ROR: Spyro the Dragon (PS1 Vs. PC and PS4 Pro) | Better Than Banjo?

[@ExoParadigmGamer]

I'm going to try to preempt what I expect to be a few common comments (but odds are many people won't read this and just comment these things anyway). I've decided it's not worth it to spend several days rerendering, reuploading, and rewatching this entire hour long 4K video for rendering bugs just for these things. I've been producing this video behind the scenes for almost a year and at some point I've gotta cut myself off and "ship it." I've got two more Spyro videos to release, after all. 0:18:17 - I was just flat out wrong with this. As I was watching my final render of this video, I noticed that the Desparado Gnorcs clearly have a metal matador cape in the original game. But that said, the fact that I always just thought they were shields this whole time suggests that this idea wasn't communicated that well in the original models. Meanwhile, I noticed it in the remake almost immediately. 0:30:49 - I've since learned that we DO have proof that the "original music" in the Reignited Trilogy was more than likely ripped straight from the PS1 discs. The final retail release of Spyro 1 only includes mono versions of certain tracks, namely Stone Hill, Dark Hollow Artisans, Peace Keepers, Magic Crafters, and Terrace Village. (It goes to show how meh I feel about Spyro 1's soundtrack that I never noticed they weren't stereo just by listening to them). However, many of these tracks WERE available in stereo in demo releases of Spyro 1 released through PlayStation underground, and certainly Copeland's studio masters would be in stereo as well. Moreover, certain tracks sound different in the PAL version, though only the NTSC tracks were included in the PAL Reignited Trilogy. All of these things would suggest that the "original" music in the Reignited Trilogy are NOT in fact converted from Copeland's studio masters. Personally, I don't really care that much since game music is always lossy compressed no matter what, but you could certainly add the lack of stereo tracks as a reason why I don't consider this game a "Replace."

[@animatorbroman3710]

0/10 Needs more dithering. Also Good review!

[@command3rlucas294]

EXO you’re the best KZbinr on this entire platform.

[@markdpane]

You're gonna do Spyro, I won't bug you with changing your plans on that, but I do wanna know what comes after you've done all three. Are you gonna get back to doing the Pokemon RoR anytime soon?

[@gameboydadtm37]

ExoParadigmGamer everyone makes mistakes either way the remake or rebreak series has been has been very entertaining.

[@PokeMaster22222]

"why I don't consider this game a "Replace."" Hey, spoiler! Don't spoil the ending halfway through! Or before one can watch the video!

[@Tezdude9]

I always thought the reason why Spyro was never crystalized was because he was small and Gnasty just didn't notice him.

[@EuroMIX2]

If Spyro 1 had more story direction, I would have loved a comment from Gnasty like "THAT little dragon? What can he possibly do?" to emphasise that Gnasty didn't even see Spyro as a threat to his plan.

[@pagle958]

Actually canonically Gnasty cannot encase Spyro as he's too small. Otherwise Gnasty would've crystaled Spyro as soon as he shows up, much like he did to the other dragons that went to face Gnasty and you re-release.

[@AvariceOverlord]

@@pagle958 "Heyy, didn't I already free you?"

[@alphawhite65]

@@pagle958 I swear I read that the reason he wasn't crystallized was because he was out playing hooky

[@nowheregiirl8115]

@@EuroMIX2 that’s my main complaint about Reignited Trilogy, such a missed opportunity

[@Ospyro3em]

Interesting- in the UK manual it doesn't say that Spyro was playing hooky- instead, it says that Spyro was so small that the spell just shot straight over his head. Personally, Spyro 1's music is my favourite of the trilogy. I agree regarding your point on the gems- I also wondered why the remake didn't just adapt the look of the gems from 2 & 3. It's a small detail, but interesting.

[@ZipplyZane]

Huh. That's what I remember, too, yet I am in the US. Maybe I found the UK manual online at some point, or they changed it at some point in the US to match the animation.

[@Eclipsmon8421]

I agree that Spyro 1 is my favorite music in the trilogy because while the soundtrack doesn't have a "Gulp's Overlook" or "Spooky Swamp" but this game is the most consistent in my opinion. That being said, I was never a big fan Stewart Copeland. I respect him a lot, but there are many composers that I would prefer over him.

[@Saber_Nico]

Gems look different because they are based in different worlds. Dragon Kingdom (S1), Avalar (S2), and Forgotten Worlds (S3)

[@Ospyro3em]

@@Saber_Nico but the gems in Spyro 3 look exactly the same as Spyro 2. The developers obviously refined the look of them in the second game and kept this design fir for the 3rd as well. Therefore, it would have been no problem to use the new style for all 3 Reignited games, but they chose not to.

[@Saber_Nico]

@@Ospyro3em the fact that the Avalar citizens can go to and from the Forgotten Worlds before they discovered Spyro would suggest that the gems they use are the same

[@snackcakesgaming]

People like Crash because he's a funni little fella

[@ultrairrelevantnobody1862]

Appealing design and a goofy personality.

[@sonicroachdoggjrraven3263]

What is this? ONEYPLAYS!??

[@Treetops27]

Spyro 1's soundtrack is considered memorable because of how rhythmic it is. From Dark Hollow's early 80s-style "walking" beat to Dry Canyon's groovy organ to Misty Bog's reggae percussion. You could play 5 seconds of a track, and it would be instantly identifiable to many Spyro fans.

[@kpoprules1103]

Dark hollow sounds like an 80’s song? That’s interesting lol

[@kazimierzliz8280]

This is one of the only channels I’ve ever followed where the creator started casting with his real face and then changed over to an avatar lol Love the work

[@Sjono]

39:37 “It always felt like the designers did the BARE minimum” He emphasizes while Banjo is onscreen

[@ImTakingYouToFlavorTown]

BEAR minimum*

[@yoshimallow]

ba dum tss

[@electro740]

I know the dialogue and story may seem dated but I definitely prefer having the original over having a ratchet and clank soulless reboot situation

[@MortalDeathGaming]

yeah I agree, I think changing it would be weird, I don't think the story is very good, but i thought comparing it to Crash 3 and Banjo was a bit unfair because I'm sure that Naughty Dog and Rare had a much bigger budget for their games compared to Insomniac did for Spyro did in 1998. I think they did a pretty good job considering it was their first big game.

[@Duskool]

@@MortalDeathGaming Honestly, they didn't even need to add a more complex story, but just changing some of the "thank you for releasing me" dragons, to explaining Gnasty's backstory with them, or say quips about their respective areas would've done the remake so much good in terms of story telling, many missed opportunities

[@MortalDeathGaming]

@@Duskool isnt this video about the original games not the remake? I can't remember

[@hereinsertname]

The master of minute detail has returned!

[@TheBlueTyphoon17]

Uhhh....dithering!

[@ZenoDLC]

@@TheBlueTyphoon17Screen Squash?

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

Greenalink's one too.

[@MattTOB618]

As opposed to the master of second detail, who never left ;P

[@NintendanGX]

The appeal of rumble is tactile feedback from the game. Whenever I play an older console game that doesn't support rumble (like a Dreamcast or base-N64 game without Rumble Pak), the feedback just feels hollow to me by comparison, like I'm controlling a ghost whacking other ghosts in an obviously virtual world instead of manipulating what feels like a real character to hit a seemingly real thing in a seemingly tangible world. It's become an industry standard, to the point where I'm honestly baffled why anyone would find the need to turn it off. If it were rumbling all throughout a level for no reason, then maybe. But most developers aren't as thoughtless as that.

[@thorscape3879]

I have always found rumble to be more intrusive to immersion because the amount of games that use rumble effectively are so few I find it better to stay off. Also it saves a lot on battery life.

[@brokenscart7989]

I played for ages on my PS4 without even realising that it was turned off! I turned it back on but it made me question how much it really added

[@Zimran03]

Mario Odyssey and Splatoon 2 use the Switch’s HD rumble amazingly.

[@Chronoflation]

Sometimes I notice it a lot when it's on and sometimes I go for hours before I even realize I was missing it. I was mostly a handheld gamer growing up, with multiple older siblings with after school activities, I tended to get dragged along everywhere, so rumble wasn't a huge part of my gamer life before college. I don't think I'd ever turn it off, and I actually prefer strong rumble for that feedback, but when games minimally use it or don't use it well, I tend to just not even care. Like I loved the HD rumble in the Joy-cons before Nintendo sent out an update that nerfed it down a notch. I personally think all console games should give a rumble intensity option, or the system itself should offer it. I also remember feeling the pathetic Wii U Gamepad rumble for the first time and since then have grown to love it even more when it's well implemented and strong enough to really feel it

[@Medachod]

Only Nintendo really makes good use of rumble.

[@jamesesterline]

Do RoR for SpongeBob: Battle for Bikini Bottom when Rehydrated comes out.

[@frannielmartinez]

@DeltaGem Nightmare in Dream Land it's an official Nintendo Game...

[@Bozzyshy]

This. so excited for that remake

[@J05Youtube]

@@Bozzyshy Well, did it meet your expectations?

[@Bozzyshy]

@@J05KZbin yep it's wonderful :D

[@novathehedgehog90]

Rebreak

[@HaveltheThot]

Spyro 1 is by far my favorite in the series. It's so tight and doesn't have additional mechanics shoehorned in.

[@ironinquisitor3656]

This game is so impressive. One of the best looking PS1 games hands down.

[@SonicTheCutehog]

Not the Japanese Version, obviously.

[@bicarbonateofsoda117]

What?

[@brendenedgeworth9311]

You mean the one that decided to go with a fixed camera angle for some reason?

[@SonicTheCutehog]

@@brendenedgeworth9311Yes

[@playbossthebest936]

@@brendenedgeworth9311 and the charge is extremely slow and pointless

[@Saxdude26]

There was a Japanese Spyro 2, but not Spyro 3. Might be a talk for later.

[@BugsyFoga]

It's been 84 years , but it's still great to see a new RoR.

[@pyrolusite_d]

Fuckin asshat Be grateful that u get one

[@BugsyFoga]

@@pyrolusite_d Dude , it was just a joke , calm down.

[@pyrolusite_d]

Nathaniel Foga i know it just rubbed me the wrong way.. sorry

[@justinc.5591]

I remember that in his Sonic Adventure 2 review years ago, he said that he separated the review from the remake comparison because he didn’t want to make a video over an hour. Oh boy has he changed.

[@pyrolusite_d]

Justin Champion cmon he always made hour-long videos and he probably had a different point to make in those videos than just Remake or Rebrake. This is what im talking about Nathaniel Foga, after a while everybody seems always disappointed with everything and it leads to such people giving up and quitting. I dont want another stimpyland to happen. I dont want another haedox to happen. Idunno...

[@hankhill1964]

Glad to have a new RoR episode. For a while I was worried you had abandoned the series.

[@averytubestudios]

Maybe he'll FINALLY do the Pokemon RoR.

[@ym2612girl]

Probably another Megaman ROR. Maybe NES vs. PSP

[@averytubestudios]

WOW. This took a while! But I'm glad it is here. Time to reduce productivity.

[@romeostars]

This was an amazing video! Your time in design classes has benefitted your content immensely. Never have I seen a more in-depth yet digestible video on Spyro 1. This video was also really informative of some interesting theories for designing games, that as an aspiring game director, I will definitely take note of. You knocked it out of the park, EPG! This video escalated how well made your previous work was. Great job!

[@KeybladeBrett]

I prefer the remake of Spyro 1, but not by much, they’re both equally great, but the smoother controls in the remake put it over the edge for me! 😁

[@kieranstark7213]

The reason why people might say that early 21st Century has “smoother controls” than late 20th Century games is because video games always evolve their technology over the generations.

[@slugmilk4063]

@@kieranstark7213 nobody asked

[@stevethepocket]

The biggest complaint I have about the remake is that some of the line reads were just straight-up wrong. Like when the dragon says "And this used to be a nice swamp..." and Spyro says "I'm sure it was" originally there was some obvious sarcasm there, but now it's totally sincere. Or when he says "I was... born to glide!" originally he was clearly nervous and doing a bad job of sounding confident; now he's 100% confident and the pause has been turned into a pause-for-dramatic-effect. Like, if you're going to remake a game, you have to make sure the voice director has access to the original clips and can correct the new actor if he's misinterpreting the script.

[@ultrairrelevantnobody1862]

I've noticed that. I've yet to play Reignited, but it looks like Spyro is a little more difficult to relate to.

[@greenscreencarcrash]

I don't know if you take suggestions, but it would be cool to see a RoR on the Master Chief Collection

[@noahbearden9849]

As someone who recently got into that series I 100% agree

[@supersodayoda1471]

He does plan on doing that eventually.

[@funnyjesterman]

He's working on it. Just like Spyro, he's had to wait for the games to come to PC to make a proper, full review

[@greenscreencarcrash]

oh cool, i didn't know that

[@j19aiden91]

The idea is definitely on the table. I'm sure it'll happen in due time

[@9-VoltGaming]

9:05 I have to disagree, while Sonic is "Cool" Crash Bandicoot is "Insane" and "lunatic", he is like a Looney Tune character from the early shorts

[@kieranstark7213]

Come to think of it, Crash Bandicoot is the Looney Tunes version of Sonic and MegaMan (in fact, that's why at least one of them should at some point have a crossover with Pac-Man World).

[@hotuorbit]

Rumble is simply another option for developers to give players another feedback response. It depends on the game, but rumble can be used for many things such as hit confirmation, timing, and simulating different terrain feelings. It's way more than just simulating earthquakes. I'm surprised to hear that you always turn the rumble off. I can't play any game that uses rumble without the rumble. It feels like something is missing when I turn it off.

[@dapperfan44]

100% agree. I got my PS Classic to play with my DualShock 4 controller and official PS4 bluetooth adapter. But it won't rumble. It's cool for older games without it, but I will connect it directly to get rumble out of the games that have it.

[@kylecampbell565]

32:40 the extra feedback I feel is nice and adds some small impression in some games. Plus its fun to watch the controller goes nuts if you put it down during cutscenes of some games

[@Infindox]

Id argue that the flight stages are probably my least favorite part of Spyro 1 because of how different they are from the other stages. Everytime I replay this game I dread doing them.

[@lukedrotos8718]

For a first time player, some of them ended up taking forever to 100%

[@ThibautMahringer]

I love them so much, especially in Spyro 1 cause the game lacks a bit of variety gameplay wise.

[@ZenoDLC]

You'd argue about your own opinion?

[@BaleetedUser]

The flight stages are much more challenging this time around because the physics are much different, with all the drift and weight that Spyro now has. If you learn how to accommodate for the change though I can assure you that they can actually be pretty fun and satisfying to complete! Maybe that's just me tho lol, I can't even count how many times I've played Reignited at this point xD

[@Eclipsmon8421]

I agree that the flight stages are the low points of Spyro 1, (besides maybe the bosses), but I completely disagree with the reasons. I dislike the flight stages for how much try and error you need. However, being different is not the reason I dislike those stages. In fact, Spyro 3's playable characters are fun precisely because they are a good break from the main gameplay, and this is one of the reasons why Spyro 3 is the best game in the trilogy in my opinion.

[@lnsflare1]

I don't think that I've ever heard anyone accuse A Hat in Time's bosses of being mediocre before.

[@TheJ13579]

The ones in Mafia Town, mainly the first one, I understand. The others, not so much.

[@BigSmoke-xh5hi]

Overrated game

[@BaleetedUser]

33:50 actually, they added a cliff grab-esque thing that Spyro does now if he's close enough to a cliff. It actually makes those very precise jumps much easier and eliminates any need for hovering tbh. Plus the Reignited hovering feels ridiculously buffed anyway. I've been able to pull off loads of glides in reignited that I never could in the original

[@iammaxhailme]

IMO, there are two kinds of backtracking in 3d collectathons bad backtracking, like the one instance in banjo kazooie. You don't really go anywhere new, you just have to go back somewhere you've been and do something really quickly and then leave again good backtracking, like much of that in banjo tooie: it's not just "go back to area X", it's more like "unlock an entirely new part of world X". It's expansive. Like getting new floors in grunty industries etc. There is bad backtracking in BT too, like running back to a previous level with the claw clamber boots just to grab a jinjo.

[@michaelaeschbacher4648]

First one reminds me of why the green stars in Mario Galaxy 2 are so terrible

[@ddd7038]

But doesn't Tooie fall under in the "Bad" category as well?

[@michaelaeschbacher4648]

@@ddd7038 I think he mentioned that there were some bad instances in Tooie, but he seems to be saying that in a lot of instances the backtracking leads to new areas. So it's really only backtracking up to a point, after which you're making new ground. Whereas the first case is just backtracking and then you're done.

[@KitCloud1]

This is a solid observation, there is an important distinction and both sides need to recognize that. Another thought I feel doesn't get brought up enough in these discussions is the lack of engaging traversal mechanics. BK doesn't have anything as satisfying to pull off as marios triple jump/dive combo or spyros flight/charge which help break up much of the monotony of long stretches of empty space and make backtracking less of an annoyance.

[@flammable7961]

@@michaelaeschbacher4648 Wait disliking green stars is a thing? I loved collecting them...

[@trolleymouse]

The druids of Magic Crafters actually were always those weird dwarfy guys. You just interpreted their noses as beaks.

[@Humbird00]

This one was impressively in-depth, even for you. And I think I agree with your conclusion. But in general, I sometimes think the idea of judging new versions of games based on a linear sliding scale like "remake" and "replace" might not always work. For example I've been playing the 3D remake of Trials of Mana and even if that version was a perfect game, I would not consider it a replacement for the 2D version because it's different enough that I might choose to play either version depending on preference or mood. They're both very good, but are also different enough to stand side by side as equal options. Sometimes a remake is an alternative version instead of a "better" or "worse" version.

[@Funami2006]

I find your experience with the load times interesting. From my experience with the Reignited version, the death load screens were so short that it often finished before Spyro finished flying by. I never bothered to time the stage transition loading but it didn’t seem that bad to me. Mind you, I was playing on a standard PS4. NOT a PS4 Pro. Anyone else experience anything similar?

[@rac1equalsbestgame853]

The loading screens are not that long and even if they were, it's not something that would ruin the game.

[@mjc0961]

40:11 - This is the only time in the entirety of Spyro 1 that I ever found a use for the side roll move. Flame doggo once, roll out of the way of his jump, quickly turn and flame doggo again. Sadly, it didn't seem to be effective in the remake.

[@Boggey3000]

The move were also effective in the Metalhead boss-fight. Just stand behind the pillars, wait for the boss to throw enemies at you and just roll away before it hits you.

[@seroujghazarian6343]

1:26-1:29 For being a playstation mascot, Spyro sure has MORE Nintendo-exclusive games than Playstation exclusive games, even without Orange

[@Unformed8]

32:22 I've always appreciated a well used rumble, racing hit a wall, rumble gives you a tiny feel to it, as if the controller was part of the game Your dude gets shot, rumble gives you a tiny feel for it Go do something for a loading screen and next map has a earthquake or something and your controller is sliding on the table going for a suicide, it's not perfect and I can understand why it's not everyones cup of tea but I very much appreciate it

[@trashprime6171]

The desperados in the original use metal capes too. @ around 18:15 or so

[@Happymealthief]

Dude your spyro remake or rebreak series is so good definitely one of my favourite series of videos on KZbin! I’ve probably watched this series over 14 times. I also think it would be cool if on your exoplays channel you played the reignited spyro games. I watched all of the videos on your original playthroughs on the game and I would love to see the reignited versions getting a play through but of course it’s your descision. Thank you!

[@jacklazzaro9820]

I keep the motion blur on. It only hurts my eyes if I focus on looking at the blur. So, I don't focus on that, and instead focus on the game itself. Maybe everyone who focuses on blur, framerate, etc. should try that.

[@Tronk_]

I have no connection to Spyro, but this review certainly kept me entertained, and it never ceases to amaze me how much Exo manages to learn between each video he makes. I’ll slowly learn some of the terminology he uses, but I am thankful to have hour long videos like this during the pandemic. Thanks for all that you do Exo!

[@jonahabenhaim1223]

You aren’t even interested in the series? what’s wrong with you?

[@Tronk_]

Jonah Abenhaim Not necessarily, like I said, no real connection... I don’t think there has to be something wrong with somebody because they aren’t interested in the same series as someone else...

[@slugmilk4063]

@@jonahabenhaim1223 you got upset over a positive youtube comment? what's wrong with you?

[@flammable7961]

@@jonahabenhaim1223 Was this sarcastic? cause it didn’t really sound like it

[@SacredNFG]

I picked this up when they finally included all the games on disc with the later runs of the game. They didn't change the box art I don't think, but I think it has a different trademark year on the disc itself. I felt it was worth the wait.

[@declinsuridge684]

A funny thing happened when I played this game, I had got to the final part of the game and then realised that I hadn’t beat toasty. Also, I personally prefer the first game over the other two, I 120% completed the original. Not a big fan of the mini games and alternate characters in the later games.

[@supervak5584]

MAN that was long winded, but I knew what I was getting into with EPG. Good to know that I’m not the only one that prefers Spyro over Banjo.

[@benvsgames1294]

legitimately one of the most underrated channels on youtube. you 100% deserve more subs

[@TheTC]

I love rumble, it's always funny when you put down a controller for a cutscene and it wiggles on the table.XD

[@devastatheseeker9967]

Remake ain't bad but the physical version is an insult. Imagine having shit internet or no internet because you're a poor boi and only have a good console or pc because you save up then get the game you loved as a kid only to find out that it's one game

[@Thomas-te2lg]

Apparently the game got a reprint in 2019 that has all three games on one disc. You'll know if you have it by seeing "2019" printed on the disc.

[@devastatheseeker9967]

@@Thomas-te2lg pretty sure it doesnt

[@Thomas-te2lg]

@@devastatheseeker9967 Well that's what I heard back in 2019. Canadian Guy Eh covered it.

[@2010ngojo]

Have a gaming pc but no internet? What is this, 1999? Yes, it's stupid to have only one game on the disc, expecially if you can fit the games on it.

[@devastatheseeker9967]

@@2010ngojo which you 100% can

[@jamesesterline]

Xross-Platform: Rayman 2 (every version)

[@terryroraus]

"But Exo, if you love these games so much, why haven't you reviewed them already?" "it just made sense to wait for the inevitable Spyro remake, so I could cover them on Remake or Rebreak, and people would actually watch them." So, you finally understand what everyone, sans your hardcore viewerbase is here for! Excellent, you're learning to pander!

[@joshukaunarak]

I love this awkward, shy, happy, and innocent laugh on "The best looking game I've ever played in my life"!

[@marlonhaigh1401]

Great video Exo, your hard work doesn't get enough credit in my eyes.

[@sheppardpat47]

PC version suffers little animation problems when you go over 120fps unfortunately, but I love to play it at 144fps, it's just sublime!

[@lakentrkfudge]

FINALLY THANK YOU I BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MY GOD I WOULD KISS YOU but were in a time of corona so keep your distance now.

[@Spikey-Valentine]

Your first upload of 2020

[@abcdestroyer]

You sound so much more positive and happier, man. I'm glad you're doing better. I'm really happy that you've been making life changes for your health, and it's really showing.

[@ThePerro]

25:55 I was stuck on that level for 30 minutes because I did not know what to do. It's really bad on the developer's part that they didn't test that part at 60fps!

[@GZU]

Great video watching whilst fasting

[@generalkenobi8131]

Welcome back dude

[@AlastorAltruistGaming]

As far as the music fading to silence issue goes, this is ALSO the case with Rayman 1, fading to silence after a second before going on a loop. And the same is said of the ambience in the game’s levels. Worse is Rayman Redemption didn’t fix the looping soundtrack problem or bother to make extensions of the songs to make them last longer. Something Stewart Copeland did NOT do, but I can forgive him because the songs for the levels last long already. And I think he fixed that music-loop problem when Spyro 2 & 3 were released, though memory may not serve me right in that regard.

[@TequilaMockingBird91]

Remake or Rebreak: Tomb Raider vs Tomb Raider Anniversary

[@RyderPlatinumWarpstar]

Dang, I never knew about the stair glitch for Spyro on PC, I always thought it was a puzzle I wasn't solving correctly. Pretty dumb how they never patched that out. But thanks for notifying people of it, I would've never thought to actually change the framerate setting.

[@LordArikado]

I'm honestly not surprised it wasn't patched out. Activision has a long history of not bothering to patch their PC games unless it has Call of Duty in the title. The War for Cybertron games both have major bugs that were never fixed before the games were delisted from all digital stores, and the PC version of Skylanders was so notoriously bad that rather than fixing it like a good publisher would, they just never released any future games in the series on PC.

[@Saxdude26]

Okay, first port of call: the audio mixing was FANTASTIC. The transitions from original to dynamic... *chef kisses* so good! You might not be able to tell dynamic from original for all tracks... but I can, and I love how fluidly it complements Remake or Rebreak. Secondly, I can tell the level of time that went into this video was HEFTY to say the least. You didn't want to skip a single beat, and you delivered! Third, objectivity and non-biased enjoyment are exactly why this series thrives. And the review portion is never sacrificed in the process. Four, the comparative artistic direction analysis was really enjoyable. Sky boxes, atmosphere, the Twilight Harbour guns... nice breakdown. Five, hearing you talk about your gaming rig comparing versions was really swell. And backtracking to point one, hearing the transition of Ice Cavern WHILE I'm working on a dynamic mashup of that track was incredibly satisfying. Second favourite track in the game, no, the franchise. Speaking of music... SIX! Lofty Castle. Nice choice, and I liked the attention you gave to Gnorc Cove and Cliff Town, my other two favourites. The dynamic tracks I've grown fond of, especially taking the stage long enough for the music to play with less instruments (some stages featuring 2 alternate versions of the same track). Granted I grew up playing the original enough that when tracks looped five times they change tracks, so this comes moreso from not owning the rest of the trilogy before Reignited and the OST became speak-singing muscle memory to me. Makes sense that High Caves (a.k.a. Tree Tops alternate) is forgettable with that in mind. Seven, bosses and levels. I can completely agree. Metalhead is by far the best boss of the first game, and a personal favourite musically of mine as well. But non-linearity of levels like Tree Tops are reflected in BS-crazy mini-maps and fantastic sense of individuality per world and level. Eight, "favourite or least favourite" in the trilogy... hard to say. I've seen Spyro 3's variety and energy complemented highly, but that Reignited changes too much to make it superior. And while I as an objective gamer who never owned the original Spyro 3 appreciate the attention to consistency, Spyro 1 has never looked, felt or SOUNDED so good and I raced the original in a week for my collab channel about 6 years ago. Nine, load times are made entertainingly fun trying to get Spyro's front feet to look like he's grabbing the gem icon. Granted, the additions make the game better for the novice collector and achievement enthusiast. In short, I agree: REMAKE. My sister can't hand the motion blur (disabled or inherent in the aforementioned stages like Gnasty's Loot), so as much as she loves Reignited she CAN'T play it. While I can play either based on mood, Reignited is perfect for me, but the original is perfect for her. It comes so close for me, but it's not universal and I agree with your review. Fantastic work EPG.

[@DaveMan1K]

You forgot to mention that Spyro 1 R does have a pseudo hover move; Spyro will automatically pull himself up the platform if he just BARELY makes it over a long glide, while in the original he would just simply fall down.

[@alexsnow6936]

It must have been mentioned, but cliff town's steel matador capes was in the original. Its clear even in the video as you hit them and the steel is behind them as well. The graphics were just worse, but I never thought they were anything but capes.

[@AuntySocialQueen]

Speaking of the PC version and the framerate issue. It also affects how Spyro turns in flight stages and skateboard stages, most frustrating time of my life and sadly soured my experience of the trilogy. I also really miss those epilogue slides you get in the original for getting skill points, which is better IMO than the concept are you unlock in the remake.

[@delaneyelekes8660]

While the Spyro trilogy is great, I'd best describe it as a "arcade-y" collectathon personally, since the music, areas, enemies and especially gameplay don't have too much variation throughout each game. That's not a bad thing, especially considering how bite sized the levels are and how well executed and well designed a lot of it is, making the games pretty enjoyable to mindlessly go through. Though, if they make another Spyro game to follow the Trilogy remake, I'd like to see the devs experiment some more. Maybe find ways to make a more interesting story? Give the new game a different theme from the others that aren't just "fantasy" to set it apart? Make some more standout, less ambient feeling music. Maybe find some new interesting gameplay mechanics to throw around. All while preserving the simple but enjoyable game design of course that makes the original three games so enjoyable. It sounds risky, but so long as the core is in-tact, I think the series could benefit from it. The three trilogy games are similar enough as it is anyways, so we don't need another game *just* like them. On top of that, I'd love to see what they can come up with now that they have modern hardware at their disposal, especially considering they'd only have to focus on making one Spyro game rather than balancing three at once.

[@jaretco6423]

Granted, I argue the same about Mario 64 and other 3D platforming games in the late 90's that are dated in terms of being an open world/collecthon. But I do feel like Spyro does it better than all of them did.

[@SparkyMK3]

Upon revisiting the first Spyro game recently, I don't think the problem is the lack of variety in it's tightly designed gameplay loop as much as it's the general lack of tension and release in it's gameplay. The game was clearly designed for newcomers to 3D platforming, and it's focus on exploration means the challenge just comes from figuring out the basic controls and then finding everything in a "One and done" way. Without the extra layer of challenge to keep drawing players back in or encouraging them to revisit the challenges in a level from a different angle, of course it's going to feel monotonous after a while. Once you know what you're doing, Spyro is a very easy game for the most part. Even adding an optional Time Attack on each level would have added so much more "risk=reward" to the gameplay. I've always seen Spyro 1 as being a proto-3D Sonic game, because the game is clearly built around speed and aggressive play, but the problem is that there's no real incentive or reward to finish the game as quickly or skillfully as possible because the majority of the platforming in it is so basic, especially when you compare it to a game like Mario 64 (which has a relaxed learning curve, but trades it off by having some legitimately challenging levels). In fact, if Spyro was specifically built around speedrunning in the same way Classic Sonic is, the admittedly very easy boss fights would have made sense since the point is to beat them as quickly as possible. (That's also part of why the Speedway levels are my favorite parts of the game)

[@ceeb420]

My biggest gripe with the remake is the charge move. It feels like it never got as fast as I'm used to and when I jump, I feel like Spyro drops like a sack of potatoes on the comedown. I played the old games so much, it's hard to get a grip on.

[@kieranstark7213]

The games of the original Spyro the Dragon trilogy are great, whether items the PS1 version or the Reignited Trilogy!

[@BSNintendo]

26:40 you can hear an I Phone notification in the background if you listen closely

[@shamaboy11]

Time to grab some snacks. Btw, Reignited trilogy was my introduction to this purple dragon and now it is also one of my favorite trilogy of games now. I have replayed & recompleted trilogy 5 times with reignited trilogy :)

[@justinc.5591]

Spyro 1 is such a fun game to 100% complete.

[@justinc.5591]

I first played the Spyro trilogy on PS4 and loved it. One of my favorite platforming series now. The first one is the best IMO.

[@pikablu_25]

Yaaaaay!! Welcome back!!

[@yrmm4232]

Seeing that in my inbox got me damn excited. And you definitely delivered, Micheal!

[@MattKimura]

You, Avalanche Reviews, and ModernVintageGamer love to go on tangents about video quality, resolution, and FPS. It's like an obsession about perfecting it. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just noticing a trend among certain youtubers :p Me personally I could care less about that stuff, my eye can't tell the difference most of the time. EDIT: You mentioned it in the video so you're self aware about this haha

[@froakie1404]

I love how in-depth you go with these reviews. Always makes a new video worth the wait

[@gars129]

Crash and Spyro's character models on PS1 seemed much more suited to the generation than Banjo's on the N64, and thus they are among the models that have best aged other than Dreamcast games.

[@kholdkhaos64ray11]

This was another really great video Exo. Keep up the great work. To answer your curiosity about Crash's appeal. To me. Crash's appeal outside of marketing comes from the fact that he's kind of a Looney Tune (as by his inspiration of Taz the Tasmanian Devil and etc.) in contrast to Sonic's and Spyro's attitude. He's very expressive particularly when getting hurt in comical ways and getting into wacky situations. He may be mostly silent, but his kinda dopey and stupid but kind-hearted nature in his early games is enough to go off of and also pretty appealing for a cartoon mascot. The way every character plays off of his actions and emotions is pretty humorous. I hope that helped.

[@Schwarzorn]

Banjo-Tooie’s backtracking was purposefully designed in order to be an improvement. And it was. It was such an exciting time, exploring these interconnecting worlds. As you journeied, you became “stronger” and more capable to explore worlds previously visited. And luckily you didn’t have to backtrack. Cuz they were connected. Did you REALLY prefer it to be a boring checklist game like the original? Even as a young child, I recognized my own need of a challenge, and the lack of one that BK gave me. I’ve never not 100%ed it. BT, tho, I never did 100%. And that’s fine. It was a fun game. Maybe you’re just too obsessed with perfection to play a game thats too challenging for you to 100%...?

[@jaretco6423]

While I don't mind backtracking, the problem with Banjo-Tooie's is that because of how big & spacies the worlds are and what destination, area u can do those stuff in or exactly where u have to go, traveling from an distance between where u at and going to that pinpoint can be such an slog. Even with Warp Points, u still have to travel pretty far to reach it. Because there's so many of them, the game can't catch an break and has these weird design choices like " why couldn't we done this before? " or " why do we have to do this? " or " Why do I need an specific thing to do this? " and more. The game is overbloated with stuff that they felt like an chore rather than being simple & fun and the game's length can go on for way too long. Trying to navigate is an pain because the worlds are huge & too much space going on. Just because the game is big, doesn't always mean it's gonna be better. The game would've been tolerable if it had an map. That's the one thing that could've made the game more tolerable if it had an map.

[@CyberWolf3858]

I dont really watch video game reviews or anything of the like anymore, but your content always keeps my coming back even when it's games i've never played before. Can't wait to see what's next

[@spyrothetimelord]

I had wondered why I still felt the game was blurry in some levels and made me sick even with motion blur off

[@spyrothetimelord]

also, while i love all soundtracks, spyro 1 is my fave and i constantly return to it

[@maddie-line]

I played on the original PS4 and I never had any issues with the framerate or graphics.

[@kylecampbell565]

4:40 reboots huh... why do I suddenly feel like there should be a Devil May Cry vs DMC video

[@j19aiden91]

I'm one of those players who likes this game above the others. The 1st Spyro game provides a worthwhile experience without dragging on, whereas the other two can only minimize backtracking with prior knowledge. I like the trilogy, but I think this game is the best one to fully complete.

[@DiamondMinerStudios]

39:36 goddammit exo also welcome back

[@Kani8122]

A wild 1-hour-long Exo appears

[@SpecterVonBaren]

(8 minutes in) Are we really analyzing the story of the original Spyro? Why are we doing this? This was still the age where story in games was still low on the list of concerns...

[@MichaelButlerC]

YESSS!!! missed this in my youtube feeds, looking forward to watching the in-depth comparison. Also: 79.5k subs and 77k views (as of this comment) -- that's a really good sign of good content

[@starrystreams3642]

Released 4 days ago...and saying CTR is coming out...shows how long these take

[@TheA_Gamer554]

genuinely missed these videos and i'm excited for you yo review the rest

[@witcherstudios9351]

Will we get an ROR: Battle for Bikini Bottom?

[@Eclipsmon8421]

Great review overall! Another masterpiece from one of my favorite youtubers!

[@allthingsgaming6]

I find it funny that you were gone so long that a global pandemic broke out before your next video released.

[@WednesdayMan]

"weird purple goo guns that look straight out of ratchet and clank." they look like something that came out of Splatoon.

[@HeloisGevit]

Oddly enough I did not experience the Alpine Ridge glitch when first playing Reignited on PC with Gsync and an uncapped framerate that was consistently over 120fps. But when I replayed the game later on a laptop without Gsync but with Vsync locked to 60fps, I got the glitch. I don't know enough to draw conclusions about why that is but just wanted to let people know this glitch doesn't always happen over 30fps.

[@tech6hutch]

Where I had problems was Treetops. High framerates can also mess with supercharging, so I _struggled_ with 100%ing that level, before I learned it was the framerate making the jumps seemingly impossible. I legit spent like 50 lives before getting it first try after locking it to 30 fps 😂

[@HeloisGevit]

@@tech6hutch I had no issues 100%ing Treetops at either 120+ or 60 locked but I have heard others had issues here too. It's all very strange!

[@LokiScarletWasHere]

"There's something funky going on with these flight load screens" Yeah, it's called a hard coded timer.

[@Kafaldsbylur]

Yeah. The PS4 and PC are so perfectly synched that what determines if the level finished loading has to be a timer of some sort. Especially since loading the level without going through the portal apparently loads pretty fast

[@_Tzer]

rumble was used for..... purposes

[@xboxed7202]

The Reignited Trilogy was actually announced before E3 in 2018. Just pointing that out.

[@ryuudrako86]

Except....Ripto does impact the plot....What. He is the reason that everything is the way it is. ANd only dragons could stop him, which is why he takes over. What is this notion that Gnasty impacts the plot more?

[@DarkLink1996.]

The only actual influence I see from Ripto are the flags changing. The enemies aren't explicitly working for him, nor does he directly cause the problems in the individual levels. Contrast with Gnasty and the Sorceress, where almost every enemy and problem is directly caused by them.

[@ryuudrako86]

@@DarkLink1996. He is the cause of the chaos going on, and the one who shuts off the portals between the worlds. He may not have explicit minions like the rhynocs or the gnorcs, but he still impacts things.

[@DarkLink1996.]

@@ryuudrako86 The portals shutting down, sure. But the actual problems in the worlds you visit don't have anything to do with Ripto. Instead, they're conflicts that have been running since before he even showed up. For instance: "We always had a problem with the Gear Grinders..." Mystic Marsh only had a Water Wizard the _fell asleep!_ Breeze Harbor vs Zephyr, which is noted to have gone on for some time. Wait. How were Zephyr and Breeze Harbor in war if the Zephyr portal was shut down?

[@ryuudrako86]

@@DarkLink1996. Some worlds are shared, the portals just take you to different parts of those worlds. After the first hubworld, each world has a partner world that is a shared realm. But, at the same time, some of the bad things happening in later worlds are as a result of the portals shutting down. The denizens used to be able to move freely between each world...Same as in spyro 3, iirc.

[@DarkLink1996.]

@@ryuudrako86 Well, I assume that they're the all same _world_ Just with distances so vast that Portals are the best method of transportation. Hard to say for sure

[@joeyparkhill8751]

Michael will the "Surprise Muthafucka!" soundbyte from DEXTER That you use occasionally be in the next couple Videos? That soundbyte makes me laugh every time I hear it! It never gets old!

[@batsam247]

When you get through with the Spyro RORs, you’re gonna do some for the Crash trilogy, right?

[@Tacom4ster]

You may like this review kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXe0cqiZhK11ldE

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

I think he doesn't care for Crash as much as he does for Spyro.

[@Canal10000]

The games from Spyro the Reignited Trilogy on PC are the only games I have ever fully completed with all skills and achievements unlocked and all gems found. That says something

[@ryanstiles3364]

Gonna have to disagree with Exo on A Hat in Time’s bosses.

[@Eclipsmon8421]

Well, maybe what he means is that while the bosses are good in a Hat in Time, they are not as good as the rest of the game. Therefore it would be more a compliment to the platforming of a Hat in Time rather than an insult to the bosses. That being said, I do think the bosses of a Hat in Time are actually really good, with the Snatcher being one of my favorite bosses of all time.

[@teneesh3376]

I still wished the standard for consoles was 60 fps and not 30 fps. Or at the very least, a graphics toggle on consoles so we can choose between worse visuals at 60 fps, or better visuals at 30 fps. Really wish developers understood that