SPYRO THE DRAGON (1998) REVIEW

A breath of fresh air.

Playstation exclusive.

Spyro the Dragon is a platformer published by Sony and developed by Insomniac Games for the Playstation, Playstation 3 and PSP.

GAMEPLAY

The different hub worlds and their levels all have nice level design and keep the game fresh for the most part; however you might tire of the formula by the end of the game since nothing really changes from the first level aside from the amount of gems and dragons you need to find. Some levels do feel different; Tree Tops with all the ramps would certainly challenge most people, while levels like Gnorc Harbour add explosive barrels into the mix, changing the way you approach the level.

Outside of the standard flame and charge you won’t do too much else over the game, aside from using the supercharge ramps. Perhaps the game’s shorter length helps its simplicity. Don’t get me wrong though, the platform and all things afore mentioned things are very fun.

STORY
Does it really matter?

GRAPHICS

The graphics are an impressive part of the game, with new techniques tried out to make the game look even more appealing. Gone are the days of grey mist of many platformers before and in are the long range views, seeing the whole map in certain levels can be a nice touch to a level, especially if it helps you complete it, as things like gems can glow from long distances in case you failed to pick them up.

SOUND

Stewart Copeland’s soundtrack is fantastic and will help immerse you in the world, with so many of the themes perfectly billed to the levels they play with, I really think half the levels just wouldn’t be the same without the pulsating rhythms and beats Copeland comprised for the game, plenty will be stuck in your head for hours after playing the game.

The voice actor and SFX are both fine too, although some of the dragons voices do keep appearing, which might sometimes draw you out of it a bit, sometimes I wonder if I could live in a society where most people had the same voices.

VALUE FOR MONEY

There’s around 8 hours content here for most people on their first time through, perhaps pushing up to 10 for some players. The game can certainly be played more than once and you can always reboot the same save and just replay your favourite levels, or listen to your favourite tracks.

OVERALL

I would say that Spyro the Dragon is a game that is certainly bringing something new to a busy market, with plenty of platformers to choose from around the time of release. If you’re a fan of the genre it’s definitely worth picking up, but even if you’re not, it’s still worth a purchase for its easy to pick up playability, enjoyable level design and brilliant soundtrack.