Spyro™ Reignited Trilogy

Spyro the Dragon for the PSX is in my top 10 favorite games. It's a shining example of 3D platforming made all the more impressive by the fact it came out during a time when the genre was still finding its legs and it took some real ingenuity and pioneering to make something that felt good to play and stand out from the many others that tried and failed. However, it was also backed by artistic vision to create a world that made you want to be a part of it, one that gave you a feeling of warmth and whimsy, and one that you felt was worth saving. And having it filled with colorful dragons who treat you like family while helping you and cheering you on was the perfect way to do it. Spyro 2 and 3 were great additions to the first game, and those who favor one or the other as their favorite entry in the series would be just as agreeable. Toys for Bob understood these are things that made the original Spyro games the beloved classics they are and did everything they could to capture that spirit and keep it alive, and I think they did an excellent job in that regard. The things that were most important to remain faithful to the originals, such as the controls and level designs, are as true as true can be. And everything that could be fleshed out more, such as the art design, animation, and music, feels like they knew what was already there was great enough so they didn't attempt to REPLACE it, but rather more like they gave it room to grow and tried to create what they thought it would grow into. They did not ALWAYS hit the mark in that regard, particularly in 2 and 3; some of the updated designs for a few world NPCs took away the cuteness and plunged them straight into uncanny-valley face-first. But aside from a few cherry-picked instances, the other NPC redesigns look just fine! But the redesigns for the dragons you save in the first game are ESPECIALLY stellar, providing a whole curriculum in designing characters to be full of life, personality, aesthetic, and visual storytelling that sticks with you even after an interaction that lasts just a few seconds! You'll search and rescue each and every one of them not only to free them from their crystal prisons, you'll be driven to find them all wondering if the next one is going to be your new favorite. And there are no rose-colored glasses here. I played the original 3 Spyro games on the PSX back-to-back, and then played all three of them [i]again[/i] in Spyro Reignited Trilogy IMMEDIATELY after, and I loved every minute of it. Remakes these days are so full of unnecessary changes, whether it's hubris from the developers, meddling from the publishing company, or from being left in the hands of people who have no love or respect for the original material or its fans. However, Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a rare - possibly even the BEST - example of what a remake can be when talented developers put the source material and its fans first and foremost, and use their talents to deliver a recreation that can be enjoyed by first-timers in lieu of the originals to which long-time fans can safely say "Sounds great! You have fun!"