Spyro 2 Ripto’s Rage, as the name implies, was the second entry in the popular Insomniac developed series. Sony was onto something with Spyro and they were not going to let the character be a single entry on their console. The Spyro franchise was also a console exclusive so Sony had that going for them too. The fact that it was a rocking franchise was also a plus.

Portals are never good, just ask Rick and Morty

Portals are at the cusp of the action again in Spyro 2 Ripto’s Rage. This time, Spyro and his dragonfly partner, Sparx, decide to take a vacation on Dragon Shores. Using a portal to cut the trip time down to almost nothing, they end up in Avalar, a fantasy realm instead. This vacation just became a workcation for the duo.

Elora the Faun, Hunter the Cheetah, and the Professor need Spyro’s help and bad. It seems the Professor was working with portals and inadvertently opened their realm up to a warlock named Ripto. Bringing along his minions, Crush and Gulp, Ripto quickly makes short work of the Avalar denizens and takes over. Learning that dragons are Ripto’s pet peeve, Elora decides to summon one, Spyro, to help rid the realm of evil.

Yep, Spyro is pretty much just pigeonholed into the job because of his species.

Spyro 2 Ripto’s Rage was more of the same

Sometimes “more of the same” is a bad thing. Not the case with Spyro 2 Ripto’s Rage on the Sony PlayStation. In fact, that is part of the charm of this franchise. Fans had a basic understanding of what to expect from Spyro games. This was exactly what they got, with a few additions that expanded the action a bit.

Insomniac were not going to stray too far from the formula set in the first game. They were also not going to just throw a new paint job on the original engine and call it a day.

What became of this work ethic is a great 3D action adventure that is still remembered fondly by fans. This franchise was so popular on the PlayStation console that it was remastered recently. Under the name Spyro Reignited Trilogy, we saw the first three games (the best by the way) given a major overhaul. Available for Xbox, PlayStation, PC via Steam, and Nintendo Switch, Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a beautiful adventure to take.

Insomniac rock, plain and simple

The old saying, they do not make games like this anymore, is very true with Spyro. Insomniac were done when they finished the third entry on the PlayStation console. They moved on to create Jak and Daxter for PlayStation 2. Universal Interactive owned the Spyro character and they exercised those rights with new entries in the series. These did not recapture the fun that Insomniac built in and fans let Universal know this.

If you want the good entries in one, then get Spyro Reignited Trilogy. If you are a purist then grab check out Spyro the Dragon and Spyro Year of the Dragon, both covered here on RGM.

Carl Williams

It is time gaming journalism takes its rightful place as proper sources and not fanboys giving free advertising. If you wish to support writers like Carl please use the links below. https://www.paypal.me/WCW https://www.patreon.com/CarlWilliams