Where Spyro 2 Went Wrong (and Right)
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- Опубликовано: 18 сен 2019
- Spyro 2 is a mess. But I was able to learn a lot about the series and discussion about art by creating this video.
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Hope you all enjoyed this one. Probably won't be covering the rest of the series, as I don't feel strongly about any of the games after Spyro 2. For a shorter and simpler video, this one got more personal than I thought it would, but I think it was necessary for you to understand where I was coming from.
Don't let go of those memories you have with childhood games, regardless of what anyone says.
Please make a video on spyro 3 that's the last good game in the series and my personal favourite
You should at least round out the trilogy and do the third game.
DevannB Honestly I’d just be satisfied knowing how the consensus came to Spyro 2 being the worst of the trilogy when 3’s Spyro levels follow a pretty similar collectible structure
I like your videos because your opinions are very reasonable
Legend of the dragon ( #3)
Is the best one!!!! Seriously, please do it :)
The one thing I think that Spyro 2 nails that its predecessor doesn't is character. You get cute dragon animations and an occasionally smarmy and snarky Spyro along with an amusing interview framing device, but Spyro 2's worlds are so alive and filled with character. Spyro is a good-hearted snarker, Hunter is a massive goober who talks the talk and does just enough of the walk to make up for him being a loser, Moneybags is perfect in every way and every word out of his mouth oozes punchable charisma. I feel like what you spoke about with the hubs, in a way, reflects toward all of the game. Sure, hockey isn't that fun, but it's a fun idea for these monks to host a hockey league, and even more fun for these cavemen to want to go see the monks' hockey game if they weren't too busy being frozen in ice forever.
I really think that's the enduring legacy of Spyro 2: its world. It's got the core Spyro gameplay to carry it, and then all of its missions are in service of making little challenges feel either cohesive or silly. Where level design fails, individual moments prevail in memory. Do I find that makes for a better overall experience? Not necessary, character is a LOT more subjective than mechanical design, and suffers more on replays when you're looking for that design foremost. But even as someone in the Spyro 1 > Spyro 2 camp, my childhood memories of the second and third games are WAY more vivid than Spyro 1's, and I think that personal connection is why. Spyro was real good at that.
But you do definitely highlight all of the weaknesses and shortcomings of the game in a way that shows how this evolution of the series was not necessarily for the best, and that experience, I think, is more helpful than anything in making another great game in this franchise. So thank you for that.
What? No love for Elora? You dork. (JK)
That’s true. We get a hint of Spyro’s character in 1, but we don’t get too many cutscenes to show it. That changes with Spyro 2 and 3.
Greatsaiyakirby Elora is best girl lol I’ve been gay for her ever since I was a little girl haha!
True, the characters and little worlds of every level makes it way better than Spyro 1
Lil Bo Peep by far my favourite
Even though there are problems it''s still my favorite spyro game. Too much nostalgia
Despite the criticism, Spyro 2 is by far still my favorite of the trilogy.
Just played the trilogy for the first time. 2 stood out as the best. It improved on the first game without taking it overboard and making it too easy like the 3rd game.
@@jonathandixon7760 To easy. TO EASY!!!??? The first game took me around 50 tries to beat the ending, AND I couldn’t even finish the game because of the stupid flying levels! I like to complete everything and hate time limits. So the second game is hardly even fun. I am forced to play with one hand, but still.
@@ravenlight6373 you cant read
@@toooydoeur yes I can
@@toooydoeur :[
6:16 *Trouble with the trolley, eh?*
To me, I feel like Spyro 2 shines in its characters. All of the allies and enemies have great personalities. And each level has a unique type of enemy and has a cutscene before and after. In the first Spyro game, all of the characters (besides Gnasty Gnorc) feel like they have no importance to anything in the game. An example in Spyro 2, is the war between Zephyr and Breeze Harbor. You go to both worlds and help each with their side of the war. This makes it more memorable to me. And I know you are thinking that Spyro 3 also did this, and you are right it does. Spyro 3 is a great game. He’s just talking in the video of what it did wrong as a sequel to the first game.
Trouble With The Trolley Eh?
He certainly had trouble with the trolley, I’m guessing
Spyro 2 has better characters, even crazier puzzles to solve, and so much visual variety. But yeah, the unneccesary backtracking and having to recomplete levels during those backtracks are a drag.
Spyro 2’s storyline and intro of new characters to the series integral to the story (Hunter, Elora and the Professor) and the way the levels were interconnected (the war between Zephyr and Breezebuilders for example), the comedic opening and ending cutscenes to EVERY level and just the general fun-factor of the game makes Ripto’s Rage the strongest entry in the series IMO
💯
I have FAR FAR too much nostalgia to see any faults in this game whatsoever. It's perfect in every way and I've lost count of the number of times I've 100%'d it. I've just played through the Reignited Spyro 2 and similar to yourself, had such an amazing combination of nostalgia and awe at the graphics. To see a world I love so much come to life in such detail meant so much to me. Thank you for this video!
I don’t care what anyone says I love this game
💯
Yup. It's just the current popular game to trash on in the trilogy. Spyro 1 was the punching bag for a long time because of the elements it lacked compared to 2 and 3, and 3 was shit on a lot (even by me) because of its rushed and somewhat buggy state, but at the end of the day, I'd still rather play any of the original trilogy of Spyro games than Crash Bandicoot. Not that I dislike that series, but precision platformers aren't as appealing to me as 3D platformer collectathons and Spyro is the best.
@@LucifronzIs it really popular to hate on Spyro 2 right now? That’s so… sad…
I’ve always seen Spyro 1 as even weakest. It’s by far the most 1 dimensional. That isn’t to say it’s bad, but it is the most repetitive.
I strongly agree with what you said towards the end. Liking/disliking a game, book, or movie doesn't have to do with objectivity. You don't have to convince people. You just like like it. Period!
Personally I would always come back to Spyro 2 every few years or so and make sure to 100% it. Sure there are a few aspects that can annoy me, but I'm not bothered by the easy missions. I always thought of it as cool and neat mini-games that gave the game a lot of life, never as a insult to intelligence despite their occasional lack of difficulty sometimes.
Yeah, I actually got annoyed in Spyro 1 at how linear and easy it was to 100% a level and then just forget about it. But then again, the characters weren't as interesting, the scenarios in each level were only hinted at, not built upon by the NPC inhabitant dialogue like in Spyro 2.
Bruh. Elephant herding was dope. It’s a mini puzzle of seeing how the cows react to the player’s abilities (flame gets them higher, charge further) and then using the appropriate one at the appropriate time based on the level’s terrain.
Shit, i played it 2 days ago and didnt figure it out. Thanks for enlightening me, this is life changing.
Ripto’s Rage has the most memorable levels and bosses and overall design. I didn’t even own it as a kid (a friend did and I only own YotD) and it still stood out to me.
In my opinion, it is the best!
I've replayed the original trilogy a few months back. 2 is the worst one.
Irrelevant BMB You are crazy lol But I can respect your crazy opinion.
@@asuuki2048
I didn't even give reasons why I think so, and yet you still respect my opinion? I suddenly feel bad now.
Irrelevant BMB Haha, the Internet needs more love
Personally, I like the whole forcing you to replay a level to 100% it by making you come back after gaining a new ability. I liked that about Metroid and I liked it in this as a child. It was only an absolute pain with redoing the alchemist mission in Fractured Hills, but other than that, I felt like it kept things fresh and exciting.
I found that too when I played Spyro 2.
I do find it interesting that this is the best Spyro game for some and the worst for others. I didn’t feel the back tracking was overwhelming in this one. Particularly your first play through it’s fun to find stuff to come back to later.
I do understand if you complete the same game multiple times you will find some aspects to be grading after awhile
The worlds felt special enough and designed in such a way that you were fine with it, like rewinding your favourite movie and seeing something totally new in the background.
The thing is though is that Spyro is not an Metroidvania style like game. It's an open sandbox/collecthon. There's an big difference.
I don't. I love Spyro 2 and take offense to it being called the "worst" over something so minor, but that element was stupid and objectively made the game worse. There is no reward in forcing a player to redo a mini-game just because they didn't have the precognitive ability to see that it would be a prerequisite for another mini-game right after, especially such an annoying mini-game at that.
I got through it just fine in my recent playthrough, but it's something I always struggled with when I was younger and now that I'm much smarter and more experience with the Spyro games, I always skip most of Fracture Hills so I can come back to it once I've gotten the right ability. I'd do the same for Glimmer, but the excitement of starting a new Spyro game always gets the better of me, so I begin by being thorough.
I love your videos, specially on Spyro, and when I was playing the reignited trilogy recently (after not playing spyro for almost 10 years), I did felt like the second game was the least good of the three, and I have a real emotional attachment to that game, Spyro 2 was the first game I ever finished by myself and it means a lot to me, here's the story if interested:
When I had my PS1, I aways played games using Gameshark, I never felt like I could finish a game without cheating, I was even kind of afraid of trying to play games without cheats, then one day I forgot my gameshark at a friend's house, on that day I was playing Spyro 2 and got to the final boss, then I noticed that I lost my gameshark, I was really afraid of trying to beat Ripto by myself with no cheats, so I pulled some courage and tried to defeat him, and then... I DID IT, that is my first memory of me beating a game, and that's moment I realized that I can indeed finish games all by myself.
I am a very insecure person since I was a kid, but that story reminds me sometimes that I am able to do stuff even if I don't think I can
I noted that there wasn't any mention of the cutscenes that happened at the beginning and ending of every level! Honestly, I thought that was a great feature, and I wish they would have brought that feature back in Spyro 3
They did make up for it by giving you progressive cutscenes of the Sorceress. They were really focused on the villains in that game and giving them a presence, which is a nice touch, although a shame they didn't just do both (but they were eager to get the game out sooner, so that didn't help).
The hub level tracks weren't composed by stewart copeland. They are a part of the distorted reality sample pack that stewart used when making the soundtrack
Huh. Ive never played spyro b4 and after finishing the remastered I considered 2nd to be the best
REMAKE
If you like 2 then play the original 2 not the REMASTER.
Supperior in every way except level design.
Exactly. I thought Spyro 2 Ripto's Rage (1999) was the best out the trilogy. It was my favorite as a kid back then. Classic
Spyro 2’s storyline and intro of new characters to the series integral to the story (Hunter, Elora and the Professor) and the way the levels were interconnected (the war between Zephyr and Breezebuilders for example), the comedic opening and ending cutscenes to EVERY level and just the general fun-factor of the game makes Ripto’s Rage the strongest entry in the series IMO
@@Sakuya727 Agreed
Spyro 2 was my first game in this franchise too and I remember spending so much time in Autumn Plains just prancing around, charging and swimming. I'm still amazed how fluid and fun just moving Spyro around is in these games, you really felt like a dragon.
I also used to herd the elephant-cows back and forth in Zephyr just because I could. Spyro the rancher dragon xD
6:12 Heh. Crystal Fissures.
"spyro 2 is the worst one"
Trouble with the trolley ey?
When I was a kid, I would always just put in the Unlock All Abilities cheat right from the beginning. And, you know... I don't think the game really lost anything from me doing that.
It really doesn't. I used that code on my last playthrough a couple months ago, and it was honestly more fun to just smash every level on my first go with all Spyro's abilities.
I think the biggest draw for so many with Spyro 2 are the little details: Hunter having a voice that is both "cool" yet tinged with slight dopeyness that makes him so endearing, Zephyr and Breeze Harbour are at war with each other connecting the worlds, in Fracture Hills, it's shown how the Fauns annoy the Earthshapers with their music and this continues in Magma Cone, giving a larger sense of scale for the separate worlds, all the little animation details and subtle sound effects.
Whilst the gameplay of Spyro 2 was.... awkward to say the least in comparison to the simplicity of the first game and refinement of the third, I think the overall design of the world itself was far more intriguing and that's why people remember it so well.
I can't wait to see what you have to say about YOTD... The only one I ever played as a kid. I have such fond memories for that game.
Thanks for the quality videos man, always good to see in my feed.
December 1999. My parents bought the PS and Spyro 2. I'm so happy that THIS was my first game. I always found the controls of Spyro 1 to be strange and uncomfortable. 2 and 3 ''feel'' perfect to me.
I respect your opinion but I strongly disagree xD
Part of me likes the back tracking in 2 and 3. But part of me loves that I can just go into a level and 1 shot it fully.
Actually, uh, about the hub world themes... I'm pretty sure Stewart Copeland didn't make them, he used premade music from a pack for that.
Just find out about it.. the samples he uses is from a CD called distorted reality 2... look it up here on youtube.. you’ll be surprised how much Steward Copeland actually did use... but he’s not alone. Even Koji Kondo did also use alot of samples in the Zelda Games from the N64 era.
Spyro 1 is by far my fave. Even replaying it to this day, it’s the one I enjoy most
High five dude, me 2, Spyro 1 is the best of the three by a long shot.
@@HeySteef hell yeah! I mean I love all 3 of the first ones but the first one just hits the spot for me, that the others don’t
I had similar experience with the second hub world. Finding that route to the top of the castle felt incredible as a kid and I would often return to that height to see where I could glide to. That was my first video game experience of trying to reach areas that the games creators didn't intend to.
I loved replaying the speedway sections and then discovering that there was a hidden orb. When I landed in the crowd and triggered a dialogue sequence I thought I had discovered an Easter egg. As a kid, I felt like I could have been the only person that discovered this and it felt amazing.
The boss fights felt intense and beating them were extremely rewarding-these were likely the first ever boss fights I faced in video games.
My favourite thing, and the thing that I think has influenced the creative profession I am in today, is the different characters and world styles this game had on offer. Robotic farmers, farm animal invaders, bird soldiers fighting a war with a slug world, mice prospectors, Irish fawns that lived in a Volcanic world. It felt like the toys I played with in my room and the low polygon design at the time allowed me to project my own imagination onto them. Like you said, the remake is what I thought the game looked like when I was a kid. I'm still shocked to see how it looked back then, I could have sworn it was way more detailed.
I've just finished this one and moving onto Spyro 3 soon and I can't wait.
I personally will always come back to Spyro 2 as a comfort game. It's one of the first few games I ever played, one of the ones I played with my dad a lot (who loved gaming) and now one I and my husband are playing and he's experiencing for the first time. The music and the characters were what had me hooked (and what have attracted my hubby to now play since he originally watched me playing it). Emotions are what can make some games that aren't so great still be good. That they have these memories attached to them.
Spyro 2 has the most character out of the series. While, it’s shorter than other entries, the fine detailing is exquisite. I love that each level has its own intro and outro scene, the orb challenges are well thought out and varied, and it introduces new mechanics without ever feeling bogged down.
The third game tried to expand further but I feel it sacrificed a lot of the character and humor achieved in Ripto’s Rage.
This was one of the first games I ever played. I didn’t have a memory card for my original play station so I never git too far past the second boss. But ten years later, a neighbor friend gave me his old PlayStation and he had Spyro 2, so I got to finish it at last and still had a blast playing it as a teen. Curiously, some of the annoying orbs you mentioned were my favorite mini games as a kid, especially the hockey game
I have incredibly similar feelings and experiences with Spyro 2. It was the game of my youth, Summer Forest was a place that I disappeared to when the isolation of being disabled became to much (even if I couldn't completely comprehend those feelings at the time).
I've long had the same thoughts on balancing nostalgia with genuine critique, and the idea of letting yourself get lost in media, but hearing you say those things, with the visuals and sounds of Spyro 2 as the backdrop was incredibly emotional for me, more so than I would have expected.
This isn't even my first time watching this video, but maybe at 23 years of age, with the fear of the growing up and losing my true youth getting stronger every day, it was very impactful to hear those words attached to that imagery. Thank you for that.
Spyro 2 will always be in my top 10 games of all time. I was born in 1993 so you can say it's nostalgia, but to this day it's so fun to play, collect, and beat everything it has to offer
Brilliant video man, absolutely love the closing statement you made regarding nostaliga, subscribed.
In regards to Glimmer, as a kid I also found it infuriating to have to return to it just to climb a ladder...but my third or fourth time playing through it, I had the idea to try and use the superflight powerup near the end of the level to fly up to that ledge. As it turns out, if you fly through the window and charge through the hallway into the cave before resuming flight, you can JUST make it!
When I finally bought Reignited a few months ago and started up Spyro 2, I found that strategy still works, and I'm delighted that I'll never have to backtrack to Glimmer ever again! 😁😁
Beautiful words at the end there
I love the original Spyro 2 and 3 for their juicy full-color graphics.
Even though Spyro 1 also shared the same graphics.
@@superlombax1561 If you're talking about a game engine, then maybe. But the Spiro 2 and 3 color palette is definitely more saturated than that of 1 part.
I really liked what you said at the end about memories and nostalgia. Extremely well-put. I’m subscribing to you and I’m upset I didn’t know about this channel sooner.
Now, I know you said you probably won’t do anymore Spyro games, but at the same time, this video makes me extremely interested in what you’d say about Spyro 3. As someone who has always held that one as my favorite, I’ve frequently heard the exact same song and dance before. That Spyro 2 is God’s gift to 3D platformers and Spyro 3 is a “confused mess” with the only reasoning often being “I don’t want to play as anyone other than Spyro.”
And I found that odd because Spyro 3 seemed to fix many of the things that made me frustrated when playing Spyro 2.
The levels are more tightly designed, feeling at once intricate and easy to explore.
There is way less backtracking than Spyro 2, and when you are asked to backtrack you get a handy shortcut straight to the area you needed to go to, making it so that you aren’t traversing the entire level again like Spyro 2.
The areas you backtrack for all have enough substance to them that it doesn’t feel like a waste of time, each one providing an entirely different setting and challenge as opposed to Spyro 2 saying “come back and hit this rock.”
The eggs strike a nice balance between being rewards for level objectives and simply being tucked away for players to find through ingenuity. Dino Mines makes you glide around a pit that seems to lead to certain death. Evening Lake hides an egg in a whale’s mouth. Sgt Byrd’s base only gives you one of its eggs after you go on a level-spanning scavenger hunt which involves entering a seemingly deadly lava tunnel and blowing a hole in the ground. And much more.
So I would certainly love to hear what you have to say about this game.
Enough people seem to be interested, so maybe someday I will.
Good points on Spyro 3, but I feel where it let its self go was the character that each NPC and level had, as well as the forced inclusion of vehicles. Sure the theme of each level was there but it never felt like the levels were lived in or that the music fitted enough to be ambient noises within the levels themselves. The only level's that did feel on the same level to me as Spyro 2 were the other character's home levels, Cloud Spires, Charmed Ridge and Fireworks Factory.
@VPG
The fact that the villain in 3 is actually well written and a proper threat makes me care far more about helping these people out, than the ones in 2. There's even actual backstory and story development, making Atlas much more memorable and important in Spyro's legacy.
I don't mind most of the vehicles, mainly because they control well, they tell you the instructions quickly and are easy to pick up and play, and is something that's actually interesting as opposed to a lot of boring escort mission type minigames in 2. Not to mention, it all ties into the core gameplay of collecting gems and eggs. These feel like actual minigames.
@@ultrairrelevantnobody1862 If we're talking Reignited 3 then yes the vehicles controlled well because by god controlling them on the PS1 was a god damn nightmare.
A lot of the minigames in 3 while more varied (thanks to the additional characters who also controlled like shit) felt forced and out of place with the levels they were in. Take Haunted Tomb. A fucking HOVER TANK? In an Egyptian themed level? I know the game has magic but come on...
3 is definitely an improved game in Reignited over OG but it's not enough to elevate it above 2 IMO
"controlling them on the PS1 was a god damn nightmare."
I've already address the skateboarding, no further explanation. The small metal fish is fast, easy and responsive, and the lock on encourages you to put in effort to shoot the other fish as opposed to mindless button mashing (it even has a similar control scheme to the flying vehicle Hunter uses in one of the speedways). The tank has easy strafing, and the aiming works well in spite of being rather precise. The other tank that's on water doesn't strafe, but makes up for it by having faster acceleration.
The only vehicle I agree with is the UFO. It controls well enough on its own, but the camera makes it difficult to judge the aiming, which is artificial design to say the least.
Were there any other vehicles? I only remember them being a small portion of the game. Sucks that the UFO is the last fight.
"A lot of the minigames in 3 while more varied (thanks to the additional characters who also controlled like shit)"
Aside from Bentley, the other characters controlled well. Let me discuss Agent 9 quickly. He controls fine enough, sniper mode works as intended, and he has responsive movement. His problem really is that the levels you play as him are too big and spacious for his slow speed, making parts of the level come off as tedious. Bentley has the same problem combined with a jump that's easy to dislike. That's really it. Sheila and Sgt. Byrd control really well, with good level design (key word being Level Design) supporting their differing control schemes. Sgt. Byrd in particular is really fun to just simply fly about the levels without needing a power up in a level as Spyro. The homing missiles also prevent the floaty flying from being an annoyance when fighting enemies.
"felt forced and out of place with the levels they were in. Take Haunted Tomb. A fucking HOVER TANK? In an Egyptian themed level? I know the game has magic but come on..."
It's odd. I can't deny that, but at least it's fun and interesting to play. Much better than having to tediously guide sheep at a slow pace for several minutes.
"3 is definitely an improved game in Reignited over OG but it's not enough to elevate it above 2 IMO"
If you enjoy 2 more than 3, then I can't change that. I don't dislike 2, but what holds the game down is an undercooked story lacking in critical details, the most restrictive design structure (where's the freedom?), and how it loves to just pointlessly waste your time with filler backtracking (albeit it's nowhere near as bad as in something like Donkey Kong 64) which is made worse by the level resetting (something the reignited trilogy didn't even bother to fix, there's no excuse). I've played FAR worse sequels on the PS1 (Tomb Raider 2 and 5 have aged horribly) but that doesn't mean I don't have critical issues with games like Spyro 2 (even Crash 2).
I don't think Spyro 3 is perfect either, but its flaws are a lot less grating on repeat playthroughs, and is way more inspired and creative with its core gameplay.
The first spyro was my introduction to the series and its still my favorite tbh. But I love Spyro 2 a lot but never beat gulp as a kid..
"the home world orbs show what spyro 2 could have been"
in my mind this is part of why the Legend of Spyro series even came to exist - once you get past the slightly ridiculous story, it _did_ genuinely go back to making each collectable into a platforming challenge hidden inside large not-overly-explained levels
Aww, very sweet towards the end there. Thank you for sharing.
This video was put together so well. It’s sad it doesn’t have more views
Thank you for your comment about still valuing your memories and experience with something, not be too negative just for the sake of finding something wrong. That's what went wrong with the nerd culture critic-personality videos. I hated some challenges, like the popcorn crystals and railcar, the baby turtles (though that one's funny), and the dinosaurs attacking the village. But I actually liked the snow leopard fishing. and the Scorch, always called the guy diaper man. And I remember the voice, "HA!" And then getting to say to HIM, "HA!" and he spins off and away and gives me that flag. And I liked that secret gem area in Scorch, ALWAYS loved the--what I called--the "gem city" spots. And how I loved Gnasty's Loot in the first game (though I suffered for a while trying to figure out to fly higher).
I always was annoyed a bit about having to go back to use the ability you paid Moneybags for. But oh well, wasn't too bad. Felt pretty satisfying using the abilities.
About Spyro 2, loved unearthing some things indeed, some orbs. So rewarding when you figure it out by yourself. Took me a while to know there are false walls in video games. And then some of those Skill Points were satisfying to find out...
Some of the glitches in the original, like clipping into the scenery and getting to swim everywhere, is insane.
the first video game i ever played! and still one of my favorites
And till this day, Spyro 2 is still the best of the entire trilogy in my opinion. It never ceases to amaze me with its worlds, lore, and characters.
That last segment about how we feel about anything regardless if it seems "technically good or bad" is beautiful. We're all different people looking for different things. At the end of the day when it comes to these entertainment mediums, what it's about is how much it can entertain us. Why not judge a game based off of how much joy it did or didn't give us? I feel that's a lot more important than harping on graphics, or types of quests or anything else the critics tell us is important. Great statement my dude.
I was so enamored with the first Spyro, I didn't like the other two because they had so much going on. The first was so straightforward, the sequels had a million different kinds of collectibles and the hub worlds all felt cluttered to me.
Please do one on Year of the Dragon!
i hope liam is going to do a spyro 3 review since that's my favourite spyro game and my 2nd favourite game of all time
growing up, this and also spyro 1 and 3 were always in my household, but i played 2 the most. i must have 100%'d it countless times, i never stopped playing it as i grew and even now at 27 i still have my childhood copy of the game. its like home to me, especially autumn plains. something ive always had fun doing is going all the way to the top of the castle and gliding down, usually landing w a headbash in the pool. yeah sure, there are levels and certain orb challenges i dont like, but others i love and actively look forward to. spyro 2 isnt perfect, but to me, it is
19:02 --> until the end - extremely well said and explained! The subjective experience is so very important.
Spyro 1 will always be my favorite simply because of how immersive it was in its world and collecting compared to its sequels. Each world felt cohesive with every level fitting into the theme in some way, and with how focused the levels were on just exploring and collecting you really felt like you were on an adventure through a real fantasy world. It always felt like Spyro 2 immediately chipped away at that immersion and turned into a video game. Every level is just a random grab bag of themes and ideas, and the minigames detract from your ability to just explore. It never felt like an adventure like Spyro 1 did, it just felt like I was going through an assortment of video game levels.
I have to agree I grew up with Spyro 1 on PS1 and I always loved it since until Reignited Trilogy came I get a chance relive my younger years playing Spyro 1 again and a extra bonus 2 games I never owned or played before Spyro 2 and Spyro 3
Yeah let's just say I didn't like Spyro 2 here is my issues I have and don't like that really miss from Spyro 1
#1 The enemies no longer drop gems when defeated anymore this one really bothers me cause I really don't like defeating enemies since I don't feel satisfied with a gem dropping from the enemy
The Spirit Orb replacement really feels forced to me that YOU need a specific amount to continue exploring the last half of a level and it really annoys me every time I enter a level in Spyro 2
#2 Long Glides Secrets are completely gone well except 1 but it only appears ONCE in the entire game
I really love Spyro 1's long glide secrets cause I always enjoy thinking outside of the box to know (mmmph how do I get there with the gems and Dragons I'm missing) I love that It gets you to explore the level and find a solution to get there like getting more Height or Super Charging but Spyro 2 threw all of that out the window
#3 I don't like Ripto he is by far my least favorite Spyro villain
I don't find him threatening and most of the time he is just acting like a angry man and complains a lot
(I always prefer Gnasty Gnorc as my #1 favorite villain , Sorceress is my 2nd favorite and , Red is my 3rd favorite)
#4 The Orbs don't feel good collecting most of the time it's either doing a mission or minigame
I like finding stuff and yes I enjoy finding the orbs it feels just like finding Dragons in Spyro 1 but it's mostly 2 orbs to find every level and the rest is just missions and Minigames like what I want to do exploring not Minigames
#5 Forced Backtracking
Spyro 1 didn't even have backtracking in the first place why include force backtracking just cause i don't have the headbash move or climbing ladders why
#6 Satisfying final level is completely gone I just only get Carnival games woo hoo 😒
The ONLY good thing I like about Spyro 2 is there are actual boss fights this time big improvement over Spyro 1 thats for sure
Yeah that's my list I don't like in Spyro 2 causing it to be my least favorite game after playing Spyro 2 i didn't have hope for Spyro 3 and whole and behold color me shocked Spyro 3 fixed everything i had problems with Spyro 2
Enemies drop gems again
Long Glide Secrets are back
A threatening villain
The main collectable can be found most of the level with only 3 eggs or 2 eggs in Minigames or missions
Backtracking is really short now
They brought back a actual final level I get to be showered in gems again WOO HOO 🤩
And a bonus they brought back the locked chest and chest keys from Spyro 1 oh my goodness I really love Spyro 3 and I do see myself coming back too it again
I never really thought of the game like this before, regarding the orbs vs... well, lack of them in the first. I think I just kinda subconsiously knew it as Spyro 1's levels were smaller, tighter, and then done. The orb challenges just became a "thing" that works with the rest of the collecting, and felt as fluid and normal as any other 90s collect-o-thon. If I didn't like them, I don't bother much with them. However, I can't deny what's been stated here. Yeah, there's a lot of weaker challenges that don't really require hardly any genuine talent, or add to the level in a meaningful way, and maybe it would have been better off minimizing or removing them. Its a mixed bag of challenges in total. The bone collecting that made you really push through the map, the kitten escort that was just a cute novelty fans remember, and then... headbashing over and over and over, and- why? The merits of stuff like the crystal catch could be well debated, and I feel like this makes Spyro 3 its own whole divisive topic between whether the new character and vehicle segments were a strong addition because of their more complex workings, or just an annoying distraction. Yet it still holds a lot of general fun charm, novel ideas, and a fun adventure that has kept me from really analyzing it like this on my own.
0:54 yep i can definitly agree with that guy there lol. I loved spyro 1 and 3 so much even from when i was 3 to this day i still go back to it and complete it 100% every time. spyro 2 though i dont. it feels like a choir not a game
Very well put. The first time I played the remake of Spyro the dragon on my switch I felt so emotional, I felt like a kid again. I used to play on my sisters old play station 1. It was so old I didn’t have a memory card nor could I find one to buy so I had to start Spyro over every time to play. Being able to see the levels I never got to see as a child in such great graphics was so worth the money on the switch and game.
It's always fun seeing other folks perspectives. Spyro 1 is at the bottom of my tier list, with Reignited's YotD being second and both Ripto's Rages being my favorites. Made some pretty good points, though. The simplicity of playing through and enjoying the charms of Ripto's Rage will never be dull to me.
i have to ask but why do you perfer 2 and especially 3 over 1? both of those games are ruined by forced unnecessary mechanics bad level design and characters. as a kid i actally perfered 2 and 3 but since i have gotten older and have played through all 3 the only one i will return to again to 100% will be 1. 1 is slick, stright to the point, it's beauty is in it's minimalism. the art direction is choherant with an medieval high fantasy theme. the music is also better overall as well.
@@marcuscaines9168 Just preference I guess. Spyro 2 is my vibe and 3 has more activities to do. I guess I’m just not into 1’s simplicity.
@@The1upBlock but you have to admit that 2 and 3 do have a lot of pointless minigames that ruin the flow of the game. the best part of spyro for me anyway is the platforming mixed with exploration. challenges especially ones that deviate so much from the core mechanics just take away from the experience for me.
@@marcuscaines9168 I could see where something like that would get in the way for you personally. In my case, Spyro's core abilities are fun but the mini games that aren't terrible add a bit of flavor to the limited quadrupedal abilities Spyro has. I'll admit straight up, however, that I just feel good playing Spyro 2 in general purely for Nostalgia's sake.
@@The1upBlock i respct you for admitting that nostalgia is a reason for your judgment, for me i played 2 then 3 then after i played 1 and as my younger self prefered 2 and 3 thinking that 3 was the best. but now i played the trilogy again i really do not agree with my younger self. infact at times with the original 2nd and 3rd games i wanted to stop playing and it was mainly due to the mini games and new characters which i did not want to play to have to 100% the game but was forced too. 1 is the perfect spyro experience and if a spyro 4 is made i really hope the team doing so take notes on how 1 was made. less is somtimes better. having a yeti mini boxing game slapped in a level or a poorly made first person shooter really does not add to the experience.
I always thought I was the weird one in my friend group for preferring the first Spyro game over the second. Or that I was nostalgia-blinded, as I played the first as a kid, but tried the second one only a few years ago.
But no, there are genuine criticisms of the second game's structure, which were things that irked me. I prefer how much more freeform the first game is.
Great speech at the end, by the way. Memories are a thing to be respected.
One of the things I like about Spyro 2 is that once you collect all the gems and orbs when you finally reach Dragon shore you go to the Pacific door and unlock the unlimited fireball when I replay Spyro 2 having a fireball power up game a little bit easier
14:30 is legitimately the reason that Sypro 2 beats the tiebreaker for me against Spyro 3 in being the best in the trilogy (personal opinion)
The one thing that Spyro 2 had was charm, more than the other two games in the trilogy.
It's definitely the messiest one of the original three (even as a kid I knew something was way off about the way Winter Tundra was handled), but I can see why it's so loved today - it makes up for its shortcomings with varied and fun levels, chill overworlds and memorable characters, all while offering gameplay that is evolutionary yet natural to the Spyro 1 formula. It's also not as gimmicky as Spyro 3, which I'd imagine is also a big plus for many.
I started with Spyro 2 so for me, it will always be my favourite. However, I do understand the criticisms you’ve raised but I’ll always love the game for nostalgia reasons too!
A game that makes you feel happy and that you love I see nothing wrong the Spyro trilogy is my childhood and the reignited's look is how I saw the games back then even now I still love the trilogy
As a kid, I felt like Spyro 2 was the better game, but honestly, as an adult, I have grown to love the simpler design of the original just a bit more. :) Still love this one, but it's now my second-favorite.
You can cheat the glimmer ladder by using the power up outside to fly inside and just barely make it to the one up top in time.
17:34 YES!!!! THATS EXACTLY WHAT MAKES THIS REMAKE SO SUCCESSFUL TO ME! To me, this remake doesnt take away the nostalgia that i get from the original... in fact, going back to the original AFTER playing the remake, i felt like something was missing.. and its because of what you said... The Remake looks exactly like how i THOUGHT the games looked like when I was a kid. So to me, the remake amplified and manifested for us.
On a side note: There is a cheat on the PS1 version which unlocks all abilities, which in turn removes all the backtracking.
And at least on the first level, you can skip the ladder by using the super fly at the end.
I know this video is old and this comment is unlikely to be seen, but I wanted to share my thoughts after watching this so here goes:
I find your general and overall outlook to be admirable, I too have seen the quality of art as purely subjective for as long as I can remember, and all too often I find myself ending up with arguments with people who want to shove objectivity down the throats of people who have different opinions than them regarding art. Video games, books, movies, you name it, there's someone out there who demands that their opinion is the only valid opinion and everyone who disagrees is objectively wrong. It's like a breath of fresh air encountering this video and seeing someone talking about the raw truth of the matter, that it's okay to like or dislike games for our own subjective reasons.
That being the case though, I do still feel as though the negatives you listed were treated... A bit harshly. You're not technically wrong, I just feel like much of your point on the matter is treated with a level of aggression I find unrelatable. There most certainly are a number of orbs that are frustrating or boring to collect, but I found most of these "bad" orbs to be minor inconveniences at worst, hardly worth outright complaining about. There's only a few here and there I'd agree are truly problematic, such as trouble with the trolley and the Alchemist. Not being able to get all the gems on the first playthrough of a stage is annoying, but often it's not too difficult or time consuming to come back and get them when you have the necessary power. Even in regards to redoing stage objectives to unlock parts of the stage you need on a second playthrough of the level, it never takes more than a few minutes to do this. How large of a negative it is will largely depend on how patient you are.
The game isn't perfect, but I think calling it "the worst one" such as in the article you showed is far from the truth as well. I feel like it's more of a middler in the original trilogy. Spyro 1 is the best designed overall, but also features the least design elements. Or to put it another way, it has the fewest flaws but also the fewest upsides. It's a great game, but it's debatable where it ranks among the trilogy. Spyro 2 improves on a lot, but it also introduces more to be discontent with. Spyro 3 is the same thing stacked on top of the previous. It's for precisely this reason that even from an objective standpoint, you could order the three games however you want and it would be a perfectly valid opinion even aside from the subjective nature of it. It all just kind of balances out that way.
I had no idea people didn't like this game. It was the first console game I played as a child, so I've always given it extra love. I'm glad to hear you have a similar connection to it.
I think this was a respectable video. And I can get certain criticisms of Spyro 2. But honestly? I still really love Spyro 2. It's a pretty fun and great game. And I think there's a lot that makes it enjoyable for me personally. That said, I think you did a good job. I just wouldn't agree with the assessment that it's a mess of a game. It's like Mario Odyssey for me. A game that is more flawed sure. But I love more tbh.
Super Gamer61499 I’m the same way with Ocarina of Time. It’s flawed, but it’s still my favorite game of all time.
Your experience with realizing Spyro 2 wasn't perfect (even though you still enjoy it) because of people on the internet was totally my experience with Donkey Kong 64. Haha. Spyro 2 is personally my least favorite of the original trilogy as well, but it is still a blast. Appreciate your input on this!
Didn't Insomniac make Fuse? I feel like that's a contender for their worst lol
Lol totally forgot about that game haha
The beginning of the Winter Tundra music kind of sounds like the PS2 startup sound chime thingy
Spyro 2 Riptos Rage is the best one IMO it took what spyro 1 did and added more fleshed out characters like ripto. The boss fights are much better
I'm in the same boat, I had so much nostalgia for Spyro 2 as a kid, but once I replayed the trilogy as an adult, I see it's the worst one.
Spyro 1 is my favorite due to the nature of the game and the level design with my personal favorite soundtracks.
Personally it was the little backstories behind orb challenge that fascinated me which is why I never really cared how trivial some of them were. For me it added a little "lore" that coincides with that particular level and characters that I found absolutely interesting and really let my imagination run wild as a kid lol.
Actually, I think Spyro 1 didn't really offer much in terms of the purpose behind the collectibles, at least from what I can remember. Sure some people like the straight-forwardness of simply collecting gems and eggs but I found that to be very boring. With the addition of the Guidebook, apart from it being a huge visual upgrade in tracking your game completion, enticed me to discover these missing collectibles. They also weaved in interesting characters and their mini-story plots to at least give these challenges some "meaning" which I really appreciated.
I actually played Spyro backwards starting from 2 and then 1 - I remember being disappointed in how bland collecting was in Spyro 1 despite favoring its more spacious-feeling levels and hostile hub worlds. Though I have to agree with the "adding variety" problem regarding Spyro Year of The Dragon, I personally felt they were squeezing out a quantity of challenges that I felt was all over the place at that point. Spyro 2 I find, is the "sweet spot" of the trilogy with its challenges and overall characterization of its world and characters - and I say that from an objective point of view not because of nostalgia.
Probably the wisest shit I've ever heard about reviewing and looking at media critically. Great video.
Great video! Subscribed after watching this and your Spyro 1 critique. My only objection would be that I think you downplayed the extent to which Spyro 1 emphasizes freeing dragons over collecting gems--and most of those dragons are as simple to reach as Spyro 2's talismans. As a stupid kid I didn't even realize that trying to collect all the gems was a goal in Spyro 1. I felt the game was constantly focusing my attention (through both plot and gameplay) on reaching those statues. I never really paid any attention to the stat screen until Spyro 2 introduced the Guidebook and incorporated it more clearly into the story. All that to say that I think both games can offer a completionist experience, but both can also offer a really stripped down and perhaps even insultingly easy experience. It all depends on how you approach them.
I feel like the skill unlocks in S2 work similarly to a Metroid game, where it encourages backtracking for completion. It fails a bit, since in Metroid style games you're backtracking to progress, rather than collect, but ultimately Spyro is a series for children, so it makes sense that it wouldn't be as punishing.
Liam- "In conclusion, Spyro 2 could have been better"
Spyro 2- "Trouble with the trolley, eh?"
Then again, i remember ALOT of Spyro 2, just because you got to go back to earlier realms. I just completed the first world in Spyro 1 and there is no intention whatsoever to come back to previous levels (since you can complete them all in one go). For me it made the whole world more lively in a way. And I soo do remember little me thinking AH YES I BEAT THE GAME, only for that one door to be there asking more :o That was such an incentive to go back and do the hard parts. I don't know, it didn't bother me as a kid (even though i had to do some scary levels again (looking at you alchemist stoneman level)) and im sure it will put some people off, but like you said, its all personal :) thanks for the review
Also, ExoParadigmGamer (who'll review the original trilogy soon, and already let's played them) says this game has the worst story in the series because what you're doing in the levels has nothing to do with Ripto.
This is true... but Ripto still manages to stand out above Gnasty or the Sorceress by sheer virtue of appearing more and actually interacting with Spyro. Gnasty literally only has three lines in the opening cutscene and that's it, and the Sorceress spends all of her screentime sitting on her throne, interacting with Bianca and absolutely nobody else. Heck, while we are *told* that the Rhynocs are working for her and that she's done a bunch of bad stuff in all the levels, we never actually *see* it so she has little more active presence as a villain than Ripto does. At least with Ripto you get to see him take over the home worlds.
...Though at the end of the day, let's be fair, none of the villains in this trilogy are particularly exceptional.
Lord Starfish That’s true.
the original PS1 Spyro trilogy was the first ever games I played and I kept playing them for my entire life, Spyro is my childhood hero, still got the Collector's Edition Boxset for PS1, then came Reignited, that first trailer I cried tears of joy literally, not joking, I was bawling cause it was beautiful, and that trailer music was fucking epic, I preordered the physical PS4 disc months in advance and picked it up on release day, I got all the trophies and new skill points as I relived it, some improvements are great but some changes are needing work, in fact there's bugs in Reignited but not fun ones, they hinder progress, in the PS1 trilogy, the bugs there were fun and added to the games, anyway I can't replace the PS1 versions so I hope they fix up Reignited enough that it can work for some people
My only issue with Spyro 2 is the lack of relation between our main villain being Ripto and his effect on each world, each level has problems occurring that are completely unrelated to Ripto, he just seems like somebody in the background just being bad but we don't really see any of his evil doings. It's a lot more clear the effect the sorceress and gnasty have on each level.
I only grew up with Year of the Dragon. Had I known there were 2 games before it until the reignited trilogy was announced, I probably would've loved those games too. After all this time, I think I owe it to myself to play through 1 and 2
Please do a video on Spyro 3!
spyro was also one of my firsts. i loved all 3 games.
I’m so glad I modded Reignited on my Deck, seriously I fixed the music I fixed Sparx and Spyro, finally have a good version of the remake. The originals will always be the best though.
This game is incredible. I’m playing PS1, PS2 and PS3 games on a PS3 and this game is just as fun as the more advanced console games. I’ve kept this game to play again. Deleted Crash 3 and Jak 3. Played Far Cry 3 before this and Spyro 2 was such a chilled fun game with variety and still a challenge despite its laid back gameplay
One word: Elora. That alone makes Spyro 2 the best one lol.
The simplicity of talisman collecting and the enforced backtracking really doesn't bother me at all personally and I've always found Spyro 3's worst challenges much more annoying than Spyro 2's worst, that plus the way 3 overuses vehicles and alternate playstyles is why I'll always slightly prefer 2 over 3. I can never really choose which I prefer between Spyro 1 and 2/3 though, since they're so different in style and gameplay, I like them equally for what they are; in my opinion 1 has the best music, design and overall atmosphere while 2/3 have better controls, bosses and plot/characters.
Skateboarding alone makes 3 worse.
@SpecterVonBaren
That's one of the best minigames I've ever played in any video game.
@@ultrairrelevantnobody1862 I'd agree if it wasn't for how the damn thing controls. At least they kind of fixed it in Reignited.
You use the analog stick to make it do flips, tricks, as well as turns. It took me only a few tries to get the control down. The minigame is addictive, fast paced, controls well (a learning curve doesn't mean it sucks) and is just really funny watching a dragon skateboard. May I ask what the problem is? Or do you not have the skill to overcome the learning curve?
@@ultrairrelevantnobody1862 I can definitely do it as I got all the eggs from the skateboarding as well as the skill points but saying it controls well is ridiculous. I lost count the amount of times the game launches you in a direction when coming out of a trick instead of doing a turn, or how when on the ground you'd hardly turn at all. This is most apparent in the yeti race in super bonus round. All power to you for enjoying the skateboarding but I just can't. It's tedious and unfun.
I honestly think the first 3 spyro games are all 9/10 or 10/10 or somewhere in between
I found most of the stuff listed fun ngl 😭
Although I do really hate that stupid escort quest in Fracture Hills
I stumbled on this great video thanks to The Algorithm®
Happy birthday 🥳🥳
All of the "boring orbs" are my favorite! I didn't get the video. (I enjoyed it a lot, though)
thhanks liam u very epic
I never had Spyro 2 growing up. We only had the first game until Season Of Ice came out. After that I got Enter The Dragonfly, and then the Crash/Spyro crossover double pack. Yeah I played the great ones. TBH I really enjoyed Dragonfly, I didn't really notice it being different to Spyro 1, and I never encountered any glitches that others had. And Season Of Ice was fun, again it felt like what I had remembered. I don't recall much of Spyro Orange other than the music from the hidden dance game.
I didn't get to play Spyro 2 until 2012, I got PSN funds for my 18th birthday and bought the trilogy for my PS3, and dove straight in to Spyro 1. I was never any good at the flying levels so I did what I could in each of them and moved on. I made my way through the game, getting all the gems and dragons and dragon eggs in normal levels and the Homeworlds, and finally beat Gnasty for the first time ever. Then I dove straight in to 2. I felt it was too different. I didn't like not getting gems from enemies. I didn't like that there were no dragons to save (I know that's because there're no dragons in Avalar but still). I didn't even make it to Autumn Plains, got everything in maybe Glimmer, but I think Hurricos was the last level I did and didn't touch the game again. That is until the Reignited Trilogy, which I then 100% complete the entire thing. And I really enjoyed it all, still adore Spyro 1 (and now really want to replay it), but I feel going straight in to 2 from 1 is the problem. It only heightens the differences.
For me the NPC's are (for the most part) the worst change. The dragons in 1 were great, even the ones that just say "Thank you for releasing me" are better than Handel and Greta. There are ones that encourage you to explore (like in Dry Canyon) or give you a nudge in the right direction, and not "Go fight all the monsters in the next room"
But my favourite addition in the sequels is the Sparx levels. I loved them in Season Of Ice, I didn't realise that 3 is where they started.
It's funny that this game doesn't really push for full completion, for the most part. This was was the first game I went out of my way to fully complete as a kid