Spyro Reignited Trilogy

Last updated

Spyro Reignited Trilogy
Spyro Reignited Trilogy.png
Developer(s) Toys for Bob [lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s) Activision
Director(s) Dan Neil
Designer(s)
  • Toby Schadt
  • Ray West
Programmer(s) Brent Hostrawser
Artist(s)
  • Amber Long
  • Josh Nadelberg
Composer(s) Stewart Copeland [lower-alpha 2]
Series Spyro
Engine Unreal Engine 4
Platform(s)
Release
  • PlayStation 4, Xbox One
  • November 13, 2018
  • Switch, Windows
  • September 3, 2019
Genre(s) Platform, action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

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.

Contents

Gameplay

Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a remake of the original Spyro trilogy developed by Insomniac Games for the PlayStation: Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!, and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. Each game is a 3D platformer featuring the titular protagonist, a juvenile purple dragon named Spyro, as he attempts to restore peace in a set of worlds specific to each game by vanquishing enemies. Spyro's sidekick, a dragonfly named Sparx, acts as an indicator of his health, defending him from a limited number of enemy attacks. Additionally, the games feature a number of collectibles which must be acquired to make progress such as gems, which also act as currency, and dragon eggs.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy attempts to mostly remain faithful to the gameplay of the original games. Each level is designed to match the size and layout of the levels in the originals. [1] A few features included only in one or two of the original trilogy were unified across all three games in Reignited, such as the addition of "skill points" in the first game, or Spyro's ability to roll from side-to-side in later installments.

The remake also made a few changes to content in the originals that was no longer considered appropriate. Some enemies in the first game, for example, wielded semi-automatic weapons that shot bullets in the original PlayStation version of the game; they shoot a gunge-like substance in the Reignited version. Additionally, a genie character in Ripto's Rage! had its name changed from "Bombo" to "Bob the Flagkeeper" to avoid referencing a stereotype of Arabs and Muslims common since before the publication of the original game. [1]

Development and release

A comparison between the first hub world of the original game (above) and the Reignited Trilogy version (below) SpyroReignitedTrilogy Comparison.jpg
A comparison between the first hub world of the original game (above) and the Reignited Trilogy version (below)

Discussions around the revival of Spyro the Dragon began as early as 2014. In July 2014, now former Sony Computer Entertainment chairman Andrew House stated that his team was considering bringing Spyro back, adding that he believed longtime fans would be interested in revisiting a character from their youth. [2] Later that same year, Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price also stated that making a new Spyro game was a possibility. [3] In 2017, developer Vicarious Visions stated that they were aware of how high the popular demand was for a revival of the classic Spyro trilogy following the release of their previous remake, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy . [4]

The realization of Spyro remakes was originally teased in April 2018 when several media outlets received a package with a purple egg from someone under the alias "Falcon McBob". The Reignited Trilogy was officially revealed a few days later on April 5, 2018. After initially being scheduled for release on September 21, 2018, it was delayed and released on November 13 of the same year. [5] [6] [7] The physical release of Reignited Trilogy contains the full game of Spyro the Dragon, as well as a subset of levels from Ripto's Rage! and Year of the Dragon. The remaining data must be downloaded as part of an in-game update. Later prints of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions contain all three games without a requirement for a download. [8] [9] At E3 2019, versions for Nintendo Switch and Windows were announced and were released on September 3, 2019. [10] [11]

Unlike the N. Sane Trilogy, development of Reignited Trilogy was a more collaborative effort between Toys for Bob and Insomniac Games. In the early planning stages, the staff from Toys for Bob brought their concept sketches of the titular character to the original team and held several discussions on how the character should look, with especially strong input from Ted Price. One of the key goals of the Reignited Trilogy, according to art director Josh Nadelberg, was to "get Spyro right". This involved putting Spyro's model through rigorous stress tests to explore the range of emotions and expressions that could be yielded before and after the discussions with Insomniac staff. Because Insomniac Games could not provide source code or original assets to use as a reference, Toys for Bob utilized an in-house emulation tool called "Spyro-scope" which showed the schematics of a level's geometry and revealed patterns in enemy pathfinding. [1] [12]

Tom Kenny, who voiced Spyro the Dragon in the original Ripto's Rage and Year of the Dragon, reprised his role in Spyro Reignited Trilogy after 16 years with re-recorded voice lines, including the first game in which Spyro was originally voiced by Carlos Alazraqui. [13] [14] [15] Stewart Copeland, the music composer of the original trilogy, wrote a new theme for the compilation with the original scores being arranged by Toys for Bob employee Stephan Vankov. [16] [17] [18] The game gives the option to freely choose between the two soundtracks. Controls were updated for modern platforms in several ways, such as shooting fire set to the back right button and camera control set to the right analog stick, with an option to revert to the original control scheme at any point from the pause menu. Reignited Trilogy uses the Unreal Engine 4 game engine. [19] The game also received development assistance from Sanzaru Games, whose previous works include The Sly Collection and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time , in developing the alternate gameplay styles in Year of the Dragon.

Reception

Spyro Reignited Trilogy received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic. [20] [21] [22] [23] Multiple aspects of the game were praised, such as the upgraded visuals, attention to detail, and faithfulness to the original trilogy. Jonathon Dornbush of IGN praised the game's attention to detail, noting both the level design, with "gorgeous horizons" and layouts "pristine and accurate to the original", and character upgrades, such as non-playable characters exhibiting more unique and expressive personalities. [30] Mitch Wallace of Forbes similarly highlighted the game's detail, calling the levels "childlike fantasy made playable", while also praising Toys for Bob's ability to faithfully recreate the games despite not having access to the original source code. [31] Chris Moyse of Destructoid commended the game's soundtrack for its rerecording, "dynamic" aspect in which tempo adjusted to match Spyro's activity, and the option to switch to the original recordings. [24]

The game was criticized for issues such as long loading times, glitches, and frame-rate. Wallace noted all of these aspects, calling the loading times in particular "a tad unacceptable" for being "slightly longer" than those of the original games, despite being produced two decades later for more advanced consoles. [31] Moyse noted that the game, in remaining faithful, retained some of the original games' flaws, particularly the overall "bland" and linear objectives. [24] Jeremy Winslow of Slant reiterated that criticism, calling Ripto's Rage and Year of the Dragon "mere reskins" of the first game, while also chiding the game's inconsistent frame-rate and "slippery" controls. [32]

Sales

Publisher Activision stated Spyro Reignited Trilogy "performed well" in its initial release. [33] In the UK, the game reached first place on the all-formats sales chart in its first week; while it sold less than Pokémon: Let's Go , it outsold both its Pikachu and Eevee versions individually. [34] It placed at the sixth position in the Switzerland all-format charts. [35] It was also the best-selling PlayStation 4 game in its first week in Australia. [36]

As of September 2023, Spyro Reignited Trilogy has sold over 10 million units. [37]

Awards

Spyro Reignited Trilogy won the award for "Family/Kids Title of the Year" at the Australian Games Awards, [38] and was nominated for the Freedom Tower Award for Best Remake at the New York Game Awards, [39] and for "People's Choice" at the Italian Video Game Awards. [40]

Notes

  1. The original games were developed by Insomniac Games. Sanzaru Games led the development of the Spyro: Year of the Dragon remake. The Windows port was handled by Iron Galaxy.
  2. Arranged by Stephan Vankov

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Kenny</span> American actor (born 1962)

Thomas James Kenny is an American actor and comedian. Since 1999, he has gained worldwide recognition for voicing the titular character in SpongeBob SquarePants and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in Rocko's Modern Life, the Ice King in Adventure Time and its spinoff Fionna and Cake, the Narrator and Mayor in The Powerpuff Girls, Carl Chryniszzswics in Johnny Bravo, Dog in CatDog, Hank and Jeremy in Talking Tom and Friends, The Penguin in various animated media based on DC Comics, and Spyro from the Spyro video game series. His live action work includes the comedy variety shows The Edge and Mr. Show. Kenny's accolades include two Daytime Emmy Awards and two Annie Awards for his voice work as SpongeBob SquarePants and the Ice King. He is married to fellow voice artist Jill Talley, who plays Karen on SpongeBob SquarePants, with two children.

Insomniac Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Burbank, California and part of PlayStation Studios. It was founded in 1994 by Ted Price as Xtreme Software, and was renamed Insomniac Games a year later. The company is most known for developing several early PlayStation mascots, Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet and Clank, as well as the Resistance franchise, 2014's Sunset Overdrive and the Marvel's Spider-Man series with Marvel Games. In 2019, the studio was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment, becoming a part of SIE Worldwide Studios.

<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: Enter the Dragonfly</i> 2002 video game

Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly is a 2002 platform game developed by Equinoxe Digital Entertainment and Check Six Studios for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube, and published by Universal Interactive. It is the fourth console game in the Spyro series and the sixth overall, being the first for either of its consoles and the first main entry to not be developed by Insomniac Games.

<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.

<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">Spyro (character)</span> Video game character

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Interactive</span> Defunct American video game publisher

Universal Interactive was an American video game publisher. The company was established on January 4, 1994, and led by Skip Paul and Robert Biniaz of MCA. It was best known for producing the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro platform game franchises.

<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 all 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>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>Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled</i> 2019 video game

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is a 2019 kart racing game developed by Beenox and published by Activision. The game is a remastered version of Crash Team Racing (1999), which was originally developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation in 1999, and focuses on players using one of several characters from the Crash Bandicoot series to tackle races, each of which includes power-ups to help with combatting opponents. The game includes additional content from Crash Nitro Kart (2003) and Crash Tag Team Racing (2005), alongside adjustments to the original gameplay, including kart customization, two adventure mode variations, and an in-game shop.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Spyro: Reigniting a Legend Panel at San Diego Comic Con 2018 (Video). YouTube. Spyro The Dragon. July 30, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  2. Williams, Rhiannon (June 12, 2014). "'Bring back Crash Bandicoot? I definitely wouldn't close the door on that'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  3. Karmali, Luke (September 4, 2019). "Insomniac Boss on the future of Spyro the Dragon". IGN. Archived from the original on September 26, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  4. Hood, Vic (August 4, 2017). "Crash Bandcoot N.Sane Trilogy did the business for Activision - and now everyone wants a Spyro remake next". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  5. Wallace, Mitch (April 5, 2018). "'Spyro Reignited Trilogy' Officially Glides Onto PS4 And Xbox One This September". Forbes . Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  6. Makuch, Eddie (August 16, 2018). "Spyro Reignited Trilogy Delayed For PS4 And Xbox One". GameSpot . Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  7. Dornbush, Jonathon (August 16, 2018). "Spyro Reignited Trilogy Release Date Delayed to November". IGN . Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  8. Good, Owen S. (August 2, 2018). "Spyro Reignited Trilogy physical copies only have the first game on disc (update)". Polygon . Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  9. Dornbush, Jonathon (October 29, 2018). "Activision Clarifies Spyro Reignited Trilogy Download Requirements". IGN . Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  10. Dayus, Oscar (June 15, 2019). "E3 2019: Spyro Reignited Trilogy Coming To Nintendo Switch This Year". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  11. Chalk, Andy (June 10, 2019). "Spyro Reignited Trilogy confirmed for PC". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  12. Spyro Reignited Trilogy Devs on Remastering Classics. IGN . April 5, 2018. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  13. Dayus, Oscar (June 12, 2018). "E3 2018: Spyro Reignited Trilogy's First Gameplay Revealed, And It Looks Gorgeous". GameSpot . Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  14. Kelly, Kevin (April 5, 2018). "Spyro the Dragon is Back in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy". Activision . Archived from the original on April 6, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  15. Makuch, Eddie (April 6, 2018). "Spyro Reignited Trilogy For PS4 And Xbox One Announced [date mislabeled as "June 11, 2018"]". GameSpot . Archived from the original on April 6, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  16. Fogel, Stefanie (July 19, 2018). "The Police's Copeland Composes New 'Spyro' Main Theme". Variety . Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  17. Fekete, Bob (July 19, 2018). "'Spyro Reignited Trilogy' Features Original Music, New Song From Stewart Copeland". Newsweek . Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  18. Tailby, Stephen (November 1, 2018). "Spyro: Reignited Trilogy Soundtrack Has Original Composer Stewart Copeland's Blessing". Push Square. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  19. Harradence, Mike (November 20, 2018). "Activision responds to Spyro Reignited Trilogy's lack of cutscene subtitles". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  20. 1 2 "Spyro Reignited Trilogy for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  21. 1 2 "Spyro Reignited Trilogy for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  22. 1 2 "Spyro Reignited Trilogy for Nintendo Switch Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  23. 1 2 "Spyro Reignited Trilogy for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on November 29, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  24. 1 2 3 Moyse, Chris (November 24, 2018). "Review: Spyro Reignited Trilogy". destructoid.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  25. Slead, Evan (November 15, 2018). "Spyro Reignited Trilogy review". Electronic Gaming Monthly . Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  26. Reiner, Andrew (November 12, 2018). "Spyro Reignited Trilogy". Game Informer . Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  27. Leri, Michael (November 19, 2018). "Spyro Reignited Trilogy Review – Still a Gem". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  28. Clark, Justin (November 13, 2018). "Spyro Reignited Trilogy Review - Fan The Flames". GameSpot . Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  29. Prell, Sam (November 13, 2018). "Spyro Reignited Review: "A Joyous Trip Down Memory Lane Well Worth Taking"". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  30. 1 2 Dornbush, Jonathon (November 12, 2018). "Spyro Reignited Trilogy Review". ign.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  31. 1 2 Wallace, Mitch (November 13, 2018). "'Spyro Reignited Trilogy' Review: Keeper Of The Flame". forbes.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  32. Winslow, Jeremy (November 19, 2018). "Review: Spyro Reignited Trilogy". Slant Magazine . Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  33. Harradence, Mike (February 13, 2019). "Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy sales top 10 million". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  34. Dring, Christopher (November 18, 2018). "Pokémon and Spyro top hyper competitive week at UK games retail". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  35. "PLATTFORMÜBERGREIFEND" [Cross-platform]. GameChartz.ch. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  36. PlayStation Australia [@PlayStationAU] (November 22, 2018). "#spyro reigns supreme" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2019 via Twitter.
  37. Tailby, Stephen (September 4, 2023). "Spyro Reignited Trilogy Glides Past 10 Million Sales as Series Turns 25". Push Square. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  38. "Your 2018 Winners". Australian Games Awards. December 19, 2018. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  39. Keyes, Rob (January 3, 2019). "2018 New York Game Awards Nominees Revealed". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  40. "Italian Video Game Awards Nominees and Winners". Italian Video Game Awards. April 11, 2019. Archived from the original on February 26, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2019.