PS1 - still great after all these years! (Spyro: The Dragon (PS))

Member Name: Boonoiy

Product:	Spyro: The Dragon (PS)
Date:	10/09/02 (327 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great fun, Suitable for all ages and tastes

Disadvantages: Music can grate on your nerves, just a little bit

Ah the good old Playstation - remember the time it was the height of the games console ladder? Oh! The jealousy, the seething pangs of hatred towards those who owned one of these wonders of the electronic age...

All gone now, I've got myself one of those new fangled things with PS2 written all over it, DVD (whatever that is...) compatible and with the option of going on the INTERNET! Well, for crying out loud, how can the PS1 possibly compete?

With Spyro!

The loveable little dragon with all the personality and charisma of a Tarrantino character but without all the gratuitous swearing and violence that usually accompanies them!

So what's it all about then?

Well - Spyro's got a destiny, a set in the stone, written in the stars, 100% genuine destiny. The land of his people has been taken over and enchanted by an evil ruler known as Gnasty Gnork, all the dragon folk have been encased in crystal, their eggs have been stolen by thieves and their carefully hoarded treasure has been strewn around willy-nilly! Basically, all that's missing is a direct meteor strike, and the world of hurt and misery would be complete.

No meteor strike though, Spyro is only little and has managed to escape crystallisation by the Gnork, he sets himself up with his trusty dragonfly friend and embarks on a quest to free the dragons and return their treasure to its rightful owners.

This is where you start from.

The object of the game is quite simply to free all the dragons, collect all the treasure and get back the dragon eggs from the cunning little thieves - once you've done all that you've got to kill off Gnork in a final showdown and the world will be safe once more.

Gameplay:
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From the beginning you will be very pleased with the look of the game, lovely cartoon style graphics and a really sweet looking game to be playing.

As you begin the game you
9;ve got some very obvious choices, you've watched the intro so you know what the game's idea is all about and so you're straight away looking out for the first dragon to set free from the crystal. As you free the dragons you're given little hints and tips as to what does what - they usually say thank you (very cool animation for the dragon freeing sequences) and then go on to say what you can do to help you in the quest.

The basic controls (thanks dragons...) are the jump, glide, flame and charge buttons (using the 4 "shape" buttons on the controller), each is useful in its own way and they can be used in combination with each other for additional speed, glide length etc. Once you've managed to get these all sorted you're just about set to go off on the quest.

Now, the importance of the dragonfly friend is not to be undermined in any way, shape or form. You begin the game with 3 lives BUT, the dragonfly increases this threefold. You get hit, the dragonfly loses some of its potency, three hits and he'll die off and you will be one step away from death! He's a great help when it comes to treasure collection as he'll do this for you to save you actually walking right into the gems. He needs to be fed when he's feeling weak, simply kill off a passing critter and you're generally rewarded with a butterfly to feed your pal with and back on track again.

Very easy to pick up, very nice to look at and very addictive once you've got started.

There's lots of levels to this game, all reached by use of the balloonists on each level - they will set you specific goals - collect a certain amount of treasure, free a certain number of dragons, save a certain number of eggs from the thieves etc. You have to earn your way onto their balloon and you'll then be transported to the next level or back to one you've already visited.

I reckon it has something for everyo
ne, adventure, a bit of a fight, puzzle solving and even flying for the simulator lovers.

Sounds/music:
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Over the course of the game you're going to be using the mute button quite a bit, the music is kind of mystical, comical and ever so slightly annoying. I don't think I can really describe it in any other way - quite nice to begin with, quite annoying after a while.

Sound effects - great! Thundering hooves when you charge, jet sounds when you flame, nice little swooshing while you're gliding and voices for the dragons when they're giving the advice out. The baddies gulp and scream very satisfactorily when you're chasing them and the egg thieves mock you with a nice little "Na na na na na!" when you're nearby.

Overall:
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I think this is a great game, I got my PS1 out of the blue from a workmate who didn't want it anymore and so I didn't know a lot about the controls, the games that were available or anything. Spryo helped me out no end! I think the whole thing is very well presented, beautiful graphics, great story and very helpful in the training of the dragon and the development of the destiny thing! I found myself intrigued as soon as I put this into the machine and got started - kind of like Crash Bandicoot but without the bouncing.

It is a game without boundaries, not unsuitable for anyone really, nothing offensive, violent or anything else to upset the nippers. Play it with your kids, play it by yourself, play with whoever - just give it a go!

With it being a PS1 game too, you'll find it very cheap compared to the new games out there - I saw it priced at £13.99 in my local WH Smiths but you'd probably get it for a quid at the local car boot sale.

Overall - a firm 10/10 for this game!

Boon
(now available for reading of ops, now I can LOG INTO THE BLOODY SITE AGAIN!)

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