"Spyro's Second Adventure on the GBA is an Improvement Over the Last One..."

Spyro: Season of Flame is not Spyro's first adventure on the GBA, but rather a game about Spyro revisiting the small portable Nintendo console. This game has a wide range of opinions directed towards it, good and bad, but it really depends on the person. For a action/adventure junkie like myself, this game deserves the praise it gets and then some.

Story: 8/10

Veterans of Spyro, or even people who are just getting to know the purple dragon, know that Spyro always has to defeat a dinosaurian dictator. Spyro never was too bright on story content. Here we go.

Spyro and his friends arrive in the Dragon Realms, only to find that the dragons can't breathe flames anymore. Spyro tries himself, but he finds that instead of fire he spits ice! Due to this change in elements, the Dragon Realms are getting increasingly colder. The person who's behind this turns out to be Ripto, Spyro's pint-sized enemy who feels that taking over Avalar wasn't enough for him. The reptilian wizard then freezes 100 fireflies to make sure the dragons don't get their flame breath back. Guess who has to retrieve them?

Graphics: 10/10

Nothing's changed from Season of Ice to Season of Flame. Spyro's world is still beautifully detailed and splashed with every color of the rainbow. Spyro still has smooth and connected animations. The enemies and the items are still easy to spot from the surroundings.

Controls: 9/10

You need to have good judgement when gliding still, but charging isn't as hard to control now. However, they still couldn't work out the bad quirks in the Hover move...

Sound: 10/10

The basic Spyro sounds and music. This time around, Spyro and other characters that talk have voices that are a rip-off of Banjo-Kazooie's garbled speech. It's excusable, but Spyro just has a voice that's...off to put it lightly.

Gameplay: 10/10

What's changed in Gameplay? A lot!

For starters, they now included a map into the game, where gamers can now see where places they haven't visited and where important game places are. Also, the fireflies are now marked in the atlas with a symbol that represents the task you have to do in order to receive them. (example: Fireflies on the field are marked with firefly, character heads represent a task, thief symbol means firefly has been stolen, etc.)

Now, there are three boss battles instead of only two. (Season of Ice had only two boss battles, and both of them had Grendor.) This is satisfying for a action/adventure junkie like myself, but that would also mean frustration for inexperienced gamers.

As for the other aspects in the game, they are the same as any other Spyro game. If you like the basic treasure-collecting theme the other Spyro games had, then you'll know what's in this game.

Replayability: 10/10

To unlock everything, you must collect everything. A simple concept for such a time-consuming task. You're sure to have loads of playtime with this game!

Buy or Rent?

It's all a matter of preference. Action/Adventure junkies will jump at the first chance to buy a copy, while gamers who like to spend as little time as possible on a game will stray away from Spyro. Either way, I say rent it first to see if you like it, then buy if it's your cup of tea.

Spyro has been around since the reign of Playstation, and it's refreshing to play it on a portable console. If you like the purple dragon, then jump at the chance to receive this hot sequel! ^_^

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/12/03, Updated 05/12/03