QueenLyssa's Full Review: Spyro 2: Riptos Rage for PlayStation 1
He's baaaack! The world's sassiest underage dragon returns for even more challenging fun in Spyro the Dragon 2: Ripto's Rage. This time he's got to save a fantasy world from Ripto, a Napoleonic tyrant that just hates dragons.
Spyro's got a whole new set of tricks up his sleeve for this game, adding to his previous skills of charging, flaming, and gliding. Now he learns to dive, swim, head bash, climb, spit, and supercharge flame. He even learns to fly at the end of the game, allowing you to use this skill not just in the flying skills levels, but in every level you go back to! Don't get too excited, however. You're going to have to be damned good to get every gem and learn that trick.
Sparks the dragonfly is back at Spyro's side as the faithful guardian of health and collector of gems. Joining them on this adventure are an entire cast of characters, from fauns to hippos, miner mice to suit-and-tie robots. The worlds to explore have expanded as well, providing a huge variety of mazes, puzzles, and challenges for Spyro to conquer in his quest to oust Ripto and his dinosaur sidekicks from Avalar for good.
Once more, collecting gems is key, this time to learn new skills and obtain services from Moneybags, a portly capitalist whose cooperation is necessary to complete levels. Killing enemies releases spirit particles, which activate power-ups, temporary skills that allow Spyro to finish challenges. Talismans, collected for completing good deeds in each level, are used to open up boss levels. Orbs, found scattered about along with gems or given as rewards for challenges, open up levels as well.
The challenges this time are more varied and creative than in the original game, and require more logic, although blessedly such impossible feats as the dreaded Treetops level jump from the first game are toned down to tough but doable. More variety in characters allows for longer interest in the game, since each level offers new ways in which the victims of Ripto and his evil cohorts have been thrown into difficulty. The concept of rewards for good deeds is a definite plus for parents looking for a game that has a fun bit of ethics to it as well as entertainment value, but is put forth subtly enough to avoid being too preachy or saccharine for adults.
The graphics have improved slightly from the original, with a bit more smoothness and less problem with see-through scenery, although it's still noticeable, particularly once Spyro learns to fly and can get to places he can't in first play mode. Spyro is still just as cute and expressive with his confident smirks and furrowed brow of determination. The dialogue is clever and entertaining and much more integrated than in the first game, giving a slight RPG feel rather than pure adventure. The soundtrack is almost as good as the original. I found this one just a slight bit more repetitive, but still far from annoying. The reward world is perhaps the only disappointment, cute but not very extensive and a bit of a let-down after all that hard work to finish the game.
Spyro the Dragon was an instant hit for its challenge and entertainment to not only kids but adults as well, and Spyro the Dragon 2: Ripto's Rage provides even more, succeeding in offering a complete package that's sure to provide fun to everyone.
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