Hello! Sorry it has been a while since writing… What with work being busy, Christmas/New Year celebrations and, just enjoying gaming, I haven’t found the time. However, that will change, and what better time than the present?
Especially as I have just finished and Platinum’d the second Spyro game in the recently released Spyro: Reignited Trilogy. I wanted to put some thoughts down on this time capsule of a game, and how it has been extremely enjoyable to travel back to the late 1990’s, when games were simple, colourful and not full of gore.
!PING!
— resiDANt evil 2 (@my_nameis_dan) January 7, 2019
Platinum Trophy 🏆 #189@SpyroTheDragon 2: Ripto’s Rage!
A brilliant sequel to the dragon-based platformer/collect-a-thon that adds plenty new mechanics to make it different. Again, it’s scrubbed really up well, good stuff @ToysForBob. Jumping right into number 3! 🐉 pic.twitter.com/6JJXzJ8pMa
As I have said before, I never owned a PlayStation (psone), and so, have never played any of the Spyro games. I did however, have an N64, where arguably some of the best 3d platformers ever made have been released (Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie etc etc). Therefore I had an idea of what to expect when booting up the Reignited Trilogy for the first time. To be fair to the 3d platforming genre, it has been a long while since a decent title has released on PlayStation, so Spyro should be an easy-pleaser, right?
Right!
Being a stickler for order, I start with the first game in the trilogy, Spyro The Dragon. What hits me instantly is just how great it looks! Obviously the grunt of the PS4 over the original makes a world, no a galaxy, of difference. This looks like an animated movie, with lush scenery, colourful vistas and solid character models. It controls great too. Everything feels natural as a new-comer to the series with button mappings being as exactly as you expect. This means you can just pick up and play – something that rarely happens this day in age.
The game opens in Spryo’s home world of Avalar, a lush green hub world, whereby you come and go as the game’s narrative continues. It is hard not to waste time running around, burning sheep with your fire breath and collecting gems before jumping into the game’s levels proper. If you love a bit of hoarding, or suffer from gaming OCD, then this is the game for you. It seems to be the main function of the first, and then subsequently the second game. Viewing the Guide Book from the pause menu shows you what you can collect in each level, and how your progress is going.
What that means, is that the games are actually very relaxed, with no difficulty levels or pressure to them. You can just enjoy the different locations on offer, from scorching deserts and fantasy castles, all the while hunting down gems and destroying all that stand in your way. For me, they are a little like Telltale’s LEGO games in that regard.
In a time when games can take hours to teach you all the mechanics, or rely heavily on complex control schemes and game modes, it has been very refreshing to just put a disc in the console and start running around a level. That’s not to say there aren’t some hidden depths here, such as gliding and super power fire breath, but more, they are not forced upon you.
I have really enjoyed playing through the first two games, and have already made a start on the third, Year of the Dragon. It does make me think that there is still a huge gap in the market for the simple 3d platformer, and hopefully the success of The Reignited Trilogy means we’ll see a developer brave enough to fulfil that requirement. What do you think? oh – and thanks for reading.
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