by Lennon George Something you may or may not know about me is that I am over obsessed with the Skylanders Game. Some of you maybe asking yourself “What is the Skylanders Game?” If you have kids, younger siblings, or are just a kid at heart you know exactly what I’m talking about. For those of you that have been living on some remote island with no communication to the outside world, the Skylanders Game is the best selling kids video game to date.
Activision Publishing teamed up with some of its smaller studios like Vicarious Visions and along with Toys For Bob has created this video game phenomenon!
The first Skylanders game “Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure” was released in 2011 worldwide. It got good reviews once it was released the little toys that came to life dazzled children and toy/game reviewers. Who would have thought that something so simple as placing a toy on a “Portal” and making it a playable character in a video game would revolutionize the toy and video game industry?
Now fast-forward to 2014, Activision has released Skylanders Trap Team their 4th Skylanders game title. Activision Publishing has made over 2 billion dollars in sales worldwide, making Skylanders the number 1 selling toy beating other mega toy manufacturers such as Mattel and Hasbro. The release of the game was so innovative that it was put in it’s own category within the toy industry known as “Toys To Life” check out the chart below for a timeline history of the game. To get a more detailed backstory of the Skylanders and the Activision Publishing Company go to Activision.com So now that you know a little bit about the company and how this all started you probably want to know how to play the game and how the toys work, well ok if you insist.
An RFID chip that is placed in the bottom of the toys base powers the Skylanders toys. The toys are then placed on an RFID reader known to us Portal Masters as “The Portal of Power”. Once the toy is placed on the portal a digital image of the toy appears on the screen and is now a playable character in the game. Pretty sweet huh? Well that is not all each toy can be leveled up and the toy retains all your upgrade information so that you can use the toy on any device that plays the game. For example you can play on your XBOX 360 or XBOX One and take your toys with you over to a buddy’s house and play with them on their 3DS, Wii, Wii U, and PlayStation 3 or 4 and all of your upgrade and level info will still be there. Recently the game has been released on IOS and Android tablets none of the previous games can be play on a tablet, but the toys can be used. That is one of the major features of this game each toy from all the previous games can be used in the newer version of the game. So it’s forward compatible, not backward, here is an example of what I mean: First Game: Skylanders Spryro’s Adventure (SSA) toys can be used on second game. Second Game: Skylanders Giants (SG) toys can be used on third game only select figures from SG can be used on SSA. Third Game: Skylanders Swap Force (SSF) SSA, and SG toys can be used in this game. Most SSF toys cannot be used on SSA or SG. All toys can be used on the fourth game Skylanders Trap Team (STT), but STT toys cannot be used on any of the previous games. Each new game comes with a new portal of power due to the new technology added to the toys with each new game release.
With over 300 characters to choose from how does one keep track of all these? Well I’m glad you asked. Each Skylander has an elemental power sort of like the characters from the card game Magic: The Gathering. There are 8 elements Air, Water, Fire, Earth, Tech, Undead, Life, and Magic. Their element class categorizes the Skylanders. Recently Dark and Light mini elements have been announced but none have ben released. Many variants exist in the Skylands; the world of the Skylanders also known as the Skylanders Universe. How do you identify them? It’s pretty hard so you have to know your stuff below you will find a tier-by-tier chart to help you out along the way.
SSA - Series 1 Skylanders-Green Base SG - Series 2 Skylanders-Orange Base SSF - Series 3 Skylanders-Blue Base STT - Series 4 Skylanders-Red Base
Core - Regular Skylanders Giants -The largest and original Skylanders of Skylands LightCore - Light up variant figures of certain Skylanders that have an extremely powerful special attack called a “Wow Pow!” Attack. Sidekicks - See Mini Skylanders Swappers - The tops and bottoms are interchangeable to create 256 power combinations. They are needed to enter special areas in the Swap-Force game called swap-zones. Trap Masters - Are a special team of Skylanders that use weapons made from rare mineral crystals known as “Traptanium” to help protect Skylands from villains. Villains - Can be trapped inside of traps made of Traptanium and then used the help protect Skylands Doom Raiders - Are the Super villains in the Trap Team game. They are stronger than normal villains.
LEGENDARY SKYLANDERS For centuries, Skylanders have competed in gladiator-style events inside epic arenas of sport, where only the greatest of combatants become immortalized as magical, golden statues that stand watch as guardians. These are the Legendary Skylanders. Whenever the world is in peril, special Portal Masters can bring these statues to life and summon the Legendary Skylanders to defend Skylands against any evil that threatens it. DARK SKYLANDERS - ORIGINAL While on a special mission, a team of Skylanders discovered a secret lair where Kaos was experimenting with a new discovery - Petrified Darkness - which he intended to use to take over all of Skylands! In the fight to stop Kaos, the lair exploded, releasing a cloud of pure Darkness! The Skylanders knew they could not let it escape, so they absorbed the dark energy, transforming them into dark versions of themselves. Fortunately, Spyro had learned to tame the darkness within him long ago. So with his help, these Skylanders now have also learned to control it – combining its power with their own to fight Kaos and the forces of evil. DARK SKYLANDERS - TRAPTANIUM From his top-secret lair, Kaos had engineered a dangerous material known as Dark Traptanium – which he intended to use to capture the Skylanders once and for all! Caught off guard, several Skylanders fell into his trap and were imprisoned within the crystal walls. But the Trap Masters arrived just in time and shattered the dark traps with their weapons made from pure Traptanium! Though they were free, they had absorbed enough of the dark energy within, transforming them into dark versions of themselves! Fortunately, they have learned to control it – combining the dark power with their own to fight Kaos and the forces of evil. EON’S ELITE Of all the heroic Skylanders, there are several that Master Eon depends on to lead others into battle against the forces of evil. Eon’s Elite are the selected few that have displayed courage and bravery against all odds – and are revered by their fellow Skylanders for their inspiration and unwavering commitment to defend Skylands! MINI SKYLANDERS The Skylander Mini’s started off as regular "Sidekicks," assisting the Skylanders on many exciting adventures. And what they lacked in size they more than made up for in courage. Ultimately determined to become full-fledged heroes, they trained at the Skylands Academy - honing their powers and skills until they were ready. Now, they stand side by side with their full-grown counterparts, ready to defend Skylands against Kaos and his evil minions.
Go to skylanders.com to get a more detailed history of the game and to meet all of the Skylanders characters.
There is so much to learn about the Skylanders this is just the tip of the iceberg. Join me next week for part 2 of Skylanders 101 where I will cover the online and mobile mini games as well as other Skylanders merchandise such as the Mega Bloks sets. I will also give you a look at some of the rarest Skylanders ever made; some of which I own and more. Until next time catch you on the SKYSIDE!
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