Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure is a 2011 toys-to-life action role-playing game and the first video game in the Skylanders series. It is played with the use of toy figures that interact with it through a "Portal of Power" that reads their tag through NFC.

It was released in October 2011 in North America, Europe, and Australia for Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 and PC/Windows, with Japanese ports published by Square Enix releasing nearly two years later on July 12 2013 for Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Wii U. [2]

Activision announced that as of June 3, 2012, the game had been the top-selling console and handheld video game worldwide for 2012.[3] As of March 31, 2012, Activision has sold over 30 million Skylanders toys, and sales were expected to exceed $500 million by the end of the year.[4][5] A direct sequel, Skylanders: Giants, was released in 2012 for the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Wii U.

Synopsis

Players take on the role of a Portal Master who controls 32 different Skylanders, including Spyro, by placing their figurines on the Portal of Power. These heroes are the protectors of the realm of Skylands, but the Dark Portal Master Kaos ejected them from their world to Earth. They were frozen and transformed into toys due to the lack of magic in the human world. Only the player can return them to their world. Once back in their home world, the Skylanders embark on a journey to defeat Kaos and save Skylands.

Characters

There are 32 standard characters and 8 different elements under which they are classified. The 8 elements are Magic, Water, Tech, Fire, Earth, Life, Air, and Undead, with four Skylanders for each element. Characters appear in the game by placing a character's figurine on the Portal of Power. The "Starter Pack" has three characters to start with – Spyro, Trigger Happy, and Gill Grunt. Each character has different abilities, upgrades, and stats (like health and movement speed), the latter of which can be affected by hats found throughout the game world.[6] Special Elemental Gates require a Skylander with the corresponding element to pass through. There are also certain environmental factors within levels that benefit certain Skylanders, with cases like bodies of water that only Water Skylanders and those capable of flight can cross.

In addition to the standard character figures, there are also cosmetic "variants" of a select few characters, those being Dark Spyro and a select few Legendary figures. In addition, there are limited edition Gold, Silver, Crystal, Chrome, and Glow-in-the-Dark versions of certain characters where their figures do not reflect their appearance in-game, which are referred to as "chase variants".

Plot

Console Version

The game starts with Master Eon greeting the young player, who is the new Portal Master, and explains to them of the world of Skylands, a world filled with wonder and mystery where the Portal Masters and the Skylanders kept peace and balance so that all creatures can thrive. But Skylands is in grave danger, and it needs the help of the new Portal Master. Afterwards, the new Portal Master and the Skylanders meet up with Hugo, Eon's assistant, and Flynn, the balloonist, on the Shattered Island and saved the villagers from a freak tornado ravaging their town, revealing the return of the Skylanders. As they make their way to the Ruins, Hugo explains to the new Portal Master how Skylands became its current state.

The Portal Masters had protected Skylands for as long as anyone could remember. Master Eon, the last good Portal Master of Skylands, and his Skylanders guarded the Core of Light, a great machine that enriched Skylands and repelling The Darkness, the ultimate force behind all evil. However, Kaos, an evil Portal Master who attempted to destroy the Core of Light in the past, returned from his banishment in the Outlands to destroy the Core to rule Skylands as its emperor, knowing that Eon has grown weaker with age. The Skylanders fought against Kaos' minions to protect the Core of Light, and just as they were winning the battle, Kaos unleashed a mysterious creature that successfully destroyed the Core, causing the Skylanders to be banished from their world. As the Skylanders were drifted farther away from the magic of Skylands, they began to shrink until they reached Earth, where they were turned into toys as a result of that world having no magic and awaited for the new Portal Master to find them. Master Eon survived the destruction of the Core of Light, but became a spirit and couldn't fight the Darkness without his physical body. He then awaited for the arrival of a new Portal Master until one finally arrived: the young player.

After saving Cali from a group of evil Drow, Hugo begins with tasking the Skylanders in recovering the missing Eternal Sources needed to rebuild the Core of Light. Kaos soon becomes aware of the new Portal Master and the Skylanders, attempting to stop them from retrieving the Eternal Sources, but fails. With the help of the new Portal Master, the Skylanders recover the missing Eternal Sources with the help of new allies, including a Gillman named Gurglefin, a newly grown Tree person named Arbo, and a sarcastic Undead skeleton, T-Bone. Eventually, the Core of Light is restored, repelling the Darkness from Skylands and driving Kaos back into the Outlands. Despite their victory, Hugo knew that the fight wasn't over, since Kaos still had the very same weapon that he used to destroy the Core of Light and knew that the tyrant would do the same again. The decision was made to take the battle to Kaos in his lair. Using the Core of Light, the Skylanders were transported to the Lair of Kaos, where they had to fight enemies they had faced before until confronting Kaos himself face-to-face.

During the battle, Kaos revealed his most powerful minion to aid him in the fight against the Skylanders, the very minion that destroyed the Core of Light and caused Eon to be in his current spirit state: the Hydra. The Skylanders successfully defeated Kaos, his dark minions, and the Hydra, and he was soon imprisoned inside a force field back at the Ruins. After a tender moment between Flynn and Cali, Kaos then promised to Eon that he would keep returning to Skylands until it was his if he was to be banished to the Outlands again. However, Master Eon had a more fitting place in mind to banish Kaos to instead. Eon gave Hugo the honor to type in the coordinates to Kaos' destination of exile in the Core of Light, with Kaos attempting to bargain with Hugo to share Skylands if he was set free. Knowing Kaos and his evil ways, Hugo typed in the final coordinates, sending the evil tyrant skywards out of Skylands to Earth, where he was turned into a toy and soon tormented by a dog.

Master Eon appears before the new Portal Master, explaining that they may have seen the last of Kaos and the Darkness, but there was still much to do, and that their journey with their Skylanders was only just beginning.

3DS Version

The young player is greeted by Master Eon, the last protector of the realm, and he quickly explains that Skylands needs their help. The Radiant Isles was the tranquil home to the Mystic Seekers, until The Darkness arrived and brought in a fearsome invader from the Outlands: Hektore. Using the power of the Darkness, Hektore enslaved the Seekers and forced them to build the Dark Mirror, which Hektore uses to shroud the Radiant Isles from the rest of Skylands to keep the power of the Seekers for himself. Master Eon then gave the new Portal Master the main objective: lead the Skylanders to destroy the Dark Mirror and free the Radiant Isles.

The young Portal Master is then teleported to an area where the leader of the Mystic Seekers, Fargus, and his son, Wendel, were awaiting for the new Portal Master's arrival, having escaped from Hektore. Before Fargus can start explaining on what to do next, evil laughter filled the air as Hektore has rediscovered Fargus and Wendel and was homing in on their location. In his haste, Fargus gave the new Portal Master the task of gathering Radiance Crystals, rebuilding the Shattering Sigil and destroying the Dark Mirror before giving the title of the Last Free Seeker to Wendel. As Hektore arrived, Fargus sacrificed himself to protect Wendel and the new Portal Master from Hektore's wrath, being recaptured in the process. Shortly afterwards, both Wendel and the new Portal Master retreat to the Sanctuary, the only area in the Radiant Isles where Hektore can't reach.

After gathering enough Radiance Crystals and saving the other Seekers, the Skylanders are able to confront Hektore himself at the Dark Mirror. After inflicting enough damage on the fiend, they make their way towards the Mirror while dodging Hektore's attacks and activate a beacon using Wendel's staff that allowed the Mystic Seekers to destroy the Dark Mirror. Hektore begins to threaten the Skylanders and the new Portal Master in retaliation, but he is destroyed shortly after the Dark Mirror's destruction. Wendel is reunited with Fargus, who then gives his son the status of a true Seeker. Wendel speaks to the new Portal Master that they will be forever be part of the Radiant Isles and that their home is safe to thanks to them and their Skylanders. Master Eon then appears before the new Portal Master, congratulating them on their victory and viewing them as a true protector of Skylands before concluding that the journey with their Skylanders is only just beginning.

Version differences

The game was originally developed by Toys for Bob for the Nintendo Wii. HD versions have been made by XPEC Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, which feature some notable differences, including:

• Many motion-controlled activities were reassigned to button inputs for specific actions.

• The Wii version allows players to skip most of the game's cutscenes and dialogue, but the HD versions require the player to go through most cutscenes and dialogue.

• On the Wii version, the character portraits used in dialogue have stylistic 2D artwork and use a transparent text box, while the HD versions use 3D character models and a solid black text box.

• The rune icons in the story scroll menu are different.

• The HD versions have different collision mechanics with abilities like Hex's Wall of Bones, which can be used to lift partner Skylanders in co-op mode and bypass obstacles.

• The final level has a different layout halfway through, and the final boss is easier.

The Wii and PlayStation 3 versions of Spyro's Adventure feature a wireless portal that uses AA batteries and includes a USB wireless connector. The Xbox 360 version of Spyro's Adventure features a different wired portal that is incompatible with the other version due to Microsoft's restrictions.

A Wii U version was released exclusively in Japan on July 12, 2013, featuring the wired portal from Giants. Unlike the other HD versions, it was ported by Toys for Bob and is more closely based on the Wii version.

3DS version

The 3DS version of Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, developed by Vicarious Visions includes a smaller portal with an infrared reader powered by AAA batteries that connects to a 3DS system, and equipped with a USB port that can be used for the console versions of the game. Instead of having to keep the Skylanders on the portal at all times, two Skylanders are "loaded" into the game, and the player can alternate between them until a new Skylander is loaded to replace them. The storyline in this version is different, and the set of non-playable characters is altered, with the exception of Eon. Additionally, the three Skylanders included in the starter pack are 'Ignitor', 'Stealth Elf', and 'Dark Spyro', a cosmetic variant of Spyro.[7]

This version is an action platformer in which players complete levels by collecting crystals to unlock more content. Each level is filled with crystals, which are earned by reaching the end of the level or fulfilling various tasks, such as defeating enemies or finding items. When a player collects a crystal, they trigger an enemy encounter with a time limit, during which they must defeat enemies and find clocks in the level to extend their time and avoid being caught by the chasing enemy. Notably, characters can make single and double jumps.[8] The game is set in the Radiant Isles, a distinct realm in Skylands, where players face a different force of darkness led by Hektore. This version lacks co-op functionality.

List of Skylanders

Air

Air Lightning RodSonic BoomWarnadoWhirlwind

Earth

Earth Bash

Legendary Bash

Dino-RangPrism BreakTerrafin

Fire

Fire EruptorFlameslingerIgnitorSunburn

Life

Life CamoStealth ElfStump SmashZook

Magic

Magic Double TroubleSpyro

Dark SpyroLegendary Spyro

VoodoodWrecking Ball

Tech

Tech BoomerDrill SergeantDrobotTrigger Happy

Legendary Trigger Happy

Undead

Undead Chop Chop

Legendary Chop Chop

CynderGhost RoasterHex

Water

Water Gill GruntSlam BamWham-ShellZap