darkSpyro

I of course would like it to follow the style of Classic Spyro, but so much has been introduced since then that could carry over into a new-old universe, with some minor changes. For example, since a lot of the worlds in the originals were floating, it could still take place in a world called Skylands, with many of the species being based on Skylanders.

I like the idea of Sparx talking in plain English rather than buzzing, as in LOS. Speaking of, I'd like to see the elders redesigned as bipeds a la Spyro 1. Also Cynder could still exist with Flame and Ember as playable characters, along with Sheila, Byrd, Bently, Hunter and Agent 9. I'd also like more skateboarding and competitions with Hunter. Bianca, Elora, the Professor and Money Bags should all return too.

As for the villains I really like the idea of here being some huge, over-arching mega evil that the other villains don't necessarily answer to, but which is undoubtedly the most powerful and can control forces of nature including dark and light. I still want All the old villains including Red and the Sorcerer, as well as some villains from Trap Team and Skylanders Academy since they seem really cool, but here's my head canon for how reboots happen in the Spyro universe: There is a force for evil embodied by this all powerful villain and his servants and a force for good embodied by Spyro. All the Spyros and their worlds exist at once, with each Spyro being his own dragon, but the evil being a single force acting simultaneously. This being is its own thing but may posses a body of its own creation, or that of a willing or unwilling party as needs be. Some villains would summon/invite it for power, others would succumb to it while fighting it.

Speaking of Cynder, I like the idea of her being related to Spyro as his sister or better yet mother. The reason for this is that if she were his mother nearly losing her to evil and saving her would be much more emotional, especially if she still had to struggle with it in the time immediately after. She could have a temper or violent outbursts or full on black outs where the darkness takes control for a time, straining her relationship with Spyro and everyone around her. The way this would happen would be that she is/was a member of the dragon military and is fighting the evil being or a villain that works for it. The villain is poised to have the evil possess him but Cynder pushes him out of the way and takes some of it herself before another soldier (Ignitus?) destroys the altar/artifact or whatever the villain was using. Note that only adults can join the military, since even skilled dragons like Spyro have growing to do.

I'll post more on this later but please tell me what you'd like in your ideal Spyro reboot.

Last thing a reboot needs is to be a fruit salad of references, god no.

I just want consistently good games. Not crazy flawed, not following the bandwagon at the expensve of gameplay. Just good games that are fun and don't rely on a gimmick/popular genre.

Quote: Bifrost

Last thing a reboot needs is to be a fruit salad of references, god no.

I just want consistently good games. Not crazy flawed, not following the bandwagon at the expensve of gameplay. Just good games that are fun and don't rely on a gimmick/popular genre.

But that's Skylanders in a nutshell.

Honestly I don't see the problem with Gimmicks, as long as they're well-integrated into the core gameplay.

Nah, no gimmicks, especially bank breaking ones. Good game play focused on exploring majestic and beautiful worlds, light combat but I wouldn't mind it being a bi deeper than hit once go poof. Not a repetitive button masher either. You'd have basic claw slashes, a move to break armor, the ability to grab and beat stunned enemies for a larger combo; jump and grab, then kick/claw with the hind legs with he basic attack button. You would also have to pay attention to dodge attacks and look for weak points to exploit.

Also Bifrost they wouldn't be references, but previously established characters and such fully re imagined and properly integrated into the plot/game play.

Yeah, but relying on gimmick is the problem. Skylanders without the TTL is just a serviceable hack and slash with cool lore. I want a game first, bells and whistles second, though nowadays that's wishful thinking.

It's still too many characters put into the same world, CSLUV. These guys were made for entirely different directions in writing, it'd take too much unecessary work compwred to getting just a handful of the new characters and seamlesssly integrating them.

Well obviously we wouldn't have all the Skylanders as fully fledged characters, just represented/referenced by different races. The level each race exists in could also reflect something of the Skylanders' lore/characters. Some would still have to be dropped altogether though.

Also the whole Cynder back story thing would be the focus/partial focus for only one game, and wouldn't be some immensely sad, depressing or mature war story either. It could even be addressed as a side thing from time to time, something that happened before Spyro was born and Ignitus saved her, and the after effects of the evil manifest as nothing more sinister than the aforementioned mood swings, unless a dark magic user is interfering. Maybe the exposure gave her some dark magic ability of her own which she uses for the greater good.

A proper reboot? Hmm...

Solid Platforming and Exploration Mechanics
This goes without saying, I suppose. But we ARE talking about a collectathon here. The Skylanders games are fine... but movement has always seemed sluggish to me (barring the Supercharger vehicles). If we're gonna explore big, expansive worlds then Spyro needs to be reasonably quick to move around. We're talking fluid with quick turns and fast responses to inputs. And of course, good jump/glide/hover mechanics. A solid camera mapped to the right stick of the controller is also a must. Not to mention, we need good collision detection (better than N. Sane Trilogy's, that's for sure). 60 FPS would also be very nice to see.

Worlds That are FUN to Explore
By which I mean the levels are filled with stuff to do. Enter the Dragonfly and Skylanders are guilty of giving us big spaces where nothing really happens. Then A Hero's Tail swings it in the other direction and gives us tons of narrow, linear corridors that aren't all that fun to go through. Year of the Dragon also kinda started getting a bit too big for its britches with level size. At the same time, I'd appreciate diversity. I'd rather have 20-25 levels that I spend about 15-20 minutes in than 10-15 levels I'm spending 40+ minutes in.

Regarding gimmicks, I'm fine with levels have gimmicks to them. The originals certainly did. Just don't make the game nothing but gimmicks.

Keep it Simple, Stupid!
At least until whoever the developer would be has established a solid rhythm, focus on Spyro (and only Spyro). Sure, you could throw some flight levels or MAYBE a vehicle of some sort to spice things up. But I do not want to see them going ham like Year of the Dragon. There's a reason that Insomniac Games has never developed another game with as many playstyles and control schemes as YotD. Most of them were really not well designed and solidly implemented, and have aged terribly as a result. Sure, you can give us unlockable skins for Spyro. But wait for any sequels to expand things a bit.

This applies to the story, too. No need for some crazy, convoluted plot or rehashing clichés from epics (*looks at LoS trilogy*). Give me a fun cast of secondary characters and a humorous, hammy villain (not Kaos) and we're good.

Vicarious Visions Developing
Let's face it, ActiBlizz would use one of the development studios they own for Spyro. VV's pretty much the only ones I would trust at this point to tackle a game like this. Insomniac's not gonna do it (and I don't want them to because then we'd be locked at 30 FPS).

A Fun Soundtrack
Earlier Spyro games had great ambiance with their soundtracks and I never got bored of hearing the music if a level took me a particularly long time. So, I'd like similar music. But I know Stewart Copeland's getting up there in age. And I'd rather not see whoever the heck the VV Audio Team is try to make something original. Nor do I really want Lorne Balfe. The guy does decent film soundtracks, but his game scores (save for Kaos' theme) have always been misses for me. So, again, gonna recommend Michael Bross, Boris Salchow, or David Wise (I think he's working independently these days).

Spyro+Rabbids: Rabto's Rage

(Ok sorry, just thought it sounded funny)

Sounds good HIR. What if large levels had quick travel mechanics, like one level with a tornado that lifts you really high up so you can glide literally anywhere, or a vehicle connecting distant parts of the level like a train? Something like that would be really cool in a home world imo. How about limited flight too? It would work on an energy bar mechanic and refill either on its own or by grabbing 'flight energy'. Maybe it could come from killing enemies.

Should Sparx be your health bar again? I like him a lot, I wan him back, but maybe he'd work better as a proper sidekick with his own personality that fights with you. You'd still have to feed him butterflies (or something) to keep him around, and even take control of him to unlock locks in a little maze/puzzle/mini game.

I don't want it to have no challenge and be so easy a baby can play it,so no braindead game.

Of course. They could work it into the platforming as well as the combat and puzzles. There'd be no quick time events, obvious button hints or in organic effects put over interactive surfaces/items/areas. You'd learn your advanced platforming moves like poll spinning, wall running, and triangle jumping and where you can use them, but then it's up to you to utilize them correctly and chain them together to reach certain areas and cover more ground in large areas.

Oh, how about wind currents you could use to get more height/distance in your glides? Not just around clear obstacles but almost anywhere though. You could link them together for a really long glide, maybe to win a special item or use them just to mess around and have fun. Or to use your own eagle eyes and instincts to find areas and collectibles you can't find any other way!