New ‘Spyro’ video game successfully remasters original

Chris Torres Staff Writer

In a gaming climate where remastering old games is the norm, it is not a surprise to see a remaster of one of the most popular platforming games in the gaming community.

“Spyro Reignited Trilogy” is the latest remaster by Toys for Bob. It is published by Activision, who also published the “Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy” last year. “Spyro Reignited Trilogy” gives players everything they remember from the first three Spyro games – “Spyro the Dragon,” “Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage!” and “Spyro: Year of the Dragon” – but adds updated graphics and gameplay.

Gamers play as Spyro the Dragon, who is tasked with a different objective in each game. In the first game, Spyro is tasked with saving his dragon friends who are trapped in crystals. Gamers must beat multiple levels in each world, which serve as hubs for the player to get to the next level.

When players have freed enough dragons or done any other task for the balloonist – the person who takes you to the next world – you will be able to advance to the next world. This leads up to a climactic final boss battle, and the other two games in this pack follow this similar pattern.

The gameplay is good, but it can be a little too faithful to the original. Shooting fire out of Spyro’s mouth to burn enemies and melee attacks feel smooth and responsive, but the camera and clunky movement can be a bit annoying.

In all the games in the trilogy, Spyro gets health from his friend named Sparx, which helps Spyro take damage from enemies. Once he is gone, Spyro is only able to take one hit from enemies which will kill him and force players to start over from a checkpoint. To make sure one is not low on health, players must eat insects like butterflies or fodder to recover your Sparx health.

The graphics are beautiful but faithful to the original content. Longtime fans will see everything they have seen in the original releases, but the beautiful scenery and character models of the different enemies will make even someone who has beaten the original feel like they are playing a different take on what they have played before.

Spyro looks the best that he has in years and players can tell every character model was made with care and a love for the series. The trilogy is worth every penny of its 40-dollar price tag. Picking this game up will give you hours of fun and will help get other great games the remastering treatment they deserve.