Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!

Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! is a video game for the PlayStation video game console. It was released in North America under this title on November 2, 1999, and in Europe and Australia as Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer on November 5, 1999, and in Japan on March 16, 2000 as: Spyro X Sparx Tondemo Tours.

Ripto's Rage is the second game in the Spyro the Dragon series, which started with Spyro the Dragon in 1998. The protagonist of the series, Spyro, is placed in the land of Avalar, rather than the Dragon Worlds, where the previous installment was set. A dinosaur-riding sorcerer, known as Ripto, has invaded the world of Avalar, and is wreaking havoc on its citizens with his magic. The player, as Spyro, must travel through the world of Avalar and undo the damage done by Ripto.

The game became available for download on the PlayStation Network on July 26, 2007, even before its predecessor was released to the same market. Less than a week later, however, it was removed because Colossus and Idol Springs levels failed to load. On April 17, 2008, It was released on the Japanese PlayStation Store. On May 7, 2009, a corrected version of the game became available for download from the North American PlayStation Store. It is yet to be re-released to the European stores.

Gameplay

Gameplay flows in a similar manner to the original Spyro, with few variations in control and Spyro's main abilities intact. Spyro can attack enemies with his typical dragon-breath, or charge through them in a charge attack, though different varieties of enemies may require a specific attack to defeat; metal-armored enemies are impervious to Spyro's flame, and enemies much larger than Spyro himself are immune to his charge attack. By using his wings to glide, Spyro can extend his jumping distance to a considerable reach, depending on the elevation the player begins gliding from. Levels are designed to take advantage of this, featuring large gaps that Spyro is required to glide across. As the game progresses, the player can buy new abilities for Spyro: the ability to swim, climb ladders and headbash. In addition to Spyro's new abilities, many levels in the game feature powerup "gates" which temporarily give Spyro enhanced abilities that allow him to defeat certain enemies, reach new areas, or complete certain missions. Powerup gates are at first inactive, but become available once the player has defeated a certain number of enemies within the level. Unlike in the first game enemies no-longer release gems but spirits to power these gates. All enemies must be killed again if you leave the level.



Spyro at the end of the Sunny Beach level.

Synopsis

Characters and setting

The only characters from the original game to return as main characters in this game are Spyro, the game's protagonist, and Sparx, his dragonfly sidekick. Sparx functions as the players health meter, and assists the player in gathering gems. This game introduces new characters into the Spyro series, many of whom would appear in later games. Both Hunter and Moneybags make reoccurring appearances in the series, while Ripto would make more series appearances than any other antagonist, making him the key villain of the original series. The dragons of the previous installment have been replaced with an entirely new cast of characters, including fauns, satyrs, anthropomorphic animals, and robotic businessmen, among others.

The world of Avalar is divided into three realms: the Summer Forest, the Autumn Plains, and the Winter Tundra. In every realm, there is a castle that, during the course of the storyline, is captured by Ripto. Each realm features a number of different worlds, a speedway world, and a dungeon in which Ripto or his minions are hiding in.



Designs of Ripto, Gulp, and Crush.

Plot

The story begins a year after the events of the first game. In the distant, fantasy realm of Avalar, local residents Elora, Hunter, and The Professor have been working on their latest and largest portal. During a test of it, Hunter enters his birth date (22475) as the portal's target coordinates, inadvertently activating it and allowing a small wizard named Ripto into the realm along with two large and dimwitted monsters, Crush and Gulp. Identifying that the land has no dragons, Ripto declares that he is going to "move in" and take it over; however, Elora is able to de-activate the portal by instructing fairies to remove the orbs powering the portal. As Ripto begins to terrorize Avalar, Elora and the Professor plan to 'catch' a dragon in order to drive Ripto off.

Meanwhile, the Artisans have been under rainy weather for some time; Spyro, declaring he needs a vacation, locates a portal to the realm of Dragon Shores. However, after traveling through the portal, he finds himself instead landing in the realm of Avalar by means of a smaller portal, built by Avalar's Professor. Ripto enters the scene and destroys the portal, objecting to how the Professor succeeded in bringing a dragon to the world of Avalar. Ripto is, however, forced to retreat when Gulp accidentally swallows Ripto's magical scepter, and Spyro is asked to help save the realm of Avalar by defeating Ripto.

The journey leads Spyro across Avalar's three main territories holding portal-worlds: Summer Forest, Autumn Plains, and Winter Tundra, all of which have a palace that Ripto takes over. After defeating Crush and Gulp and liberating all the people in the territories, the story leads to a final showdown between Spyro and Ripto. The two battle it out using many forms of magic, and just when it seems as if the fight is destined to end in a stalemate, Ripto converts the arena into a pool of lava and attempts to escape on a cyborg pterodactyl. Spyro gives chase and a dogfight ensues, in which Spyro destroys the pterodactyl and sends Ripto plummeting into the lava to his apparent death. The inhabitants of Avalar are grateful for Spyro's help, and as a reward, show him the portal to Dragon Shores. If the player collects all of the gems and orbs in the game, they will have access to a small room in Dragon Shores which contains a Fireball Powerup, allowing Spyro to breathe fire indefinitely.



Spyro facing off against Ripto.

Soundtrack

The music for Ripto's Rage was composed by Stewart Copeland.

The background music from the Summer Forest level is based on the song "Free Spirit" by ambient artist Medwyn Goodall from his album Mediation and Visualisations (2001).

Reception

GameSpot gave the game a 8.6/10, saying that it "injected a dose of soul and variety into a game that was already pretty fun to play". IGN gave it a 8.8/10, stating that it is a fun, and excellent platfomer.

My most favorite of the Spyro games or maybe my favorite Playstation game in general, this game was good overall. Feel free to discuss about Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage here.