Ah, Spyro 2: the game that jump started Spyro's videogame career into
the limelight during the PlayStation one days. Hard to believe how far
he's fallen since then, staring in a nearly endless stream of mediocre
games after his creators gave him up so many years ago. At least we
still have the PlayStation originals to enjoy.
Though it's been more 12 years since its release (and it certainly
shows), Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage still holds up as excellently as it did 12
years ago. With it now available on Sony's digital storefront the
PlayStation Store, now's as good a time as any to learn what it was
that made this fiery little dragon such as hit back in the day.
Spyro 2 begins with our titular hero longing for a vacation. His
homeworld is currently being hit with endless deluge of rain, you see,
so he decides to head off to the sunny beach-side carnival at Dragon
Shores. As luck would have it, of course, he doesn't end up there.
Instead, he finds himself in the strange new world of Avalar, which is
currently being ravaged by a pint-sized dictator by the name of Ripto,
who seeks make Avalar his new kingdom. As it turns out, Spyro was
summoned here precisely so that he could take out Ripto (he absolutely
hates dragons, you see, so the locals figure getting a dragon to fight
him is the best course of action). Spyro happily takes on the task, of
course, because, well, he's the hero -- of course he's going to help.
And thus begins another adventure for Spyro.
Though the story here is more involved than the bare-bones premise of
its predecessor, story isn't a key factor in Spyro 2. Cut-scenes
progress the story along nicely and lend a touch of humor (particularly
the intro and outro scenes for each individual level), which makes them
entertaining to watch, but the events that transpire are hardly
important to keep up with. That's not to say the story is bad -- just
inconsequential to the overall experience.
Gameplay-wise, Spyro 2 is pretty standard for its time. The game sends
you off across Avalar's many worlds jumping and gliding around on a hunt
for gems, orbs, and the talismans of each world (the talismans being
your main objective). Spyro 2 is big on item collection (it was sort of a
fad back then). Where its predecessor was basically just one big
collect-athon, however, which caused some monotony, Spyro 2 adds some
structure to the collection aspect to remove the monotonous tendencies
from before. Rather than just litter the field with your objectives, the
items you seek -- orbs and talismans -- are hidden behind actual
objectives; the orbs behind side-challenges and talismans for reaching
the end of the level.
The presence of objectives seems insignificant, but it makes a world of
difference. Previously you were dropped into a level and left to find
what you're searching for on your own with no form of guidance to assist
you even slightly. Not only was this tiresome but it wasn't very fun,
either -- it was monotonous. In Spyro 2, however, your actually given
goals to complete, which spice up the action with some welcome variety.
Gaining orbs, which are used to open new levels occasionally, through
completing side-challenges such as taking to the skies to combat waves
of airborne enemies, games of hockey, and solving some traversal puzzles
is much more fun and satisfying than just finding them lain about the
field. The only thing that's laid about haphazardly are the gems, the
game's currency of sorts. In their case, however, its more
understandable -- after all, gotta have something lain about the field,
right? And what better than money of sorts?
Levels are small but reasonably spacious thanks to their strong element
of verticality. Ascension is a key part of traversal, as all the levels
place heavy emphasis on gliding across from one platform to another
being the primary means of progressing onward. Flying around is fun and
simple, though it hardly presents any challenge due to there being so
few instances of gliding over large gaps, pits, or all other manner of
fall-based death-traps. Levels are primarily constructed with safety in
mind, meaning that there's nary a fatal pitfall or gap to glide across;
they're substitution being solid ground, oftentimes. Swamp and lava
pools are hazardous enough, but they're easy to escape from should you
be unfortunate enough to land in one, thus weakening their destructive
effects.
Still, that doesn't mean that the act of traversal isn't at least
enjoyable. Though its simplicity mars any chance of challenge arising
from it, it also means that there doesn't arise any instances of
frustration at some poorly designed jump or something equally annoying.
That you can just press onward without many worries is quite nice, I
must say. Being able to enjoy the pleasures of flight -- the feeling of
being able to go just about anywhere (provided you find a good spot to
launch from, of course) and general relaxing nature of gliding to and
fro platform to platform -- is a great trade-off.
Spyro's traversal abilities have also been expanded some in this
installment. Over the course of the game he is able to learn how to both
swim underwater and climb ladders, both of which add an extra touch of
depth to the game's level design. Additionally, power ups such as
Superglide, which grant Spyro the gift of full-on flight, or
Supercharge, which allows Spyro to break down barriers, lend more means
of getting around and discovering otherwise hidden spots of land. The
platforming may be overtly simple in design, but with so many options
available, it's hard not to at least find some enjoyment out of it.
One small problem that persists throughout Spyro 2, however, is the
camera. Stubborn, slow moving, and immensely frustrating at times, the
camera is a complete and utter annoyance. For one, its control is
inverted -- and on the horizontal axis at that -- making it difficult to
adjust to no matter how long you play. Add to the fact that it gets
caught on walls and other environmental elements far too easily and is
very slow moving no matter if its set to automatically stay behind Spyro
at all times or not, and you've got yourself a recipe for extreme
vexation. It's a product of its time, sure -- cameras were almost always
an annoyance back in the PlayStation days -- but its still jarring,
regardless.
In terms of combat, Spyro keeps things consistent by keeping it simple.
Spyro only has two means of attack: charging and blowing fire. The
former being most effective against armored foes, while the latter is
most effective against larger foes. Basic, but it works. Enemies are
pushovers, almost always going down with a single blow except in rare
cases. Bosses aren't much harder, though they do present a larger
challenge in comparison to the standard crop of foes due to having to
employ a modicum of strategy deeper than just using attack A or B
against enemies.
Ultimately, Spyro 2's biggest strength is its variety. The same relaxed
approach to platforming from its predecessor remains effective here, but
the added dose of variety alleviates much of the monotony that lingered
in its predecessor. That, in conjunction with the added sense of
structure, are a great asset in elevating the game's quality. It's age
certainly shows, both in its lacking visual prowess and its horrid
camera, but if you can put up with those aging parts, Spyro 2 is sure to
please.
