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Spyro might be my favorite series for the original Playstation. I loved the characters,
environments and gameplay more than just about anything on that system. Recently, I reviewed
some of the Legend of Spyro games, which is basically a reboot of the series that uses
some of the same characters. However, that series added in some more RPG-like elements,
and while the games were fun, I always felt that a game like this is how Spyro is meant
to be played. This is Spyro: A Hero’s Tail for the GameCube. Oh, pun alert! Tale is spelled
like a dragon’s tail, yep. I get it. A Hero’s Tail follows Spyro and his friends
like Sparx and Ember as stones known as dark gems are being released throughout the land
by a Red dragon that the Elders warm Spyro about. As Ember puts it, the gems are “pure
evilness”, and Spyro is tasked with ridding them from the world. You’ll also have the
ability to play as some of Spyro’s friends for certain parts of the game, like Blink,
a mole who has the ability to dig and find secret areas and jump on walls like a ninja.
It’s a really nice way to change up the pace. I was also pleasantly surprised by how
funny some of the writing could be in this game. While the Legend of Spyro games take
the series in a bit of a darker direction, A Hero’s Tail still feels very light-hearted,
and this is reflected in the humor of the game.
Gameplay in A Hero’s Tail actually feels very similar to the earlier games in the series.
From the charge and fire breath to gliding, Spyro definitely plays like you’d expect
him to. Controls are also very tight, although I did find it a little odd that you can’t
pull Spyro up when he’s in midair. Instead, pulling on the analog stick just flips him
around, and this is a little weird when you think about gliding in most games. Platforming
is great with challenging jumps that don’t get too frustrating, and enemies are all varied
and require different attacks to defeat. You might need to charge at one to knock its armor
off just before killing it with a breath of fire.
Spyro: A Hero’s Tail also features some puzzles that may require you to, hit a few
switches to open up a series of doors, for example. These are also really well implemented,
and they don’t feel overused. I also loved the visual style that the game
uses. It’s kind of cartoony and sort of like a painting at the same time, and there’s
much brighter color than in the recent games. Voice acting isn’t quite as good as in the
Legend of Spyro series, especially Spyro in particular, but Blink is hilarious with the
tone of voice he uses, as is Ember. I think some of this might be due to the writing,
and as I said before, it’s really well done. Although A Hero’s Tail doesn’t really
jump out as being head and shoulders above other games in the Spyro series, it is still
really well executed addition. I just wish Wayne Brady or David Spade were in it.