Could Spyro be back?

So guess what kind of news I've been looking at in gaming? Spyro... because, whoa, there's actually spyro news and speculations that might actually be relevant to an old-school fan like myself! Now it's a bit of a stretch though as to what's real or not, but basically here's the thing:

1.  Bluepoint games (very reliable and skilled remaster outsourcing team) have announced they're moving onto making a full-blown remake of a "classic" that is sure to please the masses. A good portion of their work has been with Sony games, so most are speculating that it's an older PlayStation classic, but it could really be a lot of things. Link as source
2.  For some odd reason, First 4 figures looks to be making classic Crash and Spyro merchandise through the form of collector figures. ...why spyro though? And why his classic form!? That's just weird, especially since Activision loves their Skylanders franchi- oh wait a minute!
3.  Activision has announced there will be no more annual plans for a skylander series, as there is none set for next year. Huh, well how about that. Link for source

I'm not the only one connecting these cryptic dots together. It's all speculation, but it's very awesome speculation. Considering Crash, his industry brother, is also getting a full trilogy remake, it helps to hope someone shows Spyro the same love. Naturally you'd also assume a game being remade is probably from a year quite older than PS3 type era. Of course a good counter-argument to be made and shut this down totally, is that perhaps Bluepoint is looking to older multi-plat hits or something even more known than spyro, as they did say "pleasing the masses". Spyro is a big hit in his own right, but in the hall of classics I won't kid myself and pretend he's one of the first names and best sellers.

Now for some more concrete Spyro stuff...

Lots of gems out there...

The more I happen to surf the web and bump into Spyro things, the more it's clear he's well and alive in the hearts of fans. Maybe... a little more alive than usual this spring. But I was delighted and surprised to bump into multiple animations or hack projects going on. Heck, and more will continue if this is any indication. I'm not just talking about those beautiful Unreal 4 interpretations that came out a while back to just mix classics with new engines designers are playing with. Those are bound to happen occasionally, gather some attention, and move on. However this is stuff that happened this year, with fresh animation, tributes, gags, etc. The animation at the very start of this is simply incredible, and it came out just about last month! There are even multiple fan games going on, with varying results and goals in mind, but one even has voice auditions, multiple texture artists, and perfect Spyro style music up and working alongside the study of these new hacking kits.

Even if everything above about Bluepoint amounts to nothing but rumors, there's still a thriving community that's starting to resurface again with some different projects, experiments, and just fun and memories. As one noted, it's bound to get noticed at some point, and every single time is a sting to Activision that "hey, maybe this classic spyro has something a bit more powerful." I really think projects like Spring Savanna are worth keeping an eye on, regardless of a remake or not. The comittment, art, and talent of fans creating and giving back to Spyro for other Spyro fans is something amazing in itself. This is the lasting power of truly wonderful classics, and the sort of people it inspires.

So what if it's being remade?

Dreaming that this actually happens...

Okay, so finally let's talk what ifs. What if some form of remake comes out for Spyro's 19th or 20th anniversary. First off the major question I instantly get is would they, or even could they, be as generous as the Crash Bandicoot trilogy remake? Would we actually see the entire classic Spyro set? I... am sadly forced to assume not for the exact same reason I've come to love this series instead of Crash. Spyro is a more complicated, more interesting, and more open game in design. You're not just putting a character on a lane and yelling "go!" with various pick-ups and distractions, Spyro was essentially open world. If they could remake the whole pack, that would be fantastic and I'd absolutely love them for doing that, but it'd be a bigger task. Crash Bandicoot was an evolution of those sidescrollers, but Spyro fully embraced the 3D mold to give you entire worlds, which means you'd have to recreate entire worlds. over 60 of them, loads of levels had voice acting, plus bonus levels, secrets, rebalancing all the jump and glide mechanics to make sure it was perfect, etc.

However I'll do a hypothetical "what if" article for if we narrow it down to a specific game, likely the original (but I'll be desperately hoping for Year of The Dragon). So for now let me point out things that would apply to the general feel across all games.

• Keep on track with remaking things, just as with what's being done in Crash. Don't reinterpret everything, keep the good things awesome and updated. There's areas that can probably use a bit of a make-over (I don't expect a line-for-line replica on every NPC or anything), but let's not go crazy with that idea and start leaving out entire levels. Spyro holds up well in most areas, and can be replicated with updated visuals in spectacular fashion. I know some things will need to be remade in a way I may not be 100% happy (like new actors, and music), but I can get over it as long as the effort is there, and enough is preserved.
• Keep things fun. Spyro was full of lots of little light-hearted and fun details, be it plants that shook off their scorched texture when flamed, Spyro literally being flattened like a pancake, and just the silly nature of the game's themes and characters. This was a game franchise where one of the more oddly remembered details was gnorc soldiers running into tents, and then mooning you if you burned their cover. That's the fun sort of attitude and sillyness that needs to slip in with the gameplay.
• You've got to really be sure to capture the spirit of the music. I know it's not going to be a straight carry over job, but it's also not that hard to get it right. Many musical pieces actually had something to do with their levels to, like the industrial sound to Huricos, and that odd ship creaking sound worked in with the music of Breeze Harbor. Now think of a bouncy up-beat tone, electronic organs, and you're on the way to making a good mock-up of Spyro music.

Got those notes? Good. However I'll be honest, I would be estatic if the spyro trilogy just got a generic remaster with some res stretching and smoothing, and was re-released. Essentially I'm happy if you can update Spyro, keep his spirit pure to the content we love, and give that to both modern and nostlagic gamers. Of course as Sony has proven by idiotically neglecting Spyro on the vita, nothing is owed even where it makes sense and money. We've been essentially living off of Spyro emulators or the original disc for what's going on to be 19 years. Any form of a remake would definitely be welcome, regardless of the guidelines I noted above.

If this all turns out to be really nothing, life still goes on, and people still seem complacent with keeping Spyro alive by other means on the net. If all we ever end up with was the PS1 version, well it was a fantastic run, and it left having given us something amazing to look back on. It's just so awesome though that there's actual clear hope and possibilities for this to be coming back. Whether it's Blue Point, or somebody else, I'd be very grateful to see what efforts they put forth if there ever is one.