The Big 2015 Parents' Guide To Skylanders: SuperChargers, Disney Infinity, And Lego Dimensions

Over the past five years, the unlikely success of Activision’s Skylanders franchise has blossomed into a full-blow genre. This year, there are three major entrants in toys-to-life space (not counting Nintendo’s own spin on things with Amiibo).

As a service to parents, we’re breaking down everything that’s coming for the three different games. Below, you’ll find complete checklists for the toys and accessories we know are coming to Skylanders: SuperChargers, Disney Infinity 3.0, and Lego Dimensions. 

We’ve also detailed some things to know about each of the games as you're considering what you might already own (and what your kids say they need). 

Thanks to the Toys To Life podcast for assistance filling in some of the information.

Disney Infinity 3.0

This year’s outing for Disney’s toys-to-life game puts the focus on Star Wars. While the galaxy far, far away gets the spotlight, Disney isn’t leaving its original characters or Marvel heroes out in the cold.

All of your past figures and power discs work in the toy box. This year also marks an important change for power discs as they are no longer blind-buy. They come in themed sets, so you won’t end up with duplicates or have to purchase exorbitantly priced singles on the secondary market (eBay or Amazon, for instance).

You can read our review of Disney Infinity 3.0 here.

• Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Wii, PC, iOS (toy box only)
• Starter kit: $65 - Comes with base, game, Twilight of the Republic playset (based on Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano
• Star Wars Saga Bundle: $90 (PS4 and PS3 Only) - Comes with base, game, Twilight of the Republic playset (based on Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Rise against the Empire playset (based on the original Star Wars trilogy), Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Luke Skylwalker, Princess Leia, Boba Fett (early release)
• Playset price: $35 (Marvel Battlegrounds: $20)
• Figure price: $14
• Power disc set price: $10
• Toy Box Expansion price: $20

The game is also available digitally for use with an Infinity base you might already own ($20).

Additional Star Wars figures available now:

• Anakin Skywalker (Light FX) - Best Buy Exclusive
• Obi Wan Kenobi
• Obi Wan Kenobi (Light FX) - GameStop Exclusive
• Yoda
• Yoda (Light FX) - Target Exclusive
• Ezra Bridger
• Kanan Jarrus
• Kanan Jarrus (Light FX) - Amazon Exclusive
• Sabine Wren
• Zeb Orrelios
• Luke Skywalker (Light FX) - Walmart Exclusive
• Han Solo
• Chewbacca
• Darth Vader
• Darth Vader (Light FX) - Toys R Us Exclusive
• Darth Maul
• Kylo Ren
• Kylo Ren (Light FX)
• Poe Dameron
• Boba Fett

Disney Originals figures available now:

• Sam Flynn
• Quorra
• Mickey Mouse
• Minnie Mouse
• Mulan
• Olaf
• Disgust
• Fear
• Sadness
• Spot
• Judy Hopps
• Nick Wilde
• Baloo

Marvel figures available now:

• Ant-Man
• Black Panther
• Hulkbuster Iron Man
• Ultron
• Vision

Additional playsets available now:

• Inside Out (with Joy and Anger)
• Rise Against the Empire (with Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia)
• The Force Awakens Playset (With Finn and Rey)
• Marvel Battlegrounds (with Captain America: The First Avenger)

Power discs available now:

• Star Wars: Twilight of the Republic
• Tomorrowland
• Star Wars: Rise Against the Empire
• The Good Dinosaur
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• Toy Box Takeover (Toy Box Expansion Game)
• Toy Box Speedway (Toy Box Expansion)
• Marvel Battlegrounds

Upcoming Disney Originals characters:

• Peter Pan

Total cost right now for those needing a standard starter pack and wanting everything there is to get this year (that we know of) is $727. If you prefer to purchase the game digitally, you save $45 over the starter kit but need to purchase the Twilight of the Republic set for $35. That puts your cost at $717.

Skylanders: SuperChargers | Disney Infinity 3.0 | Lego Dimensions

Skylanders Superchargers

This year’s Skylanders game adds a couple of things to the mix. Instead of a huge flood of characters, the figure assortment is split into characters and vehicles. each character has an associated vehicle but isn’t limited to using that one. There is a benefit for making a match, though.

There is vehicle based adventuring as well as races. This year’s title also adds online co-op and competitive play for the first time. 

You’ll also see some returning characters like Gill Grunt and Stealth Elf. These have been completely revamped and have been completely retooled such that they do not work with older games. So if you are planning on thinning out your collection, don’t dump your old versions so you can still play those characters.

All of your past figures (and last year’s traps) are usable in Skylanders SuperChargers. You can also use last year’s base and purchase the game digitally.

According to the poster that shipped with the starter kit, there are an even 40 figures split in half among vehicles and characters. This doesn’t include the Nintendo-exclusive Donkey Kong, Bowser, and their themed vehicles. The characters work as both Skylanders and Amiibo (and only in the Nintendo versions).

You can read our review of Skylanders Superchargers here.

• Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Wii, 3DS, iOS
• Starter kit (Xbox One, 360, PS4, PS3): $75 - Comes with portal, game, Spitfire (character), Hot Streak (vehicle), Super Shot Stealth Elf (character)
• Wii U starter kit: $75 - Comes with portal, game, Turbo Charge Donkey Kong (character), Barrel Blaster (vehicle), Super Shot Stealth Elf
• Dark Edition (Xbox One, 360, PS4, PS3): $100 - Comes with portal, game, Dark Spitfire (character), Dark Super Shot Stealth Elf (character), Dark Hot Streak (vehicle), Dark Sea Shadow (vehicle), Kaos trophy (allows you to race as the series’ villain)
• Dark Edition (Wii U): $100 - Comes with portal, game, Dark Turbo Charge Donkey Kong (character), Dark Super Shot Stealth Elf (character), Dark Barrel Blaster (vehicle), Dark Sea Shadow (vehicle), Kaos trophy (allows you to race as the series’ villain)

The Wii and 3DS versions of the game are different, focusing only on racing instead of the traditional adventure campaign.

Wii and 3DS starter kit: $75 - Comes with portal, game, Hammer Slam Bowser (character), Clown Cruiser (vehicle), Super Shot Stealth Elf (character)

• Figure price: $13
• Vehicle price: $15
• Racing Packs: $35 (character, vehicle, race expansion)

Additional characters available now:

• Big Bubble Pop Fizz (and Birthday Bash variant)
• Bone Bash Roller Brawl (and Legendary Bone Bash Roller Brawl, Toys R Us Exclusive)
• Dive Clops (Missle-Tow Dive Clops Christmas variant available December 2)
• Fiesta (And Frightful Fiesta Halloween variant)
• High Volt
• Lava Lance Eruptor
• Hurricane Jet-Vac (and Legendary Hurricane Jet-Vac, Toys R Us Exclusive)
• Nightfall
• Shark Shooter Terrafin
• Smash Hit (and Steel Plated Smash Hit - Best Buy Exclusive)
• Splat (and Power Blue variant)
• Stormblade
• Thrillipede (Eggcited variant only)
• Trigger Happy (Power Blue variant)

Additional vehicles available now:

• Burn Cycle
• Crypt Crusher
• Dive Bomber (and Spring Ahead variant)
• Gold Rusher (Power Blue variant)
• Jet Stream
• Sea Shadow
• Shark Tank
• Shield Striker
• Sky Slicer
• Soda Skimmer (and Nitro Soda Skimmer, Target Exclusive)
• Splatter Splasher (Power Blue variant)
• Stealth Stinger (and Nitro Stealth Stinger, Target Exclusive)
• Thump Truck
• Tomb Buggy

Racing packs available now:

• Sea racing pack - Deep Dive Gill Grunt, Reef Ripper, Sea Trophy
• Legendary sky racing pack - Legendary Astroblast, Legendary Sun Runner, Sky Trophy
• Sky racing pack - Astroblast, Sun Runner, Sky Trophy
• Land racing pack -  Double Dare Trigger Happy and Gold Rusher 

Dual packs available now:

• Bone Bash Roller Brawl and Tomb Buggy
• Hurricane Jet-Vac and Jet Stream
• Terrafin and Shark Tank
• Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Barrel Blaster
• Hammer Slam Bowser and Clown Cruiser

Eon's Elite available now:

• Elite Voodood (Toys R Us Exclusive) - Available Now
• Elite Zook (Toys R Us Exclusive) - Available Now
• Elite Slam Bam (Toys R Us Exclusive) - Available Now

Characters coming later:

• Thrillipede

Vehicles coming later:

• Buzz Wing

Eon's Elite coming later:

• Elite Ghost Roaster (Toys R Us Exclusive) - November 29, 2015
• Elite Boomer (Toys R Us Exclusive) - November 29, 2015
• Elite Dino-Rang (Toys R Us Exclusive) - November 29, 2015

If you were to purchase everything this year for Skylanders SuperChargers on a non-Nintendo platform, it would cost you an estimated $615. This includes a standard starter kit, 15 single characters, 16 single vehicles, and 3 racing kits (one each for sea, air, and land). It does not include variants or Eon's Elite characters, which are re-releases of older versions.

For those that want to play on Wii U and want the Bowser Skylander and vehicle, the total cost increases to $643 for all the starter, loose characters and vehicles, and racing packs. Add in another $75 for the Wii or 3DS version, which are the only ways to get Hammer Slam Bowser and the Clown Cruiser. Total all-in cost for Nintendo fans right now is $718. That drops to $671 if Bowser and his vehicle are packaged separately down the line.

Skylanders: SuperChargers | Disney Infinity 3.0 | Lego Dimensions

Lego Dimensions

Warner Bros. is entering the toys to life fray, and executive editor Andrew Reiner says its the best of the three games this year (our review). You can finish the entire game with just what’s in the starter package, but just like with Skylanders, there are portions of the game blocked off without more figures.

There are a number of different ways you can expand Lego Dimensions. Level packs add new game levels outside of the main story, team packs add two characters, and two vehicles (or a vehicle and item). All of the items and vehicles can be rebuilt into three forms with different abilities. All of the figures from a specific brand get you access to their related hub worlds.

Fun packs add a single character and vehicle to the mix. It does not look like there is any overlap, so you won’t run into a problem with purchasing duplicates. Most of the brands have a level in the main campaign, accessible through the normal course of play no matter what you own. You'll get your Portal, Scooby Doo, and Doctor Who fix, for instance, without buying anything else. 

You can read our review of Lego Dimensions here.

• Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Wii U
• Starter kit: $100 - Comes with toy pad, game, Batman, Wyldstyle, Gandalf, Batmobile
• Level packs: $30
• Team packs: $25
• Fun packs: $15

Level packs out now:

• Back to the Future (Marty McFly, DeLorean, Hoverboard)
• Portal (Chell, Companion Cube, Turret)
• The Simpsons (Homer, Homer’s Car, Taunt-o-Vision)
• Doctor Who (The Doctor, K-9, Tardis)
• Ghostbusters (Peter Venkman, Ecto-1, Ghost Trap)
• Midway Retro Gamer Pack (Gamer Kid, G-6155 Spy Hunter, Arcade Machine)

Team packs out now:

• Jurassic World (Owen, ACU Trooper, Velociraptor, Gyrosphere)
• Scooby Doo (Scooby, Shaggy, Mystery Machine, Scooby Snack)
• Ninjago (Cole, Kai, Boulder Bomber, Blade Bike)
• DC Comics (Joker, Harley Quinn, Joker’s Chopper, Quinn Mobile)

Fun packs out now:

• Chima Cragger with Swamp Skimmer
• Chima Eris with Eagle Interceptor
• Chima Laval with Mighty Lion Rider
• Aquaman with Watercraft
• Cyborg with Cyber Guard
• Superman with Hover Pod
• Wonder Woman with Invisible Jet
• Ghostbusters Stay Puft Marshmallow Man with Terror Dog
• Lego Movie Bad Cop with Police Car
• Lego Movie Benny with Benny’s Spaceship
• Lego Movie Emmet with Emmet’s Excavator
• Lego Movie Unikitty with Cloud Cuckoo Car
• Lord of the Rings Gimli with Axe Chariot
• Lord of the Rings Gollum with Shelob the Great
• Lord of the Rings Legolas with Arrow Launcher
• Ninjago Jay with Storm Rider
• Ninjago Nya with Samurai Mech
• Ninjago Zane with Ninjacopter
• Wicked Witch with Winged Monkey
• Bart Simpson with Gravity Sprinter
• Krusty with Clown Bike
• Doc Brown with Time Traveling Train
• Doctor Who Cyberman with Dalek
• Ninjago Sensei Wu with White Dragon

Fun packs out later:

• Bane with Drill Driver - May 31, 2016
• Ghostbusters Slimer with Slime Shooter - May 31, 2016
• Ninjago Lloyd with Golden Dragon - May 31, 2016

Total cost right now for everything we know of coming for Lego Dimensions is $785.

Skylanders: SuperChargers | Disney Infinity 3.0 | Lego Dimensions