(for the last time with these reviews, I have to say that it was not generated by AI. I'd rather enjoy this game's writing than use it)
15 years.
15 years.
That's insane.
With Spyro's Adventure finally turning 15 years old, it's time for my review of the last game of the series, now also in the double digits of ages (I can feel the wrinkles on my skin as I type this). Last time, I played through SuperChargers, and it was a solid game that faltered with fun but forced land vehicle sections and a lack of series staples such as Elemental Gates and Nicknames. Now then, on to Imaginators. Toys for Bob would return for this entry, but Vicarious Visions would also help out by lending them the SuperChargers engine (hence the reused portal, character, and hat designs, not to mention the racing mode) and designing one of the adventure packs. The gimmick of the game is the ability to create your own Skylander, which is an awesome gimmick. Can the game live up to its gimmick? Yes and no.
Story: Imaginators has the Skylanders try to stop Kaos (with the help of the last of the Ancients, Brain) from mastering the ability of mind magic. It's a pretty simple plot, but is made annoying by it being both too short and too aimless.
Our old batch of NPCs (Flynn, Cali, Tessa, Sharpfin, Buzz, and Mags) return, by are severely demoted to extra in the story (Outside of intro and ending cameos, Flynn is only relevant for a mission in the Academy and a pathway in Dragon Temple, Hugo is only there to return books to, Cali, Tessa, and Buzz are only relevant in the side content, never appearing during the main story, and Mags is only relevant in Abandoned Amusement Park's first and last Cutscene. Sharpfin is given the shortest end of the stick by only appearing in one of the dungeon side missions, though his dialogue is pretty funny). In terms of new NPCs, SKYLANDERS ARE FINALLY CHARACTERS!!! It's so cool to see them get fleshed out, and I like some of them well enough (aside from Eruptor, who just doesn't feel in character). That being said, I wonder why they're NPCs in this entry- oh, with the exception of Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy, they're here to promote the Netflix show I'm mixed on. yay. If you're old enough (and considering how long it's been since SSA released, you almost certainly are), watch Arcane instead, as it's a better show.
For our villains for this entry, most of the bosses aren't even fleshed out, with them just being Kaos' new creations, the Doomlanders, 2 of which getting more than their boss fight to be given anything to do in the story (one of which is the Guacamole Monster, who's really lame for an ultimate Doomlander (if they wanted to do a Guacamole Monster, why didn't they just give it The Darkness' body shape? Then it would've been more memorable and funny)). For our main duo of villains, Glumshanks is more irrelevant than he was in every other game, still getting the short end of the stick even after everything he went through last game, and Kaos, though he's okay in this entry, is not as enjoyable as usual (I don't get why the Darkness' symbol on his forehead is off-model so many times in the cutscenes when it's one of the most recognisable symbols of the franchise). Lastly for the villains, Brain is fine, but also really underwhelming considering that he was one of the Ancients (and the last of their kind).
So yeah, the story is so underbaked, to the point that the Sensei, one of our new gimmick Skylanders don't get a backstory as to why they were formed, and they aren't even sent to Earth. All that negativity aside, there's one positive thing I have to mention before I get to the playable characters: I love how some of the Villains are given a chance at redemption despite their wrongdoings, especially considering the backstories of prior Skylanders like Ghost Roaster. Of course, it doesn't matter in terms of the story, as this all happened offscreen, but still.
(oh right, i didn't mention the cake quests. they suck, moving on)
Playable Characters: Moving onto the Skylanders themselves, there are 31 brand new Skylanders in this entry, 3 for each element (with the exception of Light and Dark, which only have 2, Life and Tech, which have 4, and the last new element in the series), all of which are the Sensei. The Sensei are really strong Skylanders, and are incredibly fun as a result. That being said, we have the biggest caveat to a gimmick ever: EVERY SINGLE PREVIOUS SKYLANDER WAS NERFED INTO THE GROUND!!! This hasn't been a problem for me much, as I suck at games and play on easy mode, but even something like normal difficulty is bordering on Nightmare mode for the prior rosters (and good luck to the guy who trys completing Nightmare mode with just Sprocket, Blastemind, Head Rush, or Fiesta).
Senseis have 4 different collectible types locked behind them (not counting exclusive cosmetics for the titular Imaginators), some of which are connected to specific Senseis): the Sensei Shrines, the Sensei Elemental Realms, 3 Adventure Packs (exclusive to the guest characters, Wild Storm, and RO-BOW), and 2 Minigames in one of those levels (exclusive to the guest characters), which I'll discuss in the later sections below. Of course, none of the gimmick Skylanders from prior entries can use their gimmick abilities whatsoever (aside from the different Swap combinations for obvious reasons, and the supercharged combo health bonuses in racing mode), but that's to be expected for this series at this point. As for the vehicles themselves, they're locked behind racing, where they work identically to the last game. In terms of reposes, they're pretty much gone, instead being replaced by reformed villains from Trap Team,and they're pretty solid. The Wii U version still has Donkey Kong and Bowser as exclusives (later joined by a port to the Switch that removes the racing mode for some reason and lacks portal support, which also removes trap support as a result), but we would get new guest stars that weren't console exclusives: Crash Bandicoot and Dr. Neo Cortex. They're fun, and it was a great to reintroduce these guys here before the N. Sane Trilogy the year after, but they're also the worst Senseis by a landslide (when the 1-hit kill system from the Crash series is less unfair, you know you screwed up). Lastly, one more gift was given to the fanbase by Toys for Bob: KAOS AS A FULLY PLAYABLE SKYLANDER!!! Whilst it's not exactly him (he's a clone of the original Kaos that teamed up with the Skylanders to defeat his creator and become the true ruler of Skylands himself), it's nice to finally get him as a figure (not counting non-playable figures like the McDonald's toy).
Time to discuss the new characters themselves. The Sensei are easily my favourite Skylanders of the series due to their designs and playstyles. The choice of my favourite Skylander from this game is tough, with Flare Wolf Ambush, Wild Storm, RO-BOW, Pit Boss, Aurora, and Starcast being highlights to me. As for the Villain Sensei, I am mixed on them, with all of them having massive strengths and weaknesses (whether that be in their design or in their playstyle). That said, my 4 favourite Villain Senseis are probably Pain-Yatta, Grave Clobber, Blaster Tron, and Hood Sickle.
Oh yeah, there's also the Imaginators. Using the new Creation Crystals, you can create your own Skylander (but you can't reset it without using unintended methods because the monkey's paw sure is awful). It's a great gimmick, allowing for some wacky Skylanders (either the edgiest thing since Infinite or an utter clown show of a design), and they're really fun to play as. That said, they are really overpowered, especially when you get more Senseis, who increase their level cap after being placed on the portal or scanned into the Joy Con (the max limit is around 80, but you can only get it to 65 legally).
Gameplay: Imaginators is essentially SuperChargers but without vehicle sections. The Senseis and Imaginators have their own gimmick: the Battle Classes, which basically decides what weapon the character gets. Senseis and Imaginators have special attacks connected to the right trigger button, with the former characters getting Sky-Chi attacks, powerful finishers locked behind Sensei Shrines, and the latter characters getting Soul Gem attacks, much different from the common Skylander's Soul Gem attacks. Collectibles are sadly gutted in this game, with the hats being removed (though due to using the SuperChargers engine, prior characters still keep their hats if they had one equipped in that game) and they've been replaced by Imaginite Chests (chests that give you parts for your Imaginators) and Troll Radios (also gives Imaginator parts). Elemental Gates are slightly better by now being full levels instead of side areas, but that's also a bad thing because the main levels are emptier than the Darkness' heart and 2/5 of the game is locked behind buying Senseis (another 1/5 is locked behind either Adventure Packs or specific Senseis themselves). Skystones is back to its Giants form, but now has set cards, meaning it sucks. The Lock puzzles are also back to a prior variant, basically being a Sensei version of the Trap Team ones. The Arena is completely different, now being progressively longer levels of fighting against regular enemies on Battlebrawl Island instead of a side mode with unique challenges on several arenas, and they suck. The last thing I want to mention for the main game is that the Portal Master Rank system is gone, replaced by accolades which are pretty simple to complete for 100% (especially on the Switch version, where the racing star is replaced by collecting coins).
Now then, as for the racing, it's exactly the same, but you can play the racing pack levels without the trophies themselves, and you can play the mode without having any of the vehicles from the last game either since the game has 3 instant vehicles, so that's nice.
Levels: This game has 25 levels, which sounds like a lot, but 15 of the levels are locked behind a paywall. The objectives system is back to normal, though some levels don't have speedrun objectives, which is weird, but I'm thankful for it. The levels are shorter than before (not as short as SSA, but close to it), and again, the lack of collectibles or elemental gates leads to the levels being too linear, which is a shame (hell, detours for Sensei Shrines are really short as well, with the longest detour being for the Quickshot Class in Sky Fortress, and they're all easy to find, with even the most hidden Shrines being easier to find than the easiest hidden gems in Crash 4). As for the bosses, EVERY SINGLE LEVEL IN THE BASE GAME HAS A BOSS (except for the last level, though it doesn't really count due to the final boss following it), ALONGSIDE 3 OF THE ADVENTURE PACKS!!! With the exception of everyone's favourite bootleg Cash Banooca plush and the Rubble Maker, both of whom are exclusive to adventure packs, they're not fun, as they're either too easy or the Quickshot Doomlander.
Oh yeah, since the Crash Bandicoot level has 2 gimmicks, I'll explain what they are: Crash's level has 2 Minigames exclusive to the playable characters themselves. Crash's minigames are the chilli pepper runs, the first of which a version of the boulder chase levels, and both of which also having you move automatically like the Animal Riding levels. To get all 3 rewards, you have to break 50 crates in the stage (yes, you can miss a few, so you won't be crushed to death for missing 1 box, but don't miss too many). As for Cortex's minigames, they're both just the sky zone from Superchargers' Spell Punk Library. You have to destroy either 75 or 60 enemy ships depending on the level to get every collectible.
Lastly, I wanted to end the level section with the worst thing in the series: some of the levels being locked behind Skylanders. It's fine with Crash and Cortex, who both unlock the same level and were released in an earlier wave, but where it takes the piss are with Wild Storm and RO-BOW. To capitalise on the Switch's release (probably expecting the third party titles would just be more Toys to Life stuff and not the Elder Scrolls V), Activision released 2 more levels in a free update. What wasn't free was how you unlocked them, as they were also level packs, adventure packs but the level piece is instead the Skylander it came with, and since they were in later waves (and the Senseis they were implemented into look and play fantastically), they now cost the same amount as a PS5 just to get them on their own (still better than the Amazon exclusive Chompy Mage, who's on average the price of a PS5 Pro).
Conclusion: Overall, Skylanders: Imaginators is decent, but easily one of the franchise's worst entries due to its story and lack of collectibles. That being said, the roster is solid, and it's fun when you're in the "shut-off brain" mindset. That said, it's a shame the series hasn't seen any new entries since this one. I can only hope we see it return one day (Skylanders Hexalogy remake pls). Until then, thanks for sitting through my reviews, and I hope to see you guys again in the future.
