The upcoming Wii U platformer Yoshi’s Woolly World will usher in a new era for fans of Nintendo’s amiibo figurines, as collectors can now expect to hunt down giant-sized “Mega” variants of featured characters in addition to their smaller counterparts.
Nintendo of Europe revealed this week that a Mega Yarn Yoshi amiibo will launch later this year, dwarfing previously released figurines at an estimated seven inches in height.
Mega Yarn Yoshi otherwise serves identical in-game functionality as the smaller Yarn Yoshi amiibo included in Yoshi’s Woolly World‘s figure-bundled Special Edition. When placed atop the Wii U’s GamePad peripheral, Mega Yarn Yoshi summons “Double Yoshi” — a second playable character — within Yoshi’s Wooly World‘s side-scrolling levels.
Yarn Yoshi and its Mega variant also allow players to save unlockable patterns to the figures themselves, activating in-game character skins when used with a Wii U GamePad.
Developed by Kirby’s Epic Yarn creator Good-Feel, Yoshi’s Woolly World is a side-scrolling platformer in which characters and settings appear to be made of yarn and cloth. Gameplay is inspired by previous Yoshi series games including Yoshi’s Island and Yoshi’s Story.
Yoshi’s Woolly World is the latest game to support Nintendo’s amiibo, a series of figurines that launched alongside Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U in 2014. Collectors have eagerly sought new figures as they’ve been released, leading to shortages and price hikes via third-party reseller sites like eBay and Amazon.
Nintendo infrequently issues variant amiibo figures, driving up market value and consumer interest. Silver and gold-edition Mario figures accompanied the release of the Wii U board game and minigame compilation Mario Party 10 earlier this year, and a retro-themed Mario figurine commemorating the Super Mario Bros. series’ 30th anniversary will herald Mario Maker‘s stateside debut in September.
Mega Yarn Yoshi will be priced at $40 when it hits retail on November 13. Yoshi’s Woolly World is already available in Europe and Japan, and its North American debut is slated for October 16.
