I started up the game, watched the green goblin-ish creature (their names are all ‘Gnorc’, سے طرف کی the way, but I’ll come back on that later) climbing the snowy mountain, sticking the Insomniac sign in the ice, getting knocked over سے طرف کی Spyro who flies in another circle, then lands perfectly on a platform which is followed سے طرف کی the عنوان screen popping up. All accompanied سے طرف کی the catchy Spyro tune we all know and love…right? Right…? HELLO!? Anyway, this brought a tear of nostalgia to my eyes, because I’m one of the old coots who played this game when it was only months یا so old. I started a new game…
The game started with a cutscene of Spyro chasing down and killing some harmless innocent sheep, so the tone was set immediately. Even though I got a few chuckles out of this happening, the first cutscene also tells آپ about what is basically the plot in this game. The dragons are mocking Gnasty Gnorc, an evil but ugly villain in a distant realm. Gnasty Gnorc doesn’t appreciate this, and attempts to trap every dragon in all the dragon realms in crystal statues. He even almost succeeds, and manages to trap every dragon, except for one. Yeppers, that’s you. You’re a 4 year-old dragon cub, and the only dragon left free. It’s your destiny to rescue every dragon, recover all the treasure stolen سے طرف کی the Gnorcs, and finally face and defeat Gnasty Gnorc. *sniff* That’s beautiful…! :’(
When the cutscene was over, I could start playing, and damn was it fun! Everything is so bright and colorful, and the visuals مجموعی طور پر just look really good for a 1998 game. آپ can glide, charge and flame baddies (be careful which baddy آپ charge, and which آپ flame), but آپ can’t swim yet. Apparently Spyro’s a little too young for that. Oh well. Charging isn’t recommended on narrow bridges above a bottomless pit. Spyro steers a bit awkward while he is charging, as if he’s skating on ice. Also fun, but it doesn’t really help when آپ need to reach a destination and need to take a sharp turn where آپ thought آپ had room enough to steer, but alas where proven wrong as آپ helplessly plunge into the abyss. Which has happened to me quite a couple of times actually! So yeah, mind the charging controls, they could have had a little fine-tuning.
The first levels are really simple, and very short. These short levels mainly consist of a few enemies آپ need to fry, and treasure آپ need to recover. In the اگلے area, آپ should already have reached the portal back to the homeworld! Easy as pie, right? Well, don’t get overexcited because the levels will get tougher. MUCH tougher. There were a couple of times I really had to hoard for lives (just kill off enemies you’ve already fried once and you’ll earn pearls for an extra live), because otherwise I wouldn’t have beaten the game. Spyro the Dragon is one of those games that starts off very simple, but gets مزید and مزید difficult as آپ progress. And this type of difficulty curve is done really well to, سے طرف کی the way, because a lot of games start off easy, but get really hard way to suddenly.
The verdict? Spyro the Dragon is a game without many downsides. I mentioned that steering while charging can be hard, and perhaps the game is a little short if آپ rush through it, but I can’t spot any مزید flaws. It’s funny, the graphics are great for its time, and it has a stellar difficulty curve which is just right for kids to not give up when they wipe out for the so-maniest time. I give this game 4 out of 5 purple gems. That’s four times 25 points! :D
Pros:
- Colorful, but also moody
- Really funny without being too in-your-face
- Starts off simple, steadily gets مزید difficult
- Spyro is just so lovable!
Cons:
- It’s a little short
- Charging controls are a bit awkward
Be sure to flame this guy before he makes it to his tent. When he appears again, he shows you something hilarious, but disgusting.
Parappa the Rapper was released for the Sony PlayStation on October 31, 1997.
