Spyro the Dragon (character)

Spyro the Dragon
Spyro the Dragon, as he appeared in the 2002 video game Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly
Series	Spyro
First game	Spyro the Dragon (1998)
Designed by	Charles Zembillas
Voiced by (English)	Carlos Alazraqui (1998)[1] Tom Kenny (1999-2002) Jess Harnell (2004-2005) Elijah Wood (2006-2008)
Voiced by (Japanese)	Akiko Yajima (1999-2000)

Spyro the Dragon is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Spyro the Dragon, Legend of Spyro, and Skylanders video game series.

First introduced in the 1998 video game Spyro the Dragon, Spyro is a young, purple Dragon with red medium-sized wings, large, curved horns, a spiral-shaped spike on the tip of his tail, and spines resembling a mohawk. He is noticeably smaller than most other dragons portrayed in the series; a characteristic that aids him in the first game in the series. In the original series most dragons are depicted as bipedal, however Spyro is depicted as quadrupedal.

Development

Spyro was created by Charles Zembillas for the game Spyro the Dragon.^[1] During the development of the game, Spyro was originally going to be green, but the developers thought it was a bad idea because he would blend in with the grass areas, so they eventually changed him to purple.^[2] In an interview, Ted Price stated that they gave up the series after releasing Spyro: Year of the Dragon because Spyro's actions were limited, due to not being able to hold anything in his hands.^[3] With the failure of sales with Disruptor, Spyro was Insomniac Games' last resort before going bankrupt. Stewart Copeland was commissioned by Insomniac Games and Universal Interactive Studios (now Vivendi) in 1998 to make the musical scores for Spyro the Dragon.

Behavior

Throughout the original series, Spyro is portrayed as energetic and curious, with little regard for his own safety. He is also described as a courageous hero, despite his small size. Spyro is also known for his cocky attitude. But he can be stubborn at certain times.

The Legend of Spyro trilogy features an alternate incarnation of Spyro. In the trilogy, he is described as a compassionate young dragon, always willing to help his friends and strangers with whatever problems they may have.

In the Skylanders adaption, Spyro is described as a strong‐willed dragon who is young at heart. He is fearless and brave, and a true hero dedicated to defending his world from all things evil. Much like his Legend of Spyro incarnation, in Skylanders, Spyro came from a rare line of magical purple dragons.^[4]

Spyro's main attacks consist of ramming his opponents with his long horns or breathing fire at them. In later games, power-ups appear that let Spyro do much more powerful things like: fly, spit fire balls, and breathe ice. In every game past Spyro 2: Season of Flame, Spyro is able to breathe fire and ice, with power-up gates letting him breath super fire, ice and lightning. In Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly and Spyro: A Hero's Tail, he is able to breathe fire, water, ice, and lightning.

In the Legend of Spyro series, Spyro controls the elements of Fire, Electricity, Ice, and Earth.

Appearances

Original series

In Spyro the Dragon, Gnasty Gnorc attacks the dragon realms by using a magic spell that traps all the dragons in crystal, except for Spyro, who dodges the spell because of his small size. He then goes across the dragon realms saving the trapped dragons, who give hints and tips, until Spyro battles with Gnasty.^[5] In Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!, Spyro seeks a vacation away from the dragon realms due to the prolonged rainy weather. When he attempts to go through a portal that is supposed to lead to a vacation, he ends up in Avalar, where Ripto, an evil wizard, has proclaimed himself ruler over the land, and Spyro must defeat him. After liberating each of the three kingdoms of Avalar, he defeats Ripto, and finally has his vacation.^[6] In Spyro: Year of the Dragon, an anthropomorpic bunny named Bianca, and her army of Rhynocs, steal dragon eggs. Because Spyro is the only dragon small enough to enter the hole Bianca created, he is tasked with saving the eggs (with help from Hunter, who was also able to get through with the help of an elder dragon). Later, after Bianca finds out what the sorceress plans on doing with the dragon eggs, she becomes friends with Spyro. After going through all four of the Forgotten Realms, he finds the sorceress, and fights her, with the help of Bianca, saving all of the eggs.^[7]

In Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, Spyro rescues all the dragonflies, which were stolen by the evil Ripto. When Spyro saves the dragonflies on a particular level, he unlocks new abilities. And at the end, Spyro battles Ripto and then defeats him. Spyro: A Hero's Tail shows Spyro saving the Dragon realm from being plunged into darkness by an ancient dragon elder named Red using dark crystals, who has joined forces with Gnasty Gnorc.

The Legend of Spyro series

The Legend of Spyro trilogy serves as a reboot for the series.^[8] The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning states that Spyro was raised by a family of dragonflies in a swamp. After he discovers that he is a dragon, he travels to the dragon temple to find it under attack by Cynder, an evil dragon in the service of the Dark Master. After Spyro defeats Cynder in battle, the spell on her breaks, and she reverts to her normal self.

In The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night, the dragons are attacked by Gaul, the Ape King, who is now trying to release the Dark Master. Spyro travels to the Mountain of Malefor to try to stop Gaul from releasing the Dark Master, as well as to rescue Cynder, whom the Apes had kidnapped. After Gaul is defeated, Spyro traps himself, Sparx, and Cynder in a giant crystal to protect them as the mountain crumbles.

In The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, Spyro and Cynder are released from the crystal by Malefor's minions. They are attached by magic snakes and are attacked by a giant golem and must escape with the help of Hunter. They find out that Malefor, the Dark Master, has escaped and later released the Destroyer, a beast capable of destroying the world. They must travel to the Dragon city through the enchanted forest and then through Avalar (where they rescue Meadow). They then arrive at the Dragon city and must help protect the city and save the mole people. He and the four elder dragons slow down the beast, then Spyro and Cynder confront the Dark Master. During the battle, the three of them fall into the center of the earth, where Malefor is defeated. From there, Spyro repairs the damage the Destroyer caused to the planet, and he and Cynder are later seen flying together through the air.

Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure

In Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, a group of heroes, including Spyro, called the Skylanders, are banished from their world of Skylands by a sinister Portal Master known as Kaos, and are frozen in the real world as toys. It is up to the players of Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure to get the Skylanders back into their world by embarking on a journey to save Skylands from Kaos.

Other media

A number of spin-off titles were also made. In Spyro: Season of Ice and Spyro 2: Season of Flame, Spyro works to save the Fairy Realm and Dragon Realm, respectively, after they are covered in ice by Ripto and the Rynocs. Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs shows Ripto trying to invade the Dragon Realm; Spyro sets out to repel the invasion. Spyro: Shadow Legacy describes an invasion by a sorcerer who creates a dark version of the Dragon Realm, hoping to use this realm to conquer the Dragon Realm. Spyro sets out to free the sorcerer's captives and defeat the sorcerer. Skylanders: Spyro's Universe is an online version of the original Skylander video game.

Three games were made for mobile phones, pitting Spyro against previously established villains like Ripto. There is also a crossover game called Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy, in which Spyro teams up with Crash Bandicoot to defeat Ripto and Crash's nemesis, Doctor Neo Cortex.

Merchandise

Five toys based on Spyro—including a checkerboard and key chain—were packaged with kids' meals in a Wendy's promotion for The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night.^[9]

There were also toys released at McDonald's along with Crash Bandicoot toys in 2006.

In popular culture

• Spyro himself makes a brief appearance in Crash Twinsanity.
• Spyro also appeared in the advertisement for Ty the Tasmanian Tiger in a hospital bed along with Crash Bandicoot and Sonic.
• He appeared as a background character in the South Park special, Imagination Land with many other fictional characters.

Critical reception

Game Revolution criticized Spyro's voice in the first game, comparing it to the Taco Bell chihuahua (who was also played by Carlos Alazraqui).^[10] IGN praised Spyro's design, saying he is "cute but not sickeningly cute"^[11], and later said that he "is just a little bland, and not the kind of mascot that I would ever fall in love with", stating that "He's kind of like a blend between a big puppy and a donkey, painted purple."^[6] UGO.com listed Spyro on their list of "The Cutest Video Game Characters" stating "The purple little guy was cute, but not cute enough to win the Great Playstation Mascot War of 1998."^[12]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Spyro the Dragon for PlayStation - Technical Information, Game Information, Technical Support - Gamespot". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ps/action/spyrothedragon/tech_info.html. 
2. ^ John Fiorito, Craig Stitt (May 2, 2000). "Gamasutra - Features - Lessons in Color Theory for Spyro the Dragon". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3173/lessons_in_color_theory_for_spyro_.php. 
3. ^ Chris Buffa (September 30, 2008). "Resistance 2 on PlayStation 3 Features - GameDaily". GameDaily. http://www.gamedaily.com/games/resistance-2/playstation-3/game-features/resistance-2-interview-with-ted-price/. 
4. ^ Stephen Totilo (February 11, 2011). "This Is The Video Game Reinvention Of Toys, Or So The People Behind Call of Duty Hope - Kotaku". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/5758025/this-is-the-video-game-reinvention-of-toys-or-so-the-people-behind-call-of-duty-hope. 
5. ^ Harris, Craig (1999-01-01). "Spyro the Dragon". IGN. pp. 1. http://psx.ign.com/articles/153/153920p1.html. Retrieved 2008-06-08. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Doug Perry (November 18, 1999). "Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage - PlayStation Review at IGN". IGN. http://psx.ign.com/articles/161/161598p1.html. 
7. ^ IGN Staff (June 23, 2000). "Spyro: Year of the Dragon - PlayStation Preview at IGN". IGN. http://psx.ign.com/articles/134/134725p1.html. 
8. ^ Sliced Gaming article - Retrieved June 12
9. ^ Dobson, Jason (October 12, 2007). "Random Spyro toys invade Wendy's kids meals". Joystiq. http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/12/random-spyro-toys-invade-wendys-kids-meals/. Retrieved April 5, 2010. 
10. ^ Dick, Kevin (1999-03-04). "Spyro the Dragon - PS". gamerevolution.com. pp. 1. http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/sony/spyro_the_dragon. Retrieved 2008-06-08. 
11. ^ IGN Staff (July 15, 1999). "The Greatest PlayStation Games Ever: 3D Platformers - PSX Feature at IGN". IGN. http://psx.ign.com/articles/068/068860p1.html. 
12. ^ Chris Littler (October 12, 2010). "The Cutest Video Game Characters - UGO.com". UGO.com. http://www.ugo.com/games/the-50-cutest-video-game-characters?page=2. Retrieved 2011-03-22.