Bought this second-hand because it’s a game from my childhood that doesn’t cost a kajillion dollars for an authentic copy, and it was a game I absolutely sucked at as a kid. For most of my life, in fact, I have been really bad at video games. Especially if an important part of the game is “finding out where to go.” Coincidentally, this game’s most glaring issue is that it DOESN’T HAVE A MAP. Areas are pretty big, and feel even bigger when you’re galloping from end-to-end trying to find that last gem to collect, or the last enemy to defeat, or the last bit of a task a character gave you.
Though, the game definitely tries its best to make it up to you. In each stage is an interactable marker that you can use as a way to know where you’ve already been. Flying in an isometric space is hard, so not only does Spyro have an obvious shadow, but also different heights on each stage are designed to be different enough where you know better how high a platform is by its terrain. A platform you can fly to will also always be in view from where you’re standing, too. Now, while these things doesn’t all add up to a flawlessly-executed platformer, I can see the game design underneath what a lot of people might’ve dismissed as soon as this game got frustrating.
Which, it sure can be frustrating, to be fair. One of the most insufferable segments are the Sparx sections, where you play as Spyro’s little dragonfly buddy in a tank-battle-esque, top-down shooter. These levels were mostly unbearable; not so hard to navigate but trying to navigate the enemies with the limited movement is annoying as hell. Again, though, they make up for it by giving you unlimited lives. So, eventually once you’ve found where to go, you can kind of spray-and-pray from the checkpoint and through the boss of the stage and get through it.
Even with its plentiful misgivings, this game did give me the same bemusement for Spyro that I had in the years following my child-self playing this game. Alas, I was not much of a Playstation child (it was the first console I had… but also the first console I broke…), so my actual interaction with Spyro still begins and ends here, on the Gameboy Advance. It’s like Shrek; fairytale creatures, but with that same kind of “isn’t this weird?” wink to camera that Shrek has. I will come back to this game once more before I die, but I sure got my fill of it for the time being (actually getting past the first section).
Though, the game definitely tries its best to make it up to you. In each stage is an interactable marker that you can use as a way to know where you’ve already been. Flying in an isometric space is hard, so not only does Spyro have an obvious shadow, but also different heights on each stage are designed to be different enough where you know better how high a platform is by its terrain. A platform you can fly to will also always be in view from where you’re standing, too. Now, while these things doesn’t all add up to a flawlessly-executed platformer, I can see the game design underneath what a lot of people might’ve dismissed as soon as this game got frustrating.
Which, it sure can be frustrating, to be fair. One of the most insufferable segments are the Sparx sections, where you play as Spyro’s little dragonfly buddy in a tank-battle-esque, top-down shooter. These levels were mostly unbearable; not so hard to navigate but trying to navigate the enemies with the limited movement is annoying as hell. Again, though, they make up for it by giving you unlimited lives. So, eventually once you’ve found where to go, you can kind of spray-and-pray from the checkpoint and through the boss of the stage and get through it.
Even with its plentiful misgivings, this game did give me the same bemusement for Spyro that I had in the years following my child-self playing this game. Alas, I was not much of a Playstation child (it was the first console I had… but also the first console I broke…), so my actual interaction with Spyro still begins and ends here, on the Gameboy Advance. It’s like Shrek; fairytale creatures, but with that same kind of “isn’t this weird?” wink to camera that Shrek has. I will come back to this game once more before I die, but I sure got my fill of it for the time being (actually getting past the first section).