Spyro: Year of the Dragon is a 2000 platform game created by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the third game in the Spyro series and follows the story of Spyro, a purple dragon. After an evil sorceress takes magical dragon eggs from the land of dragons, Spyro journeys to the "Forgotten Realms" to recover them. Players explore different worlds to collect gems and eggs, fight enemies, and complete mini-games. The game added new characters and mini-games to the series, as well as better graphics and music.
The game received high praise from reviewers, who said it improved upon the ideas from earlier games in the series. It sold more than 3 million copies worldwide. Year of the Dragon was the last Spyro game released for the original PlayStation and the last one made by Insomniac Games because of a worsening relationship between Universal Interactive Studios and Sony. It was followed by Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly (2002), a game available on multiple platforms. In 2018, the game was remade as part of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy.
Gameplay
Year of the Dragon is a video game played mainly from a third-person view. The main goal is to find 37 stolen dragon eggs scattered across different levels. These eggs are hidden or given as rewards for completing tasks. The game’s worlds are connected by large areas called “homeworlds” or “hubs,” which have gateways to other levels. To move to the next hub, players must complete five worlds, collect a set number of eggs, and defeat a boss. Players do not need to collect all eggs to finish the main game or unlock new levels. Some eggs can only be found later by returning to a world. Gems are hidden in crates and jars throughout the game. These gems are used to pay a bear named Moneybags to free captured characters or activate tools that help Spyro progress. The number of eggs and gems collected contributes to the game’s completion percentage. An atlas helps players track their progress and see remaining tasks.
Players control Spyro, a dragon, for much of the game. Spyro’s health is shown by his companion, Sparx, a dragonfly. Sparx changes color and disappears after taking damage. If Sparx is gone, the next hit causes Spyro to lose a life and restart at the last saved spot. Eating small creatures called fodder helps Sparx recover. Spyro has abilities such as breathing fire, swimming, gliding, and headbutting. These skills are used to explore and fight enemies, including creatures called Rhynocs. Some enemies are only weak to specific moves. Spyro can also pass through “Powerup Gates” to gain temporary special abilities.
The game introduces new playable characters, called critters, who are unlocked by paying Moneybags as players progress. These critters can be controlled in special sections of levels. Each critter has unique abilities, such as Sheila the Kangaroo, who can jump twice, and Sergeant Byrd, who can fly and use rocket launchers.
In addition to the main quest of finding eggs, the game includes many minigames. These are separated into smaller zones and include activities like races, gunfights, and skateboarding. Some minigames were first introduced in Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! and expanded for Year of the Dragon, while others are brand new to the series. Minigames are played by Spyro or the critters.
Plot
The game begins in the land of the dragons, where Spyro and his family are celebrating the "Year of the Dragon," an event that happens every twelve years when new dragon eggs arrive in the realm. During the celebration, Bianca, the Sorceress' apprentice, attacks the Dragon Realms with an army of rhino-like creatures called Rhynocs, stealing all the dragon eggs. The Sorceress hides the eggs in different worlds. Spyro, Sparx, and Spyro's friend Hunter are sent through a hole to find the thieves and retrieve the eggs.
Spyro arrives in the Forgotten Realms, lands once home to dragons, where magic has slowly disappeared. These worlds are controlled by the Sorceress and her Rhynoc army. Spyro meets Sheila the Kangaroo, Sergeant Byrd the Penguin, Bentley the Yeti, and Agent 9 the Monkey, who help him on his journey. Spyro visits each world, gains help from the people there, and rescues the dragon eggs. It is discovered that the Sorceress exiled the dragons, not knowing they were the source of magic, and plans to use the baby dragons' wings to create a spell that will make her immortal. When Bianca learns this, she switches sides and helps Spyro defeat the Sorceress. After the credits, players can continue searching for dragon eggs and gems to unlock the true ending, where Spyro defeats the Sorceress again for the final egg. Spyro returns all the baby dragons to the Dragon Realms. During the journey, Hunter develops feelings for Bianca, and they start a relationship, while Spyro and Sparx watch with sadness.
Development
After creating the first-person shooter game Disruptor, Insomniac Games worked on a third-person platformer that became Spyro the Dragon (1998). Spyro was followed by a sequel, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage (1999). Developing the third Spyro game took about ten and a half months, from November 1999 to September 2000. The team was inspired by many other games, including Doom and Crash Bandicoot. The game was named Year of the Dragon because it was released during the year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac.
Feedback from fans of earlier Spyro games showed that the gameplay had more depth and variety. Insomniac CEO Ted Price said the goal of Year of the Dragon was to "pull out all the stops" by adding new challenges and diverse gameplay. One feature was "Auto Challenge Tuning," a system that automatically adjusted the game's difficulty without the player noticing. The idea was to keep skilled players challenged while helping less-skilled players avoid frustration. Levels were larger than in Spyro 2 to include more areas for minigames. These areas loaded separately from main hubs to prevent confusion. Adding small characters, or "critters," helped make the game more varied without adding more moves for Spyro. Price said the critters' personalities helped improve the story, which he considered more evolved and "coherent" than the original Spyro the Dragon story due to the studio's experience. Price noted the focus was on the new critters, but Spyro remained central to the story. Reviews from IGN and GameSpot praised the improved graphics, new characters, and locations. Gameplay programmers Brian Hastings and Gavin Dodd also wrote the script and directed the voice-over recordings.
The music for Year of the Dragon was composed by Stewart Copeland, the former drummer of the rock band The Police. During the band's break, Copeland wrote movie soundtracks and composed music for earlier Spyro games. Price said Copeland's work on Year of the Dragon was his best yet. Copeland explained that he always started by playing through the game's levels to understand each world's "atmosphere." He noted the challenge of creating music that was both enjoyable to listen to and matched the gameplay. His approach included using more complex harmonies and basslines to keep the music fresh even after repeated play. He praised the PlayStation's compact disc format for supporting high-quality audio, which allowed him to create the sound he wanted. Copeland recorded full orchestral scores for scenes needing an expansive sound and used more rhythmic, beat-driven music for high-energy moments.
Year of the Dragon was the last Spyro game developed by Insomniac Games. In an interview, Ted Price said the company stopped making Spyro games because they could not think of new ways to use the character. After five years of working on the same series, the team wanted to try something different. They began creating Ratchet & Clank in early 2000, while Year of the Dragon was still being made. The next Spyro game for consoles, Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, was released in 2002. Later, Year of the Dragon was included in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy along with the first two Spyro games.
Release
Year of the Dragon was released in the United States on October 10, 2000. At the same time, Sony was heavily promoting the upcoming PlayStation 2. To support its popular PlayStation 1 games, including Year of the Dragon, Sony spent $10 million on advertising. To help stop software piracy, the game added crack protection along with copy protection that earlier games had used. This made it harder for hackers to break the game’s security. It took hackers two months to crack Year of the Dragon, compared to just one week for Spyro 2. Because up to half of a game’s total sales often happen during the first few weeks after release, Insomniac considered this effort a success.
The game sold more than two million copies in the United States. It earned a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), which means it sold at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom. By June 2007, the game had sold over 3.2 million copies worldwide.
Reception
The game Spyro: Year of the Dragon received very positive reviews from many critics, according to the review website Metacritic. Critics from NextGen, AllGame, and PSXExtreme said it was the best game in the series so far. AllGame’s Chris Simpson called it one of the best platformer games on the PlayStation. GameSpot’s Brad Shoemaker and IGN’s David Smith noted that the game had only small improvements compared to earlier games in the series, but players who enjoyed previous games would likely enjoy this one just as much or even more. Many reviews praised the game’s smooth and well-developed quality.
Andrew Reiner, writing for Game Informer, said the gameplay was easy for players of all ages to understand while still being challenging. GamePro noted that the game’s ability to lower difficulty automatically when players struggled was a strong feature. However, some reviewers, like Electronic Gaming Monthly’s Ryan Lockheart, said the game had the best camera in any 3D game they had played, while others found the camera problematic, especially when it struggled to follow Spyro. Gamecenter’s Mark Salzman said the optional camera modes were better than in earlier games but still had some issues. Adding new playable characters and minigames was generally well-received.
The game’s graphics were praised by critics. NextGen’s Kevin Rice compared the game to Donkey Kong Country, saying it showed excellent graphics on older hardware. AllGame’s Chris Simpson called it the best-looking platformer on the PlayStation. Simpson and Salzman noted that the game ran smoothly even with its detailed graphics, though GamePro mentioned occasional slowdowns during the busiest scenes. Shoemaker said the only flaws in the game’s presentation were common to all PlayStation games but were handled well. Publications like PSXExtreme said the music helped create a strong sense of atmosphere in the game’s different worlds. Simpson praised the developers for understanding how music could improve the player experience. The voice acting was also praised. Joseph Parazen of GameRevolution said the sound was well done but noted that the background music and sound effects were somewhat ordinary.
At the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Spyro: Year of the Dragon for awards in "Art Direction," "Console Action/Adventure," "Console Game of the Year," and "Game of the Year." These awards were ultimately given to Final Fantasy IX, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, SSX, and Diablo II, respectively.