Skylanders Imaginators may be a launch title on the Switch, but it's not a new game as such - we've already played this on Wii U, after all. While many expected Activision to simply roll out the Wii U game with boosted visuals, there have been some changes to make it fit perfectly on Nintendo's new system - in fact, these are so significant that this could well become the preferred platform on which to create and play Skylanders.
If you've not seen it before, Skylanders Imaginators is the latest toy-powered game from Activision where you unlock characters with beautifully-crafted physical plastic figures. It's a simple premise but one that has worked well for young players over the past few years.
This year the twist is that you can create your own characters using a sophisticated creation tool. This not only works really well for kids but also de-commercialises the experience somewhat, as it's not all about buying new character but using your imagination to invent your own. Buy the Starter Pack and you have everything you need to complete the game and create one character of your own. You can also use any of your existing Skylander characters with the game to help you progress, something that has been a hallmark of the series for quite some time.
One caveat here is that unlike the other versions of Imaginators, the Switch edition doesn't include the Superchargers racing levels so you can't use your vehicle or trap toys there. You can, however, still scan in your vehicles from Superchargers to unlock a load of free parts to expand your character creation options. This brings us to the whole scanning process. Skylanders Imaginators is unique on the Switch for not using a portal peripheral to access your characters. You simply place them on the right Joy-Con's NFC touch point and bingo - they're in the game.
To those who have been with Skylanders from the very beginning, this process takes a bit of getting used to. It's not as instant as placing a character on a portal and you have to rescan the toy again when you save your progress. However, give it some time and this approach has some big benefits. You don't have to worry about lugging around another plastic peripheral or cluttering up the living room. By reusing the existing technology on the controller it keeps things simple and slick. This also means that it works just as well in undocked mode.
Imaginators doesn't stop there, though. Embracing the more mobile-friendly nature of the Switch the game lets you scan in a whole load of Skylanders characters to instantly switch between later on the go. Not only have they done away with portals but also with the annoyance of having to carry around a big bag of plastic figures to play the game out and about. A lot of Skylanders fans will moan about this, but for families and young players it's actually a big step forward.
Another reason to love this version is the fact that you're able to play on the go without worrying about separate controllers or dealing with touch screen controls. On iOS, Skylanders worked pretty well and came with a portable controller and portal. It was slick but still felt like playing a game ported to the handheld device. Playing on the Switch with the Joy-Cons attached to the tablet offers the best of both worlds; it's an on the go tablet experience that looks amazing while also still having proper controls without the need for extra peripherals.
Character creation also works well, with the touch screen really helping in that case. Pulling the Switch out of the dock to touch and tap the different options for legs, torso, arms and tail is brilliant. Of course, you could do it while the Switch is docked but we liked the more tactile feel of creation. Also new to the Switch version over the Wii U is the HD Rumble feedback. The Joy-Con's rumble works best when docked in the grip peripheral and offers an added level of immersion over the previous Nintendo version. Visually, the game looks great - not quite as shiny as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One editions, but very close. The textures, lighting effects and general polish all make this feel like a top-end title. Plug in some headphones and the voice and music sound great, too.
Otherwise, this is the same game as on other platforms. This means that you have the same caveats that you will need to make more purchases to access the different Sensei characters and upgrades they offer as well as more Creation Crystals if you want to make multiple Skylanders of different classes. This goes with the territory - while Activision has done much to scale back the commercial elements of Imaginators, it was never going to abandon them entirely.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a family-friendly way to play Skylanders and Superchargers racing levels aren't a big draw, then the Nintendo Switch version is most definitely the best way to go. Its mobile experience, intelligent pre-scanning of characters and lack of extraneous plastic peripherals should make it the toys-to-life game of choice for parents and children alike.
Comments 26
Better than I expected. Still wouldn't support this kind of game though.
This almost makes me want to consider getting the game - since I just finished Shovel Knight. But the fact that both players are still bound together through that ridiculous tether system is what ultimately annoyed me about the series. Might not be a big deal for some, but for myself and a friend who played through the last few games (irritated the entire time by the tether) it was the major reason for us getting killed.
I'm hoping that Dimensions does the same thing with Lego figures, but not sure that's going to happen. Got into Dimensions despite myself. Year 2 just too full of nostalgic franchises. Really expensive though so I'm using Nectar point events, Tesco vouchers, BOGOF, second hand...
Can you scan in your entire Skylanders figure collection for gaming on the go without them or just a handful?
@Sakura As bad as I think this is for Skylanders it would be impossible for Lego Dimensions. Think about how often those color segments come into play on the portal, how could that be done on 1 Joycon?
@SLIGEACH_EIRE SCAMlanders You're welcome.
"you have to rescan the toy again when you save your progress"
I don't see how this makes the game better nor how it makes the game playable on the go. I've only played Giants with my wife but my kids have played every game, and one of the fun aspects of the game has been picking and choosing from out physical toy collection and scanning them into the portal. We own about 100 and I can't imagine having that many scanned into the system and picking from a menu. I like that the sensei are higher, as are the giants, making them easy to spot. Plus, how do the Switch force work, does it store the tops and bottoms separately or do they only work as a single until in Imaginators?
I'm sure there are some who will enjoy it this way, but to me it's just turning the toys into DLC. What's the point of having toys with this method, just make them cheap downloads and be done with it. Watching my young sons sitting on the floor surrounded by dozens of toys watching their little hands going fast and furious choosing toys was half the fun. And throwing on a special piece to rain down anvils during a fight, how does that work in real time? It can still be a fun game I gues, but it isnt Skylanders like this.
We own 5 or 6 portals, why not just let us plug one in to the dock? Problem solved.
For god's sake just make character dlc. I'll never buy any of these games because I need separate toys.
@rjejr
The scanning to save is for when you want to play them in another game/on another console - otherwise, you're fine scanning them the initial time to add them to the collection, and just going through the list to choose who you want to be at any moment if you're only playing the Switch version. It's a manual choice to save (talking to an NPC), rather than forcing you to save to the figure if you want to keep using it.
As for the SWAP guys - because the reader on the controller(s) can only read one figure at a time, they read the bottom half of the character, and add both halves to the collection at Level 20, with no gold and no upgrades (also, you can't save the data back to their figures), but there is a SWAP menu so you can mix and match the top and bottom halves still.
Also, on the subject of the other bits like the anvil, I believe they don't actually do anything in any of the Imaginators games anymore (except add some money the first time they're placed/counting in the collection)
Also, on the total figures, I've heard you can add every figure, plus multiples of each if wanted.
@stylon You scan the figures once and then you are done and yes this should work for all figures (minus the aforementioned traps). Think of it like the 3DS games of you played them at all as they worked nearly the same (but they did still use a small IR portal). If you want to reaave the figures data back to the plastic figurine for other games you will need to rescan it but otherwise scan once and you are done.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE
Don't hate the Amiibos or something like that. Keep your hatred inside. Let other people enjoy the games with Amiibos. They are also a Toy.
@Nico07 Thanks - I've always played these games on my Xbox so have no experience of using them on the 3DS. I have to say the prospect of having my entire collection on tap without carting the figures around is actually quite exciting... seriously thinking about making the switch version my primary Imaginators console now. I guess the only downside would be having to re-scan them all again at some point to use them with my xbox again!
@rjejr It would have to be an inelegant software solution, but I don't think it will happen because the portal interaction is a key mechanic. I wish there were a software only version, but it would be too messy. Will probably be a dock only game, if they bother to port. Another game like Lego City would be perfect though. Just get rid of the figures altogether, but keep the same basic plot somehow. Undermines the whole point of Dimensions as it is now, but I'd be up for that.
Does this mean you could theoretically buy loads second hand, scan them all in and return them all?
Do you ever need to scan them again?
I actually like using the portal better since it instantly saves all your data to the figures every second of the way. However, I think I'll get the Switch version just so I can level them up when I'm not at home. Then I can save the data when I get back and use them in both versions of the game.
So on the Nintendo console you cannot use the Nintendo Supercharger characters?! Seems weird to me.
Even though some people don't like the idea of buying the toys which is expensive this is a great game .
The best part of this version is that you can go to a store, and just scan them all in for free.
@Bisylizzie "anvil, I believe they don't actually do anything"
So they turned them into amiibo?
Thanks for all the info. I've always been impressed that year in and year out Activision has been able to carry over as much of their toys functionality from 1 game to the next, much more so than Ntinedo has ever done w/ amiibo or Disney Infinity which limited most of it's toys to their own worlds or the Toybox. Lego Dimensions does seem to have it down pretty well too. The way Imaginators works on Switch just doens't seem right to me. What's the difference nwo between buying all of the characters as toys if everything is done in game after scanning them once? You can buy or borrow the toys, scan them in, trade them in or give them back. Yes, the toys cost a lot of money, but they made the game different to play, fun for my kids and my wife and I. Like this we might as well just play a regular Lego game and save ourselves a couple of hundred $.
Thanks for filling me in, not mad at you, I like the idea for people who want to take this on the go, but the Switch dock has a USB port, just let us plug our Wii, Wii U, PS3 and PS4 portal into that to play the game like it's meant to be played, hot swapping toys on and off. Really would miss the anvil rain, guess I should start playing Imaginators and see what's what, after I'm done w/ Tearaway.
@Sakura After a long string of Lego games, seemed like 3 per year at 1 point, Batman, Marvel, Hobbit, Jurassic, we are in a lull at the moment. Not sure if they ran out of properties to license or are now just focused on Dimensions, but I would imagine a Lego City Undercover 2 now that's it's being ported everywhere. Preferably w/ 2 player from the start.
You ever hear of Dreamworks Dragons? We've watched all the movies and shows, it's 1 property I've always wanted a Lego game for. Either with or without the toys, dragons are cool. 3rd movie just got pushed back from 2018 to 2019 so I'm guessing if there is a Lego version I'll have to wait until then.
Love the game! Check out this video https://youtu.be/gkWi9zEHAF4
It shows how to get free SKYLANDERS and how to save them.
@rjejr We have had a lot of Lego games. They're full of humour and generally well done. Plus, they're easy enough for me to complete (and that's a big bonus for me). City remains the best though, despite all the other franchises. More room to create a story that fits?
I've seen the Dragon films and enjoyed them. They were on over Christmas and I watched with family. Could be great as a Lego game. I know nothing much about Marvel, Batman etc. I haven't even seen Star Wars (any of them).
Does anybody know if you can do 2 player with the Joy-cons on their side or does it require the purchase of a second controller? Also, how does the second player choose their character since it used to be tied to a second character on the portal? Thanks
@Sakura I agree, I loved Lego City Undercover on the Wii-U. I got it the day it came out and it showed off what the Wii-U could really do. Will be re-purchasing on the switch.
Really tempted to get this. Has anyone got it that can tell me if it's worth it? Thanks.
Really interested in this game as my 1st skylanders game especially as I know I can technically finish the game with just the starter pack and not have to buy other figures....how much content would I be missing out on with just the starter pack figures??
I also want to know if this game is good only with the starter pack without getting any other figure.
I've never played any Skylanders game. It'd be my first.
This game is not available in Japan, but I'm on vacation in Spain so I could buy it here...
Anyway, is it fun only with the starter pack?
2023 and I am reading this article I miss Skylanders so much 😢
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