Rainy Day's Books, Video Games and Other Writings

Spyro Year of the Dragon is the third Spyro game I enjoyed during my childhood. Released in 2000, it is a platform, gem collecting game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.

The story of Spyro Year of the Dragon focuses on an evil sorceress stealing the dragon eggs in Spyro’s world and bringing them to the Forgotten Realm where magic no longer exists. Spyro must now go to the Forgotten Realm to collect as many of the eggs as you can and defeat the Sorceress.

Spyro Year of the Dragon continues adding more of the abilities you gain while playing Spyro in the previous game. This is one of the best things about this Spyro game. Not only can you swim, hover and many other abilities, but Spyro also gains four new allies in his journey to collect all the dragon eggs. Each of the allies you obtain in the main worlds you go to by paying Moneybags for their release. You then play as each of these allies in order to collect more eggs and progress further into the game. I enjoy this aspect of the game because it introduces you to more characters and allows you to play as someone else for a little while.

Spyro Year of the Dragon also allows you to play as Sparx, Spyro’s dragonfly throughout the game. The game considers these levels as bonus levels that are unlocked after defeating the boss you have to face before going to the next world. These levels are considerably different from the rest of the game because Sparx has his own unique moves that involve shooting in order for Sparx to defeat nearby enemies. But once you clear these levels, Sparx gains a new ability that will help Spyro on his journey.

These levels are quite a bit of fun, but also challenging at the same time. Controlling Sparx is difficult at times as you try the best you can not to let your health sink. But they are rewarding because the abilities you gain after you clear these levels are worth the trouble.

I also enjoy playing this game because the levels are a lot of fun to go through. As a child, I remember playing this game and having a lot of fun with it as I tried the best I could to get all of the eggs in each of the levels. I still enjoy it now as much as I did then, trying to remember where all of the eggs have been placed.

One of my favorite things about Spyro Year of the Dragon is the things you have to do in order to get the eggs. In some levels, you have to carefully maneuver on the platforms to reach them while other levels you have to overcome races or different games, such as skateboarding. I find these challenges to get the eggs to be pretty enjoyable because they are a lot of fun to do. I enjoy the skateboard ones in particular to be enjoyable because I enjoy seeing a dragon on a skateboard and being in control of his movements.

However, there is one aspect in Spyro Year of the Dragon I’m not particularly fond of. Even though they are a little bit easier, I still don’t enjoy the speedway levels all too much. While they are easier in this Spyro game, they’ve also added races and challenges with Hunter you have to overcome to get more of the eggs. I don’t mind doing these things all too much other than I feel like it puts too much into the game. I do enjoy them because they can be fun, but whenever they are too challenging to me, they can be irritating to put up with. I’d rather just have one of the three in order to get an egg instead of having to do all three things.

But overall, I’m still enjoying this game as much as I did as a child. While Spyro Year of the Dragon isn’t my favorite out of these three Spyro games, I still get a lot of enjoyment out of it and will be sad once I clear it.