Skylanders games are played using NFC-enabled collectible figurines of playable characters, alongside a specially themed NFC reader dubbed the "Portal of Power", which reads and writes data stored on a microchip within the base of the figure. This includes the corresponding character to use during gameplay, as well as ingame upgrades and statistics, allowing figures to retain their game data across different games in the series.
Each Skylander is associated with one of ten elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Magic, Tech, Life, Undead, Light, and Dark. Skylanders of different elements are stronger in certain areas of the game, and can unlock areas of the game hidden behind "Elemental Gates".
Plot
The games take place in the Skylands, a realm of floating islands located at the center of the universe that is often threatened by evil forces who seek to rule it and gain access to all worlds.[3] For generations, a band of heroes known as the Skylanders have worked with the Portal Masters to defend Skylands from evil and protect the Core of Light. Spyro is among the known Skylanders. Each of the known Skylanders is associated with the different elements like air, dark, earth, fire, life, light, magic, tech, undead, and water. The dark and light element Skylanders debut in Skylanders: Trap Team when the Core of Light is restored.
Preceding the events of each game, the Skylanders are sent away from their homeworld to Earth by the antagonistic force Kaos, becoming frozen in the process due to the lack of magic in the 'human world'. In most games, they are mistaken for toys in this state, causing them to be sold at toy stores.
The player(s) take on the role of a Portal Master, utilizing the Portal of Power to send the Skylanders back to their home so that they may battle against the Dark Portal Master Kaos, a recurring villain in the series, as well as his army and other recurring villains.
Crusher (voiced by Kevin Sorbo) is a giant rock golem of the earth element who wields a stone hammer.
Eye-Brawl (voiced by Travis Willingham) is a flying eyeball and headless giant duo of the undead element who have a symbolic relationship.
Hot Head (voiced by Patrick Seitz) is a giant fire golem of the fire element.
Ninjini (voiced by Laura Bailey) is a giant elf genie of the magic element who is an expert at ninjitsu.
Swarm (voiced by Danny Jacobs) is a giant hornet of the air element.
Thumpback (voiced by Dan Neil) is a giant baleen whale/toothed whale-like behemoth of the water element.
SWAP Force
The SWAP Force Skylanders gained the ability to exchange halves of their bodies with each other after being caught in the eruption of a magical volcano.
Blast Zone (voiced by Jess Harnell) is a furnace knight of the fire element and leader of the SWAP Force.
Boom Jet (voiced by Roger Craig Smith) is an unspecified sky surfer of the air element.
Doom Stone (voiced by Travis Willingham) is a stone statue of the earth element with a tornado for legs.
Short Cut (voiced by John Kassir) is a short unspecified humanoid of the undead element.
Thunderbolt (voiced by Jonathan Adams) is an unspecified cloud creature of the air element.
Tuff Luck (voiced by Marcella Lentz-Pope) is a caracal of the life element.
Wallop (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a bear-like creature of the earth element and the best friend of Snap Shot.
Wildfire (voiced by Keythe Farley) is a golden lion of the fire element.
SuperChargers
The SuperChargers are Skylanders who pilot their own vehicles.
Spitfire (voiced by Diedrich Bader) is a flame spirit of the fire element, the leader of the SuperChargers, and driver of the Hot Streak.
Astroblast (voiced by Neal McDonough) is an unspecified humanoid of the light element who drives the Sun Runner.
Dive-Clops (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is a flying eyeball of the water element in an atmospheric diving suit, the twin brother of Eye-Brawl's eye half, and driver of the Dive Bomber.
Fiesta (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) is a calaca of the undead element and driver of the Crypt Crusher.
High Volt (voiced by Josh Duhamel) is a robot of the tech element and driver of the Shield Striker.
Nightfall (voiced by Nika Futterman) is a dreadwalker of the dark element and pilot of the sea shadow.
Smash Hit (voiced by Rob Paulsen) is a warsupial of the earth element and driver of the Thump Truck.
Splat (voiced by Brittany Snow) is a faun of the magic element and driver of the Splatter Splasher.
Stormblade (voiced by Stephanie Lemelin) is a lark of the air element and pilot of the Sky Slicer.
Thrillipede (voiced by Patrick Seitz) is a millipede of the life element and pilot of the Buzz Wing.
Senseis
The Senseis are Skylanders who mastered different fighting skills and helped to train the Imaginators.
Air Strike (voiced by Charlie Schlatter) is an unspecified humanoid of the air element. He is accompanied by his blue zephyr falcon Birdie. Air Strike specializes in brawler training.
Ambush (voiced by JB Blanc) is a tree knight of the life element. He specializes in knight training.
Aurora (voiced by Britt Baron) is a human of the light element and the niece of Master Eon. She specializes in swashbuckling training.
Barbella (voiced by Cynthia McWilliams) is an unspecified humanoid of the earth element. She specializes in sentinel training.
Boom Bloom (voiced by Sara Cravens) is a mutant plant of the life element. She specializes in ninja training.
Buckshot (voiced by Edward Bosco) is a sky-faun of the magic element. He specializes in bowslinger training.
Chain Reaction (voiced by Charlie Adler) is a robot of the tech element who wields chainsaw-like swords. He specializes in swashbuckling training.
Chopscotch (voiced by Hynden Walch) is a ghoul of the undead element. She specalizes in smasher training.
Ember (voiced by Stephanie Sheh) is an unspecified humanoid samurai of the fire element. She specializes in sentinel training.
Flare Wolf (voiced by Cameron Bowen) is a fire wolf of the fire element. He specializes in bazooker training.
King Pen (voiced by Rino Romano) is a penguin of the water element. He specializes in brawler training.
Mysticat (voiced by Jocelyn Blue) is a sphinx of the magic element with a centaur-like build. She specializes in sorcery training.
Pit Boss (voiced by John Kassir) is a pit viper of the undead element. He specializes in sorcery training.
Ro-Bow (voiced by Sean Schemmel) is a one-eyed robot archer of the tech element. He specializes in bowslinging training.
Starcast (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) is a four-armed alien of the dark element. He specializes in ninja training.
Tidepool (voiced by Moira Quirk) is an unspecified humanoid of the water element. She specializes in quickshot training.
Tri-Tip (voiced by Brad Abrell) is a Triceratops of the earth element. He specializes in smasher training.
Wildstorm (voiced by Keston John) is an unspecified humanoid of the air element. He specializes in knight training.
In addition to over 160 playable Skylanders, there are a number of recurring characters throughout the series. The most important of these NPCs, on account of appearing in every game, are:
Master Eon (voiced by Daniel Hagen) is a human and the previous portal master who lost his corporeal form when the Core of Light was destroyed.
Hugo (voiced by Michael Yurchak) is Master Eon's assistant.
Buzz (voiced by Travis Willingham) is a Mabu trainer who operates Skylanders Academy. In his podcast series, Skylanders voice actor Alex Ness stated that Buzz is Flynn's father.[4]
Kaos (voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz) is a dark Portal Master and the main villain of the franchise. He is served by an army of Cyclopes, Dark Elves, Spell Punks, and Trolls.
Glumshanks (voiced by Chris Cox) is Kaos' troll servant who begrudgingly assists him.
Arkeyan Conquertron (voiced by George Takei) is an evil giant robot working for the Arkeyans who was reactivated by Kaos in Skylanders: Giants.
Kaossandra (voiced by Christine Baranski) is a dark Portal master. She is the mother of Kaos whose shadow was first seen in Skylanders: Giants and fully appeared in Skylanders: Swap Force.
The Doom Raiders are a gang of evil villains who were imprisoned in Clockcracker Prison until Kaos freed them in Skylanders: Trap Team. In Skylanders: Imaginators, four of its members were offered suspended sentences by Master Eon if they would help train the Imaginators.
Golden Queen (voiced by CCH Pounder) is a living gold statue of a queen and the leader of the Doom Raiders who can turn anything into gold.
Gulper (voiced by Jamieson Price) is a gelatinous sea slug and member of the Doom Raiders from the Gelatinous Caverns who can grow to large size upon drinking soda.
Chompy Mage (voiced by Alex Ness) is a wizard and member of the Doom Raiders. He can summon Chompies and even turn into a giant Chompy.
Chef Pepper Jack (voiced by Darin De Paul) is an anthropomorphic chili pepper, renegade celebrity chef, and member of the Doom Raiders.
Dreamcatcher (voiced by Tara Platt) is a floating head from the Land of Dreams with dream-manipulation abilities and member of the Doom Raiders.
Dr. Krankcase (voiced by Quinton Flynn in Skylanders: Trap Team) is an unspecified creature with mechanical legs and member of the Doom Raiders. He is a mad scientist who used a glowing goo to make wood come to life.
Luminous (voiced by Liam O'Brien) is an unspecified humanoid and member of the Doom Raiders with light-based abilities.
Nightshade (voiced by Gavin Hammon) is an unspecified humanoid, a professional ninja/thief with shadow-based abilities, and member of the Doom Raiders.
Wolfgang (voiced by J.P. Karliak) is a werewolf guitarist and member of the Doom Raiders.
The Darkness (voiced by Ike Amadi) is the overarching antagonist of the franchise who gains a physical body in Skylanders: SuperChargers.
The Brain (voiced by Greg Proops) is a floating brain who appears in Skylanders: Imaginators.
Spyro's Adventure is the first game in the series and features 32 Skylanders, four for each of the eight elements (Light and Dark were not added until the fourth game). The Skylanders seek to restore the Core of Light, which Kaos destroyed, by collecting the Eternal Sources of each element and other components.
Giants is the second installment in the series and a direct sequel to Spyro's Adventure. It introduces a new team of Skylanders called the Giants; canonically the first Skylanders who are larger than normal Skylanders. The Giants were assembled to stop the Arkeyans' reign and are large and strong enough to lift, throw, and destroy trees and rocks, as well as being able to break walls that can normally only be destroyed with bombs. They must stop Kaos after he reactivates the Arkeyan Conquertron and attempts to take over Skylands by resurrecting the Arkeyans.
Swap Force is the third installment in the franchise and takes place in another part of Skylands called the Cloudbreak Islands. It introduces a new group of Skylanders called the Swap Force, who have the ability to swap their top and bottom halves to mix and match abilities. Together, the Swap Force and the Skylanders fight to prevent Kaos and his mother from ruining the magic restoring performance of the Elementals on Mount Cloudbreak.
Trap Team is the fourth installment in the franchise. It introduces two new elements, the Light and Dark elements, as well as a new group of Skylanders called the Trap Masters, who wield powerful weapons made of Traptanium, the strongest material ever discovered in Skylands. They were charged with guarding the dangerous inmates of Cloudcracker Prison until Kaos busted them out. Trap Team also features the new trap mechanic, allowing players to trap specific in-game enemies in Elemental Traps, which are shards of Traptanium from Cloudcracker Prison. The trapped enemies can then be summoned as playable characters for a limited time. The Skylanders and their trapped foes fight together to stop Kaos and the Doom Raiders.
SuperChargers is the fifth installment in the series. It introduces a new group of Skylanders called the SuperChargers, who pilot special vehicles of the Land, Sky and Sea. The Skylanders must stop Kaos and his Sky Eater, as well as The Darkness, which has its own plans. SuperChargers also featured a multiplayer racing game mode similar to the Mario Kart games, which can be played online or via local multiplayer. SuperChargers was the last game to be released on tablets, the Wii and the 3DS (with the latter two receiving a distinct game, SuperChargers Racing, that focused exclusively on the racing mode) and is the only mainline Skylanders game to receive a digital release.
Imaginators is the sixth and currently final main installment in the series, which was developed by Toys for Bob.[5] It was released on October 13, 2016, in Australia and New Zealand, on October 14, 2016, in Europe and on October 16, 2016, in North America.[6] It was the only game in the series released for the Nintendo Switch. It introduced two new kinds of Skylanders, the Imaginators and the Senseis. The Imaginators are player created characters with a customizable look and ability set. The Skylanders must stop Kaos, who, with the help of Brain is using Mind Magic to create his own evil Skylanders called Doomlanders. Crash Bandicoot and Doctor Neo Cortex make guest appearances as playable characters, marking their first appearance in a video game since Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 in 2010.[7] Their figures were initially exclusive to the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 starter packs, but were later released as a stand-alone double pack.
Spin-offs
In 2011, Activision released Skylanders Universe, an online browser-based multiplayer game that allowed players to interact in Skylands, play minigames, customize their own island, and log their Skylanders collection. Players could connect their portals to their computer to summon their Skylanders, like in the core series. The service has since been discontinued.
Activision released spin-off games on mobile devices,[8] including Cloud Patrol, Battlegrounds, Lost Islands, Collection Vault, mobile ports of Trap Team and SuperChargers, Battlecast, and Ring of Heroes.
Development
Skylanders is a reboot/spinoff of the classic video game franchise Spyro the Dragon. After Activision merged with Vivendi Games and acquired all of its IP rights, the Toys for Bob studio was tasked with creating a new Spyro title. Ideas included a dark, gritty reboot featuring bloody violence, which was almost immediately scrapped due to internal negative responses. They settled on creating an innovative, family-friendly game that relied on the communication between toys and the virtual world.[9] Launching the first Skylanders game cost Activision around $100 million, roughly the same budget given to games like Call of Duty.[10]
Version differences
As the Skylanders franchise has been released on numerous platforms, with various versions developed by different developers, there are significant differences between them.
The most notable differences are found in the Nintendo 3DS versions, which have unique stories and gameplay more focused on platforming. Additionally, they use a separate, smaller portal that communicates via the console's infrared. In the first two games, players had to "load" two figures, and were able to swap between them at any time using the touch screen until a new Skylander is loaded to replace them. Beginning with Swap Force, every figure scanned is permanently saved into the game. In Trap Team, villains are captured using the touch screen instead of using real-life traps, which the 3DS portal does not support.
The first two games were developed with the Nintendo Wii in mind, with the HD versions being ports with slightly enhanced graphics. In contrast, starting with Swap Force, the games were developed for the HD consoles, with the Wii version having heavily downgraded graphics. In addition, Superchargers on Wii and 3DS was a distinct game titled Superchargers Racing, which only included the racing portions. Imaginators skipped these two consoles entirely.
While portals are typically interchangeable between platforms, the Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions of the game require their own portal respectively due to restrictions imposed by Microsoft.
The Nintendo Switch version of Imaginators does not use the Portal of Power; instead, the figures are scanned using the NFC on the game controller. Similar to the 3DS versions of the previous games, scanned figures are saved and can be switched through a menu. Traps are not supported, and Vehicles only unlock Imaginite Chests.
Media
Novels
Cavan Scott wrote a series of books, beginning with Skylanders: The Machine of Doom, which takes place before the events of Spyro's Adventure. He would later write the Skylanders: The Mask of Power series, which also serves as a prequel to Spyro's Adventure. Another series, Skylanders: Book of Elements, focuses on two elements in each installment, with Shubrik Bros. Creative writing the first and Barry Hutchson writing the second.
Art Books
Two art books, Strata: The Art of Skylanders: Swap Force and Clutch: The Art of Skylanders: Superchargers, were produced by Vicarious Visions. As employee exclusives, the only way to obtain them is through online sellers or charity events.
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing created a comic series associated with the Skylanders franchise which takes place in between games.[11] The series was reportedly cancelled to avoid conflicting with Skylanders Academy, which used a different canon.
In 2016, it was announced that Activision Blizzard Studios would produce an animated television series based on Skylanders.[12] The first season debuted on Netflix on October 28, 2016, the second season on October 6, 2017, and the third and final season premiered on September 28, 2018.[13][14] On April 30, 2019, it was announced that Skylanders Academy was cancelled.[15]
Possible film
Activision has commented on the possibility of a movie based on Skylanders.[16] On May 6, 2014, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg announced that the Activision team had an interest in "jumping on the film adaptation bandwagon" and adapting Skylanders into a film.[17]
Future
Following the release of Imaginators, the franchise went into hiatus, with speculations surrounding a seventh console installment. Nevertheless, future projects within the Skylanders universe were limited to the recent mobile game titled Ring of Heroes until its closure in 2022. The studios worked on other unrelated games until Activision Blizzard was acquired by Microsoft in January 2022. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick stated that Microsoft had interest in reviving some of the old studios' hit franchises, including Guitar Hero and Skylanders.[18]
Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregatorMetacritic.[19][20][21][22]Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure was nominated for two Toy Industry Association awards: "Game of the Year" and "Innovative Toy of the Year".[45]
Skylanders: Giants received "generally favorable" reviews on most platforms according to Metacritic;[23][24][25][26] the Nintendo 3DS version received "mixed or average" reviews.[27] However, the reviews in general were slightly lower than that of the previous game, especially for the Nintendo 3DS version, which received the lowest Metacritic score in the series.
Skylanders: Swap Force received "generally favorable" reviews for most platforms according to Metacritic;[29][28][30][31] the Nintendo 3DS version received "mixed or average" reviews.[32] The Metacritic scores for the game were the highest and most positive of the series on most platforms.
Skylanders: Trap Team received "generally favorable" reviews for most platforms according to Metacritic;[34][35][36][33] the iOS version received "universal acclaim". Despite the scores from Metacritic being slightly lower than that of the previous game on most platforms, the iOS version received the highest Metacritic score in the series.
Skylanders: SuperChargers received "generally favorable" reviews according to Metacritic.[38][39][40][37] The game was also nominated for two awards: Best Family Game at The Game Awards 2015 and Favorite Video Game at the 2016 Kids' Choice Awards.[46][47] Despite its positive reception, Activision reported in February 2016 that the game did not meet sales expectations.[48]
Skylanders: Imaginators received "generally favorable" reviews for most platforms according to Metacritic;[42][41][43] the Nintendo Switch version received "mixed or average" reviews.[44] Despite the generally positive reception, the game sold only 66,000 copies during its launch month.[49]
As of February 2015, the Skylanders series has crossed the threshold of $3 billion in sales, with 175 million toys sold since 2011, making the series one of the top 20 highest-selling video game franchises of all time.[50][51] As of June 2015, over 250 million toys were sold.[52] As of 2016, over 300 million toys have been sold and the franchise has become the 11th biggest console franchise of all time.[53]
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