Are The Amiibo Worth Hunting For In ‘Fire Emblem Echoes’?

All the amiibo hunters out there know the feeling running down their spine when they hear that new Fire Emblem amiibo are coming. As some of the rarest figures on the market, it’s usually a mad dash to track down Nintendo’s premiere swordfighters, as the characters have very few printings despite their series becoming one of Nintendo’s most profitable franchises. Once again, a new game asks you to track them down to use them in your game thanks to the release of Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, but are they worth tracking down for it?

Early into the game, unlocking Mila’s Turnwheel gives you access to the amiibo menu, which asks you to tap the warriors from a distant time to join your battles as Illusory Heroes. Using the Marth, Roy, Ike, Lucina, Robin and Corrin amiibo, (when the latter is released,) gives Alm or Celica the added ability to summon them to the field for one turn at the cost of 10 HP. From there, the CPU takes control of your summoned warrior for one turn, allowing them to deal one powerful blow before returning to the ether.

If you ask me, (and if you aren’t why are you reading this?), the cost isn’t worth the reward. 10 HP can be what leads to a sudden game over, and considering that your main characters are the only ones that can use this ability, their deaths mean an instant game over regardless of the difficulty you’re playing on. Add to the fact that the heroes would sometimes waste their one turn by making some completely braindead moves, and you’re better off just powering through as Alm or Celica, since they’re likely to be two of your best units at any given time anyway.

But while the older amiibo aren’t very impressive, the actual Alm and Celica amiibo are much more exciting to use. Tapping them unlocks a special dungeon containing equipment that can make the early game much easier to manage. Once your main characters are powered up, you can also save their stats to make them Illusory Heroes for your game, or a friend’s game if they need an extra boost. But most importantly, these saved stats will carry over to new games, so if you want to speed run a second playthrough, saving their stats onto the amiibo and uploading them at the start of the game will help you plow through armies with your unstoppable power couple.

Aside from the game play functionality though, these amiibo are some of the best looking ones yet. Compare them to the laughably awkward looking Marth from the amiibo launch day, (also known as amiibogeddon,) and it’s clear that Nintendo upped the quality control quite a bit in the last two years. Check out the comparison for yourself.

Alm and Celica look like they’re silently judging Marth.

All in all, the old amiibo aren’t worth tracking down just to use in this game. However, the Alm and Celica figures are great additions both to the game itself and to your amiibo collection as some of the best looking ones to date. Word is they aren’t nearly as hard to find as previous Fire Emblem figures have been, so I say jump on them before they disappear.

Want to know more about the latest Fire Emblem title? Check out our full review here, and find out about all the goodies the limited edition includes over here. Let us know in the comments if you’re planning on adding this pair to your collection!