Skylanders

[JCKane]

It's pretty simple this thread is to talk about the Video Game Skylanders.

I myself have Skylanders: Spyro's adventure. And Skylanders: Giants but their both for the 3DS. However, I've played through the story in Spyro's adventure with my nephew.


Here are some other questions I've had.

Glow in the Dark Series 2 Cynder: My copy of Giants came with this But for some reason it refuses to register the toy in the game but I can still play her. Let me explain: I can play her normally when I bring her to the game. But where it shows the list of all the skylanders that are saved to the game it doesn't achknowledge that I've put on Series 2 cynder. And when it loads it calls it Series 2 Special Cynder. Now I don't know if it still keeps a copy of it someone because I allways update the toy before I switch it but I'll check that out at some point.


Those are my main questions/problems but we can discuss other things too. I have 26 skylanders as of right now.


I have:

Series 1

1) Dark Spyro

2) Stealth Elf (my favorite)

3) Ignitor

4) Flameslinger

5) Cynder

6) Zook

7) Lightning Rod

8) Drobot

9) Voodood

10) Legendary Trigger Happy

Series 2

11) Bash

12) Slam Bam

13-14) Sprocket (another favorite) x2

15) Glow in the dark Cynder (the one mentioned above)

16) Cynder

17) Punch Pop Fizz

18-19) Tree Rex x2

20) Chill (Another Favorite)

22)Sonic Boom

23)Stump Smash

24)Legendary Stealth Elf (Another Favorite)

25)Jet-Vac

26) Light-Core Prism Break

 

[ForeverFlame]

Crack is cheaper.

I have Spyro's Adventure for the Wii and 3DS, but I've been avoiding Giants like the plague because I know these yearly iterations are a slippery slope. I can't afford to spend 70+ dollars every single year (I refuse to get the portal owner pack because it only includes one figure). And that doesn't even include the expensive figures, which can easily tack on another 100+ dollars.

 

[Steampunk]

i have it for the wii and i am going to get giants for the 3ds, my havorite charicter if flameslinger.

 

[JCKane]

I have Spyro's Adventure for the Wii and 3DS, but I've been avoiding Giants like the plague because I know these yearly iterations are a slippery slope. I can't afford to spend 70+ dollars every single year (I refuse to get the portal owner pack because it only includes one figure). And that doesn't even include the expensive figures, which can easily tack on another 100+ dollars.

I agree with you there. The game can get expensive. But honestly, I'm more getting my favorites more than trying to collect them all. For example I don't care as much for Zap so the only way I'd be getting him is if he come in a triple pack of one(s) I want.

i have it for the wii and i am going to get giants for the 3ds, my havorite charicter if flameslinger.

Flameslinger and Dark Spyro was my 2nd and 3rd but that was until Chill and sprocket.


Also I plan on getting the Xbox 360 version either at Christmas or the day after. If I get it for Christmas then well I'll have it. If I don't then I'm taking back an extra copy of skylanders 3ds and spend it on it.

 

[giratina519]

My favorite is cynder. She is amazing!

 

[fango pango]

Ok so my bro got Giants for Christmas and since then I have played it, he got the set 2 action figures, which is cool I guess but...I wondered...where's Spyro? It is the Spyro series after all...I liked the Spyro series I found the games pretty good to be honest and then this came along and I was goin into a *****fit about it. Then I was told he was in the first set of action figures. Although this makes sense...why do we need the action figures? What happened to character select screens and individual levels? From what i've seen it's all one huge level where you need to change characters every 5 minutes and that is not a good way to present your game. However, i'm clearly being quick to judge. Maybe this new main series thing is going to be good. I highly doubt it from what i've seen but...I guess it's possible.

 

[ParaChomp]

Oh wow, that's quite amazing!

 

[Orithan]

I personally think that the idea behind Skylanders is awesome because it raises interactivity between toys and their environment, something many kids would want. I haven't played it yet, so I have yet to form an opinion on the actual game itself.
My problem with it is that it is too freaking expensive. It costs like $60-70 for the starter pack (Game + Tower + 1-2 figures) and each toy costs a fortune. Why the heck should I pay $15 per toy (or 3 for $40) just so that I could enjoy a $60 game to the fullest extent? Call of Duty is already bad enough for gouging, but this is twice as worse as CoD for it. Yes, both CoD and Skylanders are made (or at least, published) by Activision last time I saw the games. I am probably not going to get it anytime soon unless the price of the toys really drop to like $5 each.

 

[Thomas Elliot]

I am far too old for the game, but man whoever came up with that idea is a genius. The Spyro series was all but dead and this comes out?? They are making money hand over fist.

 

[Night_Walker]

I have to say I really dislike this series.

I mean people cut crook at a lot of other franchises for very similar yearly game releases that get DLC map-packs and such... but Skylanders has taken the concept to a whole other level, being pretty much reliant on DLC for the WHOLE game.

 

[Jacobthepokemonfreak]

I am far too old for the game, but man whoever came up with that idea is a genius. The Spyro series was all but dead and this comes out?? They are making money hand over fist.

The creators of Skylanders just found themselves the holy grail of marketing.

 

[ParaChomp]

Disney is attempting the same thing. Opinions?

 

[Jb]

Everything that isn't a movie or theme park related that Disney puts out is terrible.

No exceptions for this.

 

[Chibi_Muffin]

I'm... skeptical, to say the least.

Thing is, I actually kind of like Skylanders. Admittedly, it's expensive (though it's also like getting your favourite character and their merchandise in one, but still); it would be nice if the game maybe had more levels and extra content to offset this. 16 levels (20 with bonus packs) isn't good enough because you can beat the game before half the characters are out. The gameplay isn't bad, it's a decent dungeon-crawler with puzzles; nothing complex which is probably why it feels so short. A few more bosses might be nice as well, to add more variety. The plots are typical fare, no twists or huge threats, and a majority of the characters are pretty flat and boring. I like quite a few of the Skylanders themselves though, and they're the ones I'd rather see more of. They got some more lines in the sequel, I think taking this a step further somehow would make it even better, as more characterisation would mean that they feel more unique in terms of personality.

I didn't always like it, though. In fact, I hated the game when it came out because I saw it as a ripoff. This changed when I began learning about the characters (since it was my brother that was originally interested in the game). They're actually quite well done, as each one has their own design, powers and backstory. This appealed to me more, as I tend to like character-based things. That's why I got into it, really - I'm in it for the characters that I've grown to love. It's a little surprising really that my view has changed so much. The Series 2s and the alternate colours are still ripoffs, though. =P

Anyway, that was just kind of there to explain my viewpoint on Skylanders. Here's the thing; you can finish the game with the characters you have in the box. It'll be harder, as you only have three 'lives', but you can do it. True, elemental areas need a character from that element, but those areas aren't necessary - they normally contain hats or other collectibles, nothing needed to beat the level. There are expansion packs containing a level each, but if you just get the starter pack, there's still a reasonably full (if a bit short) game left over. Disney Infinity? You need a character from the franchise to even access a level. And you can't access it with anyone else. That spoils the crossover element of it, really, as you can only intermingle series in the Create Your Own mode - losing the idea of, say, beating the Omnidroid with Sulley. There may be a reason to it, yes, but still - especially since, if the levels are tailored to each series' characters, you might need all of the characters to get some missions at least. And you need to buy characters to access SIGNIFICANT portions of the game, namely entire levels. Sixteen levels may not be a lot, but having just three (which is what you get in Disney Infinity) is much worse. True, there's a sandbox mode, but not much information has been given on that, so it's hard for me to judge.

The characters also put me off. I think, with Skylanders, it helps that I wasn't really a Spyro fan to begin with, so I didn't lose any characters that I was attached to, so I'm biased in that regard. But, the thing is, all the characters but Spyro and Cynder are new. It's much easier to judge a character in their own merits because you know that whoever comes out is going to be new, and most people - who wouldn't have heard of Spyro - will be happy with the new characters. Some will be disappointed, but there are some cameos/new versions visible, and Spyro's been through a reboot before with only a few characters carried over, so it's nothing incredibly new. And, to be honest, not many people would have been Spyro fans - especially not the kids that will be making up the target audience. Everyone, on the other hand, knows Disney, and the films are seen as classic enough that most kids would have likely seen an older Disney film - princess merchandise is everywhere, kid's clubs often show the films, and that's not even getting started on the theme parks. Don't get me wrong, I adore Pixar and am immensely looking forward to Wreck It Ralph, but there's no classic Disney here. No princesses, no likes of Peter Pan or Dumbo, not even Mickey Mouse himself. It's all new franchises, making it obvious that it's meant to appeal to young boys, but leaving the rest of the fans out. If you can most likely play as Edna Mode (judging by the art with all the characters in), but not Mickey, what does that say?

Disney Infinity looks a lot like Skylanders mixed with Disney Universe to me - and Disney Universe has a lot of problems; weird and unclear gameplay, a limited amount of films available and nothing particularly Disney-ish to it. At the moment, I'm afraid Infinity will be the same. Skylanders managed to get me to like it because of having interesting characters and being pretty fun. If Infinity comes out with more series later (and so feeling more 'complete') and manages to make its gameplay look interesting and cool rather than aimless and generic, as Universe ended up being to me, I might think of buying it. But, at the moment, it just feels like a ripoff made to make money, rather than a fun attempt to cash in on something while mixing two things I already enjoy, namely Disney and Skylanders. And I know this post has been about Infinity more than Skylanders itself, and I'd love to post on this series proper later on. But I feel like I need to say this considering it has been brought up.

 

[JCKane]

It's fine on you saying your oppion about Disney Infinite since you were pretty much comparing it too Skylanders. Myself my opinions similer to yours on Disney Infinite. It's seems more like failed an attempt to do what Skylanders did. But I'm just not impressed with it.


Now, back to skylanders. I've got the xbox game and I've cleared all the levels but the final non-expansion level's time challenge. (And not darklight crypt) I've also beaten all the 3DS version but without Darklight crypt and one challenge in Empire of Ice. (The don't get sliced one). So I can pretty much help anyone who's stuck in the game.


I'll also admit the game does seem short as many of you have noticed. It's kinda sad but I'm hoping for more things in the future than just (What kind of new toy idea can we come up with. like Giants and Light Core). In some ways it's almost like the skylander (The one being played) is kind of like a body gaurd to the others. it's hard to explain but it's like the others are the heros and your just the one that handles the dirty busniss. Mainly, on how the heroes talk amoungst themselfs. In the first game they talk to the skylanders a bit more inbetween levels but Giants they more talk amoungst themselves.

Ofcourse, part of the seemingly short story and the others is that the target audience is for kids so it making more indepth storylines.

 

[Chibi_Muffin]

^ Yeah, Infinity's on the edge right now; I think it MIGHT be good but I'll hold off for a bit. I don't expect any really indepth stories, but just something different from a fetch quest like the past two games and maybe a small plot twist.

Anyways, Swap Force has been announced. There are going to be 32 new characters, 16 normal and 16 Swap Force where you can switch the tops and bottoms of the characters. Here's a link to an article with a bit more information. Opinions?

Eh, I'm not too sure about this. Swapping doesn't really appeal to me, although you don't have to do it (so we won't). Series 3, again, not appealing - I liked Stealth Elf's more simple, foresty outfit - but they too can be avoided (Series 1 characters from both previous games can still be used). I'm not too sure about the new characters though. Washbuckler, Rollerbrawl and Magna Charge seem okay, I guess, but Blast Zone is way too similar to Ignitor, my current favourite (I'd rather characters stay unique) and Countdown is ridiculously cartoony and I find him just horrible. When information was coming for Giants, I'm sure I liked Tree Rex and Jet Vac at the time and liked non-beast Pop Fizz so I don't think it's purely being new (in fact, I'm normally disproportionately excited when new characters come out). The gameplay looks fine, though, so if we buy it I may just use my existing favourites and perhaps a couple of new guys. I'm just not very excited for this one, sorry.

Anyways, favourite characters, since I haven't said mine yet. I actually have a massive Avengers style team going on with all the characters I like in it. We currently have all Skylanders out in the UK but Thumpback and Eye Brawl (my brother's favourite Giants, though I prefer the ones already out). My Magic guys are Spyro (the hero and leader) and Pop Fizz (the mad scientist); the Earth are Terrafin (the brawler and tough guy), Bash (the 'normal', if shy, member) and Flashwing (the girly girl); Water has Chill (brave but friendly), Slam Bam (the cheerful one who gives a lot of bear hugs) and Gill Grunt (Spyro's closer to earth counterpart); Fire has Ignitor (also brave but gullible) and Sunburn (pretty vain and show offy); Tech is Trigger Happy (very hyper), Boomer (the crazy old grandpa), Sprocket (a tomboyish genius) and Drill Sergeant (loyal but very dim); Undead has Fright Rider (Fright is timid, Rider is calmer), Chop Chop ('dead' serious, heh) and Cynder (quiet and snarky); Air has Sonic Boom (the motherly one), Whirlwind (excitable and kind) and Jet Vac (the veteran); Life has Stealth Elf (sarcastic but easily angered), Camo (prankster) and Shroomboom (the cheerful rookie); finally, the Giants are Tree Rex (very gentle), Bouncer (the friendly chilled out one), Swarm (irritable but a bit silly) and Crusher (the leaderish grizzled one). Yeah, that's a lot of characters. XD I think that's the fun part though, picking out your favourites and then picking an interpretation of them based on their back stories. =)

 

[JCKane]

I just found out too about new Skylanders Swap Force. Infact I'm super excited about it. I think it's a neat idea and I'm looking forward to seeing what other swap force characters there are. Though I'm curious so far they haven't said anything about it but did the max level increase? And what's the difference with series 3... so far what I've watched they haven't mentioned them.

I actually like Roller brawl. She's looks awesome and so far is shooting up there as my favorite undead type. So yeah this year is just swarming with new games I can't wait get... first Pokemon X &Y, then A new Sonic game. and now Skylanders swap force.


here's another link for another site covering Skylanders Swap force. This includes some gameplay videos. http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2013/02/skylanders-swap-force-hands-on/

edit: I seen the new stealth Elf. While like you said I like Stealth Elfs original outfit but the new ones not that bad. I'll be just as excited to get her and add her to my collection. Though I actually kinda hope she's in the starter pack as it seems like it's saying. PS I wonder what her new wow pow is. does it have something to do with her outfit or is the new oufit from the begining and each series 3 comes with a new outfit.