Spyro: A Hero's Tail

The last quarter of 2004 was filled with a crazy amount of platform titles. Spryo returns for its second outing on the Playstation 2 and is up against some stiff competition like Sly Cooper, Jak series and Ratchet & Clank. The first Spyro on the Playstation 2 proved to be a huge disappointment. Spyro: A Hero’s Tail (SAHT) is noticeably better than the previous game, but is that good enough?

Once again you return as the cute purple dragon, Spyro. This time he has a new arch rival called the Red Dragon, who is bent on corrupting the dragon world with evil. Spyro is joined by four allies (all of which are playable at some point in the game). There is some innuendo thrown into the game’s story for good measure, but the jokes are aimed at a younger audience.

All of the game’s levels are cluttered with gems, chests, and dragon eggs. Regular gems play a pivotal role in the game as you can buy gadgets and weapons using the gems you have collected. There are also light gems, which are fewer in number and are more crucial to find in the game as many objectives require you to attain a certain number of light gems in order to operate a specific gadget.

SAHT, for the most part attempts to be non-linear. While it succeeds in some areas, it fails in others. In each of the dragon worlds your map lists a number of objectives. The objectives can be carried out in any particular order. Unfortunately the in-game map is rendered useless as it doesn’t adequately show you, your objectives, or any special landmarks in the level.

There are some notable RPG elements in the game. Your character gains new abilities after talking to dragon elders or buying new gadgets or weapons. This is where one of the games biggest problems comes into play. Lots of the game’s objectives have you finding a certain number of light gems or dragon eggs. There’ll be some moments where you’ll find these items, but unfortunately unable to capture them because your character hasn’t yet obtained a certain skill. This become quite problematic and frustrating as you’ll have to constantly back track throughout the level. You wouldn’t believe the number of hours I spent searching each level trying to find all the dragon eggs and light crystals.