Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!

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This article is about the second game in the Spyro franchise. For the Game Boy Advance game with "Spyro 2" in its title, see Spyro 2: Season of Flame.

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Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!
NTSC-UPALNTSC-JReignited
Developer(s):	Insomniac Games
Publisher(s):	Sony Computer Entertainment Universal Interactive Studios
Producer(s):	Grady Hunt
Release date(s):	PlayStation: November 2, 1999 November 5, 1999 March 16, 2000 PlayStation Network: July 26, 2007 (original release) May 7, 2009 (second release)
Genre(s):	Platformer
Rating(s):	ESRB: - Everyone CERO: - All ages
Console(s):	PlayStation
Composer(s):	Stewart Copeland
Mode(s):	Single player
Media:	PlayStation: Disc PlayStation Network: Digital download
Input:	PlayStation controller

Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!, known as Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer outside of North America and Spyro & Sparx: Outrageous Tours in Japan, is the second game installment of the Spyro franchise 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 the 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. 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 MediEvil (another PSone Classic that was released on the PlayStation Network). On May 7, 2009, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! was re-added to the PlayStation Network.

Summaries

“Spyro the Dragon and Sparx the Dragonfly are looking forward to a relaxing vacation at Dragon Shores. They're going to rest up from their victory over Gnasty Gnorc in their first adventure. But fate is about to give their travel plans a big ugly tweak.
In the worlds of Avalar, a dinosaur-riding troublemaker named Ripto is making life miserable with his magical spells. Statues are coming to life and attacking their makers. Monsters are messing up electrical systems.
Eskimos are being turned into ice cubes and fish are running out of water!
The folks in Avalar have to come up with a plan, quick! They decide that a dragon is what they need to defeat Ripto and his gang. One of the defenders, the Professor, has created magical orbs that will snatch a dragon out of another world and shoot it through a portal to Avalar. Just as Spyro and Sparx leave for their trip, the Professor revs up the orbs.
In the blink of a gnorc’s eye, it's “Good-bye, Dragon Shores,” and “Hello, Avalar!” as Spyro and Sparx tumble through a portal and into an alien universe. If they ever want to take their beach vacation, Spyro and Sparx have to help get rid of this raging Ripto. It's enough to make a dragon spit fire!
Spyro never passes up a challenge or the chance to toast a few enemies — and there are plenty of both here. The vast worlds of Avalar contain beautiful mountains, bubbling lava flows and gem-filled lakes. The local folks seem pretty nice too... weird — but nice. But some of the scariest creatures ever seen live here and that’s by dragon standards! Will Spyro ever get back to his world? It’s a snap if you're a dragon.
So fire up the breath burners and rev up your headbash. Ripto is about to see what happens when a dragon leads the attack.”

– Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! instruction manual

“Spyro has decided to take a holiday to Dragon Shores. He invites his best friend Sparx to join him and together the duo soar through a magic gateway, off for a well-earned vacation.
Far away, the bitter and twisted Ripto, along with his henchmen Crush and Gulp, has taken control of the beautiful land of Avalar.
Three Avalari - Elora, Hunter and the Professor - hide out in nearby Glimmer where they plot to rid themselves of Ripto. The Professor builds a magic gateway which leads to the Dragon Lands in the hope that he might lure a dragon through to Glimmer.
The gateway begins to shimmer and Spyro explodes through into Glimmer...”

– Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer European site

Setting

Ripto's Rage! is set in another kingdom called Avalar, rather than the Dragon Realms, where the previous installment was set. The kingdom of Avalar is split up into three homeworlds, all of them named after a season of the year: Summer Forest, Autumn Plains, and Winter Tundra. All three homeworlds feature a certain number of realms, one or two speedways, and a Boss Realm.

Story

In the land of Avalar, residents Elora, Hunter, and the Professor have been working on their latest and largest portal. During a test, Hunter persuades the Professor to enter his birthdate, 22475 (which either means February 24 of 1975 or 22 April 1975) as the portal's target coordinates, inadvertently activating it and allowing a small sorcerer named Ripto into the realm, along with his two dinosaurs, Crush and Gulp. Sensing that the world he has landed in is free of Dragons, Ripto declares that he is going to "move in" and take over. He instructs Crush to go back and pack his things. However, Elora is able to deactivate the portal by instructing fairies to remove the orbs powering the portal and scatter them throughout the realms of Avalar. As Ripto begins to terrorize Avalar, Elora and the Professor plan to "catch" a Dragon in order to drive Ripto off.

Meanwhile, after Gnasty Gnorc's defeat and the Dragon Realms have been experiencing rainy weather for some time, and Spyro declares that he needs a vacation. He locates the portal to the Dragon Shores realm and eagerly enters it. However, he finds himself landing in the realm of Avalar, intercepted by the Professor building a portal. Ripto immediately enters the scene and destroys the portal, objecting to the Professor's success in bringing a Dragon to Avalar. Ripto is, however, forced to retreat when Gulp accidentally swallows Ripto's magical scepter. Elora asks Spyro to help save the realm of Avalar by defeating Ripto.

Each of Avalar's Home Worlds is captured by Ripto immediately after Spyro enters it, and either Ripto or one of his main minions await Spyro in a dungeon area at the end of each. Spyro must gain access to these dungeons by collecting all of the Talismans in the homeworld, and in the case of the final confrontation, collecting 40 orbs total also. The leaders of each realm are holding the Talismans. Somehow, perhaps using his magic, Ripto has succeeded in turning the citizens of the realms against each other, causing outbreaks of war between realms and races within realms. However, it's possible that Ripto did not terrorize these realms since Zephyr and Breeze Harbor have been in a war for some time. Mystic Marsh's trouble was only caused by a sleeping Water Wizard, and nobody ever mentioned Ripto at all.

In the end, Spyro is able to bring peace to the realms that have been corrupted by Ripto's machinations. After defeating both Crush and Gulp, Spyro is hurtled into Winter Tundra, where he finds out that Ripto has taken over the homeworld and holed himself up in the castle. The Professor instructs Spyro to gather up forty orbs, which will enable him to storm the castle Ripto has claimed and retake Avalar for the peaceful natives to whom it belongs.

Spyro successfully gathers the forty orbs and 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, flies over the arena, and drops orbs supercharged by the Professor to give Spyro enhanced abilities for a short amount of time. Spyro ultimately devastates Ripto, sending him sinking into the lava below.

After Spyro beats Ripto, he is congratulated by Hunter, Elora, the Professor, and Moneybags. The Professor opens a portal to Dragon Shores with the remaining orbs, and Hunter attacks Moneybags in order to retrieve the gems he took from Spyro throughout the events of the game.

The game's epilogue, which is unlocked by completing the Skill Points list in the Guidebook, reveals what happened to various friends and enemies that Spyro encountered in Avalar, such as Spyro and Elora missing their chance to kiss, Crush being taught by the Professor how to spell, and a list of dummied enemies that didn't make it into the game. The game closes with Spyro returning to the Dragon Realm, with Hunter joining him, setting the stage for the next installment, Year of the Dragon.

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 flame attack, 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. Like the first game, Spyro's health is indicated by the color of Sparx, whose health can be replenished by eating butterflies.

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, Spyro 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 certain characters, 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. The headbash allows Spyro to perform an overhead smashing attack that can break rocks and certain cages.

In various locations throughout each level there are small creatures, such as frogs or sheep, known as fodder. When Spyro approaches them, the fodder try and escape from him. When Spyro charges or flames a fodder, it releases a butterfly, which Sparx can eat to restore a unit of his health. If Sparx eats nine butterflies, the tenth one will be a blue butterfly, which grants an extra life. Blue butterflies are sometimes found in a bottle.

Each level has a Powerup Gate, which can be activated after defeating a certain number of enemies, who release a spirit particle upon being defeated. When Spyro walks through a Powerup Gate, he is given a temporary powerup, including Invincibility, Superfly, Supercharge, Powerflame, Superfreeze, and Bigbounce.

Controls

Button	Movement
X	Jump
X + X	Glide
X + X + Δ	Hover
Hold Δ	Look around environment
O	Flame
X (underwater)	Paddle
□	Charge (in surface and underwater)
□ and X	Skip/Quick Charge
L1 + R1	Sparx gem radar
L2 or R2	Move the camera
START	Pause Menu
SELECT	Guidebook
X + Δ	Headbash (when unlocked in Winter Tundra)

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.

Playable characters

Name

Description

Spyro

The eager, headstrong, purple dragon and main protagonist. A vacation to Dragon Shores turns tragic as Ripto has taken over Avalar. After encountering Elora and Hunter, Spyro embarks on a journey through Avalar to collect Orbs and Talismans and stop Ripto. This is accomplished through the aide of Sparx. The game's story is partially framed after the events of its predecessor, and Spyro has the same feel, physics and a similar control from the first Spyro the Dragon, now a little more experienced after his adventures in the first Spyro game.

Non-playable characters

Name	Description
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	A 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 checkpoint should Spyro lose a life.
Moneybags	A 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.
Professor	A mole and 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 main antagonist of the game who seeks to take over Avalar and has a hatred for dragons. He is joined by his minions, Crush and Gulp.
Crush	A blue dinosaur with small wings and wields an oversized club. He serves under Ripto.
Gulp	A green dinosaur who often acts as Ripto's steed.

Realms

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. Every level has 400 gems.

Realms
				Glimmer Idol Springs Colossus Hurricos Sunny Beach Aquaria Towers Ocean Speedway Crush's Dungeon
				Skelos Badlands Crystal Glacier Breeze Harbor Zephyr Metro Speedway Scorch Fracture Hills Magma Cone Shady Oasis Icy Speedway Gulp's Overlook
				Mystic Marsh Cloud Temples Robotica Farms Metropolis Canyon Speedway Ripto's Arena Dragon Shores

Abilities

In addition to his returning abilities (except the sideroll), Spyro acquires several new skills throughout Ripto's Rage! that allow him to explore the worlds of Avalar more thoroughly.

Name	Description
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	Swimming on the surface of water is an ability Spyro has from the beginning of the game. Swimming underwater enables Spyro to travel to new areas, recover gems and battle enemies. One level is even set entirely underwater. There is no time limit on underwater swmming.
Climbing	Using the climbing ability, certain walls bear ladder imprints and can be climbed. Simply jumping against the wall will make Spyro dig his claws in, and he can climb in any direction for as far as the imprints go. Spyro frequently must cross from ladder to ladder to reach new areas.
Headbash	The headbash enables Spyro to break certain rocks and special gem containers. The headbash is achieved by jumping into the air and then pressing the triangle button. Spyro will execute a forward somersault and launch himself downwards, horns first. Spyro can also drop into a Headbash from a glide by hitting triangle twice—first to Hover, then to Headbash.

Powerups

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:

Name	Description
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 a few power-ups:

Name	Description
Invincibility	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.
Bigbounce	This gate launches Spyro high into the air in a certain direction, allowing him to land in a different area of the level.
Superfreeze	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

Name	Description
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.
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. 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, which 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 Spyro has completed a speedway, he 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. The extra level, Dragon Shores, unlocked for completing the game, has multiple minigames. One of the minigames is a target practice where Spyro shoots targets with superflame.

Reception

GameSpot gave the game an 8.6/10, saying that it "injected a dose of soul and variety into a game that was already pretty fun to play," whilst a user score of 8.9 was given on the same site. IGN gave it an 8.8/10, stating that it is a fun, and excellent platformer.

In Japan, Famitsu magazine scored the game a 30 out of 40.

Differences with Japanese version

Like the original Spyro the Dragon game, the main camera is significantly slower, and doesn't follow Spyro when he is charging. Fortunately, there is now an option to revert this change in the main menu's camera settings. The nerf of the charge's movement speed still remains, however, and can make missions such as chasing down the thieves of Shady Oasis or the Bucket Land Blubbers at the end of Breeze Harbor particularly more difficult, but the Supercharge remains untouched. When charging underwater, instead of holding down the charge, the player has to mash the charge button repeatedly instead.

Another addition from the original Spyro's port would be the signs that give more details to the world's denizens and the primary objectives, as well as other helpful gameplay tips and hints are scattered throughout the homeworlds. The map option is now open by default, but Sparx's gem radar has been removed.

Visually, characters with light eye colors, Elora, Handel and Greta, Hunter, the Water Wizards, and the [[|Faun|Fauns]] of Magma Cone are changed to a darker color. The windmills of Robotica Farms have stopped. The Guidebook's English text has been removed and replaced with a blurred text. The ending cinematic of Zephyr now uses a giant "Boom!" sign to censor the explosion.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!/Gallery.

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  European cover

Trivia

• One of the game's working titles was Spyro II.
• Dan Johnson made his first cameo gag in this game. This gag is more common in the Ratchet & Clank series.
• The game's Japanese title (スパイロ × スパークス トンでもツアーズ) translates roughly to "Spyro & Sparx: Outrageous Tours" with "outrageous" possibly being analogous to the "Rage" part of the subtitle, "Ripto's Rage" and the "tours" part likely referencing Spyro's desire to go on vacation or possibly his exploration Avalar, which is fairly new to him.
• When the game was released on the European PlayStation Store on July 26 2007, it was pulled from sale less than two weeks later because of reports that Idol Springs and Colossus were not working properly. The game was re-released in Europe five years later, on December 12 2012, although as the NTSC version due to issues with the PAL version.
• The level intros and outros were originally going to be narrated by Elora explaining the situations to Spyro, but was scrapped. However, the Japanese version of Ripto's Rage! keeps the narration, but is now narrated between Spyro, Elora, and the others instead.
• During gameplay, Spyro is seen in a constant frown, possibly to give him a tougher appearance. This was later changed in Spyro: Year of the Dragon. Comically though, some fans believe Spyro is frowning because his vacation was ruined when he suddenly arrived in Avalar.
• As seen in the first cutscene, the Dragon Realms, more specifically, where Spyro and the other dragons live, has changed in appearance. In the first game, it looked like a combination of Stone Hill and Dark Hollow. It now looks like a mix of Stone Hill and Autumn Plains.
• Beginning with this game, Tom Kenny, became the voice of Spyro, as well as the Electrolls, and would continue to voice Spyro until Spyro: A Hero's Tail where he was replaced by Jess Harnell, before eventually reprising his role in the Reignited Trilogy, including replacing Carlos Alazraqui from the first game.
  • Kenny claimed that he recorded all of his lines for the game and the following two Spyro games in a very short span of time, saying it all amounted to a weeks worth of a work for him. He quickly forgot about the role and was genuinely surprised (but pleased) when fans started frequently asking him about the games many years later.
  • Kenny, who had only been acting professionally since 1993, started providing the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants (his most iconic role) a mere three-and-a-half months prior to voicing Spyro in this game.
    • The Electrolls in the game all use voices that sound near identical to SpongeBob. Though whether this was intentional on Kenny's part is unknown.
• The Italian voice of Moneybags (Riccone) is provided by Alessandro Ricci, the Italian voice of Solid Snake.
• The Ocean Speedway, Metro Speedway, and Icy Speedway are water except in Canyon Speedway which is lava. If Spyro lands in the water he angrily smacks his paw on the water.
• Contrary to popular belief, Insomniac Games never planned a fourth home world named after the Spring season. They have, however, jokingly stated that they added flowers to the introduction level, Glimmer, to reflect on the missing season.
  • It is later revealed in a game design document for Spyro 2 that Summer Forest was originally called Summer Spring Forest.