collectors.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about consumerism. Games that appear free to start can sometimes end up causing players to spend more by luring them to spend money on in-game purchases or, in this case, requiring them to buy toys to unlock abilities and level. Do you research the potential hidden costs in games prior to playing them?

  • Families can talk about screen time. Some families create simple rules to combat inactivity, such as ensuring kids spend one hour outside for every hour spend in front of a screen; how do you make sure you're living a balanced and active life?

Game Details

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