Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly
Encyclopedia
Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly is the fourth game in the Spyro series, developed by Check Six Games for the PlayStation 2 and Equinoxe
for the Nintendo GameCube and published by Universal Interactive Studios. It is the first Spyro game for the sixth generation consoles
, PlayStation 2
and GameCube
, and the second console Spyro game not developed
by Insomniac Games
. It is also the first game not to be exclusively released on one console
. Universal Interactive was going to port this game on the Xbox
and PC
shortly after the PlayStation 2
and Nintendo GameCube
versions, but both versions got ultimately canceled due to the negative reviews, according to IGN
.
. The dragons are in celebration of a rite of passage for the young dragons and for the Grand Dragon Parade, with the arrival of new young dragonfly guardians for the baby dragons. However, during the party, a strangely alive Ripto (the circumstances of his return are left unexplained) teleports in via a portal along with Crush and Gulp (their return is also glossed over) and disrupts the celebration, intent on capturing the new young dragonflies to weaken the baby dragons. However, his spell misfires and the dragonflies become scattered throughout the Dragon Realm. He doesn't realize this until he gets back to his lair and once Crush tells his master what really happened, Ripto ends up killing both of his henchmen in his rage with one single zap from his staff, which is why he is the only boss in the entire game (this part of the story isn't shown until the player has collected over half of the dragonflies). So, Spyro is tasked with recovering the realm's new crop of dragonflies.
Spyro eventually completes his mission, and faces Ripto. Spyro wins the battle and Ripto runs for his life, swearing that he will be back (even though he never appeared in the rest of the original series again, excluding the spin-off titles released after Spyro: Season of Ice
). The game ends back at the party, with Spyro winking at the player.
status on the Nintendo GameCube.
Equinox Digital Entertainment
Equinox Digital Entertainment, like Check Six Studios, was a former video game developer created for the sole task of creating and developing Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly for the Playstation 2 and Gamecube in 2002. After the game's negative critical response, the company closed....
for the Nintendo GameCube and published by Universal Interactive Studios. It is the first Spyro game for the sixth generation consoles
History of video game consoles (sixth generation)
The sixth-generation era refers to the computer and video games, video game consoles, and video game handhelds available at the turn of the 21st century. Platforms of the sixth generation include the Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft Xbox...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, and the second console Spyro game not developed
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
by Insomniac Games
Insomniac Games
Insomniac Games, Inc. is an American video game developer headquartered in Burbank, California. Founded in 1994, Insomniac has released titles for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. It created Disruptor, the first three Spyro the Dragon games, and the Ratchet &...
. It is also the first game not to be exclusively released on one console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. Universal Interactive was going to port this game on the Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and PC
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
shortly after the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
versions, but both versions got ultimately canceled due to the negative reviews, according to IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
.
Story
The story begins shortly after Spyro: Year of the DragonSpyro: Year of the Dragon
Spyro: Year of the Dragon is a platform game, developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation video game console. The game was released in North America on October 23, 2000 and in Europe on November 10, 2000...
. The dragons are in celebration of a rite of passage for the young dragons and for the Grand Dragon Parade, with the arrival of new young dragonfly guardians for the baby dragons. However, during the party, a strangely alive Ripto (the circumstances of his return are left unexplained) teleports in via a portal along with Crush and Gulp (their return is also glossed over) and disrupts the celebration, intent on capturing the new young dragonflies to weaken the baby dragons. However, his spell misfires and the dragonflies become scattered throughout the Dragon Realm. He doesn't realize this until he gets back to his lair and once Crush tells his master what really happened, Ripto ends up killing both of his henchmen in his rage with one single zap from his staff, which is why he is the only boss in the entire game (this part of the story isn't shown until the player has collected over half of the dragonflies). So, Spyro is tasked with recovering the realm's new crop of dragonflies.
Spyro eventually completes his mission, and faces Ripto. Spyro wins the battle and Ripto runs for his life, swearing that he will be back (even though he never appeared in the rest of the original series again, excluding the spin-off titles released after Spyro: Season of Ice
Spyro: Season of Ice
Spyro: Season of Ice is a platform game published by Universal Interactive Studios and developed by Digital Eclipse. It was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001 for North America and the PAL region and 2002 for Japan. This is the very first Spyro the Dragon game to not be developed by...
). The game ends back at the party, with Spyro winking at the player.
Development
According to this, the game was originally going to be about Gnasty Gnorc coming back and teaming up with Ripto so that the two could get all of the dragonflies for themselves as well as contain around 120 dragonflies to collect, over 25 levels, a framerate of 60 frames per second and fast loading times. However, Universal Interactive Studios forced the developers to rush on developing the game in order to be available by Winter 2002 (with this being the only title that both studios ever produced), and therefore it suffers from an inconsistent framerate, long loading times, graphical glitches, sound issues and lock-ups. Additionally, Gnasty does not appear anywhere in the game at all (but is mentioned by Ripto in the intro), there are only nine levels for the player to explore (all of which are in one hubworld) and only 90 dragonflies for the player to collect. Also, the popular characters Moneybags and Bianca appear just once each in the entire game; Bianca at the very beginning (where she mysteriously disappears afterwards and doesn't return till the player beats the game) and Moneybags in the first level. And after being paid gems as always to assist Spyro, he never returns the gems to Spyro unlike in the previous two games.Reception
The game received very negative reviews amongst critics and fans alike due to glitches, long loading times, confusing level design, lacklustre gameplay, repetitive music, bad voice acting, sound issues, lock-ups at certain points, poorly-animated cutscenes, unresponsive controls, cliché character dialogue, lack of a storyline and inconsistent framerates.Sales
Despite the negative response, the game sold enough copies to receive Greatest Hits (Platinum Edition in Europe) status on the Sony PlayStation 2 and Player's ChoicePlayer's Choice
Nintendo Selects is a marketing label used by Nintendo to promote video games on Nintendo game consoles which have sold well; Nintendo Selects titles are sold at a lower price point than other games...
status on the Nintendo GameCube.
External links
- Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly at GameFAQsGameFAQsGameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...
- Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly at GameSpotGameSpotGameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...