Metroid: Samus Returns Amiibo Functionality Announced

Game Rant

By GR Staff

Published Jul 24, 2017

Nintendo of Japan confirms the amiibo functionality for the upcoming Metroid: Samus Returns, with the various Metroid-themed figures serving different roles in the game.

When Metroid: Samus Returns was announced as part of E3 2017, fans of the Metroid series were excited to see another game in the series, particularly one which is set to reimagine an oft-overlooked entry in the franchise. Many gamers were then left wondering exactly how this title would play out, and thankfully Nintendo has now given some indication of what users can expect in terms of amiibo functionality.

The official Japanese website for Metroid: Samus Returns has launched, and with it comes descriptions of what Metroid-themed amiibo will do in the game. For starters, those who own an amiibo of Samus Aran from Super Smash Bros. will be pleased to learn that those figures will allow gamers a little bit of an advantage. The standard Samus model unlocks a missile reserve tank, while the Zero Suit Samus amiibo offers an energy reserve tank.

Those two new Metroid amiibo will also, unsurprisingly, give gamers something of a boost. The Samus amiibo gives players an elon reserve tank, while the amiibo of the Metroid itself will grant players a Metroid marker, which will tell the player the location of the nearest Metroid. Here's another look at those two amiibo:

The website also notes various other perks, such as the unveiling of a Metroid 2 art gallery, or a concept art gallery, available after the game is completed. At the moment it's unclear as to whether the translation of the original Japanese means the content can be unlocked early by amiibo users, or whether an amiibo is required to access the content at all, but non-amiibo users will be concerned to learn that content such as the FUSION difficulty mode could be amiibo-locked. No doubt this will be confirmed in due course.

More will be revealed about these different amiibo unlocks as the release day for Metroid: Samus Returns draws near, of course. In particular, fans might be interested in the helpful perks that are unlocked after using a specific amiibo, and it may well make one amiibo a more enticing purchase than another. In the meantime, though, keep an eye on those Metroid: Samus Returns dev diaries for more information.

To sum up, here's a brief rundown of exactly which amiibo serve what purpose in the game:

Samus Aran (Metroid Series)