Spyro (character)

Last updated
Spyro
Spyro character
Spyro.png
Spyro as he appears in the Reignited Trilogy
First appearance Spyro the Dragon (1998)
Created byCraig Stitt [1]
Designed byCharles Zembillas
Voiced by
In-universe information
Species European dragon

Spyro is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the same name video game series, including The Legend of Spyro , and a guest character in the Skylanders series, first appearing in Spyro the Dragon in 1998.

Contents

Spyro is an energetic, young, male, purple dragon. He is known for his ability to defeat enemies by breathing fire and charging at them, and his ability to glide to otherwise unreachable areas in the game world. Spyro is often accompanied by his best friend Sparx, who is a dragonfly.

Spyro was created by Craig Stitt and designed by Charles Zembillas for Insomniac Games, the developers of the first three games in the series. The character has endured in popular culture as a mascot of the PlayStation video game console alongside Crash Bandicoot, having appeared in several games together with him. Both characters were owned by Universal Studios, under the former video game division Universal Interactive and have since become an intellectual property of Activision, through the merger between Vivendi Universal Games and Activision to create Activision Blizzard.

Development

After developing Disruptor , Insomniac president, Ted Price, contacted Zembillas to design a playable dragon character for a video game. Zembillas had previously designed Crash for Naughty Dog, whose offices were just across the hall from Insomniac's at Universal Interactive Studios. [7]

Spyro was originally named "Pete" and colored green during development, but the name was dropped to avoid infringing on the trademark Pete's Dragon , which was owned by The Walt Disney Company. His color was changed to purple so as to avoid blending in with any grassy areas. [7] [8] He was made younger to appeal to children, needing "to be cute, but at the same time, mischievous, bratty, unpredictable, and something of an upstart." [9]

Spyro was given the ability to glide infinitely to give him "something he could do that no other platformer could", making the game's worlds significantly larger and providing more incentive for exploration. According to programmer Peter Hastings, NASA rocket scientist Matt Whiting was hired to program Spyro's controls so that he could move as smoothly as possible. [7]

Price claimed in an interview that Insomniac stopped developing Spyro games after Spyro: Year of the Dragon because Spyro didn’t have hands and therefore his actions were limited. [10]

Voice portrayal

Spyro was originally voiced by Carlos Alazraqui in Spyro the Dragon . [2] Alazraqui explained in an interview with Electronic Gaming Monthly that he tried to make Spyro's voice sound like "a kid at camp that everybody likes." [11]

He was later replaced by Tom Kenny, who has been voicing the character since 1999, beginning with Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! . [3] In later years, he was voiced by Jess Harnell in Spyro: A Hero's Tail ; Elijah Wood in The Legend of Spyro series; Josh Keaton in Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure ; and Matthew Mercer in Skylanders: Imaginators . [4]

In the television series Skylanders Academy , he was voiced by Justin Long. As Dark Spyro, he was voiced by Jason Ritter. [5]

In the Japanese versions of the games, he was voiced by Akiko Yajima, Manabu Ino, and Masahito Kawanago.

Characteristics

Personality and backstory

Spyro originates from the Dragon Kingdom in Spyro the Dragon, and lives in the Artisans homeworld. He is very brash, being eager to defeat the game's villain, Gnasty Gnorc. In Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! and Year of the Dragon, Spyro is more mature and laidback, though he continues to trash talk enemies such as Ripto.

In The Legend of Spyro, which takes place in a different continuity, Spyro was raised by dragonflies alongside Sparx after his egg was lost during an attempt to destroy his brood. He comes from a rare line of purple dragons, who are able to physically harness the power of the four classical elements. Here, Spyro is described as willing to help his friends and strangers with whatever problems they may have, without desire for reward. Spyro is adventurous, curious about his past, and eager to shape his future, in which he is expected to become something of a chieftain. Spyro also has an evil alter ego known as "Dark Spyro", who is stoic, ruthless, and animalistic, and manifests when Spyro is consumed by the "Dark Aether", a force born from negative energies.

In the Skylanders franchise, Spyro is described as strong-willed and young at heart, but has a headstrong and arrogant attitude. Much as in The Legend of Spyro, he comes from a rare line of purple dragons in a faraway land few have ever traveled, and his adventures and heroics were chronicled by the "Portal Masters of Old". He was eventually invited to join the Skylanders by Master Eon and now lives in Skylands, remaining as one of its most valued protectors. [12] Spyro can also become Dark Spyro in Skylanders; this incarnation is in better control of himself and uses the darkness to fight evil, but is always at risk of being consumed by it. [13]

Relationships

Spyro and Sparx have been best friends ever since they were still in eggs. Sparx follows Spyro and acts as his health indicator, and helps him collect treasure scattered throughout the game world. If Sparx disappears, Spyro will be left vulnerable, but Spyro can replenish Sparx by finding butterflies for him to eat, which are usually acquired by attacking smaller animals such as sheep. Spyro generally respects the other dragons, but is impatient with more senior ones and often tries to leave as they are talking.

In Ripto's Rage!, Spyro meets Elora the Faun, Hunter the Cheetah, and a mole known as the Professor, who assist him in various missions. A fairy named Zoe appears to help Spyro save his game progress. In Year of the Dragon, Spyro meets a rabbit sorceress named Bianca, whom he initially distrusts but later becomes his ally and Hunter's girlfriend. Spyro disapproves of their relationship calling it "a sad sight". In Year of the Dragon, Spyro meets Sheila the kangaroo, Sgt. Byrd the flying penguin, Bentley the Yeti, and Agent 9 the laser-wielding monkey, who appear as additional playable characters after Spyro frees them from captivity.

Spyro's most persistent enemy is Ripto, a tyrant who hates dragons. He also has a negative relationship with Moneybags, a bear whom he often has to pay treasure to for goods or services. In Year of the Dragon, Moneybags often suffers abuse at Spyro's behest and is attacked by him for trying to sell a stolen dragon egg. In Spyro: A Hero's Tail , a pink female dragon named Ember has a crush on Spyro, who is not interested.

In The Legend of Spyro, Spyro is Sparx's foster brother. An older "Dragon Guardian" named Ignitus acts as a sort of father figure to him. Spyro develops a strong bond with Cynder, a black female dragon who is at first his enemy but later becomes his love interest.

In the main Skylanders canon, Spyro is good friends with fellow Skylanders Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy, and acts as the Skylanders' leader whenever Master Eon is unavailable. In the Netflix series, Skylanders Academy , Spyro is best friends with Stealth Elf and Eruptor, two fellow cadets who became Skylanders along with him.

Abilities

In most Spyro games, Spyro's main attacks consist of charging with his horns or breathing fire to defeat enemies and destroy treasure chests. Spyro can use his wings to glide, though he needs to utilize certain powerups to be able to fly freely. Spyro can also use powerups that allow him to charge at high speeds and enhance his fire breath, as well as breathe ice, jump to higher places, and become invincible.

In Ripto's Rage!, Spyro learns new abilities from Moneybags in exchange for treasure. These include the ability to swim underwater, where Spyro can charge at enemies, but can only blow bubbles instead of fire. He also learns to climb up certain walls using his claws, and a maneuver called the "headbash", wherein Spyro dives straight downward with his horns. Spyro retains these abilities in later games.

In Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly , in addition to his fire breath, Spyro can collect magic runes that allow him to breathe lightning, ice, and bubbles that he can use to catch lost baby dragonflies. In A Hero's Tail, Spyro rescues fairies that grant him the power to breathe lightning, water, and ice.

In The Legend of Spyro, Spyro can breathe and manipulate fire, ice, electricity, and earth. Once he learns to use all four elements, he can use a fifth energy-based element known as "Aether", which only purple dragons can use. In The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night , Spyro acquires the "Dragon Time" ability, which allows him to slow down time. Spyro can fly infinitely in The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon , having become a teenager, and is also playable as Dark Spyro when consumed by Dark Aether.

In Skylanders, Spyro has the ability to control all of the elements of the world of Skylands but prefers to use fire. He can harness nearby darkness, allowing him to become Dark Spyro.

Other media

Spyro appears in Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy and Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage, where he meets Crash Bandicoot and teams up with him to defeat Ripto and Doctor Neo Cortex, who are trying to take over both of their worlds. Spyro also appears as an unlockable character in the Game Boy Advance version of Crash Nitro Kart , and makes cameo appearances in Crash Twinsanity , Astro's Playroom , [14] and Astro Bot . Additionally, he makes a playable guest appearance in Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled as post-launch downloadable content. [15]

Spyro also appeared as a playable character in Crash Team Rumble , along with Elora and Ripto.

Spyro appears briefly in a commercial for Ty the Tasmanian Tiger alongside Crash and Sonic the Hedgehog. All three are in full body casts in the hospital with boomerangs in their bodies, apparently having been put there by Ty. [16]

Spyro also appears in novels and certain issues of the Skylanders comic book series by IDW Publishing; including his own mini comic series, Spyro & Friends. Furthermore, he is the main protagonist in the animated streaming television series, Skylanders Academy .

Merchandise

Handheld LCD games, themed after Spyro as well as Crash Bandicoot, were packaged in McDonald's Mighty Kids Meals in 2005 to promote A Hero's Tail and Crash Twinsanity. [17] The Legend of Spyro-themed toys were packaged with Wendy's Kids' Meals in 2007 to promote The Eternal Night. [18] Spyro has also appeared in Skylanders-themed plush toys and MEGA Bloks sets. [19]

Spyro-themed figures were released in 2018 by First4Figures and Activision to promote Reignited Trilogy. Merchandise related to the Spyro franchise were released by Numskull alongside the game's launch. [20]

Reception

GameRevolution criticized Spyro's voice in Spyro the Dragon, comparing it negatively to the Taco Bell chihuahua, who was also voiced by Carlos Alazraqui. [2] IGN praised Spyro's design, saying he is "cute but not sickeningly cute", [21] later criticizing him as "just a little bland, and not the kind of mascot that I would ever fall in love with... he's kind of like a blend between a big puppy and a donkey, painted purple." [22] UGO.com listed Spyro on their list of "The Cutest Video Game Characters", stating "The purple little guy was cute, but not cute enough to win the Great Playstation Mascot War of 1998." [23] The 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition lists Spyro as the 39th most popular video game character. [24] In 2012, GamesRadar ranked Spyro, "one of the most relatable mythological creatures of all time", as the 92nd "most memorable, influential, and badass" protagonist in games. [25] In the same year, he was ranked 9th in Complex's "The 25 Most Kickass Dragons in Video Games" list, with writer Obi Anyawu stating Spyro "is truly an original just from his size and color alone." [26] Ravi Sinha of GamingBolt named Spyro on his appearance at Skylanders as 2nd of their "Worst Video Game Character Design", stating that "Cute, innocent, fire-breathing Spyro didn’t deserve his terrible redesign. Beloved by many old-school PlayStation fans, Spyro was brought into Skylanders with much fanfare. His actual design seemed intended to make him more…dragon-like? Instead, it made Spyro look borderline frightening yet still goofy as opposed to, you know, a hero." [27] HobbyConsolas also included Spyro on their "The 30 best heroes of the last 30 years." [28]

Related Research Articles

<i>Spyro</i> Series of platform video games

Spyro is a platform game series originally created by Insomniac Games as an exclusive for Sony's PlayStation console. The series features the adventures of the main protagonist of the title character, a dragon. Since the series' introduction in 1998, there have been numerous sequels and a reboot trilogy. The series was originally produced by Universal Interactive, later became known as Vivendi Games; the rights to the intellectual property were acquired by Activision after its merge with Vivendi in 2008.

<i>Spyro the Dragon</i> 1998 video game

Spyro the Dragon is a 1998 platform game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. The first game in the Spyro series, it stars the title character, a young purple dragon named Spyro, and his dragonfly friend, Sparx, who must journey across the Dragon Kingdom to defeat Gnasty Gnorc, who has overtaken the five dragon Homeworlds by trapping the other dragons in crystal and turning their hoard of gems into an army of minions. Spyro the Dragon is an open-ended 3D platformer, featuring large, sprawling levels in which the player must locate collectable items, among which are gemstones, crystallized dragons, and stolen dragon eggs. Spyro's abilities as a dragon include fire breath, a head-on charging attack, and a mid-air glide which he can use to scale large distances, all of which must be used strategically to find items and defeat enemies.

<i>Spyro 2: Riptos Rage!</i> 1999 video game

Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!, known as Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer in PAL regions, is a 1999 platform game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the second game in the main Spyro series. A remake was released as part of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy in 2018.

<i>Spyro: Year of the Dragon</i> 2000 video game

Spyro: Year of the Dragon is a 2000 platform game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation video game console. The third game in the Spyro series, Year of the Dragon follows the adventures of the titular purple dragon. After an evil sorceress steals magical dragon eggs from the land of the dragons, Spyro travels to the "Forgotten Realms" to retrieve them. Players travel across different worlds gathering gems and eggs, defeating enemies, and playing minigames. Year of the Dragon introduced new characters and minigames to the series, as well as offering improved graphics and music.

Toys for Bob, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Novato, California. It was founded in 1989 by Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford and is best known for creating Star Control and the Skylanders franchise, as well as for working on the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro franchises.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crash Bandicoot (character)</span> Fictional video game character

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<i>Crash Bandicoot</i> Video game franchise

Crash Bandicoot is a video game franchise originally developed by Naughty Dog as an exclusive for Sony's PlayStation console. It has seen numerous installments created by various developers and published on multiple platforms. The series consists predominantly of platform games, but also includes spin-offs in the kart racing and party game genres. The series was originally produced by Universal Interactive, which later became known as Vivendi Games; in 2008, Vivendi merged with Activision, which currently owns and publishes the franchise.

<i>The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning</i> 2006 video game

The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning is a 2006 action-adventure video game in the Spyro series. It is the first installment in The Legend of Spyro trilogy. The game was released for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and mobile.

<i>The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon</i> 2008 video game

The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon is a 2008 action-adventure video game in the Spyro series. It is the third and final installment in The Legend of Spyro trilogy and the sequel to The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night (2007), marking the tenth anniversary of the game series. The game was released for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and mobile.

The Legend of Spyro is a game trilogy that is part of the Spyro series. It acts as a reboot to the original series. The games use a combination of close-combat and platforming gameplay, though more oriented on combat than previous games in the Spyro series. The story revolves around Spyro, the protagonist, and his efforts to stop Malefor, the Dark Master, from escaping his ancient imprisonment to bring about an armageddon upon the world.

<i>Crash Bandicoot Purple</i> and <i>Spyro Orange</i> 2004 video game

Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage and Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy are two platform games published by Vivendi Universal Games. The games are developed by Vicarious Visions for the Game Boy Advance. They were released in North America on June 3, 2004, and in Europe on June 25, 2004 under the names Crash Bandicoot Fusion and Spyro Fusion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctor Neo Cortex</span> Character from the Crash Bandicoot series

Doctor Neo Periwinkle Cortex is a character and the main antagonist of the Crash Bandicoot video game series. He has appeared in every mainline game in the series as Crash Bandicoot's archenemy, as well as a playable character in several spin-off titles. Cortex is an egomaniacal mad scientist who seeks to achieve world domination with the use of the Evolvo-Ray, a machine capable of creating genetically enhanced soldiers from ordinary animals. Crash was one such subject but thwarted the scientist's plot; Cortex is subsequently determined to eliminate Crash as an obstacle to world domination.

<i>Skylanders: Spyros Adventure</i> 2011 video game

Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure is a 3D action-adventure platform game and the first video game in the Skylanders series. It is played using with toy figures that interact with it through a "Portal of Power" that reads their tag through NFC.

<i>Skylanders</i> Video game series

Skylanders is a toys-to-life action-adventure video game franchise published by Activision. Skylanders games are played by placing a character's figure on the "Portal of Power", a device that reads its tag using NFC and "imports" them into the game as a playable character, leveling them up and saving its progress on the figure to potentially be used on a different game with its saved stats. Skylander figures are sold separately from the game itself unless you buy the starter pack. Typically, the starter pack for each game contains two or more Skylanders, a Portal of Power, the game disc and sometimes something else to show off the game's newest feature.

<i>Skylanders: SuperChargers</i> 2015 video game

Skylanders: SuperChargers is a role-playing platform video game and the fifth installment of the Skylanders series. It was developed by Vicarious Visions and Beenox and published by Activision. It was released on September 20, 2015, for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and was released on October 25, 2015, for iOS. Skylanders: SuperChargers Racing was released as a standalone title for Wii and the Nintendo 3DS on the same date, and focuses on racing. A sequel, Skylanders: Imaginators, was released in October 2016.

<i>Skylanders Academy</i> Animated web television series

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<i>Skylanders: Imaginators</i> 2016 video game

Skylanders: Imaginators is a 2016 toys-to-life 3D platform game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Activision. It is the sixth installment of the Skylanders series, a successor to Skylanders: SuperChargers, and was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It allows players to create their own characters, known as Imaginators. The game received generally positive reviews, but its sales were below Activision's expectations. It is the sixth and most recent Skylanders game released on consoles, as the franchise went into hiatus after its release.

<i>Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy</i> 2017 video game

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is a 2017 platform game compilation developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Activision. It includes remasters of the first three games in the Crash Bandicoot series: Crash Bandicoot (1996), Cortex Strikes Back (1997), and Warped (1998); which were originally developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation. Initially released for the PlayStation 4, it was later ported to Nintendo Switch, Windows, and Xbox One in 2018.

<i>Spyro Reignited Trilogy</i> 2018 video game

Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a 2018 platform game compilation developed by Toys for Bob and published by Activision. It includes remakes of the first three games in the Spyro series: Spyro the Dragon (1998), Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! (1999), and Spyro: Year of the Dragon (2000). Reignited was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2018, while Nintendo Switch and Windows versions were released in September 2019. The collection received positive reviews from critics and has sold over 10 million units as of September 2023.

References

  1. ↑ The Making of Spyro the Dragon (From PlayStation Underground) on YouTube
  2. 1 2 3 Dick, Kevin (1999-03-04). "Spyro the Dragon - PS". GameRevolution. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  3. 1 2 "The 'Spyro Reignited Trilogy' looks, sounds and plays just like you remember it". Newsweek . 23 July 2018.
  4. 1 2 Matthew Mercer [@matthewmercer] (14 October 2016). "I see that Skylanders: Imaginators just released! I am pleased to be voicing the purple dragon himself, Spyro! #SkylandersImaginators" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. 1 2 "Activision Blizzard Launches Activision Blizzard Studios to Create Original Film and TV Content Based on Iconic, Globally-Recognized Franchises". BusinessWire.com. 2015-11-06.
  6. ↑ "海外アニメ『スカイランダーズ・アカデミー』Netflixにて配信中 川中子雅人、水越健 出演". production-ace.co.jp. October 2016. Archived from the original on 2018-09-29. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
  7. 1 2 3 "Behind the scenes of Spyro The Dragon". gamesTM. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017.
  8. ↑ John Fiorito, Craig Stitt (May 2, 2000). "Gamasutra - Features - Lessons in Color Theory for Spyro the Dragon". Gamasutra.
  9. ↑ "The Origin of Spyro - Preliminary Concept Designs". Theanimationacademy.com. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  10. ↑ Chris Buffa (September 30, 2008). "Resistance 2 on PlayStation 3 Features - GameDaily". GameDaily. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008.
  11. ↑ Boyer, Crispin (October 1998). "Spyro the Dragon". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 111. Lombard, Illinois: Ziff Davis. pp. 122–123.
  12. ↑ Skylanders: Spyro Character First Edition
  13. ↑ Skylanders Dark Spyro Character
  14. ↑ "Every cameraman reference in Astro's Playroom". Gamepur. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  15. ↑ Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled Gets Spyro, New Tracks in Post-Launch DLC - E3 2019
  16. ↑ "Ty The Tasmanian Tiger Tv Commercial Trailer 2002" on YouTube
  17. ↑ "Crash & Spyro McDonald's Happy Meal ad 2005 (US)" on YouTube
  18. ↑ Dobson, Jason (October 12, 2007). "Random Spyro toys invade Wendy's kids meals". Joystiq. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  19. ↑ Tyler, Lewis (2012-05-31). "Mega Brands announces Skylanders Giants deal". Licensing.biz. Archived from the original on 2013-07-29. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  20. ↑ Spyro Reignited Trilogy Merchandise Revealed - IGN, 14 August 2018, retrieved 2020-06-03
  21. ↑ IGN Staff (July 16, 1999). "The Greatest PlayStation Games Ever: 3D Platformers - PSX Feature at IGN". IGN.
  22. ↑ Doug Perry (November 19, 1999). "Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage - PlayStation Review at IGN". IGN.
  23. ↑ Chris Littler (October 12, 2010). "The Cutest Video Game Characters - UGO.com". UGO.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
  24. ↑ "Top 50 video game characters of all time announced in Guinness World Records 2011 Gamer's Edition". Gamasutra . Think Services. February 16, 2011. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  25. ↑ "100 best heroes in video games". GamesRadar . Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  26. ↑ Anyawu, Obi (February 3, 2012). "The 25 Most Kickass Dragons in Video Games". Complex . Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Worst Video Game Character Designs That Were Totally Disliked By Gamers". GamingBolt. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  28. ↑ Herranz, Sonia (2021-03-01). "Los 30 mejores héroes de los últimos 30 años". Hobbyconsolas (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-01-06.
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