Spyro Reignited Trilogy

Something about seeing classic Playstation games remade in HD, with 144hz support, and released on Steam 100% tickles my pickle.

Everyone's slaying demons is Doom Eternal and I'm sitting here digging Spyro and having a blast.

Similar to Crash Bandicoot, Spryo the dragon needs no introduction for those of us who grew up during the PlayStation 1 and 2 era. However, unlike Crash, I have never fully played the original Spyro trilogy, so rest assured that this review is not clouded by nostalgia. Nevertheless, I had a delightful time playing through Spyro Reignited Trilogy and applaud the developers for this incredibly well done remake.
Played with PlayStation 4 controller
✔️Positive:
Simply a great 3D platformer.
Spyro does a great job at introducing distinct levels with varied and challenging objectives, all of which are rounded off by the responsive controls. I found that most levels are well designed in terms of progressive difficulty, checkpoint locations, and whirlwind spawns (allows you to quickly reach ledges you have already visited to avoid backtracking).
This trilogy also does an excellent job at integrating story by combining a charmingly diverse cast with fantastic voice acting. Put together, the gameplay and story form a fulfilling all-age-appropriate experience that is both fun and memorable.
Given that I grew up in the golden age of 3D platforming, I find it a pity that this genre is no longer popular. Discovering a prime example, such as Spyro, makes me happy!
Three for the price of one!
The three games obviously share the same core mechanics but each game put has its own unique spin to it (Spyro 2 was my favorite). It took me approximately ~30 hours to 100% this trilogy but there is plenty of replay value given how fun the experience was (you also get 3 save slots to work with). Great value for the quality and quantity of content provided.
The guidebook is incredibly useful.
As you may know, Spyro follows the trend of many 3D platformers in the sense that the main objective is to collect something: petrified dragons in the first, orbs and artifacts in the second, and dragon eggs in the third. You can also choose to collect all gems (collectable currency) per level, if that floats your boat.
The guidebook provides an excellent summary of your progress, and makes it abundantly clear what you are still missing. There is also the added bonus that you can teleport to any level (you have already visited) at any time through the guidebook menu; progress is automatically saved no there is no need to worry about exiting levels. I am a big fan of this feature since it made it incredibly efficient for me to do my completionist thing.
Sparx, the dragon (noice) fly is the best companion you could ask for for three reasons:
Your health bar is represented by Sparx’s presence and colour. Unlike measly Spyro, who can only take one hit, Sparx will tank up to 3 hits for you before perishing. Sparx will always take a bullet for you.
Sparx will happily collect gems in your near vicinity, like a magnet effect.
In case you are ever searching for missing gems or collectables, Sparx will point you in the right direction! By pressing the R3 button (PS4 controller), Sparx will lunge forward, directing you towards the nearest collectable, so you will never have to search blindly. Again, great for completionists.
The opportunity to bully Mr. Moneybags is the best ending anyone could have asked for.
➖Neutral:
Spyro 3 introduces new playable characters with levels that are specifically designed for them.
While I appreciate the concept and creativity, I often found the levels tedious and sometimes unnecessarily drawn out. The Sparx levels were especially dull in my opinion (Sparx is still the best companion though!). Thankfully this only accounts for a small portion of the game and is somewhat optional.
❌Negative:
The main downside is the infamous Achilles' heel of this genre: the camera.
This is good for the most part but there are more than a few noticeable exceptions. Segments that require alternative forms of movement, such as swimming, flying, skateboarding, or super charge (running at high speeds) often were less enjoyable because of the camera. It also doesn’t help that most of these segments are at high(er) speeds, making it harder to avoid mistakes. As a result, many of these segments become frustrating trial and error experiences.
There are numerous autoscroll/pre-scripted segments, most of which are quite long and unforgiving.
It can be quite tedious to redo ~4 minute segments because of one mistake.

🏅Verdict:
★★★★☆ Vintage is cool
Spyro Reignited Trilogy is undoubtedly a great remake. Nostalgia-driven gamers can be some of the most critical people out there, so it really speaks volumes that the community is so pleased with the outcome. Who knew that combining great vintage gameplay with modern day performance/graphics would be a recipe for success? Camera issues aside, Spyro is an excellent 3D platformer that is suitable for all ages and all skill ranges.
NOTE: Nostalgia not required to enjoy this experience.
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🇹🇭🇦🇳🇰 🇾🇴🇺 🇫🇴🇷 🇾🇴🇺🇷 🇸🇺🇵🇵🇴🇷🇹!

A great platformer with lots of exploration and collectibles.
The worlds and characters are beautiful and fun.
Some levels can be challenging, even frustrating ( looking at you Spyro 3's mini games ! ) but all in all you should be chilling and having a good time.
A game that I love to replay from time to time.
Remake : So beautiful ! Everything is breathtaking.
You're closer to Spyro than in the original, made me and a friend a little sick at first... but after a few levels you should get used to it.
The new scenery can make things harder to find ( because there's so much to see, it's easy to miss a doorway or a gem in the grass ).
Some mini games are easier.
In the 2nd game, the intros/outros are ( to me ) less funny than in the original because the overexaggerated eyes and mouths were part of what made it fun; now the graphics are just too realistic to do this, but if you haven't played the original it shouldn't be a problem and it really just feels that way with the intros/outros of the 2nd game, the others are perfectly fine.
Lifespan : ~5 hours for Spyro 1, ~7 hours for Spyro 2 and ~9 hours for Spyro 3 ( to get all collectibles ).
Story : From the official site :
Spyro 1 => Gnasty Gnorc has returned from exile and has unleashed evil magic on the Dragon Realms, trapping the Dreagons in crystal and raising an army of Gnorcs. Spryo, with his friend Sparx the Dragonfly, is the only Dragon left who can traverse the six Homeworlds, free the Dragons and save the day!
Spyro 2 => Spyro has been brought to the land of Avalar to defeat the evil sorcerer Ripto who has brought war to Avalar's Homeworlds. Each Homeworld is being held captive by Ripto and his minions, and it's up to Spyro to defeat them and bring peace to Avalar's realms.
Spyro 3 => The Dragon Realms are celebrating the "Year of the Dragon" when a mysterious cloaked figure emerges to steal all the Dragon Eggs. Under the spell of the evil Sorceress, an army of Rhynocs is now guarding the helpless eggs in the Forgotten Realms. With new and old friends, Spyro is on a quest to recover the lost eggs, defeat the Rhynoc army and stop the evil Sorceress.
The story is really basic in the 1st Spyro, you almost get none.
In the 2nd you get a main story + little intros and outros for each world which are really nice to watch.
For the 3rd, you lose the intros/outros for the different worlds ( sadly ) but you get much more cinematics for the main story.
Gameplay : The purpose in Spyro is to collect things. Gems in particular + something related to the game's story ( mostly Dragon Statues and some Eggs in the 1st, mostly Orbs and some Talismans in the 2nd and mostly Eggs in the 3rd ). If you don't like collecting things, this game is not for you. The whole point is to search for collectibles.
There are different worlds, each with its own theme ( for example fairies, swamp, war, pirates, ice, lava... ). You get from one to another through portals.
You'll have enemies on your path, you can either flame them or charge them ( depending on the enemy, some are immuned to Fire for example ).
You'll also have lots of platforms, where you'll have to jump and glide from one to another to reach your goal.
Sometimes you get special powers that will help you in some tasks. For example a super charge that makes you go really fast and enables you to break almost anything. A super flame that enables you to break/kill almost anything. A super fly that enables you to actually fly ( except for some levels, you can only glide ).
You have some glide levels where you always fly and have to do a set of things before the time runs out. In the 3rd one they add a race to these levels.
In the 2nd and 3rd, you get mini games ( especially in the 3rd ). Some are nice, others will give you nightmares but you shouldn't get stuck on them too long.
The little dragonfly that follows you around is your health bar, when you take a hit it goes from yellow to blue, then from blue to green, then it disappears, then you will actually die. You can "recharge" your "health bar" by feeding it butterflies you get by killing small creatures in the levels ( like a frog or a chicken ). Sparx ( your dragonfly ) can also help you find missing gems when you press the left joystick, he will point in their direction. He will also pick up the gems that are nearby and after an "upgrade" in the 3rd game, he can even break vases to get the gems inside them.
Camera is sometimes annoying as hell.
There are so many videos and discussions on Spyro that if you get stuck on something, you should easily find something to help you.
Achievements : You usually have one achievement per world, and nothing too annoying. If you fail an achievement, you can just retry : either by dying or by leaving and reentering the world.
There's a guide that lists all achievements in order so that you can easily look up what you need to do before entering a level.

If you feel old and sad play this game and you will be transfered back to your childhood when everything was still good.

It's amazing to see this again as an adult years later. Some of these levels and characters are very nostalgic to me, and it's wonderful to be able to see them again. The enemies have just the right level of quirk, personality, and difficulty to be memorable but not too dangerous and some of the puzzles (anything with supercharge) can be elusive.
I could have sworn for the life of me that this game was harder, but maybe the difficulty curve just flattens when you get twenty years older.

Great comfort food.
I don't know how I got sucked into 100%'ing all three games, but I did. I swear, I wish Ubisoft would take a note from these classic platformers where getting *everything* is actually addictive and rewarding.
I grew up with the original trilogy -- I had all three, and have really fond memories hunkering down on weekends and doing nothing but play Spyro. They weren't ever a series that defined my childhood, but they were great games, either way.
All three titles here -- and it really feels like you're getting three complete games with their own identities for the price of one -- have held up really well.
The original has near perfect, straightforward platforming and adorable character designs. The second adds a small handful of minigames, layers the secrets to require minimal replaying, and actually has a plot (of sorts -- it's still really shallow). The third goes absolutely bananas on all the experimental pieces of Ripto's Rage and takes them to 11, while also adding more depth to the characters' personalities & dialogue.
They're all solid 8/10 platformers, but the third might be the weakest one here only because it inches a little too close towards TOO MUCH. Since it has the most minigames of the set, too, a lot of them are the buggiest part of this package. (The danged races in Lost Fleet (& the entire Lost Fleet level, tbh) and the secret round just killed me, they were so broken.) I don't think I had a single issue with the first two games.
It was a bit odd playing the full trilogy here and realizing I...I don't think I ever beat any of these games as a kid. *Maybe* the first. Maybe. Woohoo! Victory!