The original "Spyro the Dragon" game was quite a good platformer when it first released, and it was a big breakout hit for Insomniac Games. It comes as no surprise, then, that Insomniac released a sequel, "Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage," not long afterwards. But even though it came out just a year after the original "Spyro the Dragon" game, it's a wonder how much has been improved between these games in such a short time.
"Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage" retains a lot of what made the original game so good: the clever level design, the great visuals (which have been polished even more), the charming characters, and the genius soundtrack from none other than Mr. Stewart Copeland. But what makes the game even better is the much-improved elements to the gameplay: the controls are even tighter, the collect-a-thon elements are all the more compelling, the presentation of cutscenes is way better, the bosses are more interesting (they actually fight this time), and Spyro can learn more abilities that make the game even more fun to play.
My only real issue with the game comes from some of the final levels in the last world. In a way, they feel like padding, and don't add quite as much to the overall game as the first few worlds do.
Overall, though, "Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage" is a huge improvement on a game that was already pretty great, and it's a very awesome game on its own. It stands tall among the many excellent PlayStation games, and it's a must-play for anyone who enjoys platformers.
Final rating: 9 out of 10 "Awesome"