From the moment Skylanders and Disney Infinity started making pots of money, it was only ever a matter of time before Nintendo would return to its toymaker roots and throw its big red hat into the ‘toys to life’ ring. Whether you’re a big Nintendo fan or not, amiibo have become pretty hot property for collectors since the first wave launched in November 2014.
What are amiibo?
amiibo are figures and cards that use near field communication (NFC) technology within their base to store player data and/or unlock content across a range of games. amiibo work by holding them against the NFC reader built into Wii U and New Nintendo 3DS/XL models, and the NFC Reader/Writer peripheral for older portables.
Amiibo-compatible games
- Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy
- amiibo Touch & Play: Nintendo Classics Highlights
- Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival
- Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
- Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash
- Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.
- Fire Emblem Fates
- Hyrule Warriors
- Hyrule Warriors Legends
- Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
- Kirby: Planet Robobot
- Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros.
- Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
- Mario Kart 8
- Mario Party 10
- Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash
- Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge
- Mega Man Legacy Collection
- Nintendo presents: New Style Boutique 2 – Fashion Forward
- Pokémon Rumble U*
- Pokkén Tournament
- Star Fox Guard
- Star Fox Zero
- Super Mario Maker
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
- Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3D
- Yoshi’s Woolly World
*Pokémon Rumble U can use anything with NFC tech to summon a random pokémon to assist you in battle, and thus unofficially supports all amiibo figures and cards.
What can amiibo do?
This handy chart by Nintendo of America (though it’s also applicable to PAL region games) lets you know which figures are compatible with which games and the functionality each figure or card allows.
amiibo released to date (by series)
Super Smash Bros. Collection
Wave One: Mario, Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Link, Fox, Samus, Wii Fit Trainer, Villager, Pikachu, Kirby, Marth
Released: 28th November 2014
Wave Two: Luigi, Diddy Kong, Zelda, Little Mac, Pit, Captain Falcon
Released: 19th December 2014
Wave Three (part one): Lucario, Rosalina, Bowser, Toon Link, Sheik, Ike
Released: 23rd January 2015
Wave Three (part two): Meta Knight, King Dedede, Shulk, Sonic, Mega Man
Released: 20th February 2015
Wave Four (part one): Wario, Charizard, Lucina, Robin, Ness, Pac-Man
Released: 24th April 2015
Wave Four (part two): Greninja, Jigglypuff
Released: 29th May 2015
Wave Five: Ganondorf, Zero Suit Samus, Palutena, Dark Pit
Released: 26th June 2015
Wave Six (part one): Bowser Jr., Dr. Mario, Olimar
Released: 17th July 2015
Wave Six (part two): Mii Brawler, Mii Sword Fighter, Mii Gunner, Mr. Game & Watch, Duck Hunt Duo, R.O.B.
Wave Seven (part one): Mewtwo
Released: 23rd October 2015
Wave Seven (part two): Falco
Released: 20th November 2015
Wave Eight: Lucas
Released: 29th January 2016
Wave Nine: R.O.B. (Famicom Colours), Roy, Ryu
Released: 18th March 2016
Super Mario Collection
Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, Toad
Released: 20th March 2015
Splatoon Collection
Inkling Girl, Inkling Boy, Inkling Squid*
Released: 29th May 2015
(Inkling Squid amiibo originally exclusive to the Splatoon + Inkling Squid amiibo bundle)
Yoshi’s Woolly World Collection
Wave One: Pink Yarn Yoshi, Green Yarn Yoshi, Light Blue Yarn Yoshi
Released: 26th June 2015
Wave Two: Mega Yarn Yoshi
Released: 27th November 2015
Mario 30th Anniversary Collection
Wave One: Mario (Classic Colours)
Released: 11th September 2015
Wave Two: Mario (Modern Colours)
Released: 23rd October 2015
Animal Crossing amiibo cards
Series One (100 cards)
Released: 2nd October 2015
Series Two (100 cards)
Released: 20th November 2015
Series Three (100 cards)
Released: 18th March 2016
(Cards listed individually here)
Animal Crossing amiibo cards come in packs of 3, priced between £3.49 and £4.99, depending on where you shop.
Chibi-Robo
Released: 6th November 2015
(Chibi-Robo amiibo originally exclusive to the Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash + Chibi-Robo amiibo bundle)
Animal Crossing Collection
Wave One: Isabelle, K.K., Mabel, Tom Nook, Digby, Lottie, Reese, Cyrus
Released: 20th November 2015
Wave Two: Blathers, Celeste, Resetti, Kicks
Released: 29th January 2016
Wave Three: Isabelle (Summer Outfit), Rover, Timmy & Tommy, Kapp’n
Released: 18th March 2016
Shovel Knight
Released: 8th January 2016
Bundle-only amiibo
Skylanders Superchargers Dark Edition (Wii U)
Dark Turbo Charge Donkey Kong
Released: 25th September 2015
Skylanders Superchargers (Wii U)
Turbo Charge Donkey Kong
Released: 25th September 2015
Skylanders Superchargers Racing (3DS/Wii)
Hammer Slam Bowser
Released: 25th September 2015
These figures have unique functionality, with a switch in their base that swaps their ‘mode’ between Skylanders and amiibo. Outside these two games, they function identically to regular Donkey Kong and Bowser amiibo.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD
Wolf Link
Released: 4th March 2016
Pokkén Tournament
Shadow Mewtwo
Released: 18th March 2016
Upcoming amiibo
Kirby Collection
Kirby, Meta Knight, King Dedede, Waddle Dee
Release date: 10th June 2016
Animal Crossing amiibo cards
Series Four
Release date: 17th June 2016
Splatoon Collection
Callie, Marie
Release date: 8th July 2016
Super Smash Bros. Collection
Cloud, Corrin, Bayonetta
Release date: TBA 2016
Triple packs
Animal Crossing Collection
Cyrus, K.K., Reese
Released: 20th November 2015
Importing
The benefit of being a UK collector is that you don’t have to worry about store exclusives, as US collectors do. The downside? None of the rare amiibo variants has had an official UK release. Figures like the Gold and Silver Mario amiibo are hard to come by; the former particularly so, as they were originally only sold at Wal-Mart in the US, and there were thought to be just 3,000 units. The Gold Mega Man variant, available as part of the Mega Man Legacy Collection Limited Edition, can be imported from Amazon US here.
Though with shipping to the UK, it’ll cost you the best part of $70 (almost £48).
Importing is also the only way to get your hands on the triple-packs that haven’t been released elsewhere, like the Retro amiibo 3-Pack and the Mii 3-Pack, though you’ll need to check that whoever you’re buying from ships to the UK.
amiibo are region-free, so you don’t need to worry about them not working with your PAL Wii U or 3DS. If you can’t find the one you want, it’s often worth trawling Amazon sites overseas, like Amazon.fr and Amazon.de to check their stock.
Where to find rare amiibo
Most amiibo are readily available these days, though that wasn’t always the case. The likes of Villager, Marth and Little Mac were difficult to find soon after release, though reissues from Nintendo have ensured that more uncommon amiibo like Ganondorf, Wii Fit Trainer, Wario, Sonic, Captain Falcon, Dark Pit, Palutena, Zero Suit Samus and Zelda are now easier to come by. The website Now In Stock used to give a helpful overview of availability, but it’s sadly inaccurate in a lot of cases these days. Still, it offers a series of quick links to get you to the amiibo you want, so it’s still useful in that regard.
Price guide
To a point, amiibo prices seem to have settled down. As a general rule, most figures are currently available for £10.99; certainly, that’s the uniform price of regular amiibo from the Nintendo store. Animal Crossing amiibo cards, meanwhile, should set you back £3.49 per pack. That’s for a pack of three, though, so if you’re buying in bulk you may be better off importing from the US, where you get six per pack, for $5.99, which equate to a little over £4 at the current exchange rate.
In the early days, sites like GAME.co.uk were criticised for hiking the price of hard-to-find figures (and still do sometimes, as the £14.99 price point for Ryu on the site at the time of writing proves). Ad yet you’ll find some decent deals online and in-store; I obtained a Falco amiibo for £4.99 from my local store, for example.
Otherwise, it’s a matter of shopping around. If you don’t mind buying second-hand figures, there are plenty of sellers on Amazon and eBay who’ll knock a few quid off the retail price, though in the former case, I’d tend to advise you stick to stores where the item is fulfilled by Amazon.
Obviously you’ll pay more for amiibo that are bundled with games, but even here you’ll find some decent offers if you do your research. Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival is a flawed game, but for just £14.99 you’ll be able to get your hands on the game with Isabelle and Digby figures while the adorable Mega Yarn Yoshi (RRP £34.99) can be found for as little as £20.
Preordering
It’s worth keeping tabs on the Nintendo UK Twitter account, as they’ll often announce when new amiibo are up for preorder from the official store.
Failing that, Amazon UK and GAME.co.uk are reliable sources. It’s worth checking them regularly, as preorders can sell out quickly. Stocks will usually be refreshed by Nintendo, but if you’re in a hurry to get your hands on the figure you want, then it pays to be vigilant.
amiibo community
Though mostly US-centric, the Reddit amiibo community is an incredibly helpful resource to discuss amiibo with fellow collectors and players. It has a list of upcoming release dates by territory, so you can see when figures are likely to hit shelves.
shares