New Skylanders Lets You Create Your Own Skylanders

And carry them around like Pokemon!

By Alanah Pearce

2016’s Skylanders game allows players to completely create and customize their own Skylanders, using a robust in-game character creation menu. The premise is adorably inspired by the hundreds of drawings kids have sent to Toys for Bob - the series’ developers - of their own Skylanders designs, and is, fittingly, called ‘Skylanders Imaginators’.

Imaginators seemingly has the same core gameplay as previous installments in the Skylanders series, focusing on simple puzzle solving and light, hack and slash-style combat, but this time, with an in-game character you’ve created all on your own. Your Imaginator Skylanders’ powers, weapons, heads, ears, tails, abilities, catchphrases, fighting styles (and more) are all fully customizable and can be edited and updated at almost any time, through a simple menu that manages to neatly hide just how extensive it is - a nice change from last year's totally underwhelming customization. If you don’t want to delve into fully creating a new character, though, you can fully randomise one, use any of the 300+ character toys from all of the previous Skylanders games, or select from a handful of new ones.

The new customization system is neatly tied into the game’s story, too, and even more creatively tied into the Skylanders Toys-To-Life system - your created Skylanders will live on physical ‘Creation Crystals’, like a Pokemon to a Pokeball. The Creation Crystals are cylinder ‘toys’ that are activated on your portal, and will save your Skylander to be transported and used across any console, at any time, which is particularly appealing for local co-op play. The Creation Crystals come in different colors that represent their different elements, and stickers to help you identify them from one another. It’s amazing that Ash never needed that with his Pokeballs, come to think of it.

Senseis, on the other hand, are more typical Toys-To-Life Skylanders. They’re a line-up of 20 new characters and 11 former in-game villains that will all be released as classic physical toys for Skylanders Imaginators, and assume the role of ‘masters’ to your Imaginators, unlocking unique Imaginator weapons and secret techniques, increasing their level cap and unlocking specific areas of the game. The Sensei’s also have pretty cool ‘master’ moves called ‘Sky Chi’, which vary depending on their Battle Class, so they play notably differently, as well as being fairly Godly looking toys in their own right. That said, you could still finish the core Skylanders game solely with your Imaginator Skylander, Sensei’s just add a little extra content, and likely also some exciting context in the minds of some of the imaginative kids who might play with them - like, 'this is the Sensei who trained my Skylander to become a great warrior!'

The entire premise is so, so appealing to my inner 10-year-old - getting to make my own creature in an extensive creation menu, train it up and improve it alongside a glorious looking ‘master’ character, and then carry it around with me in a little ‘crystal’, including to friend’s houses to introduce to their Imaginators, so we could fight evil together.

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