Spyro The Dragon 2 - Ripto's Rage: The Reignighted Trilogy (2019)

Spyro 2, takes everything that the original game did, and added to it. One of the only small gripes I have with the sequel, is that gone are the variety of Dragons from the original game. Instead, those dragons are replaced with a few new “friends” who are a bit quirky and made into helpers who show up in the hub world and the levels at sporadic times to help you, or give you a small side quest.

Ripto was always a name I have heard for so long, usually when sorting the games at the video game store I worked at. I always assumed that Ripto was another dragon, a rival, who Spyro was already acquainted with. Ripto is actually a different being, transported to a different land on accident who looks like a cross of The Great Gazoo from Flintstones and Mister Mxyzptlk. Ripto quickly takes over the land and becomes a self proclaimed ruler of the land. Spyro is then pulled into the land too, to help defeat the evil Ripto, through the help of some new companions.

The original game dealt with requiring you to acquire every gem littered throughout the level to complete it 100%. With the new game, you must use those gems as currency to unlock new moves from a well to do bear named Mr. Moneybags. He seems a bit odd and kinda a scumbag as you have to spend money to gain access to parts of the level to defeat the new tyrant ruling the land. New abilities include swimming underwater and climbing ladders. It’s a good way to add a bit more verticality to the levels.

Each level is now a bit more varied as well, with more theming, which just adds to the overall feel of the game, and fleshes it out more as well. Some levels even feature a protagonist as well, where you have to help them in some way. They could be a couple kids, where one has been kidnapped and you have to free them, or a celtic area where the fort has been covered with rocks, and you have to use the fauns to play bagpipes to use the power of rocking and rolling to break the granite. Again, it just adds so much more to the overly game and makes it feel much more fuller than the original game, which is what a good sequel should be doing.