Spyro Reignited Trilogy - Nintendo Switch

Spyro was a huge part of my childhood. Those three original games hold a very special place in my heart. However, this remaster by Toys for Bob does not disappoint. I think those working on this game were passionate about the originals, because it shows. They somehow managed to make it like you remember it through those rose tinted glasses but it's completely updated, sometime subtly, like the music. What's great about the music is that you can turn off the "dynamic" mode (music ramps down when you are idle or the game is paused) or switch it entirely to the original music. This is such a nice touch and should be in all remasters. I remember as a child roaming through beautiful worlds with fun and memorable music and these games have the same affect. My sister ... MoreSpyro was a huge part of my childhood. Those three original games hold a very special place in my heart. However, this remaster by Toys for Bob does not disappoint. I think those working on this game were passionate about the originals, because it shows. They somehow managed to make it like you remember it through those rose tinted glasses but it's completely updated, sometime subtly, like the music. What's great about the music is that you can turn off the "dynamic" mode (music ramps down when you are idle or the game is paused) or switch it entirely to the original music. This is such a nice touch and should be in all remasters. I remember as a child roaming through beautiful worlds with fun and memorable music and these games have the same affect. My sister initially thought that it looks the same as the original. However, you see a side by side and it's clear how much better this new game looks.The only things they changed were a handful of quality-of-life tweaks to make the experience less frustrating. For instance, you can click the analog stick and Sparx (your dragonfly companion) will point you towards the nearest piece of treasure. This was a unlockable ability in the third game but it is now included in all three games by default. It make it so much easier to clean the treasure up in levels. They also made the guidebook the same in all three games, with a no-nonsense layout that makes a lot more sense than the less-than-ideal cataloging system of the original first game.If you have fond memories of any one of these games as a child or you have children that would be interested in a game like this, you should buy it. No question. Also, if you are a trophy hunter this is a good game to get. I got all three platinum trophies in under 25 hours. Granted, I have played these games a lot as a kid, which helped, but still, they are a lot easier to get than most modern games.

Let's start off with the positives: All three games look great, play great, and sound amazing, as I would hope so since they’re from-the-ground-up remasters. This is definitely the Spyro you know and love if you grew up with the original trilogy on the PS1. With a few changes to the game (i.e Gnorcs in Twilight Harbor not using real firearms anymore, Bombo being renamed to Bob, and Spyro 1 now having skill points like in 2 and 3) the games are otherwise unchanged. The muscle memory you acquired playing the original PS1 titles can essentially be re-applied to these games with a little adjustment since you’re going from 5th Gen game mechanics to 8th Gen game mechanics. All the secrets (not exploits though) are still here too. The team at Toys For Bob went above and ... MoreLet's start off with the positives: All three games look great, play great, and sound amazing, as I would hope so since they’re from-the-ground-up remasters. This is definitely the Spyro you know and love if you grew up with the original trilogy on the PS1. With a few changes to the game (i.e Gnorcs in Twilight Harbor not using real firearms anymore, Bombo being renamed to Bob, and Spyro 1 now having skill points like in 2 and 3) the games are otherwise unchanged. The muscle memory you acquired playing the original PS1 titles can essentially be re-applied to these games with a little adjustment since you’re going from 5th Gen game mechanics to 8th Gen game mechanics. All the secrets (not exploits though) are still here too. The team at Toys For Bob went above and beyond to put EVERYTHING that was in the original games into these games and even asked fans on Reddit for things they may have missed; that’s what I call dedication. They even made a program called Spyro-Scope to get precise and exact numbers for things like how high Spyro jumps, how far he glades, and the range of his fire breath. Again, dedication. The games are essentially made by fans for fans. They even have some old cheat codes (i.e Squid Skateboard cheat code) in this game for some fun so I recommend looking them up. Not to mention that some of the old cast (Tom Kenny as Spyro from 2 and 3) reprise their roles in this remastered trilogy making it even more nostalgic then before. The music is also pretty well-done. While it’s not entirely a note-for-note remake of Stewart Copeland’s masterpieces for the first 3 games, it gets the job done surprisingly well and does add some things; a pitter patter sound for when you charge and a distortion effect when you’re idle making the music very nice. And the fact that they give you the option to switch from the Reignited soundtrack to the original PS1 soundtrack is such an appreciated feature I’m glad they added. The animations are also amazing, almost Pixar quality. The fluidity, flexibility, and speed of the animations makes you feel like you’re watching an interactive movie when they come on. Even though some of the movies are pre-rendered at 30fps, they still look amazing and incredible. The production values for these remasters are so much better than Insomniac’s original trilogy (as I hope it would be).Sadly it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. The physical copy for Nintendo Switch only comes with the first Spyro game on the cartridge, you have to download the other two games onto your system memory or SD Card. Which is funny since the game is 15GB and Activision can definitely afford 16GB cartridges. That’s what I call being unnecessarily cheap, Activision. It sucks even more since the Xbox and PS4 versions DID have this problem, but have been reprinted to have all three games and the update patches on the Blu-Ray discs, meaning no more downloading the last two games. And while all three games have some bugs and glitches, what game doesn’t though, Spyro 3 is sadly the worst offender. With 3 being my favorite out of the trilogy, it was sad to see that Sanzaru Games, the company hired to work on Spyro 3 since Toys For Bob didn’t have time to work on it themselves, didn’t optimize it well enough to make its quality on par with Spyro 1 and 2. In Lost Fleet I was able to trick the game into letting me skate on the acid when I should’ve died on it. I’ve hit multiple invisible objects during the multiple skating mini-games (Lost Fleet and the Snowboarding bonus game being the biggest two), my first battle with the Sorceress ended with me seeing double her in her in-game rendered death scene, multiple enemies getting stuck on walls, the dog in Lost Tombs not instantly disappearing when he goes through the exit portal at the end of the level, and Sparx not picking up green gems. Spyro 3, again, is the least polished game out of this trilogy and that upsets me cause, again, it’s my favorite. While I always have the original PS1 title to go back to, it’s sad that this happened in the first place. And it sucks that the Nintendo Switch version is the only version not to receive a reprint containing all three games and the patches on the cartridge.Overall, despite the flaws I listed, I would still recommend this game to Spyro fans new and old. The pros definitely outweigh the cons and these are definitely the definitive ways to experience the games if you can look past all the negatives they have. You’re getting three amazing collectathon games for $40, and sometimes for $20 when it’s on sale, and that’s a price worth paying for them. These three games are prime examples of why the collectathon genre was as popular as it was in the 90s and why it’s making a small comeback as of lately. Spyro: Reignited Trilogy is a must-have for Spyro fans <3

This remastered version of the original Spyro trilogy is almost perfect. The updated graphics look great, the new challenges are nice additions, and the story still holds up after all these years.The reason why it’s not perfect: a glitch in Year of the Dragon. Everything was going along fine with almost the whole trilogy complete, and then a glitch appeared with the Agent 9 levels (these are at the end of Year of the Dragon). It’s a very specific issue where he can’t jump properly to finish 2 levels.It’s really disappointing to be so close to completing everything with the game, only to be stopped by a glitch.So, this trilogy is really 5 stars-worthy, brought down by 1 issue towards the end.