Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! is a 1999 video game created by Insomniac Games and released by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the second game in the Spyro series, following Spyro the Dragon (1998).
The game starts with Spyro preparing for a vacation after completing his previous adventures. He is suddenly taken to the world of Avalar, where the evil wizard Ripto has appeared and is causing chaos. Spyro teams up with the people of Avalar to stop Ripto and end his harmful actions.
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! added new features not found in the first game, such as swimming, climbing, and power-up gates that give Spyro temporary abilities like superflame or flight. The game includes side quests, mini-games, and boss battles, making it more varied and complex than the original.
Critics gave the game positive reviews, highlighting its bright graphics, improved gameplay, and more content. It was followed by Spyro: Year of the Dragon in 2000 and later remade as part of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy in 2018.
Gameplay
Players control Spyro the Dragon as he fights enemies and obstacles using his flame breath, charge attack, and glide abilities. Sparx, Spyro's dragonfly partner, shows Spyro's health through its color. Sparx can restore Spyro's health by eating butterflies. Bottled butterflies fully restore Sparx's health and give Spyro an extra life. If Sparx eats enough butterflies, Spyro gains an extra life. Butterflies can be collected by flaming, charging, or head-bashing the fodder found throughout the game.
The game is divided into three main homeworlds, each with portals to different realms. To progress through the first two homeworlds, players must collect a talisman from each realm. Talismans are earned by completing each realm. Once enough talismans are collected, players can fight the boss of each homeworld. Each realm also contains orbs, which are earned by completing tasks for NPCs, such as lighting lamps or protecting characters. These orbs are needed to open certain portals and advance through the third homeworld. Gems collected during the game are used to pay fees charged by Moneybags, a greedy bear, to progress. Moneybags also teaches Spyro three new abilities: swimming, climbing, and headbash. Swimming allows Spyro to dive underwater to find treasure and tunnels. Climbing lets Spyro scale surfaces, and headbash lets Spyro smash rocks and cages. Each realm has a power-up gate that activates after defeating a set number of enemies. This gate gives Spyro a temporary super-ability, such as invulnerability, flying, supercharging, super flame, breathing ice, or super jumping to reach high areas.
Only Spyro and Sparx from the original game return as main characters. Sparx acts as the player's health meter and helps gather gems. New characters are introduced in this game, some of whom appear in later games. Hunter the Cheetah and Moneybags the bear appear repeatedly, while Ripto, the main villain, appears more than any other antagonist. The dragons from the previous game are replaced with new characters, including fauns, satyrs, anthropomorphic animals, and robotic businessmen.
The world of Avalar is divided into three homeworlds: Summer Forest, Autumn Plains, and Winter Tundra. Each homeworld has a castle that is captured by Ripto during the story. Every homeworld includes several realms, a speedway realm, and a dungeon realm where Ripto or his minions hide.
Plot
After defeating Gnasty Gnorc, Spyro the Dragon and his dragonfly partner, Sparx, decide to take a vacation to Dragon Shores because they are tired of the constant rain in Artisans. When they use a portal to travel, Spyro accidentally arrives in Glimmer, a realm in the fantasy land Avalar. Elora the Faun, Hunter the Cheetah, and the Professor explain that one week earlier, they were testing a large portal device and accidentally summoned a powerful warlock named Ripto, along with his followers Crush and Gulp. Ripto, who dislikes dragons, plans to conquer Avalar. To stop him, Elora and her friends scattered mystical orbs that power the portal across Avalar’s realms. When Ripto and his henchmen leave to find the orbs, Elora suggests summoning a dragon to fight Ripto, which leads to Spyro’s arrival. After Ripto destroys the portal, Spyro agrees to help defeat him.
During his journey, Spyro must visit different realms in Avalar to solve problems and earn talismans, which are needed to end Ripto’s rule. He also collects orbs to power portals and other tools, as well as gems to pay Moneybags, a greedy bear, for help. Hunter the Cheetah assists Spyro with his speed, while the Professor helps using his knowledge.
In Summer Forest, Spyro collects six talismans and defeats Crush, forcing Ripto and Gulp to flee. He then travels to Autumn Plains, where he gathers eight more talismans and defeats Gulp. Ripto appears to be defeated, and Elora and her friends reactivate the portal to send Spyro back to Dragon Shores. However, Ripto survives, steals a power crystal, and uses it to create a new magic scepter. After gathering enough orbs, Spyro confronts Ripto, who dies in a lava lake he created. With Avalar at peace, Elora and her friends return the gems Moneybags took from Spyro, allowing him to finally go on vacation to Dragon Shores.
The game’s epilogue, unlocked by completing the Skill Points list in the Guidebook, shows what happened to characters Spyro met in Avalar, including moments like Spyro and Elora missing a chance to kiss, the Professor teaching Crush to spell, and a dragon from Spyro’s home meeting Ripto. At the end, Spyro returns to the Dragon Realm with Hunter, setting up the next game.
Development
The sequel to Spyro the Dragon was temporarily called Spyro the Dragon 2 during its early development stage. Ted Price, the president and founder of Insomniac, stated the game was designed to be more challenging for experienced players, offering more depth and variety in gameplay compared to the first game. The music for Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! was composed by Stewart Copeland and produced by Jeff Seitz. Copeland's music included jungle-style beats that changed rhythmically throughout the game while staying fun and easy to enjoy. The character Spyro was voiced by Tom Kenny, replacing Carlos Alazraqui from the first game. Additional voices were provided by Kenny, Gregg Berger, Melissa Disney, Milton James, Mary Linda Phillips, and Marcelo Tubert. The game's sound effects were created by Mike Gollom, Harry Woolway, and Ron Horwitz of Universal Sound Studios. The game was officially announced at the 1999 E3 convention in Los Angeles, California. In Volume 3, Issue 1 of the Official US PlayStation Magazine, released in October 1999, it was explained that the name "Ripto" came from the Japanese katakana spelling of "Spyro" (スパイロ). The game was released in North America on November 2, 1999. Ami Blaire, director of product development at Sony Computer Entertainment of America, said, "Spyro 2 isn't just another sequel. Players will enjoy Spyro's playful actions, but the game offers more challenging and fun gameplay than before."
After its release, the game received a "Gold" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), showing sales of at least 200,000 units in the UK. By December 1999, the game sold 1 million copies in North America. As of June 30, 2007, the game had sold over 3.4 million units.
The game became available for download on the European PlayStation Network on July 26, 2007, before its predecessor was released in the same region. However, it was removed less than a week later because the "Colossus" and "Idol Springs" levels did not load properly. On April 17, 2008, the game was released on the Japanese PlayStation Store. On May 7, 2009, it became available for download on the North American PlayStation Store. A corrected version was re-released on the European PlayStation Store on December 12, 2012, but as the NTSC version instead of the PAL version. Spyro 2, along with its predecessor and sequel, was remastered with updated visuals on November 13, 2018, as part of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy compilation for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This compilation kept the game's North American name, Ripto's Rage!, rather than the title used in original PAL regions, Gateway to Glimmer.
Reception
The game received positive reviews on the website GameRankings. Chris Kramer of NextGen noted that the game "feels like a children's game, but it has more substance than the first one, and the friendly graphics might make your girlfriend stop praising those Pokémon." In Japan, the game was released on March 16, 2000, under the name Spyro X Sparx: Tondemo Tours. Famitsu gave it a score of 30 out of 40. GamePro described the game as "a great choice if you loved the first Spyro or are interested in the second one. Once you look past its friendly appearance, you will find a strong platform action/adventure game filled with features that make gaming enjoyable."
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! was nominated for "Console Children's/Family Title of the Year," "Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction," and "Outstanding Achievement in Animation" at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. These awards were given to Pokémon Snap (Children's/Family) and Final Fantasy VIII (Art Direction, Animation).