"The Legend of Spyro: A New Be-Ending"

Introduction: Now when I got this game for my birthday along with my new DS Lite, I expected a grand game with bold graphics, solid gameplay, a good storyline, and extras that would support creativity. I was wrong, this game has absolutely no fun attached to it, well, it does, but, JUST READ THE REVIEW!

Story: 1/10

If you're wondering why the story has such a bad score, there are many numerous reasons for this. One is, last I checked, the REAL beginning was that Spyro and Sparx's eggs were stolen by Gnasty Gnorc but were saved by the dragons. In retaliation, Gnasty Gnorc turned every dragon but Spryo in to a stone statue. This story has ABSOLUTELY no relation with the PlayStation trilogy. In this story, the four dragon guardians were watching over the eggs as the Year of the Dragon winded down, until these baboons lead by the "Dark Master" infiltrated the Dragon Temple and destroyed all the eggs except two. One was saved by one of the guardians, Ignitus, who brought the egg to a lake, and set it adrift. The other egg was taken by the Dark Master and turned into Cinder, a deadly dark dragon who was used by the Dark Master to turn the realms of the dragons into deformed mockeries of the world. Spyro is then taken in by a family of dragonflies and is convinced that he is a dragonfly. He befriends Sparx, his "brother" and they play together until they meet soldiers of the Dark Master, who take Sparx prisoner and attempt to kill Spyro. Spyro gets angry and breathes fire, which takes down the soldiers. Spryo's "parents" then come along and tell Spyro that he isn't really a dragonfly, but an "exile" from a distant land. After being told this, Spyro and Sparx begin their quest to find Spyro's real home. They then meet Ignitus and he tells Spyro of his origin, how he is a special dragon, what has happened to the dragons, and the burden that is placed on his shoulders. Spyro and Sparx are then sent by Ignitus to the three realms under Cinder's control to save the other 3 guardians so they can all stop Cinder and the Dark Master. Above all, this is crazy, odd, and has nothing to do with the original Spyro trilogy. With minimal plot twists and a weak story and absolutely no backstory, this is just another game with a dragon called Spyro in it.

Graphics: 2/10

The graphics aren't perfect, in fact, they pale in comparison to what DS game quality should be. The game is set as a 3-D adventuring game with a sky camera giving the view. The graphics aren't good. It doesn't show realism or good quality. The character models are somewhat good, but they really aren't realistic, like the trailer shows. The breath graphics are poorly made, just a cylnder coming from the dragon's mouth colored in the correct element. The thunder breath was shaped like a thunderbolt, but otherwise still below quality. The earth breath, that didn't even have quality.

Gameplay: 1/10

This is a game? This isn't even qualify as a good platform game! It's merely a "hey, there's an enemy, I'll go and kill it" game. The main gameplay is just the same thing, explore, solve puzzles, and kill anything that comes in your way. The minigames are set in another column, because it deserves a rating all it's own. The boss battles have some quality to them, also some graphical quality, but overall, it is the same thing, not requiring any skill other than can you dodge and put your stylus in the same place over and over again. It is bland, easy, and doesn't have that adventuring touch the "original" Spyro trilogy had.

Music: 1/10

Wait? There's music? Yes, there's music, but it plays only for about 5 seconds, then it's complete silence all over again. There is just the opening theme for the realm, which sometimes doesn't even play. The battle theme if you meet a new enemy, which is completely boring and not even exciting. And boss themes, which sometimes I really don't notice. Then there's sound effects. They're nice, but listening to respawning enemies, your breath, the flapping of your wings, and the occasional bomb throwing really gets repetitive and annoying. Not much quality, and without music to help the sound effects, just plain useless.

Minigame: 10/10

This is the only thing that is good about this game. The puzzle crystal game is just seeing if you can match the color beams with the corosponding crystals. You see the same thing over and over again, but it is really addicting. It's also the only way to unlock the cheats to get 100%. But frankly, the cheats aren't worth it, they're pretty useless, and what's the point of invulnerabilty if the game is already too easy. I just played the minigames because they were FUN.

Replayibilty: 0/10

If you replay this game, you need to see a therapist. Absolutely no replayiblity. ABSOLUTELY NO REPLAYIBILTY.

Overall: 2/10

My title suits this, it is the new Be-Ending of Spyro. This game is poor quality, has no replayibilty value, and is completely worthless. If you want this game, (and seriously, you do not want this game), then just rent it and play the minigames, the real game is not worth it.

PROs:

1. Somewhat good sound effects
2. Addicting Minigame

CONs:

1. Story has nothing to do with the actual game
2. Graphics are below DS standards
3. Music? What music? I only hear it for 5 seconds!
4. Absolutely no replayibilty

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 07/30/07