Spyro's Dark Flame: How Cynder Changed Everything (feat. CrystalBlazier)

[@MiharuTheFox]

Thanks so much for the support! If you like the style of this video, consider checking out DestinationMarc's Crash Twinsanity Retrospective! kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqConIOeZ9Z0eacsi=sK_1ML-7bicecZ0t

[@ag0180]

I'm sorry but SpyroxCynder is one of my favorite things period

[@MiharuTheFox]

@@ag0180 No need to apologize, I like it too!

[@FirestarTonight]

⁠@@MiharuTheFox Is it just me, or even though it’s very obviously tacked on for the sake of fan service, the relationship between Spyro and Cynder actually feels earned? Spyro sounds like he’s genuinely lovesick for her in Eternal Night, and their companionship in Dawn Of The Dragon. It just feels like it fits for me.

[@dankdaze42069]

A new beginning was underrated

[@teepartey7975]

😊​@@ag0180

[@maverickwolf4980]

Cynder is in dire need of a chiropractor for carrying the trilogy this whole time

[@HelghastTrooper]

Chiropractic is a form of 'alternative medicine' based on pseudoscientific ideals with high potential of seriously harming those it's practiced on. It's safer (and healthier) to see an actual, licensed physical therapist.

[@seasonembrace3624]

Backbreaking hardships. It’s quite the pain in the neck.

[@TravistheDragon]

I’d love to see Cynder be brought back in some way. She’s one of those characters with a lot of potential.

[@blairterry9435]

Me too.

[@DarkSpyro29]

Hopefully TfB brings her back in a new game. She came back in the Skylanders series, and became a bit of a prominent character in Skylanders Academy (where she was absolutely adorable).

[@HeidySaez-ue3tm]

Me to Travis, me to.

[@matthewkuscienko4616]

I already left a long comment about this, but to keep it brief: yes, I definitely think she has a huge amount of potential if she were to be reintroduced into the series in the future. And considering how popular she is (she'd even be one of the main reasons why I personally would want to play the LoS series), I think it only makes sense that they bring her back in a future installment

[@beastmaster0934]

Yeah, her, Ember and Flame need to come back.

[@forveiin]

I always saw Cynder’s scale colour change as her healing from her corruption, her scales growing more vibrant as she left her dark past.

[@PokeGuy6]

Thats a great way of putting it. Her personality and demeanour in DotD is like a rebellious phase as pretty much nearly all teenagers go through only hers has a sharp tongue and quick wit. I can agree @forveiin about the scales changing colour. It's thanks to Spyro's dedication to help her and their eventual love for each other that helps her heal and become more free.

[@the_well-known_stranger2275]

That was my interpretation as well

[@FirestarTonight]

I feel like Cynder as a character really carried the TLOS trilogy.

[@Thesakuraharona]

That is because spyro does not have a ton of personality in it, in my opinion. Even in the original trilogy, a lot of his personality came through while he interacted with SPARKX. So without the sassy commentary between those two, you don't have a ton left from Spyro. That is the real shame. But it has been well over 10 years since I last played the games, so perhaps I am misremembering

[@FirestarTonight]

@@Thesakuraharona In the Legend trilogy, Spyro is unsure of himself. He’s always curious. So I’d say his personality is more prominent than it was in the original trilogy.

[@SaiyanGamer95]

@@FirestarTonight I saw Spyro as a very humble protagonist. He's basically like Bilbo from LotR (ironically both being played by Elijah Wood). He's a hero who has no real interest in fame or fortune; but doing the right thing just for the sake of it. And once the threat is dealt with, he'd return to his quiet life in some remote part of the world. You did mention that he's curious, which is true, but he's also adventurous. He's also more openly compassionate and more patient than OG Spyro. He's also pretty intelligent, as he was able to understand Volteer's ramblings and wide vocabulary, translating what he said to Sparx. He's also nowhere near as arrogant and cocky as OG Spyro; he's aware of his limits and has no problems accepting help from others.

[@sleepingrabbit354]

That's unfortunately not saying much...

[@bearerofbadnews1375]

Legend Cynder is a more interesting than Skylanders Cynder. The only thing I recall about skylanders Cynder is she is the daughter of Malefor.

[@FuzzyDreamin]

Cynder being Malefor's daughter in Skylander's makes her seem like a Raven (Teen Titans) clone... It would have been even more obvious if they kept her original personality, rather than making her cheerful and goofy. Not a change I like, as the video says; it flattens their original relationship of being a kidnapped orphan and their master/captor.

[@CrystalBlazier]

@@FuzzyDreamin Well Academy Cynder was a different take on the character. She already had a backstory clone in her main Skylanders counterpart, it would’ve been repetitive and unoriginal if she was given the same backstory for the 3rd time in a row.

[@reptile1687]

Also the fact that after he introduction episode she basically became a background character, then at the end of season 2 she got captured by malefor and they didnt save her until the second to last episode of season 3

[@DragonQueen-ox8dk]

Tbh I just don't like Skylander malefor at all. I haven't read the comics, but I don't like unserious he is sometimes. It works for kaos because it's kaos, but not malefor

[@CrystalBlazier]

@@DragonQueen-ox8dk The Malefor in the IDW comics is very much like his original Legend of Spyro counterpart, just as ruthless and evil. I recommend reading Skylanders: Return of the Dragon King comic story arc. :)

[@theatrum95]

I know it's never gonna happen, but even as someone who grew up on the OG Spyro trilogy and only played TLOS in my early teens, there is no videogame on planet Earth that I would want more than a continuation of Spyro and Cyner's story after Dawn of the Dragon. Imagine an open world game with the two of them all grown up. It would be a dream come true.

[@nekogamer2508]

Skylanders technically is that because she's tied to his reincarnated now

[@Thesakuraharona]

I grew up with OG spyro and originally disliked this series a good deal, but I admit as a remake it is good. But I also liked enter the dragonfly somewhat and pretty much all the other spyro games, so yeah. I never cared for skylanders, so I do not know what they did with the characters other than really botch poor spyro. He looked awful. Cynders figure looked cool so I did grab hers on the cheap once. It would be nice if they would remake this trilogy and expand upon it (and give us a better ending quite frankly). Insomniac did a great job redoing the og set, but no clue if they will do this one or if they would even be allowed to do so

[@theatrum95]

@@Thesakuraharona Reignited wasn't remade by Insomniac, it was by Toys for Bob (same company that made Skylanders). I'll always play any new Spyro game that comes out, I'm glad that Spyro is still a thing after all these years and hasn't been left behnd like Jak or Sly franchises for example.. However, after the TLOS series, I'll always crave for a more mature take on Spyro rather than the OG children's collectathon genre. Also never played Skylanders. Personally I'd much prefer a continuation of the story than a remake. However, for starters it'd be great if TLOS was simply playable on modern consoles. Released as PS2/3 classics. I think that's the least they could do to give this series justice, allow people today to experience these games and go from there.

[@pcdeltalink036]

Dawn of the Dragon was incredible. I hadn't played Spyro since the very first game. Then Dawn of the Dragon comes out and they finally have almost true flight. I was hooked. Then I play that and figure out "Wait, this is the 3rd part of a trilogy? I gotta play the first two." Tracked both of those down and, to be fair, some of the toughest games I had played but still excellent. I also want more of that storyline. And I would love to see Spyro and Cynder's kids, lol.

[@F0reman371]

I agree.

[@gilliancastle5106]

I'm gonna be honest, SpyroxCynder was the first ship I remember actively shipping. Granted, I was very young at the time (like somewhere between 6 and 8 years old), but I still have a major soft spot for that ship.

[@SirDavid290]

Yeah, it was fun, like the SonicxBlaze back then.

[@midgematic8659]

@@SirDavid290Dude its exactly like that! I remember LOVING SonicxBlaze back then! Though that might also be because Blaze is one of my favorite sonic characters and I wanted her in everything 😅😅

[@SirDavid290]

@@midgematic8659 Yeah, she's a really great character !

[@MayorCyberFox]

Cynder is just such a fascinating and beloved dragon! Her introduction really shook up the Spyro series, for the better in my opinion.

[@micshork]

I hope someday not only will Cynder return, but the other adolescent dragons like Flame and Ember. They all could be great friend and allies to Spyro in the fight against evil.

[@DarkSpyro29]

I miss Flame and Ember. Could have a full 4 player game with the squad. Hell I'd even be okay with a bunch of mini games with the four of em. They were too fun of an idea to just toss away.

[@matthewkuscienko4616]

It would also be a great opportunity to flesh out Flame and Ember more, too. From what little I know of them, they have very little in terms of personality, so they could definitely benefit from getting more exposure

[@Source-Z-rer]

I'm super glad Cynder is so recognized, despite how polarizing both Legends and Skylanders are/were. She's my favorite video game character, and I hope she returns one day. Also, I know the ship was ultimately added as fanservice, but I'm happy it was cannon in some way. Maybe it'll be handled better in the future?

[@SuperFlashDriver]

Even if she doesn't come back, I would not mind new and returning characters from past series, but again, only time will tell and activision sure doesn't care too much about the spyro series since, Toys For Bob has been assisting with Call Of Duty rather than Spyro. Personally, Activision should sell off some of their video game franchises to companies that would treat it better and give it more sequels than what activision is doing with it sitting in their archives and such.

[@murkrowyeet8484]

I always sort of headcanonned that Cynder's color change in DotD was due to the influence of both Malefor and Spyro's purple dragon magic. After all, she's capable of using four elements, through the effects of Malefor's influence, so perhaps that influence was partially turning her into a pseudo purple dragon

[@MidNightFaun]

It would have been interesting to see what Cynder went through during The Eternal Night after leaving the temple. Could have developed her character some more.

[@voiceofthelegion578]

If the legend trilogy ever gets remade, which is honestly doubtful but I digress, let's hope they add in all the content that was originally cut due to the budget/time restraints. They were only given 10 months to develop the eternal night, that's why she was so shafted in that game.

[@soulcyclone360]

​@@voiceofthelegion578that's also why you'll see certain enemies in locations that don't make sense for them to be in, because they had to recycle a bunch of assets from LoS 1 and just dropped them in to save on time.

[@voiceofthelegion578]

@@soulcyclone360 you'd think they would've learned from enter the dragonfly you shouldn't rush your devs if you want a decent game.

[@soulcyclone360]

@@voiceofthelegion578 that's the unfortunate truth, executives don't want decent games, they want profits in their pockets as quickly a possible, regardless of what they sacrifice to get it.

[@soulcyclone360]

@@voiceofthelegion578that's the unfortunate truth, executives don't want decent games, they want profits in their pockets as quickly a possible, regardless of what they ruin to get it

[@alejandrovilella8610]

Seeing that people still talks about the legend trylogy and acknowledges cynder in the traditional games makes me so happy. I hope one day they can remake the trilogy

[@TreBandicoot]

Cynder is the best character of Sierra's The Legend of Spyro Trilogy.

[@liamstark5982]

Sierra? The King's quest company?

[@TreBandicoot]

@@liamstark5982 Sierra Entertainment. It's a former game company owned by Vivendi Games or Vivendi Universal Games that owns Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon franchises since in 2004.

[@ToastyFruitcake]

krome studios made it, sierra is just the publisher

[@liamstark5982]

@@ToastyFruitcake I know that, I just thought that was funny

[@ToastyFruitcake]

@@liamstark5982 just letting Tre know, no worries dude

[@BoltofMystery]

If Spyro 4 does become reality, I would love to see Cynder as a character in the game.

[@trainlover16]

It will become reality, and I’m sure Cynder will be in it too.

[@Lady-Moosh]

She is in dotd

[@trainlover16]

@@Lady-Moosh He means in the new Spyro game that TFB are working on.

[@CrystalBlazier]

@@trainlover16 TFB isn't confirmed to be working on a new Spyro. We're all just speculating with no clue what goes on behind closed doors.

[@trainlover16]

@@CrystalBlazier Well I’m still 95% convinced it’s Spyro 4.

[@SenceThePhoenix]

Not only is Cynder a very unique addition to the Spyro franchise, she is also a blast to play as in DotD! Very versatile moveset with tons of uses. She doesn't JUST play like spyro with a different model. I feel like the writing was definitely lacking, especially towards the end, as she did not have enough screen time...but I'm saying this now that I'm older, I did enjoy it more when I was younger (the target demographic). Who knows, maybe she'll get referenced again in future Spyro games? Very well made and researched video btw!

[@zlionking275]

She has so much potential for a developing character, which is something that's overlooked a lot by people.

[@TARDIS1039]

To me, Cynder has always been a fascinating character across the games and even fanfictions. I do hope they bring her back someday. Also I see that Tenth Doctor cameo at 16:45. Nice touch.

[@waveeyes]

For me, that "I love you" at the end of Dawn legit gives me chills every time I see it (it might even be my favourite moment from any Spyro game), and knowing where the story ends have made replaying the triglogy afterwards way more fun. But even beyond that she's also a really enjoyable "villan to hero", and my favourite Spyro character in general.

[@n3bulav876]

I live in the constant hope that Cynder will return one day. I was taken aback by how much id love the Spyro games in recent years and how Cynder would be my favourite character. Maybe some day Spyro 4 can happen. Also just discovered your channel, and I have 2 words, criminally underrated

[@Sammy_The_Umbreon]

I got introduced to Cynder through Skylanders. One thing I'll forever appreciate is that she comes in the Giants Starter box. They could've easily put Series 2 Spyro, or anyone else to show the Series 2 reposing, but they chose Cynder.

[@Dragonfly12370]

thank you MIharu 🤓at 1:43 im sorry im such an piece of shit but i just cannot get that goofy sounding voice out of my head

[@CrystalBlazier]

I do have a nasual sounding voice, but that’s just how I sound. :)

[@CrystalBlazier]

It was an honor guest-starring and being part of the writing process for the video. Talking about our favorite black/video dragon who made such a mark in the Spyro franchise that she reached beyond her debut into other pastures with Spyro and other related characters. Everyone else did a great job too adding their contributions for the project. This was fun. Happy Cynder Community Day 2024! :D

[@Voltaradragoness]

Love seeing a video like this be made. Spread the love for TLOS and Cynder, let's goooo! I personally adore her cause as a kid, she was the character(alongside Zuko from Avatar) that taught me that evil isn't black and white. It was the first time such a thought really hit me and it was almost magical. She's also just so cool looking. She legit is one of the characters that made me who i am lol.

[@HeidySaez-ue3tm]

I’m not surprised 😮😯😲 that you watched this to Volty. Mainly because you’re the biggest Cynder fan I know. Also she, Spyro, and Skylanders are the ones ☝ who made me who I am to. They’re the main reason why I love ❤💕💗 dragons 🐉🐲🀄 so much.

[@dragonphoenix790]

This is going to be interesting, also Happy Cynder Day in advance

[@setsers1]

18 Years Of Legend Of Spyro. As A Kid, I PLAYED THE *_HELL_* Out Of Eternal Night.

[@spyr0guy]

I did too, though admittedly most of that time was spent in *one specific room in the Mountain of Malefor* (you know the one)

[@SuperFlashDriver]

God, I hated Eternal night. That game give me such an issue with the controls, and died nearly 30 to 40 times playing it, I had enough and never went back to it. The story and the characters are interesting, but it's nothing like the PS1 classics I remember playing on the original PS1 with a CRT back in the late 1990s early 2000s. Enter The Dragonfly would be one of the first spyro games I got after seeing the 2002 commercial, despite the buggy messy and the weird graphics and such.

[@dragonphoenix790]

Man that was enjoyable to listening with. Cynder is a legend who deserve some potentials. Let's hope they'd bring her back for the new game of Spyro

[@TheClumsyXeno]

Her stories in both TLoS and Skylanders are emotional, deep, and moving. I always felt she had a wonderfully done redemption arc. Especially seeing how both versions still struggle with their trauma and pasts, but still choose and seek to do the right thing.

[@epicdude3659]

lets be real here, if Cynder never said "I love you" there would still be a hell of a lot of fanart and fanfiction

[@crashtefano]

I side with the supporters of the version of Cynder from Dawn of the Dragon. There are flaws and inconsistencies, but I like her design being a smaller version of her dark form, I don't mind her new attitude over not being there for most of The Eternal Night, I'm ok with her being a darker shade of purple than Spyro instead of being just black (and still being called The Black Dragon because she's known for her dark past and still has to face prejudice for when she was under the control of Malefor because not everyone could see the good in her like Spyro or the Elders) and most importantly, I don't care that much about all of that stuff because she's finally a playable character. There aren't many better ways to appreciate videogame characters than being able to play as them.

[@Alex_Mander]

I think this was a fantastic and much deserved topic to tackle. Cause yeah, Cynder is probably the biggest thing to impact the franchise outside of the original trilogy (besides maybe Dark Spyro?). While I wasn't big on the Legend Trilogy myself (cause I think the writing and gameplay deserved far better), Cynder definitely got me thinking about things which I felt was VERY relevant to what Spyro was all about as a unique gaming franchise. And it's kinda incredible how well it worked out. Cynder could've just been another one of those trendy bland dark versions of the protagonist, shallowly aping off of Shadow the Hedgehog's popularity at the time. I guess Red in a way took the blunt of that, and allowed Cynder to really take off. Cause despite any writing inconsistencies, her character and story still resonate as compelling on an idea level at the very least! And I feel this is why her character has stuck around, and why there's demand for her to be in Spyro 4 (or a future game in general).

[@A_Shrubbery1901]

i always forget the skylanders was a spinoff and reading this title confused the hell out of me for a second

[@xboxMusaOne]

Speaking of Cynder I wonder why she kept having different voice actresses every single time she’s appeared in any Spyro and Skylanders media though

[@purplehostofrain1901]

Cynder is such a great character, from her design to her role. She has a lot of potential that is only scratched on so far. In TloS, there are multiple times when she pulled Spyro out from dark places, which is Cynder at her best imo. Just wish she had more screentime or better fuckin voice direction (looking at DotD here) Also, hey look ma, I'm famous!

[@snarkcast483]

Yo that artwork slaps

[@BlackReshiram]

the "the legend of spyro" series was my childhood fr dude.

[@gaothhermesk1289]

Aw... Thanks to include my reply of the survey this time :3

[@HighImAma]

I've never heard Crystal Blazier‬'s voice but followed them on twitter for a while and OMG what a cute voice! Bless their cotton socks. This video was super interesting! I love Cynder she means a lot to me as a character. Loved watching this. I also was super happy Spyro and Cynder got together, I don't get the hate it's honestly perfect.

[@Thesakuraharona]

Yeah, they did Cynder dirty. We need a remake of this trilogy badly. I loved the witty version in the 3rd game, as it somewhat made sense against the version in the first game. The timid version makes sense too, but they needed to pick one or the other. I would definitely play it if they remade it.

[@kaijunasan4497]

Not only hoping for a miracle for another Spyro game but SHE HAS TO COME BACK!! ❤ She's made a name for herself in the series so it only makes sense

[@kingbash6466]

Honestly, never really looked back that fondly on the Legend of Spyro trilogy, despite them being my main introduction to the franchise. However, I always remembered that Cynder was a standout character, and I liked seeing her growth both physically and metaphorically into someone Spyro can trust and care for as much as she did for him.

[@t-rexcellentreviews1663]

Great video Miharu, Cynder is such a great character and I’m glad to see her getting the credit that she deserves.

[@BookWyrmOnAString]

Ive been a skylanders fan all my life. Cynder was my main in Giants, the first game I played and still my favorite in the series. I loved her and her design. I had no fucking clue she was in/from Spyro how did i never hear about this

[@samuelrodriguez9801]

This legit made me imagine a concept for a Spyro Multiverse with the Original Spyro timeline, The Legend of Spyro timeline and the Skylanders timeline.

[@Spearofinamorata]

0:16 these are nice flowers proceeds to give himself shards of glass in the face

[@nickynegron3515]

Cynder is literally the reason I want the Legend series rebooted or even just have her as a regular Spyro character

[@RubyGalaxyYT]

Very nice article. Me and my sister grew up together playing over the Legend of Spyro series, and me and my brother played the og games. Spyro has been a really good series to me and my siblings. I really hope that Cynder comes back in a future title as she has been a lot of fun.

[@ericneuens]

Damn. The Legend of Spyro is 18 years old? I remember playing one of those games on the PS1 as a child, and to see it now is honestly amazing and an amazingly long time since it's lasted.

[@firestoneandcollusionthely2648]

Happy Cynder Day to all 💜 One of the best video game gals/dragons of ALL history 🎉

[@AnuonRinor]

Great video. Definitely worth the wait. Made me laugh at some points and got into the meat and potatoes about Cynder on this wonderful day. It was nice to be included and a great job to Crystal Blazier too.

[@Hakeraiden]

Despite knowing every bit from A to Z when it comes to Legend series, was still surprised to learn a couple of things like the ending part of Dawn of the Dragon that was scrapped and Skylanders franchise (some parts). As for the future involvement, if Cynder (or some kind of iteration) comes back to series, I wouldn't mind if she doesn't have romantic relationship with Spyro. Like, there are a lot of things that could be explored and mixed very well to make her character very attractive no matter if it's on good or bad side, past or present. But if Toys for Bob or some other developer wants make this happen, they will need to get a good story that's beyond the original and Legend trilogy. Overall well made video

[@ridgepatrick]

You know I loved this game. One of the best Spyro games ever, it's a legend!

[@DragonOfDrakness1992]

Cynder was the character that made me realize that I enjoy the "villain becoming good" trope. It was handled very well in her story (as far as I can remember), allowing her to develop into a hero. Fingers crossed that they do something special with her at some point :)

[@swordheartstudios]

Cynder's been an awesome character throughout the Spyro franchise. I hope we get to see her make her return in the future in the classic timeline with how much a story with her could have a lot of potential.

[@1Synner]

Huge fan of Cynder, and a big fan of the "Legend of Spyro" series (I even managed to find a really good plush of Cynder once upon a time). Followed her journey from day one, and while I agree with most of this, I think I kind of disagree with some of the comments on her "Eternal Night" story arc. Yes, it was very much a "damsel in distress" situation, but I think it makes sense. Cynder, with guilt and shame which very likely affected her mentality and willpower, could find it hard to want to fight back, especially if she believes the world is against her, that no one is on her side. It was also a great reflection of her sporadic appearance as the villain in "A New Beginning", where that first games paints her as looming, very present but evasive threat, "Eternal Night" paints her as the elusive victim of circumstance that has massive trust issues (both from and toward her). The only one that seemed to actually try was Spyro himself, and it's only when she realizes that that sole individual is in extreme danger, she is able to break from her funk and step up... Unfortunately, because Gaul is... well, GAUL, and she is about as strong as Spyro is physically, and his boss fight was STUPIDLY difficult, so I'm not surprised she was easily batted away. All that said, I think the build up with Eternal Night is what made her playable debut in Dawn of the Dragon so much more effective. Her decision to step up and take a stand against Gaul gave her the strength and motivation to keep pace with Spyro through the final leg of their journey. It also made their confrontation with Malefor equally as effective, which ended up also being a mirror of the incident with Gaul.

[@MiharuTheFox]

I don't think the problem is that she _is_ weaker so much as it is that combined with the fact we don't see enough of her. Seeing more of her perspective could have been a great way to showcase her inner struggles, but due to the lack of screen time it comes across like "I'm leaving... okay now I'm captured save me".

[@1Synner]

@@MiharuTheFox I dunno. I'm of the mindset of "less is more". And, (while I wouldn't have been against more screentime since that would mean more Cynder in general) considering she was a major character through the entire series, we do get plenty of screen-time with her in the end, especially when taking all three of her story-arcs, which paints a much more cohesive narrative. Imagine being brainwashed and crazy for years, only to finally be free, remembering the catastrophic and nigh-genocidal things you have done and finding no other recourse than to... run. She was a tormented, broken soul that pretty much had only had one person in her corner, and even THEN she couldn't really trust that to remain (or, worse, felt she didn't deserve it), only to finally step up when the chips were down, and come out of her shell to be more of an equal to the one that backed her. Yeah, seeing more of her perspective would be neat and would put things in a more certain, concrete light, but I also feel what wasn't said and shown, only to be inferred and implied, is just as important.

[@awashermine1004]

Y’all making me feel nostalgic, now I gotta go play through this game again just for the feels.

[@rextheextremewerewolf3096]

Cynder is my favorite dragon girl over Sisu and few others. She is LITERALLY OP when it comes to her Shadow element. Trust me, i played Dawn of the Dragon. All hail the beautiful dragoness!!!

[@scifriskyxy]

To be honest, in regards to cynders' color change, I always considered her color coming from the corruption, the scars will always remain, but as she grows, changes happen,I actually consider her more indigo appearance fitting ,she's grown she's shed off scales I suspect if she where have been born noticing that she likely originally would have been a wind dragon if she wasn't corrupted, indigo is a fitting thing as blue can be considered the color of wind aswell and would be the closest color to both show the scars of her past that altered her body permanently and to also show how much her body has healed her scales somewhat returning to the color she plausibly could have been if she wasn't corrupted

[@CrystalBlazier]

Yeah it's fine in headcanons, but in a general viewpoint it's confusing. There is a heavy lore on Purple Dragons being born once every 10 generations, with Malefor and Spyro being the only ones in the story. Cynder’s chosen colors in DOTD (indigo) to stand out in the bright bloom goes against that lore because she looks like another purple dragon when she’s not, and is still referred to as a black dragon in the story itself. The Nintendo DS and mobile versions even have Cynder in her original black scales since the game devs of those ports were more consistent with the concept art provided; something EL wasn’t able to do with their broken game software and rushed deadline.

[@spyroman9434]

I hope we see her again in Spyro 4. Spyro and Cynder forever! 💜🔥🐲

[@dracenathe6th383]

I fucking LOOOVE dotd! Always fun to see the general consensus of that game as I really wasn't part of the fandom when growing up

[@GokhanAras-pj1mm]

19:23 Chris Hansen:Malefor,why don't you have a seat?

[@pablo89gdy]

Cynder in DotD was the sole purpose i got interested in the franchise and what na awesome journey it was(Hope still will)

[@whatthehellamilookingat9149]

As a girl who was obsessed with dragons growing up, Cynder was everything to me!

[@BurningFlamesofDivineDragon]

This is such a wonderful video. I didn't know a lot about Cynder so this was helpful thank you so much.

[@dragongamerrylucius]

Ngl, Dawn of the Dragon was my very 1st game that introduced me to the Spyro series. I immediately felt the chemistry how characters interact with each other.

[@JessicaLawler-c7d]

Just came across your channel. I first saw the Spyro 1 why it was so great video. I’m glad you’re still making content. Don’t stop please. You’re doing awesome

[@orochifuror7148]

The last two games obviously needed more time, the writing seems to leave out so much that would have fleshed the story out a lot more. Cynders story wasn't explored properly, but I love the idea that she goes from being the most powerful dragon aside from 'the chosen one' to a damsel in distress. She has to wrestle with the fact that when she had power she used it for evil, but then once free she wasn't really strong enough to do the good that she wanted to, and that the only people who would accept her are those she hurt, she had to fight with so many mixed feelings of not being worthy of acceptance. She then gets locked into being Spyro's sidekick, to watch his story unfold. Through this she sees that he's not just the chosen one, he has great power but also struggles with using it and trying to do the right thing, to being lost and in need of guidance just like she does. For me, when Malafor takes her over in their confrontation and she attacks Spyro, she sees him give up, she sees the chosen one who's worked so hard to bear that title and do the right thing for everyone while not knowing where he really belongs in the world or who he wants to be, the one who puts himself on the line for others constantly, give up. After losing his father figure and then his closest companion turns on him, he loses faith that he can bear the burden and his will to fight. Seeing him lose hope, after all she's seen him do, breaks her heart and that destroys all hold Malafor has over her, that was the moment when I knew they had a deep relationship. She saw much of herself in Spyro, another young dragon who's trying to find their place in the world and always doing what they think is right to help others. Even if she might have had mixed feelings about him because he saved her thus putting her in his shadow, that she had to prove herself worthy and good enough for Spyro and the elders, she saw that he was selfless yet vulnerable, that made a romantic relationship feel plausible to me. With more moments of her taking notice of Spyro's heroics and self sacrifice it would make the moments when she sees his vulnerability more impactful. While Ms. Ricci's voice is nice, both the writing and acting for Synder were pretty bad in the third game, I think the voice direction suffered because of the all star cast that could carry with little instruction, so when it was needed it wasn't given. They could also helped her growth arc more, from badass villain to lost youngster, then coming into her own with new powers and gaining her confidence back. DOTD is one of my favorite games of all time, I still play it every few years. Would love to see a reimagining of the series, with enough time to really flesh out all the characters, then perhaps a more open world type game of them putting the world back together. When it comes to Skylanders, I never gave it a try since it was a soul less cash grab for toys. The models look ugly and that prevents me from being interested in anything that's come from it.

[@zacharydobbins6267]

Cynder deserves a lot more love

[@voiceofthelegion578]

I love cinder and would love to see her in future titles but I think the other dragons in the trilogy deserve to see screen time again too. Where's the love for my boy, Ignitus? My man did not throw himself into the fire belt to be forgotten by the fandom.

[@SageofStars]

I will say, the thing I found most memorable about this series was it's villain. Not because he was excellently voiced(though he was), or he was designed well(also a win), but because when you are told, from game 1 onwards, that if the Dark Master is freed, you will lose against him, they weren't kidding. Game 3 in this series, post him being freed sees you, at best, delaying his plans, and never for more than a few seconds. He literally doesn't care to stop you from going around, since the one time you might put an actual delay in his plans, shattering the crystals inside the destroyer, he immediately undoes that. And to get to him takes sacrifices, battles, and then overcoming his corruption and...you still can't BEAT him. The best you can do is delay him, and even then, he's about to destroy the two young dragons, until the reveal that you are on the Purple Crystal. YOU didn't beat him, you just put him in position so he couldn't win either. It means a lot to see a villain live up to their hype. So many games will tell you that nothing you do can beat the bad guys, but you go and win anyway, usually implied to destroy them forever. Only Malefor, Tyr/Myria(Breath of Fire), and The Divine Ruler(Arc the Lad) live up to their hype for me, all needing everything working together to even stop them, and sometimes even that's not enough to kill them, just stop them for now. Heck, I love how it's foreshadowed just how strong he is in both Cynder and Spyro. In the former, just being touched by his power turns her into a formidable powerhouse, and her training and abilities only add to that, while Spyro, another purple, often goes from the start of the game, barely able to fight frogweeds, to beating up huge monsters by the end. Both show how powerful a Purple Dragon can be, and they are have trained, or using borrowed power with their own wills. HE is a fully trained, in his prime Purple, and the fact that he's voiced by Mark Hamill only makes him stronger still.

[@elementalgamer0732]

Fingers crossed we get a Legends of Spyro reignited release like they did with the first three games. I missed out on these when I was a kid and now they are HELLA expensive as an adult that pays taxes and rent DX

[@V-Jes]

They aren't that expensive getting used (except Dawn of the Dragon on PS3) while if you have a good PC you can just emulate them anyways so they run at HD resolution and all that stuff.

[@JaneGumball]

This was well made and brought a lot of good memories back 🖤 Cynder I love youuuuuu 😭

[@Mae4Ever]

The og scalie dragon waifu

[@m0istur]

Looking back at DOTD I feel like I notice how much the magical snake chain was used as an excuse for the game being multiplayer, sticking together, and sharing one screen 😂 i mean its cool though, you get to play as her still

[@stormdragonscalegaming]

Happy to have Provided my own Thoughts in a video like this, Really hoping whenever Spyro 4 becomes a reality, We have Cynder return as a Main stay

[@YamiSpyroX]

Honest I think we ought to Acknowledge the Skylanders Universe Books with Cynder and her book 'Cynder Confronts the Weather Wizard' cause I think that's possibly the edgiest 'non-evil' version of her character. Cynder isn't at all happy go lucky like she it in Academy (I love her their though. I'd give her Lots of Hugs!) for she really does come off a character who once was evil, with her dark morbid interests and reluctance to listen and do the right thing. Her relationship with Hex was probably the most interesting part of the whole book due to Hex being even darker and more feared than Cynder herself even almost turning evil during the very book. While its cheesy in places (The Weather Wizard says "You Don't stand a Ghost of a Chance!" in one Scene.) I still find the Skylanders books, especially the ones starring Cynder and Spyro at times very Fascinating in terms of how they portray the Characters! I still would've loved to had seen the 'Return of the Dragon King' graphic novel as a Feature animated Film. That would had been Epic! Interesting that Academy producers only saw Spyro and Cynder as buddy's in that cannon. I feel like he was going to form a romance with Stealth Elf if anything were to happen! (Ironic that, that ship would had been even better developed than his one with Cynder, and especially more so than Reignited Elora!)

[@X2011racer]

I bet had Skylanders Academy continued with the PJ Masks showrunners responsible for Season 3 instead of the Futurama showrunner from Seasons 1 & 2, they would've mostly tried to develop Spyro as a true heir to the Dragon Kingdom after learning that his parents were the true Dragon King and Queen who were overthrown by Malefor and killed by the dragons corrupted by Strykore during the Great War and Eon didn't even know that during the war as he was focused on stopping Strykore, just so that Spyro would have to face a difficult situation: Would he develop his bond with Stealth Elf and remain a Skylander, or form a blood pact with Cynder so he can fulfill his destiny and restore the throne? It may sound dumb, but it could be a clever way to reference Spyro's Kingdom, an early concept for Skylanders.

[@YamiSpyroX]

@@X2011racer I don't think it's that dumb. My idea was the concept of Spyro finding out his parents are still corrupted by the Darkness himself, having to go on a quest to restore his people to the way he once was. Malefor I know will have to play a role as Antagonist in future seasons, us knowing that Cynder is his only living heir, but if Spyro is part of a royal family as well 'by his side' than that seems to add to the conflict. An Spyro's Kingdom homage would be nice but I was thinking of an homage to the Mask of Power books. I was thinking Kaos using the Glumshanks clones as a distraction was going to break out of prison and search for some forbidden knowledge, of witch he comes across on The Mask of Power itself. I was thinking we could've seen a pair-up between Kaos and Dr. Cortex due to Crash, but if we wanted to include some classic Spyro stuff for Reignited's sake they could've brought in Ripto as a new Rival/ally to Kaos! There was so much potential to be had. Even with the flaws, it's still a high quality TV Show!

[@SaiyanGamer95]

I think within the game universe, Cynder is closer to her TLOS self; she's haunted by her actions under Malefor, but wants to make amends. She's loyal to the Skylanders, but she's snarky and a bit sarcastic. She's still good friends with Spyro and following a mission with him, se was seen smiling with him.

[@YamiSpyroX]

@@SaiyanGamer95 There is that one Mabu in Spyro's Adventure that reacts to each different Skylander and what he says to Cynder is honestly shocking. "I heard you came back from the Dead. That is so Cool!" Its funny that he acts like he doesn't recognize Spyro yet, he knows about about Cynder's apparent death and revival upon Dawn of Dragon's Ending. Part of me almost wants to think its the same in- universe as Legend of Spyro but the comics having Spyro fight a Evil Cynder in Skylands and go "I don't know what he's talking about!" on the subject of Malefor's revenge against Him, makes it sound like a alternate universe Spyro, much like with Academy's version being a wholly separate Spyro. It is odd that it seems that Skylanders Malefor acted as if he was the Legend of Spyro Malefor and that one Mabu spoke of Cynder like DOTD was a cannon Game. Honest, I don't care if its different. I just liked seeing more story's and adventures with my favorite little dragons! They had a whole bunch of Awesome dragon Skylanders too.

[@SaiyanGamer95]

@@YamiSpyroX I think I remember hearing that Spyro's backstory in Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure was sort of a combination of the original trilogy and Skylanders.

[@silvurrrboi230]

30 mins of Cynder yapping? YUM.

[@GoldLight73]

I’d certainly be interested in seeing how Cynder could fit into the “main” timeline’s more comedic tone.

[@Kankan_Mahadi]

That Wyatt Ewert scene at 16:55 was priceless!!

[@AzryelTorres]

私も大好きですが、これはCynderの素晴らしい空想でした。

[@sanctherion4468]

Great and well researched vid on my favorite video game dragon! As one of the rarer fans of The Eternal Night, I too think Cynder's addition as playable would have benefitted that game greatly, both in terms of story and gameplay. Her story of defying her dark past and learning to forgive herself was important, the problem was that much of it happened off screen and not from her point of view. Of course Cynder still had her moments, after all she saved Spyro when he was temporarily possessed by darkness, also supporting the weakened protagonist afterwards. Still, we don't get to see Cynder's development in its entirety. My idea of a perfect TEN would have a Cynder's campaign proceeding alongside Spyro's, with every second level swapping the playable dragon and location (since they're rarely at the same place the same time). That way we would have experienced the story's central theme of defying destiny from both dragon's perspectives. And thanks to DOTD, we already know how awesomely badass a playable Cynder can be with all those dark powers at her disposal.

[@grimdarkAngel]

Best Spyro Character. ❤

[@une.cosplay]

Dawn of the Dragon was my introduction to the Spyro games! I absolutely adored Cynder from the moment I saw her. She has such an incredibly striking design and her abilities in-game were such a thrill to use. I clearly started off on the best possible entry point.

[@WitheredWings]

Cynder, ever since I was a kid, was my favorite. She carried the Spyro trilogy for sure. I love her!

[@itsdianachan]

i personally grew up with the legends series, so it holds a special place in my heart, i love it, despite its flaws. i hope they keep producing spyro games, being hd remakes, or new ones.

[@Demonicgamingfox]

This is the greatest Cynders 💜 day in the history of all games

[@sunshinem.7741]

I only really played New Beginning for GBA, which was very slimmed down story-wise, with none of Cynder's ties to the apes mentioned. Yes, she captured 3 of the main dragons, but I can't recall anything happening after defeating her to beat the game. Her dark form was black and when she went back to normal, was indigo/purple. A lot of this lore is new to me :0

[@skysiren4113]

Personally if Cynder does appear again and they do decide to have another shot of a romance between her and Spyro, I do hope they handle it better and focus more on her as a character I was definitely on the boat of feeling like the romance was rushed and not well hinted, and honestly I greatly prefer the idea of Cynder and Spyro being friends rather then a couple, but my main problem with the romance is that it hurted Cynder's character in the eyes of the fandom. She basically just became 'Spyro's love interest' to a lot of fans, most fanfictions I've seen that includes her and Spyro at least has one comment going 'I hope Spyro and Cynder make out and get together' or something similar to that, and whenever you see discussions involving Cynder appearing again in a future game most people just want her to be Spyro's love interest rather then actually caring about her as a character Honestly it's why I actually really appreciate the writing for Cynder and Spyro's relationship in Skylanders Academy. They could've easily try to shoehorn in a romance between them to make the fans happy, but they kept them as friends while showing that they care for each other Sorry for the vent but it's always bugged me how the fandom treats Cynder as a character to me, I still hope she appears in a future game but I hope the expand on her as a character and potential

[@CrystalBlazier]

I agree. It is frustrating that some people only see Cynder as an emotional clutch for Spyro who should always be paired/fall in love with each other in everything. I'm glad Skylanders and Skylanders Academy took the approach that allowed Cynder to grow as her own character who doesn't need to be in love with Spyro in order to do that. Through that franchise, she created relationships with other characters, not just Spyro; she's shown to care about others and defend them, including fellow Undead Skylander Hex (who also has a history with Malefor and became a feared yet heroic Undead elf). That's the kind of development I hope to see in a new Spyro game if they reintroduce Cynder.

[@mr_me0ws0me]

hit the nail on the coffin, couldn't agree more

[@galaxydove]

The nostalgia. 'The legend of Spyro: a new beginning' and 'The legend of Spyro: Dawn of the dragon' my first two Spyro games. There's a middle game, but I couldn't get it at the time, though I did watch the game play. Amazing Trilogy. Cynder remains to be one of my favorite characters to this day, in the long growing list of favorite characters 😅

[@Ginslatten2176]

The first and third games sound like the best to me, but I never knew any of this great work.

[@FreezyTD]

Ironic that in skylanders academy cynder is purple and malefor black

[@CrystalBlazier]

Malefor is covered in molten rock and glowing magma, but he’s not pitch black. He’s mentioned by the TV showrunner as very very dark shade of violet.

[@the_timinator77]

Dawn of the Dragon was the only game I did of that trilogy, but that was all I needed!!! the soundtrack was the GOAT!!!!

[@dankdaze42069]

The legend of Spyro a new beginning is one of the first ever games that got me into video games and one of the first ones I ever played. David Spade was a great voice actor for Sparks

[@mysryuza]

The universe is funny. I was just watching Spyro: AHT stuff from Ebbe and Miharu graces us with an interesting Spyro video less than 24 hours after. Cynder was an fascinating character since I was a kid, and became a subject of um… internet antics. I like the possibility of her being a wind dragon before her corruption because Wind doesn’t inherently sound like a “dark” power and is more of a nature element like Fire and Earth. Her having a castle or a tower in the Sky and being a terror of the skies may have been a coincidence. I like that she wears her braces as a way to face her past, as this was the first time as a teen that I learned how some face their fears rather than just avoiding it and moving on (although there was supposed to be a scene where she puts them on but scrapped due to time). Not a fan of the fact that she’s purple when I found out that she was initially a black dragon and it didn’t help that her being that color led to her being canonized as a purple dragon in the Skylanders universe (although the importance of purple dragons may have been reduced). The “I love you” thing was so out of nowhere and don’t get me started with the ship wars between Spyro, Cynder, and Ember (although Ember stopped crushing on Spyro for Bandit the Armadillo). I agree with Purple about the ship a lot. She became a major influence in how I drew dragons and my OCs. I used to have a “dragonsona” that was just a Cynder clone, but my dragonsona changed over time, although traits that she possessed are still present on my sona. I believe Cynder was what majorly helped make the trilogy resonate with a lot of fans. I remember how so many people’s Spyro OCs were either Cynder clones or heavily inspired by her. I personally think Cynder and Spyro looked best in the show compared to her in-game appearances in Skylanders and I wish TFB went with these designs from the start. I think the chemistry between the two kinda filled in the gaps of what could have been in the LoS trilogy.

[@SaiyanGamer95]

It might interest you to know that according t Jared Pullen, the Concept Artist for the series, Cynder's element really was meant to be Wind. Malefor's corruption added the other elements and caused her to rapidly age. And as for Cynder being purple, I think that was because of the render and engine used for Dawn of the Dragon and not exactly intentional.

[@coldbane428]

Cynder was a character I could really relate to in my life. I love her as a character and would love to see her come back in games or shows. We love u Cynder!

[@ravenlover7924]

Oh my moons, it’s surreal hearing StormArkaian, a friend I knew for years, to appear in a video.

[@soulcyclone360]

Cynder is one of those characters that really feels like, despite her various appearances in both form and relation to the story, she's never been done wrong or in a way thats bad. Skylanders Academy leaning on Classic Spyros more prideful and cocky nature had felt over baring at times and would probably feel even more so to those who see Legend as the their ideal version of Spyro, but even though Cynder went through an equally big jump in how she was portrayed she's still (at least to me) one of the best characters in that show and one of the best portrayals of the character.

[@arcviper27]

They really changed her personality for each game, especially Skylanders. They kinda gave her a sassy villain vibe, one of her voice lines is legit "I'm evil, so what?" lol. Anyways, I really hope they bring her back in a future game cuz she's awesome and badass deserves more love

[@cherrytonshawty9120]

Cree Summer was definitely best as adult Cynder. Mae Whitman could have worked for teen Cynder, probably.

[@MiharuTheFox]

I agree, it would have been fine to keep Mae Whitman for DOTD.