Spyro the Reignited Trilogy

WEBVTT

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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to The Other Castle.

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The Other Castle, I'm Andrea.

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And my name is Tom.

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And we are a video game podcaster.

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We talk about the plot, lore, and more behind all the games.

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And that means that we're gonna cover production, creation, and then eventually the actual plot of the game we're talking about.

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Yes, thank you so much for joining us.

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Hell yeah.

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I like to play Pokemon Go with people on our Discord.

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We drop memes and you can fight with me.

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That's fine.

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That's completely valid.

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But we're not talking about fighting with me today.

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Today, we are covering the original Spyro Trilogy.

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Spyro Trilogy.

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So I missed this one growing up.

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Really?

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I did, yeah.

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I felt like you were just on it from day one.

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I was the right age for it and everything, but I don't know.

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Something about the dragons, which is funny, because you don't like anything with dragons.

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I assume if there's a dragon, this is Lord of the Rings.

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Right.

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So we're watching Lord of the Rings right now.

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Except you love Spyro.

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I do like Spyro a lot, because I too was the right age for this.

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The series started in 1998, which was like prime kid time.

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And I had a PlayStation One that was a hand-me-down, and I had the Spyro Trilogy, also part of that hand-me-down.

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And I played the shit out of these.

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And perhaps it's nostalgia goggles, because I didn't have a lot of games growing up.

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I didn't have access to a lot of games.

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So I played the shit out of these.

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Yeah, I was in my final fantasy age during this time.

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So I think Spyro was just probably looking a little too young for me.

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I fully understand that, because yeah, it's a tiny fucking dragon just flying around causing mayhem, which is great, but I totally get that you were more mature at the time.

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I was not, I was a child.

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So it was perfect.

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Well, the commercials were really funny back then for Spyro.

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They were insane.

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But just to give you some context, Spyro is the second title out of one of my favorite studios to watch right now, Insomniac Games.

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Insomniac.

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Right, so Insomniac has done the recent and the upcoming Spider-Man games for PlayStation, and those are absolutely incredible.

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That's jumping ahead in the timeline.

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I just want to gush about how much I love the fucking Spider-Man games.

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Right, this is the same company that did that, though.

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Right, but we're going to take it back.

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Actually, we're going to take it back a lot.

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The year is 1977.

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Even, okay, we're starting over.

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There's a young boy named Ted Price, and he is nine years old.

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He immediately becomes infatuated with the Atari 2600, and then, in his child mind, said someday he's going to make video games.

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17 years later, in 1994, Ted Price goes on to be one of the founders of...

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Insomniac?

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Extreme Software.

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Using his writing degree from Princeton.

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It was the 90s.

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Everything was extreme.

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Right, like this was a really cool name in the 90s, I promise.

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It's not just like, you sound like a chip.

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Like, no, calm down.

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Price's mommy was at lunch with a friend, talking about, oh, my son is starting a video game company.

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I'm so excited.

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And the friend she's with is like, oh, wow, my son's roommate at Princeton loves video game stuff.

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They should meet.

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They have one thing in common.

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I assume they'll be friends.

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Like, anybody that knows two gay people?

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Or, I'm pretty heavily tattooed, like, oh, my daughter is a tattoo.

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Like, cool, do I know her?

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I don't give a fuck.

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Don't do that.

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Don't ever be that guy.

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Right, so these two do meet, and they do become best friends, because sometimes that works out.

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And Ted Price gets into business with both Alex and Brian Hastings, two brothers who shared a passion for video games.

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Due to some copyright issues, reasonably, they were forced to change the name of their company and landed on Insomniac Games, because it had a better vibe.

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Okay, and you know, they were college students.

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They probably suffered from it.

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Oh, yeah, and this was like a pre-energy drink era.

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So they were just like, ah, cocaine.

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Drinking that new coffee shit.

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That new coffee, that bean water.

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Right.

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Now, because it was the 90s, and these guys were just kind of figuring out their shit, you know, their first game was not quite a splash.

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You can't expect everyone to just come out the gate swinging.

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No, not everybody's gonna make their first game be a banger.

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Right.

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They released what they themselves have admitted is just a Doom clone.

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It's a first-person shooter called Disruptor.

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Now, Disruptor came out in November of 96, and while it wasn't, like, particularly groundbreaking, it did get good reviews.

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Well, you know, so did System Shock 2.

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Just nobody played it.

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Right, but we all know what happened after.

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Right.

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It was solid in terms of gameplay, and Disruptor was really fun, but it was the debut title from a new studio.

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It just didn't get a lot of press.

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Ted Price did call it the best game that no one had heard of, which I love.

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Yeah, I never heard of that.

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While the team knew they could put out a solid product, they were sad that their project didn't get a lot of love.

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They had the option to make a sequel to Disruptor, but they were like, well, if we do that, would anyone give a shit?

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Right.

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No, no one would give a shit.

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No.

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So they went on to create a new IP that would be positioned to perform stronger, and they looked at what was making sense in gaming at that time.

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So in the 90s, you were there, you know?

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Video games were predominantly focused on kids and family-friendly properties.

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Nintendo had this crazy chokehold from the early 90s, and this silliness of kid content was kind of everywhere.

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It was a very goofy time for pop culture.

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Right, gaming hadn't really matured yet.

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That's a perfect way of putting it.

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I was like, this shit's silly.

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Yeah, it was still the medium for children.

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Nobody was thinking of older gamers yet.

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Yeah, as the team looked at the scope of media, they made a tonal shift to create a game that would be enjoyed by the whole family and opened themselves up past their, like, pew-pew audience from Disruptor.

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One of the development partners from Universal had a meeting with them and discussed creating a mascot, creating a character that people could recognize, rally behind, and that they could sell a whole bunch of toys for.

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With all these elements around them, the team landed on working on a story around a little dragon named Pete.

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Pete.

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Of all the names, it was just gonna be Pete.

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Like, that's too much of a ripoff of Pete's Dragon.

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I know that wasn't the name of the dragon, but that's what you think of.

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Yeah, you got there because he wasn't named Pete for long after they remembered that Pete's Dragon exists.

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Yeah, and also, how do you Google that?

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You don't.

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It's the 90s.

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Oh, shit.

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How do you web crawler that?

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How do you ask Jeeves about that?

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So, they were like, oh, shit, right, Disney exists and has lawyers, so let's not attempt a Pete Dragon moment.

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So, let's go back to the drawing board.

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Look at this dragon.

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It was green.

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Let's make it purple.

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And then they were workshopping names, and someone pitched Pyro, which did feel a little aggressive, so someone in marketing, hell yeah, marketing teams, put an S on it, and Spyro was history.

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Now, to ensure that this game would stand out, the team actually built the code to allow for Spyro to glide, which wasn't something common in games at the time.

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And I'm not just talking about, like, creating some interesting capabilities for a baby dragon.

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I'm talking refined flying and floating.

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That's true, because I think to, like, the Mario Brothers games, right?

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And from Mario Brothers 3 into Super Mario Brothers, they had flying, but once they went to 3D with Mario 64, they took out the flying.

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They were like, oh no, this shit hard.

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Yeah, that was the one thing they couldn't really do, so they went back to just the hopping and jumping kind of shit.

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Yeah.

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So this was like one of the first games to really maneuver into flying in a 3D world.

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Yeah, and this is also the team that would eventually go on to do the swinging in Spider-Man.

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True.

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So the lineage is kind of clear to see the innovation from Insomniac from day one.

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Good for them.

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And you know, when I'm talking about the innovation, this team actually worked with a literal rocket scientist to create the game's glide mechanic.

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Damn, that's really impressive.

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Yeah.

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Insomniac worked with Matt Whiting, a rocket science for literal ass NASA to help them program the flying controls of Spyro so Spyro could fly as smoothly as he could.

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It's a literal fucking rocket scientist.

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Holy shit.

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Was it the person that helped design maybe their simulator and shit?

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That makes sense.

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I'm not quite sure what his full scope of NASA was, but they were like, yeah, we brought in a rocket scientist.

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And how funny for someone to be like, oh, got a clock out at NASA and drive down to Insomniac to work on The Dragon Game.

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The Dragon Game.

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What a wild moonlight.

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People usually just door dash now, but back then you could just be like, fuck it, I'll go make a game.

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I love how they were afraid of Disney suing them over the dragon situation, so they made it purple, and yet they do have a purple dragon at Disney too.

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They do?

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Yeah, Figment over in the Imagination Land or whatever.

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Oh, but people aren't like, dicks out for Harambe about that, right?

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Extraordinarily.

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Really?

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To like an uncomfortable degree.

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I'm not a big Disney adult person.

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I don't know the lore or the excitement of it from the crowd, but yeah, sure, okay.

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But Spyro's little.

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I think that one's a big dragon, right?

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No, actually, it's a pretty little dragon, to be real.

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They beefed it.

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They really did, but you know what?

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Disney didn't go after him for it, because Spyro breathes fire and figment breathes science.

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Baby breathes science.

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I love that.

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I'm sure the rocket scientists appreciated that.

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So speaking of the talent that worked on this game, Spyro himself is voiced by Carlos Lazarichy, I hope I'm pronouncing that right, who at the time was Rocco on Rocco's Modern Life.

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Wait, really?

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This is the most 90s shit we could talk about.

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That is a great get, in my opinion.

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Now you may recognize his face from Reno 911, but he's also been in tons of vocal performance work.

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If you were alive in the 90s, he was the Taco Bell dog.

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Really?

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Yeah.

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Yo, Kiero Taco Bell.

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You did not say it the way he did, but he delivered the shit out of that line.

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Yeah, I would not do that properly.

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It wouldn't sound great coming out of you.

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And he said that he based his Spyro vocal performance on being a kid at camp that everyone liked.

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That's really cute, because, yeah, I've heard the voicelines and stuff, and he is just very happy, because the other games that I think of from an era similar to that was like Gex, and everybody was always sarcastic.

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And this was kind of a return back to friendly.

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Right, just charisma for days.

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And he was actually the first person to audition for Spyro.

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And they were like, yeah, we're good.

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Get in the booth.

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Now, as we talk about how the game sounds, outside of the vocal performances, the music to the entire game, it was done by a pretty serious musician for some reason.

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Really?

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The composer for the entire Spyro game was the two time Grammy Award winner, 2003 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Stuart Copeland, the drummer for The Police.

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What the fuck, really?

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Sting let him off the hook for a couple months to work on a Dragon video game.

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How did they get so many, oh, they had Universal, that's right.

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They put on the red light and he came running.

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Yeah, Universal brought in some fucking talent.

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Right, so this was a partnership with Universal, which is also Universal Studios, Universal Hollywood, that whole world, it's great.

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Now, Stuart Copeland would play the level of the game and then like vibe with it and compose music for it.

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So he actually played the game and like that's pretty fucking cool.

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Yeah, he loved doing this and he's even praised the PlayStation team and their work for how much attention to music came through in their projects.

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It's Sony, they have a whole fucking music department.

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Right.

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I'm sure he's aware of that.

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Right, he's been in it.

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Yeah.

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Now his oldest son, Patrick, loved the Spyro games once he got to play them and he was so proud of his dad for doing the music, which is just the sweetest fucking thing.

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That's cool.

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I love when kids are proud of their parents.

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Right?

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I don't know why, but that always gets me where I'm like, you're so fucking cool, you broke through the dorky parent, like wall.

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So because of his actual affinity for music and his son's love for the game, Stuart Copeland was like, I fucking love this, let's go off.

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He loves this music and so much that he's actually toured with it and done Spyro music in concert.

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That's so cool.

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So this wasn't just a work for hire kind of thing for him.

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He really like put some shit into it.

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Yeah, he gave a shit, which you gotta fucking love.

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Now, the game was marketed for people who want to unravel an adventure and rescue dragons.

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But in a snarky twist, the marketing campaign would show off some actual gameplay and then a live action sheep puppet talking shit about how much he hates Spyro.

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There would be this fucking puppet sheep.

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And first of all, it's horrifying because it's way too big.

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It's just a little too big for what you would consider safe to be around for a sheep.

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And he runs around being like, boycott Spyro.

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He breathes fire.

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Fuck this guy.

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Like, don't support this.

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It's like a Jim Henson nightmare.

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Yeah, very much so.

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He's just declaring that he's an anti-Spyro activist.

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He tries to defer people from buying it by standing in front of game stores.

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And in the 90s, there was also an accompanying website, which is pretty early for its time, called Sheep Against Spyro.

00:14:28.783 --> 00:14:35.603
And we've talked about how the This Game Stinks campaign may have contributed to Earthbound not doing well.

00:14:35.663 --> 00:14:36.163
Right.

00:14:36.183 --> 00:14:39.543
But this was actively campaigning against the game.

00:14:39.603 --> 00:14:42.103
He made signs that said Boycott Spyro.

00:14:42.883 --> 00:14:43.783
This little sheep.

00:14:43.783 --> 00:14:44.743
He doesn't have thumbs.

00:14:44.763 --> 00:14:45.723
How did he make them?

00:14:46.043 --> 00:14:46.763
It's amazing.

00:14:46.783 --> 00:14:48.083
You know, the 90s were wild.

00:14:48.323 --> 00:14:49.683
Let's just boil it down to that.

00:14:49.943 --> 00:14:50.843
It was a hit.

00:14:51.963 --> 00:14:53.923
In the end, this game was a fucking hit.

00:14:55.363 --> 00:15:00.983
So in May of 1998, at E3, Spyro was officially announced to the world.

00:15:01.663 --> 00:15:15.643
It kind of was bundled in other PlayStation fun, family-friendly genre games, like Crash Bandicoot, and actually kind of lined up with the release of the third Crash Bandicoot game, Crash Bandicoot Warped, also very good.

00:15:16.763 --> 00:15:24.483
PlayStation worked hard to position themselves as a contemporary to the Nintendo 64, especially as we got into the holiday season.

00:15:25.303 --> 00:15:28.863
And for what it's worth, Crash and Spyro were often talked about in the same breath.

00:15:29.343 --> 00:15:34.843
It was like having a new show and an earlier time slot to a popular show, you know, that kind of lead-in.

00:15:35.043 --> 00:15:37.703
Spyro benefited a lot from Crash's success.

00:15:38.143 --> 00:15:43.883
That makes a lot of sense, because I do remember from that era, because one of the big things about PlayStation was that it didn't have a mascot.

00:15:44.523 --> 00:15:45.623
Right, not at the time.

00:15:45.743 --> 00:15:50.863
Right, where Sonic was for Sega, Mario was for Nintendo, and then there was just Sony.

00:15:51.043 --> 00:15:54.283
Yeah, and then Sony was like, we're gray, isn't that cool?

00:15:54.363 --> 00:16:00.643
For a long time, Crash Bandicoot was kind of considered the default Sony mascot.

00:16:00.663 --> 00:16:03.663
Right, kind of just because there's no one else to fill that void.

00:16:03.903 --> 00:16:08.023
Which is why it makes it crazy that Microsoft now owns Crash Bandicoot in its entirety.

00:16:09.163 --> 00:16:18.703
Now at the time, Crash was a Naughty Dog project, which somewhat ironically, Sony has still adopted Naughty Dog mascots in using Joel and Ellie to represent the PlayStation.

00:16:18.723 --> 00:16:24.323
Yeah, so Naughty Dog kept that title of like, we are the mascots, but we're just going to change the character.

00:16:24.363 --> 00:16:26.383
Yeah, we're eventually going to upgrade here and there.

00:16:26.403 --> 00:16:28.403
You'll get Rashed and Clank eventually, calm down.

00:16:28.423 --> 00:16:32.623
Yeah, because you could say Nathan Drake too was the mascot for a long time.

00:16:32.903 --> 00:16:35.143
Absolutely, they were also the mascot for Subway for a second.

00:16:35.983 --> 00:16:38.943
So shit's crazy with Naughty Dog, but you got to love it.

00:16:39.683 --> 00:16:42.423
Now I also bring this up because Crash is very similar.

00:16:42.443 --> 00:16:44.703
It's a platformer, there's friends involved.

00:16:44.963 --> 00:16:47.683
You can kind of be this silly protagonist.

00:16:47.703 --> 00:16:51.443
It does well with kids and adults alike, just a family-friendly crossover.

00:16:52.283 --> 00:16:58.803
It was totally kismet, and not the only time we'll see Crash and Spyro moving in tandem as franchises.

00:16:59.463 --> 00:17:05.883
Spyro was officially launched in North America on September 9, 1998, and the following month in Europe.

00:17:06.343 --> 00:17:14.443
The team said that sales initially were a little slow, and this was the era prior to pre-sales, so it's hard to have that day one pop like you do now.

00:17:14.683 --> 00:17:15.003
Right.

00:17:15.063 --> 00:17:17.823
But as we got closer to the holidays, sales did pick up.

00:17:18.063 --> 00:17:21.563
The pick up may also have been due to overall positive reviews of the game.

00:17:21.843 --> 00:17:33.383
It was heralded as this fun, great 3D platformer with wonderful graphics, and at the time the graphics were on par with any computer animated film, so it did feel groundbreaking and immersive at the time.

00:17:33.403 --> 00:17:34.723
I mean, good for them.

00:17:35.283 --> 00:17:42.503
Within the first year of release, Spyro, which is just the name of the first one, it's just Spyro, sold one million copies.

00:17:43.303 --> 00:17:44.583
For a debut game?

00:17:45.123 --> 00:17:48.603
It's the second game from Insomniac, but it's the debut of the franchise.

00:17:48.623 --> 00:17:50.563
Yeah, it did pretty well.

00:17:50.583 --> 00:17:52.023
Again, this is the 90s.

00:17:52.303 --> 00:17:56.743
A million copies is a whole lot, because we didn't have as many gamers as we do now.

00:17:56.823 --> 00:17:57.923
That's pretty impressive.

00:17:58.863 --> 00:18:01.483
So with that all in mind, let's get our adventure started.

00:18:01.683 --> 00:18:02.843
There's dragons to save.

00:18:03.563 --> 00:18:04.883
This is Spyro.

00:18:06.263 --> 00:18:08.883
The game opens up with a little green frog monster.

00:18:08.903 --> 00:18:13.163
He's at the top of a mountain, planting an Insomniac Games flag.

00:18:13.843 --> 00:18:18.783
This little fellow gets knocked off the mountain by Spyro, who flies in and lets him fall to his death.

00:18:19.443 --> 00:18:20.403
What a little scamp.

00:18:20.583 --> 00:18:22.123
I know, off the bat.

00:18:22.683 --> 00:18:25.623
Spyro flies a little bit and lands down at the menu screen.

00:18:26.223 --> 00:18:32.103
The player opens up their save file, and the game screen states, In the world of dragons.

00:18:32.743 --> 00:18:33.643
So this is fully voiced?

00:18:34.223 --> 00:18:35.443
No, that's just me.

00:18:37.083 --> 00:18:39.883
We cut to a film crew interviewing some dragons.

00:18:40.343 --> 00:18:43.123
We hear, off screen, someone say, Okay, rolling.

00:18:43.423 --> 00:18:45.043
And then there's a boom mic in frame.

00:18:45.663 --> 00:18:52.343
An elder dragon, much bigger than Spyro, begins to say that it's been peaceful here in the five or six worlds.

00:18:52.863 --> 00:18:57.943
He says there have been 1200 or 1400 treasure, and you know, things have been good.

00:18:58.583 --> 00:19:01.883
The producer asks, What about this nasty Nork character?

00:19:02.523 --> 00:19:08.323
He says he heard that nasty Nork has found a magic spell to turn gems into warriors for his cause.

00:19:09.563 --> 00:19:17.683
Another large dragon comes into frame and explains that nasty Nork is a simple creature who has been contained in a remote world and is no threat to this world.

00:19:18.483 --> 00:19:21.443
And the dragon is also like, and by the way, he's so ugly.

00:19:21.463 --> 00:19:28.503
The scene cuts to nasty Nork, who is the same kind of that green frog monster we saw in the loading screen.

00:19:29.163 --> 00:19:34.703
Nasty Nork is furious at these claims, that he's not dangerous, and especially that he's ugly.

00:19:35.603 --> 00:19:37.663
Also, was this being broadcast live?

00:19:38.343 --> 00:19:41.503
The boom mic is in frame, or did they just not edit it?

00:19:42.103 --> 00:19:44.003
I don't understand what kind of production this is.

00:19:44.463 --> 00:19:46.883
Also, I really love that it's just the opening of The Incredibles.

00:19:47.643 --> 00:19:48.263
You're right.

00:19:49.403 --> 00:19:50.563
Damn, Spyro.

00:19:51.323 --> 00:19:55.783
Like, I guess this, I guess this area just didn't understand pre-recorded content.

00:19:56.963 --> 00:20:07.283
Anyway, as this apparently happens live, Nasty Gnorc raises his stick, and far away, the dragons that were being interviewed get zapped and turned into statues.

00:20:08.023 --> 00:20:09.843
All of them, except for Spyro.

00:20:10.863 --> 00:20:14.463
Spyro sees this happening and goes, well, I've got some work to do.

00:20:15.183 --> 00:20:19.043
I don't know why Spyro wasn't turned into a statue, but that's not important.

00:20:19.303 --> 00:20:20.723
Seriously, that's not explained?

00:20:20.943 --> 00:20:21.243
Nope.

00:20:21.983 --> 00:20:22.303
Ever?

00:20:22.463 --> 00:20:23.783
I think it's just because he's little.

00:20:23.943 --> 00:20:25.223
He was the tiniest little one?

00:20:25.243 --> 00:20:27.303
He's little, so they're like, fuck it, not worth it.

00:20:28.043 --> 00:20:29.903
Why is this suddenly Centipede?

00:20:32.203 --> 00:20:34.363
Like, our first fucking episode.

00:20:34.443 --> 00:20:35.363
Is this derivative?

00:20:35.383 --> 00:20:36.043
I can't tell.

00:20:37.483 --> 00:20:43.243
We have never had to reference, like, the story from Centipede for any other game, but this is almost exactly what happens.

00:20:44.043 --> 00:20:46.123
Like, nearly beat for beat.

00:20:48.223 --> 00:20:54.763
So the game begins and Spyro is in the land of dragons and runs directly into Nestor, a dragon statue.

00:20:55.323 --> 00:21:00.623
Spyro comes up to Nestor's statue, puts his foot on it, and Nestor is released from the statue.

00:21:01.423 --> 00:21:05.843
Nestor tasks Spyro finding dragons and releasing them throughout all the lands.

00:21:06.763 --> 00:21:09.363
Spyro is like, yeah, cool, but I want to find Nasty Gnorc.

00:21:09.423 --> 00:21:10.143
Where is he?

00:21:10.163 --> 00:21:12.323
And Nestor is like, shut the fuck up.

00:21:13.103 --> 00:21:14.063
Go save the dragons.

00:21:15.183 --> 00:21:17.283
So now Spyro is free to roam about the world.

00:21:17.823 --> 00:21:21.903
It's lush, and there are those protesting sheep that aren't protesting.

00:21:21.923 --> 00:21:23.023
They're just chill right now.

00:21:23.323 --> 00:21:24.203
You can run into them.

00:21:24.223 --> 00:21:25.403
You can set them on fire.

00:21:25.883 --> 00:21:31.523
There are some small gnorcs patrolling lazily, but they're pretty easy to knock off if you flame them or your headbutt them.

00:21:32.183 --> 00:21:32.703
It's fun.

00:21:32.943 --> 00:21:36.483
This game is a 3D platformer that is kind of a collect-a-thon.

00:21:36.543 --> 00:21:47.763
So a lot of the fun in this is just unleashing all the dragons, capturing all the treasure, and, you know, killing everyone you can from nasty norks all the way down to the lowly norks below.

00:21:48.303 --> 00:21:50.263
So it's for people that like to Platinum games?

00:21:50.543 --> 00:21:52.183
Yes, which is not me.

00:21:52.443 --> 00:21:54.703
But I had fun with the platforming.

00:21:54.823 --> 00:21:56.283
I don't care about Platinum.

00:21:56.603 --> 00:21:56.983
Right.

00:21:57.663 --> 00:21:58.643
Now let's talk about the norks.

00:21:58.723 --> 00:22:03.743
So they're green, they're bipedal, and they kind of look like frogs, but they sound like Gruff.

00:22:04.423 --> 00:22:07.243
They are everywhere, and they do not like Spyro.

00:22:08.483 --> 00:22:17.283
They look more frog-like in the original art, but in the remake that I played, which is the Reignited Trilogy, they do look a bit more like a big green monster.

00:22:17.603 --> 00:22:18.623
You know, a nork.

00:22:20.123 --> 00:22:24.483
I was going to ask what a nork was, but that explanation still doesn't really clear it up, but that's fine.

00:22:24.763 --> 00:22:26.403
You don't get a lot of history.

00:22:26.523 --> 00:22:26.823
Right.

00:22:26.963 --> 00:22:29.203
I'm trying to drop all the lore I can.

00:22:30.523 --> 00:22:35.943
Now, Spyro is accompanied by a little dragonfly named Sparx with an X because it's cool.

00:22:36.843 --> 00:22:41.183
He follows Spyro around and is the indicator for how much health Spyro has.

00:22:41.783 --> 00:22:44.663
When he's full on health, the dragonfly is gold.

00:22:44.743 --> 00:22:47.163
When you're at death's door, he's completely gone.

00:22:47.943 --> 00:22:59.523
It's kind of a fun way to avoid the HUD, which I can't appreciate, but it can be annoying because to refill your health, you have to kill small creatures like sheep or whatever you can find, whatever that level is giving you.

00:22:59.543 --> 00:23:00.283
Oh my god.

00:23:00.303 --> 00:23:05.123
The dragonfly eats the spirit of whatever you killed and grows healthier.

00:23:05.143 --> 00:23:07.603
This is a pretty cool dragonfly.

00:23:07.823 --> 00:23:10.943
Yeah, so like you run up to a sheep, you set him on fire, he's dead.

00:23:11.583 --> 00:23:14.643
His spirit comes out of his deceased corpse.

00:23:14.903 --> 00:23:18.083
The dragonfly eats it, and you feel better about yourself.

00:23:18.603 --> 00:23:20.163
This game's wild already.

00:23:20.443 --> 00:23:21.323
We haven't started.

00:23:23.663 --> 00:23:24.703
Does the dragonfly talk?

00:23:24.963 --> 00:23:25.603
Not in this one.

00:23:25.623 --> 00:23:26.803
No, oh, not in this one.

00:23:27.003 --> 00:23:28.423
He can get chatty later.

00:23:29.003 --> 00:23:31.283
He eventually does get his own spinoff game as well.

00:23:31.383 --> 00:23:31.783
Really?

00:23:31.803 --> 00:23:33.203
Like way down the line.

00:23:33.983 --> 00:23:35.303
I am not covering that one.

00:23:35.323 --> 00:23:37.363
We are only covering the original trilogy.

00:23:37.483 --> 00:23:37.883
Okay.

00:23:38.123 --> 00:23:40.723
So actually, one last beat on the dragons.

00:23:40.883 --> 00:23:50.043
So in the original version, the 90s version, the dragons are mostly the same and would just say, thank you for rescuing me, once Spyro releases them from their statue.

00:23:50.763 --> 00:23:53.203
This gets really repetitive, as you can imagine.

00:23:53.223 --> 00:23:57.823
So in the Reignited Trilogy, they got different voices for each dragon.

00:23:58.463 --> 00:23:59.023
Oh, wow.

00:23:59.043 --> 00:24:01.143
So that was something that was unique to the new one.

00:24:01.383 --> 00:24:04.123
Yeah, for some reason, the old one was just like, we got it.

00:24:04.343 --> 00:24:05.603
We're gonna use that clip.

00:24:05.623 --> 00:24:06.163
We're good.

00:24:06.183 --> 00:24:06.923
Let's move on.

00:24:07.323 --> 00:24:08.883
Holy shit, that's pretty impressive.

00:24:09.623 --> 00:24:15.763
In the Reignited Trilogy, they can also give you some game tips, but that just ends up being repetitive and annoying, frankly.

00:24:15.783 --> 00:24:17.763
They'll be like, hey, you don't know how to swim.

00:24:17.863 --> 00:24:18.843
Don't go in the water.

00:24:18.863 --> 00:24:20.103
And Spyro's like, I know.

00:24:20.163 --> 00:24:21.123
I've died in the water.

00:24:21.143 --> 00:24:22.383
And he's like, yeah, don't do that.

00:24:24.003 --> 00:24:28.923
There is one dragon in the first game named Delbin that you rescue twice.

00:24:30.083 --> 00:24:35.943
And each time you rescue him, he has a different voice, but I guess that's just some oversight because fuck me.

00:24:36.343 --> 00:24:39.303
Of course, the only name they repeat is Delbin.

00:24:39.443 --> 00:24:43.543
Obviously, they didn't use any other names aside from Delbin.

00:24:44.403 --> 00:24:44.943
Jesus.

00:24:45.743 --> 00:24:50.063
So Spyro is in Artisan Land, which is loosely Renaissance-themed.

00:24:50.703 --> 00:24:54.223
There's some painter dragons, a lot of green hills and sheep.

00:24:54.223 --> 00:24:56.543
So actually, I think that makes it Scotland.

00:24:56.923 --> 00:24:58.003
Okay, so kind of medieval.

00:24:58.143 --> 00:25:00.363
Yeah, or Scotland, I assume.

00:25:01.283 --> 00:25:07.823
Each land has some portals where you go to similarly themed levels where Spyro can find more dragons to release.

00:25:08.343 --> 00:25:13.343
There's some light platforming, some jump tricks, kind of little things to get you through the world.

00:25:14.023 --> 00:25:19.823
Each world typically has one level that's all about flight precision or is a time trial of some sort.

00:25:20.203 --> 00:25:25.223
You know, just some fun things to shake up the monotony of gameplay, which is kind of nice, actually.

00:25:25.263 --> 00:25:26.923
Yeah, the Crash Bandicoot games had those.

00:25:27.323 --> 00:25:27.643
Yeah.

00:25:28.103 --> 00:25:30.683
Not flying, but they had like the time trials and shit.

00:25:31.003 --> 00:25:36.223
Right, I'm glad you bring that up because a lot of people were like, this is Crash Bandicoot with flying.

00:25:36.623 --> 00:25:40.483
And, you know, it's 3D, it's fun, it's silly, all that good stuff.

00:25:40.503 --> 00:25:46.643
You know, there's such a big reason why these two mascots had such a chokehold on the PlayStation players in the 90s.

00:25:47.183 --> 00:25:47.823
It makes sense.

00:25:48.023 --> 00:25:49.603
A lot of the same people were playing them.

00:25:49.883 --> 00:25:50.343
Right.

00:25:51.123 --> 00:25:55.263
Now, the goal of each land, of course, is to save all the dragons in that world.

00:25:56.003 --> 00:26:03.243
But as the dragon Nevin, Nevin, warns you, Nasty Nork has sent his henchmen to patrol the lands.

00:26:04.183 --> 00:26:07.703
In Artisan Land, there is a boss named Toasty.

00:26:08.503 --> 00:26:15.383
Toasty is a scarecrow that you flame down little by little to reveal a dork on stilts.

00:26:19.003 --> 00:26:33.283
After you rescue ten dragons through the portals from Artisan Land, a balloonist, first of all, there's a balloonist, a balloonist will be so impressed with you, he will offer you a ride to the next land to save more dragons.

00:26:33.583 --> 00:26:35.783
Oh, I thought I was going to give you a $20 red balloon.

00:26:36.783 --> 00:26:37.783
Oh, no.

00:26:38.423 --> 00:26:40.163
He's not a balloonist like in Heavy Rain.

00:26:40.183 --> 00:26:42.283
He's a balloonist like in Red Dead Redemption 2.

00:26:43.323 --> 00:26:44.323
That kind of balloonist.

00:26:44.343 --> 00:26:54.223
You know, wicker baskets and all, which, like, how do you justify using wicker next to fire in the sky?

00:26:55.323 --> 00:26:56.923
Core concept, I don't agree with it.

00:26:57.483 --> 00:26:59.043
You can't make me go on one of those.

00:26:59.403 --> 00:27:04.463
Yeah, the kind of people that are really into that, I don't think are thinking rationally all the time.

00:27:04.803 --> 00:27:07.083
It's weird to think that other people are really into balloon...

00:27:07.483 --> 00:27:08.383
balloon artistry?

00:27:08.403 --> 00:27:10.183
No, because that would be like balloon animals.

00:27:10.203 --> 00:27:11.043
This is just ballooning.

00:27:11.163 --> 00:27:11.563
Yeah.

00:27:12.283 --> 00:27:13.323
Hot air ballooning.

00:27:14.023 --> 00:27:15.123
Good for you, not for me.

00:27:15.323 --> 00:27:15.683
Yeah.

00:27:16.423 --> 00:27:20.703
Now, this balloonist will allow you to travel to the Peacekeepers world.

00:27:21.443 --> 00:27:31.963
In the animation of Spyro riding the balloon to the New World, he is completely alone, so I don't know if this balloonist is like a remote pilot or if he's like, you can just take my balloon.

00:27:32.503 --> 00:27:33.463
That's not explained.

00:27:33.903 --> 00:27:36.183
Also, why does he need a balloon?

00:27:36.203 --> 00:27:37.143
He can fly.

00:27:37.303 --> 00:27:38.683
You've done the flying levels.

00:27:39.043 --> 00:27:39.903
We talked about it.

00:27:39.943 --> 00:27:41.183
It's more of a glide.

00:27:43.023 --> 00:27:44.323
It's probably pretty far.

00:27:44.343 --> 00:27:45.883
Maybe he needs to be able to take a nap.

00:27:46.603 --> 00:27:53.963
So I would at least be like, okay, so I guess the balloon can take him up high and then he jumps out and glides away, but no, the balloon's just going to take him.

00:27:53.963 --> 00:27:54.243
Yep.

00:27:54.723 --> 00:27:55.423
Lazy ass.

00:27:56.323 --> 00:27:57.503
He's little, Tom.

00:27:58.723 --> 00:28:09.363
Peacekeepers is like a desert, war-torn land with militant-sounding music versus the last land, the arson land, where it was peaceful and renaissance-y and cute.

00:28:10.703 --> 00:28:15.483
In this land, there are cacti and casual warlord norks everywhere.

00:28:15.603 --> 00:28:16.363
What the fuck?

00:28:16.683 --> 00:28:19.483
They've got fucking cannons and shit.

00:28:19.503 --> 00:28:20.243
It's ridiculous.

00:28:20.983 --> 00:28:23.363
This world is overseen by Dr.

00:28:23.403 --> 00:28:23.843
Shemp.

00:28:24.183 --> 00:28:25.883
Now, I don't think he's a real doctor.

00:28:27.163 --> 00:28:31.363
He's actually a naked orange nork with metal armor.

00:28:31.523 --> 00:28:32.583
Oh, goodness, no.

00:28:32.923 --> 00:28:36.023
And when he turns to show you his butt, you fire at him.

00:28:36.343 --> 00:28:38.023
He's a very ineffective leader.

00:28:38.043 --> 00:28:38.983
Do you get full butt?

00:28:39.383 --> 00:28:42.423
You're not looking at, like, some cheeks clapping, okay?

00:28:44.103 --> 00:28:45.183
No one enjoys this.

00:28:46.443 --> 00:28:52.803
Now, when you're done with this world, a different balloonist pilot will give you a ride to Magic Crafter's world.

00:28:53.123 --> 00:28:55.563
Is there, like, a union of balloonists?

00:28:56.223 --> 00:28:56.923
There must be.

00:28:58.083 --> 00:29:01.523
There absolutely must be, and we stand by unions here on this show.

00:29:01.543 --> 00:29:02.103
That's true.

00:29:02.423 --> 00:29:06.683
Now, this new balloonist will give you a ride to the Magic Crafter's world.

00:29:07.383 --> 00:29:12.723
Which is all about fun in the snow, and I don't know why it's called Magic Crafters if it's the snow.

00:29:12.743 --> 00:29:19.683
Well, there are magic gnorcs, but they also made it snowy, which feels like two things.

00:29:19.943 --> 00:29:22.403
I'm starting to feel like gnorcs are whatever they need them to be.

00:29:22.663 --> 00:29:23.343
Oh, yeah.

00:29:24.623 --> 00:29:26.603
You've unlocked that puzzle real quick.

00:29:26.803 --> 00:29:28.103
Okay, so they're like the heartless.

00:29:28.443 --> 00:29:29.623
Yeah, they're just everywhere.

00:29:29.643 --> 00:29:30.763
They're kind of fucking around.

00:29:31.083 --> 00:29:32.423
They've got different themes.

00:29:32.683 --> 00:29:33.143
It's fun.

00:29:33.363 --> 00:29:34.543
Take many different shapes.

00:29:34.803 --> 00:29:41.723
Yeah, now some of these gnorc baddies can raise and lower platforms and shoot magic at you, so this level does get a little more fun.

00:29:42.323 --> 00:29:45.983
The warlord of this area is called Blowhard.

00:29:46.543 --> 00:29:47.403
Blowhard.

00:29:47.623 --> 00:29:51.723
Blowhard is guarded by a bunch of gnorcs who can send lightning bolts at you.

00:29:52.323 --> 00:29:57.523
And Blowhard himself is a magician powered by the wind who moves in tornadoes.

00:29:58.603 --> 00:30:02.503
I don't know what to expect from these names and from anything at this point.

00:30:02.723 --> 00:30:04.543
It's giving a little cuphead energy with that.

00:30:04.603 --> 00:30:05.043
Yeah.

00:30:05.243 --> 00:30:09.723
Of like, I'm just going to be a thing, and it's going to be weird, and we're going to have a good time, and you're like, yeah.

00:30:10.443 --> 00:30:11.223
Let's roll with it.

00:30:11.243 --> 00:30:11.643
All right.

00:30:12.203 --> 00:30:16.823
After annihilating Blowhard, Spyro heads up to the Beastmaker's world.

00:30:17.283 --> 00:30:21.083
Beastmaker's is all around jungle and electricity.

00:30:21.523 --> 00:30:23.063
How are those two things linked?

00:30:23.443 --> 00:30:23.803
Yes.

00:30:26.123 --> 00:30:36.603
It's this super lush world with like spooky jungle ominous noises, but the Norks here can electrify the ground and zap Spyro with electricity.

00:30:36.643 --> 00:30:37.883
Well, good thing you got wings.

00:30:38.123 --> 00:30:38.503
Right.

00:30:38.843 --> 00:30:42.343
Some also have backpacks and like an electricity stick, like those...

00:30:42.363 --> 00:30:44.003
A cattle prod?

00:30:44.023 --> 00:30:44.323
Yeah.

00:30:44.343 --> 00:30:47.263
I was going to say something a little more crass than that, but yes, a cattle prod.

00:30:47.343 --> 00:30:48.243
Oh, my God.

00:30:48.763 --> 00:30:53.303
Some have also like a metal case that they sit in and shoot electric volts out.

00:30:53.323 --> 00:30:56.603
It's fully just electricity gremlin from Gremlins 2.

00:30:58.343 --> 00:31:01.503
You know, it doesn't make sense, and it doesn't have to.

00:31:02.043 --> 00:31:04.943
One of the dragons here also has a Cajun accent.

00:31:05.283 --> 00:31:10.343
I don't know if that's a clue or a nod to the swamp shit, but I thought it was worth bringing up.

00:31:10.443 --> 00:31:12.303
Yeah, I love a Cajun accent, too.

00:31:12.563 --> 00:31:12.943
Yeah?

00:31:13.123 --> 00:31:15.723
Yeah, there's something really cool about a real Cajun accent.

00:31:15.763 --> 00:31:17.063
Yeah, good shit.

00:31:17.223 --> 00:31:18.083
It's also rare.

00:31:18.463 --> 00:31:19.183
It's true.

00:31:19.243 --> 00:31:20.563
It's dying out like gingers.

00:31:20.683 --> 00:31:21.063
Yeah.

00:31:21.763 --> 00:31:26.383
There are also loose warthogs going full Pumba out here just running at you.

00:31:27.003 --> 00:31:30.003
Like, it's a very loose, electricity-themed swamp.

00:31:30.683 --> 00:31:34.003
Anyway, the boss here is named Metalhead, and he sucks.

00:31:34.503 --> 00:31:35.383
Is he electricity?

00:31:36.283 --> 00:31:37.983
And like metal and swamp.

00:31:38.183 --> 00:31:38.583
Okay.

00:31:38.723 --> 00:31:39.303
It's weird.

00:31:39.423 --> 00:31:40.303
He's all the dove.

00:31:41.423 --> 00:31:54.743
Now, following Beastmakers is Dreamweavers, which is a flouncy, floating cloud city with some kind of medieval-inspired norc surrounds or kind of bringing it back to that artisan fucking Renaissance light theme.

00:31:55.143 --> 00:31:56.803
Kind of ran out of character models.

00:31:58.503 --> 00:32:05.583
After you've beat all the guys out here, gotten your dragons, you come up against Jacques, the local baddie.

00:32:07.203 --> 00:32:10.723
So Jacques, did you hear his reputation before getting there?

00:32:11.443 --> 00:32:12.283
I mean, no.

00:32:12.543 --> 00:32:12.903
Okay.

00:32:13.083 --> 00:32:14.743
You're kind of just like, ah, you're the big one.

00:32:14.843 --> 00:32:15.463
I got you.

00:32:16.283 --> 00:32:26.183
After you take down Jacques and get all the dragons, the last Balloonus, you know, the guy at the bottom end of the Union, will take you to Nasty's World.

00:32:26.783 --> 00:32:32.023
Nasty's World is in an alley in the sky with rats and trash everywhere.

00:32:32.243 --> 00:32:33.403
It's fucking gross.

00:32:34.003 --> 00:32:36.443
Why do we have to go there just because there were dragons there?

00:32:36.743 --> 00:32:39.003
There's like two dragons up here.

00:32:39.383 --> 00:32:41.463
And we also have to beat Nasty Norr because he's being a prick.

00:32:41.743 --> 00:32:45.063
Let's say the whole game has like, what, 30 dragons to find.

00:32:45.363 --> 00:32:47.383
More than that, but yeah, ballpark, whatever.

00:32:48.083 --> 00:32:49.723
And so you missed two.

00:32:50.043 --> 00:32:52.783
You got 28 dragons to help you beat Nasty Norr.

00:32:53.063 --> 00:32:54.383
Oh, they are of no help.

00:32:54.403 --> 00:32:56.503
You release them, and they just fuck off.

00:32:56.803 --> 00:32:58.823
They're not even going to help you in the final battle?

00:33:00.703 --> 00:33:03.103
Why'd you got to find them in the first fucking place?

00:33:03.123 --> 00:33:04.543
Oh, goodness.

00:33:04.683 --> 00:33:05.623
You're a little dragon.

00:33:05.643 --> 00:33:06.683
You're committed to this.

00:33:07.463 --> 00:33:08.083
You're on it.

00:33:08.163 --> 00:33:10.183
I imagine you're leveling up, too, though, right?

00:33:10.223 --> 00:33:11.083
There are no levels.

00:33:11.403 --> 00:33:13.623
There's no, like, power tree.

00:33:13.643 --> 00:33:14.603
There's no skill tree.

00:33:14.663 --> 00:33:15.783
There's no...

00:33:16.363 --> 00:33:17.783
You're just baseline.

00:33:18.103 --> 00:33:18.623
Good to go.

00:33:18.643 --> 00:33:20.843
So you're the same character through the whole game.

00:33:20.863 --> 00:33:21.123
Yep.

00:33:21.823 --> 00:33:25.363
See, that is not common in modern games at all.

00:33:26.003 --> 00:33:28.163
There's no real, like, unlockables.

00:33:28.183 --> 00:33:29.183
Let's just go for it.

00:33:29.403 --> 00:33:31.963
So he doesn't run faster with upgrades.

00:33:31.983 --> 00:33:34.803
He's just the same character at the beginning that he is at the end.

00:33:34.803 --> 00:33:35.283
Yeah.

00:33:35.603 --> 00:33:36.883
You just don't see that anymore.

00:33:36.943 --> 00:33:37.423
I know.

00:33:38.243 --> 00:33:46.663
Okay, so when you're ready to take on Nasty Gnorc himself, he does these tricky laps, and you have to chase after him, it fucking sucks.

00:33:46.683 --> 00:33:50.403
And I remember doing this as a kid and was like, yeah, take a couple tries.

00:33:50.643 --> 00:33:52.123
Did this in my adult years.

00:33:52.323 --> 00:33:53.443
Fucking sucked.

00:33:53.463 --> 00:33:57.843
I was like, how did me without the fully formed brain do...

00:33:58.043 --> 00:34:03.083
I wouldn't say my brain is fully formed at the moment, but as a child, I knocked this shit out of the park.

00:34:03.803 --> 00:34:04.963
Just not even thinking about it.

00:34:06.363 --> 00:34:14.083
So Nasty Gnorc himself is the physically biggest enemy we've seen in the game so far, and he's full of armor and he's super fucking fast.

00:34:14.583 --> 00:34:17.583
He is a huge pain in the ass to catch up to and is kind of...

00:34:17.603 --> 00:34:19.363
He's just a son of a bitch.

00:34:19.863 --> 00:34:21.063
It's a good final boss, huh?

00:34:21.463 --> 00:34:25.003
He also has very small legs, like he definitely skips leg day.

00:34:26.323 --> 00:34:32.743
And he'll make you chase him through lava, which is very bad for dragons, until you corner him down an alley.

00:34:33.263 --> 00:34:35.323
One flame, and he's down.

00:34:36.103 --> 00:34:38.443
Spyro says, you're toast, Gnorc!

00:34:39.283 --> 00:34:41.123
As he falls, which is very funny.

00:34:41.703 --> 00:34:48.043
And then the scene cuts to the artisan world, that first place where we started, and we see one of the sheep from the opening level.

00:34:48.343 --> 00:34:51.823
The camera cuts up, and we see Spyro returning home.

00:34:53.443 --> 00:34:57.283
The camera crew from the beginning are still there, because they're committed, I guess.

00:34:58.083 --> 00:35:02.023
And they ask about nasty Gnorc, and Spyro says, he's toast.

00:35:02.503 --> 00:35:04.363
Did you not hear me the first time?

00:35:06.683 --> 00:35:16.123
Now, the sheep keep interrupting Spyro's interview, so he kills them, and then he says, the sky is the limit, which is some manic as fuck behavior.

00:35:16.543 --> 00:35:18.583
I feel like they just had extra voice lines.

00:35:18.883 --> 00:35:21.103
That they just like cut and paste and dropped into things?

00:35:21.123 --> 00:35:21.603
Yeah.

00:35:21.703 --> 00:35:22.723
Oh, entirely.

00:35:22.743 --> 00:35:24.523
I would not be surprised if that's the case.

00:35:25.763 --> 00:35:27.023
And that's Spyro 1.

00:35:27.583 --> 00:35:32.563
But a year later, in November of 1999, Spyro 2, Ripto's Rage, would be released.

00:35:33.363 --> 00:35:41.943
In the very short year between Spyro 1 and Spyro 2, Spyro himself would actually be recast to legendary voice actor Tom Kenny.

00:35:43.023 --> 00:35:43.603
Hold up.

00:35:43.763 --> 00:35:45.243
Ariana Grande's boyfriend.

00:35:45.463 --> 00:35:45.943
I'm kidding.

00:35:46.963 --> 00:35:51.803
But if you get why that's funny, it's because Tom Kenny is known for voicing SpongeBob.

00:35:52.043 --> 00:35:55.703
Which is crazy because the last person was the voice of Rocko, right?

00:35:56.003 --> 00:35:56.363
Right.

00:35:56.383 --> 00:35:59.423
So they're just moving around from other kid mascots.

00:35:59.643 --> 00:36:02.363
But that's the same team that made SpongeBob.

00:36:02.523 --> 00:36:05.603
And the same team that's going after Spyro, clearly.

00:36:05.883 --> 00:36:06.523
Damn.

00:36:06.583 --> 00:36:10.023
This guy just took the lead role over from the same guy twice.

00:36:14.863 --> 00:36:18.863
But Tom Kenny, I mean, he is a legendary, legendary voiceover actor.

00:36:18.883 --> 00:36:20.103
I've met him a couple times.

00:36:20.123 --> 00:36:21.083
He is very kind.

00:36:21.483 --> 00:36:22.523
He is wonderful.

00:36:22.763 --> 00:36:24.183
We've seen him in a restaurant once.

00:36:24.543 --> 00:36:25.023
We did.

00:36:25.043 --> 00:36:26.183
You're like, I love SpongeBob.

00:36:26.203 --> 00:36:28.183
And I was like, what the fuck do you watch SpongeBob?

00:36:28.203 --> 00:36:30.263
And you're like, he's a great performer.

00:36:30.483 --> 00:36:31.503
That is Tom Kenny.

00:36:31.523 --> 00:36:32.663
You put respect on the man.

00:36:33.523 --> 00:36:38.363
In the Reignited Trilogy remake, Spyro is only voiced by Tom Kenny.

00:36:38.563 --> 00:36:39.083
Oh, really?

00:36:39.103 --> 00:36:39.883
For all three games?

00:36:40.303 --> 00:36:40.703
Okay.

00:36:41.783 --> 00:36:50.143
Now, in the same marketing campaign strategy as Spyro 1, Spyro 2 was announced at E3 in 1999 and then released later that year.

00:36:50.203 --> 00:36:52.183
Like, this is a really tight turnaround, guys.

00:36:52.623 --> 00:36:53.923
That is really fast.

00:36:53.943 --> 00:36:55.263
Is it the same engine and everything?

00:36:55.803 --> 00:37:04.343
Basically, yeah, they did some obvious quality of life upgrades, but essentially all the same founding blocks, most of the same team, different voice actor.

00:37:05.203 --> 00:37:08.283
I wonder, did they just keep working straight through after the game's release?

00:37:08.303 --> 00:37:09.383
I think they have to.

00:37:09.383 --> 00:37:11.003
Yeah, you have to, entirely.

00:37:11.023 --> 00:37:17.303
Because it's a dragon, and like Lord of the Rings, they just fill all of them at once, they're just powered through the full trilogy.

00:37:17.423 --> 00:37:17.763
Yeah.

00:37:17.823 --> 00:37:19.283
Oh my God, is this Lord of the Rings?

00:37:21.003 --> 00:37:28.003
Now, this is also the year we got Crash Team Racing, which would end up being the last Naughty Dog project in the Crash Bandicoot franchise.

00:37:28.323 --> 00:37:30.183
And that game went fucking hard as shit.

00:37:30.283 --> 00:37:30.803
I loved it.

00:37:31.043 --> 00:37:33.223
Yeah, that was like your Mario Kart.

00:37:35.303 --> 00:37:37.423
I was really good at it as a kid.

00:37:37.583 --> 00:37:38.323
I'm not anymore.

00:37:38.343 --> 00:37:40.503
I don't know what happened.

00:37:40.523 --> 00:37:44.983
Yeah, because we've played that since it was like released as downloadable on PlayStation.

00:37:45.223 --> 00:37:46.183
Mm-hmm.

00:37:46.183 --> 00:37:47.043
Not good at it.

00:37:47.223 --> 00:37:50.343
Well, it's not a really great game by today's standards.

00:37:50.483 --> 00:37:51.063
That's fair.

00:37:51.083 --> 00:37:52.763
You can't put it up against like Mario Kart 8.

00:37:52.783 --> 00:37:53.583
Is that the one that's out right now?

00:37:53.603 --> 00:37:55.083
Yeah, it's the one that's out right now, yeah.

00:37:55.103 --> 00:37:56.483
I totally get it.

00:37:56.503 --> 00:37:57.503
I'm not good at that either.

00:37:57.543 --> 00:37:59.343
I don't think I'm good at racing games, guys.

00:37:59.623 --> 00:38:06.623
Mario Kart 8 is kind of like the GTA V of the Nintendo era because it has now gone on to two different systems.

00:38:08.863 --> 00:38:11.543
And they're going to try and squeeze another one if you're not looking, you know?

00:38:11.583 --> 00:38:11.943
Right.

00:38:11.963 --> 00:38:14.363
The next Switch is going to also have Mario Kart 8.

00:38:14.403 --> 00:38:15.023
Hell yeah.

00:38:15.903 --> 00:38:23.843
Anyway, this team, building on their learnings from the original Spyro, wanted to build on the world and story and add more characters to the narrative.

00:38:23.863 --> 00:38:26.163
So, you know, it was really just Spyro and Sparx.

00:38:26.443 --> 00:38:27.943
You occasionally run into other dragons.

00:38:27.963 --> 00:38:32.523
There are fairies throughout all the worlds that act as your save points, because again, this was the 90s.

00:38:32.963 --> 00:38:34.143
Save points were a thing.

00:38:34.163 --> 00:38:35.763
There's no auto-save in this.

00:38:36.103 --> 00:38:39.403
Oh, there are so many save points to come to this season.

00:38:40.683 --> 00:38:42.923
Yeah, that's how games worked, Tom.

00:38:43.083 --> 00:38:44.803
No, I know, but the manual ones.

00:38:45.083 --> 00:38:46.563
Yeah, I get you there.

00:38:47.203 --> 00:38:50.203
But they were like, what if Spyro had friends, you know?

00:38:50.503 --> 00:38:51.103
Go for it.

00:38:51.863 --> 00:38:58.323
So, with a majority of the same team and a new voice for Spyro, this is Spyro 2 Ripto's Rage.

00:38:59.483 --> 00:39:02.703
We open on Spyro talking to Sparx in the Dragon Kingdom.

00:39:03.083 --> 00:39:07.443
It's raining and it's gray and it sucks, and Spyro is complaining about the rain.

00:39:08.163 --> 00:39:09.743
They are, they're just miserable.

00:39:09.943 --> 00:39:10.683
You know how it is.

00:39:11.443 --> 00:39:14.723
In the game world, several years have passed since Nasty Nork.

00:39:15.083 --> 00:39:18.483
In the real world, it's been one year, but Dragon years are different.

00:39:19.963 --> 00:39:22.583
Spyro asks Sparx if he's up for a trip to the beach.

00:39:23.003 --> 00:39:28.023
They hadn't been to Dragon Shores since their days with Nasty Nork, but they're like, you know what?

00:39:28.283 --> 00:39:29.023
We need a break.

00:39:29.043 --> 00:39:30.343
Let's go to fucking Dragon Shores.

00:39:30.363 --> 00:39:31.683
Let's have a nice vacation.

00:39:31.703 --> 00:39:32.743
Let's get the fuck out of here.

00:39:33.183 --> 00:39:35.403
It's grown since the days of Nasty Nork.

00:39:35.423 --> 00:39:42.163
Yeah, Sparx is stoked, and together they run off to the portal for Dragon Shores to start their vacation.

00:39:43.043 --> 00:39:49.763
On the other end of the portal is a world called Avalar, which is in a region called Summer Forest.

00:39:50.763 --> 00:39:58.383
Elora, the faun, Hunter, the cheetah, and a little bitty hedgehog professor are worried.

00:39:59.343 --> 00:40:02.923
They stand around a regular portal like the one Spyro is very familiar with.

00:40:03.543 --> 00:40:12.023
The professor is trying to get a dragon to come to their kingdom to free them of their tyranny under Ripto, who is clearly some sort of evil leader.

00:40:12.903 --> 00:40:16.143
Elora and Hunter are supportive, but they're a bit nervous.

00:40:16.603 --> 00:40:21.803
They haven't had a dragon in this land for a long time, so there's a lot riding on this.

00:40:22.803 --> 00:40:25.623
The professor is using green orbs to power the portal.

00:40:26.303 --> 00:40:32.043
Hunter is like, I don't think this is a good idea to bring a dragon over here, because it could make Ripto more angry.

00:40:32.963 --> 00:40:34.443
Elora tells him to shut the fuck up.

00:40:35.383 --> 00:40:37.423
I'm sorry, these are like family-friendly kids games.

00:40:37.483 --> 00:40:38.843
This is just how I interpret things.

00:40:39.063 --> 00:40:40.083
Yeah, absolutely.

00:40:40.103 --> 00:40:42.323
We always add a lot more cursing to a lot of these games.

00:40:42.343 --> 00:40:44.103
The only one that was like accurate was South Park.

00:40:44.403 --> 00:40:44.703
Right.

00:40:45.163 --> 00:40:46.563
We toned that one down.

00:40:46.583 --> 00:40:46.843
Right.

00:40:48.883 --> 00:40:55.163
Hunter is afraid of fire-breathers, and he's afraid of sharp nails and all the dangerous bits of being a dragon.

00:40:55.503 --> 00:40:58.243
Elora is like, hey, dipshit, that's the point.

00:40:58.303 --> 00:41:02.843
We need a dangerous dragon to get rid of Ripto, who's ruining our lives.

00:41:03.923 --> 00:41:08.903
The portal starts to shine, and the professor is happy, and he's like, oh my god, I think it worked.

00:41:09.203 --> 00:41:10.243
I think I got a dragon.

00:41:11.603 --> 00:41:15.683
Suddenly, Spyro comes through the portal, and is like, what's up?

00:41:15.703 --> 00:41:16.403
Where's the beach?

00:41:16.603 --> 00:41:19.263
Like he's fucking Snooki getting arrested in Jersey Shore.

00:41:20.603 --> 00:41:22.363
God, that's a very specific reference.

00:41:22.383 --> 00:41:23.243
It's just for me.

00:41:24.543 --> 00:41:25.263
Where's the beach?

00:41:25.683 --> 00:41:29.523
Spyro kind of grabs his bearings, and looks around and is like, this isn't a fucking beach.

00:41:30.043 --> 00:41:31.023
What are you looking at?

00:41:31.843 --> 00:41:35.063
Hunter looks at him and says, are you a dragon?

00:41:35.683 --> 00:41:37.203
Spyro goes, yeah, I'm a dragon.

00:41:37.563 --> 00:41:39.383
You got a problem with that, pussycat?

00:41:40.603 --> 00:41:41.383
Pussycat.

00:41:41.923 --> 00:41:45.083
You know, they're used to the beefy boy dragons of lore.

00:41:45.103 --> 00:41:48.683
They're like, Spyro's short as hell, and it's like, okay, it's short King Summer.

00:41:48.703 --> 00:41:49.323
Let him live.

00:41:49.763 --> 00:41:51.983
But shouldn't he kind of be a legend right now?

00:41:52.443 --> 00:41:53.463
This is a different world.

00:41:53.463 --> 00:41:54.303
Oh, that's right.

00:41:54.323 --> 00:41:57.163
They don't have Twitter or X or whatever the fuck.

00:41:57.183 --> 00:41:58.703
They don't know what's going on.

00:41:59.763 --> 00:42:07.123
And then a tiny red scaly creature riding a dinosaur comes in with another dinosaur at his side.

00:42:08.023 --> 00:42:12.663
He screams at this group for keeping something from him, and then he puts his eyes on Spyro.

00:42:13.803 --> 00:42:20.323
He is enraged that the professor brought a dragon to Avalar, and he raises his scepter to cast a spell.

00:42:21.103 --> 00:42:25.663
As he does, a fairy flies in and takes his scepter and tries to fly away.

00:42:26.083 --> 00:42:30.583
But as she does, Crush, one of the big dinosaurs, eats the scepter.

00:42:30.923 --> 00:42:31.663
Oh, shit.

00:42:31.843 --> 00:42:33.523
This is where we meet Ripto.

00:42:34.803 --> 00:42:42.283
Ripto looks at this dragon who's named Crush and calls him a Dum Dum, and tells the other squad and Spyro that he'll deal with all of them later.

00:42:43.303 --> 00:42:46.383
Ripto, Crush, and the second dragon all head off.

00:42:46.983 --> 00:42:53.803
I like how we can tell also which ones are our own words and which ones come directly from the game, because you would have never said Dum Dum.

00:42:54.143 --> 00:42:56.163
Unless I'm referring to a lollipop, yeah.

00:42:57.723 --> 00:43:03.283
Now, Spyro, who's been in this world for a minute, is like, who the fuck was that?

00:43:03.963 --> 00:43:09.323
And Elora explains that that was Ripto, and he's been causing drama since he got in about a week ago.

00:43:09.343 --> 00:43:13.043
Elora then runs off to tail Ripto to see what he's up to.

00:43:13.883 --> 00:43:23.463
Now, Spyro is stuck in this world and has to help this group of people he barely just met to get rid of Ripto, someone who has done nothing wrong to him except for be a little rude.

00:43:23.763 --> 00:43:25.683
He's supposed to be on vacation right now.

00:43:27.203 --> 00:43:34.243
But the professor was able to intercept him in the portal and bring him to this world and not Dragon Shores.

00:43:34.263 --> 00:43:35.763
So Spyro is like, I'm kidnapped.

00:43:36.003 --> 00:43:36.363
Yeah.

00:43:36.523 --> 00:43:37.263
What's happening?

00:43:37.303 --> 00:43:40.183
So you got to fight your way home but also rescue people?

00:43:40.403 --> 00:43:43.243
Yeah, they're like, well, we'll let you go if you rescue us.

00:43:43.263 --> 00:43:45.023
And he's like, do you appreciate irony?

00:43:45.043 --> 00:43:47.883
I feel like that's the second Indiana Jones movie.

00:43:48.043 --> 00:43:48.603
Oh, shit.

00:43:50.783 --> 00:44:02.703
Now, Spyro goes off through some lands and discovers more and more that this land had no dragons for a really long time, and Ripto came out of fucking nowhere and took over all of Avalar.

00:44:03.523 --> 00:44:09.023
In the Capitol building, he's removed these local Avalar flags and replaced them with flags of his own face.

00:44:09.783 --> 00:44:15.823
We actually see him do this, and as he does, a bear in a full suit gets kicked out of the castle forcibly.

00:44:16.543 --> 00:44:17.803
Ripto is a fascist.

00:44:18.763 --> 00:44:24.663
So Ripto is just coming in, Gestapo style, kicking in doors and just taking over.

00:44:24.703 --> 00:44:25.603
He is the Gestapo.

00:44:25.623 --> 00:44:27.723
That is a perfect, perfect thing.

00:44:28.763 --> 00:44:31.383
I mean, not for us, but for the analogy.

00:44:32.923 --> 00:44:39.063
Spyro sees the fairies that helped them earlier, and they serve as save points throughout the game, just like they did in the last one.

00:44:39.703 --> 00:44:44.123
They will also slowly tell you how to play the game, and honestly, they get really tedious.

00:44:44.183 --> 00:44:51.323
So you hit a save point, it automatically checks you in, and the fairy is like, did you know that you can fucking jump if you press this button?

00:44:51.343 --> 00:44:53.163
And you're like, yeah, this is the second fucking game.

00:44:54.163 --> 00:44:57.463
And we're two hours in, of course I figure that out, and they're like, yeah, you're welcome.

00:44:57.883 --> 00:44:59.763
You can't skip them, it's just annoying.

00:44:59.923 --> 00:45:04.563
Oh, they don't even do it in the loading screen where they usually put all that repetitive bullshit.

00:45:04.723 --> 00:45:11.923
No, they throw it in the save points, of which there's a handful across each level, so every few minutes while you're going through a level, you have to stop.

00:45:12.183 --> 00:45:20.443
It stops the entire game, you have to look up, you get the text box of them being like, to double jump, press the double jump button, and you're like, fucking, I know.

00:45:20.463 --> 00:45:22.523
I've been playing this for two hours.

00:45:22.723 --> 00:45:24.283
I am very familiar with this.

00:45:24.303 --> 00:45:25.903
This is going to happen again this season.

00:45:26.123 --> 00:45:27.663
It's just some 90s shit, you know?

00:45:28.823 --> 00:45:34.123
So like off the bat, compared to the last game, when we look at the story, this is already way more compelling and interesting.

00:45:34.143 --> 00:45:36.663
First one, collectathon, Norks are bad.

00:45:36.683 --> 00:45:40.823
This one, someone is fucking forcibly taken over an entire world.

00:45:41.143 --> 00:45:42.663
You are their last hope.

00:45:42.683 --> 00:45:46.443
They spent all their resources trying to get you here against your will, but whatever.

00:45:46.843 --> 00:45:48.943
And we have to save all these wonderful...

00:45:50.183 --> 00:45:51.103
All these people...

00:45:52.883 --> 00:45:54.663
We have to save the creatures from Ripto.

00:45:55.143 --> 00:45:55.963
You know who you are?

00:45:57.023 --> 00:45:59.423
27-year-old Dr.

00:45:59.443 --> 00:46:00.103
Gordon Freeman.

00:46:00.123 --> 00:46:01.483
My boyfriend.

00:46:01.923 --> 00:46:04.523
That is exactly the plot of Half-Life 2.

00:46:04.863 --> 00:46:06.123
So Spyro picks up a crowbar.

00:46:06.143 --> 00:46:09.163
I'm kidding.

00:46:09.543 --> 00:46:10.603
He just does fire.

00:46:11.083 --> 00:46:13.483
But anyway, the stakes are crazy high.

00:46:13.503 --> 00:46:17.163
We have to stop a dictator from taking over a war-torn world.

00:46:17.963 --> 00:46:18.323
Fun.

00:46:19.423 --> 00:46:24.263
Now, in this game, Spyro is not allergic to water, which is fucking amazing.

00:46:24.603 --> 00:46:25.723
He got over his allergy.

00:46:25.743 --> 00:46:26.203
That's great.

00:46:26.223 --> 00:46:26.563
Yeah.

00:46:26.883 --> 00:46:28.483
He can access power-ups.

00:46:28.703 --> 00:46:30.483
He can fly for an extended time.

00:46:30.983 --> 00:46:37.943
There are also some places around the world where if you go through them, you get boosters that are temporary, so you can run really fast for 10 seconds.

00:46:38.323 --> 00:46:40.003
You're able to climb up walls.

00:46:40.023 --> 00:46:45.823
Like, your capabilities and ability to explore things and unlock puzzles is much more dynamic.

00:46:46.023 --> 00:46:48.823
Okay, so this is a much more upgraded Spyro now.

00:46:49.143 --> 00:46:52.923
Yeah, which is great because also, again, this came out a year after the first one.

00:46:52.943 --> 00:46:58.123
The turnaround was so fucking tight, and they were still able to, one, create a better story and, two, create better gameplay.

00:46:58.343 --> 00:46:58.963
That's a win.

00:46:59.143 --> 00:46:59.463
Win.

00:46:59.783 --> 00:47:00.083
Win.

00:47:02.143 --> 00:47:02.523
Echo.

00:47:02.583 --> 00:47:02.943
Echo.

00:47:02.983 --> 00:47:03.403
Echo.

00:47:03.423 --> 00:47:09.943
Now, Spyro is dropped into this world where small mice are being terrorized by lizards.

00:47:10.963 --> 00:47:14.803
Their treasure has been stolen, and they are being abused by local assholes.

00:47:14.903 --> 00:47:18.943
So Spyro fires up a bunch of lizards and gets down a bunch of treasure.

00:47:19.623 --> 00:47:27.323
Now, Spyro doesn't return the treasure, even though it's very clear that the treasure is being stolen by whoever asshole is running the town.

00:47:27.443 --> 00:47:29.763
But the town is like, whatever, you killed all the lizards.

00:47:30.523 --> 00:47:33.843
And when he does kill all the lizards, they give him a talisman.

00:47:34.783 --> 00:47:36.323
Spyro's like, that's fucking sick.

00:47:36.323 --> 00:47:36.983
What is this?

00:47:37.083 --> 00:47:38.623
And they're like, yeah, it's a talisman.

00:47:38.983 --> 00:47:40.443
He goes, I don't know what that means.

00:47:40.463 --> 00:47:41.463
They go, you're welcome.

00:47:43.023 --> 00:47:48.323
Now, Spyro makes it to Alora again, who calls him a dork for asking if she's a goat.

00:47:48.843 --> 00:47:49.623
She's a fawn.

00:47:49.903 --> 00:47:51.163
This was a valid question.

00:47:51.383 --> 00:47:52.503
This bitch has hooves.

00:47:52.983 --> 00:47:53.463
Yeah.

00:47:54.703 --> 00:47:58.103
Spyro mentions that, hey, you know, those mouse people gave me a talisman.

00:47:58.123 --> 00:47:59.783
And she's like, are you fucking kidding me?

00:48:00.483 --> 00:48:01.023
That's amazing.

00:48:01.983 --> 00:48:04.603
And Spyro is like, I thought it was just like a souvenir.

00:48:04.603 --> 00:48:05.843
It was cute.

00:48:05.863 --> 00:48:07.183
I don't know what the fuck this means.

00:48:07.863 --> 00:48:16.323
And Allura says that there are 14 talismans in Avalar with magic, and if they collect enough of them, they can use that magic to defeat Ripto.

00:48:17.103 --> 00:48:19.103
So he's like, oh, shit, this is the collectible.

00:48:19.123 --> 00:48:19.543
Got it.

00:48:19.963 --> 00:48:20.663
Got it, got it, got it.

00:48:20.683 --> 00:48:21.663
This is the collectible.

00:48:21.723 --> 00:48:22.043
Yeah.

00:48:23.383 --> 00:48:24.063
It is better.

00:48:24.083 --> 00:48:24.843
It's not perfect.

00:48:25.203 --> 00:48:25.623
Right.

00:48:26.183 --> 00:48:33.203
Then Hunter comes in like a dumbass, and Allura announces that Spyro will help them get all the talismans and defeat Ripto.

00:48:34.183 --> 00:48:37.283
Hunter and Ripto are confused at this new information.

00:48:37.983 --> 00:48:41.603
Hunter's like, why can't Spyro just run up and flame Ripto?

00:48:41.623 --> 00:48:43.263
I can go get the talismans.

00:48:43.303 --> 00:48:44.263
He's a fucking dragon.

00:48:44.283 --> 00:48:46.283
I feel like there's a better way to do this.

00:48:47.023 --> 00:48:50.563
Allura is like, you're literally not even wearing shoes right now.

00:48:50.583 --> 00:48:52.523
How can I trust you to go get talismans?

00:48:53.023 --> 00:48:55.783
Hunter looks down at his bare feet and is embarrassed.

00:48:56.683 --> 00:48:57.623
Fair point, though.

00:48:57.703 --> 00:49:00.343
She's like, hey, dipshit, you're useless.

00:49:00.363 --> 00:49:02.103
And he's like, oh, man, I am.

00:49:04.123 --> 00:49:05.643
The self-awareness sets in.

00:49:05.663 --> 00:49:05.983
Yeah.

00:49:07.483 --> 00:49:15.683
Allura explains that the portals to other worlds, like the one that Dragon Shores where he was heading, don't work now because Ripto went in and broke everything.

00:49:16.003 --> 00:49:20.143
So Spyro is like, cool, I defeat Ripto, I get all these talismans, we go home.

00:49:20.303 --> 00:49:21.183
That's fucking great.

00:49:21.283 --> 00:49:21.923
Let me at him.

00:49:22.643 --> 00:49:28.423
So now your mission is to get all the talismans and get through all the worlds so Spyro can go home, which is fucking great.

00:49:29.443 --> 00:49:39.863
Now the portals to other worlds aren't all working because like we said, Ripto has taken over and fucked everything up, pulled the magic, hidden things, and magic is sparse in this world.

00:49:40.623 --> 00:49:45.323
To unlock portals, Spyro has to bop around, unlock talismans, and get orbs.

00:49:45.683 --> 00:49:51.963
Now orbs are those little green balls that the professor used to turn on the one portal that Spyro got snatched out of.

00:49:53.123 --> 00:49:57.183
So we also have to grab these orbs while we're at it, because collect-a-thon, let's fucking go.

00:49:58.623 --> 00:50:15.643
Additionally, Ripto apparently stole all the treasure that's hidden throughout the world, so if you get the treasure, it's reclaiming it, but he doesn't really give it back, so if you steal from the person who stole, but you don't give it back, you're kind of a two-thirds Robin Hood.

00:50:15.743 --> 00:50:17.663
You almost got the point, but you didn't.

00:50:17.943 --> 00:50:20.583
Not to take it back to Indiana Jones, but that belongs in a museum.

00:50:20.603 --> 00:50:21.243
Yes.

00:50:23.003 --> 00:50:27.623
Now, each small world level has locals that are being terrorized by something.

00:50:28.243 --> 00:50:30.463
All of this is Ripto's fault somehow.

00:50:30.483 --> 00:50:32.563
Ripto brings out the worst in people.

00:50:32.583 --> 00:50:34.963
He's like, what if we all just terrorize smaller beings?

00:50:34.983 --> 00:50:36.763
And everyone went, hell yeah, let's fucking do it.

00:50:37.803 --> 00:50:45.783
Now, there is some Polynesian-inspired islanders who are being terrorized by a big Easter Island tiki head-looking thing, for example.

00:50:45.783 --> 00:50:49.823
So it's all very thematic, but they're all very silly.

00:50:50.643 --> 00:50:55.163
So just to kind of recap where we're at right now, because I know there's a lot more going on in the first one.

00:50:55.783 --> 00:51:00.983
We met the Professor, who's a small little hopeful hedgehog, Elora, who's this focused leader.

00:51:01.003 --> 00:51:02.303
She just wants to get shit done.

00:51:02.323 --> 00:51:02.963
She's a fawn.

00:51:03.303 --> 00:51:06.863
And Hunter, who's this dipshit, almost fuckboy energy.

00:51:07.723 --> 00:51:14.023
But there's one more character that is perhaps burdened into most brains of gamers who experience the Spyro titles.

00:51:14.983 --> 00:51:18.363
This game is the introduction of capitalism.

00:51:19.063 --> 00:51:19.343
What?

00:51:19.583 --> 00:51:28.103
Now, Spyro 2 Ripto's Rage introduced a big brown bear in a full suit and monocle who speaks with a Robin Leach accent.

00:51:28.203 --> 00:51:30.623
Champagne wishes and caviar dreams.

00:51:30.763 --> 00:51:31.423
Exactly.

00:51:31.443 --> 00:51:33.523
Very lifestyles of the rich and famous.

00:51:33.543 --> 00:51:37.503
If you're old enough to get that reference, and if you're not, you get it from the vibe.

00:51:37.523 --> 00:51:39.323
It's Cribs, which is still old.

00:51:40.283 --> 00:51:44.563
He's an older Britishman that's just goes, ah, I love luxury.

00:51:45.443 --> 00:51:48.883
This bear's name is Moneybags, and we all fucking hate him.

00:51:49.483 --> 00:51:50.183
Okay, good.

00:51:50.363 --> 00:51:54.303
He is spread throughout the entire game and is literally just a paywall.

00:51:54.503 --> 00:51:59.183
You have to bypass to be able to swim, access portals, access areas.

00:51:59.683 --> 00:52:03.003
He's just the fucking worst, and I hate that this is happening.

00:52:03.183 --> 00:52:04.563
He's literally pay to play.

00:52:04.643 --> 00:52:05.003
Yeah.

00:52:05.603 --> 00:52:12.063
So it's not an EA situation, but you do have to give him gems that you find the world to unlock certain things.

00:52:12.443 --> 00:52:14.583
Okay, you're not doing real world currency.

00:52:14.903 --> 00:52:15.283
Right.

00:52:15.303 --> 00:52:15.803
Thank God.

00:52:15.823 --> 00:52:16.723
It was the 90s.

00:52:16.763 --> 00:52:17.143
Right.

00:52:17.163 --> 00:52:18.283
We couldn't figure that out.

00:52:18.503 --> 00:52:19.643
Not a modern game at all.

00:52:20.123 --> 00:52:24.903
There is one area early in the game where he's blocking a portal with a big wall.

00:52:25.423 --> 00:52:29.583
He tells Spyro he could take the wall down, but he forgot how to.

00:52:30.283 --> 00:52:34.523
He then extorts Spyro for many, many, many gems and treasures.

00:52:34.843 --> 00:52:42.403
And shockingly, after Spyro is extorted, Moneybags remembers how to pull the wall down and let Spyro access this portal.

00:52:43.443 --> 00:52:44.603
It takes all your treasures.

00:52:45.163 --> 00:52:51.183
I fucking hate this guy, and he's the worst, and I'm glad he's the bear that Ripto kicked out of the fucking castle in the beginning.

00:52:51.623 --> 00:52:52.363
We hate him.

00:52:53.163 --> 00:52:53.763
We hate him.

00:52:53.883 --> 00:52:54.703
He fucking sucks.

00:52:54.703 --> 00:52:57.103
And it is rare to hear you say you hate a bear.

00:52:57.423 --> 00:52:59.643
I love bears, but this bear sucks.

00:53:00.083 --> 00:53:08.943
But that means it's a good performance, and Moneybags is played by Milton James, who was an incredible voice actor in games with over a hundred listed acting credits on IMDB.

00:53:09.643 --> 00:53:10.103
Hell yeah.

00:53:10.163 --> 00:53:11.703
Who did pass in 2018.

00:53:11.723 --> 00:53:13.243
So thank you for your service.

00:53:13.743 --> 00:53:16.043
I hated this character because your performance was so good.

00:53:17.363 --> 00:53:24.183
Spyro bops through themed lands, releasing villagers from tyranny, like a freak of the week, hour-long sci-fi drama.

00:53:24.983 --> 00:53:37.523
And honestly, I'm just thinking of that Firefly episode where the villagers worship Jane, because as he does, Spyro gets orbs, and people are praising him and giving him presents for releasing them from their tyranny and shit.

00:53:37.683 --> 00:53:38.343
It's cute.

00:53:39.043 --> 00:53:46.563
There's one that I just want to talk about for a second, where it's a bunch of monks on a mountainside, and a yeti is terrorizing them.

00:53:46.643 --> 00:53:47.163
Oh, no.

00:53:47.303 --> 00:53:50.483
It's like a yeti, abominable snowman thing, crossover.

00:53:51.003 --> 00:53:54.043
They're basically, they're not interchangeable, but basically interchangeable.

00:53:54.063 --> 00:53:55.063
Yeah, kind of the same thing.

00:53:55.503 --> 00:54:02.143
The yeti has a big roar and is like, and as he does, a building collapses on top of him.

00:54:02.723 --> 00:54:04.783
He kills himself by accident?

00:54:04.803 --> 00:54:06.923
Yeah, and Spyro doesn't even have to do anything.

00:54:06.983 --> 00:54:13.723
I was actually really excited to fight the yeti, but regardless, they give Spyro a talisman as a thank you for stopping him.

00:54:14.223 --> 00:54:17.063
Like, it's the fire dragon versus the ice being.

00:54:17.463 --> 00:54:17.903
Right.

00:54:17.923 --> 00:54:19.163
And they take that away from you?

00:54:19.163 --> 00:54:20.643
I know, I really wanted to do it.

00:54:20.663 --> 00:54:21.703
It's kind of hilarious.

00:54:21.903 --> 00:54:28.103
But within that area, there's also a side quest where you play hockey to earn an orb.

00:54:28.183 --> 00:54:40.983
Like, there's really fun ways that they made new gameplay elements and areas for you to explore and activate and earn your collectibles without just being like, jump to this platform, jump to this higher platform.

00:54:41.583 --> 00:54:45.723
No, it really elevates the gameplay and it also, like, speaks to that Canadian audience they were looking for.

00:54:45.763 --> 00:54:47.103
Yeah, they finally locked them in.

00:54:47.123 --> 00:55:01.543
Now, these worlds are really full and feel lived in and are vastly different from each other, unlike the first game where they would have, like, a general theme, but, like, not as much life in them, you know what I mean?

00:55:01.623 --> 00:55:01.983
Mm-hmm.

00:55:02.743 --> 00:55:09.983
There are a few fewer worlds than in the previous game where Spyro 1 had about 34, Spyro 2 had about 29.

00:55:10.423 --> 00:55:11.943
Holy shit, though.

00:55:11.963 --> 00:55:13.843
That's still a lot for both.

00:55:14.163 --> 00:55:18.163
Yeah, but the lack in quantity is okay due to the rise in quality.

00:55:18.163 --> 00:55:22.563
You know, it's not a big differential, but they're so much better that this is fucking great.

00:55:22.883 --> 00:55:25.203
Would you say that they take about the same amount of time to complete?

00:55:25.483 --> 00:55:28.803
I think they may take a little bit longer, but not much longer.

00:55:28.823 --> 00:55:29.583
The second one?

00:55:29.903 --> 00:55:32.503
Yeah, you're going to do between six to eight hours for each title.

00:55:32.703 --> 00:55:34.503
Ish, ish, don't come for me.

00:55:34.843 --> 00:55:36.363
Depends on your ability to platform.

00:55:36.403 --> 00:55:37.343
Right, right.

00:55:37.383 --> 00:55:39.843
And some of these I was just like, I'm just not going to fucking do this.

00:55:41.683 --> 00:55:47.243
But I'm not a hundo kind of person, so I'm like, I want to have some fun, leave me alone kind of person.

00:55:47.263 --> 00:55:48.383
I want to finish the game.

00:55:48.543 --> 00:55:50.263
Yeah, I want to see what happens in the story.

00:55:50.283 --> 00:55:56.943
All this to say that the levels overall, huge quality of life improvement, except for aquatic towers.

00:55:57.623 --> 00:55:58.863
Fuck aquatic towers.

00:55:59.043 --> 00:56:09.703
Aquatic towers is a horrible level where bad guys have, one, drained the ocean, and then two, they start taunting seahorses with glasses of water.

00:56:09.983 --> 00:56:11.423
That's fucking maniacal.

00:56:11.563 --> 00:56:13.083
Oh my God, that's evil.

00:56:13.103 --> 00:56:16.283
See, when you said the aquatic towers, I was thinking rapture.

00:56:16.623 --> 00:56:18.283
Oh, I mean, kind of.

00:56:18.383 --> 00:56:19.683
But this is horrifying.

00:56:20.123 --> 00:56:28.063
Spyro has to go and release the valves and let the water back into the world, which is fine until you get to these like crazy robot sharks.

00:56:28.743 --> 00:56:33.803
And there are robot sharks that are like nearly impossible to bypass.

00:56:34.103 --> 00:56:35.103
They are huge.

00:56:35.123 --> 00:56:38.823
Their AI is way more attentive to you than any other fucking enemy.

00:56:38.843 --> 00:56:40.363
I threw the controller.

00:56:40.743 --> 00:56:43.603
It's a one hit kill because the sharks don't just bite you.

00:56:43.743 --> 00:56:45.643
They swallow you whole.

00:56:45.903 --> 00:56:46.983
It fucking sucks.

00:56:47.323 --> 00:56:48.663
I got eaten by a lot of sharks.

00:56:48.923 --> 00:56:50.063
Fuck aquatic towers.

00:56:50.183 --> 00:56:52.763
And that's how you know it's a true 90s game.

00:56:54.043 --> 00:56:56.043
If it makes you throw the fucking controller.

00:56:56.063 --> 00:56:58.403
If I'm this angry about it.

00:56:58.423 --> 00:56:58.543
Yeah.

00:56:58.923 --> 00:57:00.983
Oh, that is the sign of a true 90s game.

00:57:01.003 --> 00:57:03.663
If it makes you so mad, you throw the controller.

00:57:04.343 --> 00:57:08.063
There's another water level where the sharks come back out, and money bags will like...

00:57:08.563 --> 00:57:14.403
If you pay money bags enough, he'll put you in a submarine vessel kind of thing, so you can just go buy them without hitting them.

00:57:14.643 --> 00:57:16.443
Just bypass it because they know it sucks.

00:57:16.463 --> 00:57:20.563
They know it sucks, so there's like, if you really fucking hate it, money bags will get you through.

00:57:21.263 --> 00:57:28.183
Now, Spyro gets all the talismans in the summer forest section of Avalar, and this unlocks a door that Ripto had put up.

00:57:28.763 --> 00:57:30.883
Because you have all the talismans, you have all the magic.

00:57:30.903 --> 00:57:31.543
It's fucking great.

00:57:31.683 --> 00:57:32.123
Yeah.

00:57:32.983 --> 00:57:35.603
Elora is there by the door, and she's like, hey, go this way.

00:57:36.183 --> 00:57:41.463
Spyro goes through the door, down into a dungeon, which is Crush's dungeon.

00:57:41.483 --> 00:57:42.983
Ooh, Crush.

00:57:43.423 --> 00:57:47.503
Now, as I talk about, Crush is one of the dinosaurs that works for Ripto.

00:57:48.483 --> 00:57:52.743
So he's huge, he's big, he looks like a dragon without the wings.

00:57:52.963 --> 00:57:53.483
Big boy.

00:57:53.503 --> 00:57:56.323
I was gonna say, not a dragon, a dinosaur.

00:57:56.563 --> 00:57:57.003
Right.

00:57:58.203 --> 00:58:04.943
Now, as Spyro goes down into Crush's dungeon, Elora comes in and is like, hey, Spyro, I want to give you some lore.

00:58:06.363 --> 00:58:08.283
You know how we just do that as people.

00:58:09.043 --> 00:58:11.043
Here, let me just exposition dump on you.

00:58:11.043 --> 00:58:11.503
Right.

00:58:11.783 --> 00:58:12.603
It's like a first date.

00:58:13.083 --> 00:58:15.143
A first date is just an exposition dump, right?

00:58:15.163 --> 00:58:15.783
That's true.

00:58:16.683 --> 00:58:19.463
Now, Ripto got there, like I mentioned, about a week ago.

00:58:19.723 --> 00:58:25.903
The Professor has been using his orbs to work on a super portal technology with Elora and Hunter, his two friends.

00:58:26.563 --> 00:58:30.123
The Professor did his portal checks and said, well, now all I need are the coordinates.

00:58:31.083 --> 00:58:37.403
Hunter hears this and snatches all the devices out of the Professor's hands and starts button mashing numbers in as the coordinates.

00:58:37.923 --> 00:58:42.843
Turns out, much like how people pick lottery numbers, Hunter punches in his birthday.

00:58:44.163 --> 00:58:46.723
Elora says, hey, dipshit, don't do that.

00:58:47.603 --> 00:58:50.503
Hunter then does that and then hits the button to make it go.

00:58:50.803 --> 00:58:55.243
So they were teaching like proper password creation in this video game.

00:58:55.363 --> 00:58:55.723
Right.

00:58:55.743 --> 00:58:57.843
That's great.

00:58:57.863 --> 00:58:59.003
Some serious shit.

00:58:59.503 --> 00:59:03.883
Now, through the portal, a small red dipshit is flung into this world.

00:59:04.583 --> 00:59:05.483
This is Ripto.

00:59:05.763 --> 00:59:07.183
Ripto is Hunter's fault.

00:59:07.583 --> 00:59:11.003
This is hard confirmed that Hunter made this happen because he's a dumbass.

00:59:11.303 --> 00:59:13.223
His birthday is the coordinates to evil.

00:59:14.403 --> 00:59:15.443
The coordinates to evil.

00:59:15.523 --> 00:59:15.883
Yeah.

00:59:17.103 --> 00:59:23.323
Following Ripto are Crush and Gulp, who is the other dinosaur, and they land on top of Ripto.

00:59:23.843 --> 00:59:28.343
Ripto calls them useless buffoons as he crawls out from under his dinosaurs.

00:59:28.983 --> 00:59:34.563
He begins to yell at them and then sees the Professor, Elora, and Hunter in a fairy who's just now here.

00:59:35.143 --> 00:59:36.263
They've all entered the scene.

00:59:36.763 --> 00:59:38.903
In shock, Hunter drops the device.

00:59:39.383 --> 00:59:45.043
Ripto asks where they are and then sniffs the air, realizing there are no dragons in this world.

00:59:45.943 --> 00:59:48.783
Ripto turns to Crush and tells them to go pack his bags.

00:59:49.063 --> 00:59:50.063
They're moving in.

00:59:50.963 --> 00:59:55.403
Ripto tells our group of friends to say hello to their new king.

00:59:55.423 --> 01:00:02.123
Elora tells the Professor to turn the portal off, but his glasses are shattered and he can't read the device to turn it off.

01:00:03.083 --> 01:00:10.143
Thinking quickly, Elora tells the fairy to take the orbs and scatter them throughout the worlds to hide them, because that was the power from the portals.

01:00:10.603 --> 01:00:13.883
Now Ripto can't bring more assholes over if all the powers gone, right?

01:00:15.103 --> 01:00:18.623
This shuts off the portal and Ripto starts freaking out and runs off.

01:00:19.443 --> 01:00:22.203
Elora is like, Oh my god, this is so bad.

01:00:22.583 --> 01:00:23.803
Hunter, why didn't you chase him?

01:00:23.823 --> 01:00:25.043
You're a giant cheetah.

01:00:26.063 --> 01:00:28.323
Hunter has no excuse, but he's useless.

01:00:29.023 --> 01:00:31.183
Hunter is like, Well, Ripto doesn't like dragons.

01:00:31.563 --> 01:00:32.843
Can we get a dragon to do it?

01:00:33.943 --> 01:00:35.583
The Professor is like, Oh my god, yeah.

01:00:35.743 --> 01:00:36.883
Okay, no, that's a good idea.

01:00:36.903 --> 01:00:37.903
Let's find a place with dragons.

01:00:38.883 --> 01:00:42.143
And that's how they started working on getting a dragon to Avalar.

01:00:44.943 --> 01:00:47.023
Because of Hunter being a dumbass.

01:00:47.303 --> 01:00:48.683
Fucking dumbass Hunter.

01:00:50.163 --> 01:00:55.283
Anyway, back to present, Spyro lands in Crush's dungeon and has his first boss fight.

01:00:55.663 --> 01:00:56.223
It's fun.

01:00:56.303 --> 01:00:57.863
It's on par with Crash Bandicoot.

01:00:57.883 --> 01:00:58.763
We fucking love it.

01:00:59.263 --> 01:01:04.323
Now, the boss levels in the first one was a little bit more platforming than some arena play.

01:01:04.343 --> 01:01:06.743
This is all arena play, which is very fun.

01:01:06.903 --> 01:01:07.583
Oh, good.

01:01:08.543 --> 01:01:18.963
After Crush is defeated and crushed under the rubble of the arena, thanks to Spyro kicking the shit out of him that fucking hard, Ripto comes out saying, No, Crush!

01:01:19.783 --> 01:01:24.303
He is angry at Spyro and tells him that Gulp will be more than enough for him.

01:01:25.063 --> 01:01:29.943
Spyro calls him short, and Ripto gets angry and tells Gulp to destroy Spyro.

01:01:29.963 --> 01:01:31.903
And Spyro is not tall.

01:01:31.923 --> 01:01:33.283
No, he's a short king.

01:01:33.303 --> 01:01:34.083
He is tiny.

01:01:34.483 --> 01:01:39.123
The dungeon begins to collapse, and Ripto is like, Ah, fuck it, Gulp, get me out of here.

01:01:39.723 --> 01:01:42.263
They escape, and Spyro calls him a wuss.

01:01:43.483 --> 01:01:44.903
Spyro's a little shit talker.

01:01:44.923 --> 01:01:45.423
I love him.

01:01:45.603 --> 01:01:46.023
I know.

01:01:46.043 --> 01:01:47.503
He's like, fuck you.

01:01:48.303 --> 01:01:50.663
But like, as a kid, he's like, heck you.

01:01:52.623 --> 01:01:58.463
After this, we see the Capitol building remove the Ripto flags and replace them with the region's original flags.

01:01:59.063 --> 01:01:59.443
Mr.

01:01:59.463 --> 01:02:06.783
Moneybags returns to the Capitol building saying, he was bled dry by Ripto, and the only reason he was able to stay afloat was Spyro.

01:02:07.263 --> 01:02:11.123
Taking advantage of Spyro, this whole time is how he lived.

01:02:11.963 --> 01:02:12.803
Fuck this guy.

01:02:15.203 --> 01:02:15.563
Mr.

01:02:15.583 --> 01:02:22.483
Moneybags is on the balcony of the building talking about how much he hates Ripto, as Ripto and Gulp quietly show up behind him.

01:02:23.263 --> 01:02:24.183
They spook Mr.

01:02:24.203 --> 01:02:30.283
Moneybags, who takes the step backwards and falls off the balcony, landing on the hard concrete, stories below.

01:02:31.443 --> 01:02:35.343
This should kill him, but he is capitalism, so he can't be destroyed.

01:02:38.083 --> 01:02:41.763
The Avalar flags roll up, and the Ripto flags come back down.

01:02:42.503 --> 01:02:50.083
Now, Spyro is in Autumn Plains, the new area of Avalar that Ripto is terrorizing after getting kicked out of the Summer Forest.

01:02:51.043 --> 01:02:56.303
These areas are all essentially the same, so like, Spyro goes through more worlds to get eight more talismans here.

01:02:56.883 --> 01:02:58.223
We're like, oh, hey, we won.

01:02:58.643 --> 01:03:00.923
No, you didn't, Ripto just moved fucking east.

01:03:01.043 --> 01:03:02.603
It's fine, fucker.

01:03:02.623 --> 01:03:04.963
It's a little bit like the same.

01:03:05.143 --> 01:03:06.743
Yeah, same but different.

01:03:07.083 --> 01:03:13.063
Right, but you're saying during all this stuff, though, like, you're getting different power-ups, you're doing different moves, meeting new bad guys and stuff too, though, right?

01:03:13.203 --> 01:03:15.203
Not really, there's just some temporary power-ups.

01:03:15.223 --> 01:03:20.703
It's not like you unlock a lot world to world after you unlock being able to swim and being able to climb.

01:03:21.283 --> 01:03:23.063
So that part, there's still no skill tree.

01:03:23.183 --> 01:03:24.863
We're still not in skill tree territory.

01:03:24.883 --> 01:03:27.803
No, and we're not going to, so you better let go of that right now.

01:03:27.823 --> 01:03:29.163
I'm just hoping for more.

01:03:30.123 --> 01:03:31.463
It was the 90s.

01:03:32.463 --> 01:03:39.043
Now after getting these talismans and helping out the people of Autumn Plains, Spyro is ready to face off with Ripto again.

01:03:39.943 --> 01:03:42.783
He sneaks up on Ripto and Gulp in a dungeon.

01:03:43.503 --> 01:03:47.023
Ripto is talking to Gulp, this big green dinosaur thing.

01:03:47.283 --> 01:03:52.123
He tells Gulp that now they've taken over this world, he's earned a special reward.

01:03:53.003 --> 01:03:58.463
Ripto is holding out a fairy for Gulp to eat, which is horrifying, because we know they're sentient.

01:03:59.303 --> 01:04:03.443
Spyro sneaks up and flames Ripto just as he goes to feed the fairy to Gulp.

01:04:04.263 --> 01:04:15.223
Ripto is mad that Spyro singed his cape in the middle of this, and tells Spyro to say goodbye, flame breath, and then tells Gulp it's lunchtime, and to eat Spyro.

01:04:15.603 --> 01:04:16.343
Eat Spyro?

01:04:16.423 --> 01:04:17.083
Just eat him.

01:04:17.823 --> 01:04:29.223
The fight on Gulp is genuinely really fun, because these boss battles respect the power creep and familiarity the player has with navigating the landscapes in a respectfully fun way.

01:04:29.243 --> 01:04:31.603
So Gulp will charge at Spyro.

01:04:31.623 --> 01:04:32.923
You gotta get out of the way.

01:04:33.123 --> 01:04:37.723
He shoots electricity off of his backpack while pterodactyls fly around overhead.

01:04:38.203 --> 01:04:43.403
Spyro flies around bouncing bombs and hits them back at Gulp, and avoids his tacks.

01:04:44.203 --> 01:04:46.063
Shit, honestly, this is just so much fun.

01:04:46.263 --> 01:04:51.843
So it really lets you utilize your bag of tricks, but also in new ways that you haven't used them before.

01:04:51.883 --> 01:04:57.203
Yeah, it's a very small bag of tricks, but the mix of how you work with them is different, correct?

01:04:57.203 --> 01:04:58.043
It's so much fun.

01:04:58.063 --> 01:04:58.583
That's cool.

01:04:59.283 --> 01:05:02.443
After defeating Gulp, Gulp falls over, exhausted.

01:05:03.143 --> 01:05:09.623
Ripto watches, and as Gulp falls, Ripto falls out of the chair he was watching the fight in and starts screaming.

01:05:10.843 --> 01:05:14.843
Elora comes out of fucking nowhere and is like, shit, yeah, Spyro, you did it.

01:05:15.363 --> 01:05:17.723
Spyro's like, where the fuck did you come from?

01:05:18.303 --> 01:05:19.463
Why weren't you helping me?

01:05:19.583 --> 01:05:19.923
Right.

01:05:20.623 --> 01:05:24.623
Elora's like, oh, I was nearby, and honestly, now there's no sign of Ripto.

01:05:24.643 --> 01:05:25.183
He's gone.

01:05:25.203 --> 01:05:26.683
You fucking did it.

01:05:27.503 --> 01:05:34.703
She's also like, since you've been bobbing around the worlds and untangling people's issues, everyone's getting along, and the worlds have never been better.

01:05:34.743 --> 01:05:37.023
You're bringing fucking world peace.

01:05:38.143 --> 01:05:38.603
Thanks.

01:05:38.883 --> 01:05:39.303
Yeah.

01:05:40.623 --> 01:05:43.903
Spyro's like, well, you kidnapped me, so I don't have a choice.

01:05:44.063 --> 01:05:45.823
Might as well make this place better for everybody.

01:05:46.403 --> 01:05:50.323
Behind her, some fairies come in holding a beach chair and a beach umbrella.

01:05:50.883 --> 01:05:53.563
She says, hey, I know you wanted to go on vacation.

01:05:54.103 --> 01:05:55.423
Sorry about the kidnapping.

01:05:55.843 --> 01:06:00.143
I appreciate you coming in and making our lives better, so we kind of wanted to do something for you.

01:06:00.963 --> 01:06:03.783
Spyro's like, wait, oh, this is great.

01:06:04.043 --> 01:06:07.043
He sits in his little beach chair with his beach umbrella over him.

01:06:07.063 --> 01:06:08.323
He's like, oh, look at me go.

01:06:08.343 --> 01:06:09.103
That's great.

01:06:09.123 --> 01:06:11.623
Does he get a little cocktail with a little fucking umbrella in it, too?

01:06:11.643 --> 01:06:14.763
He does not drink alcohol because he's a dragon.

01:06:17.603 --> 01:06:19.523
He's like, honestly, this is really sweet.

01:06:19.543 --> 01:06:21.323
Do you want to like hang out and be a friend?

01:06:21.323 --> 01:06:22.303
She goes, no.

01:06:24.023 --> 01:06:28.503
She has to go to the winter tundra to check on the professor who's working on the portal to get you home.

01:06:29.683 --> 01:06:35.143
As she says this, Spyro gets in the chair immediately half asleep, like on the beach chair, like, cool, cool.

01:06:35.163 --> 01:06:36.443
I'm going to take a nap, then whatever.

01:06:36.463 --> 01:06:37.063
I don't give a shit.

01:06:37.363 --> 01:06:39.323
I just liberated an entire existence.

01:06:39.503 --> 01:06:43.523
Yeah, he is snoring before his head hits the back of the chair.

01:06:43.843 --> 01:06:45.583
Oh, he's a tired little dragon.

01:06:45.603 --> 01:06:46.323
Yeah.

01:06:46.803 --> 01:06:50.563
He wakes up about a minute later and is like, wait, where did she go?

01:06:51.223 --> 01:06:52.003
I should follow her.

01:06:52.703 --> 01:06:54.543
He's tired, but he is also dumb.

01:06:55.803 --> 01:06:56.883
Yeah, you should never follow.

01:06:57.703 --> 01:06:58.983
Take the win, man.

01:06:59.963 --> 01:07:06.723
He's like, ah, she went to Winter Tundra, so I'm going to go to Winter Tundra, and we know it's Winter Tundra because it's snowcapped.

01:07:07.783 --> 01:07:11.963
In Winter Tundra, the Professor, Hunter, and Laura are all just like together.

01:07:12.723 --> 01:07:19.383
The Professor says, I think this should work to get the dragon back to the Dragon World because this is a super portal.

01:07:20.023 --> 01:07:26.363
It has a ton of the orbs you've collected on it and then one big red gem at the very top.

01:07:27.023 --> 01:07:36.123
The big red gem is a power crystal, and the Professor believes it should give the portal the extra boost it needs to get Spyro back home because it's not a local portal.

01:07:36.143 --> 01:07:38.663
This is like a cross-country portal to the Dragon World.

01:07:38.903 --> 01:07:39.303
Right.

01:07:39.983 --> 01:07:44.843
Then a bomb is thrown into the farm and knocks the crystal out of the portal.

01:07:44.943 --> 01:07:46.463
From the fuck where?

01:07:47.043 --> 01:07:47.743
Ripto.

01:07:48.143 --> 01:07:50.083
Ripto, you son of a bitch.

01:07:50.723 --> 01:07:53.923
Ripto enters the scene and goes, so you think you got rid of me?

01:07:54.363 --> 01:07:55.523
I think not.

01:07:55.823 --> 01:07:56.923
I thought so.

01:07:57.203 --> 01:08:01.943
Elora, Hunter, and the Professor are all on the ground from the blast, and they're like, holy shit.

01:08:03.043 --> 01:08:07.443
Ripto says he got that fat bear moneybags to sell him some bombs.

01:08:07.703 --> 01:08:16.003
So not only is moneybags extorting Spyro, an immigrant, but he is also a warlord selling bombs to the enemy.

01:08:16.083 --> 01:08:17.463
So he's playing both sides.

01:08:17.523 --> 01:08:19.883
He's the fucking worst, and I hate him so goddamn much.

01:08:19.903 --> 01:08:21.383
So he always comes out on top.

01:08:21.823 --> 01:08:23.023
It feels like he's against us.

01:08:23.043 --> 01:08:25.563
It does not feel like he's on Spyro's side at all.

01:08:26.343 --> 01:08:27.703
You know, he's extorting him.

01:08:27.723 --> 01:08:28.563
He's treating him like shit.

01:08:28.583 --> 01:08:31.263
He's literally gatekeeping certain things from him.

01:08:31.283 --> 01:08:34.763
And then Ripto comes in and he goes, you want to buy some bombs?

01:08:35.103 --> 01:08:36.023
I'll sell you weapons.

01:08:36.043 --> 01:08:36.783
I don't give a fuck.

01:08:38.303 --> 01:08:39.043
We hate him.

01:08:40.003 --> 01:08:40.743
Fuck this bear.

01:08:41.083 --> 01:08:52.183
The professor starts to crawl towards that red power crystal to retrieve it, but Ripto holds a bomb at him and says, don't even try it, book boy, or you'll be the world's smartest pile of ashes.

01:08:52.203 --> 01:08:54.463
I fucking hate kids' games.

01:08:54.923 --> 01:08:57.163
Smartest pile of ashes is pretty good, though.

01:08:57.183 --> 01:08:58.643
Like, I do like this game.

01:08:58.663 --> 01:09:01.303
The writing is meant for children.

01:09:01.303 --> 01:09:02.063
For children, yeah.

01:09:02.083 --> 01:09:02.583
And that's rough.

01:09:03.843 --> 01:09:09.463
Ripto walks over and scoops up the red power crystal, saying it's going to be used in his new scepter.

01:09:09.803 --> 01:09:13.463
You know, because the last one got, like, stolen and almost eaten and shit.

01:09:14.363 --> 01:09:18.383
Hunter does nothing, and then after he is like, well, I tried.

01:09:18.803 --> 01:09:23.503
Ripto said he's going to kill everyone with his scepter and rename this place Riptonia.

01:09:23.983 --> 01:09:28.983
Ripto laughs, walks into the town center castle, and we see money bags go flying.

01:09:29.663 --> 01:09:29.823
Oh.

01:09:30.603 --> 01:09:36.943
Once again, the local flags on the town center castle go up, and the Ripto flags go back out, flying in the wind.

01:09:37.283 --> 01:09:38.263
Here we go again.

01:09:38.283 --> 01:09:39.823
Son of a bitch.

01:09:40.303 --> 01:09:41.363
I know, right?

01:09:42.083 --> 01:09:45.223
So Spyro is then in Winter Tundra, and we know what he has to do.

01:09:45.243 --> 01:09:46.763
It is what it is.

01:09:47.183 --> 01:09:52.523
We don't need the talismans this time, since we're like in the end game section, so we just need the orbs.

01:09:52.543 --> 01:09:56.923
The orbs are what powers these portals, so the more orbs we get, the better.

01:09:57.043 --> 01:09:58.983
Okay, so it only feels like we're starting over.

01:09:59.463 --> 01:09:59.903
Yeah.

01:10:00.003 --> 01:10:01.563
We're not actually starting over.

01:10:01.583 --> 01:10:06.663
Yeah, but we still have to go around to the little mini worlds and help everyone figure their shit out.

01:10:06.683 --> 01:10:08.783
I was going to say, now you need to get eight trinkets.

01:10:08.843 --> 01:10:11.523
Yeah, instead of the talismans, like they made it dumber.

01:10:11.563 --> 01:10:11.943
Yeah.

01:10:12.663 --> 01:10:16.963
Elora comes up on Spyro and is like, hey, Repto's alive.

01:10:17.103 --> 01:10:20.703
He stole the power crystal for the portal, and he locked us out of the castle.

01:10:21.303 --> 01:10:24.863
So obviously, we're doing more of the same, but make it winter.

01:10:25.843 --> 01:10:30.363
There are six areas in Winter Tundra, as well as easy access to Summer and Autumn worlds.

01:10:30.823 --> 01:10:34.363
So it's kind of nice to bop around if you're like, man, I need 20 more orbs.

01:10:34.383 --> 01:10:37.803
I can go back to old levels where I didn't hundo everything, grab them.

01:10:38.143 --> 01:10:39.843
They try to make it pretty easy and accessible.

01:10:41.123 --> 01:10:45.803
Here, money bags can also charge you to learn how to head bash, which can destroy big rocks.

01:10:46.243 --> 01:10:50.183
Very helpful, but still very bitter that's behind a paywall thanks to capitalism.

01:10:50.483 --> 01:10:51.783
Fucking capitalism bear.

01:10:52.383 --> 01:10:54.683
A handful more worlds, get more orbs.

01:10:54.863 --> 01:10:56.063
You know the drill by this point.

01:10:56.503 --> 01:11:02.563
With more than enough orbs to power a major city, Spyro is ready to take on Ripto once and for all.

01:11:02.743 --> 01:11:03.323
We hope.

01:11:03.623 --> 01:11:05.343
His stupid dinosaurs are dead.

01:11:05.383 --> 01:11:08.163
He's just a little man not worthy of being a short king.

01:11:08.823 --> 01:11:16.583
Honestly, we should be taking on capitalist bear too while we're at it, but, you know, we're going to just ignore the fact that he was complicit in a hostile takeover.

01:11:16.603 --> 01:11:19.983
Well, because he helped us once, but we had to pay for it.

01:11:20.043 --> 01:11:21.423
Yeah, I don't love that.

01:11:22.283 --> 01:11:28.223
If I haven't made that clear, I'm not a fan of the functionality and character of Moneybags, but go off.

01:11:28.663 --> 01:11:36.543
Spyro, armed with guts, glory and orbs galore, goes up the town center castle steps to confront Ripto.

01:11:37.283 --> 01:11:41.383
Elora is at the top of the stairs and is like, Hey, Spyro, you got all the orbs.

01:11:41.583 --> 01:11:42.823
Let's kill this motherfucker.

01:11:43.023 --> 01:11:43.603
Hell yeah.

01:11:44.863 --> 01:11:50.463
Spyro comes up on Ripto, waving around the power crystal in his scepter, and he's talking to himself.

01:11:51.023 --> 01:11:52.143
He's like, hell yeah.

01:11:52.903 --> 01:11:54.423
I did this shit.

01:11:54.703 --> 01:11:58.383
There are three sheep in his arena, and he shoots his scepter at them.

01:11:59.003 --> 01:12:04.103
And out of the scepter, this powerful blast of light and energy comes shooting out at the sheep.

01:12:04.703 --> 01:12:10.423
They thankfully saw this and got out of the way, and Ripto is like, Ah, you useless animals, come back.

01:12:10.983 --> 01:12:12.703
Ripto, why would they?

01:12:12.723 --> 01:12:17.403
I was thinking the static electricity from these sheep would actually be pretty high.

01:12:17.563 --> 01:12:19.563
Oh yeah, they would genuinely explode.

01:12:21.163 --> 01:12:23.503
Spyro comes in, calls Ripto short.

01:12:23.683 --> 01:12:24.643
He's also short.

01:12:25.023 --> 01:12:26.883
And then tells him to get over here.

01:12:27.603 --> 01:12:29.803
Ripto is like, what, you again?

01:12:29.803 --> 01:12:31.223
Are you fucking serious?

01:12:31.323 --> 01:12:33.023
Let me do a hostile takeover.

01:12:33.143 --> 01:12:34.943
We feel the same way about you, buddy.

01:12:35.123 --> 01:12:35.823
You again?

01:12:36.043 --> 01:12:36.523
Right?

01:12:37.343 --> 01:12:40.963
Spyro is like, hey, dipshit, try that scepter on me.

01:12:40.963 --> 01:12:42.123
Let's fucking go.

01:12:42.583 --> 01:12:44.043
Which is so badass.

01:12:44.943 --> 01:12:47.303
Ripto is like, oh, absolutely, let's fucking go.

01:12:47.383 --> 01:12:48.143
Let's do this.

01:12:48.543 --> 01:12:51.563
So now we have the big boy boss battle we've been waiting for.

01:12:51.583 --> 01:12:55.323
And this battle is genuinely so much fun.

01:12:56.003 --> 01:13:01.763
Before it starts, a fairy comes in and tells you that Elora and Hunter are trying to help from the sidelines.

01:13:01.983 --> 01:13:02.863
For the first time.

01:13:03.143 --> 01:13:07.103
You know, kind of shitty that they've just decided now to help, but it's always appreciated.

01:13:07.363 --> 01:13:12.343
They're going to take some of the orbs that you collected, power them up, and help you defeat Ripto through the battle.

01:13:13.023 --> 01:13:19.243
These orbs will unlock more abilities in the game that are kind of the same as those boosted power ups we've seen earlier.

01:13:19.603 --> 01:13:23.523
So like super headbutt running, cool shit like that.

01:13:23.543 --> 01:13:28.703
Just to really hone in all the different fun pieces of gameplay you've experienced throughout.

01:13:29.043 --> 01:13:30.163
That's a good boss battle.

01:13:30.363 --> 01:13:31.543
It is.

01:13:31.783 --> 01:13:33.723
So these orbs fall on the battlefield.

01:13:34.123 --> 01:13:37.823
Ripto also has the ability to grab them and can start attacking you too.

01:13:37.863 --> 01:13:40.903
So as they drop, you have to run and haul ass to get them.

01:13:41.343 --> 01:13:46.823
If Ripto gets enough, he can attack you like a motherfucker, but if you get enough, you can attack him like a motherfucker.

01:13:47.143 --> 01:13:50.843
And I love that you're both sharing resources in this boss battle.

01:13:51.423 --> 01:13:59.783
It's actually quite rare to have kind of that NPC boss fucking enemy and yourself sharing resources.

01:13:59.803 --> 01:14:02.663
And there's kind of this tug of war of resources, which is so fun.

01:14:02.763 --> 01:14:04.763
Yeah, I see that very, very rarely.

01:14:04.783 --> 01:14:07.063
That's really cool that Spyro, of all games, did that.

01:14:09.163 --> 01:14:11.363
You know, Ripto, he doesn't always have to have orbs.

01:14:11.563 --> 01:14:19.743
He can just shoot you with his scepter regularly throughout, so you have to get your orbs to activate your power-ups, avoid his scepter, grab the orbs before he can get them.

01:14:19.783 --> 01:14:23.763
It's honestly, it's so much fun, and I forgot how fun it was.

01:14:23.803 --> 01:14:26.083
And I was playing, it was like, I want to do this again, actually.

01:14:26.103 --> 01:14:26.943
It's really cool.

01:14:27.983 --> 01:14:28.403
I didn't.

01:14:28.603 --> 01:14:29.743
I have so many games to play.

01:14:32.003 --> 01:14:36.343
Anyway, whenever you get three orbs, that's when your power-ups activate.

01:14:36.383 --> 01:14:40.203
And as you get your third orb every time, Ripto goes, what?

01:14:40.663 --> 01:14:47.763
And he'll stop attacking you because he notices that you have enough orbs to kick the shit out of him, and he'll run, which makes it a great opportunity to kick the shit out of him.

01:14:47.783 --> 01:14:49.303
Oh, it's so good.

01:14:49.503 --> 01:14:51.583
Is it a classic three hits and he's done?

01:14:52.143 --> 01:14:52.623
Almost.

01:14:53.083 --> 01:15:00.063
So after phase one of killing Ripto, when you get down to a certain point, he uses his scepter to summon a magic metal bowl.

01:15:01.483 --> 01:15:02.463
It's not alive.

01:15:02.483 --> 01:15:05.263
It's just a mech that he's riding almost.

01:15:05.483 --> 01:15:06.163
A bowl?

01:15:06.203 --> 01:15:06.683
Yeah.

01:15:06.823 --> 01:15:07.223
Okay.

01:15:07.303 --> 01:15:08.323
Like horns and shit.

01:15:08.343 --> 01:15:08.763
Yeah.

01:15:08.943 --> 01:15:15.703
We haven't had several part boss battles yet, so this is really great to kind of turn on its head and say, no, no, there's more.

01:15:15.763 --> 01:15:18.763
It's not just singular fighting styles.

01:15:18.783 --> 01:15:20.443
You have to be really creative.

01:15:20.583 --> 01:15:21.583
Before you celebrate.

01:15:22.963 --> 01:15:28.723
Now, Spyro is fast where Ripto and his bowl are bulky, so this actually works in Spyro's favor to a certain extent.

01:15:29.463 --> 01:15:38.263
Spyro terrorizes Ripto and his metal bowl looking ass mech shit, and once it breaks down, the mech explodes and a bunch of orbs are released.

01:15:38.763 --> 01:15:40.863
Ripto is like, God damn it.

01:15:42.183 --> 01:15:44.463
And now we enter the third stage of the battle.

01:15:44.963 --> 01:15:50.023
Ripto now summons a flying mech, and the arena becomes engulfed in lava.

01:15:50.723 --> 01:15:54.963
Now we have to fly and cannot touch the ground because the ground is lava.

01:15:55.463 --> 01:15:57.143
The floor is literally lava.

01:15:57.163 --> 01:15:58.083
That's amazing.

01:15:58.103 --> 01:16:03.103
It's so cool because the arena is, this is the third arena battle we've encountered in this, and it's just, you know, it's a circle.

01:16:03.123 --> 01:16:06.383
It's a classic arena with a river of lava around it.

01:16:06.403 --> 01:16:09.083
So now the whole fucking arena is eaten by lava.

01:16:09.163 --> 01:16:10.703
We've taken to the sky.

01:16:10.723 --> 01:16:12.203
Oh, it's so good.

01:16:12.503 --> 01:16:14.683
But you're actually flying, not just gliding.

01:16:14.703 --> 01:16:15.063
Correct.

01:16:15.083 --> 01:16:15.883
Yeah, you are flying.

01:16:16.363 --> 01:16:26.023
Spyro eats one orb before the floor becomes fully lava, and it gives you the flying booster for unlimited flight, and now there's no time cap on it, so you can just fucking fly.

01:16:26.123 --> 01:16:26.503
Nice.

01:16:27.103 --> 01:16:27.983
Oh, it's so good.

01:16:28.383 --> 01:16:34.723
So Spyro flies around dodging aerosols, and he starts trying to get Ripto down into submission.

01:16:35.463 --> 01:16:40.543
There are no orbs being thrown on anymore because of the lava, for obvious reasons.

01:16:40.543 --> 01:16:40.923
Right.

01:16:41.163 --> 01:16:45.343
So Spyro has to spit fireballs and rocks to Ripto in the air.

01:16:46.163 --> 01:16:47.083
So fucking cool.

01:16:47.103 --> 01:16:48.963
This sounds like a great boss battle.

01:16:49.163 --> 01:16:50.263
It is.

01:16:50.923 --> 01:16:55.723
And this battle alone, I think, is more fun than entire sections of the first Spyro.

01:16:56.723 --> 01:16:57.743
Entire worlds.

01:16:58.163 --> 01:17:04.843
Once Spyro gets Ripto and his stupid fucking flying bastard down, the flying bastard falls into the lava.

01:17:05.263 --> 01:17:09.343
He goes down, and it's like the goddamn Terminator 2, because so does Ripto.

01:17:09.623 --> 01:17:12.143
Instead of a thumbs up, he's just being a bitch.

01:17:12.163 --> 01:17:13.683
Oh, I thought I was going to flip you off.

01:17:14.023 --> 01:17:15.363
Oh my god, that'd be so funny.

01:17:16.883 --> 01:17:25.563
He falls right into the lava, and after he does, we see the Ripto flags on the castle roll up and go away, replaced with the regular Avalar flags.

01:17:26.243 --> 01:17:27.203
God, I hope he's dead.

01:17:28.043 --> 01:17:33.003
Spyro comes out of the lava arena to see his friends, I guess friends, kidnappers, whatever.

01:17:33.703 --> 01:17:39.503
Elora, Hunter, the Professor, and also that fucking capitalist bastard Moneybags.

01:17:40.783 --> 01:17:43.443
Like, you ate it and abetted terrorism.

01:17:44.003 --> 01:17:45.003
You shouldn't be here.

01:17:45.443 --> 01:17:47.243
Yeah, is this Stockholm Syndrome?

01:17:48.883 --> 01:17:49.843
Like a little?

01:17:51.243 --> 01:17:56.563
Because Elora approaches Spyro and then kisses him on the head and says, thank you so much.

01:17:57.123 --> 01:17:58.223
That's not appropriate.

01:17:58.263 --> 01:18:00.703
And Spyro's like, I'm not even supposed to be here today.

01:18:00.763 --> 01:18:01.703
Spyro's a temp.

01:18:03.703 --> 01:18:07.143
I went on vacation and got kidnapped by you.

01:18:07.523 --> 01:18:08.683
Right, like in Taken.

01:18:09.523 --> 01:18:12.003
But here we are and you're thanking me.

01:18:12.203 --> 01:18:12.663
Okay.

01:18:12.963 --> 01:18:13.323
Sure.

01:18:13.363 --> 01:18:15.183
And Laura's like, I guess you have to go now.

01:18:15.203 --> 01:18:17.483
And he's like, I can't even fucking hang out.

01:18:17.803 --> 01:18:19.303
I just saved this entire world.

01:18:19.323 --> 01:18:21.583
Can someone bring me a pizza or a sandwich or something?

01:18:21.603 --> 01:18:22.223
What the fuck?

01:18:22.243 --> 01:18:23.523
And it's not I have to go now.

01:18:23.623 --> 01:18:25.663
It was I was never supposed to be here.

01:18:25.783 --> 01:18:26.123
Right.

01:18:26.603 --> 01:18:28.323
It's not just I'm not supposed to be here today.

01:18:28.383 --> 01:18:30.063
It's I'm not supposed to be here.

01:18:30.683 --> 01:18:31.163
Period.

01:18:31.183 --> 01:18:31.823
Period.

01:18:31.863 --> 01:18:32.203
Yeah.

01:18:32.723 --> 01:18:33.043
Ever.

01:18:34.103 --> 01:18:39.983
So Spyro's like, I think the dragons are going to miss me, and I really need that vacation now, man.

01:18:40.283 --> 01:18:41.143
What the fuck?

01:18:41.383 --> 01:18:42.483
At least earned one.

01:18:42.523 --> 01:18:43.003
Right?

01:18:43.643 --> 01:18:47.743
Laura's like, okay, before you go, Moneybags has something he wants to give you.

01:18:48.423 --> 01:18:49.463
He can go fuck himself.

01:18:49.763 --> 01:18:52.463
Moneybags frowns and says, no, I don't.

01:18:53.963 --> 01:19:04.023
Hunter tackles him and beats the shit out of him in the first useful thing Hunter's done all game and takes his bag of bunny, which is exactly what it sounds like.

01:19:04.043 --> 01:19:06.963
It's like a brown burlap sack with a money sign on it.

01:19:07.343 --> 01:19:09.503
I've seen one only once in real life.

01:19:10.183 --> 01:19:13.123
Was it at like a Western reenactment of a bank robbery?

01:19:13.283 --> 01:19:16.303
No, so I've talked about how I've worked at a GameStop before.

01:19:16.303 --> 01:19:23.303
So I worked at a GameStop that was in a mall, and across the hall in the mall was a rare coin collecting place.

01:19:23.563 --> 01:19:24.143
Oh, cool.

01:19:24.203 --> 01:19:31.763
And somebody brought in a literal bag of gold coins in a burlap sack with a giant money sign on it.

01:19:31.763 --> 01:19:33.003
Was he a time traveler?

01:19:33.183 --> 01:19:35.203
I fucking thought so or something.

01:19:35.223 --> 01:19:37.923
I like sat there and just watched it happen.

01:19:37.943 --> 01:19:41.103
I'm like, there's no fucking way this is really happening in front of me right now.

01:19:41.123 --> 01:19:42.603
Did he look like a prospector?

01:19:42.703 --> 01:19:43.903
I didn't even look at the person.

01:19:43.923 --> 01:19:48.103
I was so mesmerized by the money in the burlap sack.

01:19:48.663 --> 01:19:57.023
I fully imagine a man with a big white beard, overalls, like a hat with a hole in it, and a piece of wheat sticking out of his mouth.

01:19:58.383 --> 01:19:59.903
That's fucking hysterical.

01:20:01.183 --> 01:20:02.463
Anyway, that's Moneybags.

01:20:02.803 --> 01:20:13.163
So Hunter beats the shit out of him and takes his bag, and Elora tells Spyro that Moneybags is very sorry he extorted you and you can have all your gems back, which isn't helpful now.

01:20:13.223 --> 01:20:14.763
No, it's the end of the fucking game.

01:20:14.783 --> 01:20:17.843
I don't need my goddamn gems now, but thanks.

01:20:17.843 --> 01:20:22.843
I guess you have some spending money for this vacation, but I don't know if the currency transfers between worlds.

01:20:22.863 --> 01:20:23.323
I don't know.

01:20:23.343 --> 01:20:23.843
It's a whole thing.

01:20:24.023 --> 01:20:26.963
Is there an interdimensional currency exchange that's going to be there?

01:20:26.983 --> 01:20:27.983
For the multiverse?

01:20:28.023 --> 01:20:28.983
I'm not sure.

01:20:29.003 --> 01:20:31.323
It would be useful.

01:20:31.443 --> 01:20:32.023
It would.

01:20:32.863 --> 01:20:37.403
The professor says he got the portal working and he can get Spyro back to Dragon Shores.

01:20:38.143 --> 01:20:40.063
Spyro is like, Hey, do you guys want to come with me?

01:20:40.083 --> 01:20:41.223
Like, why not?

01:20:41.363 --> 01:20:46.903
And all of them say no, which is also very embarrassing for him.

01:20:47.623 --> 01:20:48.783
You just fixed our home.

01:20:48.803 --> 01:20:50.023
We don't need to leave now.

01:20:50.123 --> 01:20:53.583
Yeah, they're like, honestly, we do have a lot of cleaning up to do after Ripto.

01:20:53.603 --> 01:21:03.043
Like, you did fix most of our interpersonal problems with like fixing shit and earning orbs, but, you know, there's like a tree over there I have to replant.

01:21:03.063 --> 01:21:03.723
I can't go.

01:21:03.863 --> 01:21:06.323
And none of us will come corroborate the story you're about to tell.

01:21:08.163 --> 01:21:10.343
Spyro's like, all right, anyway, bye.

01:21:10.503 --> 01:21:11.303
And dips.

01:21:11.723 --> 01:21:25.423
We get the credits, but after the credits, Spyro has returned to Dragon Shores and he's met by a Dragon Gatekeeper and can play some silly Carnival games, which is actually really cute for like post-game stuff.

01:21:25.803 --> 01:21:27.243
There's a dunk tank.

01:21:27.263 --> 01:21:30.683
There's a roller coaster where you like pop balloons on the track.

01:21:30.963 --> 01:21:32.283
There's a shooting gallery.

01:21:32.343 --> 01:21:34.343
There's a tunnel of love and a theater.

01:21:34.583 --> 01:21:36.163
Wait, this is like a whole ass level.

01:21:36.243 --> 01:21:37.223
Yeah, and it's so cute.

01:21:37.243 --> 01:21:38.263
There's no one mean.

01:21:38.283 --> 01:21:40.283
You're just having fun playing Carnival games.

01:21:40.723 --> 01:21:41.723
That's actually pretty cool.

01:21:42.183 --> 01:21:46.683
In the tunnel of love, you see these heart-shaped boats going around a moat.

01:21:47.083 --> 01:21:54.143
Spyro gets in an empty heart-shaped boat, but when he comes out of the ride, there's a blue goat-looking ass bitch in his boat.

01:21:54.523 --> 01:21:54.863
What?

01:21:54.883 --> 01:21:55.223
With him.

01:21:55.843 --> 01:22:00.323
So he picked up someone along the way in the tunnel of love, which is wild.

01:22:00.403 --> 01:22:03.583
Which means that person might have been in a boat with somebody else.

01:22:03.963 --> 01:22:05.083
And dipped for Spyro?

01:22:05.103 --> 01:22:06.043
And he swooped.

01:22:06.163 --> 01:22:06.623
Yup.

01:22:07.603 --> 01:22:08.683
He did the robbery.

01:22:08.703 --> 01:22:10.303
Oh, man.

01:22:10.483 --> 01:22:15.083
In the theater, Spyro can watch all the cutscenes from the game, which is also kind of cute.

01:22:15.263 --> 01:22:16.023
Okay, well done.

01:22:16.143 --> 01:22:16.763
And that's it.

01:22:17.183 --> 01:22:20.243
Now Spyro 2 Ripto's Rage is complete.

01:22:20.823 --> 01:22:22.883
Thank goodness, because fuck Ripto.

01:22:23.083 --> 01:22:24.123
Fuck Ripto.

01:22:24.243 --> 01:22:25.383
Ripto sucks.

01:22:25.403 --> 01:22:27.083
All my homies hate Ripto.

01:22:27.083 --> 01:22:27.623
Facts.

01:22:28.663 --> 01:22:36.463
Now, the reviews for Spyro 2 were largely positive, mostly citing that if you like the first Spyro, this will 100% be your shit.

01:22:36.503 --> 01:22:38.563
And I fully stand by that statement.

01:22:38.823 --> 01:22:41.263
It was just everything you loved about Spyro, but better.

01:22:41.283 --> 01:22:44.643
Yeah, it's just Spyro 1 bigger, better, and more engaging.

01:22:44.983 --> 01:22:48.443
The structure itself is repetitive, and it's still a collectathon.

01:22:48.823 --> 01:22:58.923
But the gameplay does push itself to be more creative and find new ways to drop puzzles and create different strategies for gameplay specific to whatever the circumstance is.

01:22:59.003 --> 01:23:00.203
So it was really great.

01:23:00.703 --> 01:23:02.983
The fact that they also turned that out in a year.

01:23:03.483 --> 01:23:05.043
Oh my god, can you believe?

01:23:05.883 --> 01:23:07.383
Unreal, but good for them.

01:23:07.403 --> 01:23:18.603
Yeah, and speaking of that, the team celebrated a very tiny bit, but then immediately jumped in to working on the third Spyro game of this trilogy, Spyro, Year of the Dragon.

01:23:19.203 --> 01:23:25.063
The third game came out in 2000, which in the Lunar New Year calendar is the Year of the Dragon.

01:23:25.763 --> 01:23:26.443
Well done.

01:23:26.463 --> 01:23:27.263
So it worked out.

01:23:27.923 --> 01:23:31.323
Do you know what your Lunar calendar animal is?

01:23:31.343 --> 01:23:32.183
I think it's the rat.

01:23:32.203 --> 01:23:32.903
You are a pig.

01:23:32.923 --> 01:23:33.743
I'm the pig?

01:23:33.763 --> 01:23:34.103
Yes.

01:23:34.203 --> 01:23:34.583
Okay.

01:23:34.723 --> 01:23:35.183
I checked.

01:23:35.303 --> 01:23:36.043
Okay, thank you.

01:23:36.883 --> 01:23:37.603
I am a horse.

01:23:37.843 --> 01:23:38.403
You're a horse?

01:23:38.923 --> 01:23:39.303
Okay.

01:23:40.023 --> 01:23:44.283
Now, I mentioned Ted Price, the co-founder of Insomniac.

01:23:44.623 --> 01:23:58.083
One of his favorite things about Spyro, Year of the Dragon and the release was that they just launched a feature where if someone is just like beefing it, eating shit on the levels, the level auto adjusts to make it a little bit easier for the player.

01:23:58.803 --> 01:24:09.923
And part of this was to make it so the game could be accessible for anyone who picks it up and not just like end up in a trap or like rage quit or I don't know, throw the controller across the couch and go, I fucking hate this shit.

01:24:09.943 --> 01:24:10.843
Why is this hard?

01:24:11.343 --> 01:24:15.403
And Insomniac has kept that feature through every fucking game.

01:24:15.783 --> 01:24:16.543
They have.

01:24:16.543 --> 01:24:21.323
It's fascinating to see where the lineage still lies in certain titles, you know?

01:24:21.443 --> 01:24:21.863
Yeah.

01:24:22.343 --> 01:24:24.763
This was called auto-challenge tuning.

01:24:24.843 --> 01:24:29.083
And like you said, it's been used in a lot of Insomniac games and a lot of non-Insomniac games, frankly.

01:24:29.103 --> 01:24:31.263
I was going to say, Naughty Dog uses it a lot now, too.

01:24:31.303 --> 01:24:35.723
That's true, and they're buddy buddies, so it's great.

01:24:36.303 --> 01:24:48.003
The team got more and more ambitious with this title, which is incredible, considering the generational leap from one to two within a year having so many quality of life upgrades and more challenging ways to play the game.

01:24:49.403 --> 01:24:57.063
This one is all about keeping the individual levels and worlds more engaging and make people want to replay it more.

01:24:57.483 --> 01:24:59.063
Okay, they wanted higher replay value.

01:24:59.103 --> 01:24:59.463
Yeah.

01:25:00.063 --> 01:25:07.543
Now, contextually, in the year 2000, the PS2 was released, and it was a major moment in the gaming world, and just the world, actually.

01:25:08.143 --> 01:25:10.783
It truly was groundbreaking of a system.

01:25:11.423 --> 01:25:18.863
While the PS2 came out in late October 2000, this title, Spyro Year of the Dragon, was scheduled for release in early 2000.

01:25:19.263 --> 01:25:34.323
This title was only built for PS1, but because PlayStation was so stoked on keeping the good times rolling, Sony still backed a major ad campaign focusing on this title, which is kind of interesting to be pushing a new console and then titles for the current generation.

01:25:34.343 --> 01:25:34.923
You know what I mean?

01:25:35.323 --> 01:25:43.363
It's true, but they also know that the previous generation will still stick around for at least four to five years for a lot of people.

01:25:43.703 --> 01:25:44.123
Right.

01:25:44.423 --> 01:25:48.163
Adoption of a new console takes a lot because that is a very pricey piece of equipment.

01:25:48.243 --> 01:25:52.883
And just because they're moving on to a new system doesn't mean the consumer necessarily is.

01:25:53.123 --> 01:25:58.683
Yeah, and again, this was Gen 1 to Gen 2 of PlayStation, so people weren't used to what this evolution felt like yet.

01:25:58.703 --> 01:25:59.923
They were like, no, I got the thing.

01:26:00.443 --> 01:26:01.323
I'm done, right?

01:26:01.423 --> 01:26:03.363
I mean, shit, it's still prevalent today.

01:26:03.603 --> 01:26:07.843
Red Dead Redemption is coming out on PlayStation 4, not on PlayStation 5.

01:26:08.423 --> 01:26:11.363
It's on PlayStation 4 because, yeah, more people have that.

01:26:11.463 --> 01:26:12.063
They get it.

01:26:12.463 --> 01:26:19.443
Insomniac would publish Spyro Year of the Dragon on October 10th, 2000, and it's straight up, this is the best of the trilogy.

01:26:19.883 --> 01:26:21.343
It goes out on the high note.

01:26:21.343 --> 01:26:25.183
It's the last one Insomniac did in the franchise as well.

01:26:25.783 --> 01:26:28.303
And honestly, I'm just so happy they went out on top.

01:26:28.803 --> 01:26:29.603
Ugh, so good.

01:26:29.863 --> 01:26:32.163
That's really good that the final one was the best one.

01:26:32.183 --> 01:26:35.403
It's one of those things where you hope that they get better with age.

01:26:35.663 --> 01:26:36.243
Oh, absolutely.

01:26:36.263 --> 01:26:38.623
You want to believe that they're improving their skills.

01:26:38.643 --> 01:26:39.803
And they are, they absolutely are.

01:26:40.043 --> 01:26:45.223
And not that it was like they made a final game because the final game was the fucking worst.

01:26:45.283 --> 01:26:46.003
Yeah.

01:26:46.123 --> 01:26:47.823
And then they go, Ah, shit, we should bail.

01:26:48.323 --> 01:26:53.143
Now, this came out in tandem with the first Crash game that wasn't done by Naughty Dog.

01:26:53.723 --> 01:26:55.303
This was called Crash Bash.

01:26:56.103 --> 01:27:02.283
Crash Bash is a Mario Party-style game of minigames by Eurocom Entertainment Software.

01:27:02.643 --> 01:27:08.163
So with Crash ending the year prior, Insomniac took that note and pushed their last Spyro game this year.

01:27:08.923 --> 01:27:09.423
Oh, okay.

01:27:09.843 --> 01:27:14.743
And now, for the last Spyro game in the Insomniac trilogy, here we go.

01:27:15.383 --> 01:27:18.703
This is Spyro, Year of the Dragon.

01:27:20.143 --> 01:27:22.983
The game opens back in our home world, the world of dragons.

01:27:23.343 --> 01:27:27.463
The dragons are all asleep across the lush hills surrounded by dragon eggs.

01:27:28.103 --> 01:27:29.023
Everyone is calm.

01:27:29.063 --> 01:27:30.883
It's basically a silent night in this bitch.

01:27:31.663 --> 01:27:34.423
All the dragons we met in the first game are here, and they're snoring.

01:27:34.943 --> 01:27:40.103
Then, from out of the ground, a beige rabbit wearing a hood comes out.

01:27:40.563 --> 01:27:41.423
She looks around.

01:27:42.063 --> 01:27:44.483
More soldiers that look like rhinoceroses.

01:27:45.143 --> 01:27:45.803
Rhinocer?

01:27:46.423 --> 01:27:47.303
Rhinos?

01:27:47.423 --> 01:27:47.943
Rhinos.

01:27:48.123 --> 01:27:48.463
Rhinos.

01:27:48.483 --> 01:27:52.103
More soldiers that look like rhinos pop out of the ground after her.

01:27:52.843 --> 01:27:55.163
Silently, she gestures out the dragon eggs.

01:27:55.763 --> 01:28:00.043
The rhinos take all the dragon eggs and disappear back into the earth.

01:28:00.463 --> 01:28:03.143
The rabbit picks up an egg and starts to walk away.

01:28:03.643 --> 01:28:07.103
As she does, she steps on a tail, Hunter's tail.

01:28:07.923 --> 01:28:11.923
Hunter wakes up and screams and awakens all the other dragons.

01:28:12.263 --> 01:28:17.843
In a panic, Rabbit Lady runs off with the last egg and all the dragons come to realize the eggs are gone.

01:28:18.863 --> 01:28:20.803
Spyro is disappointed.

01:28:21.603 --> 01:28:22.863
I can see why.

01:28:23.683 --> 01:28:30.703
We get to another scene that's in a castle with eggs on pedestals in this great grand like stained glass window moment.

01:28:31.263 --> 01:28:37.603
We find out that the rabbit's name is Bianca, and she has come to a throne with an egg in her hand, and she offers it.

01:28:38.123 --> 01:28:40.983
She says, They managed to capture all the eggs, your highness.

01:28:41.883 --> 01:28:49.303
We then meet a turquoise alligator, the sorceress, the ruler of wherever the fuck we are right now.

01:28:49.783 --> 01:28:53.363
I love that Spyro is the only mythical creature.

01:28:53.863 --> 01:28:55.163
Everything else is like a rabbit.

01:28:55.583 --> 01:29:00.443
Yeah, and there was like the hedgehog in the last one or the porcupine, whatever.

01:29:00.463 --> 01:29:01.463
Yeah, it's the professor, yeah.

01:29:01.543 --> 01:29:07.123
Yeah, and the fawn and just, yeah, we get all these like real animals and then dragons.

01:29:07.143 --> 01:29:10.203
Yeah, there's no like Pegasuses or anything like that.

01:29:10.223 --> 01:29:10.963
They're like, fuck it.

01:29:11.083 --> 01:29:11.463
Right.

01:29:11.543 --> 01:29:12.743
Animals and dragons, it's fine.

01:29:12.783 --> 01:29:15.323
You're really picking the hardest words to pluralize.

01:29:15.603 --> 01:29:18.263
Yeah, I'm not good at that either, clearly.

01:29:18.283 --> 01:29:19.763
I'm fucking this shit up.

01:29:20.863 --> 01:29:24.063
This is also our first female villain, so like progress?

01:29:24.703 --> 01:29:25.803
All right, go Spyro.

01:29:26.343 --> 01:29:30.483
The sorceress is happy the eggs are here and tells Bianca to close off the tunnels.

01:29:31.103 --> 01:29:36.363
A fairy was at the window watching all of this and hears it and is like, oh shit, they got the dragon eggs.

01:29:37.083 --> 01:29:38.643
I gotta be a save point though, fuck.

01:29:39.203 --> 01:29:39.983
What do I do?

01:29:40.723 --> 01:29:46.083
Back in the world of dragons, all the dragons are trying to figure out how to get down the holes left by the rhinos.

01:29:46.703 --> 01:29:51.583
The fairy we saw earlier comes out of one of the holes and reports to Old Man Dragon Argus.

01:29:52.243 --> 01:29:56.963
He asks where the eggs are, and the fairy says they're on the other side of the dragon world.

01:29:57.703 --> 01:30:05.083
So apparently, this is one of those, like, I can dig the way to Australia or China or whatever kind of thing.

01:30:06.043 --> 01:30:07.343
They burrowed through the earth.

01:30:08.043 --> 01:30:11.623
It must have been on the outer edge.

01:30:11.743 --> 01:30:12.243
Right.

01:30:12.803 --> 01:30:15.423
The fairy was like, I saw eggs, but I couldn't lift them.

01:30:15.703 --> 01:30:16.643
They're gigantic.

01:30:16.663 --> 01:30:17.583
It's a fucking dragon.

01:30:17.603 --> 01:30:18.103
I'm tiny.

01:30:18.123 --> 01:30:18.963
I can't do this.

01:30:19.283 --> 01:30:21.243
And it's a very, like, Tinkerbell fairy.

01:30:21.263 --> 01:30:25.343
So if you can imagine something small and flying, you're like, yeah, you wouldn't be able to pick up a dragon egg.

01:30:25.503 --> 01:30:26.163
I get that.

01:30:26.243 --> 01:30:26.643
Yeah.

01:30:27.283 --> 01:30:31.663
Argus tells Spyro he's got to go after them because he's the only one who can fit down the holes.

01:30:32.463 --> 01:30:38.023
Hunter hears this proposition for Spyro, not for him, and goes, hell yeah, we got to go save them.

01:30:38.043 --> 01:30:39.183
Let's go get those eggs.

01:30:39.523 --> 01:30:42.983
Hunter was not involved in this until he made himself involved in this.

01:30:44.123 --> 01:30:45.063
Fucking Hunter.

01:30:45.123 --> 01:30:46.223
He's the worst.

01:30:46.443 --> 01:30:50.623
Hunter dives face first into a hole and immediately gets stuck.

01:30:51.203 --> 01:30:56.123
Argus hits him really hard with his tail, and Hunter goes flying down into the other side of the world.

01:30:56.143 --> 01:30:57.463
This Winnie the Pooh ass.

01:30:59.523 --> 01:31:02.363
Spyro jumps down the hole with ease, because he's little.

01:31:02.943 --> 01:31:04.343
He just trots down it.

01:31:04.443 --> 01:31:05.523
Right, he's like, all right, bye.

01:31:05.883 --> 01:31:11.323
On the other side of the world, we see lush mountainside village called Sunshine Spring.

01:31:12.203 --> 01:31:18.203
Spyro runs around a bit, and as he starts to go through a portal to look for eggs, Bianca shows up to intimidate him.

01:31:19.003 --> 01:31:23.743
She tells him she hid all the eggs all over the world and to leave it alone, because they're her eggs now.

01:31:24.503 --> 01:31:27.183
I'm sorry, hold on, the rabbit hid the eggs?

01:31:28.183 --> 01:31:30.983
Oh, no, I didn't catch that until you just said it right now.

01:31:35.963 --> 01:31:38.443
Oh, I fucking hate this.

01:31:38.523 --> 01:31:40.903
Bianca is the Easter Bunny?

01:31:41.243 --> 01:31:42.303
Easter Bunny confirmed.

01:31:42.323 --> 01:31:44.403
See, it's not all just animals.

01:31:44.423 --> 01:31:45.983
That's a mythological creature, right?

01:31:46.803 --> 01:31:47.763
The Jesus Rabbit?

01:31:47.883 --> 01:31:48.203
Yeah.

01:31:48.423 --> 01:31:50.743
Okay, yeah, that is a mythological creature.

01:31:50.763 --> 01:31:51.143
You're right.

01:31:51.163 --> 01:31:51.723
I win.

01:31:52.003 --> 01:32:00.383
Anyway, she tells Spyro to go fuck himself and ends her whole sentiment with, you won't like me when I'm angry.

01:32:00.683 --> 01:32:02.243
Ma'am, that is copywritten.

01:32:03.103 --> 01:32:04.463
That's the Hulk's phrase.

01:32:04.463 --> 01:32:05.503
You can't use that.

01:32:05.603 --> 01:32:07.923
Why are you just stealing other people's catchphrases?

01:32:07.923 --> 01:32:10.963
Now, if that's her thing, is using other people's catchphrases, it's pretty funny.

01:32:11.043 --> 01:32:15.883
No, it's not, but that would be a very funny trope for a character to just steal other people's lines.

01:32:16.523 --> 01:32:19.023
But just in this case, no, you're not the fucking Hulk.

01:32:19.223 --> 01:32:19.583
No.

01:32:20.523 --> 01:32:22.503
Hunter is also there helping no one.

01:32:23.103 --> 01:32:27.603
He serves as this game's tutorial dropper, but other than that, widely useless.

01:32:27.623 --> 01:32:29.823
He'll be like, hey, Spyro, I bet you can glide over there.

01:32:30.043 --> 01:32:30.683
Let's do it.

01:32:30.703 --> 01:32:32.943
And then he's like, press fucking X or whatever.

01:32:32.963 --> 01:32:33.743
Yeah, it's Hunter.

01:32:33.763 --> 01:32:35.103
I'm not expecting much from him.

01:32:35.643 --> 01:32:41.903
As you can imagine, you have to go visit different worlds and collect the eggs that have been scattered through the lands.

01:32:42.703 --> 01:32:45.283
Well, this is a very similar structure to the last games.

01:32:45.303 --> 01:32:50.383
There is one big, big improvement in this game that came in the level design.

01:32:50.923 --> 01:32:55.603
Levels here have minigames within, or places where you could play as different characters.

01:32:56.303 --> 01:33:02.723
This would be the first in the Spyro world where you don't have to play only a Spyro, and some of the minigames are genuinely really cool.

01:33:03.203 --> 01:33:05.163
Okay, what kind of characters do we play as?

01:33:05.843 --> 01:33:11.663
We meet some friends along the way, and they have their own thing, and we'll get there, but I actually want to talk about the minigames first.

01:33:12.283 --> 01:33:18.203
So growing up, my favorite minigame was the skateboarding one, because my parents wouldn't buy me Tony Hawk Pro Skater.

01:33:18.543 --> 01:33:20.123
That's the closest you got, huh?

01:33:20.143 --> 01:33:21.443
The Spyro Pro Skater.

01:33:21.923 --> 01:33:22.703
That's great.

01:33:22.743 --> 01:33:29.003
Now remember, the year 2000s, skateboarding was a personality trait, and that was acceptable in society.

01:33:29.003 --> 01:33:29.723
So true.

01:33:30.363 --> 01:33:41.243
I genuinely really loved it, and in the skateboarding levels, you get a lot of challenges to score points or do tricks, or sometimes skateboard around with others and beat them in trick-a-thons.

01:33:41.743 --> 01:33:51.643
It is genuinely so much fun, and I mean, I haven't played Tony Hawk because my parents never bought it for me because I was a child, and then I grew up, had my own money and was like, why would I buy this game?

01:33:52.143 --> 01:33:56.263
But I really love these, and playing them now, they still fuck.

01:33:56.663 --> 01:34:00.363
It's such a good fucking level set, and they show up a couple times.

01:34:00.383 --> 01:34:00.823
It's great.

01:34:01.103 --> 01:34:02.923
So they did a pretty good job with the skateboarding, huh?

01:34:02.963 --> 01:34:04.183
Yeah, I love it.

01:34:04.243 --> 01:34:04.903
Okay, good.

01:34:05.183 --> 01:34:09.743
There are a handful of characters you can play as in this game, including Spyro, obviously.

01:34:10.363 --> 01:34:13.063
But let's meet a couple of them, starting with Sheila.

01:34:13.783 --> 01:34:24.883
Sheila is a kangaroo who's got, like, some serious hops and bouncy movement, and she's available to unlock here in future Hoppy minigames with 300 gems.

01:34:26.143 --> 01:34:26.543
Oh, no.

01:34:26.943 --> 01:34:29.003
No, no, this is a character you have to pay to unlock.

01:34:29.663 --> 01:34:30.523
You know what that means.

01:34:31.403 --> 01:34:33.663
The return of Capitalism Bear!

01:34:33.703 --> 01:34:35.863
God damn it, Moneybags.

01:34:36.503 --> 01:34:37.523
That's right.

01:34:37.583 --> 01:34:38.043
Mr.

01:34:38.043 --> 01:34:42.043
Moneybags will unlock Sheila for you for 300 gems.

01:34:43.103 --> 01:34:49.643
I was going to comment on the diversity of animals they use in this game, but then you ruined it with fucking Moneybags showing up.

01:34:50.043 --> 01:34:51.723
Oh, Capitalism ruined the party?

01:34:51.803 --> 01:34:52.903
I'm sorry, Tom.

01:34:53.243 --> 01:34:53.883
Once again.

01:34:55.303 --> 01:35:02.563
Now, there are a few levels with minigames where you play as Sheila, so if you want to hundo the game, you do need to pay to play, which really sucks.

01:35:03.083 --> 01:35:05.063
I mean, you're not using the gems for anything else.

01:35:05.083 --> 01:35:06.563
Like, there's no in-game store.

01:35:06.583 --> 01:35:10.683
It's the only place you can use your gems, but it's still like, fuck you, moneybags.

01:35:10.683 --> 01:35:14.023
Yeah, but you didn't get to keep the gems that you got at the end of the last game.

01:35:14.363 --> 01:35:15.003
Yeah, it just...

01:35:15.483 --> 01:35:17.943
it feels bad, and it never stops feeling bad.

01:35:19.403 --> 01:35:31.243
Capitalism bear is like, the sorceress was paying me to imprison this war criminal, but if you pay me 300 gems, I'll just be super chill about it and let her out, because he is aiding and abetting war crimes.

01:35:31.843 --> 01:35:34.623
It's because jail doesn't exist for people with money.

01:35:34.703 --> 01:35:36.503
He should be reported to the UN.

01:35:39.143 --> 01:35:45.223
Spyro starts checking out some worlds to recover eggs, and eventually, Bianca will roll up and tell you to back off.

01:35:46.203 --> 01:35:49.263
Spyro and Hunter are like, no, fuck you.

01:35:50.103 --> 01:35:53.043
She's a boring baby, and Spyro is not interested.

01:35:53.603 --> 01:35:59.023
Although Hunter kind of thinks she's cute, which is really gross and annoying, because she's also a war criminal.

01:36:00.723 --> 01:36:02.123
So back to the levels in this world.

01:36:02.503 --> 01:36:11.243
When you defeat a level, an inhabitant of that world will follow you out and help you travel to the next kind of section of the game's map.

01:36:11.503 --> 01:36:12.863
So this is like the Balloonman.

01:36:13.363 --> 01:36:17.303
Yeah, in this specific one, it is actually also a balloon.

01:36:18.103 --> 01:36:24.923
Once you have a representative from each area to help with your balloon, you're able to travel to the next world area to keep saving the eggs.

01:36:25.543 --> 01:36:33.063
It's kind of a nice gesture that Spyro continues to bring communities together, and they're really rallying behind him now to be like, hell yeah, get your eggs, man.

01:36:33.083 --> 01:36:35.103
Yeah, at least this time he didn't get kidnapped.

01:36:35.483 --> 01:36:39.363
Yeah, this time it's like, all right, I was just told to go by Argus, my elders.

01:36:39.583 --> 01:36:41.743
Yeah, I'm fighting for the cause of the dragonhood.

01:36:41.923 --> 01:36:44.923
Yeah, and the dragons are the ones that got kidnapped, and he's like, I've been there.

01:36:45.463 --> 01:36:46.763
They're still useless.

01:36:47.343 --> 01:36:47.943
They're eggs.

01:36:48.363 --> 01:36:49.523
No, but the other dragons.

01:36:49.723 --> 01:36:52.083
Oh, well, they can't fit down the hole to get to the world.

01:36:52.323 --> 01:36:53.103
They're too fat.

01:36:53.123 --> 01:36:54.103
Because they're useless.

01:36:55.123 --> 01:37:02.123
With the balloon labor fully sorted out, Spyro hops on to go to Midday Gardens, the next world to have eggs hidden.

01:37:02.723 --> 01:37:08.023
Sheila also tells you it's closer to the sorceress who's behind all this bullshit, so that's fucking great.

01:37:08.343 --> 01:37:13.143
As Spyro leaves, we get a cutscene of Bianca the Bunny being yelled at by the sorceress.

01:37:13.703 --> 01:37:19.223
The sorceress is mad that Bianca hasn't killed Spyro, but Bianca's like, he's not afraid of anything.

01:37:19.243 --> 01:37:21.023
I can't fucking get under his skin.

01:37:21.883 --> 01:37:23.783
The sorceress is like, get over it.

01:37:23.803 --> 01:37:24.723
Here's a spell book.

01:37:25.163 --> 01:37:26.363
Go fucking kill him.

01:37:27.043 --> 01:37:29.723
Bianca is like, you want me to murder him?

01:37:30.463 --> 01:37:33.423
The sorceress says, I don't give a shit if he's murdered or not.

01:37:33.503 --> 01:37:34.263
Just kill him.

01:37:34.663 --> 01:37:37.063
And she's like, okay.

01:37:37.403 --> 01:37:43.383
Nearby, there's a rhino that Bianca kind of waves around, does some magic on, and he turns into a little bunny.

01:37:44.023 --> 01:37:45.423
So she's like practicing her magic?

01:37:45.503 --> 01:37:45.903
Yeah.

01:37:46.063 --> 01:37:49.103
And she looks and she's like, oh, that's not scary at all.

01:37:49.503 --> 01:37:49.843
Shit.

01:37:50.303 --> 01:37:54.623
So then she turns it into a giant bug that's like 10 feet tall to fight Spyro.

01:37:54.703 --> 01:37:55.423
Yeah, fuck that.

01:37:55.683 --> 01:37:57.363
It looks like a frog with teeth.

01:37:57.523 --> 01:37:59.163
Does it still have the personality of a rhino?

01:37:59.423 --> 01:38:01.163
What is the personality of a rhino?

01:38:01.703 --> 01:38:02.103
Angry?

01:38:02.123 --> 01:38:02.523
I don't know.

01:38:02.623 --> 01:38:03.343
Yeah, he's angry.

01:38:03.363 --> 01:38:04.083
He's a boss fight.

01:38:04.143 --> 01:38:04.523
Okay.

01:38:05.123 --> 01:38:07.363
So this looks like a frog with like shark teeth.

01:38:07.383 --> 01:38:08.643
It's fucking horrifying.

01:38:09.143 --> 01:38:10.343
And his name is Buzz.

01:38:11.463 --> 01:38:13.023
Frog with shark teeth.

01:38:13.103 --> 01:38:13.903
Fuck that.

01:38:13.923 --> 01:38:14.163
Right?

01:38:14.183 --> 01:38:15.043
And he's huge.

01:38:15.423 --> 01:38:17.643
Because then he can use his tongue to like pull you in.

01:38:18.943 --> 01:38:20.063
I think that might actually happen.

01:38:20.183 --> 01:38:20.903
It's been a minute.

01:38:20.923 --> 01:38:22.423
I played all these back to back to back.

01:38:22.683 --> 01:38:24.223
So they're kind of blurring a little bit.

01:38:24.243 --> 01:38:24.823
I apologize.

01:38:24.843 --> 01:38:28.883
I imagine so, because the new trilogy also, they all look exactly alike.

01:38:28.943 --> 01:38:29.403
Right.

01:38:30.103 --> 01:38:31.583
Which is the one that I played, so it's hard.

01:38:31.743 --> 01:38:37.063
Anyway, Spyro flies right into Buzz's molten lava arena and is met with Sheila.

01:38:37.623 --> 01:38:43.143
Sheila says she heard about an ambush, and she's here to help you out, because Sheila is a down-ass bitch.

01:38:43.343 --> 01:38:44.243
Hell yeah, Sheila.

01:38:44.763 --> 01:38:57.343
You only play as Spyro, but it's this great battle of headbutting the frog into the molten lava and avoiding its attacks while Sheila actually helps and stomps this frog the fuck out in the lava to help you get through the level.

01:38:57.363 --> 01:38:59.523
So you're like, yeah, you're not useless.

01:38:59.543 --> 01:39:00.203
You're not Hunter.

01:39:00.223 --> 01:39:00.963
You're not a lore.

01:39:00.983 --> 01:39:03.243
You're actually down in the trenches fighting with me.

01:39:03.683 --> 01:39:04.243
Fuck yeah.

01:39:04.683 --> 01:39:12.043
After you stomp this frog monster out, which is such a great sentence to say out loud, Spyro continues to midday gardens.

01:39:12.823 --> 01:39:13.763
It's the same shit.

01:39:14.063 --> 01:39:15.583
You go through levels in this world.

01:39:15.583 --> 01:39:16.983
You rescue some eggs.

01:39:17.063 --> 01:39:21.143
Bianca shows up occasionally to be like, hey, stop doing that.

01:39:21.903 --> 01:39:22.863
I'm doing a thing.

01:39:23.583 --> 01:39:24.963
You should leave it alone.

01:39:25.123 --> 01:39:27.363
Spyro's like, shut the fuck up on getting the eggs.

01:39:27.383 --> 01:39:30.063
She showed up at the beginning being like, haha, I hid them.

01:39:30.083 --> 01:39:31.043
Good luck finding them.

01:39:31.063 --> 01:39:32.323
That's basically a challenge.

01:39:32.563 --> 01:39:32.903
Right?

01:39:32.923 --> 01:39:33.743
She's an Easter bunny.

01:39:33.763 --> 01:39:34.963
What do you expect us to do?

01:39:36.203 --> 01:39:40.103
Moneybags also has another friend under captivity that you could pay to unlock.

01:39:40.423 --> 01:39:42.583
And you should because this is Sergeant Bird.

01:39:43.603 --> 01:39:47.523
Now, he can fly, but I think he's a penguin.

01:39:47.583 --> 01:39:51.183
Like, I'm 90% sure he's a penguin, which don't typically fly.

01:39:51.443 --> 01:39:51.943
No.

01:39:52.823 --> 01:39:54.523
Anyway, he likes to blast shit.

01:39:54.543 --> 01:39:58.083
So once he's out of the cage, he hits moneybags with his blasters.

01:39:58.483 --> 01:40:04.483
Moneybags is thrown off of a building, and it's the best I've ever felt about it, because fuck moneybags.

01:40:04.503 --> 01:40:05.863
Fuck moneybags.

01:40:05.883 --> 01:40:08.623
And that's where they got the idea of throwing people off from Spider-Man.

01:40:08.643 --> 01:40:09.003
I don't know.

01:40:11.503 --> 01:40:15.523
Where Spider-Man pushes people off a building as just a fucking thing he does.

01:40:15.623 --> 01:40:20.763
Yeah, and we're supposed to believe that he has this special web shooter that brings people back to the side of the building.

01:40:20.783 --> 01:40:21.283
Yeah, right.

01:40:21.303 --> 01:40:23.123
You killed so many people, Spider-Man.

01:40:23.163 --> 01:40:25.243
Even if he does, all those necks are snapped.

01:40:25.283 --> 01:40:25.623
Yeah.

01:40:25.703 --> 01:40:26.843
Don't play like no one's dead.

01:40:26.943 --> 01:40:28.223
Who's going to get them down?

01:40:29.263 --> 01:40:36.103
As you can imagine, after Spyro helps out the locals in their little portal world, a representative comes to help him with transport.

01:40:36.123 --> 01:40:40.903
So once he's gotten all the fucking eggs, he can move on to the next area.

01:40:41.823 --> 01:40:47.363
Once Spyro is ready to move on, he gets into what they keep calling a whirly gig, which I do not trust.

01:40:47.863 --> 01:40:49.643
It's just kind of a platform with a propeller.

01:40:50.423 --> 01:40:52.443
We head on over to Evening Lake.

01:40:52.783 --> 01:40:59.323
Between these sequences, we get treated to a cutscene of the Sorceress screaming at Bianca to get her shit together.

01:40:59.883 --> 01:41:02.463
She is like, I am so let down by your incompetence.

01:41:03.703 --> 01:41:06.463
Bianca says the eggs cannot be worth all this trouble.

01:41:06.483 --> 01:41:07.643
Like, let's just fucking give up.

01:41:08.143 --> 01:41:08.603
Lazy.

01:41:09.043 --> 01:41:13.363
The Sorceress tells Bianca that the eggs are what brings magic into the world.

01:41:13.723 --> 01:41:16.483
And if there's no magic in the world, she'll die.

01:41:17.503 --> 01:41:24.463
The Sorceress pulls over a lowly goon and turns them into a gigantic monster, even bigger and fatter than Buzz to fight Spyro.

01:41:25.923 --> 01:41:28.883
Once again, Spyro lands in an arena with the monster.

01:41:29.283 --> 01:41:31.483
But this time, Sergeant Bird is here to help.

01:41:32.243 --> 01:41:35.263
With this guy, he can shoot you with his big-ass ray gun.

01:41:35.623 --> 01:41:39.743
But it's okay, because Sergeant Bird is dropping ammunition from Spyro.

01:41:39.763 --> 01:41:40.643
Hell, yeah.

01:41:40.963 --> 01:41:49.923
This one is even more fun than the last boss battle, and it's continually changing and evolving and adjusting how you have to play and make it a little harder.

01:41:49.963 --> 01:41:51.163
Oh, it's so much fun.

01:41:51.463 --> 01:41:53.283
This is why this is the best game of the series.

01:41:53.643 --> 01:41:55.843
Really, just every boss battle is really fun?

01:41:55.983 --> 01:42:09.463
Yeah, there's just more and more sections of boss battle where it just gets incrementally harder and trickier, and you have to be watching these kind of angles, and it just adjusts how you have to adapt to play, and it's so much fucking fun.

01:42:09.763 --> 01:42:10.423
Okay, cool.

01:42:11.383 --> 01:42:15.283
Anyway, Spyro takes his ass out and carries on to Evening Lake World.

01:42:15.303 --> 01:42:17.883
Do you want to know what you do in the Evening Lake World?

01:42:18.403 --> 01:42:20.983
I feel like it's going to be a Friday the 13th situation.

01:42:21.323 --> 01:42:22.803
No, you just go around getting eggs.

01:42:23.363 --> 01:42:24.843
It's the same shit, Tom.

01:42:24.943 --> 01:42:25.943
Over and over again.

01:42:26.963 --> 01:42:31.483
When you do, the locals come together to help you expand your search and figure shit out.

01:42:32.063 --> 01:42:32.763
Go figure.

01:42:34.023 --> 01:42:36.843
It's not great by today's standards.

01:42:36.863 --> 01:42:37.623
It's a little repetitive.

01:42:37.643 --> 01:42:38.903
It's no last of us.

01:42:38.923 --> 01:42:39.663
I'll give you that.

01:42:41.223 --> 01:42:42.403
But it's very fun.

01:42:42.963 --> 01:42:47.423
We've just grown so much as storytellers and gamers and everything.

01:42:47.443 --> 01:42:48.463
Yeah, entirely.

01:42:48.483 --> 01:42:53.743
So of course, at this point, Bianca comes in and is like, for real, for real, you need to stop.

01:42:53.763 --> 01:42:55.503
The Sorceress is going to kill you.

01:42:55.903 --> 01:42:57.163
Just let us have the eggs.

01:42:57.203 --> 01:42:58.543
We'll take care of them, I promise.

01:42:58.563 --> 01:43:00.323
Just like turn around and go home.

01:43:01.123 --> 01:43:02.623
Also, can you take Hunter with you?

01:43:02.683 --> 01:43:03.383
He's creepy.

01:43:05.843 --> 01:43:07.583
Like Hunter doesn't hasn't done shit.

01:43:07.603 --> 01:43:12.223
We've had two boss battles with strangers we barely met helping and like kicking ass.

01:43:12.423 --> 01:43:15.703
We've known Hunter for what is now the second game, and he's done nothing.

01:43:15.983 --> 01:43:22.123
Yeah, Hunter is completely useless, but I've also just been noticing like with Bianca, I got the feeling like right out the gate.

01:43:22.503 --> 01:43:25.763
She wasn't doing this like maliciously maliciously.

01:43:25.783 --> 01:43:27.763
She wasn't doing this by her own volition.

01:43:27.783 --> 01:43:29.703
Like she had to do this for somebody else.

01:43:29.963 --> 01:43:31.743
Yeah, that she's under someone's thumb.

01:43:32.123 --> 01:43:32.703
I get you.

01:43:32.803 --> 01:43:37.683
It felt like she was showing the rhinos where the eggs were more so than going after them.

01:43:37.783 --> 01:43:40.683
Yeah, she doesn't have that killer instinct.

01:43:40.883 --> 01:43:41.943
Yeah, definitely.

01:43:41.963 --> 01:43:45.423
So she is probably very much like what Spyro was under.

01:43:45.583 --> 01:43:48.023
I feel like already that she was kind of kidnapped.

01:43:48.283 --> 01:43:54.323
Yeah, anyway, at one point, Bianca was able to capture Hunter and puts him in a cage.

01:43:54.663 --> 01:43:58.923
She goes over to Hunter to give him an apple and apologizes to him for all of this happening.

01:43:59.103 --> 01:44:04.303
Bianca tries to appeal to Hunter and tells him that the magic will be lost in the world if they can't keep the eggs.

01:44:05.143 --> 01:44:12.863
She tells him about how the sorcerers banished all the dragons to the other side of the world, but didn't realize she needed the magic to sustain her life as a sorcerer.

01:44:13.623 --> 01:44:14.423
It's so fucking messy.

01:44:15.543 --> 01:44:17.343
Hunter is like, damn, that's crazy.

01:44:17.363 --> 01:44:18.783
Hunter's so dumb.

01:44:19.123 --> 01:44:24.183
He also has a big crush on her, which I really don't like, because that's straight up Stockholm syndrome.

01:44:24.383 --> 01:44:25.583
You mentioned that in the last one.

01:44:25.603 --> 01:44:27.943
This one, he's like, she kidnapped me, but she cute.

01:44:27.963 --> 01:44:28.383
What's up?

01:44:29.183 --> 01:44:30.943
Well, he was saying that from the beginning, though.

01:44:31.143 --> 01:44:32.863
Yeah, he fucking sucks.

01:44:33.403 --> 01:44:39.803
So in this world, when you get everyone together, instead of a balloon or a whirly gig, you get to ride a rocket.

01:44:39.823 --> 01:44:45.763
This game is nonsense.

01:44:45.843 --> 01:44:48.603
It's the 90s and it was the year 2000.

01:44:48.703 --> 01:44:49.443
I love this.

01:44:49.783 --> 01:44:51.983
We survived Y2K for this.

01:44:53.063 --> 01:45:00.063
Now, Spyro is taking to the sky like a billionaire on his fucking rocket to get to the next land, which is so much fun.

01:45:01.183 --> 01:45:06.163
When the rocket is ready for launch, Spyro hops in and goes to the fourth and final world of this game.

01:45:06.563 --> 01:45:07.803
You know, fun shit.

01:45:08.283 --> 01:45:12.823
Now, naturally, like we were expected, there's a cutscene and a sabotage.

01:45:13.143 --> 01:45:14.003
Let's fucking go.

01:45:14.023 --> 01:45:14.783
Oh, no.

01:45:15.283 --> 01:45:19.583
In this cutscene, we see the sorceress again being like, what the fuck?

01:45:19.723 --> 01:45:21.503
All of you are so incompetent.

01:45:21.903 --> 01:45:28.743
She's sick of everyone's shit, and she says she's going to create the monster to end all monsters and destroy all the dragons.

01:45:29.443 --> 01:45:30.743
She is pissed.

01:45:31.803 --> 01:45:34.603
Bianca is scared of this and is concerned with killing dragons.

01:45:34.943 --> 01:45:38.903
The sorceress doesn't give a fuck, and she says all she needs is the wings.

01:45:39.663 --> 01:45:41.863
Bianca is like, wait, what?

01:45:41.883 --> 01:45:45.123
And the sorceress is like, you see, the magic is stored in the wings.

01:45:45.883 --> 01:45:47.643
Bianca is like, are you fucking serious?

01:45:47.663 --> 01:45:48.643
Do you just need their wings?

01:45:48.663 --> 01:45:50.963
So like, why are you killing them?

01:45:51.023 --> 01:45:52.783
Can't we just like pop a wing off and chill?

01:45:52.803 --> 01:45:54.563
Oh my god, that's still really dark.

01:45:54.723 --> 01:45:59.003
Yeah, the sorceress is like, no, I need them to make a spell to make me live forever.

01:45:59.063 --> 01:46:02.543
And Bianca is like, are you fucking kidding me?

01:46:03.263 --> 01:46:04.043
This is ridiculous.

01:46:04.483 --> 01:46:05.163
I'm over it.

01:46:05.643 --> 01:46:06.483
Switching sides.

01:46:07.143 --> 01:46:10.483
Definitely need to, because it just sounds like she keeps moving the goalpost.

01:46:10.663 --> 01:46:11.903
Yeah, entirely.

01:46:12.603 --> 01:46:16.703
The sorceress is like, well, I'm going to kill the dragons, and then I'm going to kill her afterwards.

01:46:16.863 --> 01:46:17.723
I hate everyone.

01:46:17.743 --> 01:46:19.463
It's so hard to get good help these days.

01:46:20.343 --> 01:46:25.303
No one wants to work anymore.

01:46:25.323 --> 01:46:28.923
No, nobody wants to work for you, you fucking lunatic.

01:46:29.163 --> 01:46:31.043
None of them will ever understand that, Tom.

01:46:31.543 --> 01:46:34.583
No one who has ever said that sentence understands that sentiment.

01:46:34.903 --> 01:46:35.523
That's fair.

01:46:36.063 --> 01:46:44.983
Anyway, the sorceress grabs one of her goons and makes a big-ass monster, but we don't see what the monster looks like until we hit the arena, which is kind of cool.

01:46:45.003 --> 01:46:45.923
Well, that's good.

01:46:46.243 --> 01:46:52.023
Here we're met with kind of a yeti snowman guy that we met earlier and still no other friends.

01:46:52.043 --> 01:46:53.843
So Sheila helped once, she's out.

01:46:54.103 --> 01:46:55.923
Sergeant Bird helped once, he's over it.

01:46:56.163 --> 01:46:59.843
Now there's this yeti that we've unlocked at some point, and he's like, what's up, dude?

01:47:00.423 --> 01:47:04.423
I'm gonna help with sending over rockets so Spyro can shoot at the monster.

01:47:04.763 --> 01:47:06.143
So the yeti's on our side?

01:47:07.183 --> 01:47:09.223
Damn, so we still don't get to fight a yeti.

01:47:10.643 --> 01:47:14.423
We see one yeti unalive itself, and then the other yeti's are homey.

01:47:14.443 --> 01:47:18.303
So no, we never get to fucking go full Matterhorn on anyone.

01:47:18.323 --> 01:47:21.003
It's the perfect matchup, and they just kept dropping the ball.

01:47:21.043 --> 01:47:22.923
Snow and ice, not in this one.

01:47:23.543 --> 01:47:29.363
Now this monster is big and can fly and has a force field around it between rounds.

01:47:29.663 --> 01:47:31.203
Which is so fucking cool.

01:47:31.743 --> 01:47:36.923
Like truly an amplification of each boss is why this is the game people remember playing.

01:47:36.943 --> 01:47:38.643
They're like, this is so much fun.

01:47:38.943 --> 01:47:39.703
Let's fucking go.

01:47:40.603 --> 01:47:43.843
This boss's name is Scorch, and he looks like a manbat.

01:47:44.163 --> 01:47:47.463
Not batman, but if you don't want to talk about manbat.

01:47:47.483 --> 01:47:49.623
Hell yeah, manbat's fucking terrifying.

01:47:49.643 --> 01:47:52.343
Manbat's the scariest shit ever.

01:47:52.683 --> 01:47:56.303
If you haven't seen manbat, it's like a six foot tall bat.

01:47:56.683 --> 01:48:02.343
And it was a contemporary to Batman for a little bit, but is so hideous to look at.

01:48:02.363 --> 01:48:04.523
I don't think they've committed him to any of the films.

01:48:05.023 --> 01:48:06.243
I'm sure he's been in the cartoons.

01:48:06.263 --> 01:48:07.703
I know he's in some of the Arkham games.

01:48:07.723 --> 01:48:09.483
Yeah, he's terrifying in the Arkham games.

01:48:09.503 --> 01:48:11.843
Yeah, oh, it's so good.

01:48:12.743 --> 01:48:15.523
We hate him, but damn, we love fighting him.

01:48:15.563 --> 01:48:15.903
Yeah.

01:48:16.063 --> 01:48:20.243
He can also at one point shoot crabs at Spyro, which I think is very funny.

01:48:21.043 --> 01:48:22.803
The bat shoots crabs?

01:48:22.923 --> 01:48:24.083
Yeah, little red crabs.

01:48:24.203 --> 01:48:25.663
They just don't fucking care.

01:48:25.683 --> 01:48:28.223
They were like, if it looks cool, let's do it.

01:48:28.243 --> 01:48:29.063
What are the kids going to do?

01:48:29.083 --> 01:48:29.723
Not play it?

01:48:30.123 --> 01:48:31.043
They're going to fucking play it.

01:48:31.183 --> 01:48:32.183
It's the rule of cool.

01:48:32.223 --> 01:48:35.323
Yeah, there's no real Naughty Dog Crash game this year.

01:48:35.343 --> 01:48:36.243
We got this, guys.

01:48:37.843 --> 01:48:43.763
Once you get scorched down to a certain level of HP, he'll actually do something really fucking sick.

01:48:44.063 --> 01:48:47.343
He releases Buzz, the first boss monster you fought.

01:48:47.923 --> 01:48:48.363
Really?

01:48:48.383 --> 01:48:56.643
So you have a mini round revisiting the first boss of this game, which I fucking love, and you knock him out to get back to Scorch, the main boss of this level.

01:48:56.863 --> 01:48:58.743
It's so good.

01:48:58.763 --> 01:49:00.523
And once he's down, that's it.

01:49:00.863 --> 01:49:03.263
Like, it's so satisfying.

01:49:03.283 --> 01:49:05.963
And then you get this little surprise of like, oh, shit, it's you.

01:49:05.983 --> 01:49:08.083
You kill him, and then you're fucking happy.

01:49:08.103 --> 01:49:08.883
It's so good.

01:49:08.903 --> 01:49:10.343
That's great.

01:49:10.563 --> 01:49:14.243
I just felt like it was a lovely surprise to be like, let's just do this again.

01:49:14.263 --> 01:49:20.083
Because then you also feel satisfied of being like, that was a whole ass boss battle, and now it's just a segment of this boss battle.

01:49:20.103 --> 01:49:21.203
Like, look how I've grown.

01:49:21.223 --> 01:49:23.423
Yeah, I was gonna say, it shows you how far you've come.

01:49:23.583 --> 01:49:26.343
Yeah, which feels really satisfying as a gamer.

01:49:26.963 --> 01:49:35.783
Now, Spyro hops back in his rocket and goes off to Midnight Mountain World, the last world of this game, and the last eggs you'll need to bring peace to the kingdom.

01:49:36.343 --> 01:49:42.403
As Spyro travels around, Hunter is still in a cage and says, hey, Bianca, can you feed me?

01:49:42.423 --> 01:49:44.703
Bianca is like, no, shut up.

01:49:44.743 --> 01:49:45.523
We have no time.

01:49:45.543 --> 01:49:47.143
The Sorceress is gonna kill the dragons.

01:49:47.403 --> 01:49:48.443
We gotta get you out of here.

01:49:48.923 --> 01:49:50.343
I gave you an apple hours ago.

01:49:50.383 --> 01:49:50.863
Shut up.

01:49:50.883 --> 01:49:51.183
Yeah.

01:49:51.643 --> 01:49:53.923
Hunter is like, wait, why should I trust you?

01:49:53.943 --> 01:49:55.223
Is this a trap?

01:49:55.523 --> 01:50:03.703
Bianca says, how can I trap you by letting you out of the cage, you dumb sack of shit?

01:50:04.363 --> 01:50:05.383
He is very stupid.

01:50:05.603 --> 01:50:08.083
Hunter is like, I don't know, you're kind of sneaky.

01:50:09.243 --> 01:50:11.743
At least he didn't be like, I don't know, you are kind of sexy.

01:50:12.603 --> 01:50:14.183
He didn't hit on her in this one moment.

01:50:14.443 --> 01:50:15.683
He will later though, don't worry.

01:50:16.463 --> 01:50:18.703
Bianca rolls her eyes and lets Hunter go.

01:50:18.823 --> 01:50:22.723
She says she never wanted to hurt anyone and grabs Hunter and they just like run off.

01:50:22.743 --> 01:50:26.643
So like, thankfully, he's freed to a certain extent.

01:50:26.663 --> 01:50:28.163
He's still stupid, so it's rough.

01:50:28.803 --> 01:50:30.823
He just doesn't understand that he's free still.

01:50:30.843 --> 01:50:31.503
He doesn't.

01:50:32.083 --> 01:50:37.443
Spyro lands in Midnight Mountain Worlds, this gorgeous world with like purple crystal tones.

01:50:37.463 --> 01:50:39.043
Like aesthetically, this one's really pretty.

01:50:39.943 --> 01:50:48.483
Bianca shows up at Spyro's feet and says, hey, you need to get more dragon eggs and then we can work together to open a portal to the Sorceress and stop all of this.

01:50:48.883 --> 01:50:51.983
So now Baby Girl has just fully switched sides and is here for us.

01:50:52.003 --> 01:50:53.583
I'm like, okay.

01:50:53.843 --> 01:50:55.363
Still wants you to collect dragon eggs.

01:50:55.503 --> 01:50:58.183
Yeah, but I'm not going to say no to the help, you know?

01:50:58.863 --> 01:51:05.143
Moneybags is unbothered by this war-torn land and once again extorts you to unlock more prisoners of war.

01:51:05.163 --> 01:51:07.803
Probably extorting the fucking Sorceress too.

01:51:07.823 --> 01:51:10.863
I fucking hate Moneybags so goddamn much.

01:51:11.003 --> 01:51:14.523
Just at my core, this is not a character I enjoy.

01:51:15.543 --> 01:51:28.103
When Spyro has enough eggs, which means enough magic, energy, and like vibes, Bianca is able to open the portal into the Sorceress' hideout, where Spyro can finally confront her and put an end to this bullshit.

01:51:28.783 --> 01:51:35.883
Spyro flies off alone to the Sorceress' lair and is met by Agent Nine, someone we helped save from Moneybags.

01:51:36.363 --> 01:51:39.463
Now, Agent Nine is a monkey with a gun.

01:51:39.963 --> 01:51:41.063
Is it like a secret agent?

01:51:41.183 --> 01:51:41.463
Yeah.

01:51:41.663 --> 01:51:42.123
Okay, good.

01:51:42.403 --> 01:51:43.203
It's fucking sick.

01:51:43.403 --> 01:51:48.383
It's not like a spacey looking gun, because you can't just put a regular gun in a kids' game.

01:51:48.403 --> 01:51:49.423
That's pretty fucked up.

01:51:49.723 --> 01:51:51.543
So it has to be like a space looking gun.

01:51:51.543 --> 01:51:52.783
But yeah, it's great.

01:51:53.003 --> 01:51:54.463
So he's not double-O Sapien?

01:51:54.723 --> 01:51:55.123
No.

01:51:55.143 --> 01:51:57.043
Well, that would be fun.

01:51:57.703 --> 01:52:01.963
The Sorceress has no cutscene or intro or anything, which is really cool.

01:52:01.983 --> 01:52:07.563
We were just dropped into her arena, where she waves her magic scepter and shoots energy fire at you.

01:52:08.063 --> 01:52:09.783
Which like, we've dealt with scepters before.

01:52:09.803 --> 01:52:10.363
I got you.

01:52:10.483 --> 01:52:10.843
Yeah.

01:52:11.423 --> 01:52:17.683
Agent Nine drops full cannons down from the sky for you to use and hit her from afar.

01:52:17.783 --> 01:52:20.003
And this is so much fucking fun.

01:52:20.483 --> 01:52:23.623
You've been saying about every single one of these boss fights for this game.

01:52:23.823 --> 01:52:25.363
I love the boss fights in this game.

01:52:25.383 --> 01:52:27.423
He drops cannons from the sky.

01:52:29.103 --> 01:52:37.363
She is way more difficult than the other bosses, and she changed up her attack patterns and styles from pew pews to balls of energy.

01:52:37.603 --> 01:52:40.563
And she can also take out your cannons with one hit.

01:52:40.583 --> 01:52:44.923
So you have to be very fast, careful, and specific with how you shoot her.

01:52:44.943 --> 01:52:48.523
Do you feel like Cuphead took a lot of notes from the boss fights in these games?

01:52:49.223 --> 01:53:00.403
I'm sure this did lead to a lot of that kind of running on boss world fighting, because this is exactly kind of the evolution that you like to see in Cuphead and in these other kind of games.

01:53:00.563 --> 01:53:02.963
It's impossible to say, but let's just say yeah.

01:53:03.223 --> 01:53:03.563
Okay.

01:53:05.383 --> 01:53:15.963
Once you manage to kill through her health bar, the sorceress falls into lava and is eaten up like the goddamn Terminator again, because Insomniac only knows how to end a game one way.

01:53:16.843 --> 01:53:17.863
Still flipping you off.

01:53:18.063 --> 01:53:22.483
You know that scene where Doc Ock gets eaten by lava in Spider-Man?

01:53:22.503 --> 01:53:23.323
Same shit.

01:53:24.623 --> 01:53:28.763
Spyro is then back in the grassy knoll of the dragon world.

01:53:29.463 --> 01:53:35.843
He's being interviewed by the Yeti, our homie, who is praising him for saving the eggs and defeating the sorceress.

01:53:36.523 --> 01:53:39.523
He asks Spyro, Hey, what are you looking forward to next?

01:53:39.723 --> 01:53:41.483
Maybe a vacation at Dragon Shores?

01:53:42.103 --> 01:53:43.743
Spyro is like, I don't know.

01:53:43.883 --> 01:53:44.643
Jesus Christ.

01:53:44.983 --> 01:53:46.823
The Yeti like dies laughing.

01:53:46.843 --> 01:53:48.203
He's like, this is fucking hysterical.

01:53:49.163 --> 01:53:51.303
And Spyro is like, wait, have you seen Hunter?

01:53:51.783 --> 01:53:54.103
He's been missing, so that's like pretty concerning.

01:53:54.663 --> 01:53:58.483
Spyro hops away from the interview and is now talking to the professor and Elora.

01:53:58.943 --> 01:54:01.923
The professor is like, I was over here, but now I'm here.

01:54:03.203 --> 01:54:05.503
Ah, Spyro is like, you know, shit happens.

01:54:05.503 --> 01:54:05.983
Whatever.

01:54:06.463 --> 01:54:07.263
Deal with it, man.

01:54:07.463 --> 01:54:08.403
It's called a glitch.

01:54:08.423 --> 01:54:09.223
Exactly.

01:54:09.903 --> 01:54:16.363
Elora asked Spyro when he'll visit her, but Spyro is like, hey, but for real, I don't know where Hunter is.

01:54:16.423 --> 01:54:19.023
Like, he followed me, and now I don't know where he is.

01:54:19.043 --> 01:54:20.543
Has anyone fucking seen him?

01:54:20.783 --> 01:54:21.523
Yeah, who cares?

01:54:21.823 --> 01:54:25.963
The Professor and Elora are like, I don't know, and they go off into a portal and leave.

01:54:26.683 --> 01:54:27.343
Not my problem.

01:54:28.343 --> 01:54:32.303
Spyro comes up on Sheila, the kangaroo, and is like, hey, do you know where Hunter is?

01:54:32.983 --> 01:54:36.523
Sheila is like, Hunter made me promise not to tell you where they went.

01:54:37.143 --> 01:54:38.323
What the fuck, Hunter?

01:54:38.503 --> 01:54:40.223
Spyro is like, they?

01:54:41.243 --> 01:54:50.483
And then Spyro rolls up on a site of fireworks, possibly celebrating that the Sorceress is gone, where Hunter and Bianca are smooching.

01:54:53.223 --> 01:54:56.143
Spyro is like, what the fuck, man?

01:54:56.623 --> 01:54:59.883
His incessant hitting on her worked.

01:55:00.203 --> 01:55:04.903
OK, I don't want to push that narrative that wearing someone down will get them to love you.

01:55:05.903 --> 01:55:07.463
Oh, my God.

01:55:07.483 --> 01:55:08.323
But yes, it worked.

01:55:08.883 --> 01:55:13.123
Yeah, no, the whole situation is definitely she was genuinely interested in Hunter from the beginning.

01:55:13.143 --> 01:55:16.943
She just needed to get past all this bullshit before she could take time to go out with him.

01:55:17.043 --> 01:55:18.103
They were politics.

01:55:18.903 --> 01:55:22.243
But also, like, damn.

01:55:22.303 --> 01:55:23.863
But also, what the fuck, man?

01:55:23.983 --> 01:55:25.163
I thought about it earlier.

01:55:25.183 --> 01:55:29.623
I was like, it'd be pretty funny if they did end up together in the end, but I did not think it would happen.

01:55:30.963 --> 01:55:32.623
Holy shit.

01:55:32.643 --> 01:55:33.903
That's hilarious.

01:55:33.923 --> 01:55:35.423
Do you think that's a ballsy choice?

01:55:36.303 --> 01:55:37.423
I think it's a great choice.

01:55:37.443 --> 01:55:40.463
OK, you're like, it's unexpected, but it is fun that they took it that way.

01:55:40.483 --> 01:55:41.703
Yeah, definitely.

01:55:41.723 --> 01:55:45.123
So Spyro is like, are you fucking kidding me?

01:55:45.203 --> 01:55:48.743
And then Elora comes up and is like, dude, relax.

01:55:48.763 --> 01:55:49.743
Enjoy the fireworks.

01:55:50.103 --> 01:55:51.883
Like, put your shit aside.

01:55:51.883 --> 01:55:52.743
It's fine.

01:55:53.003 --> 01:55:53.523
They are.

01:55:54.003 --> 01:56:00.423
She sits next to him, and Elora and Spyro kind of cuddle a little bit to watch the rest of the fireworks.

01:56:00.823 --> 01:56:02.743
And that is Spyro 3.

01:56:03.563 --> 01:56:04.703
That's the end, huh?

01:56:04.723 --> 01:56:07.223
There were some fireworks, and that was it.

01:56:07.383 --> 01:56:09.683
OK, wait, actually, there's one last thing.

01:56:09.703 --> 01:56:10.223
What is there?

01:56:10.603 --> 01:56:14.463
So in Endgame, Moneybag sees Spyro and is like, what up?

01:56:14.463 --> 01:56:15.763
I just found a dragon egg.

01:56:15.823 --> 01:56:17.803
I'm going to sell it for a shit ton of money.

01:56:17.823 --> 01:56:19.943
And like walks away.

01:56:20.383 --> 01:56:22.583
And you're like, are you fucking kidding me?

01:56:22.603 --> 01:56:28.723
I spent hours saving every dragon egg, and you're just going to sell yours on like the illegal, illicit market?

01:56:29.343 --> 01:56:29.883
Fuck you.

01:56:30.283 --> 01:56:33.523
So you go up and you chase him and you fire breathe on him.

01:56:33.803 --> 01:56:41.023
And every time you do more and more gems, which are your gems that he extorted from you, you fall out of his pockets.

01:56:41.343 --> 01:56:46.883
So here you literally run around fireballing his ass to get all your money back.

01:56:47.823 --> 01:56:48.523
Damn right.

01:56:48.543 --> 01:56:49.443
And I would do it too.

01:56:49.803 --> 01:56:50.843
Oh, it's satisfying.

01:56:51.423 --> 01:56:55.763
Spyro chases money bags for like a long time, getting hundreds.

01:56:55.783 --> 01:57:06.023
And sometimes if you paid up, even thousands of gems back from this capitalist piece of shit until he eventually runs out of energy and says he'll give up, he'll retire.

01:57:06.583 --> 01:57:09.123
He's going to move to the swamp and be a haiku poet.

01:57:10.123 --> 01:57:12.863
No, you are no Jin fucking Sakai.

01:57:15.623 --> 01:57:16.043
No.

01:57:16.383 --> 01:57:20.523
And as he does, Spyro is able to get that last egg that he tried to steal and flip.

01:57:21.703 --> 01:57:28.903
Okay, now that's the real ending of Spyro 3, when money bags gets his and gets shamed into the swamp to write poems.

01:57:29.223 --> 01:57:32.343
I'm still mad Moneybags wasn't the big bad all along.

01:57:33.423 --> 01:57:34.703
I think he is, technically.

01:57:34.923 --> 01:57:35.763
Overall, yeah.

01:57:35.783 --> 01:57:41.703
Fuck RIPTO, like aiding and abetting a warlord who's hurting communities is just as bad, you know?

01:57:41.723 --> 01:57:43.783
Because you can't escape capitalism.

01:57:44.163 --> 01:57:49.563
So that's the end of the game, but I want to talk about kind of what happens with Spyro the franchise after this game.

01:57:49.643 --> 01:57:50.043
Please.

01:57:50.283 --> 01:57:56.323
So after this, Insomniac moved past the Spyro franchise after Spyro the third Spyro, like we talked about.

01:57:56.963 --> 01:58:00.323
Ted Price basically was like, look, we did everything we wanted to do.

01:58:00.403 --> 01:58:05.643
We can't push this character further, and the team has other stories to tell, which is super fucking valid.

01:58:06.263 --> 01:58:16.743
Following Spyro, Insomniac worked on Ratchet and Clank, the Resistance games, and of course the Spider-Man games and the upcoming Wolverine game that I'm just dying to hear more about.

01:58:16.763 --> 01:58:23.063
Because at this point, as of this episode dropping, we've really only had like a clip of Wolverine in a bar.

01:58:23.363 --> 01:58:23.763
Right.

01:58:23.783 --> 01:58:29.043
And also, just you mentioned it, Ratchet and Clank hold such a near and dear place in my heart.

01:58:29.363 --> 01:58:32.743
Yeah, you played the most recent one as well, and it's pretty good, right?

01:58:32.823 --> 01:58:33.963
Yeah, I really enjoyed it.

01:58:33.983 --> 01:58:35.803
The No Loads was really incredible.

01:58:35.883 --> 01:58:36.823
Oh, I love that.

01:58:36.843 --> 01:58:40.363
They hide it in cutscenes and shit, but still, it was still really well done.

01:58:40.383 --> 01:58:41.403
Who's mad about that?

01:58:41.423 --> 01:58:42.103
No, I wasn't.

01:58:42.783 --> 01:58:43.383
I love that.

01:58:43.403 --> 01:58:45.963
So, you know, Insomniac is like, I'm over it, let's go.

01:58:46.063 --> 01:58:48.423
But Spyro as a franchise moved on.

01:58:49.163 --> 01:58:53.343
While Insomniac pivoted to these new projects, the Spyro fan base is like, we need more.

01:58:53.563 --> 01:59:00.423
So two years later, in 2002, Digital Eclipse put out Spyro, Season of Ice for the Game Boy Advance.

01:59:01.063 --> 01:59:19.403
And after that franchise bopped around through like a handful of developers and publishers and platforms, it kind of started to fizzle, and it just never really had that same acclaim and love as the original Insomniac trilogy, which is kind of just anecdotally called the Spyro trilogy, which I love that it's kind of mean about the other ones, but...

01:59:19.423 --> 01:59:19.763
Right.

01:59:19.883 --> 01:59:21.743
This is the first big one, and it's great.

01:59:22.443 --> 01:59:25.263
Well, yeah, they were kind of built all together.

01:59:25.283 --> 01:59:27.083
You know, like you said, Lord of the Rings style.

01:59:28.903 --> 01:59:34.683
Any dragon property is Lord of the Rings to me, so you really can't get that away from how my brain works.

01:59:34.743 --> 01:59:37.663
Right, but I just mean the back-to-back-to-back nature of it all.

01:59:37.783 --> 01:59:38.443
Certainly.

01:59:39.303 --> 01:59:46.983
Now, nearly 20 years later, for 2018 Spyro's Reignited Trilogy, most of the gang came back together.

01:59:47.483 --> 01:59:51.963
Tom Kenny, like I mentioned, came back to re-record some voice lines and do the voice for the first game.

01:59:52.403 --> 01:59:57.803
Even Stuart Copeland recorded some new music and gave his blessing on the remastering of his original music.

01:59:58.623 --> 02:00:02.583
Yeah, he really did just love this series and the music that he put forth with it.

02:00:02.703 --> 02:00:04.283
His entire family did.

02:00:04.763 --> 02:00:13.543
Because as of today, Stuart Copeland's son, Patrick, the son that loved Spyro, is now a game developer at Insomniac Games.

02:00:13.623 --> 02:00:15.563
Get the fuck out of here.

02:00:15.723 --> 02:00:18.803
Stuart has said he's very proud.

02:00:21.023 --> 02:00:23.723
I think it's a very sweet story about a boy chasing his dreams.

02:00:24.003 --> 02:00:25.083
No, it truly is.

02:00:25.103 --> 02:00:29.583
That's really fucking great, because, you know, he's using it to trace a real true passion.

02:00:29.623 --> 02:00:30.423
Totally.

02:00:30.443 --> 02:00:36.583
Insomniac was not behind the development of the Reignited Trilogy, but they've clearly been very happy about it.

02:00:37.243 --> 02:00:48.583
So much of their original vision came back around for the Reignited Trilogy, and the team was happy to share as many assets as they could, but they were like, hey, you know what, if you want to do this, go for it.

02:00:48.763 --> 02:00:50.083
It's not impossible.

02:00:50.143 --> 02:00:51.143
It's totally doable.

02:00:51.163 --> 02:00:52.523
Here's all the tools we have.

02:00:52.703 --> 02:01:03.843
And twice for Bob, the developer who had been overseeing some previous Spyro franchises, like in the Skylander world, took on rebuilding these three games with the help of Insomniac.

02:01:04.663 --> 02:01:11.563
The Reignited Trilogy was announced and released in 2018 in tandem with their sister series Crash Bandicoot.

02:01:13.723 --> 02:01:23.783
Now, Ted Price did an interview before the release of the Reignited Trilogy, where he talked about what a beloved franchise Spyro is, and that was very classy about the whole thing and actually wished them well.

02:01:24.203 --> 02:01:28.283
Ted Price said that the people at Toys for Bob were really good people.

02:01:28.303 --> 02:01:35.083
They are artists at heart and that his team was consulted and included as much as they wish the entire way through development.

02:01:35.963 --> 02:01:44.063
In its first week, Spyro, the Reignited Trilogy, sold over a million copies, a feat that took the original game a full year to complete.

02:01:44.423 --> 02:01:44.963
Damn.

02:01:44.983 --> 02:01:46.843
And the world was good again.

02:01:46.863 --> 02:01:51.283
And that is everything I've got for the Spyro trilogy.

02:01:53.003 --> 02:01:54.663
Thank you so much, Andrea.

02:01:54.883 --> 02:01:58.163
Yeah, I really loved these games growing up.

02:01:58.183 --> 02:01:59.563
I also played Crash.

02:01:59.583 --> 02:02:01.123
I played both sides.

02:02:01.143 --> 02:02:02.203
You know, I can't pick a side.

02:02:02.663 --> 02:02:03.203
It happens.

02:02:04.163 --> 02:02:19.203
But Spyro just feels very close to me, and I really wanted to learn more about it, and finding out that, like, the whole Copeland family is involved with Insomniac, and how classy Ted Price is as a creator and a leader of this group really inspired me and made me really happy.

02:02:19.223 --> 02:02:25.023
And this game is silly, and it was very fun to replay it.

02:02:25.243 --> 02:02:26.083
I'm not going to lie.

02:02:26.103 --> 02:02:27.763
I had a really good time playing through these.

02:02:28.023 --> 02:02:31.263
A couple of frustrating moments, but overall, very fun.

02:02:31.703 --> 02:02:34.303
Yeah, it's one of the rare games that you played as a child, too.

02:02:34.623 --> 02:02:36.863
Right, like I said, I didn't have a lot of games.

02:02:36.883 --> 02:02:41.763
I had a lot of hand-me-downs, which is why I'm like, well, I guess I'll just play this over and over again.

02:02:41.783 --> 02:02:47.963
I'm going to turn this into a skateboarding game now because I can't get the real skateboarding game, so we're going to do this.

02:02:48.203 --> 02:02:57.943
And I'm glad you explained for me anyway the whole Skylander thing, because I really didn't understand how Spyro went from the Spyro games to this whole Skylander stuff.

02:02:58.103 --> 02:02:59.723
I still kind of don't really get it.

02:03:00.303 --> 02:03:01.203
I'm not going to.

02:03:01.223 --> 02:03:02.363
These are the only three that I've played.

02:03:02.543 --> 02:03:04.663
I did not get into Fire and Ice.

02:03:04.683 --> 02:03:08.463
There is a game about Sparks, the Dragonfly.

02:03:08.483 --> 02:03:14.263
There's a whole Skylander thing that has kind of an amiibo-like toy structure with it.

02:03:15.803 --> 02:03:16.723
I was out of the loop.

02:03:16.883 --> 02:03:18.103
I'm not trying to get back in the loop.

02:03:18.443 --> 02:03:20.123
I have other games to play, you guys.

02:03:20.203 --> 02:03:20.863
I'm busy.

02:03:20.883 --> 02:03:23.523
But yeah, that is Spyro.

02:03:23.543 --> 02:03:25.503
I was going to say, you just gave them three in a row.

02:03:25.523 --> 02:03:26.743
You haven't really done that yet.

02:03:26.923 --> 02:03:29.343
No, it was a lot of games.

02:03:29.383 --> 02:03:29.763
Yeah.

02:03:29.823 --> 02:03:34.743
But if you did enjoy and had fun with me, please leave a like and subscribe if you want to.

02:03:34.763 --> 02:03:38.843
I'd really appreciate it, because you can help boost this show and get in the hands of more people.

02:03:39.003 --> 02:03:47.703
If you want to see our other episodes or check out some of the backlog or learn about us, you can check out our website, theothercastlepodcast.com.

02:03:47.723 --> 02:03:49.763
That's the othercastlepodcast.com.

02:03:49.843 --> 02:03:53.323
And over there, you can also find links to our Patreon.

02:03:53.683 --> 02:03:56.563
You can also find links to our Discord.

02:03:56.883 --> 02:04:03.563
You can find links to all sorts of different things We also stream on Twitch every Friday night at 8:30 p.m.

02:04:03.583 --> 02:04:04.503
Pacific Standard Time.

02:04:04.603 --> 02:04:05.463
It's very fun.

02:04:05.523 --> 02:04:16.023
And we usually let you guys vote on what we play, and we'll drop some extra knowledge, maybe some cutting room floor footage or fun facts that we just couldn't slam into the actual episode.

02:04:16.043 --> 02:04:18.923
Slam into the episode was a very aggressive way of saying that.

02:04:20.363 --> 02:04:21.843
I need like, I need some fruit.

02:04:22.583 --> 02:04:23.903
My blood sugar's low.

02:04:24.283 --> 02:04:24.943
It's all right.

02:04:24.963 --> 02:04:25.743
We can wrap up.

02:04:25.783 --> 02:04:29.203
But before we do, we just want to thank our patrons who help produce the show.

02:04:29.343 --> 02:04:31.463
Friends and listeners like you.

02:04:31.743 --> 02:04:34.123
Trevor, Molly, Brian.

02:04:34.363 --> 02:04:36.483
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02:04:36.763 --> 02:04:38.423
Ellen and Tijen.

02:04:38.823 --> 02:04:39.403
All right.

02:04:39.443 --> 02:04:43.243
Thank you so much, Goombas, for tuning in for another episode.

02:04:43.263 --> 02:04:45.983
We will be back next week with an all new one.

02:04:46.203 --> 02:04:47.603
Yeah, thank you all so much.

02:04:47.623 --> 02:04:49.003
I'm so excited for this season.

02:04:49.023 --> 02:04:50.403
I'm having so much fun already.

02:04:50.743 --> 02:04:51.243
All right.

02:04:51.263 --> 02:04:53.783
Until next time, this is Tom and Andrea reminding you.

02:04:54.363 --> 02:04:55.943
Don't skip the cut scenes.

02:04:55.963 --> 02:04:57.863
Hey, that's supposed to be my line.

02:04:57.883 --> 02:04:58.523
I took it.