Oh man. I recently retrieved my skylander collection from the garage to take pictures of and later sell. While in my possession I played through every game up to this one, my favorite. And oh boy.
I had such a fun time playing this game as nostalgia, almost as much fun as when I first played it. So many things about this game work.
The hub is great.
The characters are cheesy at times but still felt natural. I expected that though.
The skylanders were all unique and fun in their own way. (I have very few but Bushwhack still remains #1 fav of all time)
But the villains. They added so much to this game, a unique concept, fun storylines (tracking down kaos got a little old in my opinion.) But my favorite? The musical diversity. As a budding musician this was easily my favorite part of the game. The villain themes gave so much personality to the villains and added so much diversity musically. From jazz to techno to funk to rock to even a bit of Dixie (bless you Fisticuffs) it'll always be what sticks in my head about this game the most. This game is great and you're never too young or old to pick it up for cheap nowadays.
Seconding the music for sure. Half of it is licensed themes, but unlike Imaginators, you can feel they tried to fill the holes left by the composer with something that still fits the game. Stuff like the boss battle at Phoenix Psanctuary or the Chompy Worm theme don't feel out of place next to the arena battle in Monster Marsh or the Gulper's themes.
--- SO I'LL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT
(What I need is never what I want)