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Impressions of Spyro: Ripto's Rage

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Oh boy, here it comes! I can honestly, without hesitation, label this as my all-time favorite game...So I'm bound to get VERY biased in my "review" here...It may be more of just me gushing non-stop and not being coherent at all, so bear with me!

Gosh, how to start? Probably with what's the most notable about this game...The characters. Each and every one of them has something memorable to say or do, which is no small feat, considering that there are so many of them! The worlds are well-crafted, with different conflicts going on in each of them, and one can remember the characters fairly well because of them. Even the enemies have little quirks that just kill me! (Those dang bucket...gremlin-whatever they are-things suddenly turning on you when you light a fire is equal parts adorable and terrifying.) (Oh, and those rock-throwing BRATS in Magma Cone...They never fail to get my blood boiling! They're just so...bratty! Ugh!)

As far as difficulty goes, this game is a lot easier than the first, at least for me. After all, I've been playing through Summer Forest to Autumn Plains over and over again for over a decade! (I didn't have a memory card, so I had to basically speed-run the game in order to beat it...That's why I've only ever pulled off a full run-through three times.) So naturally this game doesn't provide too much of a challenge for me. At least, for the most part. Some of those orb challenges are KILLER. (I'm looking at YOU, trolley, alchemist escort mission, failed dinosaur exterminator attempts, and every task that involved super-charge!)

Speaking of orbs, I like the transition they made from dragon eggs to odd trinkets; granted, it doesn't always make sense why these people have them, but hey, it would be even harder to explain why this non-dragon inhabited world would have so many gosh darn dragon eggs! Gem collection is also nice in this one, although I kind of found myself missing the first game's gem-collecting methods.

Something that I feel definitely improved, though, are the bosses. They're much more challenging than the original game's, (even Crush) and there's a lot more buildup to them...I remember always getting really nervous when I found Elora standing around in the red-tinted castle basement of whatever overworld I was in, telling me that a giant flipping monster was just a rabbit-hole away from gutting me. *shudder* Oooh! Oh Noes! That foreboding feeling was just so much better than "oh, welp, here's a new portal that sounds more like a name than a place, must be the boss, oh, lookie here, that big fella's running away from me, yep, he's the boss!" It was also a nice touch that every boss was already introduced in the very beginning, 2/3 of them being the big cheese's pets, anyway. That's one complaint, I guess, there's only 3 big fights like this! It makes sense in context, but now that I'm thinking about it, that's not a whole lot in comparison to the first game! (Also, the final fight somehow balances hilarious with epic...How, Insomniac? How?)

And a quick note on gameplay, as I mentioned in the other "review," it feels more "snappy" and responsive in this game than in its predecessor. It's muuuuch more enjoyable to glide around and do what I call "jump-hoppery," (my naming skills weren't so hot back in the day) or just holding down charge while jumping all the time. On that note, the swimming mechanics can be a bit annoying sometimes, but only when I have to charge into something; otherwise it's pretty well-done, considering that most water levels seem to be incredibly annoying in other games!

Ooh, and the music is amazing! I know it's by the same guy as before, but I feel like he upped his game here, and it's perfect! (Rocking chair creaking sounds in a song??? YES! Some unidentified voice grumbling "I KNOOOOOOW" in a slightly disturbing manner? More yes! Strange, almost opera-singer-sounding voice in the background of the final fight? YEEEEESSSS!)

Huh, I guess that's all I can really say "review"-wise...TL;DR, it's tough to compare this to the other games, because my nostalgia will always win over and say this is The Best Game Ever, but all in all, good gameplay, level design, characters, voice-overs, good bosses, even though there weren't a ton of them, and just GOOD GAME. *readjusts rose-tinted glasses*

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Now I'll proceed to gush/ramble, escape while you can!

- Oh my word, I was TERRIFIED of Crush and Gulp as a kid...They're both so dang huge! They're funny in cutscenes, but you toss my tiny dragon butt next to those giants in a boss fight? YIKES!
- On that same note, to this day, that weird "sizing you up" animation that Gulp does for a bit at the very beginning of his fight still makes me uneasy...In a good way!
- I'm realizing more and more that Hunter is a freaking gem. 
- If Elora's a fawn, why does she have a fox tail? That always bugged me...But Spyro mistaking her for a goat always makes up for it!
- The bagpipe playing satyrs are still my favorite characters; I could listen to them play all day!
- Confession, one of my favorite things to do is to use the "learn all abilities" cheat, go to Sunny Beach (or just replay the level later on if I'm being a rule-follower), escort the baby turtles until that one part with the ladder, climb up it, and leave them behind. There's just something so rewarding about reaching the end of the level and being thanked for "saving" the children you just left to rot. Wink/Razz 
- Oogie! Oogie! Oogie! Oogie! Oogie! HA! Hahaha! HEIMLICH!
- Real talk, those sharks in Aquaria Towers are terrifying! ...Until the fireball power up is ready, that is! Also, screw you, Moneybags, this is a matter of life and death, just let me borrow your dang submarine! Do you want me to be shark bait?!
- Something that always bugged me was the fact that Ripto claims to hate dragons, but...his pets/henchmen...are dragons? Kind of? I mean, Crush has horns and wings, that's close enough, right??? I don't know, I've probably always overthought that.
- I don't care how easy/boring the quest is, FINDING GEORGE IS ALWAYS WORTH IT.
- My favorite quest has always been the trading/fetch-quest in Mystic Marsh...I have no idea why, but there's something so satisfying about finding and trading all this stuff...That and it means Spyro gets to carry around a rubber duck. That might be why.
- Okay, was Juliette a man???
- Despite it representing one of my least favorite quest/mini-games, Trolley Trouble is a great track that I tend to get stuck in my head all the time!
- It's really fun to take people that have never played the game to Colossus, just to show them the Yeti...I make sure they're the ones that have to confront him...
-"Look what I can do! Why-yi-yi-yow, why-yi-yi-yow!"
- I'm not going to lie, I felt pretty gipped when I finally made it to Dragon Shores myself. I had seen my older brother do it years and years ago, so I was pretty darn excited to get there for myself for the first time ever. (Memory cards. Are worth. Every. Penny.) I mean, the games are kind of fun, collecting tokens from playing them is satisfying, but REALLY, the reward for getting those tokens was the "movie theater"?! Where all you get to do is rematch cutscenes? Most of which I have seen multiple times anyway? MAN, that was almost insulting! 100% completion fire breath helps ease the pain, though, so there's that.
- And lastly, what kind of dark secret is Hunter hiding? Why did his birthday digits, of all things, summon Ripto? Is there something we're missing here? He shows up in almost every level...He's always one step ahead of me. Where does he get all this equipment? How the heck can he jump as far as a dragon can glide? "Athlete" my foot, he's hiding something, I know it! ...Love ya, buddy! Spyro 2 Ripto Rage - Hunter Icon 



Spyro (at least this version) and pals here are © to Insomniac Games

Onward to Year of the Dragon!


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Ranki-Chee's avatar
The robo-sharks (until I've learned that SuperFlame can be used underwater...magic fire that is!) and Earthshapers were pretty much scary for me back, a little bit now though. Same goes to the smirky mines in Breeze Harbour, they really like to rub your nose on them...till of course you get the cannon.

And yes, the trolley and lava lizards as well...bleh.