Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer, also known as Ripto's Rage outside of Europe, is the sequel to Spyro the Dragon and the second of the original PS1 trilogy. The graphics have stayed pretty much the same, although some of the objects may be a bit softer in comparison. In this game, Spyro retains all his previous abilities such as jumping, charging, gliding and breathing fire. Naturally, being a sequel, he gains new moves such as hovering and diving underwater. Yes, this means that Spyro does not die when he falls into water as he can swim in it. That being said, there are still other liquid hazards such as lava, boiling water and electrified water. These new abilities are gradually unlocked as the player progresses through the game.
The structure of the game is familiar with a hub world containing portals to the various levels. Each level has a different and unique theme now, meaning that it can sometimes feel very random and unconnected when you enter one for the first time. In each level, there are treasure gems for Spyro to collect and enemies to defeat. The gems now have a purpose since you spend these to gain extra moves and unlock pathways to progress through the level. If you take your time through each level getting most of the gems that you can see, you will never have an issue of running out. Unfortunately, the levels are also a bit more linear than the first game, you're able to easily get all the gems the first time around (that is, if it isn't locked behind an ability you haven't gotten yet).
Sparx the Dragonfly retains his purpose of showing how much health that Spyro has. Spyro can still only take four hits before he dies and you lose a life. Checkpoints in levels are represented by flying fairies and you can now save anytime, which is pretty awesome. In Spyro 2, it has changed its focus from exploration to minigames and optional quests within each level. For good or for bad, this adds variety to the game. Normally, beating a level will give you a Talisman for story progression but these optional quests will give Spyro orbs instead. These quests are usually simple challenges such as lighting up all lights within a time limit, solving a stone puzzle, a race course or a timed challenge. As there are so many different minigames, there will definitely be ones that you don't like as well as really frustrating ones that ends up making Spyro 2 a huge chore to complete 100% in.
You have the option to display a map showing the level's layout. It sounds great in theory but its still better to just explore yourself. The map can also be deceptive since the level can have multiple height levels. Apart from the platforming and minigames, the other gameplay focus is combat. Some enemies can only be beaten by flame, others by charging; you can usually guess how to tackle an enemy by their appearance. By defeating a certain number of enemies, this will unlock a power up gate in each level which gives Spyro a temporary ability such as superflame or supercharge. This is used to reach previously unreachable areas, defeat otherwise invincible enemies or assist you in completing a sidequest for an orb. The game in general is pretty good at letting you go at your own pace, choosing what to collect and what not to. Unfortunately, in the last world, this is not the case. The game forces you to collect at least 40 orbs (just shy of two-thirds), which can be quite tedious when you have to repeat previous levels.
Boss battles are a lot more involved. The bosses actually actively attack you now and don't just run away. Apart from the final boss, they're pretty easy. As expected of a platformer, the final boss is a multi-staged boss. The annoying thing is that if you die, you start again from the beginning of the first stage and this is such a drain. Yes, it is a typical design choice from that era but it doesn't mean it is a good one. It doesn't help that the camera angle is fixed towards the boss but you have to go around the arena getting items and thus the controls will initially throw you off. Repeating the same phase again and again just because you died in the last one is not fun and very repetitive.
The story is more fleshed out than the first game as there are cutscenes in very level. A bunch of new characters are introduced and they become mainstays in the series. Spyro wanted to take a holiday after defeating Gnasty Gnorc but is instead transported to Avalar, and ends up having to help free the lands from Ripto. Overall, Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer is still a really fun game. It doesn't radically improve upon the first game since that itself was pretty polished and fun, but it adds in a lot of additional abilities and minigames, which admittedly, might not be your cup of tea. Despite that, this is still a worthwhile game to play and has plenty of awesome platforming elements.
------------------------------------------------
For other game reviews, have a look at this page.