How to use amiibo in Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury

While amiibo may not be as prevalent as it used to be, Nintendo continues to make new little figurines for its biggest releases — this holds true in Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury. All amiibo can be used in the game at any time, although the uses will vary depending on the statue you have in your possession.

It is important to note that we could not make this work during an online game, so amiibo functionality may only be active in local games. To scan an amiibo, all you need to do is to hold down left on the directional pad on your Joy-Con or Pro Controller. When you do this, the amiibo icon will display on the screen, showing that you can scan an amiibo.

Place your amiibo on the sensor. On a Joy-Con, put it over the right thumbstick. For the Pro Controller, over the Nintendo Switch logo. For almost every amiibo used, you will be rewarded either a 1-Up mushroom or a random power-up. There are only three amiibo that have special effects when scanned.

The Cat Mario amiibo will put you in an invincible catsuit for a short duration. Think of having the catsuit with a power star for invincibility.

The Bowser Jr. amiibo can only be used to its full potential in the Bowser’s Fury mode. Scanning the amiibo will make whoever is playing as Bowser Jr. do a shockwave attack. This has a cooldown, so you cannot spam the scanning. If used in the normal mode, it gives a random power-up or a 1-Up mushroom.

Finally, scanning any Bowser amiibo will summon Fury Bowser, but only in the Bowser’s Fury mode. If you have the Giga Bell, you can fight him, but otherwise, you will need to lead him around the map for him to destroy things. In the normal 3D World mode, it also gives a power-up or 1-Up.

Unfortunately, even though the Cat Peach amiibo was designed to release alongside this game’s release explicitly, it has no unique functionality in the game as of this writing.