darkSpyro

I think a topic like this is LONG overdue...

There are many topics made by many of the same people about hating LoS, yet none like that about Classic Spyro.

Now don't get me wrong. I myself am a fan of both Spyros and like them equally. However, whenever I dislike anything about LoS, all the Classic fans are quick to agree with me, but whenever I say anything negative about Classic Spyro, the same people just all flock towards me and start ranting to me about how Classic Spyro is "perfect" and some even don't back up their points, while I do back up mine. Yet I'm still considered a "silly little kid" to them who "can't see originality".

Classic Spyro is original, but not totally original. And it's definitely not perfect, just like LoS isn't perfect. So, if you have anything you didn't like or think could be improved, state it here!

I would start, only I couldn't be bothered at the present time, and this comment is long enough as it is.

Oh, and to diehard, radical Classic fans, you don't need to come here. If Classic Spyro was perfect for you then that's cool, but some people have things they dislike, m'kay?

Anyway, who shall be first to step up?

I really don't like Sparx's voice from the old Spyro games. His buzzing gets annoying. Also I don't like the enemy designs.

Anyone who denies that Spyro 1 and 2 weren't lifted from their respective Super Mario Bros installments needs to have their eyes tested. Not that it's a bad thing, but to call them totally original is a disservice to both the franchises involved.

Yeah, I always felt that the structure of the original Spyro games was all to similar to Mario 64.
Dragons, Orbs, Eggs and Dragonflies = Power Stars.

Also, although the minigames were a way of varying things up, there were too many and the quality varied too much. Some were good, some were just boring. Also, Dragon Shores was a huge dissapointment for me.

Also, the skateboarding was made out to be an awesome addition, but it just felt like a Tony Hawk rip-off to me. It was very basic with generic level design. Instead of wasting disc space, by ripping off another successful franchise, why not just include some more cool platforming sections?

Also, Spyro's personality, although kind of funny, was WAY too similar to Sonic. A less developed version of Sonic that is.

Well, I was referring more to the Mario games of the eighties, but that too. Spyro came at a time where everyone was trying to replicate the success of Super Mario 64, and it was one of the more blatant ones. Spyro 1 was also the most successful one after the Crash Bandicoot trilogy, although the others didn't fare as well.

Oh, you were? Oh, how so?

I LOVE the Classic Spyro games, but there are flaws.

Also, another thing I noticed, some levels are actually extremly linear and plain, and the only reason they have any fun at all is because there is are side quests tucked in. Skelos Badlands is a perfect example.(Oh, and excuse the music if you don't like it, it's not my video!):

Well, just look at the plots of both series for the trilogies;

SMB1; Big bad monster launches an assault after years of banishment, which unlikely hero has to stop and also help rescue the citizens of the world.
SMB2; Little wizard guy causes havok in a different world hoping to take it over, hero beckoned to said world to stop little wizard guy.
SMB3; Big bad monster comes back with his children to wreak more havok on the lands of the mushroom world.

Spyro 1; Big bad monster launches an assault after years of banishment, which unlikely hero has to stop and also help rescue the citizens of the world.
Spyro 2; Little wizard guy causes havok in a different world, hero beckoned to said world to stop little wizard guy.
Spyro 3; PMSing sorceress decides to make herself immortal by harvesting children of hero's race, hero must travel to forgotten worlds to stop her.

Notice I said only Spyro 1 and 2, YotD actually had a more original plot.

The controls on all 3 games are SOOOOO FUGGIN STIFF! Goddamn it Spyro was so hard to control back then, moving became a chore rather than a mode of transport, same can be said about the new Alone In The Dark.

@Burning Gnorc: OMG, I never even thought about story! That is a great discovery there!

@Apoc: Yeah, the movement was kind of weird in the original games. In Spyro 1, when you charge along the side of a hill, you slide down it, yet when you just walk along a hill, you go along it fine. It was annoying on the theif in Stone Hill, I would be chasing him, staying near the ledge to catch him quickly, when all of a sudden, Spyro would slide right off, even if I didn't touch the control stick. Thank god they fixed it in Spyro 2.

I don't like how the standard copy of YotD is missing some songs and cutscenes.

I also don't like the reusage of music where music used in one level is used in another later on.

Also, it's foolish to say anything is perfect; improvements can always be made.

@Apoc: I didn't find the controlls stiff. Is/was your controller in good nick?

Oh, and I too dislike th buzzing and silly voice of Sparx.

The one thing I didn't like in YOTD was the lack of Elora. She was such a cool character

Hmm, that's weird. I always thought that the movement was better in the classics than in LoS, but I can see what you mean.

Although I Absolutely love the classics, I still know that it has it's flaws. I've never played those Mario games so I wouldn't know if it was similar.

I also didn't like Sparx's voice, and I thought that the flight levels in Spyro 1 were a bit too hard.

I don't mind reusing music, as long as the song is good of course!

I never had that problem with YotD, but I think mine was a Platnium copy. Was the problem exclusive to the States, or was it a worldwide problem?

And thank you for saying that NEW_SpyroLUVA! I see LoS getting a lot of mindless bashing here, but the critisism can often be unconstructive. This is the exact reason why I made this topic. To CONSTRUCTIVELY CRITISISE the games, not mindlessly bash them.

I found controls to be quite slippery in Spyro 1, but it's perfectly tolerable. In ETD, the controls were all floaty and weird.

The loosing life system and the enimies loosing life system.

I love the originals and dislike LoS, but I'd never say the originals are perfect or that there was nothing good about LoS. Even so, I'm having trouble thinking of flaws in the original three, simply because I can't think of how I would have improved them.

Oh, I can think of a couple things that annoyed me. Hunter's voice. He needed a better voice actor. And how Hunter won't give you the orbs/dragon eggs until you complete his tasks, despite being an ally? That never made much sense.

And I guess the story could have been better and the characters could have had more depth, but I wouldn't want a story like LoS where it tries so hard to be epic that it collapses under the weight of all the overused fantasy cliches and makes everything and everyone completely predictable.

I think it's unfair to criticize something for not being completely original, though. Nothing is completely original. Ever. Since Spyro was a platforming series back then, it obviously had to have elements that were similar to other platforming games. It's not a problem or a lack of creativity; that's just how it is. Same with LoS... to an extent.

I HATED how they made Sparx Spyro's life bar, and also how they incorporated the dragonflies as the companions and protectors of the dragons in ETD. I mean, dragons are supposed to be these powerful creatures and yet they rely on an insignificant magical bug! That just makes all dragons look weak!

Quote: sonicbrawler182

I don't mind reusing music, as long as the song is good of course!

I never had that problem with YotD, but I think mine was a Platnium copy. Was the problem exclusive to the States, or was it a worldwide problem?

And thank you for saying that NEW_SpyroLUVA! I see LoS getting a lot of mindless bashing here, but the critisism can often be unconstructive. This is the exact reason why I made this topic. To CONSTRUCTIVELY CRITISISE the games, not mindlessly bash them.

I found controls to be quite slippery in Spyro 1, but it's perfectly tolerable. In ETD, the controls were all floaty and weird.

I try to be constructive when criticising LOS.
"This character needs more confidence, the voice actors need to put more emotion into the voices, we need more of this and that to make it more fun, etc, etc."

Yeah, the originals definitely aren't perfect. A thousand times better than LoS? Yes. Perfect? Not even.

I'm not sure how the controls were stiff for them, though. I mean, seriously, try playing the old Tomb Raider. You will be grateful for Spyro after that. D: They reminded me a lot of Mario 64, which is basically the template upon which all 3D platformers are based.

I never liked how the worlds in all three games became so depopulated after you played them, especially in RR and YotD. You'd start out meeting all these fun people and talking to them, but in the end, they were all gone. D: It made goofing around in the games after you were done with the story a rather depressing experience (getting those skill points was so loney D: ).

Was anyone else severely creeped out by the human-ish kids, Handel and Greta? o.o

I also wasn't so keen on kazoo-voiced Sparx in YotD.

Speaking of YotD... I absolutely despise Agent 9's Doom mission and that one shooting contest in the Egyptian level. Those. Were. Horrible. D:

Hey, by "classics" are we just talking about the original three Insomniac games, or does this include the handhelds and EtD and AHT? Most classic fans don't count those as part of the originals, but if you do, have I got a ton of complaints about them.

I agree with you about the lack of lasting people.

I have some bad points about the Original Spyro games, I wished that some of the levels were longer, and that there were less of the challenges in Spyro 2 and 3, I would rather have you to look for the orbs/eggs, I used to find that more interesting then failing at nearly every challenge, I thought that the skateboarding in Spyro 3 was annoying, I just thought it was stupid that a dragon should be skateboarding and I don't like that type of gameplay anyway, Sparx's voice in Spyro 3 annoys me, I wished that he had a voice all the way through. I also wish that in Spyro 2 and 3 that it wasn't just random characters, I would prefer them to be older or younger dragons/different types of dragons, I liked that idea in Spyro 1 and I wished that they could have kept that somehow. The story in the games aren't all that great now that I look back on it, but when I was a kid I didn't care much for it. I wish Spyro had a bit more of a personality, you didn't get to see it that much in my opinion.

I rather liked the stories, but that's because I was reading between the lines for a lot of them and since all three games imply the existence of alternate universes connected by portals, I was thrilled.

Ugh, the skateboarding. D: I've never bothered with the skill points in YotD because I just can't figure out how to do those stupid tricks.

The minigames did get a bit trying at times. I always preferred the "find the things" parts best.

And I would have preferred seeing the characters we'd come to know developed a bit more, rather than having so many new ones introduced. We got to know Sgt. Byrd, Sheila, and Bentley pretty well by playing them, but the others...not so much. I would have liked seeing more of Spyro's character develop and a return for Elora (since she was such a big part of the second game) over the somewhat obvious Hunter/Bianca side story.

Storywise, I wish it could of stayed with Spyro, Sparx and a villain. I loved the sense of isolation in Spyro 1. Being a little dragon, your only companion being a dragonfly and having tons of monsters after you. Seriously, that could of been a phenomenal storyline. Especially for Spyro 2.

I was good at the skateboarding, but it was just ripping off Tony Hawk TBH.

My problem with the minigames was that there were too many of varying quality. I preferred finding things and objectives like the beanstalk mission in Zephyr.

Also, I would of liked more power up based missions. Now THEY were awesome! Tree Tops FTW!

Quote: sonicbrawler182

Storywise, I wish it could of stayed with Spyro, Sparx and a villain. I loved the sense of isolation in Spyro 1. Being a little dragon, your only companion being a dragonfly and having tons of monsters after you. Seriously, that could of been a phenomenal storyline. Especially for Spyro 2.

I was good at the skateboarding, but it was just ripping off Tony Hawk TBH.

My problem with the minigames was that there were too many of varying quality. I preferred finding things and objectives like the beanstalk mission in Zephyr.

Also, I would of liked more power up based missions. Now THEY were awesome! Tree Tops FTW!

I have to say that I agree with you there, for once.

I'm sure me and you could agree on a lot of Classic Spyro related things!

And Razz, any Spyro game except LoS can be discussed here. If it was the original trilogy only, I would of said "Insomniac Spyro"!

Sounds good by me. Oh, lord, I could go on for ages about what's wrong in AHT and EtD. For the handhelds, all I can say so far is that Season of Ice gave me a wicked headache. D:

Quote: Razz

Sounds good by me. Oh, lord, I could go on for ages about what's wrong in AHT and EtD. For the handhelds, all I can say so far is that Season of Ice gave me a wicked headache. D:

I've played Season of Ice, and that was just "URGH!" all the way through

I have the GBA trilogy on an emulator, and Season of Ice is the only one I played so far. IT'S SO PLAIN!

I actually loved AHT! I can't think of any bad points as I haven't played it in years, but I plan to get it, and when I do, I will give you the verdict!

As for ETD, it's the worst console Spyro game. It's the Sonic 06 of Spyro. However, it's a masterpiece compared to Sonic 06!

Quote: sonicbrawler182

I have the GBA trilogy on an emulator, and Season of Ice is the only one I played so far. IT'S SO PLAIN!

I actually loved AHT! I can't think of any bad points as I haven't played it in years, but I plan to get it, and when I do, I will give you the verdict!

As for ETD, it's the worst console Spyro game. It's the Sonic 06 of Spyro. However, it's a masterpiece compared to Sonic 06!

AHT isn't bad, it didn't make me say "Wow".

ETD is just funny, and yes, it is the worst thing that Universal has published.

Razz, I also hate it when you are left on your own in the levels. I hate being on my own, so it kind of creeps me out and makes me a little scared. I'm ok with it in Spyro 1, but that's because you were on your own all the time anyway, but in 2 and 3, the people leave, so it feels like you have been abandoned.

i don't like how they aren't sold in stores anymore so i can't by StD and YoTD

;__;

I have YotD somewhere, but I CAN'T MUTHA FLIPPIN' FIND IT! It just aggravates me!

Quote: sonicbrawler182

I have the GBA trilogy on an emulator, and Season of Ice is the only one I played so far. IT'S SO PLAIN!

I actually loved AHT! I can't think of any bad points as I haven't played it in years, but I plan to get it, and when I do, I will give you the verdict!

As for ETD, it's the worst console Spyro game. It's the Sonic 06 of Spyro. However, it's a masterpiece compared to Sonic 06!

Ugh. *shivers* Dark memories.

I hated the thieves.

You can sometimes find the Insomniac games in used game stores (not GameStop, though), and they're easy to find on eBay and Amazon.

As for AHT... It's a boring game at best. The playing part of it is terrible. However, if you play the game from the mindset that it knows it's bad and the dialogue is commenting on that (as well as dropping a ton of inappropriate innuendo ), it is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

EtD...urgh. It's simpler to say that I enjoyed the slide mission in the volcano level the first two times I attempted it. Every single last other detail about EtD is horrible, from the phoned-in voice acting to the "beat nearly to death with the ugly stick" character models. I don't even think this would have been a good game if it had been finished. It would be the same lackluster story, same dull gameplay, only maybe with fewer glitches. That's it. Even Stewart Copeland's usually great music was bland (except for one piece that had a bit of his old spark in it).

in Spyro 1 i hated falling down too much because of cliffs and the flight challenges were always too hard for me.
Spyro 2: hated the emptiness of levels after completion and Dragon Shores.
Spyro 3: i hated the glitches but what's slightly weird is that although my game wasn't platinum, i have all of the cutscenes. the only thing that was officially "wrong" with mine was when you would get the egg after shooting the boats for Agent 9 (who was my least favourite ally) and i also hated that hunter wouldn't give you stuff until you completed tasks. Sparx's buzzing didn't bother me but i probably would have just liked a voice better.

AHT is the only other one i've played besides LoS and i thought it was good but i didn't like having to learn new moves for Spyro and i hated how they pretty much made him look stupid. plus mine would glitch sometimes and i couldn't move on to fight red for the first time.

lol i have all of my "Insomniac Spyro's" but lost the original memory card my brother gave me so i had to get one from my cousin because she had a spare and was the only person i knew with a PS1 still in good condition.

side note: i hated moving around in the old Tomb Raiders too

Spyro the Dragon:

- The really weak boss fights. Most of them just involved flaming them twice to defeat them. Thankfully, they changed this in Spyro 2.

- The hidden dragon in Haunted Towers. Impossible to find without a guide.

Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer:

- A couple of frustrating mini-games. Escorting the alchemist is a good example, that was just a pain to beat.

Spyro: Year of the Dragon:

- Sgt. Byrd, Agent 9 and Bentley were horrible playable characters. I just hated playing them. Byrd and Bentley were just too slow and Agent 9 was a pain to control.

I don't really consider post-Insomniac Spyro to be "classic," but I've got some complaints about them to add if we're including them.

Obviously EDT was terrible; I don't think I need to reiterate that.

I enjoyed AHT for the most part, but I didn't like the childish humor from many of the characters. I absolutely hated Spyro's voice and the way he acted in general, the music was annoying, and some of the minigames were way too frustrating (I'm looking at you, Blink). Overall, the game just felt cheesy, but the platforming was (mostly) fun.

I also have a complaint to add for Spyro the Dragon: it's very easy once you know what to do, which might make it not as replayable as it could be. Most of the challenging aspects are figuring out where to go and how to get there, and once you get that down, it's pretty straightforward.

Off-topic: InsomDog, OMG, Mr. Plinkette!

BOT: With AHT, I've noticed that if you pay attention to what the characters are really saying (especially in the tone of their voices), you get a completely different experience and it's hysterical. I'm with you on the minigames, though. Augh! Those were horrible. I particularly despised Sgt. Byrd's flying games, the Sparx tunnels, and anything with Blink.

@Stormy: I find that all the Classic games are like that. When I was a kid, they would take me months to complete. Now, It would take about 12 hours at a relaxed playing pace. And I rarely die too. That's one thing I find a bit better about LoS, they still stay fun after the 100% completion, while with the Classics, all you can do is find glitches or speedrun. And if I wanted to do that, I would play a Sonic game!

I actually achieved 100% (or 117%) in all the Spyro games without a guide, the exception being some hidden stuff in the LoS games. I love when things are hidden well! Unfortunatly, I can't achieve 100% in StD because my game freezes whenever I try to rescue a certain dragon in Haunted Towers (no, not THAT one!).

As for AHT, I actually loved it. Blink's missions were real fun for me!

I actually love a good, hardcore challenge, so that's why I like certain things about certain games that others hate. Such as Tree Tops!

In AHT I don't like how the bosses go away after you beat them. It forces you to erase and start a new file just so you can fight the bosses again.

Quote: Stormy

I also have a complaint to add for Spyro the Dragon: it's very easy once you know what to do, which might make it not as replayable as it could be. Most of the challenging aspects are figuring out where to go and how to get there, and once you get that down, it's pretty straightforward.

Yeah, that is a shame, and I feel the same way. That's why it's the game I've played the least overall in the classic trilogy (although still, it's much more replayable than any LoS game).

Also: ETD. Still gutted that it was rushed, it had so much potential.

I don't have too many complaints with the first three Spyro games except for some of the enemies having unfairly timed attacks in the first one. A couple of examples would be how the tree enemies in Misty Bog would sometimes glitch and charge at you from a distance, sometimes without you even seeing them, and in the same level you have the frogs with the insanely long tongues where by the time your charge is just pixels away from connecting they land a hit on you. This is my only real problem with the Insomniac Spyro games.

@sonicbrawler182: I didn't find LoS very replayable, although I guess that's because I didn't really enjoy it to begin with. XD It's true that TEN (and I'm assuming DotD) had collectibles to go find after you beat it, but I didn't like that you have to do every level in order, and if you miss something, you have to go through the entire game again to find it. >.>
Anyway, I found Ripto's Rage and Year of the Dragon more replayable than StD, because some of the minigames can still present a challenge after you've already done them once, whereas in StD figuring out the platforming puzzles is 90% of the challenge. I agree with you about challenges, though: there's nothing more satisfying than figuring out how to do something in a game without using the internet after years of trying. (A summary of my experience with Haunted Towers :P)

@ClassicSpyroFan: Ugh, I know what you mean about the Misty Bog frogs. >_> That room full of frogs with the dragon at the end kills me every time.

Quote: Razz

I'm not sure how the controls were stiff for them, though. I mean, seriously, try playing the old Tomb Raider. You will be grateful for Spyro after that. D:

I used to have the old Tomb Raider. The controls were worse by far, yes. But these controls were also quite stiff, I hated the camera controls and the fact that I was controlling him with the D-Pad.

You were controlling Spyro with the D-pad? Why? I always used the control sticks. That was, in fact, one of the fancy innovations of the original Spyro: the fact that you weren't trapped in a grid-based movement set and could use the analogue stick to move him.

Oh god, Misty Bog frogs. D: I enjoy that level since the trees scared the crap out of me when I first saw them and it has one of my favorite dragons in the whole game in it, but those damn frogs! Oh, I hate them to this day. >(

Aww, those frogs, aren't they wonderful to Spyro.

My mum couldn't control anything with an analogue stick on the PS for a long time, she had to use the D-pad. It's probably what Apoc was used to for years.

And I didn't have any trouble with the frogs. All you have to do is take care not to just charge blindly.

I used the D-PAD for years, I hated the analog stick, until I played GTA Vice City.

Quote: Burning Gnorc

My mum couldn't control anything with an analogue stick on the PS for a long time, she had to use the D-pad. It's probably what Apoc was used to for years.

And I didn't have any trouble with the frogs. All you have to do is take care not to just charge blindly.

I have a method to kill the frogs without losing too much momentum from a charge but it can be somewhat tricky to get the timing since the frogs have such a long range. I found a small glitch that I abuse the hell out of in Misty Bog, if you flame followed by an immediate charge, you can push the hit boxes of the flame forward so the frogs just barely miss. It can still be somewhat of a risk to use though since a lot of the times the frogs bunch up making it harder to kill them using that method, especially if they attack from multiple sides.

I don't have much trouble with Misty Bog.

And Razz, is this the dragon your referring to? (I know I'm an LoS fan, but this is just too funny!)