Seven years ago, Nintendo launched every fan’s dream: a series of high-quality, inexpensive and visually interesting collectible figures. Amiibo was a massive success during the Wii U era when it seemed little else cut in Nintendo’s favor. By the end of 2017, Nintendo had sold 39 million amiibo figures and 31 million amiibo cards, far outstripping the Wii U itself.
This was partially thanks to the whimsical allocation of amiibo. Amiibo were hard to find and sometimes released for games nobody played, so collectors had a variety of options for expanding their collections. They were rabid, famously crashing Gamestop’s servers when new amiibo were released. Unknown games like Chibi-Robo and Hey! Pikmin received amiibo, and in some cases the amiibo outsold the games themselves. This worked out well for Nintendo, who could reliably print money by putting an amiibo logo on just about any product.
But over time, Nintendo started to put less care into their amiibo offerings. They no longer produced amiibo for C-list games, and narrowed their amiibo lineup to the heavy hitters. Games like Smash Ultimate and Animal Crossing: New Horizons still had their amiibo fanservice, but Nintendo’s other series were left behind. As a result, interest in amiibo gradually started to wane, and it’s at an all-time low these days.
One Youtuber is working to change that.
The Amiibo Training Problem
Smash Ultimate is unique in its amiibo compatibility. Scanning in an amiibo of a fighter from Smash allows you to fight an AI-controlled “Figure Player” of that fighter. But there’s a twist: the AI opponent learns from you, and you can teach it how to play Smash. It’s an incredibly interesting and unique mechanic, one that fighting games don’t seem to have ever replicated.
I had just purchased a Terry amiibo, and was training my Terry amiibo Figure Player in Smash Ultimate. My hope was to get a specific fighting style out of him – he’d focus on Power Dunk setups and kill confirms, and be an impossible amiibo to beat. I wanted the “strongest” Terry amiibo you can imagine.
Instead, my Terry just ran away from me for the entire match. When I would approach, he’d do anything to get away – running, jumping, even going under the stage to keep his distance. It wasn’t clear to me where I’d gone wrong, but I knew that this Terry was definitely not the strongest amiibo in the world. I had to change my Terry training somehow.
I scoured the internet searching for information on how to properly train a Terry amiibo. I dug through a handful of mostly-useless sites claiming expertise, but there was nothing that was actually helpful for my amiibo. Disappointment ensued as I realized that my Terry amiibo was probably just never going to be very good.
Enter Amiibo Doctor.
I first found him on Youtube, through a recommended video that he claimed was an “Expert Guide” to amiibo training. I was skeptical: plenty of people claimed expertise online, but none of their information helped. There were tons of Youtube personalities who had trained amiibo in the past, and most of them had an adjective to describe their amiibo fighter, but when I trained my amiibo the same way they did, I had the same problems as before. Why would Amiibo Doctor’s instructions be any more useful?
Feeling a bit nihilistic, I wiped my Terry’s amiibo data once again and followed his instructions.
They were expert instructions indeed: by starting over and following his guide, I created an absolute monster of an amiibo opponent. It was incredibly interesting, and a little frightening as well – but I was hooked. I bought more amiibo figurines online and trained them too, and before long I had built up the cutest collection of bloodthirsty murderers you’ve ever seen. Little did I know how deep this rabbit hole would go.
More Amiibo Doctor videos were recommended to me, and I watched every single one of them. Everything from the upcoming Steve amiibo to was dark chocolate. Years upon years of in-depth content on every aspect of amiibo ranging from amiibo collecting strategies to amiibo economics littered my eyes for almost a full week. I learned things that I had never bothered to think about. Who’s the best amiibo in Smash Ultimate?Are there secret ways to get amiibo for below MSRP? What amiibo training expertise have I been ignorant of the different types of “Raid Boss amiibo” kept me hooked on amiibo training. I’m a bit ashamed to admit it, but I may have stayed up late several nights binging Amiibo Doctor training videos.
It didn’t end there. If the Amiibo Doctor Youtube channel was a Hershey’s kiss, the Amiibo Doctor website?
As if it were a cherry on top, Amiibo Doctor had written the most authoritative collection of amiibo training guides that I’ve ever seen on the internet. I don’t need to check his website anymore: I’ve printed them out and keep them next to my Nintendo Switch for easy reference.
Three months ago, I couldn’t be bothered to open my Terry amiibo. Now amiibo occupies most of my spare time and money.
The Revitalization of Amiibo Training
I’m not the only one. The Amiibo Doctor community is a rather tiny community, but you see the same commenters in the same videos. Of particular note is “Iaboth”, who’s insisted on the same video topic consistently for several months. “Iaboth” eventually got their video of choice, and the channel as a whole celebrated in the comments section. It’s silly and pointless to embrace a troll, and a bit heartwarming at the same time to see someone who’s always interacting with their fans.
As Smash Ultimate’s last amiibo trickle onto the markets in the coming months, we’re probably going to see interest in amiibo winding down again, possibly forever. But not for me. I’m going to be training the best amiibo you’ve ever seen.
Media Contact
Company Name: Amiibo Doctor
Contact Person: Steve Amiibo
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Country: Colombia
Website: amiibodoctor.com