The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon

The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon
European Box Art depicting Spyro and Cynder taking on the Golem.
Developer(s)	Étranges Libellules (PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii & Nintendo DS) The Mighty Troglodytes (Mobile phone) Tantalus Media (Nintendo DS)
Publisher(s)	Sierra Entertainment (PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii & Nintendo DS) Vivendi Universal Games (Mobile phone)
Distributor(s)	Activision Blizzard (Some copies were sold as the "Activision" brand)
Designer(s)	Travis Stephenson
Composer(s)	Rebecca Kneubuhl Gabriel Mann
Platform(s)	Mobile phone, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS
Release date(s)	EU September 24, 2008 (Mobile phone) NA 20081021October 21, 2008 AU 20081105November 5, 2008 EU 20081121November 21, 2008 AU November 21, 2008 (Nintendo DS)
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single-player, Cooperative Multi-player
Rating(s)	ACB: PG ESRB: E10+, E (NDS) PEGI: 7+ USK: 12
Media/distribution	DVD, Blu-ray Disc, Wii Optical Disc, DS Game Card

The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon is the 3rd and final installment in The Legend of Spyro trilogy, as well as the tenth anniversary game of the series. It was released on October 21, 2008 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Wii and PlayStation 2 for North America, Australia and Europe. Although Krome Studios developed the previous two Legend of Spyro games, Étranges Libellules developed the game, while The Mighty Troglodytes developed the Mobile phone version. Both versions were published by Sierra Entertainment while Vivendi Universal Games published the Mobile phone version and Tantalus Media developed the Nintendo DS version.

Gameplay

The gameplay is more advanced than previous titles in the series. This is the first Spyro game that allows a player to fly at any time they want (free-fly mode). The game also features a co-op mode with Cynder. The co-op feature allows players to have the option of completing the game as either Spyro or Cynder, along with giving them the power to switch between Spyro and Cynder, giving them more freedom to explore the world in completely new ways.

The environments are much larger than in previous games and a majority of them have a bit more exploration to them. In previous titles of the Legend of Spyro series, Spyro must travel through the level and defeat enemies in a linear fashion. This time however, the game has more freedom by exploring larger areas and collecting items in order to progress through the game.

Spyro retains his command of fire, electricity, earth and ice, while Cynder controls poison, wind, shadow and fear, the powers that were given to her when she was controlled by the Dark Master. Cynder is faster but weaker than Spyro. Along with the standard power ups that gems will bring, Spyro and Cynder can both equip pieces of Dragon Armour that they find. They also have another feature called melee combos. The more times the player hits the enemy the more Blue Gems the players will earn. Blue Gems power up Spyro and Cynder, allowing them to upgrade moves. Along with Blue Gems there are also Red gems, that restore lost health. The green gems give the dragons magic, allowing element attacks. The Fury Gems from previous titles have been removed (replaced by dark crystals that can drain magic if they're not destroyed), and the Fury Meter now goes up depending on the number of times Spyro or Cynder score attacks on enemies. In addition to normal enemies, there are elite enemies, which are enemies that are stronger than normal enemies. Their masks make them invincible to normal attacks. The player must use an element of a designated color that matches that of the mask in order to knock the mask off. Once off, normal attacks and other elemental powers will be allowed.

Plot

The game begins with Spyro and Cynder being broken free of their crystalline prison by mysterious enemies. Spyro and Cynder are then bonded together with mysterious green energy chains created by the Dark Master, and were carried away while Sparx is found by Hunter of Avalar, who was watching them from the shadows. Meanwhile, Spyro and Cynder find themselves in a dark, volcano like area. When they try to leave the area, they find out that they cannot as they are chained to the platform they awoke on. After defeating several waves of enemies and avoiding a lava monster called the Golem that attacks them soon after, they manage to escape with the help of Hunter, who is with Sparx. He explains the situation to them after they leave the Catacombs, and shows them what the Dark Master has done since his escape from the Well of Souls during the Night of Eternal Darkness.

A screenshot from the game.

Once they reach the Dragon City of Warfang, Spyro, Cynder, and Hunter are separated as the city is under siege by Malefor's forces. After a long and fierce battle that ends in the siege being defeated, Spyro, Cynder, and the Dragon Guardians are reunited. The victory is short lived as the Golem returns and uses parts of the city to create an arm to replace the one it lost in the Catacombs. Spyro and Cynder defeat the Golem by destroying the Dark Crystal in its head. Later that night, the Dark Master, Malefor, sends them a message. He has revived the Destroyer, an ancient creature whose only purpose is to renew the world by bringing about its destruction. As they will be unable to catch up with the creature if they fly after it, Ignitus hatchs the plan that going underground is the only way to catch up with it in time. Cynder and Spyro manage to open the gates to the underground Ruins of Warfang, which leads the attack forces to the canyon where the Destroyer will complete the Ring of Fire. By destroying a nearby dam, they manage to stall the Destroyer long enough to destroy its Dark Crystal heart, but it was an effort spent in vain. The Destroyer manages to complete the Belt of Fire, and Ignitus orders everyone underground as he escorts Spyro and Cynder to the Belt of Fire. In order to get them to the Burned Lands, which will lead them to Malefor's Lair, Ignitus sacrifices himself in the crossing and Spyro, overcome with grief, turns into his dark form and tries to go back to find him, but is stopped and comforted by Cynder.

After getting through the Burned Lands and the Floating Islands, Spyro and Cynder arrive at Malefor's Lair and confront him. Malefor taunts Spyro by telling him that the destiny of all purple dragons is to bring about the world's destruction and tries to corrupt Cynder, but fails. After a long series of battles against Malefor, they reach the heart of the world. Malefor is defeated by the combined efforts of Spyro and Cynder, and is then sealed away by the spirits of the Ancestors, but the world is still falling apart. As the two dragons wonder if this was the end, Ignitus' spirit gives Spyro hope. Spyro then tells Cynder to flee while he stops the catastrophe, but she refuses to leave him. As Spyro unleashes a powerful Fury wave, Cynder whispers "I love you", as Spyro's magic restores the planet. The world is rebuilt by Spyro's power, and we last see the remaining Guardians, Hunter, Sparx, and the survivors coming back into the sunlight as stars in the sky shape into the form of a dragon.

Malefore, the games's antagonist

After the credits, the Chronicler speaks to someone that a new age is beginning, and with each new age, a worthy dragon is chosen to record the triumphs and failures of that era. His time is over, but the time of the new Chronicler, Ignitus, has just begun. Before passing his mantle, the Chronicler informs Ignitus that though he has tried his best, he cannot find "any trace of Spyro" in the book that details dragons who have died. As Ignitus becomes the new Chronicler, he wonders where Spyro could be. Meanwhile, Spyro and Cynder are then shown flying together in the air above the Valley of Avalar, alive and happy in the new era of peace.

Voice Talent

• Elijah Wood as Spyro the Dragon
• Christina Ricci as Cynder
• Wayne Brady as Sparx the Dragonfly
• Gary Oldman as Ignitus
• Blair Underwood as Hunter
• Mark Hamill as Malefor - The Dark Master
• Kevin Michael Richardson as Terrador / Chief Prowlus / Hermit
• Corey Burton as Volteer / Mason / Additional Voices
• Jeff Bennett as Cyril / Additional Voices
• Martin Jarvis as The Chronicler
• Fred Tatasciore as Meadow / Additional Voices
• Chris Wilson as Additional Voices
• Michael Graham as Additional Voices

Soundtrack

Activision currently has no intentions to release a CD soundtrack or a digital download of the soundtrack. They currently have the rights to Spyro and prevented a soundtrack of the video game from being released, while removing the soundtracks to The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning and The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night from iTunes, AmazonMP3 and other stores. This is possibly because of the recent reboot to the Spyro series, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure. Even though a soundtrack has not been released, the ending theme song called "Guide You Home (I Would Die for You)", (played during the credits in the video game) which is performed by Rebecca Kneubuhl and Gabriel Mann from The Rescues, who composed the soundtrack to Crash Twinsanity and Crash Tag Team Racing from Spyro's companion franchise Crash Bandicoot, is available for download on iTunes and Amazon.

Reception

Overall, the game has received generally mixed to favorable reviews upon its release, earning an average score of 62% by Metacritic. Matt Casamassina of IGN gave it a 7.3 and said that "There's no 'new generation' style hook and the resulting play mechanics therefore don't feel fresh (especially after two prequels), but the fundamentals are sound and the presentation better than you expect". Gamezone gives it an 8.5 praising the outstanding soundtrack and voice acting but criticizing the multi-player aspect calling it "unnecessary and gimmicky" and the graphics stating that the colours are high contrast, high saturation, almost to the point of blinding. Impulse gamer praised the game for paying homage to the series' roots and taking it to the next evolution.

It was a nominee for Best Voice Acting for the Wii by IGN in its 2008 video game awards.

External links

• Official site
• A preview for the game