Spyro the Dragon

Last updated

Spyro the Dragon
Spyro the Dragon.jpg
Promotional artwork, featuring the titular protagonist Spyro
Developer(s) Insomniac Games
Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment
Producer(s) Michael John
Artist(s) Charles Zembillas
Writer(s) Peter Kleiner
Composer(s) Stewart Copeland
Series Spyro
Platform(s) PlayStation
Release
  • NA: September 9, 1998
  • EU: October 23, 1998
Genre(s) Platform, action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

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.

Contents

Spyro the Dragon started development following the release of Insomniac's debut game, Disruptor , which sold poorly but was generally praised by critics, impressing Universal Interactive enough to encourage them to make a second game. Artist Craig Stitt suggested a game about a dragon, and work began on a new game. Taking inspiration from the film Dragonheart , the game started out as a more mature title with a dark and realistic approach, but the direction was shifted to have a more whimsical and light-hearted tone to appeal to a wider market of consumers. The game was one of the first on the PlayStation to utilize shifting levels of detail among rendered objects, thanks to a panoramic engine developed by Alex Hastings which allowed the game's open-ended nature to be fully realized. Stewart Copeland, the former drummer for The Police, composed the game's music, and the titular character was voice acted by Carlos Alazraqui, alongside additional voices done by Clancy Brown, Michael Gough and Jamie Alcroft.

Spyro the Dragon was released by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of a general effort to reach out to a younger age demographic and compete with the more popular children's platform, the Nintendo 64. Although sales were initially sluggish, it found larger success following the advent of the 1998 holiday season and went on to sell nearly five million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling PlayStation games. Critics praised the game's graphics and gameplay, while some noted its low difficulty level. The game established Spyro as a well-known platforming mascot on the PlayStation alongside Crash Bandicoot, and two sequels, titled Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon , were later released for the PlayStation in 1999 and 2000, respectively. Although Insomniac gave up the development rights to the Spyro series following the third game, the success of the PlayStation titles lent itself to a continued series of games across various platforms. The game, alongside its two successors, was later remade as part of Spyro Reignited Trilogy in 2018.

Gameplay

Gameplay on a Sony PlayStation showing Spyro and his companion Sparx in the first boss level "Toasty". Spyro ingame psx.jpg
Gameplay on a Sony PlayStation showing Spyro and his companion Sparx in the first boss level "Toasty".

Spyro the Dragon is a 3D platform game; [1] the player controls the titular character as he ventures across the realms of the Dragon World to defeat the antagonistic Gnasty Gnorc, as well as rescue his fellow dragons and recover all of their stolen treasure. [2] Worlds consist of six dragon "home worlds", [1] each of which acts as a dedicated hub, containing portals that serve as gateways to different levels. [2] The player must progress from one Homeworld to the next by talking to a balloonist, who transports Spyro to the next world on a hot air balloon after the player has found the required collectibles in the current given world. [2] In addition to regular platforming stages, each Homeworld contains a boss fight [3] and a hidden flight stage that involves flying throughout an environment and destroying a number of objects. [1]

The levels in Spyro the Dragon are open-ended, and they revolve around exploring and obtaining various collectible items to progress in the game. [4] Each stage contains a number of crystallized dragons, whom Spyro must turn back to normal by locating and stepping on their statue bases. These dragons give the player advice on how to progress through the game, as well as their respective locations acting as save points after the dragon has been freed. [2] Another important collectible in the game is the dragons' stolen treasure, which is dispersed throughout each level in the form of multicolored gemstones. These gems are located in numerous different places, including inside enemies, breakable boxes, and treasure chests, and most stages contain a set amount of treasure to be found. [2] There are also stolen dragon eggs that must be reclaimed by chasing and defeating thieves. [2] Finding every collectible in the game unlocks an additional world that otherwise cannot be accessed. [5]

Spyro has two main offensive moves, which are used to attack enemies as well as destroy certain objects: charging, in which Spyro sprints forward and rams into things with his head, and breathing fire. These attacks must be used appropriately for certain enemies and situations; for instance, some enemies carry fireproof metal armor, meaning that they can only be defeated by charging, while larger enemies can only be hit using fire breath, as they will immediately crush Spyro otherwise. [2] Spyro can also use his wings to glide in midair, letting him travel further distances in the air and access areas otherwise unreachable via a regular jump. [5] [6] Throughout the game, Spyro is accompanied by Sparx, a yellow dragonfly who protects Spyro from taking damage and serves as the player's system of health. Sparx's current health is represented by the color of his body; if Spyro is hurt by an obstacle, such as an enemy or by touching water, Sparx changes colors, with yellow, blue and green representing different subsequent amounts of withheld damage. If the player is damaged too many times, Sparx disappears, leaving Spyro vulnerable to losing a life if he is hurt again. Sparx can be rejuvenated by consuming butterflies, which are found by killing passive creatures such as sheep that roam throughout most levels. [7] Sparx also helps Spyro collect items by retrieving any gems that Spyro passes by. [2]

Plot

In the world of dragons, the Dragon Kingdom consists of five Homeworlds – the Artisans, the Peace Keepers, the Magic Crafters, the Beast Makers, and the Dream Weavers – which have lived in harmony for many years. [8] One day, a TV interview with a pair of dragons from the Artisan realm catches the attention of Gnasty Gnorc, a powerful gnorc (half gnome and half orc) who was banished from the kingdom due to his abrasive demeanor and sent to an abandoned junkyard, which he renames to "Gnasty's World". [7] [8] The dragons' openly dismissive and derisive commentary concerning Gnasty enrages him, driving him to unleash a full-fledged attack on the kingdom. Using his magic, he casts a spell across the land that encases every dragon in a crystal shell; he also steals the dragons' prized collection of treasure, turning the gemstones into devious gnorc soldiers and other creatures to help him take over the dragon worlds. [7] Spyro, a young purple dragon, is the only dragon that manages to avoid getting crystallized by the attack. Aided by his dragonfly companion, Sparx, Spyro eagerly sets out to locate and defeat Gnasty. [8]

Spyro visits each of the dragon homeworlds, defeating Gnasty's forces who have been set out to stop him. Along the way, he frees the crystallized dragons, who give him advice and urge him to recover any stolen treasure and dragon eggs along the way. He eventually makes his way to Gnasty's World, where he finally confronts and defeats Gnasty. After Spyro's quest is over, he has access to Gnasty's treasure portal, which can only be opened if Spyro rescues every dragon in the kingdom and recovers all of the dragons' treasure and retrieves the stolen dragon eggs. A secret ending can then be unlocked by retrieving everything inside of the treasure portal. In this ending, Spyro is seen getting interviewed on TV when another spell is placed on the dragons, prompting Spyro to set out on yet another adventure.

Development

Concept

Spyro the Dragon was the second game developed by Insomniac Games, [4] following the release of their first game, Disruptor, in December 1996. Although Disruptor was a commercial failure, its positive critical reception was enough to impress Universal Interactive Studios and encourage the team to continue with their next endeavor. [9] The idea of a game about a dragon was introduced by Insomniac artist Craig Stitt, who suggested the concept out of his own interest in the mythical creature. [10] Initially, the game's tone was far darker and more realistic; according to Insomniac's COO, John Fiorito, who joined the company in 1997 during Spyro's development, inspiration was taken in part from the film DragonHeart , and the game was initially "realistic and kind of dark and gritty" before it eventually took a more whimsical, light-hearted direction. [11] Mark Cerny, an executive at Universal Interactive Studios and the game's producer, [12] advised that the team create a game with more mass market appeal, as the demographics of the PlayStation were decreasing and its selection of children's titles were greatly outnumbered by the Nintendo 64's. [9] [11]

According to programmer Peter Hastings, the dragon character was originally going to be named "Pete", but due to copyright concerns over similarities to the Disney film Pete's Dragon , the name was scrapped. After considering the name "Pyro," which was ultimately considered "too mature", they finally settled on "Spyro". [13] In-game dialogue was written by Peter Kleiner, and Spyro's character was designed by Charles Zembillas, who had previously done design work on Crash Bandicoot . [12] [14] Spyro was originally going to be green, but the developers worried he would blend in with grass, so they eventually changed him to purple. [15] During development of Spyro, Insomniac had a very close relationship with Crash Bandicoot creator and fellow PlayStation developer Naughty Dog, who had their office located directly across the hall from theirs. The two developers frequently worked together, playing early builds of each other's games and later sharing game technology. As a result, a demo of Crash Bandicoot: Warped was hidden in Spyro, and vice versa. [13]

Design

Spyro the Dragon was unique compared to other 3D platform games of the time; Spyro's ability to glide allowed him to travel long distances in the air, meaning that the player could cross almost an entire level if starting from a high enough point. While this made designing levels more difficult for the team, it also meant that levels could be made more open-ended and explorative in nature. To make Spyro’s controls feel fluid, Matt Whiting—a NASA engineer who specialized in flight controls—was brought on to help with programming camera movement as well Spyro's movement controls. The game's camera was particularly challenging; initially, it always followed directly behind Spyro, but the resulting high-speed movements were found to make several playtesters feel nauseous. This was most evident with Spyro's basic jump, which triggered the camera to quickly tilt up and down, compared by Whiting to the motion of a rocking boat; this was ultimately tweaked so that the camera would stay steady. [13] Spyro was coded with efficiency in mind, as 3D rendering technology was new at the time and the game had to fit the limited specifications of the PlayStation. Around 80% of the game's code was written using Assembly, while other parts were programmed in C due to its simplicity and speed. [13]

Graphics

Spyro the Dragon made use of a 3D panoramic engine, developed by Alex Hastings, that could display far-away objects by utilizing varying levels of detail, a method of rendering which was new and unexplored at the time. The developers believed that the engine would be fitting for the game, as it could allow for more expansive levels that could take advantage of the character's abilities, such as gliding. [11] This dynamic system, used to complement the large and sprawling environments, generated two different versions of a level; one version rendered in high detail and the other a simpler, textureless render. Objects in the player's vicinity were drawn using the detailed render, whereas distant ones were drawn from the simple render. This system allowed objects to be displayed from far distances while adhering to the PlayStation's limited RAM capabilities; it was one of the first video games to make use of such a system. [13] [10]

The game made extensive use of vertex shading to colour objects and provide light and shade- with the smooth skies entirely reliant on the technique to depict clouds and other distant details without the use of textures. Base textures were intentionally kept relatively desaturated so as to prevent them from becoming oversaturated with use of the technique. [16]

Audio

Stewart Copeland in 2006 Stewart copland01 flickr.jpg
Stewart Copeland in 2006

The game's music was composed and produced by Stewart Copeland, formerly the drummer for the British band The Police. Copeland was given early builds of the game's levels, which he played through to get a feel for them and come up with a fitting composition. [17] He was also given game cheats such as invincibility so that he could have an easier time clearing levels. Copeland wrote four songs per day, all of which he further developed and polished the next day. [13] According to Copeland, each song in the game was written to correspond to a specific level, but this correlation ultimately went unused. [17] Copeland has looked back positively on his work on Spyro, calling the game's music some of his best compositions. [13]

Carlos Alazraqui provided the voice of Spyro in the game, and additional voices were done by Clancy Brown, Michael Gough, Jamie Alcroft and Michael Connor. Alazraqui explained in an issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly that he tried to make Spyro's voice sound like "a kid at camp that everybody likes." [18] Alazraqui did not continue in this role after the first game, being replaced by Tom Kenny for the sequels. [19]

Release

Spyro the Dragon was first unveiled at the 1998 E3 convention in Atlanta, Georgia. [7] It was then later released in North America on September 9, 1998, and in Europe on October 23 of the same year. [20] [21] According to Sony Computer Entertainment's American Marketing Vice President, Andrew House, at a press party in Las Vegas, the game, along with other upcoming 4th quarter PlayStation releases such as Crash Bandicoot: Warped, A Bug's Life , and Rugrats: Search for Reptar , was part of a general effort to appeal to a wider demographic of younger audiences and provide more games suited for younger players to compete with the Nintendo 64, which had a far larger library of children's titles at the time compared to the PlayStation's largely adult-centric demographic. [22] An advertisement campaign was pushed to promote the game, featuring a character from the game, Toasty the Sheep, protesting against the title character's actions against sheep. The campaign included TV commercials, featuring an actor in an animatronic costume of Toasty, and a promotional website, sheepagainstspyro.com. [23] On August 16, 1999, SCEA announced that the game would be included as a part of their "Greatest Hits" lineup of budgeted releases alongside other games such as Crash Bandicoot: Warped , Gran Turismo , Cool Boarders 3 , and Twisted Metal III , and alongside the announcement of a price drop for the PlayStation console to compete with the highly anticipated launch of the Sega Dreamcast. [24] On December 12, 2012, the game was digitally re-released to the PlayStation Store together with Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon . [25] A remake of the game, alongside its two sequels, was included as a part of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy compilation for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2018, followed by the Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows in September 2019. [26]

Sales

According to Spyro's developers, sales were initially slow at the game's launch but quickly began picking up following the holiday season. [9] In the week of November 29, 1998, it was the 3rd best-selling game in the UK, behind Tomb Raider and FIFA 99 . [27] At the 1999 Milia festival in Cannes, it took home a "Gold" prize for revenues above €20,000,000 in the European Union during the previous year. [28] Spyro the Dragon received a "Gold" award from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD) by the end of August 1999, [29] for sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. [30] By December 1999, the game had sold 1,000,000 copies in North America. [31] As of 2007, the title had gone on to sell a total of nearly 5,000,000 units. [32]

Reception

Spyro the Dragon currently holds a score of 85% at GameRankings, based on an aggregate of 18 reviews. [33] IGN 's Craig Harris hailed it as the most fun 3D platformer he had played since Crash Bandicoot , writing "Two claws up. Way up." [38] Computer and Video Games called the game "easily the best 3D platform game on the PlayStation", despite noting its largely child-friendly nature. [34] Shawn Smith of Electronic Gaming Monthly wrote that "Spyro is to the PlayStation what Banjo-Kazooie is to the Nintendo 64", and stated that it "combines the two most-important aspects in any good game: graphics and gameplay." Crispin Boyer, also of Electronic Gaming Monthly, proclaimed that Spyro "raises the bar" for 3D platformers, and wrote that it had replaced Gex 3D: Enter the Gecko as his favorite "PS mascot game". [36] Joe Fielder of GameSpot called the game "a proficient, fully 3D platform game" for the PlayStation, comparing it favorably to one of the more recent platformers on the system, Blasto , and proclaiming that it "excels over Blasto in every way imaginable." Despite this, he wrote that the game "only gets very, very high marks, instead of outrageously high marks", citing its lack of high difficulty as the main factor that made it inferior to games like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie. [1] Edge named it the best 3D platform game for the PlayStation, but criticized Spyro's limited abilities and said that the game was not as varied as Super Mario 64. [35]

Critics lauded the game's presentation, specifically speaking praise for its graphics, technical performance, and Copeland's music done for the game. GamePro reviewer "Slo Mo" wrote that the game's graphics and animations gave Spyro "the look and feel of an animated film" while calling the in-game environments "breathtaking". [37] Harris wrote that the game "utilizes the PlayStation's hardware to the max", and praised the quality of the in-game animations; he particularly praised the rescued dragons' talking animations, which he said gave the characters "incredible personality." [38] Fielder praised the game's dynamic lighting system and character designs, and noted "a near-complete lack of pop-up" during gameplay. [1] Sushi-X of Electronic Gaming Monthly said that the graphics were "among the finest" on the PlayStation. [36] AllGame editor Scott Alan Marriott applauded the graphics, scenery, characters and control as some of the best on the PlayStation, if not the best at the time of the games release. [41] Fielder spoke positively of Copeland's compositional work, calling it "wonderfully atmospheric." [1] Slo Mo described the music as having a "catchy, mellow jazz-rock swing to it" while also praising the voice work for its wide array of unique voices. [37]

Many critics held praise for the game's level design and controls, though some noted its simplicity and low difficulty level (with the exception of Tree Tops). Fielder called the level design "exceptional", [1] while Boyer praised the levels for encouraging exploration among players. [36] Sushi-X called the play controls "perfectly tuned" whilst Fielder wrote that they worked well both with and without the DualShock's analog stick, although Smith expressed that controls were unsuited for maneuvering in "high-risk areas." [1] [36] The camera system received varying reactions, with Boyer praising it as one of the best in any 3D platformer and Fielder declaring that it fixed the common issues present in most other 3D platform games, [1] [36] while Harris criticized its lack of precision when following the player, stating that it "tends to float around on a loose tether", and highlighted the camera system as one of the game's only flaws. [38] Fielder wrote that an overabundance of extra lives caused the game to feel "like it was aimed at a younger or broader audience," holding the final boss and the bonus level as the only exceptions. [1] Despite praising Spyro, Sushi-X noted the game's "lack of diversity" in obstacles and objects leading to "repetitive play." Boyer lamented that the common trope of collecting items, while still very fun in Spyro, was starting to become less interesting, while also criticizing the game's boss fights, calling them "small, easy and decidedly unBoss-like." [36]

During the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Spyro the Dragon was named as a finalist by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences for "Outstanding Achievement in Art/Graphics", "Console Action Game of the Year", and "Console Game of the Year"; the first two awards went to Banjo-Kazooie , while the latter was won by The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time . [42] [43]

Legacy

The popularity of Spyro the Dragon helped to push the character of Spyro as a popular platforming mascot for the PlayStation alongside Crash Bandicoot. [44] It was the first game in what became an expansive video game series, spawning 2 more platforming sequels for the PlayStation – Ripto's Rage and Year of the Dragon – released in 1999 and 2000, respectively. As of the year 2000, the series had sold more than 3.2 million copies in the U.S. and over 4 million copies worldwide. [45] Insomniac stopped developing the Spyro series after Year of the Dragon, as it finished off their 4-game contract with Universal Interactive. Despite this, the series was continued across various different developers, and shifted to several other platforms besides PlayStation. [11] Spyro being their first considerable success, Insomniac went on to develop several other successful video game franchises, including the Ratchet & Clank series of platform games and the first-person shooter series Resistance . [32] The game's rendering system, new and unheard of at the time, has gone on to be used in several other 3D video games. [13]

Related Research Articles

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>Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back</i> 1997 video game

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back is a 1997 platform game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is a sequel to Crash Bandicoot (1996), and is part of the Crash Bandicoot series.

<i>Spyro: A Heros Tail</i> 2004 video game

Spyro: A Hero's Tail is a 2004 platform game developed by Eurocom Entertainment Software and published by Vivendi Universal Games for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. It is the fifth console game in the original Spyro series and the ninth game in the series overall. Per usual, players act as the titular dragon collecting objects, platforming, flying, headbutting and breathing fire onto enemies to save the Dragon Realms. This time, he collects Dark Gems, which corrupt the land with maniacal creatures and deadly plants, planted by a banished Dragon Elder Red. Other characters, such as Sparx the Dragonfly, Hunter the Cheetah, Sgt. Byrd the Penguin, and newcomer Blink the Mole, are playable in mini-game stages.

<i>Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs</i> 2003 video game

Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs is a 2003 platform game developed by Digital Eclipse and published by Universal Interactive for the Game Boy Advance. It was the last Spyro game to be released under the Universal Interactive label, as the label would be phased out shortly after the game's release. It was also the final Spyro game to be developed by Digital Eclipse, where for the next major handheld entries they would be replaced by Amaze Entertainment.

<i>Spyro 2: Season of Flame</i> 2002 video game

Spyro 2: Season of Flame is a 2002 platform game developed by Digital Eclipse and published by Universal Interactive for the Game Boy Advance.

<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.

<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>Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle</i> 1998 video game

Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle is a platform game developed by Activision's internal Console Development Group and published by Activision in 1998 for the PlayStation and by Crave Entertainment for the Game Boy Color known as Pitfall: Beyond the Jungle in 1998. The game is part of the Pitfall series, following the 1994 installment Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure. It was first unveiled in 1996, when 3D platform gaming was still in its infancy, making designing the game a challenge. The PlayStation version development team included staff from the Virtua Fighter series, which was a pioneer in 3D gaming, but personnel changes led to Pitfall 3D being repeatedly delayed, and upon release critics sharply disagreed over whether it was a successful effort at bringing Pitfall into 3D.

<i>The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night</i> 2007 video game

The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night is a 2007 action-adventure video game in the Spyro series. It is the second installment in The Legend of Spyro trilogy and the sequel to The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning (2006). It was released for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, 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>PlayStation Underground</i> American video game magazine

PlayStation Underground was an American video game magazine, originally published by Sony Computer Entertainment America. The magazine focused on the PlayStation fanbase, including gaming on the original Sony PlayStation and the PlayStation 2, and was promoted as a "PlayStation fan club". Unlike its paper-based counterpart the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, PlayStation Underground came in the form of CD-ROMs which could be played on the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles. Subscribers were also given access to a members-only website. The magazine released its first issue on March 26, 1997 and its final issue in 2001. The magazine released a total of seventeen issues during its active years. The magazine was eventually merged with Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine in 2001 when it was discontinued.

<i>MediEvil</i> PlayStation video game

MediEvil is an action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by SCE Studio Cambridge and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. The game is set in the medieval Kingdom of Gallowmere and centres around the charlatan protagonist, Sir Daniel Fortesque, as he makes an attempt to stop antagonist Zarok's invasion of the kingdom whilst simultaneously redeeming himself.

<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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Fielder, Joe (September 9, 1998). "Spyro the Dragon Review". GameSpot . Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Spyro the Dragon" instruction booklet (PDF). Sony Computer Entertainment America. 1998. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 16, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  3. "Save the Universe with a Purple Dragon review". Game Revolution. September 1, 1998. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  4. 1 2 Randy Nelson (July 2, 1998). "Spyro the Dragon". IGN . Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Eye Spy (October 1998). "Spotlight on Spyro the Dragon". GamePro . No. 111. Oakland, CA: International Data Group . Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  6. Harris, Craig (September 9, 1998). "Spyro the Dragon". IGN. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Spyro the Dragon official website". Universal Studios. Archived from the original on April 23, 1999. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 Carmichael, Stephanie (2012-05-04). "Dragon Years: The History and Evolution of Spyro - Part One". GameZone. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  9. 1 2 3 "Insomniac Games". Icons . Season 1. Episode 11. September 22, 2002. Event occurs at 21:42. G4.
  10. 1 2 The Making of Spyro the Dragon (From PlayStation Underground) on YouTube
  11. 1 2 3 4 Moriarty, Colin (September 28, 2012). "Always Independent: The Story of Insomniac Games". Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  12. 1 2 "Spyro the Dragon for PlayStation – Technical Information, Game Information, Technical Support – Gamespot". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Behind the scenes of Spyro The Dragon". GamesTM. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  14. "SPYRO Character Designs". The Animation Academy. Retrieved April 30, 2019.[ dead link ]
  15. John Fiorito, Craig Stitt (May 2, 2000). "Gamasutra – Features – Lessons in Color Theory for Spyro the Dragon". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on May 9, 2010. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  16. "Gamasutra - Lessons in Color Theory for Spyro the Dragon". www.gamasutra.com. 2 May 2000.
  17. 1 2 GamesTM Team (September 2, 2016). "Talking Spyro with The Police's Stewart Copeland". GamesTM . Imagine Publishing. Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  18. Boyer, Crispin (October 1998). "Spyro the Dragon". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 111. Lombard, Illinois: Ziff Davis. pp. 122–123.
  19. "The 'Spyro Reignited Trilogy' looks, sounds and plays just like you remember it". Newsweek. July 23, 2018.
  20. "Is Sony Pulling the Wool Over Our Eyes?". IGN . 1998-09-10.
  21. "Spyro the Dragon sur PSone". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  22. IGN Staff (September 9, 1998). "Spyro Rolls Into Las Vegas". IGN . Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  23. IGN Staff (September 10, 1998). "Is Sony Pulling the Wool Over Our Eyes?". IGN . Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  24. IGN Staff (August 13, 1999). "Sony Slashes PlayStation to $99". IGN . Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  25. Fielder, Joe (December 7, 2012). "Spyro the Dragon returns to PSN next week!". PlayStation.Blog. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  26. Michael McWhertor (August 17, 2018). "Spyro Reignnited Trilogy delayed to November". Polygon . Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  27. IGN Staff (December 11, 1998). "UK Top Ten". IGN . Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  28. Staff (February 12, 1999). "Milia News; ECCSELL Awards Name Winners". GameSpot . Archived from the original on August 30, 1999. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  29. "VUD – Sales-Awards August '99" (Press release) (in German). Paderborn: Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland. September 10, 1999. Archived from the original on June 23, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  30. Horn, Andre (January 14, 2004). "VUD-Gold-Awards 2003". GamePro Germany (in German). Archived from the original on July 18, 2018.
  31. "Cool Consumer Promotions Support Launch of Highly Anticipated Spyro −2- : Ripto's Rage!". Business Wire. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  32. 1 2 Pham, Alex (November 26, 2007). "The independent imagination". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  33. 1 2 "Spyro the Dragon for PlayStation". GameRankings. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  34. 1 2 "Spyro the Dragon". Computer and Video Games . No. 204. United Kingdom: Future Publishing. November 1998. pp. 50–51.
  35. 1 2 "Spyro the Dragon". Edge . No. 64. Bath, UK: Future Publishing. November 1998. p. 85.
  36. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Boyer, Crispin; Ricciardi, John; Smith, Shawn; Sushi-X (November 1998). "Review Crew: Spyro the Dragon" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 112. Lombard, Illinois: EGM Media, LLC. p. 251.
  37. 1 2 3 Slo Mo (November 1998). "PlayStation ProReview: Spyro the Dragon" (PDF). GamePro . No. 112. Oakland, California: IDG. pp. 154–155.
  38. 1 2 3 4 Harris, Craig (September 9, 1998). "Spyro the Dragon". IGN . Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  39. "Finals". Next Generation . No. 47. Imagine Media. November 1998. p. 142.
  40. PlayStation Power #33 (December 1998), p. 94–97
  41. Marriott, Scott Alan. "Spyro the Dragon - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  42. "Second Interactive Achievement Awards - Console". Interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on October 11, 1999. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  43. "Second Interactive Achievement Awards - Craft Award". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on November 3, 1999. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  44. "Always Independent: The Story of Insomniac Games". September 28, 2012. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  45. "Spyro Heats Up PlayStation". IGN Staff. IGN. October 10, 2000. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.