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[Lucario]

Just bought this game, brand new to the franchise and wanted a good co-op experience with my boyfriend. Was incredibly nervous when checking out that it'd be kiddy nonsense and I'd waste $75 on something we wouldn't enjoy.

ohman I was so wrong.

The PVP is satisfying and fun -- played it for a good three hours yesterday -- and the campaign feels like a simplified Diablo wrapped up in a kid-friendly presentation.

I can't get over how good this game is. I'm addicted, GAF.

What should I pick up? I grabbed some extra figurines with it, but I still can't open up the giant chests or anything. Side-note: that is some hilariously in-your-face advertising. BUY MORE TOYS TO OPEN THIS PLEASE!

Do I need the other swapping characters to unlock anything substantial, or is it just for minigames? Only one I like is Trap Shadow, and the only one I could find online was a 'preorder' (isn't it out already?) for close to seventy dollars. No thank you. The release schedule/rarity of these things is pretty crazy. Are these not just toys I can walk into a shop the day after release and buy?

 

[zebwinz]

Played a bit of the 3DS version. Pretty much like the two previous game before it, though more similar to Giants than SA. I think it's really great that you only need to scan in a character once and again only to update to a figure. Much easier to swap to a random character on a whim or activate gates. Though the downsides include increased loading/animation when swapping characters (previous games had instant switching between the two loaded figures), and possible reduction in difficulty since you have access to your entire collection instead of just taking two.

Can anyone comment on how heroic challenges and stat increases work on the console version (I'm waiting for the PS4 version)?

As far as I can tell, they've done away with the Heroic Challenge levels and replaced them with lots of new modes:

Swap Zone Challenges - can only be done by Swappable characters with a certain movement type
Bonus Missions
Time Attack and Score Mode (Both opened up after you finish the story)

And then there are Arena Modes:
Solo Survival
Team Survival and Rival Survival (Co-op)
Battle Arena and Ring Out (PVP)

All characters, including original Series 1 figures, have 9 quests specific to the figure.
Characters level up by defeating enemies like in the other games but I believe the new max level is 20 (or 25?). Hats can be found to buff different stats. You also get stat bonuses for completing any of the TONS of accolades. These are things like - have all the Undead blue base characters, make 12 different swap combinations, etc.

 

[zebwinz]

Do I need the other swapping characters to unlock anything substantial, or is it just for minigames? Only one I like is Trap Shadow, and the only one I could find online was a 'preorder' (isn't it out already?) for close to seventy dollars. No thank you. The release schedule/rarity of these things is pretty crazy. Are these not just toys I can walk into a shop the day after release and buy?

Trap Shadow hasn't been released yet - they will all come in Waves like the one today with the Toys R Us new characters. I'm guessing it helps retail shops from getting too much inventory and having a ton of the less popular figures crowding the shelves. My local TRU had what seemed to be 1000 Lightcore Shroom Booms from Giants just gathering dust!

Technically, you don't NEED anything beyond the starter kit. All the stuff you find is in game loot. If you or your boyfriend are completionists and can't stand the thought of not getting 3 stars on every level, you will need quite a few more figures (but not all of them).

I would get one Swappable figure from each movement type so that you can do all the Swap Zone challenges. Any one Giant character is all you need to open the Giant Treasure chests. Then get a figure from any element that you are missing (Undead, Life, Fire, etc.).

Hope that helps!

 

[cleveridea]

As far as I can tell, they've done away with the Heroic Challenge levels and replaced them with lots of new modes:

All characters, including original Series 1 figures, have 9 quests specific to the figure.
Characters level up by defeating enemies like in the other games but I believe the new max level is 20 (or 25?). Hats can be found to buff different stats. You also get stat bonuses for completing any of the TONS of accolades. These are things like - have all the Undead blue base characters, make 12 different swap combinations, etc.

What happens if you have a character that did Heroic Challenges in prior games? Do they keep their stat gains?

 

[Surfheart]

Can anyone recommend the best 3ds skylanders?

I can pickup the original game cheaply but was wondering if 3ds giants and swapforce are the better games.

The thing with not being to swap out skylanders at will in swapforce kinda puts me off that version, are the other 3ds games similar? Do they allow you to swap figures at will?

Thanks gaf.

 

[Tanner1495]

I just need to know, should I pick up the WiiU version or the PS4 version?

Also, how many hours should I get out of this game?

 

[RobbieNick]

Can anyone recommend the best 3ds skylanders?

I can pickup the original game cheaply but was wondering if 3ds giants and swapforce are the better games.

The thing with not being to swap out skylanders at will in swapforce kinda puts me off that version, are the other 3ds games similar? Do they allow you to swap figures at will?

Thanks gaf.

The new one, Swap Force. For no other reason than you can put your entire collection in at once instead of the "two-at-a-time" deal we had before.Also, it has adjustable difficulty and the hats actually give boosts this time instead of just being decorative.

Gameplay wise, it's pretty much the same as the others. Maybe a little easier so start on Hard.

 

[n8NMONSTER]

Picked up some of the Wave 2 Skylanders:

- Night Shift
- Grilla Drilla
- Boom Jet
- Fire Kraken
- Rip Tide
- Scorp
- Big Bang Trigger Happy
- Anchors Away Gill Grunt
- Twin Blade Chop Chop
- Heavy Duty Sprocket

 

[RobbieNick]

LOL @ Trigger Happy riding a bomb straight out of Dr. Strangelove.

 

[Zing]

What happens if you have a character that did Heroic Challenges in prior games? Do they keep their stat gains?

Yes and no. They do keep a stat boost, but it is not an identical stat boost. The numbers have all been reduced quite a bit.

 

[Dragoshi1]

Fire Kraken is really good, did the first elemental level(the big fish) with him exclusively. Love his Dragon parade costume attack, too.

 

[Emerson]

Sorry if I've just missed this information, but are Series 1 figures worthwhile in this game? Never played Giants largely because old figures seemed to hamstring you with a level cap. Is it right that all figures can go to 20 now?

 

[Dragoshi1]

Sorry if I've just missed this information, but are Series 1 figures worthwhile in this game? Never played Giants largely because old figures seemed to hamstring you with a level cap. Is it right that all figures can go to 20 now?

Yes, all figures regardless of series go to 20 now.

My Legendary Bash Series 1 is Lv16 now.

 

[Emerson]

Yes, all figures regardless of series go to 20 now.

My Legendary Bash Series 1 is Lv16 now.

Great news. The limiting of older figures always struck me as a very bad move. May have to get back into this at some point.

 

[cleveridea]

Can anyone comment on PS3 vs 360 version?

I picked up the PS3 version since with watchdogs delay and AC4 looking bad to me, gonna cancel my PS4 but will likely buy some time next year. So in case they allow a cheaper upgrade...

In particular does PS3 version have screen tearing? (Havent opened package yet, want to make sure PS3 version is same as 360, if 360 is better would change for that)

 

[El Pescado]

Does anyone know if any of the following Skylanders are available anywhere yet:

Trap Shadow
Stink Bomb
Rubble Rouser
Wind-Up
Hyper Beam Prism Break
Lightcore Smolderdash

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[fernoca]

And this arrived today:

Adding to what I got yesterday:

What I got today:

Going to play soon!

Now I can focus on which other figures to get. Planning on getting 6 at least, just to use the Gamestop Adventure Club deal of getting the 7th figure "free".

 

[zebwinz]

Does anyone know if any of the following Skylanders are available anywhere yet:

Trap Shadow
Stink Bomb
Rubble Rouser
Wind-Up
Hyper Beam Prism Break
Lightcore Smolderdash

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Most of them I believe no, they are not available yet.

I saw Lightcore Smolderdash in TRU on Sunday though, and here it is on their website:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=24871566&prodFindSrc=search&cp=

And for Wind-Up, I would advise waiting until the second adventure pack comes out with him in it. That way you get his figure plus an extra level and the bonus items.

 

[bodine1231]

Is the Wii U version better/worse than the PS3 or Xbox one? I'm tempted to pick this up as I liked the first one alot.

 

[zinder]

So I just got the game in Sweden. Everything in the menu is in Norwegian. Wtf? I can't change it, can I?

 

[VGChampion]

So I've decided to wait for the PS4 version but I was planning on picking up one of the other two since they're cheaper at the moment but I was wondering are the original Adventure Packs for the first game compatible with Swap Force? Don't know if I'd buy them if not.

 

[Lan_97]

So I've decided to wait for the PS4 version but I was planning on picking up one of the other two since they're cheaper at the moment but I was wondering are the original Adventure Packs for the first game compatible with Swap Force? Don't know if I'd buy them if not.

The original 4 adventure figures no longer unlock stages in Swap Force, they only retain their magic item abilities (some type of screen wide damaging spell).

 

[fernoca]

Got Lightcore Star Strike and Lightcore Smolderdash.
Really cool designs.

(put them on the 3DS portal, just because )

 

[U2NUMB]

Got really lucky tonight at my best buy.. they had boom jet, night shift and grilla drilla. First time I had seen any of those.

 

[Emerson]

I'm back again with another basic question. In the original game, to see roughly all the content you needed a minimum of one dude of each type, so that's what I bought. What would be the equivalent for this game? How many figures do you have to buy?

 

[Dragoshi1]

I'm back again with another basic question. In the original game, to see roughly all the content you needed a minimum of one dude of each type, so that's what I bought. What would be the equivalent for this game? How many figures do you have to buy?

At least one of every "Swap" type, eg. Climb, boost, bounce, ect. Also, at least one Giant.

 

[Colonel Nasty]

Got this for my nephew earlier and are all of these games this stunning? What a good looking game.

 

[bodine1231]

Got this for my nephew earlier and are all of these games this stunning? What a good looking game.

The PS4 version looks jawdropping,looks like the cutscenes. I decided to wait for the PS4 version on the visuals alone.

 

[Yuripaw]

I couldn't resist any longer, and finally went to pick these up today. I kept saying for giants, how could they not make Flashwing a lightcore character, and they finally went and did it for swap force. Had to get it.

Is it just me though, or does it seem like Skylanders popularity among gaf has dropped considerably? I'd think there would be a lot more pages to the OT by now, but this is kinda slow.

 

[Diggeh]

Is it just me though, or does it seem like Skylanders popularity among gaf has dropped considerably? I'd think there would be a lot more pages to the OT by now, but this is kinda slow.

Skylanders popularity and purchases tends to surge mid-November. Probably for the better, because I've been able to pick up every figure I've needed (even Wave 2) stress-free.

 

[zebwinz]

I couldn't resist any longer, and finally went to pick these up today. I kept saying for giants, how could they not make Flashwing a lightcore character, and they finally went and did it for swap force. Had to get it.



Is it just me though, or does it seem like Skylanders popularity among gaf has dropped considerably? I'd think there would be a lot more pages to the OT by now, but this is kinda slow.

I think the majority of GAF might be holding out for next Gen. I wanted to but Gamestop hasn't listed Dark Editions for PS4/X1 so I bit on a 360 copy. I'll pick up the Xbox One version when it goes on sale - possibly Black Friday at Gamestop for $49.99

 

[Roo]

Variety in visuals and levels has always been great in the series. But now, thanks to probably the main version been HD; the better models, lighting and textures make it even better.

Took this 3 random pics...

...and they're all from the same level (#2).

Definitely a great looking (and playing) platformer.

Wonder why it looks so blurry.

 

[Shiv47]

Is it just me though, or does it seem like Skylanders popularity among gaf has dropped considerably? I'd think there would be a lot more pages to the OT by now, but this is kinda slow.

I bought the first two games to play with my kids, but my son lost interest in Giants because it was basically the same as the first, and my daughter and I played about half of Giants before she lost interest. I have no interest in playing it by myself, so there was no way I was getting the new one.

 

[sh4mike]

It appears that not all Swap Force series figures have the switchable top and bottom. Is there a reason to buy non-swappable figures? Seems like buying swappable figures from the 8 elements and movement types (=8 total figures if done right) would be all that we would need to access the entire game. Add one Giant for chests apparently.

Completely new to the series. Will be playing co-op with a 5-year old.

 

[Zing]

My daughter's interest in Giants was definitely much less than Spyro's Adventure. We played through the first game three times and have even started another playthrough this week. We went through Giants only once.

Based on this, I am not bothering with Swap Force. It looks like the gameplay and story are even more bland.

 

[Keavy_Rain]

It appears that not all Swap Force series figures have the switchable top and bottom. Is there a reason to buy non-swappable figures? Seems like buying swappable figures from the 8 elements and movement types (=8 total figures if done right) would be all that we would need to access the entire game. Add one Giant for chests apparently.

Completely new to the series. Will be playing co-op with a 5-year old.

When I picked up Skylanders Giants as a Wii U launch title, I was like you. When the Wii U game drought hit I started buying more figures to keep me playing the game and keep my Wii U from collecting dust. Before long I had all 8 Giants and 32 of the normal-sized figures.

What I'm saying is it's kinda dumb to buy more than one of each movement type for the swappable and you only need one of each element, but you'll reach a point where you start picking up more figures then you'll realize that poster is full of stickers and you have a pile of plastic figures and a reservation at GameStop for the next Skylanders game and you say "Meh, game's fun."

 

[Kinsei]

The penultimate boss

Spoiler

Kaos' Mom

was really disappointing. There was so much potential but they squandered it. Thankfully the final boss more than made up for it.

 

[RobbieNick]

Is it just me though, or does it seem like Skylanders popularity among gaf has dropped considerably? I'd think there would be a lot more pages to the OT by now, but this is kinda slow.

Yeah. Where's that dude that buys every single Skylander including all versions of the game? That was one crazy collector.

 

[Katzii]

I think the majority of GAF might be holding out for next Gen. I wanted to but Gamestop hasn't listed Dark Editions for PS4/X1 so I bit on a 360 copy. I'll pick up the Xbox One version when it goes on sale - possibly Black Friday at Gamestop for $49.99

From what I've heard, there isn't a Dark Edition for the PS4/XBone.

Yeah. Where's that dude that buys every single Skylander including all versions of the game? That was one crazy collector.

Thankfully not around.

--

I had a bit of trial and tribulation with getting my game. 3DS version wasn't an issue; I pre-ordered, it got delivered to me on release day, and I got the pre-order goodies.

Dark Edition was a different story. I pre-ordered with GAME and watched as all the Skylanders people I know commented how they had their despatch emails and so on. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday being reassured by various people that it was on the way, only to get a cancellation email on Thursday.

Understandably, I was irritated, especially when I asked if someone could let me have the discount I'd had when I ordered it before, and I was basically told "tough sh*t". Someone called me eventually and placed the order with me over the 'phone and took the discount off.

...It got cancelled two hours later. I tried to talk to someone about it, as now I'd had two transactions out of my accounts, and it's not a small amount of money to be missing (about £160). I was told it was down to me to contact banks. I'd had a long week and was tired so I just said "forget it" and left it.

On Friday, I felt a bit better and got in touch one last time. I was supposed to receive a call at 4.15pm to place the order. Call never happened. I received my 3DS version so went out shopping for figures (still finding a lot of crappy paint jobs).

Then I got a call at 7.15pm which I almost didn't answer due to being peeved off with GAME's lack of service. I luckily did and spoke to someone with some authority and initiative who wanted to see if I had been called and what the resolution was. She guided me through how to contact Paypal and my bank (the Paypal money got put back immediately and I got reassurance from my bank that their money would be back by Friday next week).

The GAME lady then put £20 of reward points on my card (£15 for the discount, £5 for the inconvenience). I also had £5 from earlier in the week when I was told I wasn't eligible for the free figure promo since I'd paid by Paypal).

That with the points I already had on my card, and a £22 gift card meant when I went into town yesterday, I got my PS3 Dark Edition for £36. No pre-order stuff, but I already got one set so I'm good.

Still a bit sore from the terrible service from some of the reps there (seriously, one of their web chat people called me completely the wrong name then ignored me until the chat disconnected), but at least a bit of faith has been restored.

 

[P90]

My daughter's interest in Giants was definitely much less than Spyro's Adventure. We played through the first game three times and have even started another playthrough this week. We went through Giants only once.

Based on this, I am not bothering with Swap Force. It looks like the gameplay and story are even more bland.

This is the experience and mindset of my family as well. Giants was a ghost of Spyro's Adventure. We are not interested in getting Swap Force until it hits the $19.99 bargain bin.

 

[fernoca]

Planning and working on updates to the main post, but my job and other things barely let me to even play the games.

The 3DS version of Swap-Force is definetely the better of the 3DS Skylanders' games. And still have nicer things like double jump and been able to attack and jump; and now even having your collection all the time.

In general, story, visuals, variety, gameplay; Swap-Force is the best Skylanders game (even the online leaderboards while limited, is a cool addition to compare stats with friends). Is too bad that many might and will ignore this game either by lack/loss of interest or just lack of knowledge. It is a darn good game.

 

[FaintDeftone]

I was addicted to Spyro's Adventure. Collected all of the series 1 figured, 100% achievements on the game, ect. I skipped Giants and realized that this series is too much of a money sink and ended up selling my entire collection. Now that Swap Force is out and I hear it is a much better game, I kind of want to get back into it but I don't want to buy the damn figures like crazy again, especially since they're much more expensive now. *sigh*

If I do decide to buy it, I'll wait for the PS4 version.

 

[ostrichKing]

Planning and working on updates to the main post, but my job and other things barely let me to even play the games.

The 3DS version of Swap-Force is definetely the better of the 3DS Skylanders' games. And still have nicer things like double jump and been able to attack and jump; and now even having your collection all the time.

In general, story, visuals, variety, gameplay; Swap-Force is the best Skylanders game (even the online leaderboards while limited, is a cool addition to compare stats with friends). Is too bad that many might and will ignore this game either by lack/loss of interest or just lack of knowledge. It is a darn good game.

I'll second this...haven't played the 3DS version yet...but the console version is a damn good game...

 

[Yuripaw]

Seeing some of these posts about how you guys played with your kids, but they lost interest...just makes me feel weird. I don't have kids, I don't have kids in the family I ever play games with. I'm a 30 year old man, who just enjoys kids toys I guess....=/

 

[Diggeh]

I don't understand kids losing interest either. My brother's put hundreds of hours into Spyro's Adventure and Giants. We replay levels, reread story scrolls, rewatch character clips, and level everyone up.

Add the kickin' soundtrack, gorgeous graphics, and awesome toys together and you're good to go!

 

[Yuripaw]

I don't understand kids losing interest either. My brother's put hundreds of hours into Spyro's Adventure and Giants. We replay levels, reread story scrolls, rewatch character clips, and level everyone up.

Add the kickin' soundtrack, gorgeous graphics, and awesome toys together and you're good to go!

Well sorry to kinda generalize here, but kids seem to have more narrow viewpoint on what a game is than adults I think. I mean, even with a game like Skylanders, I'll look at all the things they added in the new game compared to the last one. The new engine makes the game look gorgeous, and the ability to jump is such a welcome addition. I also like some of the writing in this more, the dialogue is more amusing to me. Kids will look at the things I just mentioned, and I think not even notice it. They'll just see a game that "looks just like the last one" and not really see the difference other than the new skylanders themselves.

I'm not trying to say to say there's more to this game than they're actually is, because in some ways I'd agree with there isn't a whole lot new. It's been iterated on the same way a Call of Duty is by Activision. The thing with kids is sadly, is they don't always hold on to the same interest that adults do. We adults I think are set in our ways and interests, where as children will grow out of things sadly, and start to think "Im too old for that, where's call of duty? or grand theft auto" because they wanna start playing what's edgy and mature.

Same thing happened with me of course. Like an idiot, I gave away all my Ninja Turtle figures when I was a kid, and I have regretted it so much that I don't have anything from my childhood because I wanted to be "big kid" and kept saying I was growing out of that stuff.

 

[Zing]

Jumping is certainly not a welcome addition for me. It allows the level designers to be more relaxed about the layout, which is is undoubtedly why it was added. Bounce pads require some time and effort to place appropriately. It was likely easier to just add a jump button. This has the negative effect of messing with the button configuration we have been using for two years, as well as increasing the dexterity requirement for children. My four-year-old daughter certainly would have had a much more difficult time trying to jump around rather than simply bounce.

 

[Diggeh]

I always thought they'd keep jumping on the 3DS versions. Y'know, more like a classic Spyro game.

Can you actually jump off the edge in Swap Force? If so, they really should've stuck with Bounce Pads for kids.

 

[ostrichKing]

I always thought they'd keep jumping on the 3DS versions. Y'know, more like a classic Spyro game.

Can you actually jump off the edge in Swap Force? If so, they really should've stuck with Bounce Pads for kids.

Very few edges can you jump off and there is no penalty if you fall...they should have had jumping in the first game...I think it greatly improves the game...

 

[ostrichKing]

Jumping is certainly not a welcome addition for me. It allows the level designers to be more relaxed about the layout, which is is undoubtedly why it was added. Bounce pads require some time and effort to place appropriately. It was likely easier to just add a jump button. This has the negative effect of messing with the button configuration we have been using for two years, as well as increasing the dexterity requirement for children. My four-year-old daughter certainly would have had a much more difficult time trying to jump around rather than simply bounce.

There still are jump pads...I've seen absolutely no negatives of them adding a jump button...