Nintendo has released an official plush toy for one of Splatoon 3 players' favorite new characters, the incredibly helpful Salmonid Smallfry often referred to as Little Buddy. Apart from Pokemon, plush toys for Nintendo games can be somewhat rare and sporadic. It's already been months since Splatoon 3 launched, after all. But when it comes to a plush Little Buddy, Splatoon 3 fans are likely to say it's better late than never.For those unfamiliar with Little Buddy, the Salmonid Smallfry plays a significant role in Splatoon 3's single-player campaign "Return of the Mammalians." Salmonids are historically antagonistic toward Inklings and Octolings, but Splatoon 3 starts with Little Buddy already being a close friend of the player character Agent 3. The two go through Splatoon 3's story together, with Little Buddy turning into valuable tools and weapons all the way through to the final boss.Now Splatoon 3 players can have a Little Buddy of their own. Sanei Boeki, Nintendo's official partner for plush dolls and other assorted merchandise, has revealed its latest additions for the All Star Collection. Three different plush toys were revealed for Splatoon 3, including not only the Smallfry Little Buddy, but also plushes for Splatoon players' favorite cats, Judd and Li'l Judd.
All three of the new Sanei Boeki All Star Collection plushes for Splatoon 3 can now be pre-ordered, but there is a catch. The plush toys are not being made available worldwide, at least for now. That means Splatoon 3 fans will have to make their preorders through Amazon.jp, the Japanese regional shop for the online retailer. It's not all bad, though, as the current conversion rate for Japanese yen means fans overseas should get a healthy discount when ordering on Amazon.jp.
These aren't the first Splatoon plush toys that Nintendo has released, of course. Large and small plush Inklings and Octolings, in their ink-swimming forms, were released alongside Splatoon 3. There were also a range of Splatoon 2 plush toys, including Pearl and Marina plushies and even full-sized Inkling plushies with weapons. It's likely they're all long sold-out, however.
Overall, the pending release of the Little Buddy, Judd, and Li'l Judd plush toys is both positive and negative news for Splatoon 3 fans. It's positive that they're being released at all, and that fans across the world at least have the opportunity to buy them. It's negative that they're restricted to the Japanese Amazon shop, and likely to be fairly limited in availability as a result. Something is better than nothing, at least. Splatoon 3 fans will just have to be careful not to accidentally end up buying knockoff plushes going forward.
Splatoon 3 is available now on Switch.
Source: Nintendo Soup
