darkSpyro

Thanks to 4inCreation we have our first look at the figures for almost all of the remaining variants of Skylanders Imaginators.

Mystical Bad Juju	Mystical Tae Kwon Crow
Egg Bomber Air Strike	Heartbreaker Buckshot
Solar Flare Aurora	Hard-Boiled Flare Wolf

The only remaining variant to be seen is apparently an Easter themed "Hard-Boiled" Flare Wolf. Update: Now with Hard-Boiled Flare Wolf figure.

Mystical Bad Juju has recently appeared in an Australian EBGames release list with an 8th of December release date. Jingle Bell Chompy Mage is also on it with a 14th of November date but he's actually been found in stores there already.

Solar Flare Aurora will be a Target exclusive in the US as seen in their Black Friday advert.

And for those of you who have yet to buy the game, in their Black Friday ad Walmart have shown that they are going to be selling a $25 Portal Owners Pack which includes the game and a Fire Creation Crystal only.

For this year's Extra Life event (which is happening today!) Andrew Carl, a game designer at Vicarious Visions, is running a stream to support Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Check out his message below, join him on Twitch, and donate to the cause if you can:

Quote: Andrew Carl

My name is Andrew Carl and I am a game designer at VV. I just got the green light from Activision and VV to stream myself playing Superchargers and the Wumpa Islands Adventure Pack while doing some developer commentary for Extra Life, a charity event where gamers stream themselves playing games for 24 hours. The show will start tomorrow (11/5/2016) at 2 PM on my Twitch channel. I'll run through some parts of the games and discuss my work on them.

All donations of at least $25 will receive a Skylanders Superchargers toy OR an exclusive artbook (created by Vicarious Visions showcasing all of our art for Superchargers). Donations of at least $50 will receive a SIGNED toy or art book by our game developers. $100+ donations will receive lots of toys and a signed artbook. Your donation is tax-deductible and ALL PROCEEDS go to help kids at our local Children's Miracle Network Hospital. The art books are the same artbooks the development team received as a gift after the game was shipped and contains a bunch of incredible art from our concept artists along with quotes and tidbits about the development of the game from various members of the team.

Here is a link to the VV team's Extra Life page so you can donate to myself or other members: http://www.extra-life.org/inde...am&teamID=31536

And here is a link to my Twitch stream. I will be streaming myself playing a variety of games starting tomorrow morning at 9 AM EST, but the developer commentary will begin at 2:00 PM.

https://www.twitch.tv/acarlextralife

Thanks,

Andrew Carl

The figure for Legendary Pit Boss has been spotted on the Canadian Toys R Us website along with a December 2nd release date.


Today also marks the start of the release of three Legendary Creation Crystals, exclusively at Toys R Us of course. The first of them is the Legendary Magic Crystal which is paired with a Micro Comic called "Mirror, Mirror".


The other two will be released on the 6th of November and the 13th of November, also exclusive to Toys R Us.

And don't forget that the first season of Skylanders Academy was just released on Netflix on Friday, so make sure to give it a watch if you can!

The reviews for Skylanders Imaginators have begun to roll in so as usual here's a roundup of them. Most seem very positive with high praise for the customisation that the Imaginators provide but there's a few voicing a dislike towards the permanent locking of a class to the Creation Crystals (although a possible workaround has been discovered in the forums).

Quote: TheHDRoom - 4.8/5

Skylanders Imaginators stands on its own as a pleasurable journey for kids and adults alike as the sixth entry in the Skylanders franchise and fourth from Toys For Bob. It is the quintessential AAA game for kids that adults can equally enjoy if they peel back layers of maturity built up over time and allow themselves some immature fun. Imagine that.

Quote: BioGamer Girl - 9.5/10

Skylanders: Imaginators is once again a visually impressive masterpiece with its bright colors and cinematic cutscenes. The soundtrack manages to work alongside the gameplay perfectly and elevates your mood to just the right level rather it be intense battle or intrinsic puzzle-solving.

Quote: Hardcore Gamer - 4.5/5

While last year’s iteration put a heavy emphasis on racing, Imaginators does an excellent job returning things to the realm of platforming. All of the levels are expertly designed and feature beautiful backgrounds and clever puzzles that feel right at home with the best in the genre.

Quote: Xbox Addict - 9/10

I consider this one of the biggest games in the franchise to date, content wise. Along with custom Skylanders, and the Sensei characters, there is the game itself, and there is A LOT (caps added for emphasis) to do.

Quote: Digital Chumps - 9/10

One thing that I think the game upped itself from previous versions are the boss and enemy battles. While there is always going to be a pattern to these things, mainly because it’s a kid’s game, so you don’t want to frustrate your main audience too much, the game has definitely turned up the challenge to 11, especially during boss battles.

Quote: COG Connected - 88/100

Skylanders Imaginators is a dream for gamers who love to customize, platform, and just blow stuff up. The customization options are both easy to use for beginners and advanced enough to make some truly fantastic creations.

Quote: Financial Post - 8.5/10

The rest of the game is what returning fans would expect. The cartoonish combat feels as good as ever (it’s still miles ahead of the now defunct Disney Infinity games) and makes for terrific couch co-op play.

Quote: PlayStation Nation - 8.5/10

Much like the other Skylanders games on the PlayStation 4, this one’s a beauty. The bright, colorful graphics add to the cartoony wonder of the game. Lighting is actually really good at showing off the dark caves, water, and lightning strikes around the different levels and there isn’t even a hint of the jaggies.

Quote: Gaming Age - B+

The gameplay is tight and better than it’s been in previous games. I appreciate this return to the series roots, but fans of the series that have huge collections of Skylanders from previous titles might be disappointed. Many of the gimmicks from previous games have been greatly neglected.

Quote: Digital Spy - 4/5

Just when you might have expected the original Toys-to-Life franchise to be running out of steam, Activision has brought it back, revitalised and exciting. Imaginators might just be the best Skylanders yet.

Quote: The Sixth Axis - 8/10

Compared to last year’s Superchargers, Imaginators is certainly a step in the right direction. Instead of bolting something onto the existing formula, Toys For Bob have instead gone for reinvention. Being able to construct and share your own Skylanders isn’t a massive game changer, but it feels far more considered than other gimmicks.

Quote: God is a Geek - 8/10

And it all looks so lovely. Skylanders has always been a pretty franchise, but Imaginators is almost relentlessly colourful. The environments themselves are striking enough, but the special attacks light up the screen and the cutscenes are fluid and boldly drawn.

Quote: Gaming Nexus - 8/10

One of the things that I have to keep reminding myself about with the game is the fact that it is designed for kids. Imaginators felt a lot more linear than the previous adventures and while I felt it made things a lot easier for me, it made things a lot more accessible for my daughter.

Quote: Trusted Reviews - 4/5

As the first Skylanders designed for the current consoles, SuperChargers looked amazing, but Imaginators tops it with ease. It helps that the level designs lend themselves to spectacle, but the gorgeous lighting and impressive detail being the visuals pretty close to the quality of a TV CGI cartoon (and better than some).

Quote: iDigitalTimes - 4/5

Overall, Skylanders Imaginators is a great next step in the evolution of the franchise. Being able to create your own Skylander is a big deal and the team got it right with such a deep and rich customization option.

Quote: Nintendo World Report - 7.5/10

A bulk of the issues are technical ones - load times are abundant, graphical hitches occur often - but even the structure of the adventure seems like a step down from last year’s superb SuperChargers.

Quote: GameSpot - 7/10

To its credit, the game doesn't limit your ability to change how your character looks at any point. Imaginators doesn't quite have the same level of customisation depth as say, something like a WWE 2K17 or a Skyrim, but what is there is pretty expansive.

The game is out now in Australia and New Zealand, releases on Friday in Europe, and is available on Sunday in North America.

Skylanders Academy releases on Netflix in two weeks so it's about time we finally got a look at the show in action with the show's first trailer:


Quote: Press Release

Skylanders Academy follows the heroic adventures of Spyro, Eruptor, Stealth Elf, Jet-Vac and Pop Fizz as they travel the vast Skylands universe, protecting it from evil-doers. Skylanders Academy promises to keep viewers on the edge of their seats with epic action for kids of all ages.

The 13 episode first season will be released all at once on the 28th of October, with the second season following in late 2017.

And in other news, to mark today's release of Skylanders Imaginators in Australia and New Zealand the Skylanders Creator app launched on Android and iOS, there's nearly 1000 parts to unlock in there so get cracking!

Update 12/10: App now available on Google Play and iTunes.

The official unveiling of the Skylanders Creator app has today revealed that along with being able to create Imaginators within the app it will also let you order a playable 3D print of your Imaginator (for $50, quantities limited), a playable card with a picture of your Imaginator on ($15) or even a T-shirt with your Imaginator on it ($25, not playable).


The app (which launches on October 12th) will let you create an Imaginator from scratch or import one from the game by sound once the game is released in a couple of weeks. It is only possible to transfer to the app and not the other way around, the only way to use an Imaginator created in the app in the game is to buy the card or figure of it (or to meticulously recreate it in the game by hand). Getting more parts to use will require you to open daily chests but parts used in Imaginators transferred from the game will unlock automatically. FamilyGamerTV have an interview with Paul Reiche explaining it all.

The list of devices that are supported by the app according to the official website are: iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6, iPhone SE, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 4s, iPod touch 5th Gen, iPad Pro 12.9in, iPad Pro 9.7in, iPad Air 2, iPad 4th Gen, iPad 3rd Gen, iPad 2, iPad Mini 2, iPad Mini 1st Gen. Samsung Note III, Samsung Galaxy S6, Samsung Galaxy S5, Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime, Samsung Nexus, ASUS Nexus 7.

They will also be running a global contest to win a custom 3D-printed Imaginator, to enter you'll just need to share your design on social media using the #CreatorContest tag from October 24th.


And to get a taste of creating your own character there is a Character Creator on the official website that you can experiment with. There's currently only the Bazooker class, a small number of parts and no colour options so it is a little more limited than the app or game will be.

The release date for the animated show Skylanders Academy was announced today as the 28th of October. As is usual on Netflix the entire first season of thirteen episodes will be available at that time.


And in other news another Skylanders Imaginators variant, Mystical Tae Kwon Crow, has turned up - this time via a video on the official website.


It is as yet unknown when he will be available and whether he will be an exclusive.

Continuing the rather odd looking line of variants that started with Smash Hit last year is Steel Plated Hood Sickle for Skylanders Imaginators.


Previously seen referenced to by text listings this is our first proper look at the variant that, according to the box, will once again be exclusive to Best Buy. Best Buy have yet to post it (or any other figures) themselves but if the European listings are any indication then it should be available at launch (which is less than a month away!).

Thanks to Buuzer for spotting it on Amazon.it.

Toys R Us have posted the first of their new exclusive Legendary Skylanders for Skylanders Imaginators and it's a Legendary Tri-Tip.


Sporting a new red and gold colour scheme compared to the blue and gold Legendaries of the previous games, Legendary Tri-Tip will be released at launch. His regular edition is part of Wave 2 which is expected to also be released at or near to launch but perhaps in more limited quantities or only at specific stores to begin with.

Another new look Legendary being produced for Imaginators is Legendary Pit Boss, an Undead Sorcerer. He was accidentally revealed by the official website earlier in the week when they unveiled his regular edition.


It is not yet known when this guy will be released.


Thanks to preciousawaken for spotting the Tri-Tip listing.

While we patiently await news from gamescom this week, some US retailers have spilled the beans on a certain someone's inclusion in the Crash Editions. Not only will they contain the regular Starter Pack's contents and Crash Bandicoot but they'll also have a Dr. Neo Cortex toy too!


The packaging indicates that Cortex will be part of the Tech element and will be a Sorcerer Sensei (hopefully why will become clear once we see him in action).

For those of you who are not on a Sony system it is worth noting that some European retailers have listed a product with the title "Adv Pk Crash" with an end of November release date. What that is exactly is of course not 100% clear but it could be a way for you to get your hands on Crash, and possibly also Cortex, without having to buy a Starter Pack for a console you don't own.

Thanks to a Reddit post by Syniz we now know that as part of a bonus for pre-ordering Skylanders Imaginators it appears that certain participating retailers are going to be giving away a free Kaos figure.


In the past two years we've had a Kaos trap and a Kaos trophy but now we're finally going to have a proper Kaos toy to add to our collections.

An update today to the Skylanders Battlecast trading card app brought in the four new Skylanders that are currently being given away in promotional packs of General Mills cereal in the US.


Along with the brand new Sonic Boom and Prism Break Skylanders there are also two new variants of existing Skylanders, High Noon Trigger Happy and Obsidian Hot Head, who not only look different but have a different Ability to their regular counterparts.

Other new stuff the game has added include some help dialogs from Buzz as you go into menus for the first time as well as explanations of what the status effects do next to your cards when playing.

Instagram user adamaboumouss has spotted that the latest issue of MEGA! magazine has got a whole load of new Skylanders and Villains for Skylanders Imaginators.


Organised by elemental alphabetical order we have for the new characters: Air Strike (Air), Starcast (Dark), Flarewolf (Fire), Boom Bloom (Life), Aurora (Light), Mysticat (Magic), and Pit Boss (Undead). Also included are the returning Villains Chompy Mage (Life) and Grave Clobber (Water).

We're getting very close to a full roster now as that brings the total seen Skylanders to 16 out of 20, and the Villains to 9 out of 11.

And thanks to forum member Newguy333 for spotting the post.

The latest edition of the Argos catalogue has included advance listings for several previously unannounced Skylanders from Skylanders Imaginators.

They include an Earth Sentinel named Barbella, an Undead Smasher called Chopscotch, as well as two returning villains: the Tech Quickshot "Dr. Krankcase" and the elementally realigned Fire Ninja "Tae Kwon Crow".


And a few days ago there was an official reveal at the "Sweet Suite 16" event in New York City where they showed off another elementally realigned returning villain, the now Dark Sentinel "Hood Sickle".

The animated Skylanders TV series Skylanders Academy will debut on Netflix in Fall 2016 as part of a two season partnership it was announced today.

Quote: Press Release

The series follows the heroic adventures of the Skylanders team, a group of heroes with unique elemental skills and personalities who travel the vast Skylands universe, protecting it from evil-doers and showing the next wave of Academy cadets how to do things the "Skylander way."

Skylanders Academy will feature the voices of Justin Long as Spyro, Ashley Tisdale as Stealth Elf, Jonathan Banks as Eruptor, and Norm MacDonald as Glumshanks. There will of course be many more people providing voices for the series including The Diamond Minecart, Susan Sarandon, Daniel Wu, Parker Posey, James Hetfield, Catherine O'Hara, Bobcat Goldthwait, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jonny Rees, Harland Williams and Richard Horvitz.


The series' showrunner is Eric Rogers ("Futurama") and the animators are TeamTO. Check out a few more of the initial images of the show in our gallery and join the discussion in the forum.

Confirming the rumours, at Sony's E3 press conference it was revealed that Crash Bandicoot is indeed coming to Skylanders Imaginators.


As for the game's lore for why he's here:

Quote:

A wormhole has opened in Skylands and the great Aku Aku appears! He has come to announce the once-in-two-decades Synchronization Celebration--a time when all of the worlds align perfectly. All the inhabitants of Wumpa Island are having a party and they want to invite the Skylanders. But with Kaos on a quest to take over Skylands using his army of Doomlanders, the Skylanders must focus on stopping his evil plans. Never one to shy away from danger, the legendary marsupial Crash Bandicoot leaps through the wormhole to join the Skylanders in the ultimate battle against Kaos!

He will be available in special PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 Starter Packs but the character will be playable on all consoles, he will not be restricted like Bowser and Donkey Kong last year.


And that's not all for the long dormant character, they'll also be remastering the first three PS1 Crash Bandicoot games for PS4.

Following on from a couple of Singapore based retailers listing a PS4 exclusive "Crash Edition" of Skylanders Imaginators, the official website has perhaps inadvertently confirmed that something with that name is indeed coming.


Nothing beyond the word "Crash" is mentioned as the tab does nothing when clicked on but it certainly backs up what those retailers had listed. With E3 2016 next week the contents of this "Crash" bundle will hopefully not remain a mystery for too much longer.


The site also showed off the toys of a couple of new Sensei characters that we've previously seen in artwork form, as well as Wolfgang's regular toy.

Thanks to TheCreator for spotting this.

The sixth game in the Skylanders series has been announced as Skylanders Imaginators. The core idea behind this edition of the game is the creation of your own custom Skylanders, there are also going to be 20 brand new "Sensei" Skylanders as well as 11 former Villains turned Skylander.


To create one of these "Imaginators" (an example above) you'll first need a Creation Crystal, you get a Fire element one in this year's Starter Pack, once you have that you can choose a class of fighter (10 to choose from including Sorcerer, Brawler, Ninja, etc.) and then mix and match through thousands of different combinations of heads, arms, torsos, legs, voices, weapons, and colour schemes to create a Skylander of your very own. The Creation Crystals will cost $9.99 each.


In addition to the custom Skylanders there will be new Sensei characters that will help improve your creations by unlocking things like special moves and allowing your creations to grow to higher levels. The Senseis are joined by a selection of reformed Villains, like Golden Queen, this time as fully fleshed out playable Skylanders complete with their own physical toy. These figures will cost $14.99 each.

King Pen	Golden Queen	Tri-Tip

The game will be releasing on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Wii U in October, on the 16th in North America, the 14th in Europe, and the 13th in Australia/New Zealand. There will not be a Wii, 3DS or even an iOS version of the game this time around. The regular version will cost $74.99 while the new Dark Edition will be $99.99.


For more coverage of the announcement check out articles across the web from places like TIME, Polygon, Game Informer, GameSpot, and Kotaku. There are also loads of videos up on Youtube from channels like CoinOp TV, FamilyGamer TV, The8Bittheater, Tealgamemaster and many more...

Jumping the gun a little, Toys R Us have included something called "Skylanders Imaginators" in the Character/Theme category for searching on their website. The category is completely empty when clicked on but this would seem to be the title for the next Skylanders game.


We are anticipating a full reveal later in the week (tomorrow most likely) but in the meantime you can check out our Skylanders Imaginators forum for all the latest finds, like these three figures:

Today marks the official release of Skylanders Battlecast in the US and Canada. The mobile collectible card game launched earlier in the year in a few countries but this week sees many more countries added and an update to the game that brings in the final boss.


To collect cards you can either purchase the Battle Packs and Booster Packs physically in stores ($9.99 and $4.99) or you can purchase them digitally from within the game itself. In game you can earn coins to buy those packs by completing quests and missions or you can just choose to directly purchase coins with real money. There are also free cards given away daily to help bolster your collection.



The most recent update to the game has also finally added in the ability to add friends in order to battle them directly, so get on over to our Skylanders Battlecast board to join in.

You can find the free download of the game on the App Store, Google Play, and the Amazon Appstore.

Forum member skylandsfan has spotted the first new Skylander from the next game. Found on the cover of an officially licensed calendar we can tell that this new penguin-esque Skylander is part of the water element but if it's also a new type of toy it is not immediately obvious what that new function could be.


Skylanders SuperChargers was officially announced on the 3rd of June 2015 so even though announcements have been getting later and later each time hopefully it won't be too much longer before this year's instalment is unveiled.

Skylanders Battlecast, the mobile trading card game first announced back in August last year, today added Australia to the small selection of countries it is officially available in.


If you're living in Australia or New Zealand you should now be able to find the physical cards in stores and the free app on the App Store, Google Play, and the Amazon appstore. I would definitely recommend making sure your mobile device can actually run the game before diving headfirst into piles of booster packs.

Quote: Press Release

Based on Activision's award-winning Skylanders franchise, Skylanders Battlecast is a new, free-to-play mobile card game where players build their ultimate deck of cards, master strategic card combinations and use them in never before seen battles! Starting today, players in Australia and New Zealand can head to retail stores to purchase physical card packs to begin their epic journey to become a champion of Skylands.

For the past few months the app has been in a soft launch with the developers still actively adding new content, for example just this past Wednesday they completely overhauled how you progress through the story missions and added even more ways to earn new cards. The game isn't quite 100% complete just yet but it is certainly shaping up well.

Quote: Press Release

Activision assembled a team of experts across video game design, physical card game design, pro card players and top card artists to develop Skylanders Battlecast. Unlike traditional trading card and mobile battle games, Skylanders Battlecast offer fans impressive graphical fidelity in the form of a 3D-rendered gameplay experience that is incredibly fun and highly strategic.

If the dates provided by various different international distributors are correct at the latest we should see Skylanders Battlecast getting its full release in North America and Europe by the end of May.




To talk with others playing, make sure to check out our message board for the game.

Despite the initial claims that the Nintendo characters would be exclusive to the starter packs they are now releasing Combo Packs for Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and his Barrel Blaster, and Hammer Slam Bowser and his Clown Cruiser.


Reports have already been coming in of people finding them in the wild. Don't forget that these figures and vehicles will only work on the Wii U, Wii, and the 3DS.

For those of you who skipped the Dark Editions you may be interested to hear that GameStop is going to be the exclusive home to a single pack of the Kaos Trophy which they're selling for $7.99. The Kaos Trophy simply allows you to race as Kaos during Sky races, it does not unlock any other extra content.

And finally, other reports are coming in for findings (or soon to be releases) of a whole host of new Alter Egos including Legendary Bone Bash Roller Brawl, Nitro Soda Skimmer, and Birthday Bash Big Bubble Pop Fizz.