Scratch that, there were two franchises that basically made the first PlayStation. While Crash did a good job with platforming, a young Dragon named Spyro would be the second king of the PlayStation with his exploring type gameplay. Spyro was created by Insomniac Games after Insomniac saw Crash Bandicoot's success. They wanted to pit a rival against Crash, even though Insomniac and Naughty Dog have very close relationships to each other. Thus, Spyro was born. So, what's the plot of the first Spyro adventure? It's been a very peaceful time for the 6 Dragon Worlds, with 14,000 total amounts of treasure helping with the cause. This peace is shattered by Gnasty Gnorc, an evil overlord who was locked up in the 6th Dragon World for causing mischief. Even though the Dragons isolated Gnasty Gnorc in his world, Gnasty put a spell on all of the treasures and transformed the Gems into his own minions. What's worse is that he's encased all of the Dragons in the 6 Worlds in hard crystal. The only surviving Dragon that lived through the ordeal was Spyro, a young Dragon who is beginning to learn the steps of becoming a real Dragon. Spyro, accompanied by his firefly sidekick, Sparx, sets off on an adventure to free the dragons, reclaim the stolen treasure in various chests and monsters, and most of all, defeat the evil Gnasty Gnorc.
GAMEPLAY --> 7/10
Your main goal in Spyro is to free dragons and collect treasure. A dragon statue will be visible on a platform. If you step on that platform, the dragon will be free and they will usually give you a tip along the way of the level. Treasures are scattered everywhere in every level. They are usually found in chests and after defeating Gnasty's minions. Blue Chests contain a Dragon Trophy, which upon grabbing gives you a 1-up. In worlds 1-5, there is 1 hub level, 3 main levels, one bonus round, and one boss level. World 6 has only 2 main level, 1 boss level, and a secret level which is opened by getting all of the treasure. Spyro can flame and headbutt enemies, but can't flame enemies with metal armor or charge any oversize enemies. By pressing the X button twice, Spyro can temporarily glide in the air. This is a very useful move to get pass long gaps or to save yourself from traps. Sparx is Spyro's useful sidekick. He is the hit-point indicator: If Spyro is damaged once, Sparx turns blue; If Spyro is damaged twice, Sparx turns green; If Spyro is damaged 3 times, Sparx will disappear. If Sparx disappears, you can easily miss treasure that surrounds your area, as Sparx would automatically get the treasure to you instead of walking right through the treasure. Plus, with Sparx gone, Spyro is left unprotective, and if damaged one more time, Spyro loses a life. You can get Sparx back or give Sparx more power by defeating smaller enemies such as Sheep, Moving Mushrooms, Bats, etc. and Sparx will either come back or will eat a butterfly for more power.
GRAPHICS --> 7/10
Even though the worlds are so vivid and creative, i've seen more PlayStation games that defines graphics. The enviroments range from grassy flats, ice caves, deserts, towns, and even a swamp that supplies electricity. The enemies were designed very well, however. Commondo Gnorcs and Gnorcs with guns give you a sense of how serious Gnasty's minions are. Spyro looks (and even sounds like) a little kiddie-like, which would change in Ripto's Rage. The Dragon's expressions are ok, with every dragon having a unique design. Overall, good graphics, but nothing extraordinary.
MUSIC --> 6.5/10
Even though Steve Copeland developed all of the soundtrack to Spyro, the first game's music is clearly not his best work. Although there are a few good tracks on there, and even some that are my favorite Spyro tracks, the majority of the music in here, well, doesn't suck, but it's just boring. Mainly most of the tracks in here have the same theme of electric guitar and drumming like you're in a rock concert. This could get boring after a while just hearing the same style of music over and over. The Ending Credits theme is my favorite Spyro track, because it finally cut all of the generic rock style and made it something different. So, in general, the music is passable, but really needs to be more original.
REPLAY --> 3/10
Spyro can get real boring after a while. Not only is there 1 secret level for you to only unlock, but there are barely any minigames or side-quests to do besides the flying stages. Bottom line, I've only played this game frequently in my lifetime, and trust me, it really gets boring just hunting for the same old treasure.
DIFFICULTY RATING --> MEDIUM
This game is a breeze if you're a pro. The boss battles really don't cause any strategy besides flaming the right area of the enemy. Although, there are some major secret spots that are hard to get to, especially on the Tree Tops level, where even the slightest miscalculation on your glide can send you somewhere else or to death.
OVERALL --> 7.5/10
Not the best Spyro game, but it was a start for a franchise to yet become...
GAMEPLAY --> 7/10
Your main goal in Spyro is to free dragons and collect treasure. A dragon statue will be visible on a platform. If you step on that platform, the dragon will be free and they will usually give you a tip along the way of the level. Treasures are scattered everywhere in every level. They are usually found in chests and after defeating Gnasty's minions. Blue Chests contain a Dragon Trophy, which upon grabbing gives you a 1-up. In worlds 1-5, there is 1 hub level, 3 main levels, one bonus round, and one boss level. World 6 has only 2 main level, 1 boss level, and a secret level which is opened by getting all of the treasure. Spyro can flame and headbutt enemies, but can't flame enemies with metal armor or charge any oversize enemies. By pressing the X button twice, Spyro can temporarily glide in the air. This is a very useful move to get pass long gaps or to save yourself from traps. Sparx is Spyro's useful sidekick. He is the hit-point indicator: If Spyro is damaged once, Sparx turns blue; If Spyro is damaged twice, Sparx turns green; If Spyro is damaged 3 times, Sparx will disappear. If Sparx disappears, you can easily miss treasure that surrounds your area, as Sparx would automatically get the treasure to you instead of walking right through the treasure. Plus, with Sparx gone, Spyro is left unprotective, and if damaged one more time, Spyro loses a life. You can get Sparx back or give Sparx more power by defeating smaller enemies such as Sheep, Moving Mushrooms, Bats, etc. and Sparx will either come back or will eat a butterfly for more power.
GRAPHICS --> 7/10
Even though the worlds are so vivid and creative, i've seen more PlayStation games that defines graphics. The enviroments range from grassy flats, ice caves, deserts, towns, and even a swamp that supplies electricity. The enemies were designed very well, however. Commondo Gnorcs and Gnorcs with guns give you a sense of how serious Gnasty's minions are. Spyro looks (and even sounds like) a little kiddie-like, which would change in Ripto's Rage. The Dragon's expressions are ok, with every dragon having a unique design. Overall, good graphics, but nothing extraordinary.
MUSIC --> 6.5/10
Even though Steve Copeland developed all of the soundtrack to Spyro, the first game's music is clearly not his best work. Although there are a few good tracks on there, and even some that are my favorite Spyro tracks, the majority of the music in here, well, doesn't suck, but it's just boring. Mainly most of the tracks in here have the same theme of electric guitar and drumming like you're in a rock concert. This could get boring after a while just hearing the same style of music over and over. The Ending Credits theme is my favorite Spyro track, because it finally cut all of the generic rock style and made it something different. So, in general, the music is passable, but really needs to be more original.
REPLAY --> 3/10
Spyro can get real boring after a while. Not only is there 1 secret level for you to only unlock, but there are barely any minigames or side-quests to do besides the flying stages. Bottom line, I've only played this game frequently in my lifetime, and trust me, it really gets boring just hunting for the same old treasure.
DIFFICULTY RATING --> MEDIUM
This game is a breeze if you're a pro. The boss battles really don't cause any strategy besides flaming the right area of the enemy. Although, there are some major secret spots that are hard to get to, especially on the Tree Tops level, where even the slightest miscalculation on your glide can send you somewhere else or to death.
OVERALL --> 7.5/10
Not the best Spyro game, but it was a start for a franchise to yet become...
