The big news regarding this year's Skylanders outing is that Crash Bandicoot is coming along for the ride, and thanks to GameStop's website we now know that his arch enemy Dr. Neo Cortex will also be immortalised in NFC-powered plastic.
The image in question has been removed from GameStop's site, and shows the PlayStation 4 version of Skylanders Imaginators. While Crash and his pals appear to be exclusive to the PS4 starter pack for the time being, it has already been confirmed that they will work in all versions of the game. Once Crash and Cortex are available individually, you'll be able to use them on your Nintendo system.
Skylanders Imaginators is due out in October for the Wii U, as well as other formats.
[source neogaf.com]
Comments (39)
That's pretty cool. I've already gone with Lego Dimensions as my toys-to-life game of choice though, and I can't possibly shed any more money for another one.
Regardless, I hope this and the Crash remasters lead up to a new Crash game at some point. I'd love a new one.
>_<
NO...!
Oooooh! When will they die?
Oh Crash, when will you return to your former glory like the good oh PlayStation & GBA days?
Cortex actually looks really good. If the plastic they use for these figurines didn't feel so cheap and I didn't have to buy the entire game with him, I'd get him. Cortex is actually one of my favorite villains. I don't know, I've always had a sweet spot for a funny, goofy villain.
I haven't had a console until I was in my teens. Before then, I have fond memories of visiting my older cousins during summer and playing Crash with them. It was one of the first games I ever played. Hopefully this could lead to some new Naughty Dog level Crash games being made.
Spyro still gets the chopping board I see...
So excited for this
I want it so badly! (Evil laugh)
@GoldenGamer88 I read somewhere the figures will be sold separately, I think the date was November 30. Makes sense, Crash and Vortex are supposed to work on all platgorms, DK and Bowser only worked on Nintendo consoles and even they had their own release. They don't however work in amiibo Minis on the Move, stupid Nintendo coders.
Tip for anyone not sure on this game, just wait. Skylanders games have a habit of becoming really cheap. Just check your amazon and you'll see. So I'd recommend waiting for awhile and grabbing the game cheap, especially if you already have a toys to life series you collect.
YES!!!!!EVEN NEO CORTEX IS BACK!!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38kIZt-KDG8
@OdnetninAges I have gone for amiibo figures, I know they do not do as much as Disney Infinity or Skylanders, but they do work in far more video games on a general scale.
@DoctorOverbuild I am just going to add to this point.
Skylanders Superchargers: Starter Packs are £14.99 each as of this comment on Smyths Toys.
Nintendo Wii:
http://www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/video-games-tablets/nintendo-wii-wii-u/c-745/wii-u-games/p-13516/
Nintendo Wii U:
http://www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/video-games-tablets/nintendo-wii-wii-u/c-745/wii-u-games/p-13517/
I would also advise everyone check their local GAME Stores as I found two Skylanders Wii Dark Edition Starter Packs for £19.99 a few weeks ago.
That Crash looks very different from the one I grew up with. I wonder if that's how he'll look in the remakes. Cortex looks about right, though.
Cortex looks fine to me, and I'm happy to see him back! Crash though, not a fan of his design. I won't be getting Skylanders Imaginators, but still good to see Crash and Cortex, nevertheless. Plus, we have the remakes to look forward too!
It's almost like Crash and Spyro switched places now. Spyro was the star of Skylanders, and now Crash will be the favorite in Imaginators. I love Crash, but I've always preferred Spyro. Hopefully Spyro will someday get some remakes as well!
One detail the non-Crash-fans among you might not have noticed: instead of going with the doctor's modern Crash era design (around 2001)...


... they went with the classic design (1996), complete with (admittedly kind of gross) red eye bags.
That's some attention to detail - to put that in perspective, for a Crash fan such as yours truly this is like seeing a plump Sonic with black eyes again. So yeah, good news all around!
Cortex is looking like they were inspired by Twinsanity.
Despite to my negative attitute towards Skylanders (and what they did to Spyro), I'm liking both figures.
Is there any other way to NOT to buy a starter pack and just to get the figure(s) alone?
I can't interpret the word "imaginator" as being anything other than a 2-meter-tall android designed specifically to kill imagination. Then again, this game came from Activision. They would probably find that flattering.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE Die? Why? Just because you dont like something it must sease to exist? Who are you? I dont like sports games, but I just dont pay attention to them and thats it, theres a public out there for them for sure.. good for them but I dont wish sports game to stop existing just because I dont care about them.
@KTT Having Spyro there at first was what caught my eye, I personally liked the update to his design, I also liked how it inspired other dragon skylanders, then I started liking skylanders on its own even if Spyro started being a cameo on later games to stop showing up at all. But the game and the figures are fun to have, me and my best friend enjoy them a lot.. If it wasn´t for Skylanders Spyro wouldn be introduced to younger audiences.. and we wouldnt have new games either... so what they did to it was nothing wrong in my honest point of view.. but I know Skylanders is not a game for everyone...
@AlexSora89 Awesome bit of information there! I dodnt grew up with the original playstation due to economic reasons, but I knew Crash and enjoyed the games on the ps2 when I got a chance to buy one. I totally respect the fact that they did that.. lets wait for those remasters, hopefully fans and non fans will react positivelly so we can get a full new game in a couple of years from now... Skylanders is introducing IPs to younger audiences, and this is great!
@retro_player_22 Just because they are guest starring in Skylanders doesn't mean they're "dead." There are Crash remakes coming soon on Playstation, you won't have to wait long.
@AlexSora89 They've been learning from their mishap on Spyro's design! I really hope they include Banjo next year.
@rjejr They released an update to fix this.
The new Crash design (or "Trash Bandicoot," as I think I'll start calling it) still looks like garbage, but I'm glad Cortex looks pretty true to his original self. I'd actually be tempted to buy the figure, along with the Crash one if it were halfway decent, even though I've never owened nor plan to own a Skylanders game. Wonder if they will have any functionality in the Crash remaster coming to PS4?
@AlexSora89 Are you forgetting the even more modern Dr. Cortex design used in Twinsanity/Mind Over Mutant where he looks like a frail old man with blue hair?
@TrueWiiMaster
Well, as long as he's still wearing pink underpants.
@FreakFerrett
My self-description as a gamer is "Nintendo is my sign, PlayStation is my ascendant" due to my PlayStation roots, but even after "converting" to the Nintendo fandom, I have to say that the PS1's lead platformers, Spyro and Crash Bandicoot, kicked some major backside back in the day. For the record, here's Cortex's theme in the first game, underscoring the climactic battle atop Cortex's blimp, with his castle burning down in the background as the sun was setting red (a striking image if you ask me).
This somber theme was spiced up in the sequel, fitting the interesting premise of a boss battle where you have to chase the boss within a certain time limit.
The two melodies were later mashed up together in the third game, resulting in the iconic Cortex theme that fans know and love today.
The original trilogy's music was composed by Josh Mancell under Mark Mothersbaugh's supervision. You know the latter as the founder of 80's band DEVO; to parallel this, the first three Spyro games were scored by Stewart Copeland, former drummer for The Police. Quite the pedigree indeed.
If you love mashups, Youtube user PanManDan has got you covered - he fused together the first three games' Cortex themes alongside the one from Crash Bandicoot XS (or The Huge Adventure for you Yanks out there), the first, Vicarious Visions-helmed GBA entry, which despite the way they shortened Cortex's theme did enough of a good job to give me hope for the PS4 remastes they're going to create from the ground up.
@3dsgeek333
Sorry to burst your bubble, but Banjo is locked up somewhere in the Rare headquarters. But yeah, Activision is learning... it seems!
@Not_Soos

I chose not to mention that... thing. But it's funny you mentioned Trash Bandicoot, because that... is an actual character! Naughty Dog nicknamed a bootleg Japanese Crash plush as such, given the huge teeth and eyebrows it had. Then they reworked that thing into an actual character, better known as Fake Crash.
@3dsgeek333 Skylanders DK and Bowser work in that amiibo game now? Guess I'll have to go check. Thanks a lot for the news, my boys and I will be so excited if it works, we were having fun up until they didn't register. I'm easily dissuaded.
@Alundra-1998
I have amiibo too, and they usually work in pretty cool ways, but they don't really have their own game of sorts.
I'd love a adventure/sandbox amiibo game.
@3dsgeek333 Started it up, the screen said "Software Updated" and Danky Kong (what my kid nicknamed him) worked. So thanks a bunch. (that's a DK banana pun BTW)
@FreakFerrett Spyro character was used as a lure for all the Spyro fans from the still fresh TLOS, and maybe some original Spyro fans that thought it will be as good as the original and bought it for their kids. Without Spyro, would you even look up at the ridiculous idea of playing a medicore linear platformer/hack'n'slash where you have to buy expensive figures to progress, at that time? The game could end as a curiousity, slowly crawling in the popular ranks, maybe achieving the current status but after a longer time.
I belive there are better way to introduce the character to younger audiences, rather than shoving the IP to make the buzz around the communities just to get enough attention to sell the game more than it would without the character.
I'm sorry, but I cannot count Skylanders' Spyro as an official iteration of the character. It's a knock off that can't follow the source material well, ignoring Zembillas design or even TLOS design.
I would rather see Spyro franchise die than be used in a such exploative way as it was used in Skylanders. At least after 10 years, in 2018 someone other than Activision could take the IP and maybe do it better. The original trilogy still holds up in the modern times, so why not show that to the kids and maybe THEN add Skylanders to your game library.
Idea of Skylanders may be fun for some, but as for me, Spyro does not exist in those games as the dragon doesn't even look like Spyro and the game focus is to use whatever character you like on tight levels, instead of playing as a dragon and exploring freely in the world boundaries you are in. Spyro spirit does not exist in those games and the only bearable way for me, to stand the franchise, is by looking at it as a spin-off. Just like I look at some bad, but sometiems fun pokemon spin-offs. That's my attitude and opinion towards the series.
With all that above, I accept and respect your point of view and your thoughts. If you think it did positive things to keep the IP alive and revelant nowadays then it's fine. And hey, it indeed did that. If you enjoy the gameplay then that's good. I cannot enjoy it that much as it feels too bland for my taste (even without Spyro). Each to their own.
@AlexSora89 I'm enoying your post on this topic. I noticed that your posted videos does not show up and shows error (at least for me). You may want to edit the code or post plain links.
Ok so I agree with you, it is not a game for everyone, it is a game that isnot too deep and is supposed to be fun, you cant expect a 3 year old to enjoy and play Darksouls. The game never was supposed to be a Spyro game above all, otherwise the name would be "Spyro's adventure and the skylanders", its like when a famous actor does a cameo on a movie, you cant say it is the protagonist. You are speaking with your heart here, you are a spyro fan, and thats awesome, but the game industry is a business, it won't survive just by the love of fans it needs to catch on a wider audience, as the game did, selling millions and from those millions many didnt even know spyro before Skylanders, so yes, the game was a success opening the door to other toys to life games. Do you really think that Skyro ws the sole reason why it became one of Activision's greatest games? Or do you think because it was a game that has figures, 9.99 is not expensive for me, and I dont live in the US, I have to buy there through another company, and then pay for the shipping and that dependes on the weight. It is not a game for everyone, as most games cannot reach the whole audience spectrum, thats how it works, in the end for the company it is business otherwise we have many many game franchises that we would be getting new games...
@3dsgeek333 You may had misunderstood what I was referring to. I never said anything about them being dead, just that Crash lost his cool unlike his old days. The announcement of a remake isn't exactly what I had in mind when I mean the good oh glory PS1 & GBA days. I would had much prefer a brand new Crash Bandicoot game but with the same dedicated quality to that of the original. A remake is cool and all but often times they tend to ruin what was unique about the original.
@KTT

Making my posts enjoyable is kind of the point, unless I'm mad at something and I take my sweet time to whine. I generally like to share some trivia whenever I feel like helping out, and given most NLers are likely to be Nintendo purists, some knowledge of one of the most iconic PlayStation villains certainly can't hurt.
And the rest of the rogues' gallery featured in the first game was no slouch, either - as Tv Tropes put it best, it was a cross between the Island Of Doctor Mureau and Looney Tunes, and the villain's focus on genetics was a nice counterpoint to Eggman and Wily's knowledge of robotics (even though the sequel would see a mech-obsessed villain in the painfully punny-named Dr. N. Gin).
As for the links, it seems that I have to edit my posts each and every time in order for the embedding to work.
EDIT - BONUS FUN FACT!


Or: just an excuse to show off something I stumbled across with Google Image Search. Remember the Simpsons episode, Lisa Gets An A, where Lisa cheats for a test she did not study for? At one point it parodied Crash Bandicoot as "Dash Dingo". If anyone remembers the floating head during that fictional game, it's actually a parody of the sequel's cutscenes, where a floating holographic Cortex head would keep pestering Crash every time the player beat a boss.
@FreakFerrett >The game never was supposed to be a Spyro game above all
Go back to 2011. Classic and TLOS Spyro fans gone crazy hearing there's a new Spyro game in comming and the headlines were exploding on the internet. The Dead Sea would be jealous with all the salt I saw after the reveal.
Right now it is obvious that Skylander's is not a Spyro game (that's why it still holds up imo as it can evolve without Spyro's universe limits). But back then people's hope was ruined.
Some liked the idea but many backslashed the game. Kinda like the recent "female" Ghostbusters movie.
>when a famous actor does a cameo on a movie, you cant say it is the protagonist.
Let's name the next super hero movie: Iron Man, and Stan Lee's adventure what you talk about here is more how 7th episode of Star Wars used Han Solo Character. Still part of the franchise, but not that important anymore. Star Wars got it right tho and it's still in the right universum.
>a business, it won't survive just by the love of fans it needs to catch on a wider audience
Obviously it is a business and companies can do whatever they want to to get more moolah (see Konami's recent reveal or MGS lol). But aiming at wider audience or experimenting is not always the best thing to do, as you may loose those unique and characteristical elements that distinguished and defined the game. And this is why you keep playing it, right? Because it offers something different than others. Just look at Sonic franchise how they keep experimenting with their games, Sonic Boom, Sonic Unleashed et. al. are more notable examples of missing the point while that newest 16-bit looking game is like the sweetiest thing that happened to the fans in ages (or so I heard).
You can do it as Pokemon do - repeat the same formula for 20 years, being afraid to be creative (inb4 SM), literaly sucking all the nostalgia. Or, make a decent game that everyone will like, not just the kids (Yooka-Laylee is a quite good example here).
>Do you really think that Skyro ws the sole reason why it became one of Activision's greatest games?
No, I don't think it was the sole reason. But it helped to boost the first sales and establish the franchise. In business the more they talk about you - good or bad - the better. Later success was achieved by using kid's natural need to collect things and perhaps clever advertising and regural expansions. The series could began without starting as a Spyro knock off imo and, as I said, perhaps getting to nowadays ranks but in a longer time.
>it is not a game for everyone, it is a game that isnot too deep and is supposed to be fun, you cant expect a 3 year old to enjoy and play Darksouls.
See, I have here 2 kid games. Skyladers and Banjo-Tooie. Both played first time ever exactly 1 year ago (no nostalgia googles here!). But it's Banjo-Tooie I continue on Xbox, even with outdated graphics and all the justified rage I have when playing it.
Obviously, not all kids will enjoy BT kind of gameplay, but... BT feels superior in each inch.
But hey! I gave Skylanders a chance. Afterall, how can I criticise something if I haven't tried it? Spyro or not, Skylanders is not for me. Big 'meh' for me.
My biggest issue here is simply that the original trilogy is really good and kiddos get a distorted image of what once was a good franchise. It would be better if Spyro was a cameo indeed, similarly to Crash now. But it started as it started (as a new Spyro game) and butthurt is strong in me
@AlexSora89 Seems like you are here to cherish while I'm here to share the cynicism lol. Keep up the good work. My gaming story began on the original PlayStation as well. It looks that only Nintendo makes the games with that amount of dedication and ligheart, so I'm on Nintendo ship now.
And Pokemon, this is a good enough reason for me to be here too
Hey, I remember that. Tho I think I saw it on the net as a triva as Simpsons were rare here, hah. Good find. That reminds how big the craze on Crash was back then, especially in Japan. I think I read a Crash Bandicoot manga once that was official!
@KTT
Because there was a Crash Bandicoot manga. It was a gag manga alongside Super Mario-Kun.
Tap here to load 39 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...