So as I'm writing this, I have the full soundtrack of the original series playing in the background.
If you're like me, much like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro was probably a series that you grew up with. Likewise, again much like Crash Bandicoot, you were probably fond of the original 3 games:
I mean, let's be real. Crash Bandicoot was a hell of fun series here, but then in came Spyro...a sass talking dragon that could fly, spit fire, and that already was enough to hook some interest. It's a game that appeared right before Crash Bandicoot Warped! came out, and already in its first look, it was a game that really piqued interest:
It set itself to be an entertaining, adventurous, treasure heavy game...something that even fans of Crash Bandicoot couldn't help but notice. It also set itself to be much more open as opposed to Crash Bandicoot's linear A-to-B setup. Sure, levels were still separate from the home hub (amusingly also by portal like Crash Bandicoot 2) and sure...levels weren't by any definition gigantic either (and had borders due to PS1's limitations). However, your goal was to explore levels and even the home worlds completely if you wanted shiny things, so you'd be walking every nook and cranny of each area to find hidden gems or dragon statues...or gliding to a farther off area to catch that annoying thief to get their jewel/egg.
And of course, there were flying levels, which were basically "fly around and complete all obstacles in the time limit" :
Spyro was already a game to be reckoned with on a completely different level than Crash, and it was no surprise that it was met with much praise from critics and gamers alike. It also helped that the person who made the soundtrack, Stewart Copeland, was already well known due to him being one of the founders of the band The Police.
And let me say, that soundtrack is still fantastic.
But because of Spyro's praise, it garnered 2 sequels, each one improving on the formula and adding new things...much like the Crash Bandicoot's progression cycle went.
What was neat was that like Crash, each level had its own theme...its own personality. The Home Worlds (Artisans' World, Peacekeepers' World, Magic Crafters' World, Beast Keepers' World, Dream Weavers' World, Gnorc Nexus) had their own distinct personality, and then the levels within each of those home worlds followed that. Likewise, enemies, bosses, and animal-feed (aka the ones you could kill for health) all fit the specific theme of both the level as well as the world.
Oh yeah, and this is a thing in one of the worlds. No joke.
There's other amusing enemy reactions if you don't attack them right away, like the armored Fools in Dream Weavers' World flailing their arms and screaming out when they know you can't hurt them. Again, not kidding, and the sound they make is slightly amusing.
When Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage/Gateway to Glimmer came out, that design went up even further. Talismans and Orb collecting replaced Dragon and Egg collecting. Rather than being confined to their home-world type, now levels were free to just be their own thing regardless of the theme. More types of unique levels appeared, and with it more enemy, animal-feed, and NPC characters (which Spyro 2 introduced much more of) that fit the level they were in. There were just a few less levels than the original game, but there was much more variety allowed.
Likewise, Spyro 2 introduced actual end-area bosses that you had to beat to progress to the next home world (as opposed to the original which
did have boss levels, but they were completely optional outside of the last boss). On top of that, when you entered and left a level, you were introduced to a normally amusing video about what happened before you came into the level (for it's intro), and some random thing that happened to an NPC/NPCs when you left.
It also introduced more moves outside of just gliding, jumping, and shooting fire. No longer could water hurt you (though other types of liquid could), because now you could learn to swim in it! You could also learn to climb (which seems weird to see a dragon do) as well as other unique moves. But on top of learning new moves (from the most annoying character in this game), there were a lot of various types of sidequests that involved being able to super-glide, super run, shoot fireballs, playing a game of hockey, etc... this was a game that was practically littered with different varieties of sidequests to keep you busy so you could collect orbs (think of them as a foil to Crash Bandicoot's gems).
Sidenote, Moneybags the Bear is the worst character imagineable. Need to progress through a certain part of a level and he's there? Pay a fee. Need to learn an ability? Pay a fee. Need to get to that level hidden behind that wall? Pay a fee. He's like the precurser to microtransactions, except you pay him in gems you collect.
Then Spyro: Year of the Dragon came out, and it for the most part (minus the villain) was the best in the trilogy. Everything that made Spyro 2 good was kept in Year of the Dragon, as well as more (replacing orbs/talisman collecting with dragon egg collecting). More levels made their way into this game, as well as different types. Year of the Dragon kept the various sidequest-giving NPCs...but added some unique mechanics as well. On top of the normal Spyro levels, boss levels, and Speedways...you now had various characters with their own levels (IE Sheila the Kangaroo, Sergeant Penguin, etc...), and likewise even your trusty dragonfly had his own unique levels.
Basically, Year of the Dragon kept the incredibly diverse amount of level types, and added another spin to the mix by involving new playable characters. Also...skateboards and jetpacks. Yeah, those and other fun little mechanics were thrown in as well.
Oh, Moneybags was also in this game, and I still dislike him since he now even bars you from certain levels unless you pay him the right amount of gems.
But the only real gripe about Year of the Dragon was that the main villain was incredibly forgettable, much like Gnasty Gnorc from the first game was. By this game, we had Ripto from Spyro 2, who was practically all over the game and had a very excellent villain personality throughout.
Ripto from Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage
The "Sorceress" on the right, Bianca on the left from Spyro: Year of the Dragon
Ripto was fun to watch as well as fun to fight, and he was already leagues better than Gnasty Gnorc. When Year of the Dragon came out, the villain was basically a throwaway to the plot so Spyro could go on another adventure. Bianca, a side character who helped the villain, was 10 times more memorable than the actual main antagonist.
Despite that, it was a great ending to an already great trilogy...and unfortunately was arguably the last good Spyro game, since every game since then had been mixed to downright awful.
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So now, let's talk about the remake! Oh wait, I'm sorry, "remaster." Okay, I'm sorry but I have to say this. I don't know why the developer calls it a remaster, nor why other people call it such. Kingdom Hearts 1.5 is a remaster. God of War Collection is a remaster. The Sly Collection is a remaster. Anything that's ported over to a different system with tweaked lighting, sharper graphics, and updated audio to sound clear on the new system is a remaster.
This and Crash Bandicoot are actual
remakes. They were completely remade from the ground up graphically, and were painstakingly made to be exactly like the old versions. All of the assets are new, the soundtrack is new (though Spyro's remade soundtrack is definitely more of an upgrade as opposed to a complete remake like Crash Bandicoot's soundtrack), all of the cutscenes are completely new, all of the voice actors are new (though they did get Tom Kenny back for Spyro for all 3).
It's all new. All of it. Same game, but new engine, new assets, new everything.
Therefore it's a remake. Not a remaster. Same goes for the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. Remake, not a remaster.
Ratchet and Clank was not a remake, it was a re-imagining since it's the same core game, but everything about it is different from the original game, just like Tomb Raider Anniversary was basically a re-imagining since everything in the story was changed around.
This and Crash are not remasters, and they're not re-imaginings, they're remakes. Just like Ocarina of Time 3D is a remake of Ocarina of Time for the 64.
Okay, mini rant over.
So anyways...Spyro: The Reignited Trilogy!
So, I'll start off by saying that it's pointless to really dive into video game differences with this one, because outside of graphics, some cutscene alterations, music, and credit alterations...this is point for point the exact same game trilogy as the originals.
Toys For Bob actually surprised me by how painstakingly they made this like the original games. I actually am inclined to believe that they took every single frame of the original games and added it exactly to the new system with its new look.
Like...I can't think of any other explanation. The script is completely intact from the first 2 games (and I imagine the 3rd as well) to the point that one of the game's trailers actually points out one of the first game's mainly heard lines when you free one of the over 80 dragons, aka this:
But every small detail from the original games is still there, and it's wonderful, well except for the camera...but that's basically unfixable, so I let it pass.
Now, again that doesn't mean it's entirely the same in every single way.
Whereas every level has its own theme in the PS1 games...the Playstation's limitations didn't really give them a lot of wiggle room to give the levels and home worlds and incredible amount of personality, especially in the first games. Sure, there was a lot of variety in the games, but when you look at the games nowadays, there's also a very basic, and sometimes really empty feel to them. Again, not the game's fault, but more like console limitations stifling having an exceptional amount on it.
This remake SCREAMS personality. The dragons have more variety in the first game, every place's theme is heightened, and every place stands out in its own way.
Levels are practically dripping with creative personality in every corner, and it's beautiful.
Magic Crafters' World is still my favorite area because of the music.
But as I said, it's not just the levels, but even the dragons are allowed to have more of a personality. Now rather than just being bland and generic looking, each dragon you find has a look of the area that he's in. If you're in Magic Crafters' World, the dragons you'll find will look like wizards and sages...whereas in Peacekeepers' World, they'll look like warriors.
Or tinkerers and crafters if you're in the Artisans' World.
Everything just looks absolutely stunning, as does everyone. The music is also updated and sounds nicer, though as I may have mentioned, it still sounds a lot like the old soundtrack unlike Crash Bandicoot's completely remade tracks. And honestly, that's perfectly okay since Spyro had some pretty great music to start with.
Now, there are gripes. These are minor, some personal gripes, but gripes nonetheless.
Firstly, the credits.
This is the credits from the original game:
Change the locations visited, and you have the credits for the other 2 games as well (yes, same ending song). No, it was nothing amazing, but it was nonetheless nice to "fly" through all of these previously beaten areas as a reminder of "oh yeah, that level was really fun." Basically, I actually enjoyed the credits.
These are the credits from the Reimagined trilogy:
Not terrible, mind you, but it feels incredibly generic. Most games you play have the movie style credits like this, and it gets a little tedious. I was actually a little disappointed that they chose to go the generic route without at least starting off the credits in the similar fashion to mimic the originals.
Likewise, my other gripe was with the intro for the first game (the second's was actually perfectly fine).
Here's the original intro:
And here's the reignited intro:
Overall, no difference. In fact, in many ways the new intro is actually better (especially on Gnasty's reactions). The end of it was a little off-putting, though. First off, why did it stay on the TV aspect instead of just going back to the dragon world for it? Sure, sure, small semantics, okay. But Spyro's line was terrible in that usage. It sounded bad, it looked bad, and it was just
bad. But again, semantics. Tom Kenny did a fantastic job in the voice, the moment and the dialogue itself were just awkward.
So yeah, if those are really my worst complaints about this trilogy, then you know it's going to be at least somewhat decent.
On a closing note though:
Did you know that in one level of the original (Twilight Harbor) that the enemies shot actual bullets from guns? It's worth noting because in the Reignited version, their bullets were switched out with paint/ooze balls.
They must have wanted to censor it to make it kid friendly, but it's kind of weird that they choose to change something that basic that was in the original game to begin with.
Overall, the Spyro Reignited Trilogy is the original games at their fullest potential. The music is great, the whole series just has much more personality overall with the new graphics and engine, and the games still play beautifully.
I in all honesty can't say either version is "better" than the other since they're the exact same game. But if anything, the remake not only does the trilogy justice...but it did the same thing Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy did: it took the old games, and made them appeal to the newer generation without changing anything outside of the graphics and music.
So sure, the Reignited trilogy is "better" but only because, as I said, it's the original trilogy at its fullest potential. If Insomniac had made the Spyro trilogy for the first time in this day and age, I imagine it'd look almost identical to this.
If you played the original games, I highly recommend this remake trilogy (on the PS4 and Xbox, and pretty sure it'll hit the Switch and PC down the road). If you haven't played them but have been curious about the games, I highly recommend this trilogy to get you into them.
