Spyro the Dragon

Spyro the Dragon
European box art
Developer(s)	Insomniac Games Universal Interactive Studios
Publisher(s)	SCEA
Platform(s)	PlayStation, PlayStation Network
Release	Sony PlayStation: Download:
Genre(s)	Platform
Mode(s)	Single-player

This article is about the first game in the Spyro series. For information about the character, see Spyro the Dragon (character).

Spyro the Dragon is a platform game developed by Insomniac Games for the Sony PlayStation. It stars the title character, a young purple dragon named Spyro and his dragonfly friend, Sparx, and is the first game in the Spyro the Dragon series. The first game was massively popular at its initial release and would later become one of the most recognizable, popular and respected gaming icons for the PlayStation gaming console.

Story

Before the game begins, the five Dragon families lived in harmony in their five worlds. Their lives were happy and peaceful until Gnasty Gnorc broke the rules. He was an unpleasant creature that the Dragons didn't like. Because of this Gnasty resented the Dragon families. More than anything, he detested their beautiful, shiny jewels. He hated them because every time he looked in them he would see reflections of his own ugly face. Gnasty became such a problem that he was banished to the Dragon junkyard, a world that they thought would perfectly suit Gnasty. As soon as he got there he renamed it "Gnasty's World" and overtook all the worlds located in it. He also built his home there, as well as an industrial settlement to keep all his stolen treasure. Gnasty began to experiment with magic spells and, after a while, he discovered two he wanted: a giant spell to trap all Dragons in crystal and a potion to animate the radiant gems and turn them into an army of Gnorc soldiers.

When the game begins Gnasty cast the freeze spell he had been working on after he heard the Dragons insulting him on a documentary style video. The spell trapped all the dragons in crystal halfway through the filming of their documentary. He then turned all the gems he could find into his willing minions. One thing he didn't consider was Spyro the Dragon. Spyro was so small that the spell shot straight over his head. Spyro, the only unfrozen dragon, travels the six worlds – including Gnasty’s deformed industrial world – releasing the Dragons and collecting the stolen treasure. In the meantime, Gnasty’s army of minions (transformed from the Dragons’ gems) are doing their best to stop him. As Spyro releases the trapped Dragons along the way, they return a favour by giving hints and tips up until the final conflict where Spyro battles with Gnasty. After Spyro defeats Gnasty another documentary is presented on Spyro. If the player collected all gems, saved all the dragons, and rescued all the eggs, than he is presented with an alternate ending.

Main Characters

List of the characters: List of Spyro the Dragon characters

Download

The game is now available for sale on the PlayStation 3's and PSP's US and JP PlayStation Store.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	86%

Review scores

Publication	Score
Electronic Gaming Monthly	8.1 out of 10
GameRevolution	B+
GameSpot	8.3 out of 10
IGN	9.0 out of 10
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine	4 out of 5
PlayStation: The Official Magazine	4 out of 5

The game had positive reviews and was praised by critics because of the use of fantasy and sci-fi in most of the Dragon Realms, a big, free-roam 3-D environment in each realm, incredible music that corresponds with the level's theme, and good graphics making it one of the best and first platformers for the Playstation.

External links

• Official US site
• Official UK site
• Insomniac's official Spyro section