Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly

Written by Tom Clare in PS2 Game Reviews, Friday 27 January, 2006

No Smoke Without Fire

…And I'll begin with a brief history lesson. When the original Spyro The Dragon game arrived on the PlayStation back in 1998, there was considerable hype surrounding the project. It looked gorgeous, and proved to be a very competent platform game for the youngsters, though perhaps because of its child-friendly slant and conservative design, it was still streets behind the genre-leading Crash Bandicoot 3. But here's why I love Spyro - the plucky dragon returned a year later, and against all expectation, crushed the aforementioned bandicoot, annexing the platform crown while he was at it. Spyro was every bit as cute, colourful and charming as before, but the game in which he featured would prove tougher, bigger, better-looking and significantly more ambitious - it was an astonishing step-forward. Spyro 3 improved the formula still further a year later, and in my opinion remains the best platform game of the 32-bit era; in two years, Spyro had gone from safe 'n' solid to pioneering and inspired.

It really is rare to see a series of games improving so greatly with each new instalment - could Enter The Dragonfly, Spyro's first flight on PS2, continue the phenomenal momentum? The task was a formidable one to say the least, firstly because the series long-term developers Insomniac weren't involved with the project (they were off making Ratchet & Clank), and secondly because the large technical leap between consoles demanded new gameplay tricks and even more ambition for it to stand out.

First released in 2002 and developed by Vivendi, Spyro: Enter The Dragonfly (S:ETD) once again sees the mean-spirited Ripto causing havoc - this time around he's scattered dragonflies across the realm and (yep, you guessed it) its up to Spyro to catch them all and restore order. All this provides the basis for another 3D platform adventure, which requires the usual exploration, gem-collecting, enemy-burning, jumping, swimming, climbing and gliding that were the foundation of the previous games, once again complemented by a host of wacky and lovable mini-games. Fans of the earlier titles will be instantly familiar with the controls as they are more or less exactly the same as the last couple of instalments, as is the general path of the game, whereby the collection of a sufficient number of dragonflies from one level will clear passage to the next, eventually unveiling 9 areas to tackle.

Enter The Dragonfly is top fun and I certainly don't have any qualms with its gameplay. The general lack of ambition and originality on the part of Vivendi is undoubtedly disappointing and ultimately rather costly, though at least the fundamental gameplay-mechanics have remained unchanged, which is certainly a blessing. As ever, completing levels is not too difficult a task; the real challenge comes in trying to achieve 100% completion in each area, and this often means routing around for secret areas, dragonflies and hidden gems that have been stashed away. The main new feature this time out is Spyro's ability to breathe not only fire, but also bubbles (for catching the dragonflies), electricity and ice - each are attained at various points during the adventure and are nicely slotted in, as they allow the pint-sized dragon to open up new sections and expand the playing area. Though the game seems almost tentative next to the rip-roaring Year Of The Dragon it is still, at its absolute best, magically addictive; even the older gamers out there should find plenty of fun waiting within.

The levels are once again excellent - varied and regularly amusing, each provides a pleasantly familiar feel whilst providing its own unique tasks and visual quirks. Luau Island sees Spyro in a coastal village and encourages the use of swimming; Honey Marsh tests your platform skills with some precarious jumps, and the Thieves Den section even features enemies disguised as treasure, who run off as you approach, which is somewhat inspired. However, Spyro's movement seems oddly lethargic at first and its nigh-on unplayable with the D-Pad, but whilst the overall pace of the game is slightly more leisurely, thankfully the responsiveness of the controls is fine.

Sadly in terms of layout though, Vivendi have rather shot themselves in the foot. Whilst Spyro 3 contained thirty medium-sized levels, this features instead nine enormous areas, and this simple fact is the root of several problems that hamper S:ETD. Firstly, the challenge of routing out all the hidden extras that has for so long aided the lifespan in this type of game is no longer quite as prominent - hundreds of gems are clumped together in the levels and whilst they still need gathering up, few require any great level of joypad-dexterity to collect. Then there's the frankly obscene loading times between the humongous environments - you could boil a kettle in the time it takes the PS2 to animate Spyro's next destination. The worst thing about it however is that the PS2 clearly can't cope with the scale of the levels - despite the graphics not (on the surface) appearing to be too challenging for the console, the action regularly appears jerky as the frame-rate struggles to stay at a respectable pace - this never even looked like being a problem on the PSOne games and with so many problems coming out of the idea of having fewer-but-larger levels, it makes you wonder why the developers opted for this senseless layout.

Adding to its troubles are the rather underwhelming visuals. They're by no means offensive to the eye; levels and characters are as vibrant, bold and distinctive in their look and design as they have ever been and all the scenery looks pleasingly solid too. But its inferiority becomes clear (once again) when compared to its illustrious predecessors; the Spyro character aside, much of what's on display looks very similar in terms of detail and definition to that of the earlier games, and that's before also taking into account the fact that the earlier games could run on a less-powerful system without any slow-down in the frame-rate.

There are two positive traits that Spyro: Enter The Dragon has managed to retain however; its humour and mini-games. What makes the series as a whole so endearing is the fact that there is so often something for everyone, the characters being one such example; the younger player will love Spyro and the various other characters who populate the game for their cuteness, whilst the older gamer will find a lot more subtle humour to enjoy - in one instance, Spyro races down a honey slide; the irony of making a slide out of what is perhaps the stickiest substance in the game is not lost on the scientist you meet at the bottom. Elsewhere, there are tourist pigs who worry about what specific pork-based meal they may become if they are caught by the enemy; religious monkeys and posh, soft-spoken yetis (in the same level bizarrely) and farmers who are annoyed that their cows are being abducted by UFO's - its just plain barmy and you can't help but smile. The mini-games are slightly less-mad this time - you can't play Ice Hockey with frozen-cats as pucks this time around - but they at least allow the developers to show they can pull-off a more diverse range of tasks; Spyro gets to play the drums with a jungle tribe, drive a tank and pilot a plane to thwart those cow-abducting aliens, among others, and in their own small way they all prove successful diversions.

If you view it from a child's perspective, the longevity and value factor is pretty fair. I bought my copy from amazon.co.uk for a very respectable £4.97, but prices elsewhere seem to fluctuate wildly so its best shop around. I managed to complete around 90% of the game in the first week of play, though it is a good enough game to hold the interest until at least this point. Fans of the series will be disappointed it doesn't have the challenge and incredible depth of the last two Spyro games, and whilst the complete lack of a storyline is not so welcome, at least all boss battles have been cut out (and lets face it, nobody likes boss-battles).

Ultimately, Spyro: Enter The Dragonfly is unable to match its classic predecessors, more due to clumsy level layouts and a lack of ambition than anything seriously wrong with the gameplay. The long loading times, lack of long-term play and often-staccato gameplay are all equally annoying to behold as they all could have been solved by a better distribution of levels, spreading the challenges out rather than unceremoniously clumping them together. Still, it's still essentially Spyro at heart; sparkling with personality, good-humour and oozing the type of gameplay that is as uncomplicated as it is enjoyable, it can at very least be described as 'a superior children's title'. If you have children - buy it. If not - rent it for yourself, but don't tell your friends.

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