New “Spyro: Reignited Trilogy” Gameplay Shows Off Music & Level Cutscenes

A couple of days ago, we got our first look at the “Ripto’s Rage” portion of the Reignited Trilogy. As a huge Spyro: Ripto’s Rage fan, needless to say I was hyped; but I (as well as many other fans) still had some lingering questions. Would the music be as enjoyable? Would the remake keep the Level Intro/ Outro cut scenes that the original had? Will the players of these ‘gameplay releases’ ever stop actively avoiding Gems?

Well, we just got ANOTHER big gameplay drop from IGN which features 5 minutes of the “Colossus” level from Ripto’s Rage. And unlike other gameplay releases before, this is probably the most natural ‘gameplay’ trailer yet. No commentary. No voiceover. Just pure Spyro goodness, which allowed us to enjoy both an improved Intro cutscene and a faithful music recreation – and maybe an Easter Egg or two. So check out this gameplay footage from IGN, and join me afterwards down below for analysis.

Now as I spoke of with the “Idol Spring” gameplay last week, the graphics look amazing and the monsters have been recreated with the perfect balance of newness and respect for the past. The large oxen in particular look wonderful – from the added red eyes to the look of peaceful satisfaction on his face after he flattens you. So for this analysis, I’ll simply speak about the several new things we get from this gameplay.

Faithful & Improved Cutscenes:

Now if you don’t remember the initial cutscene, here it is. As you can see, the new version encompasses all of it but also adds a bit more. And that tiny bit extra makes all the difference. When I was younger, I didn’t exactly “get” this cutscene. Were the monks hoping the angry ram would scare away the yeti? What am I supposed to be getting from this? This new scene though adds subtle additions that instantly make you realize, ‘OH! The yeti is hungry. They’re trying to sacrifice the goat to the yeti, but instead he eats one of the monks.’ Now maybe it could just be that I’m 20 years older now, but I went back and watched the original and I can honestly say the new version does a much better job of getting that point across. Much like the barbeque lids as shields in the “Idol Springs” footage, this is another wonderful liberty the development team took!

Now I will say that – again – much like the “Idol Springs” footage we got last week, the final ‘enemy defeat’ is a little short. Last time it was the tiki idol just exploding after the hula dance (instead of a thunder cloud forming and blowing it up) and here it’s the yeti simply stomping forward once (instead of two hops causing the roof to cave in. To be fair, I do like that the yeti is going for intimidation with that stomp, but maybe extend it a bit. Make that first stomp loosen the roof (like in the first) and then have a second stomp bring the house down!

The Music Is Perfect!

Previously, I had wondered how much ‘liberty’ would be taken with the music since Stewart Copeland’s original score is iconic. Well we got word that Copeland would be slightly involved and recently Toys For Bob tweeted a picture of Copeland in their studios. Whether he’s working on remastering the original scores or working on something completely new remains to be seen, BUT the musical track used here for “Colossus” is very faithful to the original. This was the one big item that many were waiting to hear for themselves and thus far there’s been a lot of positive feedback.

Keep your horns tuned in…#SDCC2018 pic.twitter.com/KiboOJ5Gaf

— Spyro (@SpyroTheDragon) July 17, 2018

Gem Baskets & Vases:

For some reason or another, much of the previously released Spyro footage had the players avoiding Gems. Some ignored flaming/ charging basket and others avoided already placed gems all together. This time however, the gamer is actually going through the level naturally – picking up gems and flaming/ charging baskets. Previously I felt like something was off with the baskets/ vases – whether texture or color scheme – but now I can honestly say I like them. The sound effects are spot on and I like the shatter effect. If anything needs updating with ‘collectibles’ now, it’s the Orbs and Sparks eating butterflies; but for all we know that will be fixed next. Developer Toys For Bob have been really good about fixing things fans speak out about.

A Hint Of Something New? – Fast Travel Confirmed?:

The last thing of note from this footage was actually pointed out to me by Youtuber Jordan Fringe. As the level opens, if you pause – at about 51 seconds in – and look at the far back center of the screen, we spy what appears to be a docked hot air balloon that looks strikingly similar to the one used by The Balloonist in the original Spyro: The Dragon. Notice the red and gold horizontal stripes.

Could this be the ‘fast travel’ system that’s been talked about for this game? Is the Reignited Trilogy really one massive interconnected game that combines all three – rather than selecting which game you want to play from the Start Menu? If so, this could be how we fast travel as we progress in the game. The only problem with this would be how would swimming/ head smash and other later game moves factor in for the previous games?