For those of you who have yet to play Spyro Reignited Trilogy, then know that it’s a remaster of the first three Spyro games of the original PlayStation era. Considering that there are three, one must think which of them has seen the most polish. I know the obvious case would be that the third game should outshine both the first and second in just about every aspect, but is that really the case?
In my personal opinion, I believe that the second game of the trilogy has more value over the rest. Why? Well, let’s get straight to it.
Remember that there are three titles that come with Spyro Reignited Trilogy: Spyro the Dragon, Spyro: Ripto’s Rage!, and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. Out of the three, the majority would choose the third as the one that outclasses the rest. If you’d ask these people for the reason why they feel that it’s superior, you’d usually get answers such as more characters to play as or new in-game mechanics to tackle. Make no mistake, these are great additions and they’re certainly implemented very well. But there’s just something that the third game lacked over the second.
“So what is that?” you may ask yourselves. Well, in my opinion, it’s charm. Specifically, the charm that each new level is supposed to bring to the player.
Let me explain, whenever you visit the many different worlds in the third game, do you feel a connection to any of them at all? Is there anything that makes them memorable? If you think about it, there may be a few. But if you contest that with the worlds in the second Spyro game, then it’s barely a comparison.
The reason for this would be the NPCs. Both Spyro: Ripto’s Rage! and Spyro: Year of the dragon have their own unique set of characters spread across different worlds. Majority of them help progress the plot but some are there purely for laughs. Although you know who they are, wouldn’t you wish you’d know more as to what they’re like? The second game in the trilogy actually shows you this via cutscenes. With them, you get to see what certain characters’ lives are like before you help them out, and you get to see the effects of what happens after you do. This is great as it gives these NPCs more meaning! Not only that, but it gives them a bit more personality as well! These cutscenes may only last for a few moments, but it’s honestly more than enough. What’s great is that they happen for every new world you visit! This means that you’ll get a feel for what these characters are like even before you actually talk to them.
Not saying that the third game has no cutscenes because it does. It’s just a shame that they’re limited through either very specific points in the plot or to certain characters. While they do add more to both the story and character development, they feel somewhat lacking. The ones you see in the second game feel more authentic and entertaining; It’s the fact that the dialogue is funny, the characters actually feel like they’re a part of the world, and that they’re actually likable which makes the second entry in the reignited trilogy feel more immersive.
As for the first game, you won’t be able to begin comparing it to the other two. In my opinion, it’s only to give you a taste of how Spyro’s adventure started. I will give it this though, the dragons you save in the remastered version are much more interesting than the ones in the original. However, that doesn’t really save it from being vastly outshined by its sequels.
But in the end, it’s all about one’s personal preference. All three games are of high quality and Toys for Bob did an excellent job handling the creation of the remastered version. If you have an opinion as to which of the three you found best, then go ahead and share it in the comments below.