Would you prefer Tingle or Link?

When I heard that Yacht Club games 'shoveled' close to a quarter million dollars into creating amiibo-specific content for Shovel Knight, I figured that was end of whatever chances the game had for seeing a cameo from a Nintendo character.

Shovel Knight co-creator Sean Velasco was clearly crazy about the idea of Link or Tingle doing battle with the blue burrower last year, and the team has gone to great lengths to make sure there are some cool console-specific bonuses for each version of the game, but to hope for Shovel Knight on the Wii U to get co-op play, amiibo training, and an appearance from a Nintendo icon seemed like a bit much.

However, seeing Mario and his pals join the cast of Minecraft caused me to rethink that pessimistic stance. While Shovel Knight isn't anywhere near as big as Mojang's mega hit, it's still a good sign to see Nintendo allow its characters to pop up in what was once a "weird little western indie game." And knowing Nintendo is publishing the game for Wii U and 3DS in Japan is also cause for optimism. With this new-found hope, I asked Yacht Club if there was still a chance for a Nintendo character in Shovel Knight, and was told "I wouldn't say [the door] is 100 percent closed, but I'd be surprised if it happened. That said, I would have said the same for the amiibo a year ago..."

Even if Yacht Club has bigger plans than that, I doubt the team would be able to tell me more about them now. I'm sure the studio would have to break the news with a big announcement trailer or a series of cryptic teases. Still, hearing that there is still a chance to see Tingle, Link, or Captain Falcon in Shovel Knight is pretty exciting. A little cameo like that could help the game to sell a lot better, and in Japan, Nintendo gets a good chunk of profits on every purchase. It seems like common sense for Nintendo to allow Yacht Club to make everyone more money, and to make their mutual fans happy in the process.