#the game gives you neat abilities too but they're only good for puzzle platforming and are useless in combat

[dravidious]

You're more amazing than dead bodies

Spent the morning playing an indie game called Supraland that I got somehow ages ago, maybe from a bundle or something, and it's a pretty decent puzzle-platformer game, but for some reason it also has combat in it? And the combat is really bad, you just spam attack as fast as possible and the enemies take like 10 hits to kill, it's a pain. And then they gave me a combo attack that does 100 damage in a big AoE and it kills every basic enemy in one blast, and it's basically free to use, so now the combat is just. nothing. Lesson of the day: Don't put combat in a game if you don't want to make good combat.

[hungry-skeleton]

And if you want an actual question: what exactly is Skylanders? You post about it frequently, but only serve to vex me further each time.

I'll get to your first ask soon I need to go off about this

Skylanders is a toys to life game from 2011-2016!! Toys To Life is a genre that's died out but basically it means using physical toys to interact with the digital game world. In this case Skylanders uses figurines of the characters called.... Skylanders.. And placing them on the "portal" allows you to play as them!!

The skylanders themselves have things called NFC chips inside them that store data about what character they are and the progress you made with them. So you aren't just using a copy of some specific character, your skylander is truly yours. The upgrades, money, and cosmetics you give them are saved on them forever unless you actively choose to reset them.

^^Not an actual skylander character. This item is called a creation crystal! I'll get to that later!

Over it's run skylanders has made at least 175 unique skylanders characters. Each character coming with their own special animations, personality, and back story. This isn't including any of the gimmick items that could also be used on the portal like the creation crystal from above.

Each game came with a unique gimmick that introduced new skylanders that could do special things in game!

Spyros adventure - the first installment. No special gimmick yet, at this point the entire gimmick WAS the toys to life gameplay

Giants - the Giants!! Characters that were VERY big and could do "feats of strength" and other special actions in game

Swap force - characters that could swap their top and bottom halves to combine and mix abilities

Trap team - introduced traptanium crystals!! A neat idea, you could use a physical crystal item to capture special enemies and use them to fight for you in game! What was cool about these is that they really tried to sell the immersion of the villains being inside the crystals you trapped them in by having the crystal on the portal occasionally glow and talk. It also functioned similarly to a skylander in that the game remembers what crystals you used to capture what villains. Or more specifically the chip inside the crystal itself stores that information

Superchargers - THEY HAVE CARS NOW. Also this game had incredible writing for absolutely no reason what

Imaginators - whatever!!! Make your own skylander!!! That's what the creation crystals are for! To store your custom made skylanders! The character customization is actually pretty good. Also the sensies but all they really do is unlock stuff for you lol

As for the actual gameplay it's a platforming beat em up with puzzle elements, every installment mixes up the gameplay a decent bit though, especially superchargers which focused a lot on it's vehicles. In the end they're still kids games so they aren't SUPER challenging and the story isn't too complex but they're enjoyable nonetheless.

I think one of the biggest appeals of playing is how important the game makes you feel. Like, skylanders tries to make itself as immersive as it can be. There's a canonical explanation for why the skylanders are in your possession and in the form of figures. The player themselves is canon to the story and is referred to as a Portal Master. Essentially, only you can command the skylanders and everyone's lives are counting on you. If that doesn't inflate your ego enough one of the first things that happens in the first game is a major NPC calling out to you like a god. Very good for a 9 year olds self confidence

The overall vibe of skylanders is very goofy and whimsical but it has its more serious action moments too. Skylanders is all about character, I think. Both the skylanders themselves and the NPCs. There's not many characters I can really say I don't like. The lore is surprisingly intricate... Though it also has it's goofy moments.. Like the ancient race of sapient robots having all of its moral members being killed by exploding volleyballs. I don't care who you are that's top quality writing.

Skylanders is very important to me, it was one of my first full video game experiences and it's influenced my art a lot. Not to mention my um... Collection..

Still trying to complete it!!

But anyhow, this game means the world to me. I love having other people I can share that love with, :) I wish the game was more accessible nowadays but I've heard there's some functional emulators!

I.. Wow I really fucking went off here.. Hm.. I guess that counts for your first ask too lmao, I hope this was legible!