the original Spyro the Dragon was the first ever PlayStation game I've ever played. I think I played it back in May of 2022? It's a little silly it took me over a year to finally get to Spyro 2. Now that I've finally got around to it, while I had a couple issues with it, I really did enjoy it!
It's hard for me to properly compare this to the original Spyro. That's mainly because it's been over a year since I played it, and I don't remember much about it. I remember certain things, I mean, I 100%'d it after all! But it's interesting then that I just don't remember much of it. But that being said, I do think Spyro 2 is an improvement to the original.
God, the main levels of Spyro 2 are pretty damn fun! They're mini-overworlds where you can do quests and platforming, and conceptually, they're pretty fun! Another review puts it nicely, where it's not just a "get to the end of the level" design. The actual platforming was pretty good, and worked really well in tandem with Spyro's moveset. I also like how there's both collectables in both the end-of-level talismans, and within-the-level orbs.
But this sort of leads into what is probably my biggest problem with Spyro 2, which is that a lot of the orbs you can get are gained from mini-games. I've mentioned this in numerous other reviews I've made, but I've never been a fan of mandatory mini-games. To beat the game normally, you need 40 orbs, which means you'll probably need to do a handful of mini-games. Most of the time, these mini-games just felt rough. These Mini-Games ultimately feel like they're padding out the run time to me, and taking away from what is a really good 3D platformer. In that regard, I would love if this game was shorter, and just relied around the platforming.
But one big positive that this game has is the bosses. The bosses from what I remember in the original Spyro were just chases. They were really uninteresting because of it. Spyro 2 however has actually bosses, and I loved them! I beat the final boss on my first try and it was the tensest thing I've done in a while.
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage is definitely an improvement upon the original, and while I did have some issues, I still really enjoyed it! Much like the first game, the game has some absolutely great platforming, but I do wish they toned down on the mini-games. Still a really solid game though.
It's hard for me to properly compare this to the original Spyro. That's mainly because it's been over a year since I played it, and I don't remember much about it. I remember certain things, I mean, I 100%'d it after all! But it's interesting then that I just don't remember much of it. But that being said, I do think Spyro 2 is an improvement to the original.
God, the main levels of Spyro 2 are pretty damn fun! They're mini-overworlds where you can do quests and platforming, and conceptually, they're pretty fun! Another review puts it nicely, where it's not just a "get to the end of the level" design. The actual platforming was pretty good, and worked really well in tandem with Spyro's moveset. I also like how there's both collectables in both the end-of-level talismans, and within-the-level orbs.
But this sort of leads into what is probably my biggest problem with Spyro 2, which is that a lot of the orbs you can get are gained from mini-games. I've mentioned this in numerous other reviews I've made, but I've never been a fan of mandatory mini-games. To beat the game normally, you need 40 orbs, which means you'll probably need to do a handful of mini-games. Most of the time, these mini-games just felt rough. These Mini-Games ultimately feel like they're padding out the run time to me, and taking away from what is a really good 3D platformer. In that regard, I would love if this game was shorter, and just relied around the platforming.
But one big positive that this game has is the bosses. The bosses from what I remember in the original Spyro were just chases. They were really uninteresting because of it. Spyro 2 however has actually bosses, and I loved them! I beat the final boss on my first try and it was the tensest thing I've done in a while.
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage is definitely an improvement upon the original, and while I did have some issues, I still really enjoyed it! Much like the first game, the game has some absolutely great platforming, but I do wish they toned down on the mini-games. Still a really solid game though.