With the remastered trilogy coming out in a few months, I went through the original Spyro the Dragon. This was a game that was an alternative to Crash Bandicoot. It has held up well for the most part and plays smoothly for being about 20 years old.
For the core gameplay, you collect treasure, save dragons, and find eggs through over 30 levels in six different worlds. In one of the most razor thin plots, Gnasty Gnorc has turned dragons into crystal after an insult. As Spyro, you can charge, use dragon flame, roll, and glide. It's a game that you can pick up and play and instantly get the hang of it.
Graphically, it's a beautiful looking one. There's nice backgrounds and areas. The dragons and enemies are unique in their worlds. Animations are fluid for the time. It's music is phenomenal. Led by Stewart Copeland, he creates a fantasy world while incorporating a bit of rock from his days with The Police and making movie soundtracks. Sound effects are like watching a cartoon. Voice acting can be a little cheesy, but it holds up a lot better than most other games of the 32/64-bit era.
Spyro's level design is built around his attacks and flying. They make it enough of a challenge that you can figure it out on your first or second try and then you can fly by the level in a matter of minutes. It is a little bit linear, but you have a lot of freedom in movement in the space of the level. You will adapt very quickly to how each level plays.
This is a little difficult, but not on that level of the original Crash Bandicoot. You have a dragonfly that serves as your health and getting hit without him loses you a life. Hazards include water and lava. My only complaints are some of the later levels being a bit too difficult and the flying not being as smooth in those later ones leading to a few lost lives. But if you're looking for something on the PlayStation, Spyro the Dragon is a must for anyone looking 3D platformers from the late 90s.
Score: 8 out of 10
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