Spyro the Dragon
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This article is about the first game in the Spyro series. For information about the character Spyro, see Spyro the Dragon (character); for other contexts, see Spiro (disambiguation).
| Spyro the Dragon | |
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| Developer(s) | Insomniac Games |
| Publisher(s) | SCEA |
| Release date(s) |  September 10, 1998 April 1, 1998 October 1998 |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone ELSPA: 3+ OFLC: G |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Media | CD-ROM |
Spyro the Dragon is a platform game developed by Insomniac Games for the PlayStation. It stars the title character, a young purple dragon named Spyro, and is regarded as one of the best platforming games for the PlayStation console.
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[edit] Gameplay
Each world in Spyro the Dragon is organized into separate realms, with a central level serving as a hub, with gateways leading to other levels within the world. The player is free to roam about and explore each level at will, defeating opponents, releasing the realm's imprisoned dragons, and recovering the dragons' treasure in the process. When the player has finished a level, a "Return Home" portal located somewhere in that level will return them to the base hub of that world and, once they have freed enough dragons or collected enough treasure, the player can travel to the next world by locating and talking to a balloonist located somewhere in the hub.
[edit] Spyro
Spyro's two main abilities are breathing fire, and gliding long distances through the air with his wings; Spyro also has the ability to charge across open terrain and smash through enemies with the horns on his head.
Each level is designed to incorporate Spyro's gliding ability, featuring large gaps too large to jump normally, accompanied by higher terrain nearby from which to jump off of and glide the distance to safety. In some levels, there are also whirl-winds which launch Spyro to a set distance upwards in the air, and allow him to glide much farther, which works like jump-gliding off a ledge but instead he pushes off of the air.
In addition, later levels also feature strips of hill marked with glowing arrows, known as "supercharge ramps". When the player charges down a supercharge ramp, Spyro's dash speed increases significantly, which can be used to defeat powerful enemies or smash through certain walls. In some cases, the supercharge ramp can be combined to an upwards slope, allowing Spyro to make a high-speed jump and cross gaps too large even for a normal jump and glide.
Spyro, however, cannot swim; should the player fall in water, Spyro will quickly sink. While the player is generally able to jump out of the water and back to solid ground, falling in water weakens Spyro the same as being hit by an enemy attack, if he falls in on his last hit, he quickly drowns.
[edit] Sparx
Throughout the game, Spyro is accompanied by a small dragonfly named Sparx. Aside from helping Spyro collect treasure from a distance, Sparx also functions as a sort of living health meter: whenever Spyro is hit by an attack, Sparx changes color to reflect Spyro's weakened condition. If Spyro takes enough damage, Sparx disappears entirely, and Spyro will lose a life if injured again. Spyro can recover health by locating and killing certain small creatures (called fodder) placed throughout a level. After the fodder is killed, a butterfly will appear and Sparx can eat it.
[edit] Enemies
Gnorcs of varying types comprise the majority of Spyro's foes. While Spyro can defeat most enemies with a single attack, many enemies are invulnerable to one form of attack of another; as described to the player by various released dragons, many enemies sport metal shields or plate armor which renders them impervious to Spyro's flame attack (but can be easily defeated with a charge attack), whereas large enemies remain unaffected by Spyro's charge attack, but are vulnerable to Spyro's flame. Less often, an enemy may be both large in size and metal-armored, rendering it invulnerable to all of Spyro's attacks -- although it will generally be possible to defeat the enemy by a different means.
Each world is overseen by an enemy boss, placed in charge of the Gnorcs in the area. While the portal to the boss's level is located near the Balloonist in each world, the player is in fact not required to confront and defeat the boss first. Rather, it is the Balloonist who sets the condition for travelling to the next world, and if Spyro has released enough dragons, collected enough treasure (or so on), the player may proceed to the next world without having to defeat the world's boss first.
[edit] Items
In addition to the Gnorcs, each level includes a large array of items to collect, each of which falls under one of the following categories:
- Dragon Statues. The main objective of the game, scattered throughout each level are a number of dragons frozen in crystal. Once released from this prison, the elder dragon inside will offer Spyro some advice; afterwards, the statue's pedestal serves as a save point as well as a place from which to try again should Spyro later lose a life. Releasing enough dragons is a requirement for entering the realms of the Peace Keepers and the Dream Weavers. There are 80 dragon statues in total
- Gems. The hoard of the dragons' treasure, which Gnasty both ran off with and used to create enemies after he imprisoned the realm's dragons in crystal. Gems come in varying colors and denominations, and may be found lying on the ground, hidden in treasure chests or pots, or recovered by defeating Gnorcs. There are a set number of gems in every realm, and each gem collected counts toward the player's percentage of game completion; collecting enough gems is a requirement for travelling to the realm of the Magic Crafters, as well as the final realm, Gnasty's world.
- Orbs and Extra Lives. Instead of regular gems, Gnorcs may also drop silver orbs after being defeated once. Collecting enough of these orbs (twenty) will reward Spyro with an extra life. Similarly, Spyro can find extra lives directly, in the form of a miniature silver dragon statue, typically hidden inside specific blue chests.
- Fodder and Butterflies. In various locations throughout each level there are small creatures -- such as frogs or sheep -- which scatter when Spyro draws close; these creatures serve as replenishment for Spyro's health. Defeating a fodder creature releases a butterfly, which Sparx eats.
- Dragon Eggs. In addition to gems, blue thieves made off with several of the realm's eggs. The thieves can be found in various levels, each holding a single egg, and can be heard taunting Spyro from a distance. Collecting enough dragon eggs is a requirement for accessing the realm of the Beast Makers, but the thieves must be chased down first.
[edit] Story
In a land known as the Dragon Realms, the elder dragons are preparing for a video documentary of sorts about their realm. Meanwhile, the antagonist Gnasty Gnorc, who had been banished from the realms, becomes upset over comments the dragons make of him. Enraged, Gnasty Gnorc bombards the Dragon Realms with a magical spell, freezing the resident dragons into crystalline statues, and sends an army of Gnorcs in to steal the dragons' treasure.
However, Gnasty somehow missed imprisoning the youngest dragon in the realm, Spyro (who was seen chasing sheep in the background during the dragons' documentary shoot). Realizing who is responsible for the disaster, Spyro sets out to free the realm's dragons, recover their treasure hoard from the invading Gnorcs, and then confront and kill Gnasty Gnorc himself.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Enemy bosses
- Toasty, boss of the Artisan world. What appears to be a scythe-wielding scarecrow is ultimately revealed to be nothing more than a sheep in disguise.
- Doctor Shemp, a witch doctor-like boss of the Peacekeepers' world. He wears sunglasses and thinks he's cool. He is guarded by a number of beserk charging tribal warriors whose eyesight is impaired by metal visors.
- Blowhard, boss of the Magic Crafters' world, and possibly in charge of the wind wizards seen frequently throughout that world.
- Metalhead, boss of the Beast Makers' world. This large metal robot is impervious to all of Spyro's attacks, and thus must be defeated by other means. Attacks include two varieties of electric rays and the hurling of the apelike Beast Maker enemies.
- Jacques, resembling a jack-in-the-box (after which he is named) and the boss of the Dream Weavers' world. Has a tendency to throw boxes as an attack.
- Gnasty Gnorc, the main antagonist and final boss. His main means of attack is firing a green light from his sceptre.
[edit] Homeworlds
There are six Homeworlds in the game. These act as hubs from which Spyro can travel to other levels similar in appearance via numerous portals. In each level there is a set number of gems to obtain and a small number of dragons (with the exception of flight levels). With the exception of Gnorc Gnexus (Gnasty's World), each Homeworld contains five portals to separate levels. These are three standard levels, a boss confrontation and a flight. The names of the levels are listed below the descriptions of each Homeworld.
Artisan. Spyro's home world. The Artisan dragons are tranquil and take a calmer approach to most problems. The Artisan World consists of pleasant countryside and ornate castles.
Peace Keepers. The second world. Peace Keeper Dragons have a "attack first, ask questions later" attitude. Peace Keepers is a dusty desert land (with the exception of Ice Cavern) with frequent tar pits. A number of secret can be found via perilous flights round cliff faces.
Magic Crafters. The third world is filled with landscape that defies the laws of physics. The Magic Crafter Dragons like to use brain, not brawn to keep things in order. The scenery here is that of partially snowy mountain sides. It is here where supercharge ramps are first introduced to the game. These give Spyro a blisteringly fast and powerful charge, and can be used to glide much longer distances.
Beast Makers. A dark swamp turned electrified battlefield. Beast Maker Dragons send others to defend them (but don't mind getting in the battle themselves). Be careful of the native wildlife and electricity loving Gnorcs.
Dream Weavers. A world of wonder and confusion. Dream Weaver Dragons are in charge of keeping and creating dreams, making for an illusion-filled world. Keep your eye out for fairies; help them, and they will return the favor. Dream Weavers consists of numerous inexplicably floating islands high in the air.
Gnorc Gnexus (Gnasty's World in some countries). Gnasty Gnorc's industrial home world. He was banished there long ago and has now turned it into his evil empire. Each level must be unlocked by completing the previous.
[edit] Reaction
Most reviews were favorable and the game was considered to be one of the best games on the PlayStation console. Insomniac Games fans would say that their games were true classics. The game was a best-seller as well. When the sequel (Ripto's Rage) was released, most looked back on the original as the inferior, though the original still has many fans. The main source of negativity in reviews stemmed from the ease of the early levels (some in which the enemies have no means of attack).
[edit] Trivia
- Spyro has made a cameo appearance in Crash Twinsanity and was part of a crossover in Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage and appeared as a playable driver in the handheld game Crash Nitro Kart.
