Skylander Spyro's adventure - Variants that plays different are Dark Spyro and the 4 legendaries : Bash, Chop chop, Spyro, and Trigger happy.
Skylander Giants - Variants that play different are Punch pop fizz, Jade flashwing, Molten hot dog, Polar whirlwind, Royal double trouble, Granite crusher, Gnarly tree rex, and Scarlet Ninjini as well as the 6 legendaries : Chill, Ignitor, Jet vac, Slam bam, Stealth elf, and Bouncer. Also any of the series 2 characters look the same on game but have an additional optional move.
Skylander Swap Force - Variants that play different are Nitro magna charge, Nitro freeze blade, Enchanted hoot loop, Enchanted star strike, Dark ninja stealth elf, Dark blast zone, Dark slobber tooth, Dark ram Spyro, Dark wash buckler, Volcanic eruptor, Jolly bumble blast, Springtime trigger happy, Kickoff countdown, Jade fire kraken, Quickdraw Rattle shake and the legendaries : Free ranger, Grim creeper, Night shift and Zoo lou.