Sonic appears as a playable character in Nintendo's "Super Smash Bros." crossover fighting games, beginning with "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" in 2008. Alongside Solid Snake from Konami's "Metal Gear" franchise, Sonic was the first non-Nintendo character to appear in "Smash". He was considered for inclusion in "Super Smash Bros. Melee" (2001), but the game was too close to completion so his introduction was delayed until "Brawl". He returned in the sequels "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS" and "Wii U" (2014) and "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" (2018). Shadow and Knuckles appear in "Smash" as non-playable characters, while Tails and Knuckles costumes are available for players' Mii avatars. A Sonic amiibo figurine was released for the "Smash" games, and is also compatible with "Mario Kart 8" (2014), "Super Mario Maker" (2015), and "Yoshi's Woolly World" (2015).