Team breathes fire into much-loved dragon

ASA 10-year-old, nothing brought me more joy than running around as a little purple dragon, collecting gems, freeing dragons and torching Gnasty Gnorc’s minions.

Twenty years on, the same is true for Spyro Reignited Trilogy ,a completely remastered version of

Spyro the Dragon (1998), Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage (1999) and Spyro:

Year of the Dragon (2000). Developers Toys For Bob have done a superb job breathing new life into the Spyro many fans loved from their childhoods.

Thanks to the “Spyro-scope” program they developed, the team were able to rebuild the trilogy from the ground up, despite the original code being lost. From the blades of grass to the stunning sunsets, the revamped Spyro is candy for the eyes and feels exactly how I remember thinking the game looked as a child, not the pixellated blocks it really was.

Artistic liberties taken in remaking the game truly paid off, with dragon characters and enemies feeling fresh and new.

Not only are the aesthetics amazingly vibrant, but the remastered music and controls — all of which are able to be toggled to a “retro” version — were done beautifully. Gliding, flaming, rolling and charging all work incredibly well and are satisfyingly true to the original.

However just like the original, the camera work remains annoying,

weirdly zooming in at importune moments. A new option to snap the camera back behind Spyro helps combat that. A new minimap feature, which can be turned on when you inevitably get lost, is also very handy.

The attention to detail with the PlayStation 4 controller changing colour depending on Sparx the dragonfly’s health is fun too. Sparx is Spyro’s best buddy in the game and helps him on his adventures by taking hits from enemies. In turn you keep him alive by feeding him butterflies.

While Spyro can come across as cutesy, it’s not to be underestimated.

Some levels can be frustratingly tricky, with hidden areas sometimes feeling impossible to get to, proving that the game itself has truly stood the test of time.

Reignited brings back an innocent fun from the past and is perfect for a new generation of kids, while still remaining an enjoyable glide down memory lane for those who played it on the original PlayStation.