New ‘Metroid’ amiibo: Why fans are upset at ‘Samus Returns’ figures — and why it’s not a big deal

Metroid: Samus Returns is the upcoming 3DS remake of the 1991 Game Boy title Metroid 2, and it’s launching Sept. 15. The side-scrolling adventure game where players take up the mantle of bounty hunter Samus Aran is getting a special edition with a soundtrack CD and reversible cover. It’s also getting two new amiibo figurines to commemorate its launch.

You can opt for a regular edition with just the game if you want to save some cash. But the two new amiibo — featuring a Metroid creature and Samus kneeling in the same pose as seen on the cover of Metroid: Samus Returns — are required if you want to unlock everything extra there is to see in the game. It’s a point of contention among the gaming community that you need each amiibo figure to unlock additional content in the game, but is it actually that big of a deal?

Metroid: Samus Returns amiibo: What each figure has to offer

There are four amiibo figures that you can use in Metroid: Samus Returns. The brand new Samus Aran amiibo, where Samus is kneeling, will net you an extra energy tank for use in-game. When you finish the game after using it, you’ll get some special Metroid 2 art as well. The new Metroid amiibo will give you the ability to find any nearby Metroid on your map, and will also unlock a new difficulty mode called “Fusion” as well as the ability to wear Samus’ costume from Game Boy Advance title Metroid Fusion. The figures are sold in a two-pack so you can add both amiibo to your collection at once.

Additionally, you can use the original line of amiibo from the Super Smash Bros. series — Zero Suit Samus and regular Samus — to unlock content in-game. Super Smash Bros. Samus will give you a missile tank and additional concept art. Zero Suit Samus nets you another energy tank and a mode where you can listen to the Samus Returns soundtrack in a separate mode in-game, much like a “sound test mode” where all you have to do is sit back and listen to music.

It’ll cost $29.99 for the Metroid: Samus Returns amiibo, but you can get the individual Samus and Zero Suit Samus cheaper individually. Buying them new will run about $12.99 apiece, so you’ll have to spend a pretty penny if you’re starting from scratch to get all four. But do you really even need them all?

Metroid: Samus Returns amiibo: Why fans are getting upset over nothing

To recap, all of the extras you could potentially get in Metroid: Samus Returns via amiibo are the “Fusion” difficulty mode (hard mode), extra missile and energy tanks, artwork and a way to listen to the soundtrack in a Sound Test mode.

Fans are most visibly upset about the “Fusion” difficulty mode being “locked” behind an amiibo paywall, stating it should already be in the game in the first place. They’ve taken to Twitter and social media to voice their displeasure with Nintendo’s apparent “greed,” pledging not to buy the game.

For the rest of the extras, though, it doesn’t seem like an uproar is the appropriate response. As far as the special game mode for music goes, you could listen to the soundtrack with the very same disc you get from the special edition of the game. The extra missile and energy tanks are useful, but hardly anything to feel as though you’re missing out on.

While it’s understandable that fans might be upset that they have to spend additional cash to unlock every single little thing in the game, it also should be understood that this is the intended function of amiibo, after all — to unlock special content in-game that you might not otherwise get. That’s why they exist, in addition to keeping save data and looking great on your shelf. Sure, said content could have been included in-game, but these certainly don’t seem like particularly egregious exclusions.

If, however, it becomes nigh-impossible to obtion these amiibo due to shortages similar to what Nintendo has made happen over the last year or so, it might become a problem. But there doesn’t seem to be much draw for getting the figures in the first place, unless you’re just dying for an extra difficulty mode along with art and audio that will end up on the internet at some point anyway.

Honestly, the biggest reason to buy the amiibo is the fact that the figures themselves are very cool-looking, which is great news for collectors. In the end, though, fans aren’t going to miss out on much by skipping these purchases.

More Nintendo news and coverage

Looking for more Nintendo Switch news? Check out how blind gamers are using the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo’s left Joy-Con issue turns out to be a hardware problem — here’s how to solve it. Find out how to buy a console amidst the recent restock. Learn why the Switch cartridges taste so bad. Check out our comparison photos sizing up the Switch to the Wii U GamePad (part one and part two), or find out how to make use of ethernet without the dock and the best way to get alerts when new stock arrives.