Every Spyro Game Ranked

Like we said, we’re ranking from the most miserable pile of garbage to the most treasured. In that case, “Spyro Orange” is the most miserable pile of garbage. Really, what was this? “Crash Purple” and “Spyro Orange” were supposed to be the crossover we dreamed of. The bandicoot and dragon have crossed paths so many times, and now, we finally get two games dedicated to this fantasy? YES! Oh, how we were so fooled as children. Much like “Crash Purple”, “Spyro Orange” was loaded with the most boring minigames and unimaginative boss fights. And while the game only lasts for an hour or two, the mundanity of it all feels like we’re playing a JRPG that has severely overstayed its welcome. You want an image to summarize how bad this was? Take a look at the victory screen. Sheer quality.

Now, if you want to emphasize the “miserable” part, “Enter the Dragonfly” fits the bill. Literally. On the surface, this just looks like a game that was rushed out the door with little to no Quality Assurance done whatsoever. There’s more darkness beneath the surface, though. Over the years, fans and independent journalists have spoken to former staff who worked on “Enter the Dragonfly”. With two different studios developing the same game, there were bound to be creative differences among heads. What made it worse was how petty and personal some issues became, to the point where mistakes were being intentionally made and some staff had to moderate conferences between managers and supervisors. Truly, the disarray shows in the game, and it wasn’t long after release until both Equinoxe Digital and Check Six Games were shut down on their volition.

We know we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, or in this case, a game by its cover art. But take one good look at the cover of “Shadow Legacy”. Really? Spyro in a Superman pose? What exactly are we supposed to get out of this? Action RPG? Yeah, that’s what this game is, and it isn’t even a good one. Spyro feels so stiff and slow to control, and none of the combat is remotely satisfying to pull off let alone watch. Something tells us this game was never meant to be a game for the dragon, but the prototype wasn’t working for anything else, so they had to settle.

Say what you will about the “Legend of Spyro” games. Some were not too keen on them while others were rather welcoming. “Dawn of the Dragon” was the third and final entry in this series, and though not perfect, it still had some interesting concepts. For instance, two players could venture forth together with Player One as our boy and Player Two as Cynder. From there, what you essentially have is a standard action-adventure game about two dragons breaking free from their chains and setting out to defeat an evil wizard. There isn’t anything offensive about “Dawn of the Dragons”, but also don’t expect anything surprising or groundbreaking. It’s a video game.

Considering this was the third GBA game for our boy, one would hope whatever issues remained in the previous game would finally be ironed out. Alas, not so. “Attack of the Rhynocs” makes the strange departure from platforming and instead focuses on RPG mechanics more. It isn’t a curveball that single handedly destroys the game, but it is odd to be doing a lot of chatting and fetching in exchange for…uh, hearts. “Attack of the Rhynocs” really isn’t terrible by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just…confusing.

Even if the ending to the GBA games wasn’t up to par, it does not detract from “Season of Ice”. The cool aspect to this game was how Spyro was given new abilities with his breath. The ability to breathe fire and ice at will made for some interesting platforming challenges and puzzles. Just one small problem… Okay, two problems: the camera and the controls. Both were so rigid and unreliable that it resulted in many players suffering unfair deaths. Had these issues not been as harrowing to deal with, maybe “Season of Ice” would be more fondly remembered. Alas, no.

The “Legend of Spyro” games were some of those entries where fans had to either take it or leave it. Some of us found it really weird that the likes of Elijah Wood, David Spade, and Gary Oldman were now voicing these characters. As for the rest, we were all in on the epic fantasy approach to our favorite dragon! And for the most part, the imaginative worlds and overall story were worth it. But if you stuck with it for a bit too long, there may have been a few moments where you felt “A New Beginning” start to slog. It's best enjoyed in short gaming sessions, really.

This may seem odd at first, but let us explain. Yes, “The Eternal Night” is the worst of the “Legend” trilogy. We know. It sucks and basically repeats the same mistakes as “A New Beginning”. Thing is that we would rather spotlight the GBA version because it's surprisingly excellent there! With the fluid controls and frenetic combat, this iteration of “Eternal Night” was much more engaging to play with. Some may not have been too happy with the campaign being so short, but we’d rather have a strong and short game than a game that keeps going until it figures out how it should end midway through.

Despite not satisfying critics at the time, many of us still fawn over “A Hero’s Tail”. You mean to tell us that you’ve dedicated an entire game to Spyro and switching between different playable characters? Sounds awesome! And it was…for a bit. Imagine our disappointment when we saw the commercials kind of mislead us and the multiple playable characters were just minigames. It was just “Year of the Dragon” with prettier graphics. “A Hero’s Tail” wasn’t awful, mind you. Playing as Sgt. Byrd, Hunter, Blink, and Sparx was as much fun as playing as Spyro. It really is a solid game. We only wish it went a bit further with its concept like the marketing made it seem.

“Ripto’s Rage” is the weakest of the PS1 trilogy between the dialogue, voice acting, and all the times we’ve had to hear “trouble with the trolley, eh?” Even with those grievances, “Ripto’s Rage” has a lot of good qualities in it. Each level offers a theme and story different than the one before it, and Spyro’s gliding is much more forgiving with the gentle flutter giving him a small boost in case a jump is undershot. Minor tweaks like that made “Ripto’s Rage” so much more enjoyable even if we had to do a little extra searching to satisfy Moneybags’s greedy pockets.

Our dragon really had it rough on the handhelds, but the one game where he truly shined best was “Season of Flame”. In addition to featuring more colorful and vibrant worlds than its predecessors, it also borrowed some cues from “Year of the Dragon” by incorporating multiple playable characters, making the search for gems much more enjoyable. Even though the controls still aren’t on par with the home console games, this was still good enough to call it one of Spyro’s best outings.

There is just something so magical about the first “Spyro” game. Sure, not everyone has been on board with Carlos Alazraqui’s voice for the dragon, but everything else about it was just wonderful. From worlds like the Artisans and the Dream Weavers to the various enemies that inhabit them, the original “Spyro the Dragon” was imaginative in the most unexpected ways. Plus, the music composed by Stewart Copeland still slaps today! If only the controls still held up…and if only Tree Tops wasn’t such a hassle to traverse, maybe it would have been number one.

Of the PS1 trilogy, “Year of the Dragon” truly is the best of the bunch.While you had more of the standard 3D platforming across creative worlds, there were a variety of minigames and playable characters to spice things up. Skateboarding, hopping around as Sheila the kangaroo, helping Hunter clear the skies of enemies, hunting Rhynocs as Agent 9 - it was all so incredibly fun and an excellent way to bring the PS1’s glory days to a close as we transitioned to a new console. Some may not care for the scattered focus, but when the game is so well-paced and showing new and interesting ideas, you can’t argue against it.

Normally, we don’t include remakes like this on the ranking. Remakes typically copy the blueprints of the originals. However, “Reignited Trilogy” does more than that. Thanks to the advancements in technology, Spyro controls way better than he ever has both on land and in the air. As for the visuals, it looks and feels like we imagined it way back in the PS1 days! In other words, this was how you preserved a collection of games while improving upon certain aspects that don’t hold up today. If anyone has proved themselves worthy of carrying on Spyro’s legacy, developer Toys for Bob certainly achieved that!

But never mind our silly ranking. What’s your favorite Spyro game? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!