Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!
From Spyropedia
 American Coverart | |
| Developer: | Insomniac |
|---|---|
| Collectibles: |  10,000  64  14
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| Release Date: |  November 2, 1999  November 5, 1999  November 5, 1999  November 5, 1999  March 16, 2000
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| Platform | Playstation 1 |
| Genre: | Platformer/action |
| Rating: | ESRB: E for Everyone ELSPA: 3+ OFLC: G8+ |
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! is a video game for the PlayStation video game console. It was released in the United States under this title on November 2, 1999, in Europe and Australia as Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer on November 5, 1999, and in Japan as Spyro x Sparx: Tondemo Tours on March 16, 2000. The game sold approximately 1.74 million copies in the United States, more than one million copies less than its predecessor.
Ripto's Rage is the second game in the Spyro the Dragon series, which started with Spyro the Dragon in 1998. The protagonist of the series, Spyro the Dragon, is placed in the land of Avalar, rather than the Dragon Realms, where the previous installment was set. A dinosaur-riding sorcerer, known as Ripto, has invaded the world of Avalar, and is wreaking havoc on its citizens with his magic. Idols come to life and attack their creators, Eskimos are encased in ice cubes, and a civilization of seahorses has had its water confiscated. The player, as Spyro, must travel through the world of Avalar and undo the damage done by Ripto.
The game became available for download on the PlayStation Network on July 26, 2007, before even its predecessor was released to the same market. Less than a week later, however, it was removed because Colossus and Idol Springs failed to load, as well as another PlayStation classic, MediEvil.
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Synopsis
Plot
In the fantasy realm of Avalar, local residents Elora, Hunter, and The Professor have been working on their latest and largest portal. During a test of it, Hunter enters his birthdate (22475, which could mean February 24, 1975 or April 22, 1975) as the portal's target coordinates, inadvertently activating it and allowing a small wizard named Ripto into the realm along with two large dinosaurs, Crush and Gulp. Identifying that the land has no dragons, Ripto declares that he is going to "move in" and take it over; however, Elora is able to deactivate the portal by instructing fairies to remove the orbs powering the portal. As Ripto begins to terrorize Avalar, Elora and the Professor plan to 'catch' a dragon in order to drive Ripto off.
Meanwhile, the Dragon Realms have been under rainy weather for some time; Spyro, declaring he needs a vacation, locates a portal to the realm of Dragon Shores. However, after traveling through the portal, he finds himself instead landing in the realm of Avalar by means of a smaller portal, built by the Professor. Ripto enters the scene and destroys the portal, objecting to how the Professor succeeded in bringing a dragon to the world of Avalar. Ripto is, however, forced to retreat when Gulp accidentally swallows Ripto's magical scepter, and Spyro is asked to help save the realm of Avalar by defeating Ripto.
Each of Avalar's homeworlds is captured by Ripto after Spyro enters them. In a dungeon area, Ripto and one of his minions (or, on the final homeworld, resurrected versions of them) wait for Spyro. The only way to access these dungeons is to collect all of the Talismans in the overworld, or in the final confrontation, to collect 40 orbs. The talismans are being held by the leaders of each homeworld. Somehow, perhaps using his magic, Ripto has presumally convinced the citizens of the realm to turn against each other, causing outbreaks of war between worlds and races. However, Ripto didn't seem to bother the Waterwizards of Mystic Marsh, as proven with the chaos starting only because one of them fell asleep.
In the end, Spyro is able to bring peace to each of the realms that have been corrupted by Ripto's meddling. After defeating both Crush and Gulp, Spyro is hurtled into Winter Tundra, where he finds out that Ripto has holed himself into the castle after taking over the homeworld. Spyro is instructed by the Professor to gather up forty orbs, in which he can use to storm the castle Ripto has hijacked and retake Avalar for those that live in it.
Spyro successfully gathers the forty orbs, and is then enters the castle. With the assistance of Hunter, Spyro fights Ripto to the bitter end. As Ripto spawns a mechanical Gulp, and later a mechanical pterodactyl (who could be one of Ripto's deceased henchman that died before the events of the game), Hunter dons his wings and drops orbs supercharged by the Professor in order to give Spyro enhanced abilities for a short amount of time. Spyro devestates Ripto, sending him sinking into the lava below.
After Spyro beats Ripto, Hunter, Elora, the Professor, and Moneybags congratulate Spyro. The Professor opens a portal to Dragon Shores with the remaining orbs, and Hunter attacks Moneybags in order to retrieve the gems he forced Spyro to give him throughout the events of the game.
Voice
A new cast of voice actors was brought in. Spyro is now voiced by Tom Kenny, who would also voice him in the next two games. Kenny also voices the Professor and the Electrolls in Hurricos. Hunter, Ripto, Crush, Gulp and many residents are voiced by Gregg Berger, while Elora, Handel, the Female Fauns, the Hippos and Queen Finny are voiced by Melissa Disney, who would later voice Courtney Gears in the Ratchet & Clank series.
Setting
The dragons of the previous installment have been replaced with an entirely new cast of characters, including fauns, anthropomorphic animals, satyrs, robotic businessmen, and more. The world of Avalar is split up into three realms, all of them named after a season of the year; the Summer Forest, the Autumn Plains, and the Winter Tundra. All three realms feature a certain number of different worlds, a speedway world, and a dungeon in which Ripto or his minions are hiding in. Avalar's name may have been derived from the legendary island Avalon.
Due to the absence of a Spring homeworld, the first homeworld in Spyro: Year of the Dragon is called Sunrise Spring in tribute to Avalar.
Gameplay
Gameplay flows in a similar manner to the original Spyro, with few variations in control and Spyro's main abilities intact. Spyro can attack enemies with his typical dragon-breath, or charge through them in a charge attack, though different varieties of enemies may require a specific attack to defeat; metal-armored enemies are impervious to Spyro's flame, and enemies much larger than Spyro himself are immune to his charge attack.
Spyro can also get a variety of new abilities in this game. At the start of the game, Hunter teaches Spyro how to glide, and afterwards, how to hover in order to get extra distance. Many levels were designed with this in mine, and because of that, this game features longer glides of varied distances over its predecessor, Spyro the Dragon.
Moneybags also teaches Spyro a host of new abilities. The first ability is the ability to swim. With this, Spyro can now go underwater and get to the gems and other hidden treasures that wait for him. The second ability Spyro learns is how to climb. This allows Spyro to get to higher places through the use of his claws. The final ability is the ability to do a diving headbutt, so he can break special rocks and special gem containers.
In addition to Spyro's returning and new abilities, many levels in the game feature powerup "gates" which temporarily give Spyro enhanced abilities that allow him to defeat certain enemies, reach new areas, or complete certain missions. Powerup gates are at first inactive, but become available once the player has defeated a certain number of enemies within the level.
There are also hidden Skill Points added to the game for the first time, unlocking an Epilogue section in the Guidebook once all of them have been found.
Powerups
- Main Article Powerups
Worlds
Summer Forest
Autumn Plains
Winter Tundra
Dragon Shores (RR)
- Shoot em Down (3 Tokens)
- Tunnel of Love (1 Token)
- Shoot the Enemy (3 Tokens)
- Rollercoaster (3 Tokens)
Characters
Playable Characters
- Spyro the Dragon
Non-Playable Characters
Bosses
- Crush is a large blue club-wielding monster who uses power-circles to unleash fearsome attacks.
- Gulp is another one of Ripto's monster henchmen, with thick green scales and a giant pair of laser cannons on his back. Use the objects which fall from the sky to defeat him.
- Ripto is the final boss in the game. He uses magical orbs to gain power-ups, and can fire projectiles from his staff. When in trouble he calls upon Gulp to help him out, and then takes to the skies on a monstrous bird for a fast-paced aerial battle.Use the orbs that Hunter drops to get new powerups.(see "powerups" section for more details on new powerups)
Reception
The game received generally favorable reviews, and some consider it to be even greater than the widely praised first game. Many critics applauded the gameplay, Many enjoyed the fact that the game was emphasized on humor, but was considerably deep; although its relatively short length and occasionally easy gameplay as well as its similarity to the previous game were criticized. Stewart Copeland's refurnished, atmospheric music was also well received. The game has sold nearly two million copies in the US.
Legacy and Controversy
This game, along with the first and third games, are well known as the best games in the series. Haters of Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure just want these three games remade, calling them the best games ever, as well as the only "true" Spyro games, not caring about the PS2 and Game Boy games. Not only has these three games got a cult following, but also contributed to the SSA controversy.
