Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure marked the beginning of what was to be a universal sensation of toys-to-life gaming and one of gaming's highest-grossing franchises of all time. However, with the mixed reception of the franchise received over the years, it is worth the time to review and conclude my views on this game.
Skylanders promised a never-before-seen take on video games where toys would act as the gameplay assets, peripherals and characters. With Activision and Toys for Bob's introduction of this technology, and with months of waiting for the release, we put in the disc, connect our Portal of Power, and are taken right to the game world upon creating a save file.
The journey begins with a simple but absolutely effective tutorial level, easy to understand with intuitive methods of completing tasks such as simple motion gestures and basic techniques, with later, more situational tutorials introduced in subsequent levels. Already, the score is fantastic, with film industry great Lorne Balfe at the helm, with even more absolutely stunning compositions introduced in later levels that would serve as the basis for all future game's scores and reprises.
By now, the player will have already established their choice of character; the titular Skylanders, 37 unique characters with varied stats, upgrades, abilities and charming designs. Each begins the game with two basic attacks, however, a third is introduced later on with even more power boosts aplenty.
Upon completing the first level, an expositional cutscene plays and the player is taken back to Eon's Citadel, a sprawling hub world with more collectable and gameplay secrets than you can initially imagine. At this point, the absolutely breathtaking and whimsical nature of the game is revealed, as through more level progression, the player is exposed to Sprawling air docks, swashbuckling seas, earthen castles, vibrant forests, steaming warehouses, gritty battlefields, cryptic catacombs, fiery caverns, ethereal armouries and many, many more scenic locations.
Throughout each level are elemental gates; bonus unlockable areas that augment the level theme to one of eight elements: Magic, Tech, Fire, Water, Life, Undead, Air and Earth, each containing collectables to aid the player, such as stat-boosting hats, bustling treasure chests that award extra gold for upgrades, story scrolls which provide bonus lore, Legendary Treasures which act as penultimate hidden bonuses, and new puzzles and challenges to overcome.
Levels provide an ample mix of open, real-time combat, with dozens of enemies that force players to use inventive methods to break defences, and simple, methodical puzzles. The dynamic music of each level really boosts the atmosphere, adding an additional beat or melody during intense combat, and dimming during complex puzzles.
By no means is the game overly difficult, however, the difficulty is augmented by how many Skylanders the player owns. The original price of each figure was roughly $14.00AUD (if memory serves me right), and this fatal flaw is what scored the game infamy as a "paywalled" series. Yes, at least 12 figures sold separately are needed for 100% completion, and these days you'd be hard-pressed to find some of the rarer ones, but what they lose from price, they certainly make up for with some of the most enthralling and unique movesets and level expansions in the game.
The plot isn't exactly stellar being a kid's game, but the way the environment adapts to the plot is utterly amazing. At the start of the game, brisk, spritely tunes play in grassy plains, and as the game progress, the skies, music and atmosphere darken until a perpetually dreadful red sky looms over the environment. Each playthrough provides this atmospheric experience once more, which satisfies me, at least. Beating Chapter 22 and seeing the beautiful sunset with the triumphant main theme reprise always gets me.
Overall, there is too much for me to say about this game. There's so much that it offers and so much pent-up nostalgia to share that if I were to describe this game and every detail about it to its fullest extent, it would come off to most audiences as some life-changing product. Overall, however, I must thank this franchise for the beautiful memories it provided to me and many, many fans, and as my favourite video game of all time, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure truly will always stay at the top of my games drawer until the very end.
Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure - 98/100.
- Potamus
Skylanders promised a never-before-seen take on video games where toys would act as the gameplay assets, peripherals and characters. With Activision and Toys for Bob's introduction of this technology, and with months of waiting for the release, we put in the disc, connect our Portal of Power, and are taken right to the game world upon creating a save file.
The journey begins with a simple but absolutely effective tutorial level, easy to understand with intuitive methods of completing tasks such as simple motion gestures and basic techniques, with later, more situational tutorials introduced in subsequent levels. Already, the score is fantastic, with film industry great Lorne Balfe at the helm, with even more absolutely stunning compositions introduced in later levels that would serve as the basis for all future game's scores and reprises.
By now, the player will have already established their choice of character; the titular Skylanders, 37 unique characters with varied stats, upgrades, abilities and charming designs. Each begins the game with two basic attacks, however, a third is introduced later on with even more power boosts aplenty.
Upon completing the first level, an expositional cutscene plays and the player is taken back to Eon's Citadel, a sprawling hub world with more collectable and gameplay secrets than you can initially imagine. At this point, the absolutely breathtaking and whimsical nature of the game is revealed, as through more level progression, the player is exposed to Sprawling air docks, swashbuckling seas, earthen castles, vibrant forests, steaming warehouses, gritty battlefields, cryptic catacombs, fiery caverns, ethereal armouries and many, many more scenic locations.
Throughout each level are elemental gates; bonus unlockable areas that augment the level theme to one of eight elements: Magic, Tech, Fire, Water, Life, Undead, Air and Earth, each containing collectables to aid the player, such as stat-boosting hats, bustling treasure chests that award extra gold for upgrades, story scrolls which provide bonus lore, Legendary Treasures which act as penultimate hidden bonuses, and new puzzles and challenges to overcome.
Levels provide an ample mix of open, real-time combat, with dozens of enemies that force players to use inventive methods to break defences, and simple, methodical puzzles. The dynamic music of each level really boosts the atmosphere, adding an additional beat or melody during intense combat, and dimming during complex puzzles.
By no means is the game overly difficult, however, the difficulty is augmented by how many Skylanders the player owns. The original price of each figure was roughly $14.00AUD (if memory serves me right), and this fatal flaw is what scored the game infamy as a "paywalled" series. Yes, at least 12 figures sold separately are needed for 100% completion, and these days you'd be hard-pressed to find some of the rarer ones, but what they lose from price, they certainly make up for with some of the most enthralling and unique movesets and level expansions in the game.
The plot isn't exactly stellar being a kid's game, but the way the environment adapts to the plot is utterly amazing. At the start of the game, brisk, spritely tunes play in grassy plains, and as the game progress, the skies, music and atmosphere darken until a perpetually dreadful red sky looms over the environment. Each playthrough provides this atmospheric experience once more, which satisfies me, at least. Beating Chapter 22 and seeing the beautiful sunset with the triumphant main theme reprise always gets me.
Overall, there is too much for me to say about this game. There's so much that it offers and so much pent-up nostalgia to share that if I were to describe this game and every detail about it to its fullest extent, it would come off to most audiences as some life-changing product. Overall, however, I must thank this franchise for the beautiful memories it provided to me and many, many fans, and as my favourite video game of all time, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure truly will always stay at the top of my games drawer until the very end.
Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure - 98/100.
- Potamus