Every Spyro Game Ranked
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Welcome to Mojo Plays and today we're taking a look at every Spyro video game and ranking
00:12them from the most miserable pile of garbage to the most treasured.
00:28Before we begin, we publish new videos all week long, so be sure to subscribe to Mojo
00:33Plays and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
00:37Number 14, Spyro Orange, The Cortex Conspiracy.
00:49Like we said, we're ranking from the most miserable pile of garbage to the most treasured,
00:54and in that case, Spyro Orange is the most miserable pile of garbage.
01:01Really what was this?
01:11Crash Purple and Spyro Orange were supposed to be the crossover we dreamed of.
01:15The Bandicoot and Dragon have crossed paths so many times and now we finally get two games
01:21dedicated to this fantasy?
01:23Yes!
01:24Yes!
01:25Oh, how we were so fooled as children.
01:28Much like Crash Purple, Spyro Orange was loaded with the most boring minigames and unimaginative
01:33boss fights, and while the game only lasts for an hour or two, the mundanity of it all
01:38feels like we're playing a JRPG that has severely overstayed its welcome.
01:48You want an image to summarize how bad this was?
01:51Take a look at the victory screen, sheer quality.
01:55Number 13, Spyro, Enter the Dragonfly.
02:06Now if you want to emphasize the miserable part, Enter the Dragonfly definitely fits
02:10the bill, literally.
02:12On the surface, this just does look like a game that was rushed out the door with little
02:17to no quality assurance done whatsoever, but there's more darkness beneath the surface.
02:22Over the years, fans and independent journalists have spoken to former staff who worked on
02:27Enter the Dragonfly.
02:28With two different studios developing the same game, there was bound to be creative
02:32differences among heads.
02:39What made it worse was how petty and personal some of these issues became, almost to the
02:43point where mistakes were being intentionally made, and some staff had to moderate conferences
02:49between managers and supervisors.
02:51Truly, the disarray shows in the game's quality, and it wasn't long until after
02:55release until both Equinox Digital and Check 6 Games were shut down on their own volition.
03:07Number 12, Spyro, Shadow Legacy.
03:17We know we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, or in this case, a game by its cover
03:21arc, but take one good look at the cover of Shadow Legacy.
03:25Really?
03:26Spyro, in a Superman pose?
03:28What exactly are we supposed to get out of this, a new Super Mario Bros. 3, the Super
03:32Mario Bros. 3 of the franchise?
03:33No.
03:34Were we supposed to get an action RPG out of this?
03:37Yeah, apparently, that's what this game is, and it isn't even a good action RPG.
03:48Spyro just feels so stiff and slow to control, and none of the combat is remotely satisfying
03:54to pull off, let alone watch.
03:57Something tells us this game was never meant to be a game for the Dragon, but the prototype
04:01wasn't working for anything else, so they had to settle and shift brands.
04:10Number 11, The Legend of Spyro, Dawn of the Dragon.
04:20Say what you will about The Legend of Spyro games, some were not too keen on them, while
04:24others were rather welcoming.
04:26Dawn of the Dragon was the third and final entry in the series, and though not perfect,
04:30it still had some interesting concepts.
04:32For instance, two players could venture forth together, with Player 1 as our boy, and Player
04:372 as Cinder.
04:39From there, what you essentially have is a standard action-adventure game about two dragons
04:43breaking free from their chains and setting out to defeat an evil wizard.
04:52There isn't anything offensive about Dawn of the Dragons, but also don't expect anything
04:56surprising or groundbreaking.
04:58It's a video game, that's really about as much as you can say about it.
05:09Number 10, Spyro, Attack of the Rhinox.
05:21Considering this was the third GBA game for our boy, one would hope whatever issues remained
05:26in the previous games would finally be ironed out.
05:29Alas, not so.
05:31Attack of the Rhinox makes the strange departure from platforming, and instead focuses on RPG
05:36mechanics more.
05:43It isn't a curveball that single-handedly destroys the game, but it is odd to be doing
05:49a lot of chatting and fetching in exchange for, uh, hearts, I guess?
05:55Attack of the Rhinox really isn't terrible by any stretch of the imagination, it's
05:59just confusing, really.
06:06Number 9, Spyro, Season of Ice.
06:17Even if the ending to the GBA games wasn't up to par, it does not detract from Season
06:21of Ice.
06:22A cool aspect to this game was how Spyro was given new abilities with his breath.
06:26The ability to breathe fire and ice alternatively at will made for some interesting platforming
06:31challenges and puzzles.
06:33Just one small problem, okay, two small problems, alright, two big problems actually, the camera
06:40and the controls.
06:47Both were so rigid and unreliable that it resulted in many players suffering unfair
06:52deaths.
06:53Had these issues not been as harrowing to deal with, maybe Season of Ice would be more
06:56fondly remembered.
06:57Alas, no.
06:58It's a good game, but it's far from perfect, far from perfect.
07:10Number 8, The Legend of Spyro, A New Beginning.
07:20The Legend of Spyro games were some of those entries where fans had to either take it or
07:24leave it.
07:25Some of us found it really weird that the likes of Elijah Wood, David Spade, and Gary
07:30Oldman were now voicing our favorite characters.
07:32As for the rest, we were all in on the epic fantasy approach to our favorite dragon.
07:46For the most part, the imaginative worlds and overall story were worth it, but if you
07:50stuck with it for a bit too long, there may have been a few moments where you felt a new
07:55beginning was starting to slog.
07:57In all honesty, it's best enjoyed in short gaming sessions.
08:07Number 7, The Legend of Spyro, The Eternal Night for Game Boy Advance.
08:19This may seem odd at first, but let us explain.
08:22Yes, Eternal Night is the worst of the Legend trilogy.
08:26We know.
08:27It sucks and basically repeats the same mistakes as A New Beginning.
08:31Thing is that we would much rather spotlight the GBA version because it's surprisingly
08:36excellent there.
08:42With the fluid controls and frenetic combat, this iteration of Eternal Night was much more
08:47engaging to play with.
08:48Some may not have been too happy with the campaign being so short, but we would rather
08:52have something short and strong than a game that keeps going until it figures out how
08:56it should end midway through.
09:06Number 6, Spyro, A Hero's Tale.
09:19Despite not satisfying critics at the time, many of us still fawn over A Hero's Tale.
09:23You mean to tell us that you've dedicated an entire game to Spyro and switching between
09:28different playable characters?
09:30That sounds awesome!
09:31And it was.
09:33For a little bit.
09:34Imagine our disappointment when we saw the commercials kind of mislead us and the multiple
09:38playable characters were just minigames.
09:45It was just Year of the Dragon with prettier graphics.
09:48A Hero's Tale wasn't awful, mind you.
09:51Playing as Sergeant Bird, Hunter, Blink, and Sparks was as much fun as playing as Spyro.
09:56It really is a solid game, we only wish it went a bit further with its concept like the
10:01marketing made it seem.
10:09Number 5, Spyro 2, Ripto's Rage.
10:20Ripto's Rage is the weakest of the PS1 trilogy, between the dialogue, voice acting, and all
10:25the times we've had to hear, trouble with the trolley, eh?
10:29Even with those grievances, Ripto's Rage does have a lot of good qualities in it.
10:33Each level offers a theme and story different than the one before it, and Spyro's gliding
10:38is much more forgiving with the gentle flutter giving him a small boost just in case a jump
10:42is a little undershot.
10:44Minor tweaks like that made Ripto's Rage so much more enjoyable, even if we had to
10:48do a little extra searching to satisfy Moneybagg's greedy pockets.
10:59Number 4, Spyro 2, Season of Flame.
11:09Our dragon really had it rough on the handhelds, but the one where he truly shined best was
11:14Season of Flame.
11:15In addition to featuring more colorful and vibrant worlds than its predecessor, it also
11:20borrowed some cues from Year of the Dragon by incorporating multiple playable characters,
11:25making the search for gems much more enjoyable.
11:34Even though the controls still aren't on par with the home console games, this was
11:38still good enough to call it one of Spyro's best outings.
11:46Number 3, Spyro the Dragon.
11:57There is just something so magical about the first Spyro game.
12:01Sure, not everyone has been on board with Carlos El Azaraki's voice for the dragon,
12:06but everything else about it was just wonderful.
12:09From worlds like the Artisans and the Dreamweavers to the various enemies that inhabit them,
12:14the original Spyro the Dragon was imaginative in the most unexpected ways.
12:21Plus, the music composed by Stewart Copeland still slaps today, if only the controls still
12:31held up.
12:32And if only treetops wasn't such a hassle to traverse, maybe this would have been number
12:36one.
12:37Maybe.
12:38Number 2, Spyro, Year of the Dragon.
12:55Of the PS1 trilogy, Year of the Dragon truly is the best of the bunch.
12:59While you had more of the standard 3D platforming across creative worlds, there were a variety
13:04of minigames and playable characters to spice things up.
13:10Skateboarding, hopping around as Sheila the Kangaroo, helping Hunter clear the skies of
13:18enemies, hunting Rhinox as Agent 9, it was all so incredibly fun, and an excellent way
13:24to bring the PS1's glory days to a close as we transitioned to a new console.
13:29Some may not care for the scattered focus, but when the game is so well paced and showing
13:33some new and interesting ideas, you can't argue against it.
13:43Number 1, Spyro Reignited Trilogy.
13:57Normally we don't include remakes like this on a ranking video.
14:02Remakes typically copy the blueprints of the originals, you know.
14:05However, Reignited Trilogy does more than that.
14:08Thanks to the advancements in technology, Spyro controls way better than he ever has
14:12both on land and in the air.
14:15As for the visuals, it looks and feels like we imagined it way back in the PS1 days.
14:27In other words, this was how you preserved a collection of games while improving upon
14:32certain aspects that don't hold up today.
14:35If anyone has proved themselves worthy of carrying on Spyro's legacy, developer Toys
14:40for Bob has certainly reached that status.
14:50But never mind our silly ranking, what's your favorite Spyro game?
14:54Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to Mojo Plays for more great
14:58videos every day.