Amiibo, Nintendo's toys-to-life collectible figurines, flew off store shelves when they were first introduced. Collectors of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate amiibo will likely be back on the hunt shortly, as Nintendo has now announced official release dates for both Persona 5's Joker and Dragon Quest XI's Hero.
The two RPG protagonists were both added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as part of the game's first Fighters Pass expansion. As with the majority of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters, Nintendo promised they would receive amiibo, and now they're finally launching.
Nintendo's tweet revealing the amiibo in detail has announced that the figures will go on sale on October 2, 2020. Fans have likely been waiting for this announcement for some time, as both fighters launched in the game last year. While they're perfectly playable without amiibo, getting the figures allows players to unlock an NPC fighter in-game that learns as it fights players and CPU fighters.
At this time, it remains to be seen if the amiibo will offer any kinds of perks for the games they came from. Dragon Quest XI is available on the Switch, so it's easy to imagine it providing some kind of bonus if players scan the amiibo in the game. However, Persona 5 isn't available on the Switch. It is possible, however, that the amiibo will become compatible with Persona 5's sequel, Persona 5 Scramble, which is available on the Switch in Japan. No news has yet been announced regarding a Persona 5 Scramble release in the west just yet.
Regardless of their utility, both of these amiibo are likely to sell very quickly. Both Dragon Quest XI and Persona 5 have seen success in both Japan and the west, with Persona 5 Royal outselling developer Atlus' estimates. Add in eager Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fans wanting to complete their amiibo collections, and there's a good chance that these amiibo will fly off the shelves once again.
While there's a good chance that Nintendo has learned from its mistakes following the original amiibo shortages and has planned to produce larger quantities to meet demand, there's no telling if the coronavirus has impacted production at all. For now, players' best bet will likely be to snatch these up as fast as they can before buying amiibo from resellers or hoping for a second wave release are the only options left.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available now exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.