Spyro the dragon is one of those characters that you just cannot help liking. He is small, lovable and has large pick-me-up-and-hug-me eyes. Back in the days of the first Playstation, his adventures were enormously popular. Thousands of gamers could not get enough of the purple dragon and all three games went platinum.
There were several key ingredients which made the games play so well. The graphics were not only good; they were beautiful, bright and appealing. Each level was wonderfully designed and had some really nice finishing touches.
The control system was incredibly easy to use and you could be whizzing around quite confidently within the space of five minutes. There were quite a few different moves to master, but the programmers had configured everything perfectly. And the learning curve was set just right; not too easy, but not so hard that you wanted to bite your own hand in frustration.
Each game in the trilogy actually managed to improve on its predecessor. Minor glitches were ironed out, new characters and moves were added and the visuals got even better. By the time that the third adventure was out, the already polished design was really pushing the boundaries of 3D gaming.
But the other great thing about Spyro’s adventures was the music. Many games like this will have a good soundtrack, but nothing that is quite so memorable. The Spyro adventures were decorated with the tunes of Stewart Copeland and the overall effect was stunning. No other musician could have come up with anything half as suitable as this; it tied in with the games perfectly and made them even more of a joy to play.
The gaming world may have moved on since then but Spyro will never be forgotten. And modern programmers can still learn a thing or two from his adventures.
So before I go, I have something to admit. I love Xena Warrior Princess (sorry Pauline). I was viewing the most recent season on dvd well into the night and it is an amazingly entertaining show! I would highly recommend this one to all of you…
