October 10, 2002 - Spyro the Dragon: Season of Ice was a nicely produced first generation platformer that did a commendable job bringing the PlayStation design to the Game Boy Advance. But there was definitely room for improvement, and the developers did their homework in tweaking that design for its sequel for the 2002 Holiday season: Spyro 2: Season of Flame. Though on the surface the second take looks a heck of a lot like the original title, Digital Eclipse hammered away, cleaned up and spit-polished the isometric adventure, improving the game -- and the fun -- in almost every conceivable way.

Features

• Four playable characters
• 25 different levels
• Cartridge save (three slots)
• Only for Game Boy Advance

And Spyro's not the only guy in town in this sequel. Two characters from the Spyro universe are introduced in the GBA line-up: Sheila the kangaroo and Agent 9 the space monkey. Both these characters have their own unique levels with their own gameplay design, increasing the game's already expansive variety. Sheila's levels borrow heavily from the classic Q*bert arcade game, challenging gamers to bounce around the structured areas in order to activate specific points...all while pouncing and kicking enemies that happen to get in their way. Agent 9's levels are a little more traditional, offering a side-scrolling shooter that utilizes elements from Elevator Action. Get to the end of the level alive and you'll snag a firefly.

If you're familiar with the first game in the Game Boy Advance series, you might not immediately recognize any real differences between the two games...but believe it, this game is a night-and-day difference from its predecessor. The art style admittedly hasn't changed much from Season of Ice, and it's obvious that the developer reused assets from the original game. And though the style hasn't changed, the artists improved the tile sets to work with the sometimes confusing isometric perspective. Angles are drawn more harshly, and the levels now have hills to help gamers see the varying depth of the levels' geometry, which makes it a lot easier to tell the differences in heights and where the dragon's standing, running or jumping. The backgrounds have been tweaked, and every level now has "dangerous ground" instead of an empty void; this may sound like a minor fix, but it's not...the "dangerous ground" now displays Spyro's shadow to help land those long flights across chasms. In last year's version, you'd fly blindly over empty space. It's a way better solution this time around. Later levels have a bit of slowdown due to the incredible amount of crystals and other large items bouncing around the screen, but it really doesn't affect the gameplay too much.

Another improvement was addressed from one of our complaints from the original Season of Flame: each level has a full-screen map that can be pulled up by holding the L button and pressing Select. Only explored areas are uncovered, but this helps big time when you find yourself a bit lost or unsure where to go next. This map does a great job orienting the player by showing him places he's been or hasn't gone yet...and it also helps seeing which platforms are adjacent to each other for a little gliding action.

But it's the control that's really been tightened up. Last year's Spyro was definitely a bit loosey-goosey in his movements, making it a little too easy to accidentally stumble off an edge to a lost life. By tweaking the controls to make Spyro move and turn on a dime, players can gallop through areas without fear of slipping off the side. There are still some unfair points in the game where you'll have to headbutt enemies that are standing on a ledge...and if you're not quick on the controller you'll stumble too far after taking out the bad guy. But these tricky points are few and far between.

There are still minor, nitpicky type things in the game design...but hey, we have to mention it. There are places where the game's inconsistent in remembering what specific tasks have been accomplished before a death...in most cases, it'll remember the gems that were found as well as specific items that were picked up or activated, but some things after you lose a life awkwardly reset. Obviously the designers intended this to happen, but it should have kept this element consistent throughout the game...all or none, folks. And the inclusion of moving platforms, while adding variety to the level designs, were sloppily implemented...it's way to easy to slip off these things, and it makes the game more frustrating than it should be.

Closing Comments
To be honest, the first time I popped this game in, I had to ask myself, "Okay, so what did they change?" The sequel looked very much like the original, and had similar gameplay elements that I remembered the original utilized as well. It was only when I popped in Season of Ice that I realized that Digital Eclipse obviously went back and reworked the original idea for the sequel. So much has changed...for the better. Improved, tighter controls, more tasks to complete, more variety in the level design, a longer quest, and a better use of the isometric perspective. The original game was a good first shot...but Spyro 2: Season of Flame is way better than that. It's a great 3D-style platformer with loads of variety and a solid challenge throughout the adventure.

Rating	Description
out of 10	click here for ratings guide
9.0	Presentation Battery save, tons of levels, several mini-quests, and a pay-off mini-game at the end. You'll want to play this one until it's completed.
8.0	Graphics The game doesn't look too much different from last year's offering...but since last year's looked pretty darn nice, there's nothing wrong with that.
8.0	Sound Nice renditions of the Spyro sound effects and bippy music, even if Stewart Copeland didn't do the soundtrack.
8.0	Gameplay Way more stuff to do than last year's game, and the controls have been tightened up quite a bit.
8.0	Lasting Appeal The game's a decent length for a platformer, but it's over in a couple day's play. Luckily there are a lot of different mini-games
8.5 Great	OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average)