Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly

"It's true - Spyro 4 is a step backward"

I'd always wondered why Spyro had a lack of popularity - even here on GameFAQs. I loved Spyro 1,2, and 3 (2 being my favorite - I found 3 too un-Spyroish), and though there were always good reviews for the game, it seemed that Crash and Sonic were always getting more attention.

Now, 2002 is a huge year for platformer games and a great opportunity for Spyro to get the attention he deserves. Unfortunately, I have to say that Enter the Dragonfly is easily my least favorite of all 5 games (counting the GBA game). Without hesitation, there's more bad than good in this game - so much that even hardcore Spyro fans(like me) can be driven away.

Control : (7/10)
Good: The control, for the most part, is easy. You get a good, easy feel of Spyro, with only about 5 completely necessary buttons. The only real new aspect of this game is using different forms of dragon breath, and it's easy to grab.
Bad: I still have problems with the camera angle, partly because it adjusts slowly, which is mostly due to the slowdown. In fact, the often-happening slowdown ruins the simplicity of Spyro's moves, because the timing is completely off. And even with the timing problems, there's really bad hit detection - most noticeable when you end up charging into a wall even if you feel you passed beside it. And while Spyro's flame is huge and intimidating, it still doesn't hit at a distance, even if it seems to touch the enemy! What's up with that?

Graphics: (5/10)
Good: the character models are very well detailed. Spyro's breath attacks look awesome, even his ordinary flame! The enemies look a lot better, too.
Bad: Two words: IMMENSE SLOWDOWN. This is the worst part of Enter the Dragonfly. The only other time I remember experiencing slowdown with Spyro was in Year of the Dragon(3), and it was extremely rare. While the first few cutscenes and the title screen move extremely smoothly, the rest of the game moves at such a horrible pace! I can't believe Universal let this game be released with the slowdown it has.
I also noticed that all the characters now look glossy and shiny. It may be personal opinion, but to me it really seems weird. Spyro looks like he fell into a tank of neon paint. Also strange how only the characters are like this - the environments look darker and atmospheric, some even grainy.

Story: (5/10)
Bad: I actually thought the last two games had fairly good stories. In all fairness, this game's story is better than 1's, but still pretty bad. Ripto is back to steal dragonflies so the dragons will be defenseless, but instead scatters them everywhere. Well, he was alot smarter in Spyro 2.
This story also is inconsistent. Besides Ripto being stupid, we saw him die in Spyro 2! Also, Gnasty Gnorc is mentioned, but he died in Spyro 1! Aaah, and I thought the plot was too simple to screw up!
Good: Okay, I'll admit it - it was kind of neat of Ripto to try stealing dragonflies, since they are the dragon's protection. So I'll say the concept - in theory, at least - was okay.

Challenge: (4/10)
Good: Though the game's glitches, long loading, and slowdown will frustrate you, the game's challenge never will.
Bad: Even so, it's just too easy. The gems are not that well-hidden, most enemies are a breeze, and the dragonflies are easy enough to capture. With only one home world and just eight other worlds, you'll complete the game in a short amount of time, trust me.

Innovation: (5/10)
Good: The game does have some nice new features, first and foremost being the new breath attacks, which are actually pretty fun and useful. The levels are of a new size class - you'll collect nearly a thousand gems per level, though this was probably necessary, since there are so few of them. I also liked the level warp feature - that was one good addition I hope they'll keep for the next game.
Bad: Everything else is just a rehash. Heck, most of the sidequests and stages are very familiar to those of past games. For example, besides the oft-done freeing stone characters, Hunter's Lesson in the Home World is almost exactly like the one in Spyro 2; in fact, the one in Spyro 2 was better! The enemies also act the same, although some of them are even easier now.

Production: (4/10)
Good: At least the textures are smooth. Also, the voice acting was pretty good.
Bad: With slowdown, glitches, long loading times, and way too many rehashes, I can't believe Universal actually let this game go to market in such a state! Even if the glitches didn't exist, they should at least have the decency to fix the slowdown and loading times. It's a shame that for the one Spyro game Insomniac does not design - they were busy with the amazing Ratchet and Clank - it's the first on PS2, because I think Insomniac would've done better if they hadn't left it to Universal.

Verdict:
Even if you're lost in the craze of the recent cool platform games, Enter the Dragonfly is unworthy of your attention. Stick to Ratchet, Sly, and Kri - they're much better buys, even if a bit old as of now.
If you're a Spyro fan who just loves the purple dragon, this game is a fairly fine way to kill time while you play as Spyro-provided you can bare the slowdown and loading.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 12/16/02, Updated 12/16/02