Smash Bros 3DS gets amiibo support this week

You'll be able to take your plastic fighting team on the go starting this week, thanks to a Super Smash Bros. for 3DS software update. Nintendo announced that it will add amiibo functionality to the handheld brawler on Tuesday - of course, you'll need to have an NFC-compatible system to benefit from the update.

New 3DS and New 3DS XL both natively support amiibo's NFC technology, letting users simply plop their figures on the lower screen to load their data into the game. Nintendo also plans to release a standalone NFC reader for older 3DS models some time this year.

Amiibo with existing Figure Player data from the Wii U version of the game will retain all their same attributes and 'experience' across both versions - now you can't get away from your Lvl. 50 Fox just because you're going out for the weekend. Well, I guess you could always just leave him on the coffee table, but where's the thrill in that?

Upcoming 3DS games like Code Name STEAM and Xenoblade Chronicles 3D will also let players use the figurines to bring in new characters or unlock bonuses. Speaking of the little plastic figurines, make sure you check out GR+'s amiibo list to see which are available and how they'll interact with your games.

CATEGORIES
Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

Latest in Super Smash Bros
Minecraft characters Alex and Steve riding in mine carts in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, being chased by Bowser Jr..
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate villain Minecraft Steve is the star of the "best Smash clip of all time," as genius player makes a literal Trojan Horse to destroy an unsuspecting opponent
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS key art.
Masahiro Sakurai says Super Smash Bros "might have died out" if not for late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata: "There's no doubt that he influenced me in many ways"
Luigi fighting Snake in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
After packing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with content, Masahiro Sakurai unsurprisingly says that working out a game's volume from the start is important
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Isabelle
Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai says he'll make a game "even if it's the opposite of what I like," because "you have to think of it as work, not entertainment"
Fox from Star Fox surfs on a space ship against a cloudy sky
Super Smash Bros Melee Major ends up the first in 20 years to feature an all-new top 4, and the winner almost refunded his flight when he saw his "scary" bracket
Link in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, about to unsheathe the Master Sword.
As Zelda fans spot a big Master Sword mistake, Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai reveals how he fixed it for his fighting game series
Latest in News
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip
A misty, forested mountainside in Prologue: Go Wayback!
PUBG creator's wilderness survival game actually draws inspiration from an unexpected place - a whole raft of zombie games like DayZ, Project Zomboid, and Left 4 Dead
The Blood of Dawnwalker: A screenshot of the vampire Brencis holding up a crown during the trailer for the upcoming game.
The Witcher 3 devs created a Jekyll & Hyde-style character for their new vampire RPG "because nobody yet has done that"
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil fans are wondering if Born Again season 2 will set up a darker comic book arc for Matt Murdock
Theo James as Hal in Osgood Perkins' The Monkey
It might only be March, but Stephen King adaptation The Monkey is now the highest grossing horror movie of 2025
Balatro screenshot showing an assortment of card packs
Balatro creator initially considered a Steam release in part to help "get a game developer job somewhere," and after 5 million sales I'd say he found one