Spyro Reignited Trilogy | Xbox One | Review

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Hot on the heels of their Crash Bandicoot reboot, Toys For Bob and Activision are back with another slice of 90’s nostalgia in the form of Spyro Reignited Trilogy, an upgraded collection of the first three titles to star the diminutive purple dragon, lovingly restored for a new generation.

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 by Liam
​ Andrews

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​@liam_andrews5

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Developer: Toys For Bob
Publisher: Activision
Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC 
Players: 1

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Even if you’re too young to remember these games in their original forms, or just happen to have grown up in a household where Mario was the undisputed king of platformers, a quick search shows just how much of a stellar job the team at Toys For Bob have done bringing Spyro into the modern era.

​Blocky graphics and blurry textures have been polished and smoothed to a standard fit for today's consoles, while more refined animations breath new life into characters, particularly in the first game, where Spyro’s fellow dragons now boast unique personality traits to help set them apart from one another. The only downsides to this are an occasional dropped frame and a sometimes tricky camera (an element you didn’t previously have manual control over), though neither are intrusive enough to spoil the experience.

It’s also worth noting at this point that Reignited doesn’t give you the option of enabling subtitles. While this won’t be a deal breaker for most players, for some they’re a real necessity. Although the trio of games don’t lean heavily on their narratives, it seems odd that such a basic feature would be overlooked, especially considering how many of the first game’s tips are tricks are handed out through short vignettes every time you rescue a dragon. Hopefully it’s something that’ll be remedied in a future patch.

Despite the drastic visual overhaul, there’s much here that’ll feel instantly familiar to veterans of the series, with core gameplay and level designs that remain true to the source material. Map layouts are the same, and Spyro can use his signature jump, glide, charge and flame abilities just as he did in the past.

There are still gems galore to hoover up across the hub worlds and their many colourful offshoots, and old hands and newcomers alike will be glad to hear that the relatively rudimentary gameplay still holds up, even if enemies - particularly bosses - do seem absurdly easy by today’s standards.

​All three games feature a healthy mix of biomes, from sandy deserts and treetop villages to the obligatory water levels, but it’s the sequels, Ripto’s Rage! and Year of the Dragon, that outshine the first thanks to the addition of non-dragon NPCs which imbue worlds with extra character. Year of the Dragon even sees you take control of Sypro’s sidekicks now and then, including a jetpacking penguin with shoulder-mounted rocket launchers, which is just about as fun as it sounds.

Along with bonus levels – including our personal favourites that see you flying through obstacles and taking out enemies within a time limit – these moments help to stop monotony from creeping in as you progress through the collection. There’s also the added challenge of collecting skill points, which are acquired through completing specific tasks on certain levels, be it taking out enemies with particular attacks, reaching a hidden area or taking no damage during a boss fight.

Reuniting with Spyro provided a welcome and nostalgic distraction from modern life.

They add another layer of depth, especially for the completionists out there, but the concept art offered as a reward for their completion is a bit underwhelming. We’d have been much more motivated to hunt down all of the numerous challenges if there was a sweeter bonus up for grabs, like maybe a means to switch between the original and remastered visuals. As it is, the only throwback to the original games’ design is the option to play with the old-school soundtrack (composed by The Police drummer Stewart Copeland) enabled, which doesn’t actually sound all that different from the updated one.

Although the Reignited Trilogy may appear basic compared to many of today’s offerings - you won’t find any branching skill trees or a particularly engaging storyline here - the colourful, cheery nature of the games kept pulling us back in for more. On the whole, reuniting with Spyro provided a welcome and nostalgic distraction from modern life, reminding us of a simpler time when penny sweets and six o'clock double headers of The Simpsons were the norm.

Pros
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• Simple, satisfying gameplay
• Beautifully remastered visuals
• Characters have a lot more personality
• Switching between the three games is easy

​Cons
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• Occasional dropped frames
• Boss fights are underwhelming
• No comparison tool to showcase the visual leap
• No subtitles

7/10