•
Rating:
If I'm not mistaken, I hadn't yet conquered the 100% (in fact 120%) of the first chapter when, at the beginning of 2001, my father, who had seen me mesmerized and captivated by the first Spyro, immediately bought me the second one. But in that case too, it was love at first sight, well, it's not that hard!
This time the little dragon is in search of a vacation during a cold and rainy period for the Dragon Kingdom, a bit like the average worker who, in the middle of autumn or winter, takes a week or two off to squander his salary in some tropical location because he's tired of the fog and darkness at 5 PM; but the life of a video game character is not that easy, there's always a battle waiting around the corner; well, in the end, our life is a bit like that too, but maybe not quite, surely we too have to sweat for months before enjoying our well-deserved vacations, but not once we've left, although in reality sometimes something can always happen. Spyro is immediately attracted to a portal with the destination "Dragon Shores," like us humans when we see offers on the internet; aah how nice, they don't have to book flights and hotels, no queues and checks at the airport, nothing to pay, they go through a portal and find themselves right there, how I wish I were a dragon, but someone tells me dragons don't exist... But wait a minute, I told you that for a video game character nothing is easy (otherwise the game's existence would be pointless, eheh)... Far from Dragon Shores, the little dragon ends up hijacked to the unknown Glimmer and faces a friendly Professor, the faun Elora, the cheetah Hunter (who will be his guides); can you imagine if your plane got hijacked and you had to complete a mission before going on vacation? Well, something similar happened in reality, in 2006 Pippo Inzaghi had just arrived in Sardinia for vacation when he was called back by his Milan team to start preparing for the Champions League preliminary round, which Milan was forced into due to hefty penalties following the Calciopoli scandal. Spyro even arrives in time to meet Ripto and his henchmen Crush and Gulp, who have taken over Avalar, landing there by accident due to an experiment on a portal conducted by the Professor and ruined by Hunter; defeating Ripto is the key to getting the deserved vacation.
Spyro must navigate through three extensive worlds: "Summer Forest," "Autumn Plains," and "Winter Tundra." Compared to the first chapter, the worlds do not have a specific number of levels or a unique landscape style, something quite paradoxical since they have a season in the name; they simply take the name from their home, the main level from which all others are accessed, which here does not simply take the name "Home"; the three worlds have a variable number of levels, and these present the most diverse environments, sometimes completely contrasting with the name of the world they belong to (consider the "Colossus" valley set on icy mountains but located in "Summer Forest," the desert "Scorch" found in "Autumn Plains," or the spring-like "Swamp" in "Winter Tundra"); each ends with the defeat of a boss - Crush in the first, Gulp in the second, and Ripto for the final showdown in the third. There are also four flight levels called "circuits," where Spyro must fly and loot everything before the time runs out. The choice to start Spyro's adventure in a level that is not the home ("Glimmer" is one of the "Summer Forest" levels) is quite curious; perhaps to immediately involve the player in the mission, indeed it's better to start in a somewhat lively level rather than in a home where there aren't even enemies to defeat, if the first impact counts, the home wouldn't be the ideal choice, who knows...
Here, too, Spyro must collect a massive amount of treasure, 10,000 to be exact, this time, the treasure count is the same for every level (including circuits and excluding bosses) and is always 400, the geometric shape of the gems changes but not their color or value, the wrappers vary and can be found in barrels, ceramic vases, even bottles hanging from balloons to pop and containers to smash with a headbutt, as well as the usual indestructible chests and explosive devices. This time, Spyro has additional help, with a simultaneous press of the four top buttons on the joystick, the dragonfly Sparx (travel companion and health indicator) points to the direction of the nearest gem. Note that although it's necessary to collect them all to complete the game 100%, in dialogues and game conversations, treasures don't seem to take as much importance as in the first episode, they almost seem relegated to a secondary role, as if not being the true protagonists of Spyro's mission anymore; yet they're often essential to progress in the game; in fact, Spyro ends up in the clutches of the greedy bear Riccone, a character who represents avarice and greed, someone who offers help but surely not out of solidarity and altruism but only for personal gain, seemingly designed to represent the cheekiness and opportunism that have always reigned in the world; Riccone indeed opens new bridges and portals for Spyro and provides new abilities... but only in exchange for a hefty sum of treasures; in a nutshell, Spyro here even has to pay in gems to progress in the game, fortunately, the gems will be returned in the final cutscene, where Riccone is symbolically knocked out, almost representing the harsh truth that greed doesn't always pay off... Dragon eggs and dragons to save disappear, talismans and orbs emerge, both crucial for progressing in the game (as well as completing it 100%); there are 14 talismans in total, found only in the first two worlds, one in each ordinary level, which Spyro can obtain by completing the mission assigned to him by the locals; there are 64 orbs in total in the game, most of which are obtained by overcoming certain trials (except those in the homes which simply need to be collected, often hidden in not-so-accessible places).
The function of enemies changes: in the first game they offered gems, here defeating them releases a particle, a certain number of particles activate a power-up; yes, power-ups are one of the many new features of this second title, energy sources between two pyramidal pillars activated only by defeating the specified number of enemies, power-ups allowing for a short time to fly, take long dashes (replacing glowing arrows), do high jumps, shoot fire missiles (even underwater), become invincible (walk on lava), freeze enemies...
Spyro is offered new abilities: he can pick up objects in his mouth and spit them far away to hit otherwise unreachable enemies, but most importantly he can swim, climb scalable surfaces, and headbutt; these last three abilities are obtainable only by paying Riccone a sum of treasure in the first, second, and third worlds respectively.
The final reward is access to Dragon Shores, and players are given the chance to experience Spyro's vacation, it's not just a symbolic destination delivered through a simple cutscene as often happens in other games, that would have been too simplistic and obvious; Dragon Shores isn't a simple and boring beach with umbrellas, chairs, annoying neighbors, and frustrating group dance animations; they don't show how big these shores really are and how much fun there is, upon arrival, we only see a glimpse of sandy area and a glimpse of sea with small boats, but once you pass the gate, it becomes clear that Spyro's reward for his efforts wouldn't have been fair if it had been just relaxation on a sunbed, maybe he just wanted to relax and sunbathe, but after such an adventure full of dangers and lurking threats, it was also fair to reward him with something more thrilling and fun; beyond the gate, there is indeed an amusement park, an environment that overall seems a playful transposition of a classic holiday village or a tourist location where tourists don't just come for the sea but also to try out local attractions, then return to their offices with a trove of stories to tell. The amusement park offers what are usually the attractions of an ordinary park, albeit few, a series of shooting games, and a fun roller coaster with balloons to pop, with tokens as prizes to then spend in a useless theater that allows rewatching the game's cutscenes; but even more useless is the final door that opens after claiming the 100%, behind it hides a useless unlimited superflame power-up which obviously can't have any utility at the end of the game, it's catching flies, much like the cannon outside the castle in Super Mario 64, in reality, it allows restarting a new game enjoying the entire adventure with the superflame but it's useless if you already completed it through your efforts and there's no real record to beat; nothing compared to the final treasure challenge of the first chapter, it's one of the few diminishing elements in an otherwise superior sequel in every aspect.
The increase in game variety compared to the first chapter is remarkable, consequently, the leap in quality is notable; the first chapter, splendid as it was, revealed to be rather elementary as it merely entailed touring the level and collecting items, like a housewife looking for things to stuff in drawers, a sterile and monotonous treasure hunt as colorful and fun as it was; here, instead, there are plenty of trials to overcome, missions, games, skill demonstrations, the simple search for items becomes more challenging, attempting to break walls or glide to the highest parts of castles and heights becomes virtually mandatory; upon first impact, a player accustomed to the essentials of the first chapter might be startled by the difficulty leap, but once familiar, the game engages and ultimately is preferable to the first; the playability remains excellent, the difficulty is never truly problematic, it's a title aimed at a young and childish audience and inducing swearing isn't the production's goal, even though some might have slipped...
Among the moments and levels that make the game memorable and lovable, we can cite ice hockey matches in "Colossus," returning water to the dried-up "Aquaria Towers" turning it into a very fun aquatic level, the search for lost tools on the cart in "Breeze Harbor," climbing the volcano of "Magma Cone," headbutting in the green lava to save hippos trapped in rock in "Shady Oasis," clearing the tractor route with the supercharge in "Fracture Hills," avoiding getting caught while chasing the secret agent in "Cloud Temples"... plus Hunter's various trials, notably the hang gliding trial in "Icy Speedway" (yes, the circuits this time also have a secret trial); indeed, Hunter often challenges Spyro in exchange for precious orbs, sometimes downplaying Spyro's abilities without malice only to be forced to recant and congratulate him.
The visual and sound features making the first chapter a classic are confirmed if not expanded; colors remain vivid, inducing good mood and eagerness to pick up the joystick, the music also remains engaging; here too, the composer is the ex-Police drummer Stewart Copeland who reprises the style of the first chapter but expands it with more varied soundscapes often aligned with the tackled level, consider the Arabian-influenced sounds in the sandy "Scorch," the oriental touch in "Cloud Temples," the more mystic influences in "Colossus" or the pure and arrhythmic ambient of the homes.
Summing up, one can speak of a sequel far superior to an already truly great first, I believe I have spent too many words on a timeless masterpiece that in reality doesn't need any words.
Loading comments slowly
