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Next Amiibo Wave: New Releases And Pre-Orders, January 2016 Edition

By Asma M
Published on: 21:58 PST, Jan 21, 2016

The first wave of amiibo in 2016 hit stores on January 22. Nintendo seems to be keeping its promise to re-release popular figures and provide larger quantities at launch to better meet demand. Even though it seems the amiibo shortages may be a thing of the past, avid collectors may want to plan ahead and pre-order the next wave while hunting down the newest releases.

A New Challenger Has Arrived: Lucas

The Earthbound protagonist seems to be available in respectable quantities at major retailers. Find Lucas at your local amiibo retail stores and online through Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target.

Animal Crossing Amiibo & Amiibo Cards

Celeste, Kicks, Blathers, and Resetti amiibo are now available in stores and online. All four of the new Animal Crossing amiibo are compatible with Happy Home Designer (3DS) and Amiibo Festival (Wii U). Series 2 packs of the Animal Crossing amiibo cards have also hit the streets on January 22. Special cards include Reese, K.K., Tommy, Porter and more. For a complete list of amiibo cards, see the official amiibo card catalog.

The next wave of Animal Crossing amiibo figures will include Timmy and Tommy, Kapp’n, Rover, and a standalone Digby for those who may have decided against getting the Amiibo Festival bundle. There are rumors some of these characters may be store exclusives, but no official news has been announced.

Who’s That Pokémon?

Since 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of Pokémon, Nintendo is restocking store shelves with Pokémon amiibo just in time for the celebration. The official announcement from Nintendo is somewhat vague, but it does reveal which Pokémon amiibo are getting the restock treatment.

“To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pokémon, some of the Pokémon amiibo will be made available again at select retailers. Fans should be on the lookout for Charizard, Jigglypuff, Greninja and Lucario to once again return to shelves right next to Pikachu.”

Amiibo hunters are left to wonder which retailers will be participating in the restock. Fans may not have to wait long for an official update, since many of the Pokémon 20th anniversary collectible products are scheduled to launch in February. Until announcements are made, keep an eye out and you just might catch a Pokémon amiibo out in the wild.

Amiibo card collectors may want to consider pre-ordering Pokken Tournament for Wii U. Packaged inside all first-run copies of the game is an exclusive Shadow Mewtwo amiibo card.

Next Wave Is Now Available For Pre-Order

The next wave of amiibo have a scheduled release date of March 18, and will include figures from the Super Smash Bros. line, as well as the Animal Crossing collection mentioned above. Series 3 of the Animal Crossing amiibo cards will also launch on March 18, increasing the total number of amiibo cards to 300.

Roy is a GameStop exclusive amiibo at launch. Although, most of the store exclusives have eventually been released to other retailers, there’s no official word on whether Roy will be a timed-exclusive. Previous Fire Emblem amiibo include Marth, Ike, Robin, and Lucina. The Fire Emblem characters are some of the more intricately painted and detailed amiibo figures, and have a history of selling out at launch. Unlike the other Fire Emblem amiibo, Roy is not currently compatible with Code Name S.T.E.A.M. As of this writing, the Roy amiibo is currently available for pre-order through GameStop and has yet to sell out.

The other Super Smash Bros. amiibo dropping on March 18 include Ryu and R.O.B. Presently, Best Buy has both Ryu and R.O.B. available for pre-order on their website. Ryu of Street Fighter fame joins other third-party characters like Mega Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Pac-Man in the honor of being in the current gen Smash Bros. and getting an amiibo. The R.O.B. amiibo is a Famicom Colors variant, featuring different coloring from the original R.O.B. included in the previously released GameStop exclusive triple pack.

Go For The Gold Mega Man

Hitting the streets just before the next full wave of amiibo is the Mega Man Legacy Collection on the Nintendo 3DS. A special collector’s edition with an MSRP of $49.99 USD includes a Gold Mega Man amiibo. Presently, the collection is available (in limited quantities) for pre-order through most retailers including Best Buy, Target, and GameStop.

Don’t Forget Wolf Link

On March 4, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD will be released for the Wii U at an MSRP of $59.99 USD. Its collector’s edition also comes bundled with a special amiibo. The Wolf Link amiibo features a highly-detailed Wolf Link figure with Midna riding on his back. This collectible bundle also seems to be available for pre-order at most retailers, including Amazon. GameStop is offering an exclusive CD featuring a selection of Twilight Princess HD songs as a pre-order bonus, as well.

[Image via Nintendo]

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