darkSpyro

NOTE: This topic was split from the main SuperChargers topic.

Quote: Drek95

Quote: GillGrunt4Ever

Quote: 84skylanderdude

Trap Team honestly left a bad taste in my mouth. SuperChargers was just the change that was needed to get me back in the game.

I actually feel that SWAP Force left a bad taste in my mouth, and Trap Team helped wash it down.
Just sayin'.

Agree.
To be precise, I didn't felt it at first but when I startet to play Trap Team I immediately realized how many things changed in the third game that to me should have not.

As of now, I honestly can't wait to see TfB fix "a couple" things this entry "messed up" in my opinion, next year.
It's clear that while I will probably enjoy the game a lot, V.V. an I have a very different idea of what this franchise should be.
I had this doubt with SWAP Force, now I'm completely sure.

after what i have seen what vv are doing, i can say this... tfb and the disagreement i had with trap team is 99% forgiven. i just hope tfb will bring a more ordinary skylanders game next year.

Quote: CountMoneyBone

Quote: Drek95

Quote: GillGrunt4Ever

I actually feel that SWAP Force left a bad taste in my mouth, and Trap Team helped wash it down.
Just sayin'.

Agree.
To be precise, I didn't felt it at first but when I startet to play Trap Team I immediately realized how many things changed in the third game that to me should have not.

As of now, I honestly can't wait to see TfB fix "a couple" things this entry "messed up" in my opinion, next year.
It's clear that while I will probably enjoy the game a lot, V.V. an I have a very different idea of what this franchise should be.
I had this doubt with SWAP Force, now I'm completely sure.

after what i have seen what vv are doing, i can say this... tfb and the disagreement i had with trap team is 99% forgiven. i just hope tfb will bring a more ordinary skylanders game next year.

Indeed.

I welcome innovation but this in 99% unnecessary and most importantly could really damage the main gameplay.
They are focusing too much on new and shiny things, forgetting what the heart of this series is.
They even created two "brand new" Skylanders and made them only Nintendo compatible!

I'm sure TfB will fix things up (not everything, mind it) and we'll have something we can call "Skylanders" next year.
I'm confident I will love this game, but as of now, I'm just really, really disappointed by too much things...

Quote: Drek95

Quote: CountMoneyBone

Quote: Drek95

Agree.
To be precise, I didn't felt it at first but when I startet to play Trap Team I immediately realized how many things changed in the third game that to me should have not.

As of now, I honestly can't wait to see TfB fix "a couple" things this entry "messed up" in my opinion, next year.
It's clear that while I will probably enjoy the game a lot, V.V. an I have a very different idea of what this franchise should be.
I had this doubt with SWAP Force, now I'm completely sure.

after what i have seen what vv are doing, i can say this... tfb and the disagreement i had with trap team is 99% forgiven. i just hope tfb will bring a more ordinary skylanders game next year.

Indeed.

I welcome innovation but this in 99% unnecessary and most importantly could really damage the main gameplay.
They are focusing too much on new and shiny things, forgetting what the heart of this series is.
They even created two "brand new" Skylanders and made them only Nintendo compatible!

I'm sure TfB will fix things up (not everything, mind it) and we'll have something we can call "Skylanders" next year.
I'm confident I will love this game, but as of now, I'm just really, really disappointed by too much things...

when it comes to activision my fear is what happened to vv skylanders will continue. like cod:advanced warfare, was a future shooter and now blackops3 is arriving and that is also a future shooter... then things will not change before skylanders7.

But those two games didn't changed that much, gameplay-wise, there was only a big difference in the settings.

I'm really, really confident TfB know what this series needs and will keep what's right and fix what can be fixed.
They already implied vehicles won't be fully playable in Skylanders 6, so that's a start.

Quote: Drek95

But those two games didn't changed that much, gameplay-wise, there was only a big difference in the settings.

I'm really, really confident TfB know what this series needs and will keep what's right and fix what can be fixed.
They already implied vehicles won't be fully playable in Skylanders 6, so that's a start.

since there is 8 elements of the traps and all the elements do different things in super chargers, you need 8. but super chargers only have land,water air.. so that means if anything of this year gimmick is playable in skylanders6, you only need 3 characters and their vehicle. at least that is a good thing.

I'm really surprised when people prefer TfB over VV. I am totally the opposite.

Quote: AzureStarline

I'm really surprised when people prefer TfB over VV. I am totally the opposite.

Don't worry, in here there are more VV fans, and that's not even including the sour grapes who'll accept any of the older games over the new ones. It's just that TFB is going to get brought up during this because of the changes.

Quote: AzureStarline

I'm really surprised when people prefer TfB over VV. I am totally the opposite.

I can see why they do, I just think VV's benefits outweigh TFB's. But VV needs to proportion characters damage output (Why must Spyros horns do less damage than fireballs? Why does Prism Breaks S2 Wow Pow do barely more damage than holding the beam?)

TFB wins Toy Design and VV wins Game Design, that's why I long for more games with them working together.

I am mixed with TFB and VV because I loved Swap Force a lot but Trap Team had everything I wanted and was so much better than Swap Force. SuperChargers has some intriguing characters I am just very sad there is only like 10-12 new characters. Still I am loving the E3 news and hope we learn more about this game.

Quote: Drek95

Quote: CountMoneyBone

Quote: Drek95

Agree.
To be precise, I didn't felt it at first but when I startet to play Trap Team I immediately realized how many things changed in the third game that to me should have not.

As of now, I honestly can't wait to see TfB fix "a couple" things this entry "messed up" in my opinion, next year.
It's clear that while I will probably enjoy the game a lot, V.V. an I have a very different idea of what this franchise should be.
I had this doubt with SWAP Force, now I'm completely sure.

after what i have seen what vv are doing, i can say this... tfb and the disagreement i had with trap team is 99% forgiven. i just hope tfb will bring a more ordinary skylanders game next year.

Indeed.

I welcome innovation but this in 99% unnecessary and most importantly could really damage the main gameplay.
They are focusing too much on new and shiny things, forgetting what the heart of this series is.
They even created two "brand new" Skylanders and made them only Nintendo compatible!

I'm sure TfB will fix things up (not everything, mind it) and we'll have something we can call "Skylanders" next year.
I'm confident I will love this game, but as of now, I'm just really, really disappointed by too much things...

Drek, Buddy (and others)...come on now. For the most part we usually disagree, respectfully, but we have completely different view points. In this case I can't BELIEVE you are saying that V.V. is into the "New and Shiny" when T.F.B.'s Trap Team was the shiniest "gotta buy them all" entry in the franchise. Based on what we've been told Super Chargers is the LEAST pay walled Skylander experience to date. Let that soak in for a bit. It's even less pay to play than SSA. We've been told that Elemental Gates are out in every capacity. So we will need one vehicle of each movement type, Land, Sky and Water (so 3 total vehicles (getting one in the starter) and Super Charger Gates that can be opened with ANY Super Charger (getting 2 in the Starter). So after the Starter we need to purchase 2 vehicles to experience EVERYTHING in Super Chargers....did I miss something? When have we EVER been able to just make 2 additional purchases to 100% the game? I'll tell you when, NEVER...not until Super Chargers. Now let's compare that to say Team Team. How many Magic Traps were available compared to how many Magic Villains there are. Let's not forget the awesome way Light and Dark were handled. I don't see how you can be so displeased with V.V. when T.F.B. openly and blatantly hosed us with Trap Team. Now I also don't fully blame T.F.B. though since there was clearly a corporate influence with Trap Team. You do have to admit that there was NO innovation between Giants and Trap Masters when compared to Cores and Swappers and now vehicles. I just don't see any real innovation with T.F.B. is at the helm...I don't see how you can.

I also am not happy with the Nintendo Skylanders, mainly due to the fact that I won't be able to play them not owning a Nintendo system. I also can see why though. The Wii is instrumental in Skylanders success when this franchise was getting started. The fact that the are making a Wii game anymore at all speaks volumes. Nintendo also realizes that Skylanders helped sell a lot of Wii's and Wii U's providing a unique game play experience. So I understand the pairing even if I can't participate in the result. There's also an obvious corporate influence to help sell systems with the exclusive, it's ugly but all part of the game. So in closing, if your infatuation with T.F.B. is nostalgia I totally get that, I really do. However there's no way you can honestly say that T.F.B. has really innovated with franchise after SSA. Traps and Villains was simply a way to sell extra crap. V.V. has given us the lowest pay point in the franchises history when it's still at the top of the industry...and they could have gone in an ugly direction. For the first time I actually feel Super Charges is actually about choice and I can play and purchase who and what I want without needing to buy everything. They've done this all while still innovating and adding something new to the franchise. At this point V.V. has me as a life long fan. That's not just nostalgia talking but applied logic based on the fact that I feel they have my best interest at heart.

Not my discussion, but I'll elaborate on VV's new and shiny point that me and Drek have been bringing up.
It's not about the toys and making you buy them over others, it's the aesthesics. VV changed the sounds,changed the common enemies and assets, changed the texture detail, recycled*cough* remixed the soundtrack, and is pushing their SF designs onto things that aren't from Cloudbreak. They push their new things because TFB is old things and thus it's totally fine to stomp on their ideas for,say, how threatening Chompies were designed to be or how comical Trolls should look like. That isn't bad by itself,but their attitude is so sudden and so visibly acting without an agreement with TFB that it feels like VV has in mind that they know the game better than their creators. AGAIN, not a bad thing if they try, but the conflict between this,SF and TT shows that they haven't exactly tried to be consistent or contrast nicely with the TFB games. The attitude feels petty and unnecessary, even with the skylander designs seeingly having a bit less of it now since some of I-Wei's design patterns have been showing up on the new guys(armor damage, stylized eyes).

Quote: Tigorus

Quote: Drek95

Quote: CountMoneyBone

after what i have seen what vv are doing, i can say this... tfb and the disagreement i had with trap team is 99% forgiven. i just hope tfb will bring a more ordinary skylanders game next year.

Indeed.

I welcome innovation but this in 99% unnecessary and most importantly could really damage the main gameplay.
They are focusing too much on new and shiny things, forgetting what the heart of this series is.
They even created two "brand new" Skylanders and made them only Nintendo compatible!

I'm sure TfB will fix things up (not everything, mind it) and we'll have something we can call "Skylanders" next year.
I'm confident I will love this game, but as of now, I'm just really, really disappointed by too much things...

Drek, Buddy (and others)...come on now. For the most part we usually disagree, respectfully, but we have completely different view points. In this case I can't BELIEVE you are saying that V.V. is into the "New and Shiny" when T.F.B.'s Trap Team was the shiniest "gotta buy them all" entry in the franchise. Based on what we've been told Super Chargers is the LEAST pay walled Skylander experience to date. Let that soak in for a bit. It's even less pay to play than SSA. We've been told that Elemental Gates are out in every capacity. So we will need one vehicle of each movement type, Land, Sky and Water (so 3 total vehicles (getting one in the starter) and Super Charger Gates that can be opened with ANY Super Charger (getting 2 in the Starter). So after the Starter we need to purchase 2 vehicles to experience EVERYTHING in Super Chargers....did I miss something? When have we EVER been able to just make 2 additional purchases to 100% the game? I'll tell you when, NEVER...not until Super Chargers. Now let's compare that to say Team Team. How many Magic Traps were available compared to how many Magic Villains there are. Let's not forget the awesome way Light and Dark were handled. I don't see how you can be so displeased with V.V. when T.F.B. openly and blatantly hosed us with Trap Team. Now I also don't fully blame T.F.B. though since there was clearly a corporate influence with Trap Team. You do have to admit that there was NO innovation between Giants and Trap Masters when compared to Cores and Swappers and now vehicles. I just don't see any real innovation with T.F.B. is at the helm...I don't see how you can.

I also am not happy with the Nintendo Skylanders, mainly due to the fact that I won't be able to play them not owning a Nintendo system. I also can see why though. The Wii is instrumental in Skylanders success when this franchise was getting started. The fact that the are making a Wii game anymore at all speaks volumes. Nintendo also realizes that Skylanders helped sell a lot of Wii's and Wii U's providing a unique game play experience. So I understand the pairing even if I can't participate in the result. There's also an obvious corporate influence to help sell systems with the exclusive, it's ugly but all part of the game. So in closing, if your infatuation with T.F.B. is nostalgia I totally get that, I really do. However there's no way you can honestly say that T.F.B. has really innovated with franchise after SSA. Traps and Villains was simply a way to sell extra crap. V.V. has given us the lowest pay point in the franchises history when it's still at the top of the industry...and they could have gone in an ugly direction. For the first time I actually feel Super Charges is actually about choice and I can play and purchase who and what I want without needing to buy everything. They've done this all while still innovating and adding something new to the franchise. At this point V.V. has me as a life long fan. That's not just nostalgia talking but applied logic based on the fact that I feel they have my best interest at heart.

I couldn't agree more.

Quote: Bifrost

Not my discussion, but I'll elaborate on VV's new and shiny point that me and Drek have been bringing up.
It's not about the toys and making you buy them over others, it's the aesthesics. VV changed the sounds,changed the common enemies and assets, changed the texture detail, recycled*cough* remixed the soundtrack, and is pushing their SF designs onto things that aren't from Cloudbreak. They push their new things because TFB is old things and thus it's totally fine to stomp on their ideas for,say, how threatening Chompies were designed to be or how comical Trolls should look like. That isn't bad by itself,but their attitude is so sudden and so visibly acting without an agreement with TFB that it feels like VV has in mind that they know the game better than their creators. AGAIN, not a bad thing if they try, but the conflict between this,SF and TT shows that they haven't exactly tried to be consistent or contrast nicely with the TFB games. The attitude feels petty and unnecessary, even with the skylander designs seeingly having a bit less of it now since some of I-Wei's design patterns have been showing up on the new guys(armor damage, stylized eyes).

O.k. so your dislikes are of a mostly aesthetic nature. They main musical theme has always had call backs to SSA even in Swap Force. The new pallet and textures came with them making the core game in an HD engine and was a natural progression. While it might not be to your liking ALL Skylanders games look like a Skylanders game. Personally I like the more colorful pallet that V.V. uses but I would also like to see an HD version of SSA...man that would be awesome. I also don't feel that Chompies have ever looked threatening and I feel that Trolls have always been comical. They appear to be as goofy in Super Chargers as they were in Trap Team so I don't see what you see but that's cool. I also find it ironic that V.V. was the only one to give shout out to an original Skylander from SSA like they did Whirlwind in that polar level. They've also given Lightning Rod a shout out in Super Chargers as well. Where's T.F.B.'s love for their own Skylanders? Why is V.V. the only developer acknowledging them? To me that's more important than making sure the Chompies always look the same.

Quote: Tigorus

Quote: Drek95

Quote: CountMoneyBone

after what i have seen what vv are doing, i can say this... tfb and the disagreement i had with trap team is 99% forgiven. i just hope tfb will bring a more ordinary skylanders game next year.

Indeed.

I welcome innovation but this in 99% unnecessary and most importantly could really damage the main gameplay.
They are focusing too much on new and shiny things, forgetting what the heart of this series is.
They even created two "brand new" Skylanders and made them only Nintendo compatible!

I'm sure TfB will fix things up (not everything, mind it) and we'll have something we can call "Skylanders" next year.
I'm confident I will love this game, but as of now, I'm just really, really disappointed by too much things...

Drek, Buddy (and others)...come on now. For the most part we usually disagree, respectfully, but we have completely different view points. In this case I can't BELIEVE you are saying that V.V. is into the "New and Shiny" when T.F.B.'s Trap Team was the shiniest "gotta buy them all" entry in the franchise. Based on what we've been told Super Chargers is the LEAST pay walled Skylander experience to date. Let that soak in for a bit. It's even less pay to play than SSA. We've been told that Elemental Gates are out in every capacity. So we will need one vehicle of each movement type, Land, Sky and Water (so 3 total vehicles (getting one in the starter) and Super Charger Gates that can be opened with ANY Super Charger (getting 2 in the Starter). So after the Starter we need to purchase 2 vehicles to experience EVERYTHING in Super Chargers....did I miss something? When have we EVER been able to just make 2 additional purchases to 100% the game? I'll tell you when, NEVER...not until Super Chargers. Now let's compare that to say Team Team. How many Magic Traps were available compared to how many Magic Villains there are. Let's not forget the awesome way Light and Dark were handled. I don't see how you can be so displeased with V.V. when T.F.B. openly and blatantly hosed us with Trap Team. Now I also don't fully blame T.F.B. though since there was clearly a corporate influence with Trap Team. You do have to admit that there was NO innovation between Giants and Trap Masters when compared to Cores and Swappers and now vehicles. I just don't see any real innovation with T.F.B. is at the helm...I don't see how you can.

I also am not happy with the Nintendo Skylanders, mainly due to the fact that I won't be able to play them not owning a Nintendo system. I also can see why though. The Wii is instrumental in Skylanders success when this franchise was getting started. The fact that the are making a Wii game anymore at all speaks volumes. Nintendo also realizes that Skylanders helped sell a lot of Wii's and Wii U's providing a unique game play experience. So I understand the pairing even if I can't participate in the result. There's also an obvious corporate influence to help sell systems with the exclusive, it's ugly but all part of the game. So in closing, if your infatuation with T.F.B. is nostalgia I totally get that, I really do. However there's no way you can honestly say that T.F.B. has really innovated with franchise after SSA. Traps and Villains was simply a way to sell extra crap. V.V. has given us the lowest pay point in the franchises history when it's still at the top of the industry...and they could have gone in an ugly direction. For the first time I actually feel Super Charges is actually about choice and I can play and purchase who and what I want without needing to buy everything. They've done this all while still innovating and adding something new to the franchise. At this point V.V. has me as a life long fan. That's not just nostalgia talking but applied logic based on the fact that I feel they have my best interest at heart.

Well done!




Also, Drek, you need to realize something. Skylanders REALLY REALLY needs something like this. It NEEDS to change up it's game-play in someway and this it perfect, I think.

By call backs you mean shamlessly using the same songs minus 2 or 3 instruments.
SF looks like a Dreamworks thing,not a Skylanders game. It just lacks the quirky strange fantasy visuals, and looks more like a clay animation movie. It's not far ENOUGH for me to have a real gripe on that,but the lack of detailed textures is still jarring.
Chompies have two rows of teeth, if I lived in Skylands I think I WOULD be afraid of pearly whites that fit in more places than a Troll. Rubber duck chompies look like they couldn't even eat meat to begin with.
Trolls are always comical, but the giant chins aren't something they ever had in TFB games. It just makes them look less like Tech masters and more like your usual bully in a cartoon.
TFB doesn't need to talk about this SUPER COOL THING THE SKYLANDER DID THAT ONE DAY to create a world and care about their characters. Skylands is literally endless, why spend time on a place already mentioned in a backstory somewhere? You're not saying those places don't exist by not having levels with them.

Quote: Bifrost

By call backs you mean shamlessly using the same songs minus 2 or 3 instruments.
SF looks like a Dreamworks thing,not a Skylanders game. It just lacks the quirky strange fantasy visuals, and looks more like a clay animation movie. It's not far ENOUGH for me to have a real gripe on that,but the lack of detailed textures is still jarring.
Chompies have two rows of teeth, if I lived in Skylands I think I WOULD be afraid of pearly whites that fit in more places than a Troll. Rubber duck chompies look like they couldn't even eat meat to begin with.
Trolls are always comical, but the giant chins aren't something they ever had in TFB games. It just makes them look less like Tech masters and more like your usual bully in a cartoon.
TFB doesn't need to talk about this SUPER COOL THING THE SKYLANDER DID THAT ONE DAY to create a world and care about their characters. Skylands is literally endless, why spend time on a place already mentioned in a backstory somewhere? You're not saying those places don't exist by not having levels with them.

The main point of your issues are artistic and I'm not going to touch that...people like what they like and I'm not trying to change any minds on that front. I don't really get your stance regarding the backstory bits regarding the Polar Whirlwind reference. THAT WAS LORE MAN!!!! How many other meaningful lore shout outs have other Skylanders got?!? That was cool man. It added substance and even explained the reasoning behind a variant beyond simply getting a new paint job. How could a real Skylander fan not appreciate that and not want more? Besides I thought you lived for the Story and lore elements....as well as the artistic ones. Skylands is endless but adding substance through story telling is well, just good story telling.

Because lore about a skylander is just as important as worldbuilding. It's not a game changer. She literally enchanted this rock one day and somehow didn't melt a glacier,big deal. How about that time Traptanium combined with something stinky granted fourth wall vision to someone? That's a lot to find out for a substance now scattered around Skylands for villains to abuse.

The problem is not the art(I have a problem with the art,but it's not the problem), it's the attitude. VV tries to push new like there's this crippling issue with the old - it's a 5 year old franchise, no one is in a position to judge a fatal flaw without actually discussing it between both dev teams.

Quote: Bifrost

Because lore about a skylander is just as important as worldbuilding. It's not a game changer. She literally enchanted this rock one day and somehow didn't melt a glacier,big deal. How about that time Traptanium combined with something stinky granted fourth wall vision to someone? That's a lot to find out for a substance now scattered around Skylands for villains to abuse.

The problem is not the art(I have a problem with the art,but it's not the problem), it's the attitude. VV tries to push new like there's this crippling issue with the old - it's a 5 year old franchise, no one is in a position to judge a fatal flaw without actually discussing it between both dev teams.

O.k. wow don't know what to saw to that first part there...chalk it up to we like what we like. My point still remains that I believe V.V. respects the material more than you think. Those unnecessary shout outs are a manifestation of that. I also don't see the "attitude" from V.V. effectively "flipping off" T.F.B. with their stylistic choices. I actually like V.V.'s better but I would also like to see an H.D. remake for SSA...go figure. You also might be overthinking it a little. I mean if Acti wanted the same exact art style throughout the franchise they'd tell V.V. "hey add new mechanics but use T.F.B.'s art". They see that people might like the two different styles, and for my part they'd be right. I actually care less about art inconsistencies and would LOVE to see T.F.B. actually innovate for once. I love them for starting the genre and will always love SSA but they need to step out of their comfort zone a little and focus on game play for once. Just my opinion though.

I feel pretty similar to Drek. I have not really liked either one of the VV games from a concept perspective. Their innovations are silly. Trap Team had the best innovations so far, imo (KDC & the Trap Masters' toy / character designs, weapons, and awesome gameplay). They don't need to be innovating too far from the original formula. Online co-op and maybe 4-player online and local would be fantastic innovations, imo.

Gimmicklanders that swap halves for way too many combinations (ruined tier lists and power rankings), don't even match aesthetically at all (hey! lemme wear yo LEGZ! LOLZ!), offer silly on-rails side missions (boring waste of dev time), etc.... it was just dumb. Adding vehicles and bringing in Nintendo characters, when every other character is Spyro / Skylanders original IP, a big part of what separates them from other things, is dumb as well, imo.

If it weren't for Roller Brawl getting a remake and Fiesta and Nightfall looking like characters I want to try, I probably wouldn't be buying this one for the first time since Skylanders started. I very nearly never bought Swap Force, but I did in the end, and I did enjoy the game, but nowhere near as much as I enjoyed the TFB games. The writing and humor was completely off and all the different NPCs and different UI made it feel so wrong. Not expecting to love Superchargers the way I did Trap Team, but I am going to try it. My daughter is excited about it, but she is too young to even understand the difference.

But yeah, I get where Drek is coming from for the most part. Too much innovation, or too much crazy innovation that changes the game too much in crazy ways is just not appealing to me. VV is definitely 0 / 2 with me with their gimmicks. TFB is 3 / 3.

On the whole topic of what TfB have done and what VV have done. There is no doubt in my mind that neither are doing anything that the other isn't fully aware of, supportive of and probably contributes to. These teams don't work in a vacuum. Also, any decision to lower the price point this time out would more than likely come from Activision rather than VV and it'll be a business decision, reacting to the sales trend and the impact of competition in the marketplace. Similar to how Disney have tried to lower the price point of their Starter Packs (that decision didn't come from Avalanche).

Everyone knows I like both but prefer VV...

Each has the pros and cons, neither have seriously mis-stepped, other than some strategic problems with some of these gimmicks and and the potential fan fracturing by not continuing FULL SUPPORT for them and releasing too much stuff relative to the experience that supports it (please--no "no one forced you" crap comments). However, I see a lot of improvements we discussed here, so moving forward. Whatever team you pick, I still like the franchise...but in the wake of some competition this year is going to be interesting to watch. I'd guess that since half of the 20 characters are somewhat remakes, they've already placed bets that they're going to be conservative. We'll see if that pays off. I would argue they stretched their manufacturing limits in TT and want to go back to basics. Wake up Activision, so do the fans. Drek, others...fist bump.

...Ok, whatever mod that did it (probably TTD), 10/10. We can't go a month without starting this up even when marginally discussing the actual topic. This is actually a good solution to the derailing problem in the news topic - just split it up whenever things get out of hand but not necessarily heated.

Quote: Bifrost

By call backs you mean shamlessly using the same songs minus 2 or 3 instruments.
SF looks like a Dreamworks thing,not a Skylanders game. It just lacks the quirky strange fantasy visuals, and looks more like a clay animation movie. It's not far ENOUGH for me to have a real gripe on that,but the lack of detailed textures is still jarring.
Chompies have two rows of teeth, if I lived in Skylands I think I WOULD be afraid of pearly whites that fit in more places than a Troll. Rubber duck chompies look like they couldn't even eat meat to begin with.
Trolls are always comical, but the giant chins aren't something they ever had in TFB games. It just makes them look less like Tech masters and more like your usual bully in a cartoon.
TFB doesn't need to talk about this SUPER COOL THING THE SKYLANDER DID THAT ONE DAY to create a world and care about their characters. Skylands is literally endless, why spend time on a place already mentioned in a backstory somewhere? You're not saying those places don't exist by not having levels with them.

i gotta agree with what you're saying here. but i can accept vv's swap force. it was after all vv's first entry into the world of skylands. it is different and a oddball no doubt about that. i though things would work itself out after a while and vv would be more in sync with tfb. but oboy was i wrong, here we are today with super chargers. vv have just taken it to far now, when they included racing karts and nintendo figurines. the platforming and brawling is not the focus anymore. vv have created something that just resemble a skylander game. the lore and everything is out the window even koas. i must admit i was very angry with tfb and their trap team. but i have forgiven them now, i see now who can make the proper skylander game, and that is for sure tfb. i will not buy a vv skylander game ever again, swap force was the first and last. because i think vv dont create skylanders games anymore.

just so everyone know, this discussion was cut out from another place and pieced together with one or two other discussion, its a mess.. anyway it some how is on topic now i guess...

I don't understand what are the problems people have with Swap Force. I believe that it is all a nostalgia thing, because, having played SF first, I found all the other games less interesting, and even had trouble being interested enough in TT to finish it. I have yet to complete SSA, which I liked, but not as much as SF, and just started SG since everyone seems to like that one the best.

What I can easily agree with is that both companies working together could create a masterpiece, far better than any of the previous instalments.

I actually prefered Swap Force to Trap Team. So much that I felt Trap Team was a step down from Swap Force, but that's just me.

Quote: Tigorus

Quote: Drek95

Quote: CountMoneyBone

after what i have seen what vv are doing, i can say this... tfb and the disagreement i had with trap team is 99% forgiven. i just hope tfb will bring a more ordinary skylanders game next year.

Indeed.

I welcome innovation but this in 99% unnecessary and most importantly could really damage the main gameplay.
They are focusing too much on new and shiny things, forgetting what the heart of this series is.
They even created two "brand new" Skylanders and made them only Nintendo compatible!

I'm sure TfB will fix things up (not everything, mind it) and we'll have something we can call "Skylanders" next year.
I'm confident I will love this game, but as of now, I'm just really, really disappointed by too much things...

Drek, Buddy (and others)...come on now. For the most part we usually disagree, respectfully, but we have completely different view points. In this case I can't BELIEVE you are saying that V.V. is into the "New and Shiny" when T.F.B.'s Trap Team was the shiniest "gotta buy them all" entry in the franchise. Based on what we've been told Super Chargers is the LEAST pay walled Skylander experience to date. Let that soak in for a bit. It's even less pay to play than SSA. We've been told that Elemental Gates are out in every capacity. So we will need one vehicle of each movement type, Land, Sky and Water (so 3 total vehicles (getting one in the starter) and Super Charger Gates that can be opened with ANY Super Charger (getting 2 in the Starter). So after the Starter we need to purchase 2 vehicles to experience EVERYTHING in Super Chargers....did I miss something? When have we EVER been able to just make 2 additional purchases to 100% the game? I'll tell you when, NEVER...not until Super Chargers. Now let's compare that to say Team Team. How many Magic Traps were available compared to how many Magic Villains there are. Let's not forget the awesome way Light and Dark were handled. I don't see how you can be so displeased with V.V. when T.F.B. openly and blatantly hosed us with Trap Team. Now I also don't fully blame T.F.B. though since there was clearly a corporate influence with Trap Team. You do have to admit that there was NO innovation between Giants and Trap Masters when compared to Cores and Swappers and now vehicles. I just don't see any real innovation with T.F.B. is at the helm...I don't see how you can.

I also am not happy with the Nintendo Skylanders, mainly due to the fact that I won't be able to play them not owning a Nintendo system. I also can see why though. The Wii is instrumental in Skylanders success when this franchise was getting started. The fact that the are making a Wii game anymore at all speaks volumes. Nintendo also realizes that Skylanders helped sell a lot of Wii's and Wii U's providing a unique game play experience. So I understand the pairing even if I can't participate in the result. There's also an obvious corporate influence to help sell systems with the exclusive, it's ugly but all part of the game. So in closing, if your infatuation with T.F.B. is nostalgia I totally get that, I really do. However there's no way you can honestly say that T.F.B. has really innovated with franchise after SSA. Traps and Villains was simply a way to sell extra crap. V.V. has given us the lowest pay point in the franchises history when it's still at the top of the industry...and they could have gone in an ugly direction. For the first time I actually feel Super Charges is actually about choice and I can play and purchase who and what I want without needing to buy everything. They've done this all while still innovating and adding something new to the franchise. At this point V.V. has me as a life long fan. That's not just nostalgia talking but applied logic based on the fact that I feel they have my best interest at heart.

Since I mainly agree with the second part of your post (not everything but i think it is also stated in the first one, in different terms) I will reply to the first one.

Let's say it this way: I was happy and convinced with every single purchase I made with Trap Team.
A lot was "required" but I never personally felt it was forced.
Not even Trap Masters: sure, the Traptanium Elemental Gate idea was truly bad but I would have bought them anyway.
I loved traps, I loved the game and I loved the majority of the characters (just to be clear I still simply liked the others a lot).

Can't say the same about SuperChargers so far: will only buy the brand new Skylanders and a vehicle for each terrain.
I think there could have been something more balanced...

Regarding innovation... Let's be real.
Trap Master weren't innovative at all, Giants just a bit more and Swappers had a truly amazing technology whether you liked it or no.
But what I want is innovation INSIDE the game not figure-wise.
SuperChargers is the first games that truly shakes things up, but as I feared, it seems to do it without keeping in mind the fundamental elements of this series.
And as I said multiple times, they innovated TOO MUCH what already worked and barely touched what could have been made a thousands times better.

I'm truly starting to think neither V.V. nor TfB are considering a Core-only game, with original in-game twists than can still keep the heart of the franchise intact.
It would harvest money faster than Grim Creeper or Hood Sickle's schytes.

You are entitled to think what you want about V.V., and I NEVER said they are bad developers or their game sucks, but they are definitely not giving me what I expected.
Original gameplay? Sure, but focus on vehicles!
More Core characters? Who wants them, let's remove them!
In game innovations, vehicles aside? Nah, how about "Gimmicklanders" which are nothing different from Trap Masters and Giants, in the end?
Want new and original Skylanders? Nah, have revamps of old Skylanders which are still the same characters!
Original concept of universal compatibility? Screw that, and buy a Wii U to play as our two exclusives Skymiibos!

You cannot expect me to be satisfied when 80/90% of what we know about the game is going against what I wanted from this series.

Quote: Drek95

Quote: Tigorus

Quote: Drek95

Indeed.

I welcome innovation but this in 99% unnecessary and most importantly could really damage the main gameplay.
They are focusing too much on new and shiny things, forgetting what the heart of this series is.
They even created two "brand new" Skylanders and made them only Nintendo compatible!

I'm sure TfB will fix things up (not everything, mind it) and we'll have something we can call "Skylanders" next year.
I'm confident I will love this game, but as of now, I'm just really, really disappointed by too much things...

Drek, Buddy (and others)...come on now. For the most part we usually disagree, respectfully, but we have completely different view points. In this case I can't BELIEVE you are saying that V.V. is into the "New and Shiny" when T.F.B.'s Trap Team was the shiniest "gotta buy them all" entry in the franchise. Based on what we've been told Super Chargers is the LEAST pay walled Skylander experience to date. Let that soak in for a bit. It's even less pay to play than SSA. We've been told that Elemental Gates are out in every capacity. So we will need one vehicle of each movement type, Land, Sky and Water (so 3 total vehicles (getting one in the starter) and Super Charger Gates that can be opened with ANY Super Charger (getting 2 in the Starter). So after the Starter we need to purchase 2 vehicles to experience EVERYTHING in Super Chargers....did I miss something? When have we EVER been able to just make 2 additional purchases to 100% the game? I'll tell you when, NEVER...not until Super Chargers. Now let's compare that to say Team Team. How many Magic Traps were available compared to how many Magic Villains there are. Let's not forget the awesome way Light and Dark were handled. I don't see how you can be so displeased with V.V. when T.F.B. openly and blatantly hosed us with Trap Team. Now I also don't fully blame T.F.B. though since there was clearly a corporate influence with Trap Team. You do have to admit that there was NO innovation between Giants and Trap Masters when compared to Cores and Swappers and now vehicles. I just don't see any real innovation with T.F.B. is at the helm...I don't see how you can.

I also am not happy with the Nintendo Skylanders, mainly due to the fact that I won't be able to play them not owning a Nintendo system. I also can see why though. The Wii is instrumental in Skylanders success when this franchise was getting started. The fact that the are making a Wii game anymore at all speaks volumes. Nintendo also realizes that Skylanders helped sell a lot of Wii's and Wii U's providing a unique game play experience. So I understand the pairing even if I can't participate in the result. There's also an obvious corporate influence to help sell systems with the exclusive, it's ugly but all part of the game. So in closing, if your infatuation with T.F.B. is nostalgia I totally get that, I really do. However there's no way you can honestly say that T.F.B. has really innovated with franchise after SSA. Traps and Villains was simply a way to sell extra crap. V.V. has given us the lowest pay point in the franchises history when it's still at the top of the industry...and they could have gone in an ugly direction. For the first time I actually feel Super Charges is actually about choice and I can play and purchase who and what I want without needing to buy everything. They've done this all while still innovating and adding something new to the franchise. At this point V.V. has me as a life long fan. That's not just nostalgia talking but applied logic based on the fact that I feel they have my best interest at heart.

Since I mainly agree with the second part of your post (not everything but i think it is also stated in the first one, in different terms).

Let's say it this way: I was happy and convinced with every single purchase I made with Trap Team.
A lot was "required" but I never personally felt it was forced.
Not even Trap Masters: sure, the Traptanium Elemental Gate idea was truly bad but I would have bought them anyway.
I loved traps, I loved the game and I loved the majority of the characters (just to be clear I still simply liked the others a lot).

Can't say the same about SuperChargers so far: will only buy the brand new Skylanders and a vehicle for each terrain.
I think there could have been something more balanced...

Regarding innovation... Let's be real.
Trap Master weren't innovative at all, Giants just a bit more and Swappers had a truly amazing technology whether you liked it or no.
But what I want is innovation INSIDE the game not figure-wise.
SuperChargers is the first games that truly shakes things up, but as I feared, it seems to do it without keeping in mind the fundamental elements of this series.
And as I said multiple times, they innovated TOO MUCH what already worked and barely touched what could have been made a thousands times better.

I'm truly starting to think neither V.V. nor TfB are considering a Core-only game, with original in-game twists than can still keep the heart of the franchise intact.
It would harvest money faster than Grim Creeper or Hood Sickle's schytes.

You are entitled to think what you want about V.V., and I NEVER said they are bad developers or their game sucks, but they are definitely not giving me what I expected.
Original gameplay? Sure, but focus on vehicles!
More Core characters? Who wants them, let's remove them!
In game innovations, vehicles aside? Nah, how about "Gimmicklanders" which are nothing different from Trap Masters and Giants, in the end?
Want new and original Skylanders? Nah, have revamps of old Skylanders which are still the same characters!
Original concept of universal compatibility? Screw that, and buy a Wii U to play as our two exclusives Skymiibos!

You cannot expect me to be satisfied when 80/90% of what we know about the game is going against what I wanted from this series.

But from what I've seen the "original" Skylander gameplay is there, just with added vehicle sections. It has been said verbally in some of the gameplay videos that Super Chargers is a HUGE game. Now what if we are getting the usual amount of ground based gameplay in addition to the vehicle modes thus making the entire experience some crazy overstuffed burrito of a game? I still don't know what you have against the new/old Skylanders becoming Super Chargers. Stealth Elf is now a ranged character, Gill Grunt a melee and Terrafin a ranged with melee and his burrow. These are the same in name only. They are effectively new Skylanders. Also to be honest the gimmick is hardly a gimmick and more of a game changer, literally. We only need 2 vehicles to unlock everything. You can never play the new Stealth Elf, use Spitfire only, get a boat and a plane and you can 100% the game!!!! The gimmick is essentially gone. Most of what you need is in the box. The perfect match and Super Charging enhances the vehicle it doesn't unlock content. Previously the gimmick was a new way to play yes, but it was also pay walling content. So we are getting New Skylanders but some are being...re-purposed to do something different. Hey man you like what you like and I'm not trying to change your mind. I'm just saying this might not be as bad as you're (seemingly) making it out to be. Trap Team left a really bad taste and Super Chargers is looking like it's not just going to rinse it out but leave me feeling minty fresh. Again...the pay wall is all but gone...rejoice my friend and be hopeful....If is sucks I'll be right in line next to you bagging all over it .

I think vv is better but I love tfb a lot still.

VV actually tries to innovate the series and try new things. So I'm going with VV.

TfB is honestly better. VV did really great with Swap Force, but the way TfB set the standard for Skylanders games was great.

Beenox needs to learn how to make a good port, though. The Wii U version of Trap Team is glitchy, buggy, and feels unfinished. Not Sonic: RoL unfinished, but still not very polished.

I very much prefer VV to TFB. When I play a video game, I want to play a game normally, and the games VV has made for Skylanders (not only SF and Superchargers, but SSA 3DS as well) have far superior gameplay to the TFB ones. The combat feels smoother, they improved ridiculously underpowered characters (see Spyro, Zap) and added a whole ton of variety to the game.

Even if you don't get anything but the starter pack in Swap Force, you have the main story, two types of minigames spread out amongst the game (and those two are my personal favorites), arena challenges, and some quests (which play like heroic challenges, but without the necessity to have every character to access every one). Inside the levels, there are occasionally other ways to play, including fishing, river rafting, and jumping on musical instruments. The few elemental gates you can access often involve ways to play other than just combat, move on, combat, move on. There are also hidden collectables which will always be outside of paywall content, making it rewarding to explore even if you don't have everything.

Let's compare that to Giants. Giants is mostly the aforementioned combat, move on, combat, move on. There are a few simple puzzles, but those are present in all Skylanders games. Arena challenges are a thing, but the combat is a lot less satisfying in general compared to Swap Force. Giant-exclusive areas are generally very small and contain only a single collectable with little-to-no puzzle. Elemental zones are pretty much combat or lock-pick puzzles (and I personally prefer Swap Force's lock-pick puzzles, although Giants' ones can be more difficult). The only variety is the giant fighting robot(with on-screen commands telling you exactly what to do and when) and my personal favorite level: Autogyro Adventure. (Considering this is my favorite level, I'm assuming that Superchargers is right up my alley)

Trap Team? Back to Giants-style combat, so worse than Swap Force in that regard. Puzzles are similar to the Giants puzzles except easier in general. There are a few different kinds of puzzles from previous games, so that is a plus though. I don't have all of the Trap Masters, so I can't properly critique elemental areas, but the fact that they're so blocked off, and you can only access 1/10th of them with the starter pack (vs the 3/8ths from previous Starter Packs) are serious downgrades. This time, there isn't even any variety in the main levels as far as changing up your controls. There's shooting things with cannons, but that has been in all previous Skylander games, so I don't count that as anything significant. Well, ok, there's one part in Skyhighlands if I remember correctly. But still, one part. And the extra modes? Both Arena and Kaos Doom Challenge are pretty much straight-up fighting, fighting and more fighting. Although Kaos Doom Challenge gets some points for making cores not pointless, since they can activate the defense towers (or whatever they're called).

It's far too early to tell for Superchargers, but by the looks of it, it's closer to what I've been hoping for. The combat looks back to Swap Force levels (although are they playing on hard or something? Those enemies are taking a lot of hits). The vehicle sections look just plain fun, and from those small clips in one of the FGTV episodes, there's a good variety of content with them. It's odd what they're doing with the elemental zones, but I'm glad they're all accessible from the starter pack. We've yet to see what's up with the vehicle elemental zones, whether they exist and they haven't showed us them yet, or they changed their minds and you only need three vehicles to beat the game. Whatever's up with them might change my opinion on the game's accessibility, though.

However, there is one thing that TFB is so, so much better at than VV. Character creation. The personal appeal of TFB's designs, and the variety of the designs, are much superior to VV's. (Quadrupeds. Seriously VV, not all characters need a weapon they can hold, or even hands.) The backstories are also much more memorable and interesting. I'd love a game where TFB created all of the characters and story, and VV worked on all of the level design and gameplay. This would certainly be the perfect Skylanders game.

People want innovation in the gameplay, but they are very picky on what parts of the franchise are innovated it seems...

Toys for Bob buffs most Skylanders whereas Vicarious Visions nerfs them. However, VV has much better gameplay graphics than TfB.

Vicarious Visions ruined the Series for me with SuperChargers, so...and Trap Team made me love Skylanders again, so...concluded.

TFB > VV

I had more fun playing Trap Team than Swap Force, but I am super hyped for Superchargers. Basically, I like both companies pretty much equally.

I like TFB more as a whole. TFB's character design is so much better and varied. I'd rather they both work collaboratively (TFB on story/characters, VV on level/gameplay) than alternating but I guess that isn't as efficient?

VV had some pretty big issues in SF like the unskippable character dialog - they aren't going to live that down. I'd give them a second game to really make a better comparison as far as fixing problems goes.

VV for games while toy design is 50/50 for me. I find that trap team was certainly step down from swap force. At the moment I fee like I am just playing trap team till superchargers arrives.

I'm going to answer here, Tigorus, to avoid stretching the page too much with another quote.

Let me start saying a game developed by both V.V. (which excels in terms of combat system, extra modes and innovation) and TfB (which masters design, creativity and "atmosphere") would be the killer app for this series, and I sincerely hope they will take a several years break (even after SuoerChargers if will provide a lot of replay value which I'm confident about) to deliver us it.

That being said, I will reply to you about revamps, gimmick and innovation.

You ask me why I hate revamps so much?
It's easy.
Developers took their time and invested resources and money to come up with new and original abilities, brand new movesets and animations and they gave all of that to already exsisting characters?
They couldn't really come up with some new never seen before Skylanders...?
I don't think so.
I would have bought all the 40 Skylanders if they were all brand new.
Now I might simply pick up their vehicles.

Honestly, I think they put Super Shot Stealth Elf in every version of the game because otherwise she wouldn't have sold as well as, say, Spitfire.
A kid or a parents who doesn't know much about this game may simply think it is a new S4 and simply skip on her.
Not to mention they are keeping pushing forward the same old characters: they did a good move with Roller Brawl, but seriously, ANOTHER Jet-Vac? ANOTHER Trigger Happy...? ANOTHER Gill Grunt?
No, no, and no.

Oh, and don't even get me started on Skymiibos: they were clearly made only stick two popolar characters in a game that frankly already has enough likable and creative heroes, didn't even received a proper lore ("they are here because we needed them) which still doesn't go against the Skylands nature but most importantly they are the first platform-exclusive characters.
If that's not a bad move I don't know what is one.
Again, I would like you to remember this series started with a very strong concept and idea in mind "all the Skylanders, playable everywhere on any console to have fun with your friends at their houses".
Don't think this respects them that much.
Don't get me wrong, they look AWESOME but are a punch in the gut for every non-Nintendo owner and honestly, V.V. could have put the same enthusiasm, creativity and effort in the other Skylanders...

Gimmick.
To be fair I agree with you, this year's entry doesn't have a true gimmick, since all the characters are special and normal at the same time (special in-game normal figure-wise) and it's definitely a good direction to take for toy innovation: I could easily imagine a Core-only game where all characters do something special but look absolutely normal.
However, vehicles have too much focus from what I've seen, and since they are technically the innovation (and thus the gimmick) I don't like all this attention towards them.
So far gimmicks have always been side function, relevant Story-wise but absolutely optional in terms of gameplay.
Now we require a gimmick figure for the very first time in the series.
It comes in the Starter Pack, ok, but still.

Now, about innovation: I want an innovative core-gameplay.
That means a revamped platforming, maybe with an open world, underwater (Skylander) areas, and improvements to the main experience.
I don't want a side gimmick that threatens to overshadow what Skylanders is about.

All of that being said, though, I don't know how to say it: I absolutely LOVE this game, so far, it looks super fun to play as, has outstanding graphics and animations and will no doubt grant me a lot of playtime.
But it is not, personally, the game I wanted and I hope TfB will return some (not all) things to normal, next year.

i agree with Drek95, he pretty much nailed everything that is wrong with super chargers. as a long time skylanders fan i cant support the new game from vv. to me this is not skylanders anymore and i opt-out on it early to avoid frustration and anger. i think one year break from skylanders game will be good now, things is after all getting a bit repetitive. since we also now know that gimmicks dont last more than in one game, before new ones arrive in the next game. i know that i am not gonna be missing out. these small boost, rock pulling or what ever etc, i can always pick up dive-clops or fiesta for later. if i feel the need for that in skylanders6.

^ This still very much feels like skylanders to me. The vehicle sections don't worry me as much as the fact that they've indicated it's over HALF of the content--which means that either I have less than what I love or VV worked super hard on this game. I guess in the end analysis the gimmick is COMPETING AGAINST us now instead of being a reason for it. Maybe the general population feels different. The TT gimmick felt the same. Again, if the gimmick is the SKYLANDER ITSELF I don't think we would be saying anything necessarily negative.

The reposes disguised as "new characters" is admitting that they think your previous skylanders aren't up to task. Notice how they all have ranged weapons now. They're making them all armed now, and appear even less unique than before. Seriously disappointed that basically I only have 10 new guys to look forward to, and I was swimming in new guys in TT. Can we average the two next time

I agree...no more gimmick that muddles the experience. Go back to basics, and innovate the game. Imagine instead of a vehicle that you had entire AREAS of underwater to explore with WATER skylanders. Imagine if Sonic Boom gets to fly up in the sky without a stupid vehicle to get to a perch where a soul gem is located. Imagine that without all of the elements at your command you'd absolutely miss content in every level and constant exploration. Gesh, they got that right in the FIRST GAME they only needed to EXPAND on the concept. These vehicles are nothing more than re-imagined Swap Zones with vehicles now instead of swappers. I'd much rather just use my skylander and explore a LARGER WORLD than vehicles--but to be honest we knew they would have to expend one game on a vehicle concept because an entire sub section of toys ARE vehicles. I hope Activision gets this out of their system and takes a different gimmick approach next time.

Yeah, if every skylander got the treatment the Nintendo IP did I can imagine all competition being wiped away due to gameplay.

Haven't seen very intense battles so far either---want to see some good old brawling soon.

Quote: TakeYourLemons

^ This still very much feels like skylanders to me. The vehicle sections don't worry me as much as the fact that they've indicated it's over HALF of the content--which means that either I have less than what I love or VV worked super hard on this game. I guess in the end analysis the gimmick is COMPETING AGAINST us now instead of being a reason for it. Maybe the general population feels different. The TT gimmick felt the same. Again, if the gimmick is the SKYLANDER ITSELF I don't think we would be saying anything necessarily negative.

The reposes disguised as "new characters" is admitting that they think your previous skylanders aren't up to task. Notice how they all have ranged weapons now. They're making them all armed now, and appear even less unique than before. Seriously disappointed that basically I only have 10 new guys to look forward to, and I was swimming in new guys in TT. Can we average the two next time

I agree...no more gimmick that muddles the experience. Go back to basics, and innovate the game. Imagine instead of a vehicle that you had entire AREAS of underwater to explore with WATER skylanders. Gesh, they got that right in the FIRST GAME they only needed to EXPAND on the concept. These vehicles are nothing more than re-imagined Swap Zones with vehicles now instead of swappers. I'd much rather just use my skylander and explore a LARGER WORLD than vehicles--but to be honest we knew they would have to expend one game on a vehicle concept because an entire sub section of toys ARE vehicles. I hope Activision gets this out of their system and takes a different gimmick approach next time.

Yeah, if every skylander got the treatment the Nintendo IP did I can imagine all competition being wiped away due to gameplay.

Haven't seen very intense battles so far either---want to see some good old brawling soon.

A thousand times correct, Sir.

Vehicles are going against the main gameplay, instead of expanding and improving, and are not as innovative as they seems.
I get they truly seems to be convinced it will all feel natural and fluid, but I have the feeling it is still going to "bother" me a bit unless the games is 10 times bigger compared to the previous ones, and I still have a lot of exploration, brawling and puzzle solving.

Couldn't agree more on the last part: I want seas for the Water Skylanders to explore, and caves for the Earth ones, and flying areas for the Air and pools of lava for Fire; make every Element truly unique, give it something which doesn't feel like a paywall, grant exclusive abilities to each of the Skylanders belonging to it!

I'm not gonna lie: I would probably love this game an undefined number of times more, if flying and going underwater aren't vehicle exclusives.

Quote: TakeYourLemons

^ This still very much feels like skylanders to me. The vehicle sections don't worry me as much as the fact that they've indicated it's over HALF of the content--which means that either I have less than what I love or VV worked super hard on this game. I guess in the end analysis the gimmick is COMPETING AGAINST us now instead of being a reason for it. Maybe the general population feels different. The TT gimmick felt the same. Again, if the gimmick is the SKYLANDER ITSELF I don't think we would be saying anything necessarily negative.

The reposes disguised as "new characters" is admitting that they think your previous skylanders aren't up to task. Notice how they all have ranged weapons now. They're making them all armed now, and appear even less unique than before. Seriously disappointed that basically I only have 10 new guys to look forward to, and I was swimming in new guys in TT. Can we average the two next time

I agree...no more gimmick that muddles the experience. Go back to basics, and innovate the game. Imagine instead of a vehicle that you had entire AREAS of underwater to explore with WATER skylanders. Imagine if Sonic Boom gets to fly up in the sky without a stupid vehicle to get to a perch where a soul gem is located. Imagine that without all of the elements at your command you'd absolutely miss content in every level and constant exploration. Gesh, they got that right in the FIRST GAME they only needed to EXPAND on the concept. These vehicles are nothing more than re-imagined Swap Zones with vehicles now instead of swappers. I'd much rather just use my skylander and explore a LARGER WORLD than vehicles--but to be honest we knew they would have to expend one game on a vehicle concept because an entire sub section of toys ARE vehicles. I hope Activision gets this out of their system and takes a different gimmick approach next time.

Yeah, if every skylander got the treatment the Nintendo IP did I can imagine all competition being wiped away due to gameplay.

Haven't seen very intense battles so far either---want to see some good old brawling soon.

you have many great points here i agree with but what i see is just a game that resemble a skylander game. back when vv released swap force many said it felt like a different game than the tfb games. at that time i didn't think so, but its pretty obvious now. that we have two very different games. when you look at trap team and super chargers. i think we now are at a cross road, and i pick tfb.

all i wanted for a skylander game is a good platformer/brawler/puzzler with light rpg elements and fighting the evil(what ever new that is in the way for the good). a new big interesting worlds to explore and new innovation within the lore that make sense. online coop 2-4 player, vs battle arenas, horde arenas etc. a big hub that leads to a big open worlds at the center of everything.... that game i could kept buying every year as long as i live.

^That's what I want too. I like the fact VV is trying to make each of the worlds unique (clouds, dragons, shrink rays etc) and that concept absolutely should be used moving foward by BOTH DEVS.

VV whoops TfB in my opinion. Trap Team was mediocre at best. My wife and I never had as much fun as we did with Swap Force.

I'd be curious to know how player ages compare to VV or TfB preference.

Quote: AzureStarline

VV whoops TfB in my opinion. Trap Team was mediocre at best. My wife and I never had as much fun as we did with Swap Force.

I'd be curious to know how player ages compare to VV or TfB preference.

I'm 19 years old and love TfB, but prefer VV by a huge landslide.

I really don't know.
TFB started this and the games have better gameplay.
But VV wins in innovation. Swapping, vehicles.

Character design wise TFB makes more good characters, but VV makes a few exceptional ones.
For me, TFB made 5 amazing characters in 3 games. However there were also some other great characters.
VV, in one game, gave us 6 amazing characters. But there weren't that many other great characters.

VV all the way tfb screwed up trap team with the villian timer and other stupid things the trapmaster were giant figures with crystal weapon with browser and DK only being nintendio exclusives nintendo are the ones that asked activisio. To do this and of course they will be only nintendo system exclusives those are two of the company's most beloved charachters there not going to let xbox or playstation have that would be stupid

@ Count, Drek and Lemons:

I totally agree with you guys that Core game play should be king. I mean good lord the "gimmick" is already "Toys to Life"!!!! That should be enough. There was a line in Jurassic World where the Corporate Admin. (Bryce Dallas Howard) for the island was talking with the trainer/tracker (Chris Pratt) that their focus groups were telling them they needed to up the "wow" factor with the dinos. and Chiris Patt says "They're Dinosaurs, wow enough". This franchise already has the "wow" factor in spades. It simply needs to realize that and own it. I also share your enthusiasm in regards to "returning to our root" and simply enhancing what's already there. This franchise is only embracing half of it's hack and slash genre. It's got the dungeon crawl down but where's the gear? Where's the different play styles based on class types? Why should I play Spyro over Drobot? Why do we have no droppable and equipable gear? Why hasn't this franchise had any desire to age with it's audience through other games and different entries for the franchise? Where are the fighters, RPG's, Racers (coming soon apparently), etc.? When do we get to fly with Skylanders with wings and swim/dive with water Skylanders. Until this franchise realizes and embraces what it has (and uses it) I think we're stuck with gimmicks to provide the draw and "wow" factor.

All that being said I think Super Chargers looks fun and amazing. I think the Skylanders ground game will be as strong as ever in addition to the vehicle modes. The vehicle modes do look like more than simply bigger Swap Zones. They do actually look like they will enhance the game play. Some had bosses, puzzles, loot, new mechanics (taking a sub under the enemy ships guiding the enemy laser to destroy said ships), etc. Since I don't think we're going to see any of the systems brought up in my first paragraph any time soon, these gimmicks are all we have. They might not be perfect but it's what we have. I'm going to give V.V. the benefit of the doubt since Swap Force is still my favorite entry in the franchise. Love it or hate it they seem to care about progressing the franchise by at least giving us something we haven't seen before. T.F.B. cares about the integrity of the game but to the point of allowing it to become stale and not giving fresh prospective with what we have. I would love to see what they could do together if given the chance.