Golden VGM #731 - Spyro: A Hero's Tail ~ Ice Citadel
8- DESCRIPTION:
Traveller's Tales did such a great job reinventing Crash Bandicoot for Crash Twinsanity, and when they came to Spyro, they... didn't do such a good job with it.
It's a shame that despite the huge effort that went into its visuals and music, A Hero's Tail still comes off as a mediocre game. Because the developers missed the point entirely as to what made the first Spyro good, and instead just boggled it down with intrusive and shite minigames.
Not that I blame them. They were trying to emulate Year of the Dragon, which is widely considered to be the best game in the franchise. But that's pretty much why they failed. Because not one game after the first game, not even one, managed to accomplish what it did right.
And that is the gliding aspect. Unlike every other game in the series, gliding was treacherous and stimulating in the first game. It teased you with sparkling treasure in the far off distance with only an abyss to separate you from the shiny prize. And it basically made you want the treasure so badly, that you would muster your courage and try gliding to reach the far-off platform. It made you question whether or not you can make it, but when you did, it was such a great feeling. And that is, what I think, made Spyro so unique as a platformer. If this aspect was the main focus for every game, Spyro would probably still be just as big an icon as Mario and Sonic to this day. But instead, like I said, not one game got it right after the first game. Not one.
- DEVELOPED BY: Eurocom / Traveller's Tales
- PUBLISHED BY: Vivendi Universal Games
- DIRECTED BY: Jon WIlliams
- PRODUCED BY: Suzanne Watson
- COMPOSED BY: Steve Duckworth / Paul Lawler
- PLATFORM/S: PlayStation 2 / Xbox / Nintendo GameCube
- GENRE: Platforming
- WHERE MUSIC PLAYS:
[LEVEL] - Ice Citadel