darkSpyro

Out of pure curiosity I was looking for comparisons between the original Spike’s Arena and the Reignited’s versions (as I felt both the level and the boss suffered some of the worst redesigns in the game), and I stumbled upon something which could be quite interesting.

Let’s start with a screenshot from the in-game level:



The first thing which catches the eye is how green the atmosphere of the level is.
In the original game the skybox itself had a dark blue/indigo color which made the actual green parts, the acid and the rocky structures and huts lit by it, stick out a lot more.

Take a look, in case you don’t remember it:



Now, look at this image I found among the other ones:



The first thing you’ll probably notice is how the sky has a much closer color to its original counterpart; it’s not the same color, but still helps making the rest of the structures stick out.
This also helps with the general lighting of the level, as everything now appears much clearer.
At first I thought someone could have photoshopped it, but then I noticed another big difference: the spikes around the arena have big green gems which are not present in the final game (the model is still there, but has the same texture and color as the rocks).

However, they are indeed in the concept-art for the level, along with a slightly bluer sky:



Since I’m pretty sure it was confirmed Sanzaru shipped the wrong copy of Year of the Dragon to be printed along with the other two remakes, is it possible that the previous screenshot comes from the actual finished level which we didn’t get to play?
What do you guys think?

As a bonus, I also found this single video where the sky of the level does look closer to the concept-art’s:



The only explanation I have is that somehow the “fog” didn’t load properly, resulting in the level looking clearer.
Have to admit I like it a bit better that way.