darkSpyro

I heard Vicarious Visions is developing it, and while they're good at gameplay aspects, there was a lot that bugged me in that game. VV's Skylanders just seemed so... bland. They also took away characters like Cali and Persephone, and replaced them with annoying characters with unskippable dialouge such as Rufus and Gorm. There was never a single Mabu in sight, and it was riddled with changes in the series' lore. It just seems like it was never really thought through (besides the swapping mechanic; that was genius), and it felt like they went with quantity over quality with the figures and stuff. The swap zones were nice, but all the gates were replaced by big neon signs that didn't fit the enviornment. Then there were the unskippable cutscenes and bland, uninspired, and un-necessarily long levels. I really hope TFB assists them more this time, and that they AT LEAST make traps usable. If not, the Skylanders series will probably be described by one picture in the coming years:

Man, you just described my entire thoughts of Sky5...


I completely agree, and I hope VV makes big changes from Swap Force..

i'd rather not see a sky 5 and vv did the first 3 games on 3ds and giants on wii u so those weren't that bad at all imo. even swap force with them was pretty good as i'm still playing through that one and not onto trap team yet even if i own it. there's too much burn out and though they'll probably make a sky 5 the real thing of people interested in it's probably diminished. i don't see any other thing for them to climb with gimmicks. best off there should be fewer figures every year. no more then 30 tops or even fewer then that.

the traps in a way made things better with less space needed and i don't see a reason other then to milk people for incredible amounts of money to pay that much to keep supporting them. it's just not worth it anymore. trap team's kinda the peak here so anything sky 5 does is going to be lackluster and downhill from here on out. vv might be blamed for it but it's the burnout of the series. That and the whole trapping enemies is kinda the last you can do with things in turning villains into allies. Sure they can introduce more elements (cash grab) maybe add online, but it seems they're shying away from that now with trap team and focusing only on the story mode. Without a level editor like infinity or something that'll make people want to play the game over a few times in a row for levels and achievements, the price of figures don't warrant the yearly purchase anymore.

I think it was a mistake splitting VV and TFB up and then rotating on and off with their own similar, yet very different interpretations of the Skylanders universe. While its nice to have the variance, there needs to be a more unifying thread between them. Seems like the teams didn't really talk that much; like you mentioned theres some disappearances from the Mabu and changes with the other NPC characters.

Perhaps if they go forward with having a continuation with the events from one game carrying over to the next it'd be more interesting.

As a fan and collector though, the games are actually the one thing I can really count on and not worry about. The problem arises with the figures. It's no secret that there's a lot of frustration on this forum and the internet at large, and I've chatted with people in the stores about it: It's starting to feel like the older figures don't matter any more. While its good to not cannibalize sales of new figures, its also hard to find a balance so you don't alienate your older, long playing audience.

agree 100% TFB is better

Quote: spyroflame0487

It's no secret that there's a lot of frustration on this forum and the internet at large, and I've chatted with people in the stores about it: It's starting to feel like the older figures don't matter any more. While its good to not cannibalize sales of new figures, its also hard to find a balance so you don't alienate your older, long playing audience.

that's that it seems tfb is forgetting a lot about and even if they make another game how's that going to reflect the elites? still OP or nerfed in that one? investment into the gimmicks proves only to work for 1 game tops now as they try to shift the balance too heavily to the new items every year. the only year that made more sense for the older figures was giants and that's probably the pinnacle of the franchise at this point.

I actually like two different takes. It keeps things interesting, although I prefer not to shake things up too much interms of story line and continuity. In all honesty both have things that annoy me. At the end of the day VV brought much more TO the table than they took OFF. Technically superior gimmick, lots of additional content...can't complain. And I like their version of chompies better too. TfB was lighter on content, mainly because of all of the villains. In general I am worried we are continuing down a trend where content is being sacrificed to make room for their army of characters---which I think is bad. I don't need to see a Mabu in every episode, thank you. And I don't want to see Cali every episode. Let's move forward, shall we?

At the end of the day I think VV will bring technical superiority and feature rich content...that to me means a lot, even if they don't get some of the story aspects right (and that's something that can be easily rectified btw).

I don't know....I'm feeling kinda pumped for VV's next entry. I know I generally have a DLOTS approach to things here, but there it is.

In TT, too many damn troll villains. No Magic Doom Raider. Minor villains were unbalanced in number (some elements had more than others). Can't get rid of Flynn, he's the comedic heart & soul of the game. I like Cali, but Tessa's better. She's a mix of Cali & Flynn in her personality.
Love Mags...sounds like Reba McIntyre. That & some of her lines crack me up.
Come up with newer villains, since Kaos got trapped.
Maybe have his mother return, along with Kluck, Sheep Mage, and some of the other villains in SF as villains that can be trapped. Maybe see what villains got away not only from SF, but Giants & SA. Also create some new villains.
Introduce Kaos's father. Maybe he's the Darkness.

VV is gonna blow our mind next year (in the good way).

I beg to differ with the quality over quantity comment with Swap Force. I thought all the cores rocked across the board with Swap Force and really offered something new...Roller Brawl, Bumble Blast, Scorp, Wind Up, Pop Thorn, Scratch, Smolderdash, Zoo Lou, and the rest of the core gang all really offered me new/original moves and fun gameplay as I took the time to get them up to level 20. I've only played with Food Fight, Déjà Vu, Funny Bone, and several Trapmasters with Trap Team, but the characters don't seem to have the same wow factor to me. I don't find Trap Team to be very balanced as melee characters have been shoved to the side and given the choice, you almost always have to choose the Skylander with ranged attacks. I can't imagine running around on the Kaos Nightmare Challenge on the more difficult levels and doing well with a character like Ninjini, Krypt King, Thumpback, Terrafin, Prism Break, or Voodood.

(I love Thumpback!) While I loved skylanders like Zoo Lou and Dune Bug, the swappers didn't really feel unique. They were all bipedal, similar playstyle, and had cardboard personalities and biographies. Some sticked out to me though, such as Trap Shadow (hence my name), Freeze Blade, and Spy Rise. Those guys are some of my favorite skylanders.

From the interview guy said that the next skylander game was gonna be all games connected in a way

How about Skylanders V: Koas' Revenge?

We finally get to play the evil side for a change and finally get Kaos and Glumshanks figures to try and take over Skylands.

Plus add on-line co-op.

Actually, I feel pretty optimistic about Sky5. TT lacked the kind of lore I loved in TFB's past games, so I can't see the story returning to former glory soon, and I'm way more confident in VV's game design skills.
I only hope that the content and quality hasn't been lowered too much and that their writers have practiced enough that the story won't have as many holes as SF's did.

...Also that the gimmick makes sense and doesn't feel shoehorned (because I don't see what new ones they could make, and don't see Acti letting them reuse an old one such as swapping). Plus, I'd like to see villains and PVP return. And some equivalent to Swap Zones. And some better version of Quests/Heroics, but I feel like that's a bit of a pipe dream.

I'm almost more excited for VV's next game than I am to play the currently-released TT- but carpe diem, and I deeply regret ignoring SF when it was fresh, so to speak.

I'm kind of concerned for the future of the franchise, particularly how Sky6 will turn out, but I'm not very interested in that kind of analysis so I barely think about it.

That gif sums up how the two dev team thing is working out. You have great gameplay,crap story; good story/characters, lackluster gameplay. While they don't get together, it'll stay being 8 or 80.

And I'm kind of afraid for SKL5,yes. It's been 4 games,the chances of stopping fowards compatibility only gets higher,and with VV in the lead you can expect them to do a "great" job with the new elements and character designs. Just hope the mark it leaves on the franchise won't be enough for Acti to decide to tighten the grip (read screw it up) even more.

EDIT: And don't forget the QA team getting worse by the year, too. It seems to be a Beenox thing rather than VV or TFB, but if it's the same every game, guess that we'll go from falling from skyblock and "X character doesn't work,don't use it" to even more ridiculous responses to glitches.

I'm actually surprised with what I'm reading here. I thought SWAP Force was the best Skylanders game, and I still prefer it over Trap Team (even if the trap mechanic is genius). VV is an AMAZING developer with a small company feel and big company results.

I KNOW the swapping mechanic came from VV people, not TFB or Activision. I heard the story on how the swapping came to be directly from the designer who came up with it. I LOVED VV's character designs - Wash Buckler, Fryno, Rattle Shake, Magna Charge... all their designs and all at least as good as anything TFB has come up with. And VV's game was just better than any TFB has done - it more to do, more secrets, more challenges, more puzzles - more everything. Trap Team, to me anyway, felt like a step backward, not forward. My only complaint with VV's game was unskippable cut scenes. In today's gaming climate, who has unskippable cut scenes?! It's like buying new car without power locks or windows (full disclosure - I drive a car with neither power locks, nor power windows... its old). I loved what VV did with Swap Force, and the prospect of them working on the next one has me excited!

That said, I hope they drop the Eon's Elite line. $25 is simply too much for a single figure.

Well at least Vicarious Visions may repose wind-up, thats my only real request in Skylander 5 besides an interesting gimmick like the swappers

IMO, TfB Skylanders games are junk compared to what VV showed with Swap Force. TT is a buggy mess. I say give Sky5 to VV and hopefully they right the ship.

I get a sense of pride in VV's craftmanship. I too remember the idea for the swapping...and I can definitely see a variant of this approach in future games. Just the anticipation of what they can cook up with really has me not worried at all for the next entry.

The bigger problem Activision has is introducing enough new concepts into the game to make it feel unique. The story / level design is getting old and they need to seriously consider one or more things of these mainstay design concepts. I doubt it will happen, but I do think fans will start saying no on the next entry if they don't bring considerable "new" value to the table. Again, it's a balancing act. I'm concerned here because basically this game was a a la carte of random ideas previously introduced (with exception of traps) which helped to contribute to the game's lack of focus. They definitely need to learn from that.

There's the general marketing approaches that are different between the two. VV was very forthcoming and got people psyched for the game...I wonder if TfB has marketing.

I still stand by my word that VV's skylander design is an insult to a character designer(and looking at The Art of SF pics,they START looking good then go downhill) and in a game where characters are the source of money, I find it the epitome of lazy. I should upload the picture where I analyzed and found out all swappers are the same body and limbs(except for the ones with odd limb numbers) acessories again sometime.

Quote: Bifrost

I still stand by my word that VV's character design is an insult to a character designer, and in a game where characters are the source of money, I find it the epitome of lazy. I should upload the picture where I analyzed and found out all swappers are the same design plus acessories again sometime.

please upload the picture where you analyzed and found out all swappers are the same design plus accessories...

Quote: GhostRoaster

I get a sense of pride in VV's craftmanship. I too remember the idea for the swapping...and I can definitely see a variant of this approach in future games. Just the anticipation of what they can cook up with really has me not worried at all for the next entry.

The bigger problem Activision has is introducing enough new concepts into the game to make it feel unique. The story / level design is getting old and they need to seriously consider one or more things of these mainstay design concepts. I doubt it will happen, but I do think fans will start saying no on the next entry if they don't bring considerable "new" value to the table. Again, it's a balancing act. I'm concerned here because basically this game was a a la carte of random ideas previously introduced (with exception of traps) which helped to contribute to the game's lack of focus. They definitely need to learn from that.

There's the general marketing approaches that are different between the two. VV was very forthcoming and got people psyched for the game...I wonder if TfB has marketing.

tfb and vv games are like two different games... both have something good and bad, but vv sure have the most content in their games. im looking forward to skylanders5 from vv now, stt was a bit disappointing and didnt live up to giants even when it had traps as its new gimmick.

I think it'll be more TfB esqe this time around. Remember, SF was VV's first Skylander game. Any now that Cali, Hugo, Auric, Brock, and other important NPCs have higher quality models thanks to TT. I think it's likely we'll see them in Sky 5. My guess this is what we'll get in Sky 5.

TfB NPCs return

New gimmick

Villains are still playable, and possibly new ones

Time and Score mode return.

Bonus missions return

Levels length of SF (Just a guess, but I hope they're as long as SF's)

Skippable cutscenes.

PVP returns.

This is what I think (and hope) will be in Sky 5. VV did a grand job with SF and I'm more than excited to see what they do for S5. I loved TT, but it's lacking compared to Swap Force.


I'm also thinking that we're going to get a remastering on SSA on the SF/TT engine. There have been a couple of things that imply we are getting one.

i just wonder what the next gimmick will be, so far we have had....

ssa: toys comes to life
sg: giants
ssf: swappable
stt: traps

Quote: HeyitsHotDog

I think it'll be more TfB esqe this time around. Remember, SF was VV's first Skylander game. Any now that Cali, Hugo, Auric, Brock, and other important NPCs have higher quality models thanks to TT. I think it's likely we'll see them in Sky 5. My guess this is what we'll get in Sky 5.

TfB NPCs return

New gimmick

Villains are still playable, and possibly new ones

Time and Score mode return.

Bonus missions return

Levels length of SF (Just a guess, but I hope they're as long as SF's)

Skippable cutscenes.

PVP returns.

This is what I think (and hope) will be in Sky 5. VV did a grand job with SF and I'm more than excited to see what they do for S5. I loved TT, but it's lacking compared to Swap Force.


I'm also thinking that we're going to get a remastering on SSA on the SF/TT engine. There have been a couple of things that imply we are getting one.

Remastered SSA? Where did you hear that?

Quote: Badwolfmichael

Quote: HeyitsHotDog

I think it'll be more TfB esqe this time around. Remember, SF was VV's first Skylander game. Any now that Cali, Hugo, Auric, Brock, and other important NPCs have higher quality models thanks to TT. I think it's likely we'll see them in Sky 5. My guess this is what we'll get in Sky 5.

TfB NPCs return

New gimmick

Villains are still playable, and possibly new ones

Time and Score mode return.

Bonus missions return

Levels length of SF (Just a guess, but I hope they're as long as SF's)

Skippable cutscenes.

PVP returns.

This is what I think (and hope) will be in Sky 5. VV did a grand job with SF and I'm more than excited to see what they do for S5. I loved TT, but it's lacking compared to Swap Force.


I'm also thinking that we're going to get a remastering on SSA on the SF/TT engine. There have been a couple of things that imply we are getting one.

Remastered SSA? Where did you hear that?

Nothing has been said, but the life gate in Know-It-All Island is the beginning part of Falling Forest from SSA. Either it's just a fun easter egg or it's a sublte hint at a SSA (And possibly Giants) getting remastered on the TT/SF engine.

Also, the environment in Chomp Chest's Quest is VERY similar to Rumbletown. There are a few props from those games used in TT, too (though that isn't nearly as big a hint).

I would love SA/Giants remakes.

Personally, I don't need a new gimmick every year. Innovation be damned, it's a logistical and testing nightmare to offer forward compatibility of past figures (and now traps) with every new Skylanders entry. If it ever comes down to dropping the forward compatibility and dropping the gimmick, I'd drop the gimmick and be more than happy with them just introducing some new figures. I wouldn't mind a new set of Giants (including light and dark elements), swappers, and cores/reposes. I didn't mention Trapmasters because I don't mind if they get scrapped from the series...they're like Giants without the light up mechanic and their sole purpose in Trap Team is to open those lousy elemental gates.

Quote: Arc of Archives

Also, the environment in Chomp Chest's Quest is VERY similar to Rumbletown. There are a few props from those games used in TT, too (though that isn't nearly as big a hint).

I would love SA/Giants remakes.

Your right! Also, Operation Troll Rocket Steal's beginning area has a similar layout to Stonetown before the water area.

Quote: Arc of Archives

Also, the environment in Chomp Chest's Quest is VERY similar to Rumbletown. There are a few props from those games used in TT, too (though that isn't nearly as big a hint).

I would love SA/Giants remakes.

there is already a ssa for the wiiu in japan. it could have the ssf engine for all we know...

Quote: CountMoneyBone

Quote: Arc of Archives

Also, the environment in Chomp Chest's Quest is VERY similar to Rumbletown. There are a few props from those games used in TT, too (though that isn't nearly as big a hint).

I would love SA/Giants remakes.

there is already a ssa for the wiiu in japan. it could have the ssf engine for all we know...

Actually it' just SSA with the graphics of the PS3 version.

Quote: HeyitsHotDog

Quote: CountMoneyBone

Quote: Arc of Archives

Also, the environment in Chomp Chest's Quest is VERY similar to Rumbletown. There are a few props from those games used in TT, too (though that isn't nearly as big a hint).

I would love SA/Giants remakes.

there is already a ssa for the wiiu in japan. it could have the ssf engine for all we know...

Actually it' just SSA with the graphics of the PS3 version.

ok, i haven't seen it so... but if that is the case then its just the wii upgraded version with some better textures and higher resolutions.

Quote: Bifrost

And don't forget the QA team getting worse by the year, too.

I will say something I said in a different topic: Devs can't fix every bug that QA finds, so it's not really QA's fault if a game has more bugs than expected.

Quote: CountMoneyBone

Quote: Bifrost

I still stand by my word that VV's character design is an insult to a character designer, and in a game where characters are the source of money, I find it the epitome of lazy. I should upload the picture where I analyzed and found out all swappers are the same design plus acessories again sometime.

please upload the picture where you analyzed and found out all swappers are the same design plus accessories...

I first did it with a poster that has only pieces of the artworks, and someone would probably try to argue about that, so I just went and did it again with bigger artwork and Trap Team chars so no one tries to say TFB is ANYWHERE similar.
If you're supposed to make a game with toys, maybe thinking about making the toys feel different is a good idea. And as I said,it's weird,in The Art of Swap Force some designs start out REALLY distinct(Doom Stone and Scratch come to mind) but as it progresses it starts getting less and less like something of its own and more like an existing skylander. Or other 15 skylanders.

Quote: newkill

Quote: Bifrost

And don't forget the QA team getting worse by the year, too.

I will say something I said in a different topic: Devs can't fix every bug that QA finds, so it's not really QA's fault if a game has more bugs than expected.

As someone who has worked in the gaming industry for years, many bugs I've found in SF & TT should've been squashed. The publisher puts quantity over quality just as they have had poor customer service for years. From not fulfilling prizes for contests they've ran to "publish it and let the users beta it for us."

And some of the bugs not only should've been fixed,they should've been top priority. Don't use Dark Wash Buckler because his upgrade doesn't work? They're literally telling people to not get toys. I didn't read most of the FAQ QA because of spoilers but that's plenty of what the heck to me.
Again, it's mostly things piling up. If the QA gets worse,if fowards compatibility is axed,if VV once again takes the lazy way out, then yeah, it's plenty of things to be afraid of.

I've been a game reviewer for almost nine years now and have well over 1,000 individual game reviews to my credit. I've been on press events, studio visits, conventions and have developed first hand knowledge of how the industry works and how games are put together. I agree with Zeke_D: SF AND TT have bugs that should have been squashed pre-release. That said, TT has been far buggier (for me) than SF ever was. Neither game has Assassin's Creed: Unity-level bugs (maybe TT on 3DS comes close...) but both could have benefited for an extra month or two of development and QA.

On the other thing brought up in this topic, I'd LOVE a remastered Spyro's Adventure or Giants for Wii U. Yes, I know Giants was a Wii U launch title, but if they remastered both games with the new engine, they could sell them as a two-pack. The more I think about it, the more I realize how much sense that would make. Another idea - one that will NEVER happen - would be to remaster both games and put them on the Vita. Its the ONLY system without a Skylanders game and setting it up to work like SF and TT on 3DS (scan characters, switch on the fly without portal) would be great. It won't happen, but as an avid Vita fan, I'd be super excited for it.

For those of you unsure about VV as a company, I encourage you to check out their Wikipedia page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicarious_Visions. They have made some truly amazing games in the past. I LOVED Transformers: Autobots and Transformers: Decepticons on 3DS, so much so I wrote guides for them. They also did the GBA Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, an amazing technical achievement. The came up with the Guitar Hero: On Tour DS accessory (genius), did the 3DS version of Spyro's Adventure (the best 3DS Skylanders ever), and a bunch of other games I enjoyed immensely. Ther resume gets better the closer to the present you get, but they make quality games... no arguments there.

I just see Skylanders succumbing to the CoD problem: Too many games too soon. Advanced Warefare was simply a crapy DLC to COD:BO2. I suppose they're afraid if they wait more than a year between releases, they'll lose relevancy. I had decided not to pursue all the figures from SF, but still ended up with all the swappers and 32 corelanders (16 reposes and 16 newlanders) For TT I'll only get 10 trap masters and 10 corelanders. For S5, I'm not even going to purchase on launch day, I'll wait until black friday and get it severely reduced. Between the poor quality of the games and the abysmal customer service, I'm afraid S5 will be a failure.

Yeah,Acti has a problem with being so paranoid about their franchises that they couldn't possibly stay more than a year out of the radar. If they made those two-yearly,the quality would probably be much higher. But as of now it'll take one badly finished game for Ubisoft to have a new friend in being the bad end of company jokes.

The one thing i really hope for in the next game is some major changes from trap team and swap force. I havn't played trap team yet, but I'm pretty sure not much has changed from previous games, correct me if I'm wrong.

I really want some online play, like battling online with the skylanders maybe. Also more skylanders customization, maybe not just hats that increase stats, but other clothing that affects stats, maybe not anything big like shirts or pants that cover the skylander's true colors, but maybe things like sunglasses or wristbands? I just think it could really make battling eachother more fun with different stat changes and a little more customization, maybe skylander specific clothing too? Like metal horns for skylanders that have horns like spyro and whirlwind? And i hope they actually put in some elemental gates and stuff and giant things that you can use some older figures for. Sure they can fight but my old spyro adventure figures can't help me unlock anything in the new games, neither can my giants and I think in trap team they probably replaced swap gates as well, but i don't have many swap force ones. I doubt this would happen, but just some thoughts.

While I don't know much about this company, in fact i didn't even know that activision passed it over to VV before i saw this post, a new company means new ideas, which can be bad, but it can be good too, it's more likely to add good things the first company never thought.

i think we might get all new elements next time and that will include the dark and light we have now...

Just a thought, but s5 might be fun if the whole focus was on light and dark and the new figures were minimal but added giants, swappers, and cores for these two elements only. Minimal new characters and uses for them all. Maybe add reposes for the SSA ones still in need. Roughly 20 characters and bring back the best of the previous games. Sometimes less is more.

Skylanders 5 will be beautiful!
I expect the content and gameplay to be the best in the series...

Some people think Swop Force is the best Skylander game ever . VV has technically made more Skylander games then TFB . I see no reason to "dread. "

Quote: wreckingballbob

Skylanders 5 will be beautiful!
I expect the content and gameplay to be the best in the series...

EXACTLY!

Quote: CountMoneyBone

Quote: wreckingballbob

Skylanders 5 will be beautiful!
I expect the content and gameplay to be the best in the series...

EXACTLY!

I agree, the series is only advancing. Remember when we couldn't jump? Well that was added in giants or swap force can't remember. It's just gonna get better and better! Well besides PVP being taken away in Trap Team, thats what i heard.

Quote: Wally-Gang

Just a thought, but s5 might be fun if the whole focus was on light and dark and the new figures were minimal but added giants, swappers, and cores for these two elements only. Minimal new characters and uses for them all. Maybe add reposes for the SSA ones still in need. Roughly 20 characters and bring back the best of the previous games. Sometimes less is more.

that would be enough, possibly allow the traps to work for another game of capturing villains and possibly a finale of regular releases and probably go to every 2 years on a release. the less is more would be a better concept. honestly the whole light and dark should've been kept for another game any way as it's already too much for 1 game for TT with so much to get now in a way with the added elements, eon's elite, traps so it's just too much crammed in. which is why i wouldn't go too far to get nearly anything for it. probably most people would be in that boat.

Never going to happen, but what would be a cool "gimmick" would be something like ye old Simpsons arcade game - where two characters "team up" to perform a totally unique attack.

Imagine a 4 Player Skylanders game where you "partner" with one of the other players to unleash some kind of upgraded attack - and every single pair of characters would have their own, unique attack (but something like Series 2 Gill Grunt and Series 3 Spyro paired would have the same attack as a Series 4 Gill Grunt and a Series 1 Spyro paired).

Not only is this a really neat gimmick, but it gives those of us with 300+ figures something to do with all of them. :D

Quote: UncleBob

Never going to happen, but what would be a cool "gimmick" would be something like ye old Simpsons arcade game - where two characters "team up" to perform a totally unique attack.

Imagine a 4 Player Skylanders game where you "partner" with one of the other players to unleash some kind of upgraded attack - and every single pair of characters would have their own, unique attack (but something like Series 2 Gill Grunt and Series 3 Spyro paired would have the same attack as a Series 4 Gill Grunt and a Series 1 Spyro paired).

Not only is this a really neat gimmick, but it gives those of us with 300+ figures something to do with all of them.

Nice idea. But you know how long it would take to make a combo for every single skylander pair possible?

Quote: Fossildude747

Nice idea. But you know how long it would take to make a combo for every single skylander pair possible?

Well, I did say "never going to happen"... :D

But... Quick count from sorting my spreadsheet has us at 132 unique characters (this isn't counting villains and counts a SWAP Force character as a single figure. If you want to add in the SWAP Combos, it gets insanely confusing. Also, doesn't count any new characters that would be introduced with the new game). If any one of those unique characters to pair up with any other unique character, that'd be:

132 x 131 = 17,292 unique moves to create.
If a single person sat down and created/designed/programmed/tested a unique move for one hour day, non-stop, every day, until he was completed, it would take him about 720 1/2 days... or, just a few days shy of two years.

They'd have their work cut out for them if they wanted to take up this task, that's for sure. ;)