I'm slowly but surely working on an article to talk about how amazing Transformers Devastation is, and have a few more article ideas including an interesting thought of the R&C movie with its new trailer. However while I figure out that I thought why not discuss an unusual game I've returned to: Spyro A Hero's Tail. Actually I've found quite a few good PS2 games I may be trying out again. This is the first one, and hopefully one I'll see through if it continues to hold up.
This game is, uh... interesting. Look believe it or not I actually kind of respect Enter the Dragonfly for at least being the only big console bad spyro game to keep its formula. Meanwhile this one was kind of a forgotten limbo space in between the transition from Mario 64 style gameplay to the Legend Of Spyro series that wanted to be a lord of the rings type beat 'em game. Niether of which though feel justified here, and instead this is just a confused game that has nothing in common with either side and the legacy of almost nothing. At best, some fan art seems to remember Ember from this game, but otherwise its like this thing didn't leave a trace of impact on the Spyro name, and I'm not sure it really deserved that... yet I can't back it up too well either. This kind of feels like what Spyro would have been if it were introduced about 6-8 years later during the middle of the PS2 cycle where all 3D platformers were going for a linear adventure approach. That and if it were made by a company that didn't know quite who to pander to.
To put it simply, the game is more in an adventure format with more of a Zelda vibe icing the top of a 3D platformer. Money bags returns as a shop keeper where you buy mostly consumable items like lock picks, health, and ammo for special fire shots. You navigate areas that are connected to other areas, get new abilities, backtrack, and end up picking up collectibles like eggs while smashing dark crystal shards. Meanwhile you stop frequently to play a character driven mini-game like Sgt bird or Blink the mole. Unfortunately mini-games are done twice in session in almost all cases. One is for a dragon egg, and the next is for a light gem, but the stage will remain roughly the same. My favorite so far has to be Hunter (Who seems to always come out of these weird redesigns really well, I mean look at his LoS counter-part), who has a solid move set and some archery fun, and plays much closer to the normal game than a mini-game often does.
Laughably looking back for research I'm finding a lot of "of its fairly unchanged" or even complaints that its a stale formula by now. Ugh, no wonder I don't remember PS2 critics that fondly. They loved trashing on games and over-simplifying facts. I suppose if you tilt your head sideways and squint your eyes hard enough you could say this game is roughly the same. You still go to areas, flame or charge enemies, collect stuff, and play a character driven bonus game. However saying that is the same is missing a lot of the finer details of how exactly that's done, and describing it as the same formula is like telling me Rocket League is the same as Basket ball because your running from one side to another with a ball. You're missing a lot of details, and you're practically lying to fans that know better of either or both subjects. At the end of the day this game has more in common with Jak and Daxter if you ask me. Heck, wasn't there also a turret section mini-game in a swamp? Seriously I remember that happening in both games, which is a very weird coincidence to have.
It feels like Vivendi Universal actually developed it themselves with a half finished bulletin point of Spyro traits. The game feels more childish than a game probably should, but with pokes and references to a couple events without proper context to them. People are kind of slapped in at weird points and in places where they don't make complete sense. Oh and for whatever reason the attack control mapping that has worked well for several years has been reversed, as though to mess with all of our heads. It just feels like the tone was thrown together by a corporation rather than the actual artists and designers. That being said, the music still has a nice tone that is nice and fitting for the game and series.
At the end of the day though I am enjoying this game, especially coming back after some time. I never finished it nor paid much attention to it long ago when I realized just how distant it was from Spyro. The level design was also confusing. Now I'm playing it and aside from the slightly patronizing tone of it, its kind of better now. The platforming is rough, the tone is off, and the mini-games are badly implemented for repetition, but it still manages to bring out enough fun moments to warrant at least one playthrough. Besides, I think we all know and see, that Spyro can be much worse than this. I'm hoping to stick to it until the end. For now though I just need to worry about world 2.
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