Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! is the second game in the Spyro the Dragon series. In this game, Spyro is placed in the land of Avalar rather than the Dragon Worlds. Gameplay flows like the original game Spyro the Dragon, with few variations in control and Spyro's main abilities intact. The only notable difference is the removal of Spyro's side-rolling ability, previously activated by L1 and R1.
Also in series
Released on
Genres
Reviews View More
tykkään täst enemmä kun kolosest kun täs on paremmat maailmat eikä nii gimmicky minipelei
There's many great 3D platformers I have unfortunately never beat or even experienced before, and the Spyro series is one of 'em. I've never so much as touched a Spyro game before this playthrough of Spyro 2. A sequel's typically not the best starting point, I know, but I do know this isn't exactly a story heavy series (aside from when they tried that later to...uh, varying degrees of success), so I don't think I missed out on much. I quite liked my time with this game, its simple but effective. It can be a decent challenge, especially with some of the tasks you have to do for collectibles, but if you're just looking to beat the game, most of the game's not gonna give you problems. Took me a good three days or so to beat, split over a long period of time since I took significant breaks between play sessions.
Spyro 2 is a fun little collectathon, somewhat similar to your Banjo-Kazooie and Mario 64 type games with a bunch of decently sized 3D levels to explore for collectibles. If you're looking to just complete the levels normally (as in not 100%), you just need to grab the Talisman, which is usually very easy to get since, most of the time, you just need to reach a certain end point. Sometimes you will have to do something special to get the Talisman, like freeing the shaman in Crystal Glacier, but its always something very simple and quick to do. If you do decide to go for 100%, the Guidebook in the pause menu has pages for each level that tell you what you're missing to get 100% completion in each: beat all the enemies, collect all the gems (basically the game's currency which you can find either lying around or in vases, crates, or big gems you need a special weapon to break), and find all the orbs...and get the talismans, but I mentioned that already. Orbs are probably the most important collectible; each level has around 400 gems, so it won't be long until you rack up WAY more than you need to spend for upgrades. As for orbs, there's a certain amount of orbs different between each level - per level minimum of 2, maximum of 4 - which you'll almost always get as a reward for fulfilling some sort of side mission for an NPC. The only thing that I don't really like about this system is the way the game gates content behind orbs. That in itself isn't much of a problem, but the orb requirements aren't really communicated to the player well, since the amount is pretty small throughout most of the game until you reach the final world, where you go from needing a measly 15 orbs to needing 25 orbs for the final level and a whopping 40 orbs for the final boss. The game has 64 orbs, so having to grab 40 orbs does let you skip a good chunk of 'em (and thank god because some of those are a PAIN to get, I heard the horror stories of the Alchemist escort quest even as someone who's unfamiliar with Spyro), but it feels like such a drastic leap when the game makes you think it'll be smooth sailing before that. The core gameplay loop is fun and enjoyable, but I will say that I can't shake how Spyro's controls feel rather clumsy, especially when you're trying to quickly turn around or walk in a straight line instead of from an angle. Granted, you can definitely get used to how Spyro controls and the movement can even feel pretty good at times, but sometimes it feels quite rough, especially when you're trying to do those orb missions to chase down bandits. Flight controls also kinda suck, but at least they don't feel anywhere near as terrible as Super Mario 64's (to me that game's flying feels horrible) and the flying challenges aren't TOO challenging. I do really like how simple yet fun Spyro's toolkit is, though: all he does is dash, jump, and glide, and, though he gets some extra tools, most of it just feels like slight enhancements to your base kit like how swimming in this game is pretty much just dashing underwater.
There isn't a ton of story here, so I'll instead talk about the visuals. The environments are VERY pretty, possibly one of the most pleasant looking PS1 games I've played so far. Colors are so vibrant and, despite the technical limitations of the time, you can tell this game is going for a unique art style. There's a sort of dreamy nostalgic feel to so many of the levels, especially if you're playing on a CRT. The game's character models do look very goofy and outright bizarre; I admittedly can't tell if that's part of the art style or just a product of the PS1's limitations, but I feel it overall enhances the game's charm once you get used to it. I mostly played this game on low volume so unfortunately I missed the majority of the music, but, from what I got to hear of it, that's also pretty good.
Overall I quite liked Spyro 2. There are definitely some more frustrating bits and I would have liked if the game better communicated just how many orbs I need to beat it normally, but, as a whole package, the game's a good time. Sounds like another 4 star to add to my collection.
Spyro 2 is a fun little collectathon, somewhat similar to your Banjo-Kazooie and Mario 64 type games with a bunch of decently sized 3D levels to explore for collectibles. If you're looking to just complete the levels normally (as in not 100%), you just need to grab the Talisman, which is usually very easy to get since, most of the time, you just need to reach a certain end point. Sometimes you will have to do something special to get the Talisman, like freeing the shaman in Crystal Glacier, but its always something very simple and quick to do. If you do decide to go for 100%, the Guidebook in the pause menu has pages for each level that tell you what you're missing to get 100% completion in each: beat all the enemies, collect all the gems (basically the game's currency which you can find either lying around or in vases, crates, or big gems you need a special weapon to break), and find all the orbs...and get the talismans, but I mentioned that already. Orbs are probably the most important collectible; each level has around 400 gems, so it won't be long until you rack up WAY more than you need to spend for upgrades. As for orbs, there's a certain amount of orbs different between each level - per level minimum of 2, maximum of 4 - which you'll almost always get as a reward for fulfilling some sort of side mission for an NPC. The only thing that I don't really like about this system is the way the game gates content behind orbs. That in itself isn't much of a problem, but the orb requirements aren't really communicated to the player well, since the amount is pretty small throughout most of the game until you reach the final world, where you go from needing a measly 15 orbs to needing 25 orbs for the final level and a whopping 40 orbs for the final boss. The game has 64 orbs, so having to grab 40 orbs does let you skip a good chunk of 'em (and thank god because some of those are a PAIN to get, I heard the horror stories of the Alchemist escort quest even as someone who's unfamiliar with Spyro), but it feels like such a drastic leap when the game makes you think it'll be smooth sailing before that. The core gameplay loop is fun and enjoyable, but I will say that I can't shake how Spyro's controls feel rather clumsy, especially when you're trying to quickly turn around or walk in a straight line instead of from an angle. Granted, you can definitely get used to how Spyro controls and the movement can even feel pretty good at times, but sometimes it feels quite rough, especially when you're trying to do those orb missions to chase down bandits. Flight controls also kinda suck, but at least they don't feel anywhere near as terrible as Super Mario 64's (to me that game's flying feels horrible) and the flying challenges aren't TOO challenging. I do really like how simple yet fun Spyro's toolkit is, though: all he does is dash, jump, and glide, and, though he gets some extra tools, most of it just feels like slight enhancements to your base kit like how swimming in this game is pretty much just dashing underwater.
There isn't a ton of story here, so I'll instead talk about the visuals. The environments are VERY pretty, possibly one of the most pleasant looking PS1 games I've played so far. Colors are so vibrant and, despite the technical limitations of the time, you can tell this game is going for a unique art style. There's a sort of dreamy nostalgic feel to so many of the levels, especially if you're playing on a CRT. The game's character models do look very goofy and outright bizarre; I admittedly can't tell if that's part of the art style or just a product of the PS1's limitations, but I feel it overall enhances the game's charm once you get used to it. I mostly played this game on low volume so unfortunately I missed the majority of the music, but, from what I got to hear of it, that's also pretty good.
Overall I quite liked Spyro 2. There are definitely some more frustrating bits and I would have liked if the game better communicated just how many orbs I need to beat it normally, but, as a whole package, the game's a good time. Sounds like another 4 star to add to my collection.
Once again, fantastic game! I grew up on this one more so than the original Spyro the Dragon (namely because I was a kid and thought Ripto looked cool...)
I had a lot of the same control issues I had with Spyro the Dragon carrying over into Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage. However, this did not stop child me from playing it over, and over, and over again. The characters were all very compelling and it made me fall in love with story telling all over again, each time I played it. The dialogue was witty and humorous, Ripto was truly deplorable in the best way, and Spyro as always was so cool.
Even despite constant dragon racism towards him.
That aside, 4/5. Solid game. Would play many times over, again and again.
I had a lot of the same control issues I had with Spyro the Dragon carrying over into Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage. However, this did not stop child me from playing it over, and over, and over again. The characters were all very compelling and it made me fall in love with story telling all over again, each time I played it. The dialogue was witty and humorous, Ripto was truly deplorable in the best way, and Spyro as always was so cool.
Even despite constant dragon racism towards him.
That aside, 4/5. Solid game. Would play many times over, again and again.
This game is brimming with even more personality and expressive animation than the first. I love the storyline and the new, charming characters of Avalar. Much more than the first, the game feels like a Saturday morning cartoon in the best way.
The game also fixes a major issue I had with the first game, in that you could not veer left or right too much while gliding or else you'd just barely miss the platform and eat shit. They expected you to glide straight with little room for error. So this game adds the Hover maneuver so you can do a tiny little double-jump mid-flight to give yourself a little bit of extra verticality to make a jump if you're about to miss. They removed the roll, though, which I didn't get much use out of in the first game, admittedly. But the boss fights against Gulp, Crush, and Ripto, I could've imagined SO many uses for the roll to make those fights a little easier. Also, I felt like I had to wrestle with the camera way more often than I ever had to in Spyro 1, so I had more control issues with this game in general than I did with the first game.
Overall, I think this game sort of suffers from adding TOO much. You not only have to accomplish the main objective of a level, but you also have to find every gem and do every sidequest for Orbs. Many of them are very easy, but enough are obnoxious to the point that I didn't have fun doing them. It just made me wish the game could be over already.
Dragon Shores was a very fun completionist/post-game reward, though. Reminded me of the first time I unlocked the Museum in Modern Warfare 2, where you just get to mess around and have fun after stressing for the whole game. It's not as great a reward as Gnasty's Loot, though, just as Spyro 2 wasn't as great as its predecessor to me.
The game also fixes a major issue I had with the first game, in that you could not veer left or right too much while gliding or else you'd just barely miss the platform and eat shit. They expected you to glide straight with little room for error. So this game adds the Hover maneuver so you can do a tiny little double-jump mid-flight to give yourself a little bit of extra verticality to make a jump if you're about to miss. They removed the roll, though, which I didn't get much use out of in the first game, admittedly. But the boss fights against Gulp, Crush, and Ripto, I could've imagined SO many uses for the roll to make those fights a little easier. Also, I felt like I had to wrestle with the camera way more often than I ever had to in Spyro 1, so I had more control issues with this game in general than I did with the first game.
Overall, I think this game sort of suffers from adding TOO much. You not only have to accomplish the main objective of a level, but you also have to find every gem and do every sidequest for Orbs. Many of them are very easy, but enough are obnoxious to the point that I didn't have fun doing them. It just made me wish the game could be over already.
Dragon Shores was a very fun completionist/post-game reward, though. Reminded me of the first time I unlocked the Museum in Modern Warfare 2, where you just get to mess around and have fun after stressing for the whole game. It's not as great a reward as Gnasty's Loot, though, just as Spyro 2 wasn't as great as its predecessor to me.
ripto me daba risa, perdón
Yeah, so… Spyro 2 is fucking awesome.
Starting with the negatives, I swear this game’s draw distance is worse than the first game’s. It’s not a big deal, but I found myself gazing into empty, white voids far more often than in the original game. Also, not all of the mini-games are winners (looking at you, Bombo the Stereotypekeeper).
Aside from those issues, the game is an improvement on the original in practically every way.
The controls are a little tighter. Steven Copeland’s soundtrack is even better. The visuals (despite the draw distance issue) are more stunning than ever. The characters are a bit more fleshed-out, with Spyro now having a whole team of friends backing him up and a new archenemy in the form of the titular Ripto, a fun-sized tyrant who tries to be threatening, but hilariously misses the mark every time. Also, Tom Kenny voices Spyro now, which is great.
The biggest addition, however, is the missions. Like all great collect-a-thons, Spyro 2 now has missions that reward you orbs for completing certain tasks, similar to the Jiggies in Banjo-Kazooie and the Shine Sprites in Super Mario Sunshine. These missions come in the form of races, side quests, minigames. While, again, not all of them are great, most of them are, and the game provides plenty of leeway with the collectible requirements to allow you to skip anything you don’t wanna do. All of these help throw in some much-appreciated gameplay variety to break up the usual platforming that the first game introduced, making Spyro 2 feel like a true evolution of its predecessor.
A lot of people hate the focus on minigames in this installment, but I found myself loving almost every objective that others hate. “Trouble with the trolley, eh?” No, not really; it only took me a few tries to beat, and I had a great time while doing so (apparently, Spyro fans have never played a Donkey Kong Country game before, and thus have no idea how to react quickly to railroaded obstacles). I beat the turtle soup mission fairly easily. The hockey one gave me trouble at first, but once I figured out that I could stun the other player, I quickly developed a winning strategy. I dunno, all these missions are fun as hell in my opinion.
Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! is great 👍🏽
Starting with the negatives, I swear this game’s draw distance is worse than the first game’s. It’s not a big deal, but I found myself gazing into empty, white voids far more often than in the original game. Also, not all of the mini-games are winners (looking at you, Bombo the Stereotypekeeper).
Aside from those issues, the game is an improvement on the original in practically every way.
The controls are a little tighter. Steven Copeland’s soundtrack is even better. The visuals (despite the draw distance issue) are more stunning than ever. The characters are a bit more fleshed-out, with Spyro now having a whole team of friends backing him up and a new archenemy in the form of the titular Ripto, a fun-sized tyrant who tries to be threatening, but hilariously misses the mark every time. Also, Tom Kenny voices Spyro now, which is great.
The biggest addition, however, is the missions. Like all great collect-a-thons, Spyro 2 now has missions that reward you orbs for completing certain tasks, similar to the Jiggies in Banjo-Kazooie and the Shine Sprites in Super Mario Sunshine. These missions come in the form of races, side quests, minigames. While, again, not all of them are great, most of them are, and the game provides plenty of leeway with the collectible requirements to allow you to skip anything you don’t wanna do. All of these help throw in some much-appreciated gameplay variety to break up the usual platforming that the first game introduced, making Spyro 2 feel like a true evolution of its predecessor.
A lot of people hate the focus on minigames in this installment, but I found myself loving almost every objective that others hate. “Trouble with the trolley, eh?” No, not really; it only took me a few tries to beat, and I had a great time while doing so (apparently, Spyro fans have never played a Donkey Kong Country game before, and thus have no idea how to react quickly to railroaded obstacles). I beat the turtle soup mission fairly easily. The hockey one gave me trouble at first, but once I figured out that I could stun the other player, I quickly developed a winning strategy. I dunno, all these missions are fun as hell in my opinion.
Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! is great 👍🏽