darkSpyro

Opinions seem really split on it and I'm curious about it.

Like

• The music; it all fit each area/ situation really well and was very unique. (although some (Byrd's/Gnasty's themes) are a bit repetitive IMO)
  
• The look; bright, cute and cartoonish it fit Spyro's light hearted fantasy world really well like it really was just an update on the old style.
  
• The gameplay; as with the look it felt like a direct update on the classics.
  
• The humor (sometimes); genuinely charming in how self aware it was.
  
• The voices; some were annoying but a lot of them did a good job of making the characters distinctive, like Byrd, The Elders, and the Nanny.
  
• The Story; it's standard kiddie fantasy fare but it could lend itself to a lot more. Where did the dark Gems come from? Could their energy possess someone like Spyro's Dark mode or Corrupt Cynder in LOS?
  
• RED; Here's his page on the Spyro Wiki http://spyro.wikia.com/wiki/Red. Nuff said. He's tragic and sympathetic but still has some fault for his actions given his insistence on tampering with dark magic. As for the lust for power he 'got' from the Sorcerer, what if that was always there and the Sorcerer just nurtured it?
  
• Playing as Hunter; playable characters besides the main one are fine, but they should be main supporters rather than newly introduced side characters. I love all the gang from Spyro 3 but we should have been playing as Hunter long before we played as ANY of them. Noe just throw in some character development to each of the other characters' segments and they'll have hit the target.
  

Dislike

• The humor; it was often too disconnected from the situation with how silly and fourth wall breaking it was and thus took me out of the experience somewhat.
  
• The voices; a lot of them were good but some like Ember, Spyro and the fairies were just irritating to me.
  
• Gnasty; he's intellectually stupid and too silly. Gnasy should be kinda dumb but still competent not to mention intimidating. He's the brutal leader of an army of monsters, how does a generic idiotic minion fit that description?!
  
• No portals. Needs no further explanation.
  
• Not enough variety in the Blink levels. In both design and tasks Blink's levels were repetitive. He could've been exploring crystal caverns, volcanic innards, icy caves, forgotten ruins, abandoned mines, and tons more. As for the task itself, what if you had to face a mini boss for each item you were out to find? You could set up traps for a chase boss using planned cave ins, climb a giant boss a la Shadow of the Colossus, all kinds of stuff. But instead we have a tedious meander through (mostly) the same brown hole in the ground.
  

Meh
It takes more from Crash than Spyro had before. Science fiction/technology always existed in Spyro, but here it seems more prevalent as in Crash games, particularly with the introduction of the teleporter (a la Warped) and removal of the portals. The tiki mask wearing enemies in Coastal remains remind a lot of the tribal styled enemies in Crash too.

Some of my reasons are the same as yours.
+ Music - It's so whimisical and fits the levels very well.
+ Level designs - They're a lot more detailed and attractive than the other games.
+ More than one playable character - It gives the gameplay more variety.
+ The humour especially when they break the fourth such as Spyro talking to the player or Hunter's "We know Spyro is fine because if he isn't, we'd return to a previous save."
+ You see more dragons that are around Spyro's age (Ember and Flame). In previous games, we've only seen adults and hatchlings/toddlers.
+ Spyro still has Ice and Lightning breath like in ETD.
+ The game is not too short. The length is just right with plenty to do.
+ Hunter's levels - I find his gameplay almost as fun as Spyro's. Ever since I first played as him in YotD, I've always wanted to see how he would play outside of a vehicle.
+ The concept art and model viewers - I like when games have them and this is the only original series Spyro game that has them.
+ No portals - While they were a staple in the Spyro series, I like how the levels are connected together as it makes each realm feel more like a whole country.

- Some of the new voices - I don't think the Professor's voice suits him very well and I find Zoe's voice annoying (good thing she only has one line in that game).
- No explanation on why Moneybags has gone from a greedy billionaire to a middle Eastern style merchant.
- Blink minigames - He's too slow compared to Spyro and Hunter and his double jumps are so precise. I always find completing his levels (especially the last two) to be such a chore.
- Not enough Hunter levels - He's my second favourite character to play as after Spyro and I was disappointed that he only got one whole level and one part of a Spyro level.
- The last two levels - They're so out of place in a game that has so far been all fantasy.
- The ice physics - They're the main reason I still struggle with the first Red battle sometimes.

Like
- Music: I loved more or less each theme and found them very fitting for their respective levels.
I still hums them occasionally and that's something I've only done with the Classic Trilogy and a couple GameBoy titles previously; plus Cloudy Domain's theme is easily one of my favorite videogames soundtracks of all time.
- Style: I feel like this was the right evolution for the original style of the series, it had its identity but still stayed true to what Insomniac had in mind.
Seeing the world return to normal after shattering a Dark Gem was quite satisfying.
- Worlds: creative, unique and very atmospheric.
Again, reminded me a lot of the Classic content.
- Level design: it's true it is less open then it may look, but I had tons of fun discovering each secret passage and hidden collectable.
The last Dark Gem took me weeks to be found, and I just couldn't eait to battle Red.
- Gameplay: a very true upgrade to the original, miles better than Enter the Dragonfly both in terms of regular controls and the breath mechanic.
- Variety: I appreciated the various miningames and playable characters for what they had to offer, even though some of them become a bit chaotic after a while.
- Collectables: yesh, please, mooooore!
I loved trying to find every item and they kinda made up for the new use of gems.
- Humor: I felt like it wasn't too different from the Classic series, especially the cutscenes, and I'm a sucker for meta-jokes and characters who break the fourth wall.
- Boss battles: maybe they dragged on a bit too long, but I've found them engaging and fun.
Very close to the ones in Ripto's Rage and Year of the Dragon.
The characters themselves were also cool as well, particularly Red, except for one...
- The final world: this deserves a honorable mention.
I cannot describe how amazing it has been to play through it the first time: going from a pirate cove in a bay to inside a volcano, then traversing Dark Gems mines until they led to the factory and finally Red's laboratories; it felt incredibly huge and I never knew what to expect next!
They influenced the younger me so much in terms of creativity and concepts, I was truly amazed.
I will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Meh:
- NPCs: some of them were better than others, but I wouldn't define them memorable.
Would have preferred if they stuck to a specific species for each realm.
- Portals: it's not because of the portals themselves but rather because of the possibilities they offered.
They did an awesome job with level variety, but you can't compete with a game which had a roman-styled level, a sunny beach, a volcanic village, a floating city and some snowy peaks all in the same homeworld.
Hironically Enter the Dragonfly did a better job in those regards.
- Other heroes: I would have preferred if Blinky, Sgt. Byrd and Sparx's levels were more like Hunter's.
They felt too mini-gamey for my tastes, even if still fun.
- Techy stuff: I know I criticize it a lot in Skylanders games, but I never felt like it was overwhelming or out of place, in this game: I liked how Red resorted to technology once magic failed, it's not something you see often in the series.
Gnasty Gnorc was probably the only other main antagonist closer to tech and factories than magical powers, if we don't consider Ripto's robots and the Sorceress' U.F.O., which certainly weren't their trademarks.

Dislike
- Gems: I wasn't fond on how they turned it into currency, and didn't like the whole market system either.
They kinda felt out of place and were a bit of a chore each time I stumbled across a closed treasure chest.
- Gnasty Gnorc: all my excitement for his return faded away after I saw what they did to him.
He's a bit dumb, not a complete moron!
A shame, because his new design wasn't bad; the fact they also translated his name in italian didn't hel either.
- Map: I cannot count the times I lost myself inside Sunken Ruins, Ice Citadel or Red's Laboratory.
I was younger, sure, but the map certainly didn't help as it should have.
- Controls: thanks to StevemacQ for remembering me how frustrating the inversion of the charge and breath buttons were at first.
I got used to it but it was still incredibly difficult after 4/5 previous games with the same ones.

Quote: alicecarp

+ The humour especially when they break the fourth such as Spyro talking to the player or Hunter's "We know Spyro is fine because if he isn't, we'd return to a previous save."

That line is the prime example of why humor was on my dislike list as well. Self aware humor is great but not when it destroys the fantasy and decimates player/viewer investment and that's exactly what this line did. Spyro has been kidnapped at this point, we know he's not dead because it's a kids' game but we don't know if he's hurt or what. It should be a tense moment and Hunter, as Spyro's best friend, should be worried and serious.

A good example of self aware humor was at the beginning when you save Thomas and he drones about how slow a talker he is and what a long story Red's is before perking up and offering to just tell you how to head bash. There's no need to be serious and while character is aware of his own faults he's not aware of the fact that he's in a game.

Likes

• The game cover done up Drew Struzan, implying the adventure is darker and grander than it is.
  
• The game runs at a consistent 60fps.
  
• The animation work is very competent in comparison to Enter the Dragonfly (which feels like an inversion of Andromeda).
  
• The levels you explore are well tied together, making the worlds you explore feel very cohesive.
  
• If I remember correctly, there's additional breath attacks you can buy.
  
• Gems are currency to buy upgrades than as part of the whole collect-a-thon journey.
  
• Red is an alright villain.
  
• That scene when Zoe said Spyro loses a million brain cells every time she zaps him.
  

Dislikes

• While the music itself isn't bad but feels too much like an generic kid's fantasy cartoon compared the stuff by Stewart Copeland.
  
• The sound effects for the gems are wrong. I like the old sound effects. That's like if the iconic ring sounds in Sonic were replaced.
  
• Having Jess Harnell replacing the majority of voice actors makes familiar characters feel unfamiliar.
  
• While a nicer Moneybags is fine... why change is his entire ethnicity and accent? He's a British capitalist!
  
• Bentley is changed from a cockney with a grand vocabulary to a generic dumb idiot like Big the Cat.
  
• Speaking of annoying Sonic characters... Ember is the Amy Rose of Spyro.
  
• Whose idea was it to swap the buttons for the flame breath and charge attack?
  

It's been over 10 years since I played the game last, so this all I can think of.

Likes

Graphics: They were AMAZING for it's time, IMO. Very nice art style too.

Open World-esqe enviornment: was pretty neat. I LIKE this idea, but I don't love it. We got less levels out of it, with less variety. I would prefer to have had portals to levels

Levels: I ADORED the Snow Valley/Ice Palace. By far spent most of my game time there. The other levels I enjoyed, like Dragonfly Falls and Dragon Realms,

Spyro's design was the best is ever was in the OG series.

Some of the music was great. Specifically the Snow levels and Crocoville Swamp.

Breath Upgrades were a nice addition.

More playable characters. If Classic Spyro continued, this should have been a staple of the series.

Swimming in the Air glitches!

I loved Flame's design and often used his model when playing the game after I got all his eggs. I liked to pretend I was Spyro and Ember's future son.

Dislikes

The levels felt to similar to each other at some parts

Some of the music felt very bland to me.

The Dragon Elders, (outside of the senile Orange one) I found weird and boring.

Blink, while the character itself was fine to play, his levels sucked.

I would have liked it if you could play as all playable characters in any of the levels, not just select ones for them. It'd make the game MUCH more replay-able.

The story was WAY to complicated for my tastes. As a kid, I never payed full attention, but getting into it as a teen, I was overwhelmed with how complex it gets. /s