Positives:
- Improves on almost all of the weaker aspects of Spyro: Season of Ice.
- Level designs are much better and distinguishable.
- A more minigame/mission-based structure in the levels themselves that keep in line with how Spyro plays.
Negatives:
- Depth perception issues are still present, though fortunately in a far lesser degree.
- If you didn't like how Spyro controlled in Spyro: Season of Ice, you won't like it here.
- Animal friends to play as can lead to mixed results.
-----------------------------------
''Spyro: Season of Ice was well-received overall, so a sequel was bound to happen. Looking at the game from the outside, it doesn't look much different from it's predecessor. Fortunately though, Spyro 2: Season of Flame is an almost direct reflection to how Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage was a marginal improvement over the very first game. Not to discredit the first game of each trilogy of course, but the developers listened to the feedback on the first games of both and tried to improve on them. People who know me also know that Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage is my favourite Spyro game in general, so if Season of Flame does the same as what that game did to the first game, is it able to hit such heights as well? In most cases, definitely, but there are still some aspects holding it back just slightly.
Let's get the negatives out of the way right from that start. Season of Ice's biggest downfall was that the isometric perspective caused depth perception issues and... they're still here. Fortunately though, it's in a far lesser degree thanks to the level design simply being much better and not often requiring to make leaps of faith. If you were not a fan of how Spyro controls in the original game though, then you're out of luck; nothing has changed to his movement. There are new elemental breaths though, that can also be temporarily enhanced to accomplish feats like freezing up shallow water to walk across which is pretty cool.
And that's it for the negatives really! Wew, that ended surprisingly quickly. But yeah, my other major complaint with the first game was the level design itself, and no memorable setpieces to make levels memorable. Neither are really a thing anymore, as the level design itself has seen a major improvement. They are slightly more linear but in a good way, meaning that there aren't just random platforms that all look the same and you can go in any direction you want from there. There are indoor areas now, and far more setpieces to make levels memorable. Minigames in levels also return and like in Spyro: Year of the Dragon, they are secluded in their own area of the level. And probably most important of all: you don't lose your progress on the flameable objects throughout the level upon dying, thank god.
But yeah, I am overall a much bigger fan of these levels than the ones from the game before--special shout-out to Shamrock Isle, Tiki Tropics and Haunted Hills. I never really got lost in these levels or the hub world, and I feel that's very important in a game where you might be missing out on just that one gem for completion. Though there are a few levels that I'm a bit mixed on--specifically the ones where the animal friends come into play. Both Sheila the Kangaroo and Agent-9 make their appearances, with the former having QBert-like movement and the latter being a 2D Shooter. I generally enjoy Sheila's levels, but Agent-9... I dunno, I just am not feeling them. I don't hate them, but whenever I see a gate leading to his levels, I usually am not excited. Yet again proving for me that I'd rather play exclusively as Spyro, but at least neither can really be considered bad.''
- Improves on almost all of the weaker aspects of Spyro: Season of Ice.
- Level designs are much better and distinguishable.
- A more minigame/mission-based structure in the levels themselves that keep in line with how Spyro plays.
Negatives:
- Depth perception issues are still present, though fortunately in a far lesser degree.
- If you didn't like how Spyro controlled in Spyro: Season of Ice, you won't like it here.
- Animal friends to play as can lead to mixed results.
-----------------------------------
''Spyro: Season of Ice was well-received overall, so a sequel was bound to happen. Looking at the game from the outside, it doesn't look much different from it's predecessor. Fortunately though, Spyro 2: Season of Flame is an almost direct reflection to how Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage was a marginal improvement over the very first game. Not to discredit the first game of each trilogy of course, but the developers listened to the feedback on the first games of both and tried to improve on them. People who know me also know that Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage is my favourite Spyro game in general, so if Season of Flame does the same as what that game did to the first game, is it able to hit such heights as well? In most cases, definitely, but there are still some aspects holding it back just slightly.
Let's get the negatives out of the way right from that start. Season of Ice's biggest downfall was that the isometric perspective caused depth perception issues and... they're still here. Fortunately though, it's in a far lesser degree thanks to the level design simply being much better and not often requiring to make leaps of faith. If you were not a fan of how Spyro controls in the original game though, then you're out of luck; nothing has changed to his movement. There are new elemental breaths though, that can also be temporarily enhanced to accomplish feats like freezing up shallow water to walk across which is pretty cool.
And that's it for the negatives really! Wew, that ended surprisingly quickly. But yeah, my other major complaint with the first game was the level design itself, and no memorable setpieces to make levels memorable. Neither are really a thing anymore, as the level design itself has seen a major improvement. They are slightly more linear but in a good way, meaning that there aren't just random platforms that all look the same and you can go in any direction you want from there. There are indoor areas now, and far more setpieces to make levels memorable. Minigames in levels also return and like in Spyro: Year of the Dragon, they are secluded in their own area of the level. And probably most important of all: you don't lose your progress on the flameable objects throughout the level upon dying, thank god.
But yeah, I am overall a much bigger fan of these levels than the ones from the game before--special shout-out to Shamrock Isle, Tiki Tropics and Haunted Hills. I never really got lost in these levels or the hub world, and I feel that's very important in a game where you might be missing out on just that one gem for completion. Though there are a few levels that I'm a bit mixed on--specifically the ones where the animal friends come into play. Both Sheila the Kangaroo and Agent-9 make their appearances, with the former having QBert-like movement and the latter being a 2D Shooter. I generally enjoy Sheila's levels, but Agent-9... I dunno, I just am not feeling them. I don't hate them, but whenever I see a gate leading to his levels, I usually am not excited. Yet again proving for me that I'd rather play exclusively as Spyro, but at least neither can really be considered bad.''