Editorial | The World of Spyro the Dragon.

By Sam Coles:

Childhood is something that is very important, where it shapes you into the person that you are today. There are certain pieces of media that you associate with your childhood, whether it is films, television shows, books or even video games. When I was around 5 years old my father bought us a PlayStation, there was a game that came with it and that game was Spyro the Dragon. What made this game stick with me over 20 years later? Is it the characters, the environments or the gameplay?

Spyro the Dragon starts off innocent enough, where the dragons of the Artisans world are being interviewed on television. The main antagonist Gnasty Gnorc is not favourable with the snarky comments thrown at him, so he turns them all into the crystal statues minus the small purple titular dragon. The story is not special by all means, but it does offer some humour with the quips and jokes.

What makes this game stick in my mind nearly 21 years later? Well let’s start off with the worlds. People often say that the original Spyro is bare bones and lacklustre, but to be fair it is the first game in the series and honestly it is my favourite out of trilogy. I think the original game has the best set of environments, as it sticks to the high fantasy environments that are inspired to a certain extent from Tolkien. From the Artisans home world, the Magic Crafters to the boggy swamps of the Beast Makers all the worlds are memorable and unique which have stuck with me all these years!

The first time I entered the Artisans World I was greeted with a beautiful soundtrack, coupled with rolling green hills that even today the original graphics are impressive considering the hardware. I remember exploring each nook and cranny looking for secrets, while I experimented with Spyro’s abilities and movement while I collected gems. I remember being intrigued by the various portals dotted around the world, and when I entered them I was excited to be transported to a different world from the twilight of the Dark Hollow to the peaceful and open spaces of Stone Hill. All have their music, themes and enemies for you to combat which some would scare me as a child due to the crude depictions of the limited hardware with their polygonal look.

The music is truly a standout, if you were to play any track from this game without telling someone where it came from they would know, even people who don’t play games know the music. That is because it was expertly crafted by the former drummer of The Police Stewart Copeland; he played through each level to get a feeling for the environment and would write the musical score at the same time. What we got with the end result are catchy and sometimes atmospheric tunes, from the upbeat Magic Crafters to the haunting tones of the damp swamps of the Beast Makers.

Speaking of audio the overall design of the sounds is something that is iconic in its own right, with aspects such as collecting items, enemy noises and feedback when you break boxes etc. They are sometimes subtle such as when you just miss a gem where your dragonfly friend Sparx picks it up; you get this pleasant and satisfying buzzing. The audio feedback when you break boxes is always fantastic, where you head-butt metal crates with a metallic twang with an eye piercing shatter. Spyro’s fire breath is satisfying to use, this again is because of the excellent sound design where you hear the wooden boxes explode into charred splinters, where there is nothing more than embers and gems.

Spyro is a game that will stick with me for another 20 years, and I think that is most people’s attitude if they grew up playing it like me. It was fantastic of Activision last year to remake the games in one collection, where I got a feeling of being a child again as I explored the world of dragons.