My Favorite Video Games: Spyro

Source

Ah, Spryo... I have so many great memories playing this game and getting lost in the stories and characters. This gem from Insomniac Games was another one of my first games for the original Playstation. I played and watched my sister play all three of the original series (Spyro the Dragon, Ripto's Rage and Year of the Dragon) but my all time favorite was Ripto's Rage, with its beautiful locations, great gameplay and humor. Also who doesn't love dragons? Spyro is probably in my top 3 dragon following Dany's dragons (Drogon, Viserion and Rhaegal) and above Temeraire (I've only read the first book so far). Anyway his relationship with Sparx and the countless memories will always have me thinking back fondly on the littlest purple dragon.

The original promise involves Spyro striking out on his own following Gnasty Gnorc's takeover of the Dragon Kingdom (he encased all of the dragons in crystal)  and trying to restore order back to his lands. The series has such longevity as the main character can jump through any number of portals to get to new worlds (the premise of the second game) which allows for new fresh stories and interesting characters like Hunter and Elora. I have some great memories looking up cheats to make Spyro big or paper thin, and of course of the endless frustration trying to achieve 100% by getting all of the treasure and orbs.

From the atmosphere to the minigames and the puzzles, I couldn't get enough of this game. I would totally play it when they release an HD version a la Sly Cooper or Jak & Daxter. Some of the best parts of Spyro happened when I just went up to a tall location and glided around the area looking at all of really cool stuff the game had to offer (which was pretty detailed for being 1998). And of course the worst parts would happen when I would inevitably fall off of a ledge to my doom or get killed multiple by the realm boss, but I would still come back to play to see all that the developers had created. Although I haven't played the game in a long time, I will always think of it fondly and reminisce on the purple dragon and his fairy friend.