Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!

Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!, known as Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer in Europe, is the second game of the Spyro the Dragon series and a sequel to Spyro the Dragon. It was originally released for the PlayStation in 1999. In 2018, the first three Spyro the Dragon games, one of which is Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!, were remade for Spyro Reignited Trilogy.

In the game, Spyro is placed in Avalar, rather than the Dragon Worlds, 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. Spyro must travel through the world of Avalar and undo the damage done by Ripto. Spyro and Sparx are the only two returning characters from the first game.

On July 26, 2007, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! was released as a PSone Classic for the PlayStation Network, which is before its predecessor, Spyro the Dragon. On August 7, 2007, the game was pulled from the PlayStation Network due to technical issues, such as certain levels failing to load. A few days later, Sony refunded those who bought the game and  (another PSone Classic that was released on the . On May 7, 2009, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! was re-added to the PlayStation Network.

Story
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) 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 de-activate 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 Avalar's 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 sceptre, and Spyro is asked to help save the realm of Avalar by defeating Ripto.

Each of Avalar's overworlds is captured by Ripto after Spyro enters them. In a dungeon area, Ripto and one of his minions (or, on the final overworld, 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, Ripto's magic has corrupted the minds of the citizens of the realm and turned them against each other, causing outbreaks of war between worlds and races.

Gameplay
The gameplay is similar to the original Spyro the Dragon but 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.

Players control Spyro the Dragon as he fights against various enemies and obstacles using his flame breath, charge attack, and glide abilities. His health is indicated by the color of his dragonfly partner, Sparx, who can replenish his health by eating butterflies. Bottled butterflies will both completely restore Sparx's health and give Spyro an extra life. The game is split up into three main hub worlds containing portals to various realms. In order to progress through the first two hub worlds, the player must acquire a talisman from each realm, which is awarded for reaching the end of the level, before facing the boss of each world. Each level also contains a certain number of orbs, which can be earned by completing secondary tasks for particular NPCs, such as lighting a series of lamps or protecting characters from attacks. These orbs are required for opening some of the portals to certain levels, as well as progressing through the third hub world. Gems gathered throughout the game are required to pay fees Moneybags charges in order to progress through the game. As well as opening portals or granting access to certain areas, Moneybags also teaches Spyro three brand new abilities over the course of the game. Swimming lets Spyro dive underwater to reach submerged treasure and hidden tunnels, climbing lets Spyro climb up certain surfaces, and the headbash lets Spyro perform an overhead smashing attack which can break rocks and certain cages. In addition, each level has a power-up gate, activated after defeating a specific number of enemies in a level, which grants Spyro a temporary super-ability. The power-up can grant invulnerability or the abilities to fly, supercharge, super flame, breathe ice, or super jump to reach high up areas.

Characters
This game introduces new characters into the Spyro series, many of whom would appear in later games. Both Hunter and Moneybags make recurring appearances in the series, while Ripto would make more series appearances than any other antagonist, making him the key villain of the original series. The dragons of the previous installment have been replaced with an entirely new cast of characters, including fauns, satyrs, anthropomorphic animals, and robotic businessmen, among others.


 * Spyro, the eager, headstrong, purple dragon and main character, now a little more experienced after his adventures in the first Spyro game.
 * Sparx, Spyro's constant dragonfly companion that represents his health meter, also alowing Spyro to withstand more hits, and collects nearby gems for him.
 * Elora, a faun of Avalar, and assistant to the Professor. She is friendly and wise and develops a friendship with Spyro over the course of the game.
 * Hunter, an anthropomorphic cheetah armed with a bow and arrows who was inadvertently responsible for bringing Ripto to the realm of Avalar, during a test of the Professor's "Super-portal". In the game, Hunter teaches the player about Spyro's abilities early on and occasionally challenges Spyro to various mini-games or missions later.
 * Zoe, a fairy who helped scatter Avalar's orbs throughout the realm to prevent Ripto from using them. Zoe appears in several locations throughout all levels and serves as a continue point should Spyro lose a life.
 * Moneybags, an anthropomorphic bear seen in various places throughout the realm of Avalar. As his name suggests, he has a love for gems and will not hesitate to ask Spyro to "share" some of them, sometimes inventing ridiculous reasons that Spyro should agree.  However, in all cases, paying Moneybags enough gems will result in access to new levels, further progress within the same level, or in some cases, a new ability for Spyro.
 * The Professor, the creator of the "Super-portal" in Avalar. After Ripto's arrival, he created a smaller portal in the Glimmer realm to locate a dragon and bring it to Avalar.
 * Ripto, the title villain, who was transported to the realm of Avalar by accident but announced that, as Avalar had no indigenous dragons, he would be taking over the realm.

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. He is a dinosaur-like 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. He appears in robot form during the final boss.
 * 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.

Homeworlds
The world of Avalar is divided into three Homeworlds, each based on a particular season. Spyro can access the levels via portals. In every realm, there is a castle that, during the course of the storyline, is captured by Ripto. Each realm features a number of different worlds, a speedway world, and a dungeon with a boss. There are no spring-themed levels. Every level has 400 gems.

Abilities
In addition to his returning abilities (except the "side-roll"), Spyro acquires several new skills throughout Ripto's Rage! that allow the player to explore the worlds of Avalar more thoroughly.
 * Hover. Spyro's gliding ability has been augmented with a hover maneuver which, used at the end of a glide, gives Spyro one small, final boost in elevation and distance before he falls to the ground. Hunter explains this technique to the player early on in the first world.
 * Swallow. Spyro now has the ability to pick up various small items and carry them in his mouth. This is used primarily for solving certain puzzles and missions, but some items (such as rocks) can be used as weapons by spitting them back out at an enemy.
 * Swimming. Most water is no longer hazardous or lethal to Spyro. At first, Spyro can only swim across the surface of water, but in the first world, Moneybags teaches Spyro (for a fee, of course) how to swim underwater. Many levels feature underwater portions through which Spyro must swim, particularly the Aquaria Towers level which are almost entirely underwater. Spyro's flame breath is of no use underwater (unless augmented by a Power-Up), but he can still use his charge attack to swim at high speeds and attack foes. Spyro can still drown in unclear waters (Mystic Marsh) and green, acidic waters (Scorch and Shady Oasis).
 * Climbing. In the second world, Moneybags teaches Spyro the ability to climb on certain wall surfaces, such as ladders. Spyro can traverse such walls to gain access to new missions and areas, but he cannot defend himself while hanging from a wall.
 * Headbash. In the final world, Moneybags teaches Spyro one final ability, the ability to dive vertically out of the air and crash into the ground, horns first, allowing Spyro to defeat certain late-game enemies, open certain treasure boxes, and complete additional missions.

Power-ups
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.

Three of these powerup gates are based on similar abilities in the first Spyro game:
 * Superflame. Superflame gates enhance Spyro's flame breath, allowing him to strike down and defeat even the normally fireproof metal-armored enemies. Unlike its incarnation in the first Spyro game, this is also a long-range ability, and Spyro can aim and shoot fireballs accurately from a first-person perspective. While underwater, Spyro fires spiked balls instead of flame. If a player gathers all the orbs and gems in the game, a door in Dragon Shores will open, with a Superflame powerup that lasts indefinitely.
 * Superfly. This gate gives Spyro the ability to fly rather than glide, similar to the speedway levels.
 * Supercharge. Supercharge gates give Spyro an instantaneous boost of speed. Similar to the supercharge ramps of the first Spyro game, this allows Spyro to charge through most obstacles, and even large enemies which are normally impervious to his charge attack. This ability does not wear off with time; rather it lasts until Spyro stops charging, or hits an obstacle and comes to a stop.

The game introduces some new power-ups:


 * Invulnerability. This powerup renders Spyro invulnerable to all damage for a certain length of time. This is used primarily to allow Spyro to cross large areas hazardous terrain (such as lava or acidic waters) without taking harm.
 * Superjump. This gate launches Spyro high into the air in a certain direction, allowing him to land in a different area of the level.
 * Ice breath. This rare gate gives Spyro a powerful ice-breath attack which can be used at long range, similar to the Superflame powerup, as well as to freeze certain enemies for solving puzzles.

Items

 * Gems. Scattered throughout the realms, Gems come in varying colors and denominations, and may be found lying on the ground, or hidden in containers such as baskets, vases, and underwater pots. There are a set number of gems in every realm, and each gem collected counts toward the player's percentage of game completion; collecting enough gems is a requirement for exploring the realms (as you pay Moneybags to get rid of an obstacle) and accessing a bonus level at the end of the game. All the gems you paid Moneybags are refunded after defeating Ripto.
 * Orbs. Orbs are used to access later levels, and are a requirement for reaching Dragon Shores and accessing a bonus level at the end of the game. Orbs power up portals created by The Professor.
 * Fodder and Butterflies. In various locations throughout each level there are small creatures -- such as frogs or sheep -- which scatter when Spyro draws close; these creatures serve as powerups for Spyro's health. Flaming or charging a fodder creature releases a butterfly, which Sparx devours. If Sparx eats nine butterflies, the tenth one will be a blue butterfly, an extra life. Blue butterflies may also be found in glass jars. They turn from blue to green in latter games.
 * Talismans. Talismans are rewards given to Spyro by the inhabitants of various realms after he completes the level. All of the realms have talismans to offer except for boss dungeons, speedways, and realms in the final overworld, Winter Tundra. When the player collects all of the talismans in an overworld, that world's boss dungeon opens up, allowing the player to advance to the next overworld. This excludes the final boss, Ripto, which requires 40 orbs to enter. There are 14 talismans in total.

Minigames
Minigames appear in three forms in Ripto's Rage! Some appear as missions within various levels, like a match of ice hockey, or riding a manta ray around in the water.

Another form is in the "Speedway" levels as seen previously in the first Spyro game; these are optional flying missions in which Spyro must fly through or flame a certain number of targets within a limited amount of time. In addition, once the player has succeeded at a speedway, the player can return to the level freely, and may also locate a second challenge or minigame hidden somewhere in the level.

The final form is in the final level. Once you beat the game, the final bonus level that you can unlock has multiple minigames. An example of one of these minigames is a target practice where you shoot targets with superflame.

Trivia

 * Unlike other Spyro titles, the game stars in the the first level, Glimmer, rather than the first world's hub. This could explain why the European version is subtitled Gateway to Glimmer.
 * Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! is the only PlayStation game where the player cannot exceed 100% completion.
 * When Spyro collects 64 orbs and 10,000 gems, he can open up a gate in Dragon Shores. Inside the gate is what looks like a superflame powerup that when passed through grants Spyro a permanent superflame ability.
 * Both Fracture Hills and Magma Cone are home to the fauns and the Earthshapers, and are both levels in Autumn Plains. Elora's homeworld can possibly be Fracture Hills, since Fracture Hills' fauns are all female and Magma Cone's fauns are all male.