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The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon: Spyro Grows Up,
Posted by Flynn De Marco at 7:00 PM on April 28, 2008
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Spyro franchise, Sierra and Estranges Libellules are teaming up to bring you The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon. This title will complete the trilogy of Spyro games that includes A New Beginning and The Eternal Night. Spyro has long been considered a kids game and while it is still being marketed to a younger audience, the franchise has definitely grown up.
The first thing I noticed was the graphical upgrade. For a cartoony style game, the backgrounds and character models looked really nice. The water rushing by in a nearby river was particularly well done. Once I stopped gazing a the backgrounds, it was time to take a look at Spyro himself. His character model has matured with the franchise and he looks a bit more like a teenager than a baby dragon. This game also marks a new power for Spyro: flight. In previous games, Spyro could only sort of hover and glide a short distance, but now he has the full power of flying at his fingertips. Joining Spyro in his adventures is Cynder, a rather goth like female dragon who was formerly an enemy in the last game. You can play as both characters by switching back and forth with a button press or bring a friend along to play in co-op mode.
Spyro isn't the only thing that has grown up in this game however. The battle system has matured greatly as well, adding in God of War and Devil May Cry type fighting elements. Despite the violence of these two games particular style, Spyro manages to pull the best elements while still remaining kid friendly. For instance, Spyro's ability to harness the elements features a Kratos-like electrical area attack that will take out multiple ememies at the same time. The spouting fountains of blood and severed limbs however, are absent. Cynder has her own set of abilities as well that make use of her darker shadow powers, using things like poison and fear. Gems can be collected throughout the levels to help power up Spyro and Cynder's various powers. Sets of armour can be found throughout the game that can be mixed and matched or use one whole set to gain bonus abilities.
Spyro also boasts a pretty hefty voice acting cast with Elijah Wood returning as the voice of Spyro, goth girl supreme Christina Ricci as Cynder, Gary Oldman as Ignitus, Wayne Brady as Sparx, Mark Hamill as the evil Dark Master and Blair Underwood as Hunter. It is expected to hit in early October on the Wii, DS, PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360 with the PSP oddly absent from the lineup. The gameplay on the various systems will vary slightly as they always do, but the storyline will remain the same. The PS3 version will even take advantage of the Sixxaxis controls although this control scheme will be optional. Apparently they have learned a lesson that the creator of a certain other dragon flying game didn't.
All in all I really enjoyed what I saw of this latest Spyro title and the new battle system seems like it might cross that line from pure kids game into attracting some more open minded adult gamers who enjoy a cartoony romp. As a fan of the first Spyro game, I will certainly be interested in checking it out once it is released to see more of how the the little purple dragon has come into his own.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
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Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.
Posted 7:56 PM 28/4/08
until spyro is as badass as those bosses i'm uninterested
Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.
Mienvard
Posted 7:26 PM 28/4/08
Loved the first games, but the decline started rapidly. Haven't paid much attention since Enter the Dragonfly. The loading and slowdowns on that was dreadful. Our retiring PS2 wasn't really up to playing it much either.
Still love my Spyro plushie, he's fucking badass.
Mienvard
Onizuka-GTO
Posted 7:15 PM 28/4/08
hmmm....never got into the spyro thing, probably because i never owned a PS/PS2.
looks fun! I wonder how i'm gonna explain to my co-workers that im playing a purple dragon on my DS besides the usual Advance Wars?
meh.
cross. bridge. later.
Onizuka-GTO
JoRo1986
Posted 7:10 PM 28/4/08
@Pombar: We can only hope so!
JoRo1986
Pombar
Posted 7:08 PM 28/4/08
The original Spyro trilogy are undeniable classics. I wonder if this game finally recaptures some of that...
Pombar
JoRo1986
Posted 7:07 PM 28/4/08
These games have never been the same since Insomniac developed them. For shame. However, this one perks my interest, mainly because my wife LOVES Spyro and it's about the only console platformer she'll play. The fact it has co-op makes it even MORE desirable. I hope it turns out good!
JoRo1986
RichardChaos
Posted 8:14 PM 28/4/08
The second Spyro game was one of my favourite games... ever, as a kid.
And I watched the series just go right down to hell after. Hopefully this might do something better.
RichardChaos
A_Knothole_Resident
Posted 8:00 PM 28/4/08
Spryo? Didnt that die out during the Playstation 1 era?
A_Knothole_Resident
Foxstar Sixtail
Posted 8:56 PM 28/4/08
The first three Spyro games were great, the GBA titles (Seasons of Ice/Fire) with okey but everything else has largely been complete shit from the time Sypro left Insomniac.
However this perks my interest and at least to me shows that the devs seem to be willing to do what it takes to bring Spyro back up to snuff as a enjoyable game.
@A_Knothole_Resident:
No, what happened was Imsomniac lost the IP or w/e and like most 'mascot' games, Sypro's been making the multiplatform rounds for a few years now and like Crash, each game has been a toss up between semi viable and crap, a game made to sell to the 10 and under crowd and a small die-hard group of fans and furries.
Foxstar Sixtail
Zilor
Posted 8:51 PM 28/4/08
I would really like a game like Spyro again if you actually started out as a young baby dragon, even with a Spyro like style but each chapter/game the art style nd dragon mature. Starting out toony, ending up realistic, I guess also woring as a mehtod toportray the way people change the way they look at the world as they age.
Zilor
kylo4
Posted 8:48 PM 28/4/08
I had never played Spyro before since I didn't own a Playstation 1 even though I wanted to so it was great that the PS3 had it in its store. Ever since I've been a fan, and await to see how this release will do.
kylo4
Kenny
Posted 9:21 PM 28/4/08
Spyro stopped being worth anything after Insomniac sold the license. I bought "Enter the Dragonfly" thinking it would be of the same caliber as the PS1 games... oh how I was stupid, young, and wrong.
Kenny
Orin
Posted 10:26 PM 28/4/08
that Lair comment was uncalled for, Since F5 released a patch to add analog control, thus meaning they DID learn a lesson. but enough picking fly shit from pepper, this game looks rather interesting for a platformer.
Orin
TomSkylark
Posted 10:16 PM 28/4/08
Wait, is the 10th anniversary of Spyro really all that worth celebrating? My Monday morning brain says, "Mm, probably not." Still, I guess it's good for series diehards, right?
TomSkylark
Ashurahori
Posted 10:04 PM 28/4/08
Spyro has had incredibly bad games since Insomniac left it. It's too bad.
Ashurahori
v-rus
Posted 10:55 PM 28/4/08
I loved Spyro. It was the only game I bought to play on a friends playstation.
But after the second game, I lost any interest in the series.
v-rus
Caduceus
Posted 10:53 PM 28/4/08
Damnit, now my 10th wedding anniversary coincides with Spyro. Anybody know of something cooler?
Caduceus
animemecha
Posted 10:48 PM 28/4/08
Haven't played a Spyro game since Year of the Dragon.
Damn, how long ago was that?
animemecha
el_rezzo
Posted 10:38 PM 28/4/08
@TomSkylark: A remake of the original game by Insomniac for PSN would be better, but this could turn out okay.
el_rezzo
GcRayden
Posted 1:18 AM 29/4/08
+ Watch video
lol, I remember seeing that as a kid all the time before I got my first Playstation...good times! I'm going to lol so hard if they finally decide to make a giant sheep a boss.
GcRayden
turbofreak
Posted 1:26 AM 29/4/08
I love the old Spyro games. I actually have the limited box with all 3 original PS Spyro games. I still play them from time to time. Classics!
turbofreak
foxwarrior88
Posted 3:23 AM 29/4/08
Ever since Insomniac stopped making Spyro games, all the other Spyro sequels have sucked.
foxwarrior88
TearsandScreams
Posted 3:19 AM 29/4/08
Now, as a complete opposite to what I said about Crash, Spyro is awesome, and a loveable character to boot. I remember loving the original games, a guilty pleasure if you will (because they weren't the coolest games to have, at a time when being cool mattered). If this is good I'll be a smiling pixie.
TearsandScreams
ph15h needs followers
Posted 3:14 AM 29/4/08
Nintendo: Mario
Sega: Sonic
Sony: Crash Bandicoot vs Spyro... They've went multi-platform and since then they've sucked. Anybody else noticed that?
Hopefully Spyro gets back to that original Trilogy Quality. Sonic Unleashed should save Sonic. No comment on Crash Bandicoot... Hurts to think about saving that one.
ph15h needs followers
xyzface
Posted 5:33 AM 29/4/08
Insomniacs spyro 3 was one of the best games on the ps1 in my opinion it was longggg...shame about all the latest ones..anyone notice you could catch an episode of family guy while waiting for a level to load in spyros first ps2 outing
xyzface
Lijik
Posted 5:32 AM 29/4/08
Estranges Libellules is developing this? Sold. I absolutely loved the Asterix games they made.
Lijik