In addition to Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire releasing on the Nintendo 3DS, Super Smash Bros. released for the Wii U. Right along side the "smash hit" (no pun intended) were the Amiibo.
Amiibo Basic Info and Day 1 Haul
Amiibo figures are similar to Skylanders...They are cool, collectible, and function in-game. While Skylanders work in Skylander games, Amiibo will be able to hop titles within the Nintendo framework. Obviously, not all games will integrate Amiibo, some functionality will be minimal, most will fail in comparison to the content rich Smash Bros., but nonetheless it is a selling point.
The Amiibo figures work with NFC (Near Field Communication). That funky looking gray rectangle on the Left Hand side of your game pad that seemed like wasted real estate...It is the NFC pad. You use it to scan Amiibo into the respective games. It works just like the Portal of Power in Skylanders. The 3DS lacks this NFC pad and will have a peripheral device released at a later date to allot for Amiibo functionality on 3DS titles.
To cliff note that, the Amiibo look cool and offer in game functionality via NFC. See, simple.
As of right now there are 29 Amiibo slated for release. There have been no "Chase" or Special Edition made known at this point, although in a Twitter Q&A Nintendo would not discuss the possibility either way. At this point in time, these figures will drop in 3 Waves.
Release Dates
Wave 1: Friday, November 21st, 2014.
Wave 2: December 2014 (I've seen 12-12 as a ship date on some sites)
Wave 3: February 2015
Pricing
All Amiibo have an MSRP of $12.99.
Characters By Wave
Wave 1 (Friday, November 21st, 2014) Includes 12 Characters:
-Mario
-Yoshi
-Princess Peach
-Link
-Donkey Kong
-Kirby
-Fox
-Pickachu
-Samus
-Villager
-Marth
-Wii Fit Trainer
Wave 2 (Mid December 2015) Includes 6 Characters:
-Luigi
-Captain Falcon
-Diddy Kong
-Zelda
-Pit
-Little Mac
Wave 3 (February 2015) Includes 11 Characters:
-Bowser
-Ike
-King Dedede
-Lucario
-Mega Man
-Meta Knight
-Rosalina & Luma
-Sheik
-Shulk
-Sonic
-Toon Link
Functionality
Super Smash Bros. (Wii U)
--All Amiibo (as of this writing) are supported in Super Smash Bros.
-Level Up: Go up to Level 50 with your Amiibo
-Customize: Tweak Attack, Defense, and Speed Stats
-Fight: You + Amiibo, You vs Amiibo, Amiibo vs Amiibo
-Train: Increase Stats and Abilities
Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
--10 Are Supported
-Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Link, Donkey Kong, Captain Falcon, Star Fox, Kirby, and Samus
--Each of the above unlocks a special character themed racing suit for your Mii
Hyrule Warriors (Wii U)
--All Amiibo are supported, but in limited capacities
-Link: Unlocks the Spinner from Twilight Princess
-Zelda: Get a 3 Star or Higher Weapon (Can be used ONCE DAILY)
-All Others: Unlock crafting material bonus, Rupee bonus, or 3 Star or lower weapon
*I will update this post with pictures and more information as it becomes available.*
You can keep up with all my Amiibo Unboxings here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWU7DXRZFRMvsY6jk49OYRYFnpoUI27w-
