The Legend of Spyro A New Beginning review (PlayStation 2)

Blimey, it’s hot in here isn’t it? Lets face it; kids growing up in the late 1990’s most probably remember our fire breathing friend Spyro, as opposed to Mario or Sonic. Having appeared on both PSone and PS2 in the past few years, Spyro has become somewhat of an unofficial mascot for Sony systems, and one of the main highlights in platform gaming at the time. Having never played a Spyro game before, even I have to sheepishly concede that its something of a guilty pleasure trying to recapture my youth again – even if my childhood years belonged to the plucky plumber and his friends.

Dragon Tales

Going back to the beginning, Legend of Spyro’s story centres around one of those lovable philosophical stories of self discovery; our young hero – who has been raised by a family of Dragonflies – discovers that he is in fact a powerful warrior born every 10 generations, and must leave the confines of his homeland and bring liberation to his long lost race. As cutesy as it may be, the plot is actually quite gripping, and supported by an A-list cast to boot (laugh now, but you’ll crack a smile at least once I can assure you).

Big Adventure

As the purple little mite, players must control Spyro as he jumps, glides and unleashes fiery havoc upon his enemies across a variety of nicely coloured environments. The games concept doesn’t really get much more simple than that, although it certainly does a better job than some of the three-minute job platformers out there right now. As expected, you can take advantage of Spyros unique abilities as a Dragon, including being able to breathe fire, fly and perform a variety of “combo” attacks to fend off your foes. It has to be said that the combat is rather cut and dry, and most of the time you’ll be able to dispatch anything that comes your way with a couple of well placed head butts. Things can be come as easy as hammering away at the buttons, but eventually you will come across harder foes – and a lot more of them, too. Sadly, this makes things somewhat frustrating as you’ll find yourself pummelled into oblivion on more than one occasion, unless you do the same thing back and hammer away at the attack button manically, hoping you can tip the scales in your favour.

Fire Starter

Of course, the most rewarding aspect in playing as a Dragon is the chance to roast your foes using Spyro’s fire breathing ability. This also facilitates the games “level-up” system, allowing you to unlock new abilities as you move through the game. You achieve this by collecting blue gems – found throughout each stage – and then accessing the options menu, allowing you to active a new ability. Needless to say, torching your foes has never been quite so satisfying, and it adds a new spin to the rather bland button-mashing affair you’d have to do otherwise. Things do heat up when you encounter a boss or two though, no pun intended. Meanwhile – in good tradition - regular gems are also collected throughout each level allowing you to refill your health and “breath” power. Combat aside, it’s the usual business of hopping about over bottomless pits, spike pits, chasms and the usual “instant death” shenanigans, forcing you back to the checkpoint, which thankfully doesn’t respawn enemies you’ve killed previously. Nonetheless, things still taste rather sour, and the repetition faced in the gameplay will grate rather quickly, not to mention the endless stream of enemies that some stages manage to cough up even after you dispatch hordes of the fiends before hand. There’s not much sense of freedom, nor does the game manage to keep things fresh, despite offering you new moves to perform.

Ain’t You Cute?

Note: these images are from the PS2 version of the game.

In terms of looks, the game has its merits; locations are bright and colourful, and quite varied in terms of location, ranging from snowy levels, jungles and so on. Unfortunately, they still suffer from a horribly linear and bland design that makes the player feel like they’re playing the same part over and over again. Spyro and his accompanying entourage are nicely done however, and all retain the appropriate cartoon feel to them, despite looking a little muddy in places. The aural presentation is where the game really shines, though. First up, Elijah “Frodo Baggins” Wood voices our impetuous young Dragon Spyro, while Gary Oldman provides the voice for Spyro’s “mentor”, Ignitus. While the games basic sound effects aren’t really anything special, some of them have been recycled from previous games offering fans a trip down memory lane. The soundtrack on the other hand is quite bombastic and filled with some nice orchestral work, giving the game a somewhat “magical” feel to it.

Hot or Not?

Legend of Spyro is a game that you just want to love for its admirably lovable story line, but as a gamer, you feel compiled to surrender to the obvious – it’s strictly average as an overall package. Admittedly, the game would have probably turned out better had it not been for the repetitive combat mechanics and uninspired level design, and having said that, it makes me wonder just how many franchises are doomed to follow this same fate. Alas, young Spyro tries to relight the fire of his glory days, but that fire has been well and truly doused.