While the continuous stream of new Amiibos being added to the market is no surprise, the newest character inducted into the lineup is. Shovel Knight, the blue-armor-clad, shovel wielding knight and namesake of his own game, Shovel Knight, produced by the indie developer team known as Yacht Club Games, is newly available in Amiibo form.
Now, this new little plastic warrior is unique for a lot of reasons that set him apart from previous Amiibos. For starters, it’s the first time any third party intellectual property has made it into the Amiibo lineup. On that note, it’s also the first to not actually be produced by Nintendo. While it’s licensed by Nintendo, carrying the signature “Official Nintendo Licensed Product” seal proudly upon its packaging, Yacht Club Games produces, ships, and sells all the figures themselves. And to top off this little list of novelty, a YouTube channel was given the opportunity to produce the announcement video. The video was posted on Nintendo’s YouTube channel like any other, but fans of their channel will immediately recognize the style and humor of the Game Grumps, who were collectively responsible for the video.
Like any other Amiibo, this blue guy unlocks features and capabilities within his game, Shovel Knight. These can be found in their entirety on Yacht Club Games’ official site. On the Wii U version, the Amiibo unlocks co-op play, allowing a second player to pick up a controller and get in on the action. While little is known now, the finer details of exactly how that will look and work will be made clear by the time these guys are released. 3DS owners do not get the luxury of co-op, however they don’t miss out on any of the other features, including various new customization options, the ability to level up your Amiibo and move it seamlessly between the 3DS and a Wii U, and exclusive challenge stages, among other niceties.
Needless to say, Amiibo fans are likely getting excited, but release dates and prices are unclear. Europeans will be able to purchase one in stores by November 2015, and there are even a few retailers taking limited pre-orders for the figure, specifically EB Games and GAME who list different prices ($24.95 and £14.99 [~$23.07] respectively). Stay in the loop to hear when a release date and price is confirmed.