Super Mario Odyssey does a smart thing with amiibo unlockables

Super Mario Odyssey will use all available amiibo to unlock special costumes for Mario, but if your amiibo collection is lacking, don’t worry. Nintendo’s website for the game notes that all “amiibo-exclusive” content will available without using amiibo at all.

It’s a design choice that is becoming rarer and rarer these days, when it seems like every big-budget game launches with a bevy of microtransactions in tow. Even Nintendo has gotten into the season pass game, for example, with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The Switch and Wii U game also locks certain costumes behind amiibo, like Link’s classic green tunic. A recent uproar emerged around Metroid: Samus Returns as well, because its hardest difficulty setting is locked behind amiibo figures.

This won’t be the case with Super Mario Odyssey, it seems. That’s not to say that Nintendo won’t try to entice us to pick up new amiibo alongside the game; there are some cute wedding-style Mario, Peach and Bowser figures launching later this month based on the getups they wear in Odyssey. But it’s reassuring to know that we’ll still be able to dress up Mario in his fancy white tux even if we’re unable to find the figure in stores.

Availability can be a big problem with amiibo, especially coveted ones. That combined with the sheer expense of them makes the idea of gating unlockables behind them anathema to completionists who want all the the content in their Nintendo games. We’re glad that we won’t have to worry about any of that when Super Mario Odyssey launches Oct. 27 — but that we’ll also be able to use the amiibo we do have to speed up the unlock process if we want.