Skylanders: Imaginators

Skylanders: Imaginators
Developer(s):	Toys For Bob
Publisher(s):	Activision
Released:	October 13, 2016 (AU/NZ) October 14, 2016 (EU) October 16, 2016 (NA) March 3rd, 2017 (Switch)
Genre:	Platform
Modes:	Single-player Co-op
Rating(s):	E+10
Platform:	Xbox 360 PS3 Wii U PS4 Xbox One Mintendo Switch

“Unleash Imagination, Create Your Own Skylanders!”

– Imaginators tagline

Skylanders: Imaginators is the sixth installment in the Skylanders series.

Story Summary

The story of Skylanders Imaginators takes place long ago when the Ancients used a mysterious power known as Mind Magic to create everything in Skylands. With it, they conjured into existence anything that they could imagine. However, they soon learned that in the wrong hands, it could be very dangerous, and so they sealed it away so that it could never be misused. After discovering this ancient secret, Kaos has unleashed the power of Mind Magic into Skylands once again - and he is using it to create an unstoppable army of Doomlanders, the likes of which have never been seen! Now it's up to Portal Masters to create Skylanders Imaginators from their own imagination to stop Kaos and his evil Doomlanders before it is too late. And to help train them, Eon is sending the greatest mystic warriors of all time - the Senseis!

Gameplay

Skylanders: Imaginators supports the 300+ character toys from all the previous Skylanders games that fans can enjoy in the real world and in the virtual game world. When players add new Skylanders to their collection, they expand their in-game experiences.

Create your own Skylander

For the first time ever, their imaginations come to life as they can create their own Skylanders, called Imaginators. With endless creation options of powers, abilities, catchphrases, appearance and much more, fans can build their very own creations out of their imaginations, or use the randomize feature to allow the game to choose parts for them.

Creation Crystal

Skylanders Imaginators introduces a new toy type - a Creation Crystal. This vessel allows players to create and transport their unique Skylanders to consoles at anytime, anywhere! Creation Crystals are elementally aligned. Portal Masters can create one character per Creation Crystal.

Meet the Senseis

The Skylanders franchise continues to offer engaging characters that kids love to discover as they play the game. Skylanders: Imaginators introduces new guest stars to Skylanders called Senseis to fans. Senseis include 20 new characters and 11 former villains. Each Sensei is a master of one of 10 powerful Battle Classes (e.g. Knight, Sorcerer, Brawler, and more).

Being the master of these Battle Classes, only Senseis have the ability to unleash Sky-Chi - the ultimate Battle Class super move. Sensei Skylanders have a master-to-apprentice relationship with newly created Imaginator Skylanders. This is supported in-game through the Sensei's unlocking of unique Imaginator weapons, the increase of Imaginator level caps, providing access to special areas in the game, as well as the unlocking of new Secret Techniques for Imaginators of the same class.

New Storyline and Gameplay

Skylanders: Imaginators features an all-new adventure-filled, comedic and charming story with fun new characters, as well as returning franchise favorites. The game delivers a diverse and dynamic story-driven gameplay experience, focused on the magic of sparking imagination, inspiration, and excitement of fans as they create their own superheroes - all set within a variety of compelling new environments. Additionally, Skylanders Imaginators supports local co-op multiplayer. Players can place two Creation Crystals or two toys or a combination of the Crystals and toys on the Portal of Power to maximize the fun!

Returning Core Characters

Skylanders Imaginators also features fan-favorite characters who make an appearance in both the storyline of the game - and the Skylanders Academy television series! These characters include Spyro, Stealth Elf, Eruptor, and Jet-Vac.

List of Sensei Skylanders

Master SenseisVillains & Guest Stars

Master Senseis

Sensei		Element	Battle Class
	Air Strike Egg Bomber Air Strike
	Ambush
	Aurora Solar Flare Aurora
	Barbella
	Boom Bloom
	Buckshot Heartbreaker Buckshot
	Chain Reaction
	Chopscotch Candy-Coated Chopscotch
	Ember
	Flare Wolf Hard-Boiled Flare Wolf
	King Pen Dark King Pen
	Mysticat
	Pit Boss Legendary Pit Boss
	Ro-Bow
	Starcast
	Tidepool
	Tri-Tip Legendary Tri-Tip
	Wild Storm

Villain Senseis

Sensei		Element	Battle Class
	Bad Juju Mystical Bad Juju
	Blaster-Tron
	Chompy Mage Jingle Bell Chompy Mage
	Dr. Krankcase
	Golden Queen Dark Golden Queen
	Grave Clobber
	Hood Sickle Steel Plated Hood Sickle
	Kaos (Sensei)
	Pain-Yatta
	Tae Kwon Crow Mystical Tae Kwon Crow
	Wolfgang Dark Wolfgang

Guest Star Senseis

Sensei		Element	Battle Class
	Crash Bandicoot
	Dr. Neo Cortex

Cast

• Brad Abrell
• Charlie Adler
• Carlos Alazraqui - Hot Dog, Fiesta (uncredited)
• Ike Amadi - Jawbreaker (character) (uncredited)
• Diedrich Bader - Spitfire (uncredited)
• Laura Bailey - Persephone, Ninjini/Mini-Jini, Heroine Imaginators, Bazooker Doomlander
• Troy Baker - Sunburn, Rattle Shake (uncredited)
• Bob Bergen - Wind-Up (uncredited)
• Gregg Berger - Magna Charge (uncredited)
• Jeff Bergman - Zap (uncredited)
• J.B. Blanc - Spy Rise, Hood Sickle, Ambush
• Brian Bloom - Blackout (uncredited)
• Jocelyn Blue - Mysticat
• Steven Blum - Chop Chop, Enigma (uncredited)
• Edward Bosco
• Cameron Bowen - Flare Wolf
• Thomas Bromhead - Dino-Rang, Drill Sergeant (uncredited)
• Kimberly Brooks - Echo, Bad Juju
• Dave Burchell - Ka-Boom (uncredited)
• Robert Cait - Fryno/Small Fry (uncredited)
• Joey Camen - Boomer, Terrafin/Terrabite, Free Ranger
• Cam Clarke - Blobbers, Clobbers
• Ryan Cooper - Wrecking Ball (uncredited)
• Chris Cox - Glumshanks
• Sara Cravens - Boom Bloom
• Kathryn Cressida - Scratch (uncredited)
• Elizabeth G. Daily - Sprocket (uncredited)
• Hunter Davis - Snuckles
• Grey DeLisle - Smolderdash, Mesmeralda (uncredited)
• Darin de Paul - Gill Grunt/Gill Runt, Chef Pepper Jack
• Trevor Devall
• John DiMaggio - Wash Buckler, Wallop (uncredited)
• Robin Atkin Downes - Hoot Loop, Blades (uncredited)
• Josh Duhamel - High Volt (uncredited)
• Greg Eagles - Aku Aku
• Jake Eberle - Rubble Rouser (uncredited)
• Chris Edgarly - Pop Thorn (uncredited)
• Susan Eisenberg - Gearshift (uncredited)
• Gideon Emery - Zoo Lou (uncredited)
• Dave Fennoy - Slobber Tooth, Thunderbolt, Bob
• Keythe Farley - Eruptor/Weeruptor, Wildfire
• Betsy Foldes - Déjà Vu - (uncredited)
• Quinton Flynn - Dr. Krankcase (uncredited)
• Alex Fernandez - Uka Uka (uncredited)
• Crispin Freeman - Hero Imaginators
• Chris Fries - Grilla Drilla (uncredited)
• Nika Futterman - Nightfall (uncredited)
• Bob Glouberman
• Bobcat Goldthwait - Pop Fizz
• Daniel Hagen - Master Eon
• Jennifer Hale
• Jess Harnell - Crash Bandicoot, Flip Wreck, Gusto, Blast Zone, Duncan
• Richard Steven Horvitz - Kaos
• Danny Jacobs - Swarm (uncredited)
• Kenny James - Hammer Slam Bowser (uncredited)
• Peter Jessop
• Keston John
• Neil Kaplan - Nort
• J.P. Karliak - Wolfgang, Sal
• John Kassir - Ghoul Imaginators, Ghost Roaster, Short Cut, Pit Boss, Sorcerer Doomlander
• Josh Keaton - Spry, Knight Light
• Tom Kenny - Stink Bomb, High Five (uncredited)
• Maurice LaMarche - Night Shift, Dive-Clops (uncredited)
• Lex Lang - Dr. Neo Cortex, Grim Creeper
• Misty Lee - Star Strike, Spotlight
• Stephanie Lamelin - Stormblade (uncredited)
• Tobie LaSalandra - Cynder (uncredited)
• Marcella Lentz-Pope - Tuff Luck (uncredited)
• Erica Lindbeck - Cynder (cutscenes only)
• Yuri Lowenthal - Fright Rider, Trail Blazer, Cool Imaginators, Softpaw
• Peter Lurie - Prism Break (uncredited)
• Neal McDonough - Astroblast (uncredited)
• Sunli Malhortra - Cobra Cadabra (uncredited)
• Lani Manilla - Sonic Boom (uncredited)
• Cynthia McWilliams
• Matthew Mercer - Spyro, Tae Kwon Crow
• Dave B. Mitchell - Chopper, Sharpfin, Pirate Imaginators, Troll Imaginators, Knight Doomlander
• Max Mittelman - Pandergast
• Xander Mobus - Wacky Imaginators, Ninja Doomlander
• Sumalee Montano - Cali
• Matthew Moy - Shroomboom (uncredited)
• Takashi Nagasako - Turbo Charge Donkey Kong (uncredited)
• Julie Nathanson - Chill
• Dan Neil - Thumpback/Thumpling (uncredited)
• Alex Ness - Blaster-Tron, Chompy Mage, Lightning Rod, Double Trouble, Drobot/Drobit, Broccoli Guy
• Elle Newlands - Avril
• Nolan North - Dune Bug
• Erol Otus
• Rob Paulsen - Smash Hit (uncredited)
• Chris Parson - Wham-Shell (uncredited)
• Tara Platt - Punk Shock
• C.C.H. Pounder - Golden Queen
• Jamieson Price - Tri-Tip, Drill Sergeant Imaginators, Giant Imaginators
• Greg Proops - Brain, Baron von Shellshock, Scientist Imaginators, Brawler Doomlander
• Moira Quirk - Tidepool
• Jonny Rees - Jet-Vac/Pet-Vac
• Kevin Michael Richardson - Grave Clobber, Stump Smash, Tree Rex/Barkley (uncredited)
• Bumper Robinson - Bouncer (uncredited)
• Rino Romano - King Pen, Scorp
• Salli Saffioti - Whirlwind/Breeze, Torch (uncredited)
• Sean Schemmel - Tread Head, Ro-Bow
• Charlie Schlatter
• Eliza Schneider - Mags, Bat Spin, Cowgirl Imaginators, Vampiress Imaginators, Swashbuckler Doomlander
• Kevin Schon - Lob-Star, Pain-Yatta (character)
• Dwight Schultz - Ignitor (uncredited)
• Patrick Seitz - Rip Tide, Hot Head, Thrillipede (uncredited)
• Stephanie Sheh - Ember
• Nick Shakoour - Fling Kong (uncredited)
• Keith Silverstein - Bash/Bop (uncredited)
• Roger Craig Smith - Boom Jet, Bushwhack (uncredited)
• Brittney Snow - Splat (uncredited)
• David Sobolov - Krypt King, Bumble Blast (uncredited)
• Andre Sogliuzzo - Voodood, Camo (uncredited)
• Kevin Sorbo - Crusher (uncredited)
• Tara Strong - Flashwing (uncredited)
• Cree Summer - Roller Brawl (uncredited)
• Keith Szarabajka - Flameslinger (uncredited)
• Fred Tatasciore - Snap Shot, Slam Bam, Warnado, Zook, Starcast, Islander Imaginators
• Richard Tatum - Countdown (uncredited)
• Courtenay Taylor - Hex/Hijinx, Knight Mare (uncredited)
• Brittany Uomoleale - Aurora
• Kari Wahlgren - Tessa
• Hynden Walch - Chopscotch
• Patrick Warburton - Flynn
• Audrey Wasilewski - Stealth Elf/Whisper Elf, Head Rush
• Billy West - Rocky Roll, Food Fight, Freeze Blade, Fire Kraken, Chill Bill (character) (uncredited)
• Travis Willingham - Eye-Brawl/Eye-Small, Doom Stone, Fist Bump, Buzz, Count Moneybone (uncredited)
• Wally Wingert - Blastermind (uncredited)
• Dave Wittenberg - Trigger Happy/Trigger Snappy (uncredited)
• Marc Worden - Trap Shadow (uncredited)
• Scott Whyte - Funny Bone
• Michael Yurchek - Hugo

Crew

• Mary Elizabeth McGlynn - Voice Director
• Amanda Wyatt - Voice Director

Development

Development of the game began after the completion of Skylanders: Trap Team, and the game's development cycle is approximately two years. With SuperChargers not being a commercial success, and Disney's decision to shut down its own toys-to-life developer Avalanche Software and its game, Disney Infinity, Activision, which had grossed $3 billion with the franchise, remained hopeful and believed that the genre still has potential for continuous game development. As the game's target audience is kids, many development team members suggested ideas to their own children to see whether they resonate with them, and pitched these ideas to other members to see whether their children are equally interested in order to ensure that these gameplay ideas appeal to them.

According to Jeff Poffenbarger, the senior executive producer of Imaginators, innovation is one of the most important aspects while designing the game. They hoped that with new mechanics and systems, they can continue to attract new customers to play the game, as well as retaining the core players. In addition, according to CEO Eric Hirshberg, one of the advantages is that Skylanders, unlike its competitors, features largely original characters and would not be confined to any limitation. The Imaginators mechanic was the most significant introduction, and was designed to be similar to other complex role-playing games. However, one of the key principles is to retain its accessibility. They hoped that players can make use of their creativity to create unique Skylanders, and that the team "can't wait to see what people create". This mechanic was inspired by a fan letter after the release of Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure. Selected player-created Imaginators have been printed out through 3D printers by the Skylanders team. As this creation mechanic introduced lots of new characters, the team decided to create a story that puts a huge emphasis on existing characters, so that these characters would remain relevant to the franchise.

In February 2016, Activision confirmed that there would be a new Skylanders title set to be released in 2016.. At E3 2016, Sony and Activision announced that Crash Bandicoot would be a guest character in the game. To create an accurate version of Crash, the team studied old documents of the old games, including the original concepts. As Crash has its own physical figure, the team went through multiple design iterations to ensure that they had successfully captured its personality, and that its final pose and appearance are cohesive with his old version. The team began animating Crash after finishing up the model, with the goal of ensuring that Crash's "edginess, trademark wackiness, and swagger" are preserved. To capture Crash's legacy, the team specifically created a new life system, spin attack mechanic for it, and numerous crates for its level.

Imaginators marked the first major appearance of Crash in several years; though he had a cameo appearance in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, the last game in which he was the main character was 2010's Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2. In August 2016, at Gamescom, it was announced the game would also feature Crash Bandicoot series antagonist Doctor Neo Cortex as a playable character, along with an additional level featuring gameplay and design elements derived from the Crash series.

Gallery

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• Regular Starter Pack and its contents.
  Regular Starter Pack and its contents.
• The Crash Edition Starter Pack and its contents.
  The Crash Edition Starter Pack and its contents.
• Contents of the Dark Edition Starter Pack.
  Contents of the Dark Edition Starter Pack.
• Special Portal Owners Pack, only including the game and the standard Fire Creation Crystal.
  Special Portal Owners Pack, only including the game and the standard Fire Creation Crystal.
• 
  Scrapped dragon statue assets.
• 
• 
  Scrapped port level.
• 
• 

Videos

• File:Official Skylanders Imaginators Reveal Gameplay Trailer
• File:Official Skylanders Imaginators Crash Bandicoot E3 Trailer
• File:Official Skylanders Imaginators Overview Trailer
• File:Let’s Play Skylanders Imaginators Official Mushroom River, Sky Fortress, and Thumpin’ Wumpa Islands
• File:Official Skylanders Imaginators Launch Gameplay Trailer
• File:Official Skylanders Imaginators Creation Crystal Overview Trailer

Reception

Skylanders Imaginators received positive reviews, averaging an 81 Metascore for the PlayStation 4 version, a 77 Metascore for the Wii U version, and a 78 metascore for the Xbox One version. The Switch port recieved a 74 Metascore.

Sales

The game reportedly sold 66,000 units in the US during its first month.

Trivia

• Imaginators is the first game to have the title logo not connected to the secondary logo.
  • The logo also includes the elemental symbols of the Light and Dark elements for the first time.
  • However, they still have smaller rosters than other elements, as well as much smaller symbols in the logo.
• This is the first installment that doesn't include the Wii and 3DS versions due to size limitations.
• Although certain original Skylanders music themes can be heard in the game, the majority of the game's soundtrack is licensed stock music.
• Imaginators is the first game in the series to include Skylanders (in this case, fan-favorites) as non-playable characters in story mode.
• Even though it's hinted that Spyro has beaten Stealth Elf at a race multiple times, Stealth Elf is canonically faster than Spyro according to their trading cards.
  • This is also the first game to have an Adventure Pack for its Guest Characters.
• This is the first game to have multiple references to religion or religious concepts:
  • The Angel Sword weapon for Knights and the Angel set for Light Creation Crystals.
  • The Light default color scheme Golden God and Chain Reaction's Soul Gem, "Lightning God".
  • Bad Juju's catchphrase is based on a Bible quote.
  • It is also the first game to reference demons since the Book of Elements series, with the Dark creation crystal set and the Demon Staff.
  • The chant used by the Dragons of Dragon Temple to activate their magic is the sacred sound Om, used in most Indian religions.
• Due to the Performance Matters game voice actor strike from SAG-AFTRA , several voice actors for recurring characters have been replaced or uncredited, such as Tara Strong, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Cree Summer.
  • Unlike in the previous games, Spyro isn't voiced by Josh Keaton, but rather, he is voiced by Matthew Mercer. However, Keaton's recordings of Spyro were still used for Spry.
• This is the first Skylanders game not to introduce a new Skylander with a hammer for a weapon (although there are several hammer options for the Imaginators).
• Several old Skylanders have new or replaced battle cries when used in-game.
• Players can emote certain Skylanders - old and new - by using the directional buttons on the controller. The emotions are happy (left), sad (right), angry (down) and shock (up). This feature was probably included for use with taking selfies.
• Due to the forwards compatibility of Skylanders figures, this is the first game to feature a crossover of playable characters from both the Crash Bandicoot and Mario franchises, though this only applies to Nintendo versions of the game.
• This is the first home console Skylander game to use a digital library, instant Skylanders, and to not be on the Wii or 3DS. However, it wasn't ported to these systems, due to the Switch having the portability of the 3DS, and the ability to hand the game, unlike both the Wii and 3DS.
• This is the first Skylanders game to be released two years in a row instead of a new game. This may be likely due to the Switch's release, the chance to release DLC due to not being on the Wii (a system that no longer has the ability to support DLC), and the games sales failing to meet Activision's expectations.
• This is the first game where hats that Skylanders have on do nothing (excluding Imaginators) except add cosmetic changes.
• There are scrapped assets for at least two different levels posted by the game's 3D modelers - a pair of dragon statues before a circular gate, and a port town with a building that appears to be a Troll restaurant.
  • Oddly, another artist posted assets from the dragon-themed and port-themed levels, but they are listed as personal work; implying those levels weren't approved in time.
• Software Engineer, Robert Leyland stated that a sequel or Year 2 for Imaginators would have been about making quadruped Imaginators, including dragons.
• This is the only Skylanders console game to not have a new figure for Gill Grunt.