Since the release of Spyro the Dragon on PS1 back in 1998, the purple dragon has seen his fair share of bad games over the years. From the Legend of Spyro reboot titles to the Skylanders series, the character of Spyro has gone through several transformations, and not necessarily for the better. But in 2018, Activision gave fans what they wanted with the Spyro Reignited Trilogy which brought the series back to its roots by very effectively remaking the original Spyro trilogy. The HD remake was praised by fans and critics alike, and currently sits at an impressive score of 82 on Metacritic.
Lately, Activison has been on a roll with Crash and Spyro, first with the orange marsupial’s return in 2017’s Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and then the following two years with both the Reignited Trilogy and Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled. And now that Crash has officially received his first brand new entry in years in the form of Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, it’s looking as though Spyro may be getting a similar treatment as well. Here’s what fans might be able to expect from a brand new Spyro game.
Both Crash and Spyro have rather messy pasts, with loads of sequels and reboots that are best left forgotten. One smart thing that Crash Bandicoot 4 did was ignore every other game in the series other than the first three PlayStation 1 games. This allowed for the game to focus primarily on the canon that was re-established within the N. Sane Trilogy and successfully build off of it, using only the characters and lore introduced within the original Naughty Dog-developed titles. This also better allowed for longtime fans of the original games to be able to relate to the new game.
Most Spyro games that followed after the PS1 originals are rather mediocre, and contributed very little to the series overall. The next Spyro game should most definitely define itself as Spyro 4 as the true fourth game in the series.
Like Crash Bandicoot 4, the next Spyro game needs to offer something very familiar to fans while also still being unique and fresh. The reason that Crash 4 was received so well was the fact that it took the same gameplay already established from past titles and expanded upon it in interesting and new ways. Spyro 4 should do the same: the series has always been largely focused on 3D platforming gameplay with a ton of collectibles, striking a balance between platforming and completing various missions. The next entry should also bring back plenty of classic characters like Hunter, Money Bags, and Ripto, but also shouldn’t be afraid to introduce brand new characters as well.
Spyro 4 should probably go even further by also introducing a few new gameplay mechanics that help set itself apart from past games. The Super Mario franchise, for example, does an excellent job of making each mainline game in the series feel unique by introducing brand new gameplay mechanics. When comparing Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Mario Odyssey, each game is defined by its location and new power-ups. Likewise, Spyro 4 needs to incorporate some fresh new ideas that will help set itself apart from past games, while still staying true to its overall identity.
Spyro games have a tried-and-true formula that has worked well in past titles, and the next game in the series should continue to stick to it. While most other 3D platformers usually only contain one single hub-world, Spyro sets itself apart structurally by having multiple hub-worlds. Each game in the original series consisted of several hub-worlds that each had several worlds of their own, bonus levels, and a boss to fight, along with plenty of characters for Spyro to interact with. The first game in the trilogy had six relatively small hub-worlds, while the second and third games had three and four larger hub-worlds each, respectively. This structure will mostly likely be kept for the series’ upcoming entry.
Additionally, the next game needs to have a similar tone as the original games. Spyro has always been a very kid-friendly and fun game series for all ages, and fans should expect that this will be the case for the next title. Also expect for some of Spyro’s biggest baddies like Gnasty Gnorc or Ripto to make an appearance, even if it’s only in the role of a side character.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is the biggest title in the franchise’s entire history, with 43 levels that take roughly 6-8 hours to get through in total. Players should expect something similar from Spyro as well. The next Spyro game will likely be the series’ biggest one yet, with more levels and worlds to play through than ever. Additionally, the next Spyro game could easily be the best game in the series yet, if done right.
But in order to achieve this, Spyro 4 needs to successfully build upon past efforts while learning from old mistakes. It’s clear that the developers behind both Crash and Spyro’s new games hold a lot of love and passion for both franchises, and that love shows in the games themselves. The future is looking quite bright for the iconic purple dragon, and fans should expect his next adventure to be a big one.
A new Spyro the Dragon game has not been announced.
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