Stratadrake's Full Review: Spyro: The Dragon for PlayStation 1
Spyro has now been celebrating his third birthday since Christmas 2000 when Spyro 3 was released in stores. Yet by my clock, he's still new and fresh, and for me, he's been around for 1 1/2 years. It's quite awhile, but the original Spyro still has its original charm.
I originally purchased Spyro for three reasons: The ads were funny, and I wanted to see what the game was like; The screenshots of the game looked colorful and fun, like any platformer should be; and I wanted to test the "Bleem!" emulator on my PC.
Not surprisingly, Bleem! didn't work on my PC (due to a faulty CD-ROM drive), and I soon purchased a PSX console. But by then, I had already bought 2 other PSX games, so a $60 investment for a used console wasn't a bad choice. Besides, the PSX games were never intended for PC use, and after three years, I've built up quite a collection of PSX games (almost 20).
My original reaction to Spyro 1 was total jaw-dropping, awe. This was mostly because Spyro was my first real PSX experience. Consoles almost by definition play games much more efficiently than PC's ever will, and I was immensely surprised by a fast frame rate and smooth detail.
Personal Tilt
+3 out of 5
Every rater has their own inherent like/dis-like of any game, and I sum that up in a little rating called "personal tilt".
I admit--I'm a Spyro fan; dragons are one interest that perked up somewhere between Spyro, Dragonheart, and Spyro 2. I've thought up my own theories for the fire-breathers, drawn them in art (and during class), and much more. So don't be surprised if my ratings of Spyro lean towards the positive side. I try to avoid this and be subjective when I write, but that's not always possible.
Graphics
Technical Merit: 3 of 5
Cinematics: 5 of 5
On the technical side, the developers at Insomniac slew together an almost flawless engine when they built Spyro. The game chugs along at a smooth and fast 60 frames per second, unlike most PC games where the framerate is subject to system configuration. Slowdown happens occasionally, but in my experiences, all instances of slowdown were brief and the game's engine compensated for it to keep Spyro running/flying smoothly.
One factor that alleviates slowdown seems to be unique in Spyro's engine. Instead of the common "mip-mapping" (using low-res textures at large distances), distant objects appear solid-colored, and the textures "fade in" as you get closer. This is a neat effect--you probably wouldn't be able to identify the textures at that distance anyway, and the solid colors are highly accurate.
The 3D characters (especially the dragons) are another plus. Insomniac used the "soft-skin" technique when they modelled Spyro (as opposed to the "hard-skin" technique used in the majority of PSX games). Spyro's coated in durable dragon-scales, but from the polygon-modelling perspective, he's soft-skin.
What is a "soft-skin" or "hard-skin" 3D model? From the 3D modelling perspective, "Hard skin" models are like a plastic mannequin. They were assembled piece by piece on an assembly-line of sorts, and all the pieces were joined together at the finish-line to create the model. Each piece of a hard-skin model can not move, bend, stretch, or flex, and because of this, they appear blocky. Furthermore, they exhibit a notorious amount of graphical bugs & glitches when rendered on the PSX hardware--glitches that are not visible from a distance, but rudely obvious up close.
"Soft-skin" models are different. Generally, unlike hard-skin models which are composed of several different pieces, a soft-skin model is one piece. Soft-skin models can not be broken apart like hard-skin models or plastic action-toy figures can. The telltale indication of a soft-skin model is that their textures shrink/stretch as the model moves around. Looking carefully at Spyro, you'll notice that his scales stretch and "flex" as he moves around. And strangely, soft-skin models are noticeably less buggy than hard-skin models when they're rendered on the PSX. You'd be hard-put to locate any clipping/sorting errors in Spyro. You can find them, but they're very rare.
Another neat feature in Spyro's engine is the reflective-metal surfaces used for many enemies. Reflective-metal surfaces does not require N64 hardware to reproduce, and Spyro's engine proves that. My jaw dropped when I looked at my first metal-armored foe; his metal looked that realistic. Reflective metal can be done with a simple texture-mapping trick, but I'm surprised that few PSX games have tried to work it out.
However, there are a few features missing from Spyro's engine. The most prominent is the lack of dynamic real-time lighting effects ŕ la Descent, Tomb Raider 2/3/4 (etc.). Spyro's natural fire-breath will never illuminate a dark cave to help you see better. Nor will the scenery darken should you try to break a light. However, I can understand that this was overlooked in the interests of efficiency, meaning that dynamic real-time lighting effects could have robbed Spyro of its smooth-as-silk frame rate.
Enough about technical detail. Cinematics is the more "subjective" part of graphics. Instead of measuring on technical merits, cinematics basically describes how "good" and/or "appropriate" the graphics are.
Spyro's world has vivid colors. Grass is pure green, sand is tan, sky is an ideal blue. Spyro is purple. Purple? Yes, Spyro is purple. Although it seems hardly the natural color for a dragon (especially with his yellow highlights), it's quite in line with the light-cyan, lime-green, cherry-red, Pikachu-yellow, and sea-blue dragons that you'll both meet and rescue.
As dragons go, Insomniac did their research, and these dragons have excellent proportions. If you'll recall the historical or even the 1980-era dragons, those dragons often were extremely serpentine, had disproportionately small wings/legs, and/or appeared overly fat. Spyro is none of these--Insomniac did a good job of separating these dragons from the serpents and lizards they are so often associated with, giving the dragons a uniquely recognizable physiology. Although my artistic dragons have their wings attached slightly below their shoulders....
Each of the 80 dragons that Spyro has to rescue comes in a unique combination of color, shape, stance (do they stand upright or on all fours?), and voice. Given about 8 basic colors (of which each dragon has two), perhaps 8 different wing/crest variations, and 6 different voice actors, you've got an instant recipie for 80 unique dragons--81 if you include Spyro himself. Personally, I prefer dragons to walk on all fours, but that's just me and my own art.
Sound / Music
Music: 4 of 5
Sound FX: 4 of 5
Spyro's music is streamed--a.k.a. pre-recorded. But this is okay. Although there are occasional pauses when the music tracks end and have to start over, there's plenty of music to go around; every world and level has its own unique tune. None of the tunes are truly memorable, but they meld so smoothly with Spyro's world that you'd almost have to be crazy to turn it off. Almost. I kinda wish there were some better boss tunes, but that's okay, considering how the boss levels are laid out (more on that later).
Spyro's sound effects--especially those of bottle rockets and breaking glass--are believable. In addition, all of the 80 dragons actually *speak* to Spyro when released. Audio data such as speech takes a bit of space in the CD, but it sounds better, especially considering the troupe of voice actors they used.
Gameplay
8 of 10
Spyro's controls are straightforward, especially since you can use the Left Analog Stick to directly control Spyro's movement. As with Mario/Zelda 64, the direction stick moves you relative to the screen (i.e. up is up, down is down, etc.) rather than the "forwards/backwards, turn left/right" schemes used in many other 3D games. And given the "passive" camera system that behaves much like (but better than) Mario 64's "Lakitu-Cam", you'll never have to worry about which button makes Spyro move what direction on-screen.
Spyro's camera is impressive. Unlike many 3D games, camera angles are a "non-issue". From the moment you start or load a game, Spyro remains on-camera for 99.9% of the time--even during the inevitable CD-loading sequences. And on the rare occasions that the camera might become "stuck" in a bad angle, you can press the Triangle button to quickly re-center it behind Spyro. You can also rotate the camera sideways with the L2/R2 buttons, and Spyro's camera is much less impudent than Mario 64's regarding this rotation--unlike Mario 64, you have direct control of the camera. There are a few occasions where the camera will "lock on" to an enemy boss ŕ la Mario 64 or Zelda 64's "Z targetting", but this is designed to keep the enemy on-screen so you can see what he's up to--and if you want to see where you're going, simply use the Square button to charge in that direction & the camera will follow Spyro like it normally does.
Spyro's adventure starts with the dragon families producing some sort of documentary on their five (or six?) worlds. This documentary has a somewhat unrehearsed, "home-video" appearance. Spyro runs around in the background chasing sheep; you can spot a microphone hanging from the top of the screen; and one dragon is visibly holding a note-pad in his paw. As the documentary proceeds, mention is made of a "Gnasty Gnorc" character, who was sealed up in a far-away land where he would pose "no threat" to the dragon world. Gnasty had, in fact, stumbled upon a way to rob the dragons of their 12,000 (or 14,000? The dragons couldn't decide which) gems and entrap them all inside of crystal prisons. Except for Spyro, who was a bit small (and running around at the time). Now the little dragon has some work to do.
Spyro's world is set up in a hub-system, reminiscent of Mario 64, with portals leading from one area to another. Fly through one portal, and Spyro flies to the level contained therein, while an on-screen counter tallies up all the treasure you've found so far. Spyro remains on-camera during this time, which is a clever disguise for the ever-present CD loading sequences.
When all the gems are tallied, Spyro performs a flying loop-de-loop, descends, and lands in the new level, and the action starts. Aside from dragons to rescue and gems to collect, each level is completed solely by locating its "Return Home" warp point--simply jump in, and Spyro is launched skywards back to the home world while any additional treasure is tallied.
Spyro has three main abilities. Charging head-down, crest-horns first into enemies and treasure chests; breathing fire from his mouth; and gliding. Each ability is assigned its own button on the controller. Square always makes Spyro charge, Circle always uses his fire-breath, and X is always your jump/glide button. Gliding is simple and automatic--simply press the jump button while in mid-air (many dragons in World 1 will describe how to glide). Spyro's three abilities can be mixed & matched in any possible way; for example, he can do an air-to-ground charge attack and breath fire while gliding. Although the said air-to-ground attack cannot be stopped until Spyro touches ground again (a glitch fixed in Spyro 2), Spyro is one of the games where you master the controls quickly and spend the rest of the game putting them to good use.
In addition, Spyro's abilities can be powered up. Seven levels exist where Spyro is given the ability of genuine flight (not just gliding). Super-charge ramps allow Spyro to ram through enemies (even the large, charge-proof enemies) and obstacles at Audobon speeds. Fairies, always on the dragon's side, can power-up Spyro's fire breath, allowing him to incinerate any enemy--even the metal ones which are normally fire-proof.
An interesting quirk in Spyro is that while many enemies are fearsome, virtually all require only one attack to defeat. Charge the small and metal-armored enemies, flame the larger ones. There are a few enemies that require a powered-up Supercharge or Superflame to defeat, but those enemies are easily recognized and almost-as-easily dealt with.
Spyro also supports vibration feedback, a new standard in the PSX controller. This provides tangible feedback every time you crash, hit a wall, charge through an enemy, get fried/singes/electrocuted, etc. And the controller literally rumbles whenever you free one of the dragons.
Spyro has a sidekick--Sparx, a glowing dragonfly. Dragon, dragonfly, hmm.... Anyway, Sparx follows Spyro around everywhere you go and serves two purposes. First, Sparx is Spyro's health indicator. Regardless of how strong Spyro's dragon scales might be, he's not invincible; and besides, he's only a young dragon and his scales might not be fully developed. It's Sparx's job to "protect" Spyro. Take a hit, and Sparx changes color from glowing yellow to sparkling blue. A second hit, and Sparx changes to a weak green. Take a third, and Sparx disappears altogether. A fourth hit and Spyro himself is toast. By looking at Sparx, you can indicate how much health Spyro has left; Sparx is an on-screen health indicator.
Sparx's second purpose is just as important. Whenever Spyro nears a gem lying on the ground, Sparx will fly up to it and grab it for Spyro. This makes it a lot easier to collect gems and powerups, for you don't have to trample over the thing to grab it. Sparx's ability to grab it is dependent upon Spyro's health (his color), and if you're low on health and don't have Sparx at all, you'll need to walk over the treasure yourself to grab it.
Because Spyro can glide, the levels are designed to implement this. There are limitless gaps that can only be traversed by gliding, and by the time you're halfway through, gliding will have become second-nature. Wide-open spaces rule the scenery. Even in the most underground of worlds, the levels are never cramped and you have unlimited opportunities for gliding.
In many levels, if you can locate the highest point, you can glide just about anywhere else. In addition, there are several opportunities for supercharges--and if you leap off a ramp at supercharge speeds, Spyro will truly go THE distance. "Tree Tops" in particular seems to be set 100 miles above the ground, and the trees don't have bridges between them, meaning that you'll be airborne a good portion of the level. If you like a challenge, two thieves in that level will give you that challenge--follow their lead, if you can! One thief leads Spyro on a chase totalling two supercharge ramps, one lap around a tree, and two amazing jumps. The other leads Spyro on a chase with three supercharge ramps (the last in reverse), five spectacular jumps, and a do-or-die glide at the end where a single imprisoned dragon awaits.
One mistake while performing either of these chases will either crash Spyro into a wall, land him on an obscure platform, or drop him into the Great Down Below. Ahhh, the joy of flying!
One limit that was removed in Spyro 2 is this--Spyro can't swim. If Spyro's feet get wet, he sinks, and if you don't jump out of the pool, he'll drown. Even if you jump out, Spyro still takes damage (this being the only occasion where a bad landing can kill you), meaning that you can hit water only three times before Spyro simply drowns.
And what of the adorable sheep? Dragons are carnivorous creatures, right? A few "meals" are definitely in order. Harmless animals like sheep, frogs, chickens, even rats and bouncing toadstools are called "fodder", and for a good reason. Charge them to knock them out, or flame them and they're literally toast. Destroy fodder and a butterfly is released. Sparx, the dragonfly, then chases the butterfly around for a second before chomping it on one gulp and restoring his color by one point. Yes; fodder isn't Spyro food, but dragonfly food. The upside is that by attacking fodder, Spyro's health is easily restored. Fodder locations naturally grow fewer and farther between as the levels progress.
One single demerit in the level/world structure is that only one boss in the game is truly required, and that is Gnasty Gnorc himself at the very end. Fighting the bosses is a good test of endurance (and agility), but if you've freed enough dragons, located enough gems, and/or rescued enough stolen dragon eggs, you can avoid the interim bosses altogether.
Fighting against the bosses is less action-oriented than it is puzzle-oriented. Generally speaking, you must approach the boss, avoiding his attacks, and hit him with one of your own. Then the boss retreats. You follow him, avoiding more attacks, and land a second hit. He retreats again, you follow him again, and hit him a third time to finish him off and reveal the "Return Home" point. The method is similar for each boss, but the challenge rises with each world. The boss of the swamp world is a large, metal robot powered by several nearby power-poles. The robot is both fire- and charge- proof, and without any supercharge/superflame options available, you'll have to improvise and destroy the metal poles that power the robot.
The dream-weavers boss, a spring-like "Jacques" creature, follows the approach/attack/chase pattern, except that Spyro will be required to perform much more precision acrobatics along the way--and in that encounter, one false jump and Spyro is literally toast.
Gnasty himself only requires only two direct hits to defeat, but actually inflicting those hits is a severe triple-challenge of racing agility and an extra challenge of quick gliding. Oh, and do be careful not to fall off in the process; there are no checkpoints and no fodder in this level, so if Spyro loses the fight, you'll have to start the level all over again! While you don't have to flex your combat muscles, you're maneuvering abilities will be thrashed several times before you finally defeat Gnasty.
Replay Value / Fun Factor
Replay: 3 of 5
Fun Factor: 4 of 5
With easily-defeated enemies and puzzle-oriented bosses, Spyro is less of an action game than an action/adventure hybrid. The worlds are unique and large, if not expansive. There is no map to help guide you, which adds slightly to the expansive/immersive feeling, because you have no way other than sole experience and spatial memory to locate where you are in a level. The ability to glide and fly is Spyro's key selling point. While most levels have a straightforward route from start to finish, they also have several side-routes that contain enemies, gems, dragons, or even dragon eggs. The dragon eggs were stolen by thieves, and the only way to catch the thieves is to chase after them in a race. Only one thief will actually stay in place without running, but that thief will require a bit of hunting to find.
The flight-based bonus levels are another piece to the fun factor. Gravity is all but nonexistent when Spyro takes to the air. Just remember that if you hit a wall, you need to act quickly or Spyro will hit water (ending the bonus level). There are 32 targets in a bonus level, and by hitting each and every one, the level is complete and you can subsequently fly/explore it without a timer ticking away. It's a pity, though, that the only thing worth exploring the bonus levels for is their eye-candy.
Spyro's replay value is unfortunately, mediocre. As with most other platform-based games, once you've beaten the game, found every secret, and completed the final secret level (yes, there is one!), there is nothing new in Spyro's world. No new puzzles, no new challenges to take Spyro on another ride with once everything is said and done.
But after a month of gliding, soaring, charging, and firebreathing, Spyro still keeps the appeal that persuaded me to purchase it originally, possibly because dragons have since then become my favorite animal and interest. Spyro is an original game with an original mascot; and when you've mastered the original, the adventures of this purple dragon continue with Spyro 2 (Ripto's Rage) and Spyro 3 (Year of the Dragon)!
If you're wondering how I can type so much in a single sitting, I compose my reviews off-line using WordPad and post them when I finish.
Cheers to the little purple dragon who started it all!
cjrodehau@hotmail.com Store SPYRO THE DRAGON PLAYSTATION PS1 ORIGINAL NEW, SEALED! Title: Spyro the DragonPublisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Ameri...More at eBay
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