Disney Infinity is no more. A couple of weeks ago Disney announced they have cancelled production on the game, closing the studio in charge of making it (Avalanche), and writing off their losses on the project. I’m a little behind on reporting on this so if you’re interested in the gory details you can read that over at Infinity Inquirer – here. Also, if you’re interested in a cool article about what could have been for the next iteration of the game had Disney not shelved it, as well as some insider info as to why the game was written off, there’s a great Kotaku article on that – here. I myself am planning on writing a more heartfelt send-off for the game and figures but not ready to say goodbye yet.
In fact earlier this week Disney released 3 of the 5 remaining figures for the game (Dory & Nemo are next and last…sigh). You can see in the above image I did not hesitate in picking them up. Despite not being a huge “Alice in Wonderland” fan, I wanted to support the game in its death throes. I really like the “Alice” figures’ designs and look forward to playing with them. But in contemplating a countdown until the game officially ends, the Finding Dory stuff comes out next month and the game servers will be shut off toward the end of the year, I decided to make a list of my favorite figures. So if you’re so inclined, below are my “Top 10” Disney Infinity figures. The criteria for this list is a combination of overall figure design, gameplay, and sentimentality. Without further ado:
10. Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey (1.0):
Fantasia is one of my favorite Disney movies, so this figure was a really great inclusion in the game. Ideally we’d get Chernabog as well but alas that will probably never happen. The reason this Mickey made the cut, besides Fantasia being one of my favorite Disney movies, is because he’s the gateway drug that made me want all the figures. When Disney Infinity first got on my radar I was contemplating expanding my toy collection to include some of my favorite Disney/Pixar characters. So when I glimpsed what was being released I was on board for just the figures and since I didn’t even own a gaming console at the time, thought I would skip the game entirely and just pick and choose what figures I wanted. I remember thinking at that point, “I don’t even think that there’s a version of Mickey that I would even want…” Then at the D23 expo this figure was announced and shown, along with a few other awesome figures that came out during the 1.0 cycle and I was hooked. There was no looking back.
9. Jack Skellington (1.0):
Jack Skellington made this list for sentimental reasons. I’m not the biggest fan of Nightmare Before Christmas, sorry Hot Topic crowd, but when I was a kid the movie was pretty cool. One Christmas I got a Jack Skellington figure, he was in his Santa outfit. He was a fun figure that I used as a villain to fight my hero toys. So it was fun using Jack in Disney Infinity’s Toy Box mode to run amok much like he did in my childhood bedroom. He also has a very cool in game design, throws pumpkin bombs, and is such a Disney deep cut you have to give the Infinity team props for just including him. Also during the 2.0 cycle of the game you could use a power disc to put him in his Santa outfit from the movie and the circle was complete for me.
8. Ahsoka Tano (3.0) –
The most recent release of Disney Infinity, dubbed 3.0, was heavily focused on Star Wars. So you’d be pretty hard pressed to pick your favorite figure from that group. I love Star Wars and think every figure released for 3.0 was awesome. They all played exactly as you would want them to in game, they looked great, and fit in wonderfully with the rest of the Infinity figures. Ahsoka isn’t even close to being one of my favorite Star Wars characters but I really love this figure. It has great details, a great pose, paint apps, etc. Also in game she’s super fun to play with, she’s almost too powerful, I actually try not to use her too much because she makes the game so easy with her force abilities and dual wield lightsaber action.
7. Vanellope von Schweetz (1.0) –
It was a sorely missed opportunity for Disney Infinity to not make a stand-alone Wreck It Ralph playset for Disney Infinity, luckily we got Vanellope and Ralph as Toy Box only figures as a consolation. Both figures have really cool gameplay mechanics and animations. Vanellope has the added bonus of being voiced by Sarah Silverman as well as being super adorable. The figure design is great with amazing details and little bits to marvel over. The figure was also given a boost in the 3.0 release when Disney Infinity added a racing game, Toy Box Speedway. Toy Box Speedway was an add-on pack that not only has a Sugar Rush race track but overall a perfect gaming experience to use Vanellope, the feisty little princess/racecar driver that she is.
6. Donald Duck (2.0) –
I’ll keep this one short, it’s Donald Freaking Duck. He’s my favorite overall Disney character and this is a beautiful figure that’s very fun in-game. If I never bought into Disney Infinity, never got the game or the rest of the figures, this is a figure that I probably still would have wanted in my collection. His essence is captured delightfully.
5. Captain America (Civil War, 3.0) –
Disney Infinity has given us some amazing versions of some of our favorite characters but this version of Cap is hard to top. In fact as far as aesthetics go, this would be my number 1 figure on this list. He’s very on model, fits in great with the rest of the figures (Marvel and otherwise), and he plays like Captain America should. We had previously gotten a Cap figure with the 2.0 version of the game so it was a little controversial for Disney to be double-dipping so soon but based entirely on his design I had no problem with that decision. I already own several Captain America figures in other lines so this wasn’t a hard sell for me.
4. Boba Fett (3.0) –
Ahsoka made the list because she was a nice figure and fun to play with, Boba Fett made the list for the same reasons with the added bonus of being one of my favorite Star Wars characters. In game he plays exactly as you would want Boba Fett to play. He made my list of my favorite toys of 2015 – here, so you can see why he made this list. Pure awesome.
3. Lone Ranger (1.0)-
The first version of Disney Infinity was arguably the best. I loved the Star Wars stuff from 3.0 but the diversity and gameplay in 1.0 was hard to beat. The Lone Ranger Playset is still my favorite Disney Infinity game. It’s the first and only game that I finished in its entirety with my video game averse girlfriend (she had a blast) and it’s just really fun. The figure itself is really cool and if I’m being totally honest I kind of liked the movie…Also Lone Ranger was featured heavily in Toy Box tutorial videos by Chad Liddell, Team Captain for the Disney Infinity Toy Box team at Avalanche Software. I watched his videos as primers for the game and it only got me that much more excited. Here is a playlist of his videos below:
2. Hulk (2.0) –
Hulk is my favorite Marvel character, so his Disney Infinity counterpart is no different. He’s a rampaging menace in the game that is so satisfying to play with that he makes the 2.0 Marvel Playsets (weak entries compared to the rest of the series) much more fun to play than they are. This figure also has a very sentimental reason for being on the list. I attended a Disney Infinity 2.0 launch event in 2014 where I got my first glimpse at this guy and I was super pumped to own him. His design is great but he also is in my opinion the character from Marvel best adapted into the Infinity style. He looks like Disney’s The Hulk. I eventually got this figure at E3 in 2014 after a whole lot of trades with other attendees that all got free Marvel Disney Infinity figures at the show, so he reminds me of that experience as well, which was very fun.
1. Woody (1.0) –
I love Woody. The character reminds me of my own relationship with my toys and I think, despite 2 previous Oscars, that this is Tom Hanks’ best/definitive character, certainly his highest grossing. I had a Woody figure that was part of my regulars when I was a kid, he wasn’t even part of the Toy Story toy line but a McDonald’s premium. In his time with me that figure was a cowboy, a Ghostbuster, and a Jedi. He wielded a green lightsaber I had “borrowed” from a cousin. So imagine my delight that in Disney Infinity I could play with Woody and give him a green lightsaber to use. The game had a lot of potential and was very fun as a whole, it might not have been perfect but no other game/experience brought me back to that feeling of childhood wonder and imagination better than Disney Infinity. I got to go on adventures with Woody as a Jedi, just like I imagined him, all over again. He’s number 1 for so many reasons but transporting me through time should be the only one.
I’ll be writing another send-off piece for Disney Infinity next month when it’s officially over, I’ll try not to think about that too much for now. If you’ve made it this far, what are your favorite Disney Infinity figures/memories? Are you as sad to see it go as I am? Let me know in the comments below and thanks for reading!