It was hard to believe that the sequel could top the original... but it did... and it was amazing.
Take what made Spyro the Dragon a hit. Beautiful, detailed levels, challenging puzzles, huge array of characters (both good and bad), loveable protagonist... now multiply all that by 10 and you've got Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage. It's so wonderful when developers stick to a successful formula, instead of jutting off somewhere hoping to be "innovative".
Of course, it's not completely the same. Being able to learn new abilities is an excellent addition, and a great way to spice up gameplay. The new characters to interact with are also a nice surprise (considering the lack of "good guys" in the original).
Each level is a joy to complete, with puzzles that have a huge range of difficulty. From the very simplistic, to the ulitmate challenge, you can see you skills steadily increasing throughout the game. This game has a very smooth transition from easy to difficult, so you won't be left feeling jipped or unfairly challenged.
My only warning is that this game is highly addictive, and since it's only a one-player game, you mind find yourself a loner for a while.