Spyro is a deceptively simple game, or at least its mechanics are. The story, if can call it that, abruptly starts and abruptly ends. Gnasty Gnorc is the main antagonist, but I would forgive you for not knowing that as he only appears twice throughout the entire runtime, once during the opening cutscene and then and then again when you get to his boss fight; this leaves Gnorc feeeling like a non threat during your playtime cause you just never see or hear from him. As well, Spyro has absolutely zero character growth, he is the same when the credits roll as he was when the player hits start. But I am willing to let all of this slide because the story was clearly not the primary focus here.
Like I said, Spyro is simple, the dragon has only a handful of abilities, he can run, jump, glide, charge dash, and breathe fire. These moves are all static; he gains no new ones, nor do they inherently change. But what does change is the environment and how these abilities interact with it. The game starts with levels that are intended to let you get your bearings with the controls and physics of it all, then the next set of levels asks you to start performing more daring jumps and glides, then the next makes you master super dashing, and before you know it you're having to juggle and combine all of theses abilities in order to get 100 percent in each of the levels. But the amazing thing is how natural it all feels, there is no sudden spike in difficulty, and the levels are ordered in such a way that it gentle guides you into certain trains of thought; the pacing really is just incredible. And even if you do get stumped on one section or puzzle, one of the many dragons you need to save in order to progress will likely have a hint to help you out. I think the best demonstration of what I am talking about is the level "Tree Tops"; the whole levels is this big open area with lots of winding paths and dash ramps, and in order to get all the collectables you have to experiment with all the paths and chain dashes together to reach maximum speed.
Despite this praise however, I do still have some critiques. The camera is just bad, not as bad as other games from around the same time, but still not good. In the options menu there are two modes for the camera: Active; where the camera moves almost entirely on its own, and Passive; which lets you control the camera, while still moving on its own when needed. I would recommend playing with the passive setting, it causes the camera to spaz out less in enclosed areas. As well, the jumping and gliding can feel a bit too punishing at times, some of the jumps need to be near pixel perfect in order to connect which was slightly annoying. Though I don't want to knock it to bad for this because these types of jumps were usually relegated to optional areas for 100 percent completion.
I think I can confidently say that Spyro the Dragon has stood strong through the test of time. Its mechanics and worlds are timeless and easily accessible, while still providing a challenge for those who want it. I would say it is definitely worth you time.
Like I said, Spyro is simple, the dragon has only a handful of abilities, he can run, jump, glide, charge dash, and breathe fire. These moves are all static; he gains no new ones, nor do they inherently change. But what does change is the environment and how these abilities interact with it. The game starts with levels that are intended to let you get your bearings with the controls and physics of it all, then the next set of levels asks you to start performing more daring jumps and glides, then the next makes you master super dashing, and before you know it you're having to juggle and combine all of theses abilities in order to get 100 percent in each of the levels. But the amazing thing is how natural it all feels, there is no sudden spike in difficulty, and the levels are ordered in such a way that it gentle guides you into certain trains of thought; the pacing really is just incredible. And even if you do get stumped on one section or puzzle, one of the many dragons you need to save in order to progress will likely have a hint to help you out. I think the best demonstration of what I am talking about is the level "Tree Tops"; the whole levels is this big open area with lots of winding paths and dash ramps, and in order to get all the collectables you have to experiment with all the paths and chain dashes together to reach maximum speed.
Despite this praise however, I do still have some critiques. The camera is just bad, not as bad as other games from around the same time, but still not good. In the options menu there are two modes for the camera: Active; where the camera moves almost entirely on its own, and Passive; which lets you control the camera, while still moving on its own when needed. I would recommend playing with the passive setting, it causes the camera to spaz out less in enclosed areas. As well, the jumping and gliding can feel a bit too punishing at times, some of the jumps need to be near pixel perfect in order to connect which was slightly annoying. Though I don't want to knock it to bad for this because these types of jumps were usually relegated to optional areas for 100 percent completion.
I think I can confidently say that Spyro the Dragon has stood strong through the test of time. Its mechanics and worlds are timeless and easily accessible, while still providing a challenge for those who want it. I would say it is definitely worth you time.