Growing up as a platformer fan with the NES and SNES consoles, the transition to the Sony PlayStation felt seamless when a purple dragon namedSpyromade his presence felt. Since 1998, this little nightmare has been breathing fire, collecting gems, and taking down anything and anyone that got in his way.
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Those who wanted to explore Nintendo’s JRPG catalog in the 2000s would have to rely on its handhelds rather than home consoles.
Over the span of 20 years,Spyro The Dragonhas been wreaking havoc on several platforms, first beginning with the PlayStation and then becoming a serviceable member to Microsoft and Nintendo. This comprehensive list will include every title from the introductory title in 1998 byInsomniac Games, to his final, reworked collection in 2018.
Prepare to take flight and lower your head to ram into the enemies ahead as we count down the very best ofSpyro The Dragon, a staple in the platform gaming world.
Mobile games aren’t included in this list, soSpyro: Ripto Questhas not been ranked below.
13Spyro: Enter The Dragonfly
A Broken Mess of a Game
Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly
If you ended up picking up this game in 2002, for either the PlayStation 2 or the GameCube, I am genuinely sorry for you.Spyro: Enter The Dragonflywas the firstSpyro gamenot on handheld in two years, and it failed to live up to any expectations that fans of the franchise had built up.
Spyro: Enter The Dragonflyis what happens when a developer is eager to rush a game out the door while ignoring all of its flaws and bugs. What the player base ended up getting was a broken-down mess, numerous glitches, in-game quests that would fail to load, and constant crashing.
To make matters worse, the parents of a child who suffered epileptic seizures filed a lawsuit against Universal, Check Six, Equinoxe and Sony. Not only could you not play the game without running into problems, but players inevitably found out it’s probably best if they don’t play the game at all.
12Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy
It’s Like Pokémon, But Terrible
Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy
If you’re able to give Vicarious Visions credit for anything related toSpyro Orange: The Cortex ConspiracyandCrash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage, it’s that they tried. Unfortunately, the two titles that closely resemble the Pokémon theme for games fell flat on their face shortly after launch.
In a world where Ne’er-do-wells Cortex and Ripto team up to bring humanity to their mercy, it was only natural forCrash Bandicoot and Spyroto align and create an unlikely duo that could have made millions. Instead, we got a shell of both characters and an uninspired story.
Mini-games that make little sense and a playtime in the four-to-five-hour range left us all wondering what could have been. Considering these games came out in 2004, Vicarious Visions could have benefited from keeping these games in development for just a tad longer.
11Spyro: Attack Of The Rhynocs
So, You Like Side Quests?
Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs
Another Spyro game from the Game Boy Advance collection,Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocsis the third title in the trilogy that also featuresSpyro: Season of IceandSpyro: Season of Flame. Unfortunately, it’s the weakest of the three games and pales in comparison to its predecessors.
The mechanics and graphics are similar to Ice and Flame, but this game runs mostly on completing side quests for non-playable characters. You’ll always be sending Spyro out on a journey to collect an item, and sometimes, those items are in a part of a map that isn’t open yet to the player.
Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocsis at least functional, which you’re able to’t say for the games listed before it, but it’s still not a fun experience. By the first two hours of gameplay, you begin to wonder if your time is better spent cleaning your room or washing the dishes.
10Spyro: Shadow Legacy
An Ambitious Attempt At An RPG
Spyro: Shadow Legacy
What happens when you take apopular platform game’s main characterand throw them into the world of an RPG? You getSpyro: Shadow Legacy, a bold idea that looked great on paper, but ultimately should have been left there.
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For what it’s worth, I enjoy RPGs and thought this game was fun… at first. You quickly find yourself going through tedious tasks and taking on field enemies that appear to have a life bar that is longer than all three Lord of the Rings movies, combined.
What you’re left with is an almost soulless game that feels like more of an attempt to try something new and outside the box, but fails to capture any of the essence of Spyro himself.
9Spyro: Season of Ice & Season of Flame
Smaller Budget Leads To Bigger Games
Spyro: Season Of Ice
Technically, these are two separate titles released in two years, but they’re essentially identical games.Spyro 2: Season of Flamewas released in 2002, but featured the same functions, mechanics, and story, trading in the ice age for a world engulfed in flames.
The two titles were exclusively handheld, releasing on the Game Boy Advance, but hold up as the best on the device. One game will have you saving fairies, while the other swaps those winged-pixels for pixies. Both are satisfying, despite the minor changes.
Considering these two additions to the franchise were quite stingy on the budget, the overall product was wonderful. It was a testament at the time that developers didn’t need all the money in the world, they just needed an idea and a plan to effectively roll it out in a digestible fashion.
8The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
The Dragon’s Return To Grace
The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
After multiple attempts at a refresher with the Spyro series, developers Krome Studios, Big Ant Studios, and Amaze Entertainment put their efforts together to bringThe Legend of Spyro: A New Beginningto both console and handheld devices. I think it’s safe to say this time around was a success.
Where this game differs frompast Spyro gamesin the franchise is its departure from a platform-based style to focusing on the action. If you like smashing enemies and utilizing different abilities,The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginningwill bring you hours of fun every time you start it up.
What’s even crazier is the cast of voice actors in the game. Elijah Wood provides his voice for Spyro, Gary Oldman voices Ignitus, and David Spade and Cree Summer join the team to take on the roles of Sparx and Cynder, respectively.
7The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night
An Enriched Story With A Heavy Budget
The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night
Although TheLegend of Spyro: The Eternal Nightreceived mixed reviews, it serves as an excellent sequel to the previous game of the same trilogy. It manages to keep all the fast-paced action from its predecessor, while adding more exploration and puzzles to solve.
There are also some really neat things added to the game, including Spyro learning elemental breath attacks, giving him access to fire, ice, earth and electric powers. This addition will keep players on their toes as they shuffle through the different elements against enemies that may have a weakness to one.
It’s a bit on the side of button-mashing action, but the mechanics and gameplay are enough to keep players coming back. For those looking at a bigger challenge, the highest difficulty will have Dark Souls players smiling from ear to ear.
6The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon
The Spyro Game We’ve All Been Waiting For
The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon
The final installment of the Legend trilogy is also the best one of the bunch, asThe Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragondid everything possible to surpass the previous two games. Launched in 2008, Spyro fell into the hands of French developer Étranges Libellules and saw immediate improvements.
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It’s worth noting thatSpyro went from PlayStation 2 graphicsto the PlayStation 3 during this time, so we were bound to get a more polished product, graphically speaking. The many stages and open-world approach will leave you breathless as you take to the skies.
Players also have the ability to fly freely across each map, giving you the ability to take in all the beautiful scenery. I won’t spoil the ending to this trilogy, but let’s just say that it’s quite possibly one of the most beautiful and satisfying endings of the entire franchise.
5Spyro: A Hero’s Tail
Get Ready To Grind For Those Gems
Spyro: A Hero’s Tail
Spyro: A Hero’s Tailbroke down new doors by being the first game in the franchise to have ports on all three major consoles. GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox players around the world got to jump into the fire-breathing adventures of everyone’s favorite purple dragon.
You also have the opportunity to jump into the roles of other characters, such as Hunter the Cheetah, Sgt. Byrd, and Sparx the Dragonfly, to engage in some fun mini-games. The option to switch between Spyro and countless friendly critters will provide for extra hours of different game modes.
My only issue with this title is the time you spend grinding away for gems. It can be tedious for many gamers to sit there for hours collecting the necessary gems to exchange for a key, and I fully understand if you’re not about the grind lifestyle.
4Spyro: Year of the Dragon
One of the Wilder Spyro Experiences
Spyro: Year of the Dragon
Everyone loves a good shake-up, andSpyro: Year of the Dragonis just what the doctor ordered. While maintaining the core values of Spyro and the gameplay everyone loves, Insomniac Games manages to give us unexpected twists and turns, and provide tons of comedic moments.
We also get many degrees of difficulty when playing the game, which opens up accessibility to new and experienced players alike. It doesn’t matter if you were a pre-teen or someone in their 30s,Spyro: Year of the Dragonwas enjoyed by all age brackets at the time.
If universally acclaimed had a poster child at the turn of the millennium, this title makes a strong claim for it. It was also the last time anyone tuned into a Spyro game and had little negative to say before the golden-horned character fell into a bit of a development slump.
