About 20 years ago, I started my journey to become the very best! Not only in catching Pokémon but also in becoming a great gamer that knew all the tips and tricks of every game out there. Gaming was fairly new but It eventually became a big part of my life as a kid. I was constantly on an adventure, being the hero of my own tale. Seeing this purple dragon reappear in my library, reignites my heart with that nostalgic feeling of old-school platforming. It’s a great time to be alive…
Being alive at this very moment, is something truly amazing. Old Disney movies are being revamped into different masterpieces, catching Pokémon on the GO and old school games find their way back to the surface, as an upgraded version of themselves. Spyro is just one of those games that set the bar for platform gaming. It was something new, something fresh and it opened up doors for other developers to create something different.
“The moment I booted up Spyro, a bright smile appeared on my face.”
Our beloved purple dragon, Spyro is back from the dead and the developers polished the Spyro Trilogy into a better form of its 20 years old self. The Reignited Trilogy delivers a package of the 3 original Spyro games (Spyro, Spyro 2: Rypto’s Rage and Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon) that’s been cleaned up and dressed up very nicely. There’s almost nothing new that has been added to the original games. The developers made it clear that they wanted to do Spyro’s name right by “cleaning up the parts” and put the parts back together in its original state. So if you’re willing to buy the game, just remember that this isn’t a “new” Spyro, it’s only a reworked version of the original game.
The moment I booted up Spyro, a bright smile appeared on my face. Every single puzzle pieces fit perfectly in place. Even though the game isn’t following the standard “complicated” protocol of today’s games, it’s a game that’s easy to enjoy due to its simple controls and simple objectives. Now, how can a game with so simplistic objectives and simple controls win you over? It’s quite simple actually, it’s all about the familiarity and the intuitive gameplay of the good old days. The developers of our time are a bit stuck when it comes to innovation and creating something worthy enough to invest time in. These days, developers think that games should be complicated or challenging enough to convince players to buy their products but a lot of these things are the reason why people drop out in the first place. All of these extra controls and in-game tactics are scaring off lots of players because they just don’t have the time to play a game for hundreds of hours.
“Spyro’s story is pretty straightforward without the difficult plot twists.”
After a hard day’s work, you just want to relax and be brainless for a while but lots of games need you to be more focused than during your actual job. This is the reason why gamers don’t get a lot of enjoyment out of a triple-A game. Most of today’s games lost their “pick-up-and-play” quality. The developers should have a more “simple is more” kind of mind state because this is where Spyro shines. It’s an enjoyable brainless “pick-up-and-play” kind of game without the hassle. The game delivered pleasurable moments 20 years ago, it will do the same today. Why fix something that isn’t broken?
Spyro’s story is pretty straightforward without the difficult plot twists. The story is all about Spyro, which is a purple dragon that still needs to learn some important basics before he becomes a skilled dragon. An enemy has turned his kin into stone and it’s up to Spyro to free them all from this crystallized cage. He’s also determined to punish the bad guy that caged all of his friends. In other words, it’s the perfect opportunity to become the dragon he truly wants to be.
“Once you’re all settled, the game is truly a blast to play.”
As a dragon, you’re able to run and fly, use a fiery breath or even use your horns to get rid of the enemies who oppose you. You can also dodge with the push of the button. So as you can tell from the controls, it’s quite simple. There are no hidden secrets or special tactics that you’ll have to use to complete the game. The only thing that can be mentioned is the handling of Spyro’s movement. This is one “feature” that definitely could have been improved. It’s not because the game is from the old ages, you are obliged to use the same configurations of that certain period. This could have been easily implemented but as I said, the developers want to be as close as they can to the original. It’s noticeable that flying from platform to platform won’t always be an easy task and can easily become your death if you’re not careful enough. Then again, you can also say that the sensitivity of the joysticks is a bit too high to maintain the control over Spyro but after a while, you’re used to it and you won’t make the same mistakes that often.
Once you’re all settled, the game is truly a blast to play. Even though the game has been tremendously polished, you’ll quickly recognize all of the enemies and environments you used to roam. Hats off to the designer of the dragons because all of the captured dragons have a distinct look and add a lot of flavor to this world. The colors, the lighting, the animations, and the sound effects suit the game perfectly. The original songs also give that nostalgic feeling a great burst!
“Even though the game looks colorful and interesting, the game suffers from long loading screens.”
Most of the part, the game is all about collecting. Collecting dragon eggs and gems to unlock the next stop in the dragon world. It’s an easy task to collect all of the collectibles in just a couple of hours but some are of course harder to find than others. This whole idea of collecting gems is spread throughout the trilogy but the game gets better and better along the way. The game also offers different challenges for you to complete in a specific amount of time. These challenges exist from chasing an egg thief on the ground to soaring high in the sky where you have to eliminate different objects. These challenges can be completed by everyone, but you just have to think about how you’re going to handle the situation. The challenge is often lost because of a different turn you made or a hassle along the way, just rethink your strategy and get in there again. You’ll see that the game is all about “trial and error”, you don’t have to be the smartest to complete the challenge. It’s more about logical thinking.
The different chapters of Spyro’s story will take you to different colorful places where you’ll be confronted with different enemies. All enemies can either be taken down by your horns or by your fire breath. However, you’ll need to observe the enemy’s movement before you take it down. It’s the only way to spot their weakness. Each character, either it’s a villain or an important character from the story, have a certain feel to it and it just fills up the world with all of these interesting characters that you won’t easily forget. Yes, most of them act very childishly but it’s the way that the developers present this world and its characters, that brings a certain charm to the whole Spyro Universe. You’ll even have moments in the story where you can play some of these characters. It’s a great way to add some variation to the game. You can even do other minigames to fill in your time like skateboarding, ice hockey,…!
Even though the game looks colorful and interesting, the game suffers from long loading screens. In the beginning, you won’t mind the long duration of the loading screen because the loading screen turns into this “little” mini-game where you can “control” Spyro in a limited way. This is fun for the very beginning, but it easily gets boring. The loading screen is definitely something to patch if they can because it breaks the immersion. Don’t forget that these loading screens appear, every time you travel to another part of the island or another world.
Conclusion:
Spyro is a great remastered version of an old-time classic and you’ll have a blast playing it. The main game can be completed within 16 hours and it will still offer some cool minigames to collect some more gems. The developers polished the game very well, this can be seen when you’re venturing through the worlds and battle against these funny looking enemies. Still, the game lacks some improvements when it comes to “controlling Spyro’s movement” and “camera positioning”. These functionalities have been automatically transferred from the 90’s period and this could have been easily reworked to live up to the standards of this period. If you haven’t played the game yet and you’re looking for a brainless adventure game… Don’t hesitate and buy Spyro.
