The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Amiibos Announced

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild amiibos announced at E3 2016

The best news after a big game reveal is often the merchandise that comes with it, and Nintendo obliged. When the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild amiibos were announced during E3 2016 week, three figures were on the list. Link appeared with a bow, labeled “Archer.” A second Link sat on a horse, labeled “Rider.” The third figure was a Guardian, one of the walking sentry machines from the game’s trailers.

The Guardian was the headline. Nintendo described it as the first amiibo with flexible parts, and Cubed3 noted that each of its legs bends. Every amiibo until then had been a fixed pose on a round base. A figure with legs that move was a real change for collectors, and it suited a character built around spindly, spider-like limbs.

What the three figures would do was left open. At the time of the announcement Nintendo gave no details on their in-game functions. That gap was normal for a game still most of a year from release: the company wanted fans to know the toys existed before it explained how they plugged into play.

For context, the Breath of the Wild amiibos arrived at an unusual point for the series. Nintendo had revealed the game's full title and let E3 attendees play the Wii U version that week, and the amiibo came with it as part of the same push. Collectors who already owned Zelda figures had a reason to look at the new ones, because the line had already shown it could affect a Zelda game.

What Wolf Link does in Breath of the Wild

Alongside the new figures, Nintendo confirmed that the Wolf Link amiibo from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess would work with Breath of the Wild. At the announcement, tapping the figure to the Wii U GamePad would bring Wolf Link into the world to fight beside Link. He attacked enemies on his own and helped players hunt.

Wolf Link started with three hearts. Players who carried over save data from Twilight Princess HD got a different count, and when his hearts ran out, he disappeared. That tie to the earlier game gave the figure a second life. It had first launched with Twilight Princess HD, released on Wii U in March 2016, where tapping it opened the Cave of Shadows, a bonus challenge, and let players save their remaining hearts to the figure.

Nintendo's support pages describe the final behavior a little differently from the 2016 reports. There, Wolf Link attacks enemies and helps you find items. That is a reminder that features announced at a trade show can shift before launch, and that the version written up in June 2016 is not always the version that ships.

What the figures did at launch

The first announcement raised the question of function, and Nintendo answered it in February 2017. The Breath of the Wild line, which by then also included Zelda and a Bokoblin, was set for release on March 3, the same day as the game on Wii U and Switch. By then the rewards were laid out: the Archer could yield a random amount of fish and meat and sometimes a useful bow or arrow, while the Rider could yield mushrooms plus a weapon or an item for your horse.

The Guardian gave metal boxes with useful items inside, and possibly ancient parts, the use of which the game itself revealed.

Breath of the Wild amiibo at a glance

Function details for the new figures come from Nintendo's February 2017 notice; the June 2016 announcement gave none.

Breath of the Wild amiibo explained: the rules to know

If you own the figures, a few rules shape how they work. Nintendo's support page says players unlock the amiibo rune in the game, usually about 45 minutes in, and that each figure can be used once per day per Nintendo Account. After unlocking the rune, turn on “Use amiibo” in the system menu options, set the amiibo icon as your current ability, aim the glowing sphere where you want the item to appear, and hold the figure over the right control stick.

The Zelda series figures, including the Breath of the Wild line and the 30th Anniversary figures, hand out useful items such as fish, plants or a treasure chest. Some items appear only at random, Epona among them, so a failed attempt can be repeated the next day.

For a collector, the appeal was always in the shelf as much as the game. The Guardian in particular turned a fearsome enemy into a desk toy. For a player, the figures were a small daily bonus, never a requirement for finishing the game.

That is the reading that holds up best. The June 2016 announcement promised more than it could explain, and the later notice filled in the details. The Archer and Rider figures are daily supply drops, the Guardian is a showpiece that also pays out, and Wolf Link keeps the most distinctive job: a companion who fights next to you in the field.

Sources

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Wikipedia — release date, platforms and amiibo support