Hey there everybody, Happy New Year’s to you all, and welcome to my review of Spyro 2 Ripto’s Rage! A couple months ago the Spyro Reignited Trilogy was released, featuring remastered versions of the original three games in the series. I didn’t have the time to play through all three in order to do a review of the whole thing, so instead I thought it would be better to review each game separately as I get to them. One of the reasons I enjoyed the First Spyro so much was due to it’s simplicity. The game is very straight forward, and it’s something fun you can play even if you’re sick, or really tired, that doesn’t involve a lot of complex mechanics. Spyro 2 has much more going on, with lots of added features, which can be good, or bad, depending on how you look at it. So let’s get started, and I’ll give you my thoughts on this classic sequel.
Spyro 2 Ripto’s Rage is a platform game that was originally released in 1999 for the PlayStation 1. As part of the recent Reignited Trilogy it’s received a complete graphical upgrade, while staying true to the original in terms of gameplay mechanics and story. This picks up right where the first game left off, with an exhausted Spyro who’s ready to take a vacation to the beach. He goes through the portal that should bring him there, but instead ends up in the kingdom of Avalar. He’s greeted by three new characters, Elora the Faun, Hunter the Cheetah, and The Professor. It turns out that while experimenting with their portals they accidentally let in Ripto, an evil warlock, and his minions, Crush and Gulp. The only way to defeat Ripto is with a Dragon, so they brought Spyro over in hopes of saving Avalar.
With no way back to the Dragon Realm, Spyro has no choice but to stick around and help them. Now you’re off on a whole new adventure in a brand new place, with lots of levels to explore. The basic layout of the game is very much like the original, featuring three main hub worlds containing portals to various levels within. You still run around collecting gems, but this time they are used to purchase things from one of the new characters, Mr. Moneybags. That’s not all that’s new in Spyro 2 though. In order to open more portals you have to collect a certain number or orbs that you can get from completing side quests for NPCs. To get to the next main hub world you need to get a special artifact from each level that will allow you to access that world’s boss fight.
You can already see how the developers wanted to make this sequel a more complex experience, but they didn’t stop there. Just like the first game Spyro has his charge attack, flame breath, and the ability to glide, but that’s only the beginning. Eventually Spyro is able to swim underwater, allowing him to reach submerged treasure and new areas. He can also climb up certain structures like a ladder, and finally he gets the headbash ability, which is a powerful attack used to break open rocks and cages. Now you have a lot more freedom to explore levels, and much more variety in your options for puzzle solving. So far all the changes I’ve mentioned have been welcome additions to the base mechanics, making this a much more well rounded game. There’s also a bigger variety in level and puzzle design, as well as actual boss fights.
As part of the Reignited Trilogy this game has some amazing visuals that really make each level pop. All the great character and enemy designs are highly detailed, and the game as a whole is full of beautiful animations. Not only does each of the three main hub worlds have it’s own distinct theme, but every level within them feels like it’s own place. The lighthearted tone of the game is very endearing, full of the same charm that the original had, and I appreciate that. But even though Spyro 2 has a lot more going on, I feel like they didn’t quite know how to execute everything. There were definitely some moments here and there of frustration, where I had to keep doing the same thing over and over again before I got it to work. This is especially true if you’re trying to %100 the game, or get the platinum trophy.
As the first sequel in this series the game does a great job of keeping all the main parts of the original intact, while expanding upon them in creative ways. The new mechanics and characters are all great additions to the series. There’s more variety in level design, and much better boss fights. But if you’re someone who’s going to try and fully complete the game, you’re probably going to have to deal with some troublesome areas. That being said, I had a great experience while playing this. It definitely has a lot more to offer in terms of gameplay, it just wasn’t as smooth and relaxing as the first game. Obviously that’s just personal preference, and probably the nostalgia I have from playing Spyro 1 so many times as a kid. This is still a great game that I highly recommend, and I’m going to give Spyro 2 Ripto’s Rage a grade of……………………………
B
Thank you for reading my review of Spyro 2 Ripto’s Rage, I hope you enjoyed it!
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