Spyro Reignited Trilogy

[DisturbedSwan]

Been plugging away at this in fits and starts since Xmas but have finally managed to make some headway on it this week since finishing DQXI.

 

I had been excited to play through these as I missed out on 1 and 2 when I was a kid but absolutely loved Year of the Dragon. I knew these games couldn’t match the levels of nostalgia I had for the Crash Remaster Trilogy but I nevertheless wanted to play through them and see if they stand up in 2019.

 

I’ve been playing the first game in the series, about 8 hours in. My impression so far has been a mixed one really, it definitely hasn’t matched up to Crash in terms of difficulty or challenge which has been a disappointment and the whole ethos of the game overall is way more chilled than Crash.

 

It’s more along the lines of a DK64/Banjo-Kazooie type collectathon platformer where you have to get x amount of items, gems etc. To 100% a level. These kinds of games are as rare as hens teeth these days and playing through it after lots of massively long games is a breath of fresh air. Every now and then it’s good to just play a game that is charming and fun and this has got both those elements in abundance.

 

The graphics are excellent too with some really beautiful areas, I’ve obviously no idea how these compare to the original but I know there was initially some controversy over the sky-boxes or something but that all went over my head. But yeah, each zone is of a fantasy-type motif but featuring the usual snow, desert, earth type areas but the heavenly one in the clouds I’m in now and the last swampy area have been a real delight.

 

I have found myself growing tired of it after awhile as the same collectathon-type levels (only broken up by the odd flying challenge level - which are excellent and provide the only real challenge in the game) get very repetitive after awhile.

 

Sometimes I can’t really be arsed to play it but then I’ll dip back in, get in a level and just get utterly lost in it. It really sets the ol’ endorphins off in the brain every time you do something, you get gems and a cool little melody plays, you kill an enemy and the same happens, you free a Dragon, you make a tricky gliding jump and it’s satisfying, it just feels good. It just ends up being a real dopamine rush with positive reinforcement after positive reinforcement handed out to you, like constantly getting patted on the back. It’s a nice feeling.

 

But yeah, it’s not amazing or anything but I recommend it for the £20-odd I paid for it. I have a feeling 3 will resonate with me the most since that’s the only one I’d actually played previously.

 

Pics:

 

Spoiler

 

[bellow]

I'm not too well at the mo, and have an urge to relax with something bright, easy and nostalgic. This fits the bill, and is on discount at the estore.

 

Also I believe spyro was the first game I played on a home console. I wasn't a gamer until my eldest kid decided he wanted a PS2 for Christmas years ago. And so it was basically helping him thru levels of spyro, ratchet et al. 

 

Of course I then had this idea to see what an adult home videogame was like and bought resi 4. Been gaming ever since.

[bellow]

This is a great game to play while you're playing another game. I wish I had it while I was playing assassin's creed blackflag, as that was heavy going at times, especially in the campaign. Could have done with a level or 2 of spyro for a bit of light relief.

 

As it is I'm 40 hours into FFX and I'm grinding these big mechs to try and get some level 3 spheres. I know there's a boss coming and I want to spend the 20 odd grid points I've amassed for yuna and tidus before I tackle any other big bads.

 

But I digress. Spyro. He's purple and likes gems. It's that simple.

 

 

[Sly Reflex]

Another game I streamed. You're going to notice a pattern here. I only played the first game, as I didn't want to play them back to back.

 

First off, man this game is beautiful to look at. They did a really good job of making it look how I remember it looking. Controls just as well too, which is more than I can say about another certain remake.

 

Jaunty little game that's dead easy until you get to the end, at which point the difficulty slams up to 11 if you're trying to get all the stuff. Terrible checkpointing on the last boss as well. I guess stuff like this is a sign of the times. Overall an enjoyable experience though, I'm looking forward to the next 2 games, whenever they happen to come out of the hat.

[bellow]

By 'terrible checkpointing' do you mean no checkpointing at all? It took me more attempts to beat that sumbitch than all the final bosses I've taken on in the last year, put together ?

[Sly Reflex]

It's a massive pisstake, right? I did more laps of that end chase than Lewis Hamilton has driven around Silverstone.

[bellow]

Ha. And I had to do it with the weird D-pad on the switch because the left stick on that console was next to useless on those tight corners. Spyro needs to learn how to drift.

[one-armed dwarf]

Spyro 2 is actually way better if you ever feel like playing another one.

 

Spyro 3 was uninteresting to me even as a stupid kid. Too many gimmicks (like crash 3)

[bellow]

Yeah, I'll be playing it. I love spyro. It's very relaxing. But I remember quite liking 3 when I played it with my kids when they were little.