So which Spyro games....

[Tilted_Logic]

Would you consider worth checking out/purchasing?

I was recently browsing the Playstation store and noticed they have Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage and Spyro Year of the Dragon available. Now, I haven't played Spyro in years. I was probably 10 the last time I played any of the games and only minimally at friends' houses. So the fact is, I don't remember which of the games from the series I've tried, but the nostalgia is killing me - they were so much fun.

So Escapists, are there any specific Spyro games worth checking out? I'm a HUGE fan of Insomniac, and if I recall they only made the first Spyro game, so I'm thinking that'll be a given. But are any of the others worth looking into? (Feel free to suggest any of the ones from the series, I wouldn't mind looking around game stores for a hard copy if it's a worthwhile buy).

 

[Melon Hunter]

The three you have mentioned are the only three really worth having, as they are the only Spyro games made by Insomniac. They sold the license after Year of the Dragon and it's never fully recovered from the train wreck that was Enter The Dragonfly. I can't vouch for them personally, but I heard the reboot games featuring that other dragon called Cynder were OK, but not as good as the original trilogy.

 

[Lilani]

The first 3 Spyro games are the best (Spyro, Ripto, and Year of the Dragon). Those are the only ones made by Insomniac. There was Enter the Dragonfly and a couple on the GBA, but they aren't really worth mentioning (then there was one on the DS which I never played, so I can't really say anything on that. And it wasn't made by Insomniac, either).

After that, Spyro went on to be owned by other developers who more or less ran him into the ground. Spyro A Hero's tail wasn't too bad, I had some fun with it, but it's very much a kid's game and is insultingly easy and poorly written at times. As far as the Legend of Spyro series (A New Beginning, Eternal Night, Dawn of the Dragon) I've only played a bit of the first one, and I really didn't like the changes they made at all. They took almost all of the platforming out and made it much more battle-oriented (all monsters have hit points, not just bosses). They had Elijah Wood voice Spyro which really changed his personality to something I didn't like, they gave Sparx a voice and made him the "witty" sidekick which means they made him extremely irritating, and then there's this old dragon guy who in the beginning acts as Spyro's guide and he's all melancholy and overacts every single line. I never finished it, and nor do I have any intention

Then there's that Skylanders thing that's happened recently. But that's more of a card/board/model trading game, so just know what you'd be getting into there. I hear it's good, but I absolutely abhor the design change they gave Spyro so I refuse to have anything to do with it (I'm certain they ripped the design from How to Train Your Dragon and it pisses me off).

 

[PinkiePyro]

I say only the organal 3 games are good

and skylanders is not a spyro game he just happens to be in it
which is true they just stuck him in it to ensure sales

and its true I read it in a gameinformer artical

 

[Lilani]

I say only the organal 3 games are good

and skylanders is not a spyro game he just happens to be in it
which is true they just stuck him in it to ensure sales

and its true I read it in a gameinformer artical

*Original
*Article

And periods and commas are much better ways to end your sentences than the enter key. I'd also like to see this article you mentioned. May as well provide your source if you bothered to bring it up.

 

[Tilted_Logic]

Well I guess I definitely lucked out then if the 3 on offer in the playstation store are considered the best of the bunch. Thanks all for the input, yay for trips down nostalgia lane!

 

[Launcelot111]

I've only played the 2nd one, but 10 year old me absolutely adored that game. I might have to go back and play it again myself

 

[JaceArveduin]

2 was always my favorite, I've never gotten around to beating 1. (I sold 2 and a bunch of my ps1 games to gamestop when I was a young idiot, now I'm an older idiot and rather sad about that, seeing as I only got quarter or so out of some) My sister actually bought one, I think it was the first Legend of Spyro one. It wasn't too bad, just way too easy compared to the others. That, and as mentioned, more combat oriented.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Definitely have to play the first three. Haven't really got an opinion on any of the rest as I've never played them, although my little brother got Skylanders so chances are I'll check that out eventually.

 

[Zantos]

They have them on the PS store now? Awesome!

Those three are definitely worth playing. The others, ech, I wouldn't recommend them.

 

[Solo-Wing]

ANYTHING BUT SKYLANDERS

Try the Legend of Spyro games. Those are pretty good.

 

[Chester Rabbit]

1 and 2 are a must and three..eeeh if the first two still leave your mouth watering. But please save yourself a headache and stay away from the Elijah Wood series that takes itself far too serious.

 

[Fraught]

I personally liked Ripto's Rage and Year of the Dragon the most.

I never liked the dragon-centric eggfest that was the first one. I enjoyed the bigger variety in 2 and 3. Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage is probably my favourite. So much great memories packed into that for me.

 

[scorptatious]

The first game always has a special place in my heart for being the first game I've ever beaten. But the second game took what the first game had and improved upon it. The third, I don't know, it was good, but something about a dragon that can fly and spew fire having to rely on a UFO to fight the Sorceress didn't sit well with me.

And then there was Season of Ice. Good god. I hated this game with a fiery passion. The overhead view that makes it difficult to determine where you can and can't glide to, the levels with repeating textures and graphics so that everything looks the same, making it so you can get easily lost, and the one and only shitty boss battle that you have to do twice in order to beat the game. This game killed the Spyro series for me. (Although Season of Fire was slightly better.)

 

[requisitename]

My niece has Skylanders and I've really enjoyed it. It's easy enough for me to play without getting overly frustrated and it's an entertaining concept (to me). I found the story decent, though obviously aimed at kids. And Lord Kaos is voiced by Richard Horvitz, who voiced Zim on Invader Zim, which is cool. I liked that you could switch out the characters on the portal to play whichever one you wanted to (as opposed to "you must play this character here, then switch to this one there" like some other games I've played) and they all collect money and things separately, so in order to upgrade the powers of a certain char, you actually have to play with it.

The downside to it for a lot of people is that it's kind of on the expensive side if it's something you're not going to want to devote time to. You have to buy the starter pack (~$70), which comes with the portal and 3 characters (one each of three different classifications). However, there are either six or seven classifications. I forget which. Gates to alternative areas, where sometimes there is stuff you need, can only be accessed by a specific class (tech, fire, undead, magic, life.. um.. water.. hmm..), which means that if you want to complete the game, you're going to have to buy at least one char from each class. Additional characters are ~$8-15 or you can get a three pack for ~$20-30. It adds up after a while, considering there are (I think) 32 characters.

But, it was fun. I also liked the first Spyro game and I don't think I've played any others.

 

[Scarecrow1001]

What!??! Where are they?

 

[alik44]

The Legend of spyro trilogy series was good at least up until the third game when they shoe horned in the co-op but was still ok. on a personal level i prefer the trilogy over the original three

 

[T.D.]

Well I've still got the original trilgy on PSone and play them every so often. It is also my favourite series of that console, much as the Sonic games on the Megadrive and the Mass Effect games on the Xbox 360 (I missed the PS2 era).

Anyway you should definitely get them all as all three of them have aged beautifully, are still funny (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xedu7d_spyro-year-of-the-dragon-sgt-byrd-s_videogames) and still handle well.

Of course if you want a specific one, Spyro2>Spyro3>Spyro1.

 

[Ultress]

Like everybody's saying the original trilogy is great.The Legend trilogy is competent but nothing special,get together with some friends and riff on it and you'll probably have a good time.They're also the only PS2 Spyro's worth your time and it actually made Hunter kind of badass.

As the GBA games: Season of the Ice was awful, Season of the Flames is probably the best of the bunch(and the only one I'd fully recommend of the GBA titles),Rynoc's Attack is sort of fun if you know what your doing.

I won't comment on skylander's or the crash bandicoot crossover as I really haven't played either.

 

[Carl The Manicorn]

When I saw the title, I just about shit. Fuck yeah Spyro...

Anyway, pardon the nostalgia. The first three were the best. Great old school platforming and if you have some young children in your life, it's a great starter game for them. Spyro and Crash Bandicoot were the first two games that I played as a kid.