Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a 2018 video game collection created by Toys for Bob and released by Activision. It features updated versions of the first three games in the Spyro series: Spyro the Dragon (1998), Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! (1999), and Spyro: Year of the Dragon (2000). These original games were made by Insomniac Games. The Reignited Trilogy was first available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2018. Versions for Nintendo Switch and Windows were released in September 2019. Critics gave the collection good reviews, and as of September 2023, it has sold more than 10 million copies.
Gameplay
Each game in Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a 3D platformer where the main character, a young purple dragon named Spyro, tries to restore peace in different worlds by defeating enemies. Spyro’s sidekick, a dragonfly named Sparx, shows how much health Spyro has left and helps protect him from some enemy attacks. The games also include collectibles, such as gems that can be used as money, and dragon eggs that players must collect to advance in the game.
The trilogy keeps most of the original gameplay from the first versions of the games. Each level is designed to look and feel similar to the original levels. Gameplay features were made the same across all three games, including adding "skill points" to the first game and introducing a side-to-side roll move in the second and third games.
The collection includes two control options: one that matches the original trilogy’s controls, and another modern setup where camera controls are managed with the right analog stick and Spyro’s fire breathing is triggered with the right trigger.
Development and release
Discussions about bringing back Spyro the Dragon started in 2014. In July 2014, Andrew House, who was then the chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment, said his team was thinking about making a new Spyro game. He believed fans who had played the original games would want to see the character again. Later that same year, Ted Price, the CEO of Insomniac Games, also said it was possible to create a new Spyro game. In 2017, Vicarious Visions, a game developer, mentioned that there was a lot of interest in reviving the classic Spyro trilogy, especially after they released a remake of Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy.
In April 2018, some media outlets received a package containing a purple egg from someone using the name "Falcon McBob." A few days later, on April 5, 2018, the Reignited Trilogy was officially announced. Unlike the N. Sane Trilogy, the Reignited Trilogy was created through teamwork between Toys for Bob and Insomniac Games. During early planning, Toys for Bob shared their sketches of Spyro with the original team and had many discussions about how the character should look. Ted Price gave important input during these talks. According to art director Josh Nadelberg, one of the main goals was to "get Spyro right." This meant testing Spyro's design to see how many emotions and expressions it could show. Because Insomniac Games could not share their original files or tools, Toys for Bob used a special in-house tool called "Spyro-scope" to study the game's design and enemy movement patterns. Sanzaru Games, the developer of The Sly Collection and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, helped create different gameplay styles for the Year of the Dragon part of the trilogy. The Reignited Trilogy was built using the Unreal Engine 4 game engine.
Stewart Copeland, the original music composer for the trilogy, wrote a new theme for the compilation. His original music was rearranged by Stephan Vankov, a lead audio designer at Toys for Bob. The game allows players to choose between the original and new soundtracks, and the music changes speed during gameplay.
Tom Kenny, who originally voiced Spyro in the original Ripto's Rage and Year of the Dragon, returned to play the character for the first time in sixteen years after the 2002 release of Enter the Dragonfly. All of Spyro's lines were re-recorded, including the first game where he was originally voiced by Carlos Alazraqui. Kenny also returned to voice The Professor and Sgt. James Byrd.
Other voice actors from the original games also returned. Michael Gough voiced Gnasty Gnorc, Gregg Berger voiced Ripto, André Sogliuzzo voiced Sparx the Dragonfly, and Richard Tatum voiced Agent 9 and Bartholomew. Although Berger returned to voice Ripto, he did not reprise his role as Hunter the Cheetah, who is now voiced by Robbie Daymond. The other main characters were played by new actors, including Cassandra Lee Morris as Elora the Faun, Catherine Taber as Zoe the Fairy, J.B. Blanc as Moneybags the Bear, Melissa Hutchison as Bianca the Rabbit, Chantelle Barry as Shelia the Kangaroo, Dave B. Mitchell as Bentley the Yeti, and Cissy Jones as the Sorceress.
Release
The release of the Reignited Trilogy was originally planned for September 21, 2018, but it was delayed and released on November 13, 2018. The first physical version of the trilogy included the full game Spyro the Dragon, as well as some levels from Ripto's Rage! and Year of the Dragon. The remaining game data needed to be downloaded through an in-game update. Later versions for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One included all three games without requiring a download. At E3 2019, versions for Nintendo Switch and Windows were announced and released on September 3, 2019.
Reception
Spyro Reignited Trilogy received "mostly positive reviews" according to Metacritic, a website that collects game reviews. Many aspects of the game were praised, including improved graphics, careful attention to detail, and staying true to the original trilogy. Jonathon Dornbush of IGN highlighted the game's detailed level design, calling the landscapes "beautiful" and the layouts "clean and accurate to the original." He also noted that non-playable characters showed more unique and expressive personalities. Mitch Wallace of Forbes described the levels as "childlike fantasy made playable" and praised Toys for Bob, the game's developers, for recreating the games accurately without using the original code. Chris Moyse of Destructoid praised the game's soundtrack, which was re-recorded to include a "dynamic" feature where the music's speed changed based on Spyro's actions, as well as the option to listen to the original recordings.
The game faced some criticism, including long loading times, glitches, and inconsistent frame rates. Wallace mentioned that the loading times were "a bit too long" compared to the original games, even though the newer version was made for more advanced consoles. Moyse noted that the game kept some flaws from the original trilogy, such as simple and repetitive goals. Jeremy Winslow of Slant pointed out that two games in the trilogy, Ripto's Rage and Year of the Dragon, were mostly redesigned versions of the first game and criticized the game's unstable frame rate and "slippery" controls.
Activision, the game's publisher, said Spyro Reignited Trilogy "did well" when it was first released. In the UK, it reached the top of the all-formats sales chart in its first week. It sold fewer copies than Pokémon: Let's Go, but it outsold both the Pikachu and Eevee versions of that game individually. In Switzerland, it ranked sixth on the all-format sales chart. It also became the best-selling PlayStation 4 game in its first week in Australia.
As of September 2023, Spyro Reignited Trilogy has sold over 10 million copies. It won the "Family/Kids Title of the Year" award at the Australian Games Awards. It was also nominated for the Freedom Tower Award for Best Remake at the New York Game Awards and for "People's Choice" at the Italian Video Game Awards.