The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning

Unleash the true dragon within you!

NA release: 10th October 2006
EU release: 27th October 2006
JP release: N/A
Developer: Krome Studios
Publisher: Sierra
NGC Magazine Score: 66%
Mods Used: None

After trying to recreate the success of the original Spyro trilogy by making similar game, and it not going very well, it seemed that a brand new start was needed. They went for epic fantasy, with a story starting with a prophecy about a purple dragon, set to defeat the threat facing the dragons. In an attack, his egg is sent away and he ends up getting raised by dragoflies, only realising what he was when trying to rescue his brother, Sparx.

The story and dialogue is quite a large part of the game. A bit too much, really, as it can often take so long. Spyro is nervous but courageous, so Elijah Wood does actually suit the character. His mentor, Ignitus, is played by Gary Oldman. The other main character is Sparx, played by David Spade. He’s modern comic relief and feels so out of place. And his only joke is being mean to people. On top of that, it’s just David Spade talking as though he’s half drunk (no wonder they replaced him with Billy West in the next game). It’s like if they just had James Cordon playing Samwise in Lord of the Rings, but just acting like himself. And now I want to throw up at that thought.

With this reboot also comes a change in genre. Spyro is no longer a 3D platformer, and has delved into a beat-em-up, with Spyro having multiple melee moves and combos. But it gets tedious quite fast, especially as there are so many parts where you just have to stay in the same small area waiting for waves of enemies to spawn, with every single one being a bullet sponge. I do like how each enemy has a different name, but it’s just non-stop.

It also means that the levels themselves are extremely linear, with only the odd jumping section or puzzle. Even though the story is more engaging than you’d expect (Sparx aside), the combat wears you down and there’s only so much of it you can take.

Fine

It’s a decent enough effort at injecting a bit of life into Spyro’s rotting corpse – but we’d be lying if we said it was actually any good, with its laughably low difficulty and the kind of repetitive gameplay that can numb the brain and lower the IQ faster than a Boot Camp episode of The X Factor.
Geraint Evans, NGamer Magazine #4

Remake or remaster?

A remastered trilogy would be good, especially with the option of reducing enemy health.

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to buy The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning