I’m sure most of you were watching with much delight during Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – Mr. Sakurai Presents “Kazuya,” which took place earlier today. Oh yeah, Tekken’s bad boy is going to cause all sorts of havoc in that game, that’s for sure. However, towards the end of the presentation, where the words “amiibo” pops onto the screen, I expected to see a WIP Kazuya Mishima amiibo. Instead, we got to see the Min-Min amiibo that’s in development.
Min-Min? Where the heck was the Kazua amiibo? This was a presentation for the character, and showing, or at least mentioning that there’d be one for Kazuya, would end the video with a bang. Except, there was nothing. I was a bit disappointed because the concept of a Tekken amiibo was already running through my mind. I was convinced this was going to happen, and my body was ready for it.
To add insult to injury, Mashiro Sakurai had the audacity to say that “Nintendo making an amiibo of Kazuya Mishima would be a little odd, though.” Wait, did he just say that? We’re talking about a company that has made amiibos of several non-Nintendo properties, including Street Fighter’s Ken and Ryu, King of Fighters & Fatal Fury’s Terry Board, Solaire of Astora from Dark Souls, Snake from Metal Gear, and so forth. Having a Kazuya amiibo made by Nintendo wouldn’t be a departure from what the company has already done time and time again in the past.
So, what exactly is going on? Why has Sakurai forsaken us?
Does this mean we’re out of luck? Maybe, who knows, other than Sakurai. However, I do want to point out something that should be obvious. There are two Super Smash Bros. Ultimate developers, Sora Ltd (Limited), a company that Mashiro Sakurai himself founded. The other developer happens to be Bandai Namco Studios — Yep, the same development studio Tekken. This could mean that perhaps Bandai Namco and Nintendo are working on a special amiibo that Bandai Namco could reveal later.
Sure, I could be jumping to conclusions, but there hasn’t been a character on the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster that hasn’t had its own amiibo. I sincerely doubt that Nintendo will start with perhaps one of the most well-known characters in the gaming world. Plus, there’s something about the way Sakurai said what he said. He didn’t flat out say that there won’t be an amiibo for Kazuya, nor did he say there would be. It feels like he’s especially vague for a reason. Whether we’ll see an amiibo for Kazuya remains to be seen, but something tells me that we’ll see something, but maybe not by Nintendo.
Tomorrow for those not paying attention, Kazuya Mishima heads to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster on June 29th, 2021. He’ll be available as part of the second season fighter’s pass or individually for $5.99.
Sound off in the comments if you’re just as annoyed or shocked about the Tekken bad boy not getting his own amiibo.
