darkSpyro

Everyone loves Spitfire.

I like him :c

In characters and story SC was great, graphics were beauty. Gameplay and theming, not so much. I have fun but it's hard to go back from SI with its vehicle-free UI.

Except SSC 3DS. Then again, everyone that came out before SC was useless in that game.

Spitfire, next to Zap, really hit me design wise. They're both something I always wanted for a character design.

From the games I've played:

Console:

STT > SSC > SI >SSF > SG

(SSC's plot made it just slightly better than SI. SI feels a bit barebones in certain areas, ESPECIALLY the half non-existant plot.)

3DS:

SSF > SSA > SG

SG>SI>SF>SA>TT>SC

SSA>SSF>STT> SSC> SSI> SG

Quote: ZapNorris

Astroblast's kick is purely defensive. It has great knockback, you'll want to use it to your advantage.

I used his kick alot in kaos liar to kick the kaos clones off the edge

Quote: KingMed

Quote: ZapNorris

Astroblast's kick is purely defensive. It has great knockback, you'll want to use it to your advantage.

I used his kick alot in kaos liar to kick the kaos clones off the edge

that's how it's done!

Let's see:

1) Trap Team: I still consider it the best Skylanders experience overall: nice plot, enjoyable characters, really good roster, interesting villains and gimmick and perfect amount and lenght of levels.

2) Imaginators: I think it's better than Trap Team under many aspects, but some parts feel rushed and uninspired.
The characters are fun, the M.A.P. is outstanding and it even did guest-stars right while also eliminating reposes but I can't ignore the bad distribution and other questionable choices.

3) Spyro's Adventure: being the first it had less characters, less lore and probably a less defined identity but that's the concept I wanted to see expanded in the future.
Elemental exclusive abilities and themes, PvP, Heroic Challenges, a solid gameplay... All slowly lost in favor of sometimes better, but still different directions.

4) Giants: the last game to keep the magic of Skylanders intact.
I've said it many times and I'll say it again, Giants were the only gimmicklanders this series needed: big "bossy" champions of each Element which felt quite different while still blending well with the rest of the cast; the plot is pretty good as well.
I still prefer SA for quite a few things, but there's a reason why I never felt calling Trap Team "Giants 2.0" was a bad thing.

5) SWAP Force: the beginning of the end.
Here's where the series lost its identity, in my opinion, and that's something no fancy graphics, cool gimmick, new mechanic or enjoyable roster can fix.
I absolutely enjoyed it but hardly felt like I was playing a Skylanders game.
Some may prefer it over the previous two games, that's a matter of tastes, but I believe it's undeniable that everything changed after the first V.V.'s entry.

6) SuperChargers: the final nail in the coffin.
This game tried very hard to be hated by me, but I can't ignore what I liked about it: the few brand new characters are fun and pretty creative (considering the self imposed limitations), vehicles I really liked the story vehicles, I enjoyed vehicles the levels' gimmicks vehicles, I vehicles appreciated vehicles the vehicles aesthetics vehicles and vehicles vehicles vehicles vehicles vehicles.

Feel like something is missing?
Yeah, me too.

Currently I'm revisiting the games I had neglected throughout the years and I'm dead impressed with the first three so far. I'd completed Spyro's Adventure and thoroughly enjoyed it twice. Giants I didn't like to begin with thanks to two opposing mindsets I had; on the one hand I liked you only needed one Giant, on the other if I wanted any others that I liked I'd be paying a lot more. Half the speed for double the price has become my new slogan for that game. But now I've given it a chance, it's not so bad. Now I'm going through SWAP Force, which I'm really enjoying and I hate to agree with Drek95 all the time (AND YOU HAVE THE BEST GIANT FOR YOUR AVYTAR IT'S NO FAIIIIIR) but I can see how the series was losing its identity. I think the games changed for the better gameplay wise, but in terms of accessibility it lost the plot. And that's where I stopped playing Skylanders - I did three missions in Swap Farce and gave up because I was having such a good time, and didn't want to disappoint myself with the inferior experience. I've got nearly all the figures I need to enjoy that game, so I'll go back to it and have a smashing time.

I've not played Trap Team at all and my impressions of Superchargers aren't hugely positive (the vehicle controls are a huge turn off), but Imaginators was and is still super fun. I enjoy returning to that when I've done these other three games and hope to complete it soon.

At the moment my list is: SSA > Swap Force/Imaginators (hard to choose) >>> Giants > [Not played enough of the other games yet)

Quote: Drawdler

Lemme just clear this up, you can't scan traps at all on the Switch, right?

No. Vehicles don't work either. To be perfectly honest I'm disappointed in the Switch version, but only because I don't use the portability; choosing Skylanders from a menu or having to scan them while on that menu isn't nearly as involved or 'fun' as using the portal imo.

Ok, here are my favorites

Console: Trap Team > Spyro's adventure > Giants > Swap Force > Superchargers (beileve it or not, I actually like that game) > Imaginators (Wii U only, not sure about Switch since I don't have the switch version yet, but the fact it doesn't need a portal of power sounds like fun. )

3DS: SuperChargers racing > Spyro's adventure > Giants > Swap Force > Trap Team

Quote: Johnbonne

Quote: Drawdler

Lemme just clear this up, you can't scan traps at all on the Switch, right?

No. Vehicles don't work either. To be perfectly honest I'm disappointed in the Switch version, but only because I don't use the portability; choosing Skylanders from a menu or having to scan them while on that menu isn't nearly as involved or 'fun' as using the portal imo.

At least the vehicles give you a Silver Imaginite Chest in the Switch Version. You can't even get that little bit of gold from your traps...

Quote: SoulfulWolf

Quote: Johnbonne

Quote: Drawdler

Lemme just clear this up, you can't scan traps at all on the Switch, right?

No. Vehicles don't work either. To be perfectly honest I'm disappointed in the Switch version, but only because I don't use the portability; choosing Skylanders from a menu or having to scan them while on that menu isn't nearly as involved or 'fun' as using the portal imo.

At least the vehicles give you a Silver Imaginite Chest in the Switch Version. You can't even get that little bit of gold from your traps...

I never knew that. Cheers!

Oh yeah, I talked about the poor marketing on recent Skylanders games, but Johnbonne wasn't here to read about *sigh* "Over the top Vehicle Fantasy".

You want a great example of how they think their fans are stupid? Look up any interview with Guha Bala on SC. Any. Interview. If it wasn't for him and his brother jumping ship over very reasonable fears, I'd still be cheering he's not in VV anymore.

Quote: Bifrost

Oh yeah, I talked about the poor marketing on recent Skylanders games, but Johnbonne wasn't here to read about *sigh* "Over the top Vehicle Fantasy".

You want a great example of how they think their fans are stupid? Look up any interview with Guha Bala on SC. Any. Interview. If it wasn't for him and his brother jumping ship over very reasonable fears, I'd still be cheering he's not in VV anymore.

I've just had a look at four now, the last being the Gamereactor interview with that line you quoted. I don't think he treats fans stupidly because I don't think he knows who their fans are; the interviewer in the GR video even said he was into Skylanders starting with SWAP Force, but Bala kept talking about what kids want, how children test the games. Not once does he say how parents and collectors are involved, or what people's motivations are for buying characters or what makes them cool. It was becoming a mess of PR white noise. The only terrible interview I've seen so far was one about Swap Force, where he couldn't for the life of him explain what went into making characters, Grilla Drilla in particular.

But like you've said before, they haven't grown up with their audience and they think it's children watching these videos. I'll watch more videos to see if he's either being malicious or just ignorant.

I think there were also some insider videos about SuperChargers character development that were deleted. The designers and programmers all talk about the characters with the theming and ideas, and when he comes on it's like you're in an entiry different video. The issue still stands tho, they don't get to give interviews, he did, and all he can say is "over the top vehicle fantasy", "now the darkness has a personality" etc etc, sometimes multiple times an interview(oooh Treehouse...).

Then, you get to Imaginator, where Yroc and others interview Paul Reiche, and not only he knows about the games and characters, he also tries to give varied lines even if it's a subject that was already mentioned. Even their character dev videos have I-Wei and not PR, since he can go into detail.

Tho, going on a tangent. VV is the one that kept its big team and is going into new ventures, while TFB was rewarded with layoffs and an uncertain future. Trying to discuss this only makes me frustrated and I'd rather talk about favorite/ least favorite games :I

Quote: Bifrost

I'll be honest, I didn't notice hyperbole rhymes with meatball until after I posted : P

Not sure if serious.

Hyperbole is pronounced "hai-PER-bow-lee"

Oh, I put the accent on "bo" and thought it sounded like "ball". Tonal rules escape me sometimes.

Do we have to bring back the hate trend towards SuperChargers in every single topic in this forum or what? Gosh...

I wouldn't call it "hate", but I guess there's a reason why it's the least favorite title of many users.
Plus, we were ranking the games, so a few explanations are nice.

Johnbonne, tastes aside I think SWAP Force helped the series evolve under many points of view: the graphics (not art style), the jumping mechanic and the more gimmicky gameplay of the newly released Skylanders definitely influenced the later entries in a positive way.
It's an exaggeration, I know, but I consider SWAP Force as a "necessary evil"; something which needed to happen because it brought new concepts, life and possibilities to the series... But isn't as good per se.

Long story short: it changed Skylanders' identity, and that's something which can bee seen as both good and bad, but I'm glad it happened.
Just like I was happy V.V. was willing to experiment with such a risky gimmick as vehicles, instead of saying "let's just give them what they've always got".
Both teams put their heart and souls in the series and that's something I'll never cease to appreciate.

Quote: Halvmorke

Do we have to bring back the hate trend towards SuperChargers in every single topic in this forum or what? Gosh...

I don't hate the game, I still think it's easily the best story, though it lacks in lore compared to TT. But the themeing and the marketing? Whoo boy.

Swap Force is the one I truly have beef with, but I talked about it aplenty and I really can't deny it was the most sucessful game.

Quote: Bifrost

Oh, I put the accent on "bo" and thought it sounded like "ball". Tonal rules escape me sometimes.

No lie, Greek roots make pronunciation difficult.

Who here actually knew how "Hermione" in Harry Potter was pronounced before the first movie? Not me. I used to read it as "HER-me-own," and my mom and sister read it as "Her-MOYN"... and then we all felt dumb when the movie came out. :/

Crazy Greek root pronunciation is also why the plural of "octopus" is NOT actually "octopi" as many claim; that would be true if the word used Latin roots, but it's based on Greek. So "octopuses" is actually acceptable in English, but "octopodes" [oc-TIH-puh-deez] is technically the most correct if you want to be a pedant about it.

SKYLANDER ISN'T DEAD! THEY UPLOADED THIS VIDEO ON YOUTUBE!!

The PR guy never stopped though. They even posted a disgusting-looking Skylander on the FB page for Chocolate Day.

Quote: Bifrost

The PR guy never stopped though. They even posted a disgusting-looking Skylander on the FB page for Chocolate Day.

Pretty gross, but I can't wait to get those parts because they look very interesting to play with.

Superchargers still remains the best in the franchise in my opinion fight me. Now as for the games here's mine.

Console: SC> SI> SF> SA> TT> SG

and they still don't respond to inquires about LIM.

Wait for Q4

Quote: SkyFan91

Superchargers still remains the best in the franchise in my opinion fight me.

Bring it.



For serious though, as much as I hate the rest of the game (Y U driving controls change from one segment to the next!?! ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)), the Spell Punk Library in SuperChargers is my favorite level out of all the games. Magically entering the books and switching to 2D worlds with cel-shaded graphics was incredibly charming.

Quote: McMurderpaws

Quote: SkyFan91

Superchargers still remains the best in the franchise in my opinion fight me.

Bring it.



For serious though, as much as I hate the rest of the game (Y U driving controls change from one segment to the next!?! ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)), the Spell Punk Library in SuperChargers is my favorite level out of all the games. Magically entering the books and switching to 2D worlds with cel-shaded graphics was incredibly charming.

Imma go super Saiyan on yo ***

I will also defend SuperChargers with my life. I admit I preferred Imaginators, but it was still one of the best.

Quote: SkyFan91

Quote: McMurderpaws

Quote: SkyFan91

Superchargers still remains the best in the franchise in my opinion fight me.

Bring it.



For serious though, as much as I hate the rest of the game (Y U driving controls change from one segment to the next!?! ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)), the Spell Punk Library in SuperChargers is my favorite level out of all the games. Magically entering the books and switching to 2D worlds with cel-shaded graphics was incredibly charming.

Imma go super Saiyan on yo ***

Checkmate.

Quote: emeraldzoroark

Quote: SkyFan91

Quote: McMurderpaws

Bring it.



For serious though, as much as I hate the rest of the game (Y U driving controls change from one segment to the next!?! ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)), the Spell Punk Library in SuperChargers is my favorite level out of all the games. Magically entering the books and switching to 2D worlds with cel-shaded graphics was incredibly charming.

Imma go super Saiyan on yo ***

Checkmate.

Can't defeat one punch man. You've both won....for now.......

superchargers was a mistake.

Honestly I like Super Chargers. And the only reason I rated Spyro's Adventure above Super Chargers might of been the faintest bit of "Nostalgia".

imo the vehicle gimmick was a mistake. that took the focus off of the characters and placed it on the vehicles.

The true mistake was the fanbase ****ing on it too much

The fan base wouldn't have crapped on it if the game weren't half-baked with terrible controls.

Also, the price of extra characters and vehicles compared to the minimal difference in the way they played was...

I liked it. Sure there was way to much vehicle sections for my taste... including the final boss... and the figures were overpriced here (€20 each, both Skylanders and Vehicles) but otherwise, fun game. My only issue with the Vehicle controls is the lack of a reverse button.

Quote: emeraldzoroark

I liked it. Sure there was way to much vehicle sections for my taste... including the final boss... and the figures were overpriced here (€20 each, both Skylanders and Vehicles) but otherwise, fun game. My only issue with the Vehicle controls is the lack of a reverse button.

There was a reverse button on the wii, was it different on other platforms?

Quote: SkyFan91

The true mistake was the fanbase ****ing on it too much

I mean, the controls were a bit awkward

Other than that, since when

For me; SC, SI, SSF, SG, STT, SA. In that order. After 4 games with the exact same gameplay, the vehicle portions were a welcome adit ion for me. And the Story was the best of the franchise.
Imaginators feels very polished to me. But way too short and the creat a Skylander is fun but way too limited. Swap Force was just a blast to play and the gimick at this point was a plus and not forced on you. Giants was my first game and is what got me hooked on the series. Trap Team was boring and bloated and too much forced replay. All the new characters were top notch though. Spyro adventure feels small and dated now. Still havnt beaten it.

Quote: PainterRex

Quote: emeraldzoroark

I liked it. Sure there was way to much vehicle sections for my taste... including the final boss... and the figures were overpriced here (€20 each, both Skylanders and Vehicles) but otherwise, fun game. My only issue with the Vehicle controls is the lack of a reverse button.

There was a reverse button on the wii, was it different on other platforms?

Don't think so, there was also a reverse button in PS3/4.