Today the sixth game in the Skylanders franchise was revealed. It is called Skylanders Imaginators.
(If you look closely, you'll notice they added the Light and Dark Elements to the logo this year.)
The main characters in this game are the Sensei. There will be:
- 20 Skylanders Sensei
- 11 Villain Sensei
Additionally, there will be (at least) 10 Creation Crystals. What are these for?
Well, in Skylanders Imaginators you will be in charge of creating your very own Skylanders. You can save your creation to a Creation Crystal (of the appropriate Element) so it will be available to use whenever or wherever you choose.
Skylanders Imaginators Starter Pack
In typical fashion we have a new Starter Pack. The Starter Pack will be available for:
It looks like they're dropping the not only the Wii, but the 3DS from the lineup this year.
This year's Starter Pack will include:
They have announced that there will be a Dark Edition Starter Pack once again. They have not officially announced the contents of this pack, but thanks to IGN we have some idea.
Fans can pre-order the a special Skylanders Imaginators Dark Edition, which includes three exclusive black and silver variant designs of new Senseis, three Creation Crystals and more. ~ IGN
UPDATE: The contents of the Dark Edition Starter Pack have been confirmed with this GameStop listing.
So the Dark Edition Starter Pack will include:
- Dark Master King Pen
- Dark Golden Queen
- Dark Wolfgang
- Fire Creation Crystal
- Life Creation Crystal
- Dark Creation Crystal
Sensei
The Sensei include both Skylanders and “reformed Villains”. In addition to having an Element assigned to them, each Sensei will also have a Battle Class.
There are ten different Battle Classes which include:
- Smasher
- Knight
- Ninja
- Bazooker
- Quickshot
- Sorcerer
- Brawler
- Sentinel
- Swashbuckler
- Bowslinger
As Sensei these characters they will gain access to a special Sky-Chi ability which is the ultimate super-move in their Battle Class.
Obviously we don't have the full roster yet, but we know King Pen (Brawler) and Tri-Tip (Smasher).
Then on the Villain side we know about Golden Queen (Sorcerer).
No other Villain Sensei have officially been announced, but in an article on Time.com they seem to hint at a pair of former Villains that we may be seeing again.
The newly playable villains are Skylanders, but darker and edgier. “I think that’s part of why they’re so appealing,” says Reiche of the game’s reformed do-badders. “Some of them are crazy, like the Pain Yatta with his giant candy axe, or the werewolf (Wolfgang) with his heavy metal harp.
Creation Crystals
The Creation Crystals are the pieces that will allow you to create and eventually play as Skylanders of your own imagination.
You can customize every part of the characters you create. Everything from their appearance (as you would expect) to their powers and theme song (which you might not have expected).
Skylanders Imaginators gives players immense possibilities — including appearance, powers, abilities, names, catchphrases, musical themes and much more — to create the wildest Skylanders imaginable. The amazing depth of the creation system could allow for more than a googol distinctive characters.
I think it's safe to say that they options are endless and you will never have enough time to try them all.
The Creation Crystals will light up when placed on the Portal. For long-time fans, this is quite like the LightCore technology we last saw in Skylanders SWAP Force.
Each Creation Crystal can only house one creation at a time and your creation must match the Element of the Crystal.
For this reason we know that there will be a minimum of 10 different Creation Crystals as we need one for each Element. It remains to be seen if there will be different styles of Creation Crystals or variants or maybe even Crystals with pre-loaded Creations.
All in all the functionality of the Creations Crystals is fairly similar to that of the Traps from Skylanders Trap Team.
Master and Apprentice
Aside from being amazing fighters, the Sensei will also function as Masters who will train your newly created Skylanders.
The Sensei will do things like help your new Skylanders increase their Level Cap and teach them Secret Techniques/Powers.
Prices and Release Dates
The prices are what we've come to expect from the Skylanders games.
Standard Starter Pack – $74.99
Dark Edition Starter Pack – $99.99
Single Pack Sensei – $14.99
Single Pack Creation Crystal – $9.99
No big surprises there.
The surprise actually comes in the release date.
The dates have been pushed back to mid-October like the first few games. But what I find interesting is that as of now, the US will be the last to get Skylanders Imaginators.
October 13, 2016 (Australia/New Zealand)
October 14, 2016 (Europe)
October 16, 2016 (North America)
Hi. I’ve been looking at your page for a long time now. I just wondered have we can create your own skylanders?
I mean physically
Right now we don’t have a solid answer to this question, but it’s definitely something a lot of people are interested in. We’ll have to wait and see if they come up with an official solution or if some third-party tries to produce something.
the idea is sound, but I really hate that skylanders seems to be moving further and further away from characters that dont have 2 legs.
Some of me favorite characters are 4 legged, flying or on wheels, where are they now?
The idea is sound, but I really hate that skylanders seems to be moving further and further away from characters that dont have 2 legs.
Some of me favorite characters are 4 legged, flying or on wheels, where are they now?
Seeing as the dragon characters used to be some of the best. I know your pain (RIP Zap). We’ll have to see if all these classes are “weapon based” (meaning opposable thumbs) or if you can make Skylanders with breath weapons/body attacks etc that lend more toward four legged heroes.
Yeah, as JimyMahr said, they started running into problems when they wanted to give all the Gimmick-landers weapons and wanted them all to drive a car naturally.
It’s a symptom of recent gimmicks.
A nice touch (and a thank you to fans who have been playing the series for a while) would be to feature a customization unlock for registering old figures, for instance Washbuckler unlocks his scimitar/gun, Flameslinger unlocks his bow, Enigma unlocks his cloak, etc.
This would also be a fantastic way to incorporate Traptanium, as placing different villians in the portal could do the same, Chef Pepper Jack’s eggbeater/oven mitt, Dr. Krankcase’s legs or Chompy Mage’s hand puppet.
It hasn’t been confirmed, but I’ve heard and seen some things that seem to suggest that that might be a reality.
maybe that’s how you get quadrupeds by putting skylanders like Spyro, Zap, and Hot dog
*on the portal
that would be awesome. Then i could play as blue doom stone with ninjini’s sword!
Do we know yet if the characters will be able to be pre-ordered again?
No word yet. But if they go up for pre-order you can be sure I’ll be talking about it.
What about traps?
We’ve been getting mixed information on these, but the most common report right now is that they will work in the same manner as they did in SuperChargers. Only in the Online Racing as elemental weapons.
I’m shocked at the sudden reveal.
I like the Bananna-heads, but I hope one can also make a ear-of-corn-head with sunglasses, a cornhusk jacket and cornsilk elvis hair…
I saw dragon heads, obviously, and even a very Octavius the Oracle head (I wonder if that voice effect is available). I wonder if all the species with huge showings in the game are useable heads – elves, foxes, dirt sharks, gillmen, cyclops, chompies, trolls, wilikin, yeti, mabu, sheep…
Painyatta and Wolfgang figures are a dream come true, except it’s a bummer that the harp is a bow now – and I worry that other changes of primary abilities are in store. It’s a positive that more robust skill sets will come from elevation to true skylanders, but I don’t want the fantastic moves of the best villains lost.
Excited to see which other villains show up – I expect a heavy showing of doom raiders, which aren’t all as appealing as other villains of their element. IE, I’d rather:
Bad Juju than Dreamcatcher
Blastertron than Luminous
Cuckoo Clocker than the Chompy Mage (though he’s unavoidable, like Krankcase, who I also do not desire)
Anyone but the Gulper
but Painyatta is a good sign for outsiders of that group.
Hoping for Spellslamzer, the Dragon Hunter, any one of the trappable crow warriors, and any Evilikin (but I like Scrap Shooter for gameplay). Otherwise, I am easy to please.
Another one i fully expect but don’t like is Mesmerelda.
Yeah. It’s hard to predict at this point. As you pointed out, they definitely have a lot to choose from though.
But yes, Painyatta entering the group is definitely a good sign.
Lou Studdert explains a lot of things in this short tutorial by the Skylander Boy and Girl.:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZTXw-a8kZ8
The fact that Jet-Vac is being showed as a non-player-character begs the question: Are previous Skylanders even going to be playable? (Go to 1:09.)
There will not be new figures of old Skylanders and many of them will be appearing as NPCs, but you will still be able to use all of your old Skylanders in Imaginators.
Great! Thanks for the feedback. Always appreciate it.
Are any Skylanders going to be returning? I heard that Jet-Vac is a NPC from another guy, and I’m not sure if it’s true. It could be another of Jet-Vac’s species, or it could be Jet-Vac himself.
There are no reposed characters this year. Old Skylanders will be appearing in NPC form. Jet-Vac is definitely an NPC and he’s already in some of the footage that’s been shown.
I doubt any of my favorite villains save 1 will become skylanders. But there’s hope
I feel like the series may be jumping the shark at this point. I thought that the storyline during Spyro’s Adventure described the Skylanders as legendary, elite protectors of Skylands, but now you can create a googol worth of new Skylanders? Seems like anyone could be a Skylander at this point.
It occurs to me that the villains won’t have unique musical accompaniment anymore, and that’s a shame.