Hands-on review: Spyro Reignited Trilogy brings back the PSOne icon
When people talk about the PSOne era, many gamers think about characters such as Crash Bandicoot, Lara Croft and Solid Snake. Well, another famous PlayStation icon that people usually forget about is Spyro.
Insomniac Games developed the original three games on the PSOne and they revolutionised the 3D platforming genre. Nintendo may have had Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie, but the PlayStation mascots were always the duo of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon.
Crash Bandicootalready had his own remake when Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy came out last year on the PS4 platform. Now this year brings us Spyro's own remake called the Spyro Reignited Trilogy.
It's worth mentioning that Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a full remake in lieu of just a remaster because the game has been built from the ground up. Everything including the graphics and gameplay has been completely overhauled in order for the game to meet modern day standards.
Let's first talk about the graphics which is the biggest difference you will notice about this remake. As you might already know, the PSOne came out during a time that 3D games were their infancy and things didn't look so great.
I played the original Spyro the Dragon on PSOne recently and the graphics look ugly by today's standard. Thankfully, this remake looks gorgeous because the textures have been smoothed out and the dreaded distance fog has been eradicated completely.
Now I can explore the expansive levels without guessing where I need to go to next. The new 4K graphics just makes the entire game look better than ever before and you really have to see the differences for yourself to truly appreciate how far video games have come in the last two decades.
Another positive big change is that some of the character models have been changed for the better in this remake. I remember characters like Sheila, Elora and Bianca looking very ugly in the original games, but this remake finally makes them prettier. Spyro himself looks good too as he's as cute as he's ever been.
As for the three games themselves, all of them are here and little has changed when it comes to the content. The first game called Spyro the Dragon is the easiest and most accessible game as it's about Spyro rescuing his dragon pals that have turned into statues.
Spyro 2 is probably my least favourite game in the series because you're just collecting orbs and needing to do lots of fetch quests that involve swimming as well as a lot of tedious exploration. Spyro: Year of the Dragon is better than the second game as it allows you to play as more characters and includes mini-games such as skateboarding just to name a few.
The trilogy is also more helpful because all three games now have the fast travel option allowing you to visit previous levels to get more stuff you missed out before. I remember it was tedious backtracking to each level in the first game! The game is also more user-friendly because it adds a mini map to all levels so you know how big or small each level is.
Even though change is a good thing, this does not mean that the entire game isn't without some annoying flaws. Controlling the camera can be a bit of a nuisance because it doesn't shift behind the character as fast as it did before.
It also appears the physics of the games have been changed too. It was easier swimming, flying and jumping in the original games, but here in this new trilogy the physics feel a little off.
Another annoying change is a level in Spyro 3. In the original Spyro 3, one of the levels had an isometric camera viewpoint making it easier for you to see the obstacles in your way. In the new game though, the camera viewpoint has changed making it harder for you to see where you're going!
Despite some minor flaws, Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a great remake that features new school graphics with old fashioned style of gameplay. If you have played the original trilogy, you will instantly full in love with this collection of games.
Verdict: 8.5/10
