Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage
Remake: Spyro Reignited Trilogy
Release Year: 2018 Developer: Toys for Boy Publisher: Activision Consoles: PS4; Xbox One; Switch; PC |
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Other Names: Gateway to Glimmer
Original Release Year: 1999 Developer: Insomniac Games Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Genre: 3D Platformer Consoles: PlayStation |
The fifth generation of consoles lead to an advent of 3D Platformers. While Super Mario 64 was not the first 3D Platformer ever created, it was the first game that had full 3D movement in conjuction with a moving camera and it redefined what a 3D game was. From this moment, everyone tried taking a crack at the genre. While some games fell short, it did spark a golden age of the genre. The late 90's and early 2000's is arguably the greatest time for 3D platformers in history.
When most people think of Sony's answer to Mario, they tend to think of the Crash Bandicoot series of games. However, another platforming mascot stood high among its peers - Spyro the Dragon. While the original game couldn't be considered groundbreaking, it had a charm all its own. The goal was simple - collecting gems, freeing dragons, and capturing a dozen stolen dragon eggs. And it was simple to obtain each of those goals. For the former two, you just had to walk into them. Spyro didn't have much at his disposal either - just a charge attack and a flame attack. While they could be given super variants in specific levels, what Spyro could do to overcome each individual obstacle was rather limited.
The same could not be said for Spyro 2. While at first glance, the game seems smaller - collecting 64 orbs as opposed to 80 dragons, and 10,000 treasure as opposed to 14,000; much more is packed into the game. It's quality, not quantity, that Spyro 2 has put its effort into, much more than its predecessor and arguably what came afterwards. Throughout Spyro 2, the titular purple dragon comes across a new arsenal. It starts simply with being able to spit targeted projectiles, but quickly upgrades to things like swimming underwater with beautiful controls, especially for the era.
Instead of just walking up to a dragon to free it, this time around almost every single orb is hidden behind some kind of objective, usually a minigame. To 100 percent this one, you'll be solving logic puzzles, shooting canons, and hunting down magic lamps. The game's presentation also got a similar upgrade. It may be one of the most aesthetically pleasing games on the console, going for a more cartoony art style, rather than the realistic art style many did at the time, leaving those games looking like polygonal messes.
The story also got a significant level-up. The original game didn't have much in the way of stakes. It was the typical video game plot of "there's a bad guy, go get him." While the story in Spyro 2 is simple, it introduces the player to very charming characters, such as the absent-minded Professor or the bumbling Hunter. Even the more minor characters though make a memorable impression, such as the Electrolls who all sound like SpongeBob SquarePants.
When most people think of Sony's answer to Mario, they tend to think of the Crash Bandicoot series of games. However, another platforming mascot stood high among its peers - Spyro the Dragon. While the original game couldn't be considered groundbreaking, it had a charm all its own. The goal was simple - collecting gems, freeing dragons, and capturing a dozen stolen dragon eggs. And it was simple to obtain each of those goals. For the former two, you just had to walk into them. Spyro didn't have much at his disposal either - just a charge attack and a flame attack. While they could be given super variants in specific levels, what Spyro could do to overcome each individual obstacle was rather limited.
The same could not be said for Spyro 2. While at first glance, the game seems smaller - collecting 64 orbs as opposed to 80 dragons, and 10,000 treasure as opposed to 14,000; much more is packed into the game. It's quality, not quantity, that Spyro 2 has put its effort into, much more than its predecessor and arguably what came afterwards. Throughout Spyro 2, the titular purple dragon comes across a new arsenal. It starts simply with being able to spit targeted projectiles, but quickly upgrades to things like swimming underwater with beautiful controls, especially for the era.
Instead of just walking up to a dragon to free it, this time around almost every single orb is hidden behind some kind of objective, usually a minigame. To 100 percent this one, you'll be solving logic puzzles, shooting canons, and hunting down magic lamps. The game's presentation also got a similar upgrade. It may be one of the most aesthetically pleasing games on the console, going for a more cartoony art style, rather than the realistic art style many did at the time, leaving those games looking like polygonal messes.
The story also got a significant level-up. The original game didn't have much in the way of stakes. It was the typical video game plot of "there's a bad guy, go get him." While the story in Spyro 2 is simple, it introduces the player to very charming characters, such as the absent-minded Professor or the bumbling Hunter. Even the more minor characters though make a memorable impression, such as the Electrolls who all sound like SpongeBob SquarePants.
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Tips and Tricks |
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Whatever you do, do NOT escort the alchemist the first time you enter Fracture Hills. It's known to be one of the most frustrating minigames in the entire game for a few reasons. The biggest one is that you cannot help Hunter with the sequel mission without the headbash, a move you can't have the first time you enter Fracture Hills. It's wise to remember that levels in general reset when you reenter them, so always do your best to complete missions that have two-parts, such as Hunter's crystal popcorn race in Magma Cone or the turtle soup mission in Sunny Beach.
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This time around the remake is pretty good. Just make sure that if you're playing the PC version, yours has enough power to run it well. The PC version can have some glitches that other versions don't. One of the worst examples is in Shady Oasis. Sometimes the hippo you're following will fail to clear a jump and get stuck making it impossible to finish the level. If this happens, what you've got to do is lower your graphics settings. It should allow him to clear the gap.
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Extra Fun |
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Spyro 2 has one of my favorite rewards for 100 percent completion. If you get everything in the game, a door in Dragon Shores will open, giving you access to infinite superflame. It doesn't seem that great, considering you've gotten everything already except maybe the skill points. However, if you quit to the menus (without turning off the console) and start a new game, you'll be able to play through the whole thing with superflame. I like to use this to see how often I can avoid paying moneybags. I remember being able to use this to shoot up the Aquaria towers sharks without going into Moneybag's submarine. It's tough to pull off though. The remake applies this superflame to every future play through of Spyro 2. I'm not too fond of this, but it's easy enough to turn off, if you know the special code (Left, Right, Left, Right, RB, RB, RB, RB, X on an xbox controller/console). There are other codes, but you'll need to look them up yourself.
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This was the game I played when I was first getting into the speedrunning scene. The original version has a couple of glitches that are easy to consistently pull off. The most infamous of them is the "double jump." At the top of your jump, press the charge button without holding a direction of the D pad. This will give you extra height and makes it really easy to get out of bounds. Swimming in air is also pretty easy to pull off. In any source of water that moves up and down, such as the water in Summer Forest, continually try and dive into the shore. Eventually you'll start swimming through the air and go straight to Crush if you want. The remake does have its own glitches, but they're much more difficult to pull off and do have a chance of getting patched in future updates.
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Trivia |
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Did you know that the name "Ripto" came from the Japanese box art? The katakana for Spyro looked like Ripto, and so the people at Insomniac decided to go with it. Hopefully they didn't play through the Japanese version of Spyro 1. It's notoriously bad, doing things like nerfing the charge speed to a slow crawl. You need to beat that game in order to unlock a version where you can play through with the American or PAL charge speeds. I played through it, and honestly that was a mistake. Apparently it was made that way due to complaints over motion sickness. To be honest, I'd prefer the motion sickness.
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Spyro 2 has quite a few hidden music tracks that you won't be able to find while playing through the game. They should be easy enough to find if you go looking on the internet for "Spyro 2 hidden tracks." Another hidden track in the Spyro series for you might be Spyro 3's "Midnight Mountain" theme. Spyro 3 had a bit of a rushed development and thus has a bunch of glitches, including not playing that specific track. If you're hunting down an NTSC playstation copy of the original, go for the greatest hits version. It fixes a few of these glitches. Do make sure you give the thing enough dignity to put it in a non-greatest hits case though. Despite its flaws, it's too good to be in such an eyesore of a case.
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Other Games |
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While Spyro 1 is a fun game, it's unfortunately a bit too simple to really be considered a "must play." Many of the levels are large open fields filled with fairly simple geometry. It's hard to think of any way that the sequel isn't better than the original. I guess you could argue the music. Spyro 1 is a lot jazzier, while Spyro 2 took a more atmospheric approach. Spyro 1 is definitely a fun game in its own right, but it's certainly not a "must play" in my opinion. If you do want to check it out, please check out the Reignited Trilogy's take on it. It polished the game as much as it could, and made the game quite breathtaking as a result.
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I could see Spyro 3 being some people's favorite of the series, but I'd have to say that it's too inconsistent. It has some of the best moments in the original trilogy for sure. I spent more time in the skateboarding levels than I care to admit. That being said, Spyro 3 has some of the worst moments in the game, whether it be the escort mission in Spooky Swamp or Bently boxing in Frozen Altars or the Bently Whack-a-mole in Crystal Islands or anything with Bently to be honest. A lot of the problems come down to the extra characters. They were a big selling point when the game came out, and while they're characterization is cool, the mechanics suffer a lot. Most of them move way too slow, and Agent 9 is programmed like you'd expect a shooter on the playstation 1 to be, as in outdated and bad. It's much too inconsistent to be a "must play."
I'd still recommend the game, but only the original. This isn't me being a purist. The Reignited version of the game was outsourced, leading to a rushed development ironically enough. This filled it with a lot more glitches and bugs than were in the game originally. Mechanics in many cases were made worse. Sargent Byrd's missiles are now homing, which make some levels jokes. Sometimes though his missiles will aim at an enemy you've already killed instead of what you're trying to hit, directly in front of you. Not to mention, some levels have drastic frame rate dips. Midday Gardens home lagged for me almost constantly. Spyro 2's remake is pretty alright though. It's not as drastic an improvement as Spyro 1's was, but it wasn't butchered like Spyro 3. I consider it a nice bonus in a Spyro 1 remake. And the less said about any game after Spyro 3 and before Reignited, the better. |
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I dunno, I kinda liked A Hero's Tail.
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Yeah, you would like a game where Spyro acts like a spoiled brat teenager and all of the bosses are killed the same way. I will say though, it is kinda funny how Gnasty Gnorc was tougher in this game as a first boss than he was as a last boss.
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C'mon, you can't think that Spyro has been all bad since the original trilogy. After all, you've got a pretty impressive Skylanders collection.
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You said you'd never speak of that!
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Oops, did I? My bad...
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