Growing up I LOVED Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer (Yes, that’s right GATEWAY TO GLIMMER, none of this Ripto’s rage rubbish please) – I remember spending hours and hours on the game; I fondly remember it being such a colourful and vibrant world, with cute characters, fun puzzles and absolutely diabolical speedway levels – I remember running around, feeling slightly guilty as I torched sheep, collecting gems, whilst gliding and charging… It was great. I loved it!
So way back when, when Crash Bandicoot’s N’Sane Trilogy came out, I remember keeping frantic tabs on Google for a Spyro remaster – Noting it’s 20 year anniversary was coming up, Twitter accounts popped up and the rumour-mill was churning… Until it was FINALLY announced! So the first thing I did immediately after the release (When I had funds available) was pre-order – A big thing for me as I’m not normally a pre-orderer for various reasons, but regardless, did it live up to my expectations?
The answer is YES! Now, I haven’t played Gateway to Glimmer yet (Yes I am sticking with this), or Year of the Dragon, mainly because I really like to approach and complete things in a nice logical order; so far, I’m exactly 81% through the first game in the Dream Weaver’s world, and I love it!!!
Onto the gameplay and mechanics – Firstly the camera. Now I know some people don’t like the camera controls, but actually I like it; it’s almost like a difficulty mode for me, and you can pick between ‘Reignited Controls’ and ‘Retro Controls’ – Working the camera and going through the game in this way actually just amps up the nostalgia for me, and really kicks me right back into my childhood; I like having the option of switching between the two and having the option to have an active and a passive camera mode, even though I’ve found that the active camera can be a little slow at times, and may need a little nudge when supercharging round tight corners – Another optional feature is a little map, and, due to preference, I have had this turned off because I like to explore the whole area fully without getting too focused on a little map!
Now onto visuals; everything looks as bright and beautiful as I remember it – I know, I know, It’s different; the graphics are better, the detail is more dense, the colours are brighter… But this is what Spyro looked like to me growing up – A beautiful bright fun universe to explore. Furthermore the soundtrack and sound effects is absolutely perfect; the first time I heard the egg thief I felt transported in time – The sound of Sparks, the slight glittering sounds you get from gems, the crashes of headbutts… They’re all perfect! I honestly couldn’t have asked for better! Each level is small and self contained, and I’ve had a lot of fun working out how to play them in order to get to all the secret areas, especially on Tree Tops (However I feel really guilty flaming all the orangutans).
So far I’m loving all the various new takes on the bosses (Like Toasty) and dragons, the detail is great – The character designs all retain their original design with that required modern look! I feel that they’ve retained enough of the past and added just enough of the modern innovations to make these characters both nostalgic and appealing to a new young audience. Spyro himself is spot on, I like how they haven’t made him super detailed and have added little scale details, but it’s not overwhelming and Spyro retains his cartoon style. I also like how when you leave him on idle he kind of behaves like a cat; honestly the movements are so uncanny that he looks just like one of mine at times. Spyro also retains his plucky attitude which I love!
Lastly, cheat codes work! As a double bonus they don’t prevent you from earning trophies! Not even the 99 lives ones… I have really fond memories of changing Spyro’s colour, giving him a big head and making him flat – We were all pretty disappointed when Crash didn’t have active cheat codes, so this is the answer to our prayers! Here’s a list of cheat codes that work, for your ease of use – You have to enter them on the pause menu, and to remove them you just enter the same code again (Cosmetic cheat codes will stack).
99 Lives
PlayStation: R2, L2, R2, L2, Up, Up, Up, Up, O
Xbox: RT, LT, RT, LT, Up, Up, Up, Up, B
Giant headed Spyro
PlayStation: Up, Up, Up, Up, R1, R1, R1, R1, O
Xbox: Up, Up, Up, Up, RB, RB, RB, RB, B
Pancake Spyro
PlayStation: Left, Right, Left, Right, L2, R2, L2, R2, Square
Xbox: Left, Right, Left, Right, LT, RT, LT, RT, X
Colour Changes
Enter the code and then enter the final buttons for the separate colours
PlayStation: Up, Left, Down, Right, Up, Square, R1, R2, L1, L2, Up, Right, Down, Left, Up, [?]
Xbox: Up, Left, Down, Right, Up, X, RB, RT, LB, LT, Up, Right, Down, Left, Up, [?]
Black:
PS4: Down
Xbox: Down
Green:
PS4: Triangle
Xbox: Y
Blue:
PS4: Cross
Xbox: A
Yellow:
PS4: Up
Xbox: Up
Red:
PS4: Circle
Xbox: B
Purple:
PS4: Right
Xbox: Right
Pink:
PS4: Square
Xbox: X
In summary, I love this game! It’s great for nostalgia, and I feel just like a kid again – The world of Spyro looks just as beautiful to me as when I last left it; I think visually they have gotten everything spot on and this game is really faithful to the original material, which is exactly what I wanted from it! I’d love to see a new Spyro adventure following on in this style from Toys from Bob – I think this game is great for adults to become kids again and great as always as a kids game; it’s simple, sweet and just what I imagined so for me it’s a perfect: