Spyro: Year of the Dragon

Spyro: Year of the Dragon (also known as Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon or Spyro 3) is a platform game, developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation video game console. The game was released in North America on October 11, 2000; in the United Kingdom on October 25, 2000; and in the rest of Europe and Australia on November 10, 2000. Year of the Dragon is the third installment in the Spyro series and the last Spyro game to be released for the PlayStation. The game was the last Spyro game Insomniac developed; their next title would be Ratchet & Clank for the PlayStation 2. This is the only Spyro game in the PlayStation library to not get released in Japan.

Named after the animal of the Chinese zodiac,, which was the symbol at the time of the game's release, Year of the Dragon follows the titular purple character Spyro as he travels to the "Forgotten Worlds" after 150 magical dragon eggs are stolen from the land of the dragons by an evil sorceress. Players travel across thirty different worlds gathering gems and eggs. Year of the Dragon introduced new characters and minigames to the series, as well as offering improved graphics and music.

Upon release, the game sold more than two million units in the United States, and received positive critical response. Reviewers noted the game built on the successful formula of its predecessors by adding more games and expansive environments. At Game Rankings, Year of the Dragon is one of the top twenty highest-rated PlayStation games of all time. The game was followed by the multiplatform title Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, and was later released for download on the PlayStation Store on May 14, 2009.

Gameplay

Year of the Dragon is set primarily in the third-person; its gameplay makes few deviations from that of its predecessors. The main objective of the game is to collect special dragon eggs which are scattered across 37 worlds. These eggs are hidden, or are given as rewards for completing certain tasks and levels. The worlds of Spyro are linked together by "homeworlds" or "hubs", large worlds which contain gateways to many other levels. To proceed to the next hub, the character must complete five worlds, gather a certain number of eggs, and defeat a boss. Players do not need to gather every egg to complete the main portion of the game or gain access to new levels; in fact, certain eggs can only be found by returning to the world at a later time. Gems are scattered across the worlds, hidden in crates and jars. These gems are used to bribe a bear named Moneybags to release captured "critters" and activate things which help Spyro progress through levels (Such as bridges). Gems, along with the number of eggs collected, count to the total completion percentage of the game.

For most of the game, the player controls the dragon Spyro. Spyro's health is measured by his companion, a dragonfly named Sparx; Sparx changes color and then disappears after taking progressively more damage. If the player has no Sparx, then the next hit would cause the player to lose a life and restart at the last saved checkpoint. To regenerate Sparx, small wildlife known as "fodder" can be consumed. Spyro has several abilities, including breathing fire, swimming and diving, gliding, and headbutting, which he can use to explore and combat a variety of enemies, most of which are rhinoceros-like creatures called Rhynocs. Some foes are only vulnerable to certain moves. Spyro can run into "Powerup Gates", which give him special abilities for a limited period.

Year of the Dragon introduced playable characters other than Spyro, known as "critters", which are gradually unlocked as the player proceeds through the game. Critters can be found blocking the level they are played in until released from Moneybags. Subsequently, the player plays as the character in specially marked sections of levels. Each homeworld features one world which is played through entirely by a non-Spyro character. There are a total of seven playable characters, which all have their own special moves and abilities. Sheila the Kangaroo, for example, can double jump, while Sergeant Byrd is armed with rocket launchers and can fly indefinitely.

Besides the primary quest to find dragon eggs, Year of the Dragon features an extensive set of minigames, which are split off from the levels into smaller zones. Some of the minigames were featured in Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! and were subsequently expanded for Year of the Dragon, while others are entirely new to the series. These minigames are played by Spyro or the other playable characters, and include challenges in sports such as skateboarding, boxing, and racing, as well as puzzles and rail shooters. All minigames reward the player with an egg upon successful completion.



Spyro skateboarding.

Synopsis

Setting and characters

Spyro is assisted by many characters during the course of Year of the Dragon. Spyro is the game's protagonist, and Sparx is his dragonfly sidekick. Sparx functions as the player's health meter and assists the player in gathering gems; Sparx is a playable character in certain levels. Also aiding Spyro is Hunter, who teaches the player game mechanics and is a playable character at special racing levels. Four other playable characters are freed from Moneybags during the game; Sheila the Kangaroo, Sergeant Byrd the penguin, Bentley the Yeti, and Agent 9 the space monkey. The primary antagonist of the game is The Sorceress, a tyrant who rules over the Forgotten Worlds with her forces. Aiding her is the apprentice Bianca, who attempts to hinder Spyro on his mission.



Main playable characters from left to right: Sheila, Spyro, Bentley, Agent 9, and Sergeant Byrd.

Plot

The game opens with a celebration in the land of the dragons, where Spyro and his kin are celebrating the "Year of the Dragon", an event that occurs every twelve years when new dragon eggs are brought to the realm. During the celebration, however, a cloaked rabbit girl, Bianca, invades the Dragon Realms with an army of creatures called Rhynocs and steals all of the Dragon eggs, bringing them back to the Sorceress, who scatters the eggs throughout several worlds. The worlds are split up into four realms, all of them are named after a time of the day, and types of geography; Sunrise Springs, Midday Gardens, Evening Lake, and Midnight Mountain. Spyro, along with Sparx and Hunter, are sent down a hole to find the thieves and recover the dragon eggs.

While pursuing the thief, Spyro discovers a realm once inhabited by the dragons, but long abandoned and forgotten. This realm is ruled by the Sorceress and her Rhynoc army; only a few creatures stand and fight against the Sorceress' rule. Spyro learns from one such inhabitant, Sheila, that when the dragons left the realm, the magic of the world began to dry up. Spyro travels through each world in the forgotten realm, acquiring aid from the local inhabitants and rescuing the dragon eggs. It is revealed that the Sorceress is seeking not the baby dragons themselves, but merely their wings to concoct a spell that can grant her immortality. Once Bianca discovers this, she feels sorry for the baby dragons, and defects to side with Spyro and his allies. Spyro eventually fights and defeats the Sorceress, and celebrations occur throughout the realm. The Sorceress survives her battle with Spyro, however, and waits for Spyro with the last of the dragon eggs. Spyro and the Sorceress battle again where the Sorceress is finally defeated; Spyro returns all the baby dragons to the Dragon Kingdom.



One of the many eggs in the game.

Development

Development of Spyro: Year of the Dragon spanned about ten and a half months, from November 1999 to September 2000; the development team was influenced by a host of other games, including Doom and Crash Bandicoot. Among the new features touted before the game's release was "Auto Challenge Tuning", which Insomniac CEO Ted Price described as "invented to even out the gameplay difficulty curve for players of different abilities". The levels were made much larger than those in Spyro 2, so that more areas for minigames could be added; to prevent player confusion on where to go next, these areas were designed to load separately from the main hubs. Price stated that the addition of critters was a way to make the game more enjoyable and varied, instead of just adding more moves for Spyro. The game was named "Year of the Dragon" simply because it was released during 2000, the year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac.

In previews, publications such as IGN and GameSpot noted that the graphics had been improved, and that there were many new characters and locations. The new minigames were previewed, and IGN pointed out that they offered enough complexity to back up the simple gameplay. In an interview with GameSpot, Ted Price stated that the emphasis for the title was on the new critters, but that Spyro would not be left behind in the story. Year of the Dragon also implemented crack protection, in addition to the copy protection previous games had contained. This helped prevent hackers from cracking the game until two months after release.

Despite the positive response the game would go on to receive, Year of the Dragon was developer Insomniac Games' last Spyro title. In an interview, CEO Ted Price said that the company stopped producing the games because they couldn't do anything new with the character, and that after five years of development on a single series the team wanted to do something different. Future Spyro games were produced by, among other developers, Equinox Digital Entertainment, Eurocom, Krome Studios, Étranges Libellules, and Tantalus Media.



Spyro taking on some dinosaurs.

Audio

The music for Year of the Dragon was composed by Stewart Copeland, drummer for the rock band The Police. During the band's hiatus, Copeland composed several movie soundtracks, and composed the scores for the previous Spyro titles; Price stated that Copeland's offering for the third installment was his best work to date. In an interview, Copeland stated his creative process for writing the music for the Spyro series always began by playing through the levels, trying to get a feel for each world's "atmosphere". Copeland noted the challenge of writing for games was to create music that would both be interesting to listen to and complemented the gameplay; his approach was to incorporate more complicated harmonies and basslines so that the music could seem fresh for players, even after repeated listening. He complemented the compact disc format of the PlayStation and its support for high quality audio; there were no technical constraints that stopped him from producing the sound he wanted. Copeland recorded entire orchestral scores for extra flourish when the visuals called for an expansive sound, but used more percussive and beat-driven melodies for "high-energy" moments in the game.

Reception

Upon release, Year of the Dragon garnered positive critical reaction, with the game receiving an average ranking of 91% at Game Rankings, and a similar score based on fifteen reviews at MetaCritic. According to Game Rankings, Year of the Dragon is the fourteenth highest rated PlayStation game of all time. The game sold more than two million units in the United States.

GameSpot noted that while Year of the Dragon made no significant changes to the formula of its predecessors, the combination of new playable characters, more detailed graphics, and the variety of minigames made the game worth the buy. IGN praised the game's appeal to all ages and the polished levels, as well as the successful multi-character focus. Game Revolution thought that while the game's premise itself was simply a rehash of previous titles, "the story that unfolds as you actually play the game is flawlessly interwoven and quite entertaining". GamePro noted that the ability of the game to automatically drop the difficulty if players get stuck was an excellent feature. Next Generation Magazine's Kevin Rice provided one of the most positive review in which he stated the top-notch level design, intuitive controls and excellent graphics made the title the best Spyro game to date, and arguably the best PlayStation game overall.

Stewart Copeland's score was generally well-received, though several critics sharply disagreed with the general consensus. Publications like PSXExtreme thought the music helped bring atmosphere to the varied worlds, and Allgame enthused that "Insomniac should be commended for realizing the importance of music in games; it seems to enhance the whole experience." Others, such as Joseph Parazen of Game Revolution, thought the background music sounded "identical to every other 3D, cartoony, action platformer I've ever played". Other points of praise were the voice acting and character development. Among the few complaints aside from the story included the game camera, which could be difficult to control and led to unjustified enemy attacks. Some publications warned that the game might feel too much like its predecessors, with a similar plot and objectives.

This game would have to be my second favorite of the Spyro series with the first game as my third. Feel free to discuss about Spyro: Year of the Dragon here.