(Originally posted April 14th, 2018)
Okay, I do video game reviews now as well. You know why? Because I just completed Spyro the Dragon (1998) for the first time ever. I've owned the game for about 15 years and this is the first time I've ever beaten it. Though, in fairness, I've always been more of a Crash fan, so apart from one or two playings, I've never really given Spyro the love he deserves, until it was recently announced that the original trilogy would be making an HD return, so I figured now's as good a time as any to give it a proper go. Spyro the Dragon is a collect-a-thon platformer developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.
In the world of dragons one peaceful day, a fellow named Gnasty Gnorc decides to cast a spell that encases all of the dragons into crystal, and also converts their treasure into minions for his cause. For some reason, Spyro isn't affected, so he must save the day. Yeah, platformers at the the time weren't known for their intricate stories, and Spyro doesn't need one. Just an excuse for Spyro to go on his quest. That's all you need. The game has a heavy collect-a-thon element, with you needing to free all the dragons, collect all the treasure, defeat all the minions and rescue all the dragon eggs in all 6 worlds. Spyro has two methods of attacking: he can charge, and he can utilise his flame breath. Fire has no effect on armoured foes, and larger enemies are invulnerable to Spyro's charge attack, so there's a decent amount of variation in the enemies and how Spyro must take care of them, even though the majority of them still go down in one hit. Each world also has a flight stage, which gives Spyro free-reign over how long he can fly, with all other stages only allowing him to glide downward, and he must destroy certain sets of items along the way to receive treasure.
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| The Artisans Homeworld |
For being released 20 years ago, the game is still beautiful. It really holds up. Each world, and even each level, is so different from any other in terms of environments, colours and the like, that it gives each area of the game a unique style and backdrop that really helps when you have to revisit levels if you miss anything, or for memorising the level path on repeat playings. This also helps in making sure that Spyro's adventure never goes stale, and it's a testament to the great level design at work here, because these levels are very well designed. You will need to explore every nook and cranny in order to find every last bit of treasure in every stage, but luckily, it never feels like anything is too well hidden. There are always just enough clues to let you know when you're on the right track, but not so many that you still feel like the master of the universe for figuring it out. Well, except for the Tree Tops level. That stage can go and die for all I care. The soundtrack is great too. Not fantastic, but really great. The songs are more atmospheric and ambient, which also helps each level have its own identity, but the OST isn't as bombastic as, say, Crash 2 & 3. I'll take this soundtrack over Crash 1's, but if I'm just listening to the soundtrack on its own, it's a good one, it's just not my favourite of all time. But it is good. It's great, and I'm definitely downloading it for my own listening.
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| Spyro fighting Jacques |
Spyro's controls are incredibly responsive, and very easy to pick up and get into. I never found myself yelling at Spyro for not doing what I wanted him to do, which is a big bonus. In a platformer, the number one priority is making sure the controls are responsive so that the player feels as though they are in control of the game, and they were here. There's also quite a lot of charm in the character of Spyro, and that comes across through the cutscenes and dragon dialogue, some of which is laugh-out-loud hilarious. The writing for this game, however sparse it is, is very clever, especially in early stages when it needs to teach you about the game. The game also has a unique hit-point mechanic in the form of Sparx the Dragonfly. It's your basic 'three strikes and then you're out' gimmick, with health pick-ups (smaller animals) scattered around to replenish your health, but the idea of making your health bar a character in their own right is genius. Granted, Sparx doesn't talk at all in this game, but the fact that it's a dragonfly that's always following you around made him seem like a living, breathing element of the world. Whenever I got hit, I would seek out a sheep or something, not just to bring me back to full health, but also to make sure that my dragonfly companion was fighting fit. Giving the player an additional incentive to keep themselves healthy, and in turn punishing them for not keeping their dragonfly healthy, is a genius concept.
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| Sunny Flight |
Alright, so what are the negatives here? Well, I do have a few. Firstly, Spyro's movements can sometimes be a little janky, especially when narrow ledges above bottomless pits are concerned. Moving around the edges of the map could be nightmarish at times, since when you push the stick, Spyro moves at one speed, so there's no real way to move slowly around ledges except to push the stick quickly, then let go, then repeat, and this was especially gruelling when the game decided to hide enemies around such corners, allowing you zero response time to deal with them unless you knew they were there. That was the only time the game felt really cheap to me. Also, whilst the majority of the game was easy to get the hang of, super-charge was a nightmare to get the hang of. When turning corners in super-charge mode, Spyro felt almost too sensitive, and would careen into walls more times than I liked. Once I got the hang of it, it was still sensitive as hell. but slightly more manageable, but it's still one of the things I hope improves in the remake. Finally, the boss encounters were extremely disappointing. They were basically slightly smaller levels with a tougher enemy and a bit of a chase at the end; nothing special at all. Jacques in particular was especially disappointing, particularly for how great his design was. And, sadly, the final fight against Gnasty Gnorc wasn't particularly thrilling either. Chase some thieves around for some keys, chase Gnasty to the end of a path, hit him once, chase him through an admittedly challenging platforming section with the platforms slowly retracting into the walls, hit him a second time, and he's done. For how much of a threat he was built up to be, this really let me down, and I don't think he got a single hit in on me for the entire fight.
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| Gnasty Gnorc |
In conclusion, Spyro the Dragon (1998), is a fantastic game, and it's a travesty that it took me this long to complete it. I'm so excited to be able to play this in HD later in the year, but I've got to get to the next two games first. On its own, however, this was a great experience, and it's easy to see why Spyro became the video game icon that he once was, and hopefully, can become again. 8.5/10.
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