Sly Cooper:Thieves in Time

There are some video games that shouldn't exist. Be it for say being a mess of programming held together with chewing gum. Then there's a game like Sly Cooper Thieves in Time that just takes the franchise up to this point and runs it over with a monster truck. A game that misses the point of what made the original Sly Cooper trilogy,especially the latter two games, fun and enjoyable. Boiling it down to a mess that while perfectly functional should not have been made.

To understand what makes this game such a slap in the face we need to step back shortly. The Sly Cooper games have always been about the titular thief who stole from criminals because there was no fun in stealing from regular people. The first game,The Thievius Raccoonus, was your standard 3-D platformer that followed Sly and his friends,Bentley Turtle and Murray Hippo, as the took back the title book that detailed his ancestors various thieving techniques and defeated his families most feared rival, Clockwerk.

The sequel, Band Of Thieves, was a radically different game. Murray and Bentley were upgraded to fully playable characters and become less of a collectible platformer to a open world game that felt like a heist. It did well enough to spawn another sequel, Honor Among Thieves, which took everything that made the previous game work and streamlined it, while adding new forms of game play against the backdrop of building a team to make one massive heist. Despite the radical changes both these games made everything fit. You explored the hubs, stole from guards, and just felt stealthy. They're excellent games I come back to again and again. Thieves in Time is a game that I can't say I'll probably ever revisit.

The first strike is the lack of a bigger goal both within in the levels and in the grander scheme of the narrative. Band and Honor both had Bentley giving a briefing on how things were going to go and then giving you a host of missions to pull off then you went about your merry way to do those tasks how you pleased. It was fun and gave you a sense of progression,not the case here. You still get to go out into the world to pull off jobs and steal optional treasures but there is always one job at a time,barring one instance in the final stage, and the details are explained as needed. I never had a good idea of why I was really doing this or how this helped...what ever the plan was. The briefings aren't gone completely just moved to the start of certain missions to explain the apparent big plan we'd been prepping for. Then Bentley descries about four or five steps that sound like fun things to do and then come to find out we're only doing one character's portion of the plan while everything else is done off screen. It's a huge let down and breaks the supposed sense of unity these people are supposed to have. I don't know if I can accidentally beat a game but I felt like I stumbled through most of this game. This ties nicely into the game play, I might add.

The missions have this bad habit of either been criminally short or go on for ages. Most fall into the latter category with tedious sections of do task to open up a path to do a short combat section to do more of the tedious task again. The few new characters that are fun to play as tend to get the short end of the straw with actual tasks for them to do. Which leads to a bigger problem of most of the characters that aren't the core trio of Sly, Bentley and Murray having little purpose.

Honor Among Thieves had the set up of expanding the team but everyone had a role that they filled. Even characters like Penelope, who was there to be better at something than Bentley, felt relevant. Here the new characters are all just worse versions of Sly with like one technique that makes them special. This brings up a whole host of problems story wise that I'll get to shortly but they add really nothing to the game play. Sure you could explore the world and collect treasures with them but you still need certain things only Sly can do,barring a random exception in the fourth stage, so it's pointless to explore as anyone but him. Most of the jobs they pull off reek of “This looks like a job for Aquaman” and could have been easily done with Sly if they hadn't been specifically tailored to the one move the new guy knows. Also while  Carmelita was a sometime playable character in Sly 3,she's upgraded to a select able character but she really has no reason to be used in the field since Sly is the only reasonable choice and her upgrades don't seem to really help,though this is less a problem with here and more a problem with everybody.

Outside of a few core upgrades you can purchase to help build the characters most of them are quickly forgotten. Murray has four add-on to give his fists elemental powers and while entertaining all serve the same function of bashing skulls in equally well. There is no need to learn them when the basic attacks will do the trick. Speaking of upgrades remember when Honor Among Thieves let you dress up as a guard on occasion to pull off jobs well now Sly has even more costumes and they are all shoe horned in so hard I'm surprised the disk doesn't reek of astro glide. Nothing they really do needed to be in this game and ultimately make you back track if you want to collect all the games optional treasures.

The second strike is the characters and the story. As I mentioned above the games always have had this feeling of working towards something bigger. Here again we're just fumbling in the dark against villains that are probably the worst the series has to offer. Most of the villains in previous entries had either a bit of a tragic back story,were jerks were just hamming it up or a combination of the three. It gave the player someone to rally against and made the take downs mean something. Here we see the villains so little and their plans are either insanely petty or just plain stupid. We see so little of them that they feel more like a carrot dangling out in front of the player than any actual threat.

There are two notable villains that do merit discussion: Penelope and Le Paradox. Penelope came all the way from Honor Among Thieves to do a heel face turn that while it is well foreshadowed in ways still makes little to no sense. She's doing it because apparently, Bentley being with Sly is holding him back. Despite all of Honor Among Thieves being about how Bentley is equal to Sly and they'd support each other no matter what...apparently she forgot about that and how she helped Bentley through that problem last game.

Le Paradox opens up a very interesting avenue as a parallel to Sly, both grew up as orphans after losing their fathers but Sly went one way and Le Paradox went the other. It could have made the villain much more personal like most Sly final bosses but no were just treated to a quick back story shoved in the last episode and a motive that is about as petty as everyone else.

The villains are clearly phoning it in but to be fair the protagonists are too. They all act like they always have with a few new traits that are just a bit bizarre. The humor is rather off, Bentley and Sly's conversations come off less as charming and more mean spirited towards Bentley. Murray seems to have forgotten the arc he went through that reminded him that he's valuable to the team even if he can't do everything. He also has this obsession with cross-dressing that, like most of the humor comes off as, more mean spirited. There is a scene where Murray disguises himself as a geisha and seduces all the guards. I can't honestly tell if the humor is from the stupidity of the disguise or that the guards are all being tricked by a man. I'm more inclined to believe the latter since there is a scene later where Murray is really eager to dress up as a belly dancer and we're supposed to laugh that he'd want to do that but I don't know why. Some jokes do land but they are few and far between and more often than not come off as nasty than actually funny.

The new characters are Sly's ancestors who Le Paradox is trying to interfere with by stealing their canes. As noted above they add little to the game play and for the most part are just unlikable. They were all featured in the first game when Sly was thieving back his family's book and I guess they forgot to write down the actual useful techniques like zooming up poles or leaping great distances by concentrating. The Cooper ancestors them selves are a mixed bag,they range from boring to just plain unlikable. The only decent one is Sir Galleth Cooper,with his noble tendencies and headstrong attitude honestly leads to some of the better jokes.

The story makes little to no sense in the slightest. As mentioned above Le Paradox is screwing with time by stealing the Cooper canes but it's never clearly stated why he needs the canes and what's to stop the Coopers form making a new cane. Then they start talking about time regulating itself for no real reason. All the villains are petty and the characters are either so bland or nasty that I can't really be asked to care.

There is no third strike...what? You thought you knew what you were in for well I didn't so you get disappointed too. I'm actually going to say some nice things about the game. The game play really works just fine for all of it's superfluous additions and on occasion we do have a fun platforming section that made me remember why I liked the original games. Bentley's hacking has been over hauled and has three separate variations that are reminiscent of different arcade games. Most are actually enjoyable and provide some challenge. The timed treasure hunts that were in Band of Thieves return after being absent from Honor Among Thieves and are fun even if the thief costume's time slow ability makes the challenge a joke.

Despite the fact that the developers had no idea what made the original games great they did clearly play them as the game is packed with references. The treasures you pick up are all nods to either past villains or events. Speaking of call backs, I believe that this is the only reason the clue bottles remain in the game. The previous games had you collect bottles to unlock a safe that contained something to make game play easier. They do the same here but the safes are not a number combo; you just play a mini game,so why did I need to collect the bottles? Sorry the good things about this game are few and far between the more prominent annoyances.

Thieves in Time is a game that has a very warped idea of what made it's predecessors great games. It's too afraid to stand on it's own and while throwing out an interesting idea every once in a while it just fails to be fun.It's humor seems out of place and mean-spirited, the characters are either bland,petty or just out of character and the story which had the potential to go to interesting examination of Sly's history ,squanders it on piss poor villains and plotting. I could go on for days about everything that pisses me off in this game but for brevity's sake I'm stopping now Go play any other Sly game and leave this game forgotten by time.

Things No One Cares About: Pac-Man World 20th Anniversary (PS1)

The transition of classic 2-D franchises to 3-D has the habit of going rather well if you're associated with Nintendo but otherwise tend to be choppy. This was especially prevalent in the PS1/N64 era which was often a company's first attempt. Thus while we had gems like Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time we also had garbage like Bubsy 3D. Pac-Man World,released to coincide with  his 20^th anniversary, decidedly falls into the latter category and while having some creative ideas still doesn't excuse the mess.

The core problem of the game lies with it's controls and sense of space. In a good 3-D platformer you have this sense of where you are in relation to other platforms and objects. However when hopping around the levels here I can never quite grasp where I reside so I end up missing a platform that looks like it should have been easily landed upon yet is really a few feet out of reach. Luckily Pac-man's repertoire includes grabbing on to ledges if you can get close enough. Unfortunately his gloves seemed to be covered in butter as he fails to grab ledges sometimes leading to yet more trips to the dark abyss.

Jumping is also rather finicky in some regards. Sometimes the jump button just doesn't work work,though that could just be my controller. Any little piece of room geometry or an enemy looking at you funny stutters the jump and leads to many a death. The fact that the extreme foreground some times has an invisible wall blocking a jump you other wise could make is infuriating to say the least.

Enemies and obstacles also add to the frustration as they will often hit you from places that should be safe but just aren't. When dealing with enemies Pac-man can bounce on them which also serves as a double jump of sorts and that's all you really need. He has the ability to rev up and roll into enemies or shoot a pellet at them but they are more trouble than they're worth and will probably get you killed. Then again so will the butt bounce since it's lack of precision aiming will often put you in the exact place you don't want to be. Combat is better avoided if for no other reason to ease some of the frustration of cheap deaths.

Pac-man World was developed during that time when platformers had you collect truckloads of random doodads because they powered something or other. It's not a bad style of games by any means but here it feels like needless busy work. You collect fruit to open doors to gain access to various switches, collectible letter to spell out Pac-Man or keys to unlock cages. Usually fruit is hidden fairly close to the door it unlocks so it's less a challenge and more a tedious back and forth.

Despite the bile I've been spewing the game did do a few things right. The levels themselves are rather neat looking,nothing special but still cool. They draw from your standard video game locales:pirate ships,ruins,space etc. They all try something at least different to keep the level's interesting. I never felt like “oh this is another factory level”, no this was the area with all those spinning platforms or this was the level with the laser puzzles. By extension no two bosses in this game are tackled in the same method. They range from forcing open a temples hands to ram it's heart to a straight up homage to Galaga with Pac-man surfing in space blasting aliens. The fights are the highlight of the game and I kept me going despite the horrendous control problems. The only real bad fight was against the Khrome Keeper which ties back into the central problem of knowing where you are.

Mind you all of the problems are with the main story mode of the game. There are a whole two other modes to mess around with. The first is classic:which is the original Pac-man,nothing special there. The other is the highlight of the game:Maze mode. It plays like the original game but with the camera focused on Pac-man and more hazards outside the ghosts trying to eat you. It's rather challenging and a cool shake up to the standard formula.

The story is rather bare bones yet charming in a way. Some weird robot named Toc-man kidnaps all of Pac-man's friends and family by accident and Pac-man goes to save them. It works for a game about Pac-man. It's not the type of game that needed some crazy plot. The end reveals that Toc-Man is being used by a ghost whom Pac-man promptly eats with that same smiling face he always has. It's rather eerie to watch him devour the ghost that just wanted a friend.

As a kid I adored this game yet could never beat it,so coming back to it with my (arguably) adult brain I expected to be able to grasp it better. All I was able to grasp was that this was a poorly designed game that tried to make up for it's flaws with creativity and banking on your love of Pac-man. The maze mode is rather good but you're better off going with it's companion game Ms. Pac-man Maze Madness. With my rose tinted glasses shattered I leave you with one simple truth: Crash Bandicoot 2 is fantastic,so is Warped.

Things No One Cares About: Kirby Triple Deluxe

Kirby as a franchise is just something which I never was drawn into, despite numerous attempts. I played Kirby's Dreamland as a little girl and could never beat King Dedede due to my own idiocy. It didn't really endear Kirby to me and, over time, I forgot about that little puffball. I finally gave Kirby Super Star a shot a few years ago and was sort of baffled by the whole mess. I've since come back to it and do enjoy the game but not to the extent that some do. My attempts thus far to get into the franchise have resulted in a double failure. Luckily this won't turn in to a triple failure because Kirby Triple Deluxe is an awesome game.

Kirby Triple Deluxe is Kirby's first 3DS exclusive outing and the game that sold me on the franchise. My main problem with the Kirby games I had played is they lacked a sense of direction,mostly Super Star. I was going along and events were happening with what seemed like little input my part. I really didn't feel like I was accomplishing anything, so I wasn't compelled to go on. Triple Deluxe has a clear sense of flow. Where as Dreamland or Super Star just sort of throws you in, here there is a bit of context as to what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. I'm not saying that this is like the best Kirby ever or Super Star is bad,it's just Triple Deluxe is the first one that clicked.

The plot follows Kirby trying to rescue his somewhat friend King Dedede from a weird spider wizard. It's nothing special in terms of video game narratives but adds a simple charm to the game that is endearing. It does get a bit tedious near the end when we have to sit and listen to the Big Bad's plan. It's a tad bit weird that every other scene has been a nice bit of telling through action then this text bombardment comes flying in.

The game play is what you've come to expect from a normal Kirby game. Suck up enemies to gain their power and use said power to kick some butt. They've added a few new abilities such as the Archer or Bell but the star of the show is the Hyper Nova ability. Kirby will find an item in certain levels that boosts his inhaling power to insane levels. This is used to solve puzzles and suck up large items such as trees and wreaking balls There is nothing more cathartic then going through a levels destroying everything in your path.

The game favors the mechanic of going back and forth between the foreground and background to take advantage of the 3-D effects. They do use it in creative ways such as racing an enemy in the background, so you can cut him off and get his item. It's a nice little way to shake up a bit of a tired concept. The bosses of the game also take advantage of this feature and will slip between the layers for different attacks. Unfortunately they can't be hit while doing those actions but it's only annoying during one boss.

The other 3DS feature worked in is the gyro sensor which is used to aim cannons and move various objects. The cool thing is that if you sort of mess up the rotations the game lets you easily reset the tilt function to a more favorable position. This is the only part of the game that feels gimmicky, but it never gets in the way of the fun and matches your tilting fairly accurately. It is a good use of the technology, if a bit useless.

The game is fairly easy, unless you are grabbing all the collectable sun stones, which makes the game moderately difficult. However, I am not saying that this is a knock against the game. It is meant to be accessible for people new to video games. It doesn't mean that more experienced gamers won't like it, if this genre of game is your bag. The game is one that you feel good about playing it because of the fun factor. Those looking for a bit more of a challenge can find it in the game's alternate modes.

The game hosts five other games in addition to the story mode. The Arena is Kirby's version of a boss rush with the ability to choose any copy power. Dedede Tour is more of a speed run through the main game playing as King Dedede. Kirby Fighters a Super Smash Bros style fighter where you choose which ability you want to fight with and go at it. It has a local multiplayer but lacks any sort of online function, which is sort of a missed opportunity. The final mode is a short rhythm game staring Dedede again. You time your button presses to jump higher and score points. It's nothing special but still fun and probably my favorite of the alternate modes.

I only have one real gripe against the game and that is key chain collection. The game has 256 different key chains modeled after various characters and locations from past Kirby games. Every stage has a rare key chain hidden within in addiction to common key chains. The problem I have with this is that you don't know what the common key chain will be till you end the level,they are random as to what you receive and it's possible to get duplicates. They aren't required to beat the game but make getting 100% completion a grind.

Kirby Triple Deluxe is some of the most adorable fun you'll have. It's the kind of game you play after a bad day to feel better about life,and I couldn't stop smiling when I played it. It's a definite must have for fans and potential fans of Kirby.

Till Next Time:Stay Positive

Things No One Cares About:Hamtaro,Ham-Ham Heartbreak

Hamtaro is probably one of my first anime that wasn't Pokemon. I was either scared or disinterested in most of the anime that ran during the Toonami block. So I turned to the adventure of that little orange hamster and his friends. I don't remember much of the show but really that not what I'm here to talk about. I would talk about it more but that would require me to re watch all 296 episodes and ain't nobody got time for that. Instead I'll be looking at it's video game tie-ins. The first one being Hamtaro:Ham Ham Heartbreak.

Technically it is the third game in the series and the second one released outside Japan. The first one being Ham Hams Unite for the Game boy Color which I'll get back to soon enough. Either way it was released in 2003 for the Game boy Advanced and is sort of a hidden gem for a system with a library full of found gems. That was a joke...moving on.

Hamtaro:Ham Ham Heartbreak is an adventure game that focuses less on item collection to solve puzzles and more on using words and actions.Ham Chats, a carry over from Ham Hams Unite, are the words used to solve the various problems of the hamsters.The beginning of the game explains why Hamtaro doesn't have his extensive vocabulary from last time(Spoiler:he's a klutz). All the words let Hamtaro and Bijou interact with the world and achieve their goals. Most of them have a few specific uses outside of the handful Boss teach you in the intro. As a side note Hamtaro does not seem to care if what is happening around him,if he learns a new Ham Chat then by god is he going to pull out his dictionary and write it down. Someone is crying their eyes out,screw them they just taught me how to say cry better record it real quick. I find it kind of funny.

So Ham Chats are puzzle solvers but what kind of puzzles are we solving. It's love,your basically hamster cupid and have to get hamsters to fall into or back into love. You do this by either giving people something or helping people out with a Ham chat word. That's basically the whole game and it's actually pretty fun. All the puzzles are creative if a bit on the simple side(it is a kid's game). It helps that the game is fairly short with six stages ,so the concept doesn't wear out it's welcome. There are three different ending sequences to get for fixing all the loves,beating the final boss and learning all the Ham chats. The game has a few more side things but they are mostly just for fun such as playing dress up or finding gems.

If I have to nit-pick it's that some of the puzzles can be slightly obtuse such as peeing on a fake reflection to make it lose it's cool.Luckily nothing approaching the normal moon logic this kind of game tends to run on. Then there is the fact that you have to sit through a short animation every time you want to pick something up in a room. Also Hamtaro and Bijou make this annoying squeaking sound with every step they take and it can be grating. However this are still nit picks and don't ruin an other wise solid experience.

The story is pretty simple:There is a hamster named Spat who hates love and you have to go around cleaning up his messes with the help of his nemesis,Harmony. This game is shipping Hamtaro with Bijou so she joins up and together you fight for love. Spat has no motivation beyond being a jerk but he does break down as the game goes on moving from simple rumor mongering to theft and finally attempted murder. I have a hard time believing that some characters actually trust a guy who looks like Satan in hamster form. His counterpart Harmony gets the same amount of back story and comes off as a bit loony. One could argue that her and Spat are in an alternate reality game that got way out of hand. Either that or God and Satan just got bored and decided to screw with some hamsters. It's not that complex a story but it works.Hey, it is better than the last game which is go find everybody because Boss said so. Most of the show's cast make appearances and despite not having seen this show in years I was still squealing like a 9 year old girl every time I saw one of them.

The story does explore the different kinds of love and is pretty open minded about love from friendship to romance to sibling love. I think they have a gay couple in one area that you help out but that may just be me being hopeful or them being vague on some hamster's genders. Hamtaro and Bijou play well off each other and their little love scene at the end is adorable.

The graphics and animations have been upgraded from Unite and some Ham chats have a little more complex animations now. The game looks more like the show with everything being bright and colorful and every important hamster being unique. The areas are all your basic settings(mountain,beach,jungle etc.) from a hamster 's perspective which adds a nice touch to things and lends it self to some cool looking areas. The music is nice if nothing special and you can set a dance to most of the BGM if you find the track in the levels.

For the most part licensed games tend to get a bad rap and to be fair quite a few deserve the reputation. This is definitely not one of them and deserves a look for anyone who wants a good time.

Till next time Stay Positive

Things No One Cares About:Chantelise: A Tale of Two Sisters

A few months back I picked up the Carpe Fulgur collection on sale mostly to play Recettear because last time I checked three games for twenty dollars is better than one game for twenty. I think that is how value works,wouldn't know really. Oddly enough I still haven't touched Recettear instead opting to start with its' predecessor Chantelise: A Tale of Two Sisters. Then I stopped playing it because darn it the game was hard and the controls were being mean.

Fast forward to the present where I have a wired controller to play it and suddenly the game was...just as hard but hey at least me and the controller are on the same page. As I made my way through this tale of sisters I really started enjoying myself whaping monsters in the face and discovering the hidden chests. Mind you they game never went into greatness territory but it had a small encampment nearby. Anyway on with the review.

Chantelise is an action RPG with less a focus on leveling up(i.e there is none) and more on proper item set up. The melee combat is fun and works well, your sword never failing to cleave a slime in two. Chatelise's hook is in it's very odd magic system. There is no mana pool to draw from instead it's fueled by magic stones dropped from monsters at random. It does get quite annoying but the magic system will rarely leave you in an unwinable scenario in normal battle.Plus it will never do so in a boss fight. In the beginning you can only use two magic stones at a time and it eventually goes up to four at a time. There are different spells for charging up like colored stones and different effects on existing spells with different colored stone combinations. It adds a nice layer of strategy with the magic that is a bit undercut by the randomness factor. Though I hardly used the top tier spells as the were more trouble than they're worth.

The games other major element is treasure hunting. You have the basic random drops to sell to the shopkeeper to help pay her exorbitant prices. Then there are the hidden treasures that can be found in each section of the dungeons. It's actually pretty fun trying to complete all of them for the great items they yield. Sadly the hints you pay for to find the treasures  are vague and mostly unhelpful. Plus to get a hint you have to pay a bit of your maximum Hit Points,so your better of using a guide to help you.The game has a fishing side quest that plays like Mario Golf,a fact the game lampshades. The fishing itself is enjoyable and it's always funny to use Chante herself as the lure.

If I'm going to have any real gripes on the game play side it would be these. First the targeting system is less than helpful. Preferring to lock on to an enemy two rooms back as opposed to the giant crab starring you down. It is possible to switch targets with the camera However it's less than helpful and you are better off just canceling targeting and try again.

Second is what this game laughably calls a difficulty curve that is all over the place. The game starts out just pounding you in to the ground,especially with the first boss and his immunity to a sword in the face. After that the game just keeps beating on you with loads of enemies till about the third dungeon where everything becomes a cake walk. I breezed through the remaining three dungeons with only a slight hiccup on the first phase of the final boss. The final boss' attacks do minimal damage with a low level shield equipped and are so easy to dodge that it's hardly necessary to have a shield on. Overall though the game play is really fun and the game's short length ensures it won't wear out it's welcome.

On the story side of things it all flows well and has nothing really to say about anything. The story scenes are minimal but do well with what little there is to foreshadow some of the weirdness that makes up the plot's later half. The characters themselves of which there are four major players are likable if not particularly well rounded. Elise is a sword maiden and is kind if a bit dimwitted and her big sister Chante is a human turned fairy with a bad temper. Their relationship actually works very well and I could tell that they were sisters without the game having to say so. The other two women are basically the same personality wise but in a mentor like position. Again everything works and the ending does tie most loose ends up. Except for one...I think,it could just me being a ditz. Finally the translated script is very fun and witty. It doesn't rely on cursing and fart jokes instead going for violence being threatened upon character's shins. It works wonderfully and gets in quite a few good jokes.

The art style is reminiscent of one of the RPG maker games and I do mean that in a good way. The sprites are detailed and the backgrounds are pretty. It just lacks any real stand out locations,all being variations on ancient ruins and forests. A special mention to Elise's fishing catching animation in that my god is it cute. Other than that nothing terrible,noting outstanding.

In the end I consider this a good game with no real deal breakers in it. It may be nothing special but it has a heart and a sense of humor. It's the cheapest of the Carpe Fulgur games on Steam and well worth it if your needing an RPG fix. Just make sure use a game pad of some sort to save yourself from the poor keyboard controls.
Till next time Stay Positive.

Things No One Cares About:Spyro 2:Ripto's Rage

I never did really get that something could actually be painful to watch but well the Jojo OVAs have made me believe in the concept. So due to it's awfulness and healthy doses of real life I'll need and extra week to slog though that show. Also to keep with the schedule,I'm going to skip the Jojo game and just do the OVAs and 2012 anime.

This week we'll look at something I did actually make it through, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage. Also known as Gateway to Glimmer if your European and snooty. Developed by Insomniac in the far flung past of 1999 for the Playstation as a sequel to the decent Spyro the Dragon. It has more of a sense of direction than the first game and delivers a much tighter game. Adding more characters with a little more personality. So enough stealing from wikipedia,let's dive right in.

The story and characters are nothing really to write home about. It has the stranded plot for a collect them all platformer. There is an evil jerk who wants to rule the land and you as the hero must stop him by collecting weird doodads. Spyro is your dude with a 'tude hero and does get a few funny lines here and there. The other four main NPCs are ok with Hunter being probably the biggest jerk in history rivaled only by Moneybags the bear. The villain Ripto and his little entourage are nothing special either. Though he is well liked enough to come back in the abysmal Enter the Dragonfly and a few of the GBA Spyros. It's not all bad,the little mini plots within each level are funny and are fun to go through.

Speaking of levels,the designs is really good for them each level being linear enough that you won't get lost but open enough that it rewards a little exploration. Each level follows the template of talk to guy with punny name,do some simple task with increasing difficulty(usually with either ramming or flaming something) then talk to first guy's pal for a doodad. It's a solid formula that starts to drag around the second hub world(Autumn Plains). It doesn't help that Autumn Plains is a long world with a bulk of the levels and they begin to run out of decent ideas halfway. I think they were saving the better levels for the last hub because it contains two of the best levels in the game,Robotica Farms and Metropolis. Sadly,the other two levels in that hub are meh.

As for the game play,it's your typical 3-D platformer affair,you jump around ,kill foes and collect trinkets. They throw in some gliding sections and a few shooter sections that play like an unofficial sequel to Panzer Dragoon. You spend the first two worlds collecting Talisman's and maybe some optional orbs then have to go back and collect some more orbs to fight the final boss. The difficulty tends to be all over the map. The main missions themselves are piss easy and so are some of the orb challenges. However some of those challenges go straight into frustrating,if you can hear the phrase "Trouble with the Trolly,eh" and not fall into rage fits then your either much better at this game than I am or have never played it. It makes 100% this game a right pain in the rear.

The graphics have aged well and look good for a PS1 game, most of the models are smooth and the worlds look cool. The character designs are nice and it is much lighter than it's predecessor . That's all I have to say about the look.

Playing through it again, I was still having fun but I do recognize this for what it is, a really fun kids game. So if your wanting to relive some nostalgia or give your kid something to do to keep them from pillaging the neighborhood then go ahead and find/dust off this one Just be prepared for them to learn some new curse words.
Till next time,Stay Positive.