Have you ever noticed that Sony doesn’t really have a mascot for their PlayStation brand? This is odd because Nintendo and SEGA both have on. And it’s not because Sony hasn’t ever tried to find one. The two characters that mostly represent the company best are Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon. Both of the series that feature these characters were big hits and eventually went multi-platform, which is why there’s no denying that these are the best series ever made. Crash Bandicoot came back into the spotlight last year with the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, and this year it’s Spyro’s turn with Spyro Reignited Trilogy. The Spyro Reignited Trilogy is an excellent remaster of the first three entries int he Spyro the Dragon series.
What does the game look like? Spyro Reignited Trilogy includes the original Spyro the Dragon, Spyro the Dragon 2: Ripto’s Rage and Spyro the Dragon 3: Year of the Dragon. All three games feature very light-hearted stories. In the first game, Spyro has to save other dragons that have been imprisoned by Gnasty Gorc. In the second one, Spyro is taking a vacation to recuperate from his previous adventure but ends up having to save a realm under attack by the warlock Ripto. Year of the Dragon sees Spyro having to recover 100 Dragon Eggs that have been stoled by the evil Sorceress and her assistant Bianca.
Why do we love it so much? Spyro the Dragon is the perfect representation of the 3D platform games of the late 90s, early 2000s. The moveset is extremely simple, with Spyro having the ability to jump, glide, breath fire and fly in select stages. There are no upgrades to the moveset at all, so it’s technically possible to discover everything a stage has to offer the first time through. An extremely welcome addition of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy is the ability to show a mini-map of each area, which makes exploration less frustrating.
But Spyro Reignited doesn’t just play great, it also looks great. The graphics have been redone from scratch, and they make the game almost look like a Pixar movie with excellent animations. The locations are extremely detailed and colorful. The only downside to this game is the performance. The game runs at 30 FPS on the original PlayStation 4 model, and there are some evident frame pacing issues. The frame rate also drops here and there, so the experience isn’t always too smooth. The soundtrack can also be a bit hit and miss, especially the dynamic soundtrack, but it’s also possible to play through the game with the original music from the PlayStation games. Voice acting, on the other hand, is spot on at all times.
All of that said, this is a truly great remaster. All three games pay homage to the original releases, and they even have a few additions that make it even better. Technical issues aside, this might be the best remaster of a video game, ever. Or at least that’s my opinion. You should find out for yourself.