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Spyro is NOT the same!!! :(

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: July 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Ok. Do you remember the "Good old days of Spyro?" Searching for Gems and Orbs and Dragon eggs? Rescueing the Dragons? Defeating Gnasty Gnorc, Ripto and the Sorceriss? (If I spelled any of those correctly...) Is it all coming back to you? That fire-breathing purple Dragon that we all have come to know and love? That is all gone.

Here are what is different about about A Heros Tail,

~Sparx can talk

~Moneybags has some weird accent...

~Hunter has some weird attitude. Not like the old Hunter AT ALL.

~Spyro himself talks differently!!!

~The graphics are TOTALLY different along with the game play.

~I don't remember any happy, pink trees in the other Spyros...

~Music is WAY different. Not the music that when we hear it we say, "HEY! Thats Spyro music!!!"

If you are a huge Spyro fan who has been a fan since the first game came out and have continued to be a fan since then like myself and are expecting another awesome Spyro game like the ones that Insomniac made, do not get this game. Oh, Insomniac... where are you!!! *Sigh* I guess no more awesome Insomniac made Spyro games...

Where did Spyro go?

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: December 31, 2004
Author: Amazon User

If you're looking for a Spyro the Dragon game don't buy this one. If, like me, you've been a fan of the past games and are looking forward to this newest game in the series to continue with some great new adventures in the familiar format, don't buy this game. The problem with this game, in my opinion,is that its supposed to be part of an ongoing series, and yet, for all those who are already familiar with the format of Spyro it changes all the rules.

At the very least when you move from one game to another in the same series you expect the basic functions of the character to remain the same. This Spyro changes them. Circle is no longer for flame, square is no longer for charge (in fact they're switched cir. for charege, square for flame-give a good reason for that) and two x's does not make a glide for Spyro. These changes made it extremely difficult to function in the beginning and I continue to get confused. Also, as far as I can tell, there's no longer any way to move the camera when you're just standing about, to get a good view of the whole area, but maybe I just haven't figured that one out yet.

The thing that really bothers me, though, about the newest Spyro game is that the gameplay has completely changed. The whole reason I liked these games in the past is because it was never really about getting passed bad guys, they were always pretty easy. Spyro the Dragon was about exploring three dimensional worlds to find all kinds of hidden object and secret places. It was about being observant of the environment around you because you didn't know where you might miss a crack in the wall you could break through or a ladder on the side of a building that will take you to that hidden cave. This Spyro game tends much more to Crash Bandicoot gameplay; its become about obstacles, swinging axes and wooden logs that move up and down in the way of your path. While obviously some of that existed in the past, it is now one of the main challenges of the game, while the familiar puzzles and challenges that made Spyro different from any other game I've found are gone. If I wanted Crash Bandicoot I would buy Crash Bandicoot, but, I was looking for something else.

There are all kinds of other unnecessary annoying changes. All I can say is that if you liked the other Spyro games, you'll find this one extremely frustrasting and disappointing. If you can get past it, there's an ok game to be played, but just ok.

Horrible

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 10
Date: October 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

It is nothing like the original. Even Spyro looks different. Ever since Insomniac sold the rights to Spyro, all the Spyro games besides the 3 for the PS1 Insomniac made stink. Don't get this game! They even switched the ram and fire button (now ram is Circle and fire is Square). This game is not worth $20. Don't buy it. Now that i have played it, I would not have gotten it if it were free- this game is so bad, its hard to describe. Its probally the worst sequal to a good game I've ever played- don't even consider getting it.

Going to buy

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 31
Date: November 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Despite the unsatisfied reviews of some people I am going to buy this game anyway. Mainly because I love Spyro and I want to own all the Spyro games. I just wish the Spyro Season of Fire and Spyro season of Ice were available for the PS2 format instead of just Gameboy! :(

P.O.S

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

as the saga continues with spyro, the games get worse and worse. in the first spyro spyro was some what of a bad as*. he just wanted to go out there and toarch gnork. now he has became a pansy. everything has grown too soft for the true spryo fan to enjoy. dont waste your money. all the good spyro games have come and gone along with the playstation.

the company better hear this

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Sypro the dragon games were always fun except the GBA versions. But this is worse than that! And that was pretty bad to begin with. Like I said they were about fun and thinking but this game only focuses on toughness. And the boss namely Red cheat big time and everybody elde seems to have got stuiper even the Professor. And Blinx's levels are the worst with those hard jumps which is the easiest way to annoy a gamer. So from a pro don't get this game rent if you just want to see how lame the series has gotten.

Insomniac's creation RUINED

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 9
Date: October 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Spyro used to be such a fun game, that is when Insomniac still made them ( I could safely say the old Spyros were some of the funnest games I've ever played). After the last Spyro game (Spyro Enter the Dragonfly by Universal) things have certaintly gone down hill, There were so many glitches, gameplay was HORRIBLE, and the story was STUPID. So I urge you, innocent buyer, do not be fooled by apperences.

don't get it

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: December 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I'm kind of late on this review, but some people are late on buying it (or reading these reviews to see if it's worth it). It's not. Not really. I've been a major fan of Spyro since I got Spyro:Year of the Dragon for X-mas when I was, like, eight years old. Six years of Spyro fandom and I think I can safely say Spyro: A Hero's Tale was horribly lacking.

I've played the first three (the BEST Spyro's ever), a little of the Season of Fire and Season of Ice on GBA, and Enter the Dragonfly and this game is really different. But if you are that much of a fan, or you just don't care, you can get over it.

Moneybags is not the greedy, yet helpful, big bear-thing we all know and love. He has an odd, creepy accent and a new outfit he needs to burn. He doesn't do useful services for gems, like teaching you how to do cool moves or moving off a path he was conveniently (for him) blocking.

The circle button isn't fire, and the square button isn't charge. I got smacked around early in the game because I kept forgetting.

There aren't really any secret areas. You can't glide off a cliff, fly around a corner, and mysteriously land in gem city. There are no suspicious looking cracks in the wall, or anything like that.

The whole game is all just a little too...lame. Personally, I depsise that stupid pink dragon who loves Spyro. The scenery is a bit too perky, and some of the characters are a bit too happy-go-lucky. No one seems too panicked that a big evil dragon is bent on revenge. The music is different, but not neccessarily in a bad way, and the whole layout of the worlds has changed.

It's okay, if you don't mind changes like that. I do kind of like the whole double jump thing, though...Beware Spyro and Hunter's change of personality, and Sparx, too.

If you liked the first trilogy at all...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 19, 2008
Author: Amazon User

...don't buy this game. While many people try to accept a new entry to a game franchise with an open mind and acceptance for originality, it's necessary for a new game to follow a criteria of it's predecessors at least to some degree - otherwise, it would be a totally different game. Such is the case with Spyro: A Hero's Tail. I'll keep it simple and break up the aspects of the game into their respective components with some regard to the original games:

Plot: Cookie cutter, but not too bad; Bad guy attacks the good guys and unlikely good guy must stop him after dispatching his henchmen.

Characters: Ouch. None of the voices are the same and most sound either over-exaggerated or bored-out-of-their-minds. Spyro has become a dragon who saves the realms because he probably should, and it's practically a chore for him. Moneybags is now a jolly, middle eastern-type trader, not a snobbish, greedy aristocrat. Sparks is a whiny complainer who does his side-missions because Spyro forces him to. In the brief cameo that Bentley has, he's a clumsy, dopey wimp who has to ask Hunter to clear his house out of Gnorcs instead of going in and bashing them himself. The names of dragon elders from Spyro the Dragon have been assigned to weird hermit-like dragons (one of which is quite obviously gay) who live by themselves. The professor, when compared to his previous incarnations, is just plain stupid. The rest of the returning characters are more-or-less the same and the new ones are nothing interesting.

Setting: Where the heck are we? Not the Dragon Realms I remember. While the environments are large, unique, and original, they lack a certain fantastic element that the original worlds possessed. They also lack transportation via portals - a fun navigation that was a staple of the first three.

Graphics: I'll give 'em this one. The worlds, characters, and other visuals have pretty good scope and detail.

Gameplay: If I could sum it up in a single word it would be this: Clunky. The decision to switch the controls for charge and flame is one that I can't fathom and most of Spyro's moves tend to drag (when gliding, for example, Spyro moves vertically [down] almost faster than he does horizontally). Sgt. Byrd's new rocket wings are kind of fun to use, but when he's on land, he's slower than "a Molten Crater Fire Slug". Hunter's playability isn't that bad. And Sparks...well, I'll get to him later.
Acquiring new breath moves has fun that wears off quickly, and making your way through a single area is like making your way through one unique place five times. Also, most of the things you can acquire at Moneybag's shop (that's right, shop. He no longer sells animals, bridges, and doors)are worthless. A fire-bomb, for example, is supposed to be an upgrade to your flame-breath, but has zero-range and is less powerful against enemies and treasure chests.

Sound: I already covered voices. As far as music goes, if you were to ask me how a tune for any level in any of the first three games goes, I could probably hum or whistle it off the top of my head. In this game, the only music I can remember is the quirky, annoying, army-march-like music in Sgt. Byrd's levels. Sound effects are okay, but tend to get annoying.

Mini-Games: Some are fun. Others make you want to shoot yourself in the head. Of the fun ones are Sgt. Byrd's flying levels, Hunter's levels, and maybe a couple cannon-shooting levels. The rest? Bleh! The very worst are Sparks' minigames. A player will come across a crack in the wall (conveniently labeled with a sign that has Sparks' face on it), Sparks will complain about how he'll go into the crack to find an egg or light gem if he has to, and then you'll begin a rail shooter with swarms of enemies, ultra-touchy controls, and a way-screwed-up perspective (as in, it looks like an enemy bug is far away until Sparks flinches and starts blinking).

Miscellaneous: This game takes "Comic Mischief" and gives it a hypodermic shot to the heart with a syringe full of dumb: A penguin that shivers from the cold. A Zoe whose wand zap "fries one million brain cells". Spyro explaining to a wooly mammoth how he'll defeat it by running around it and strategically hitting it three times. Gnasty Gnorc forgeting about his first encounter with Spyro and accidentally showing his polka-dot (or red heart, I don't care enough to remember) boxer shorts.
The sheep, another staple of the original series, now look more realistic, but lose their goofy quality, and fodder in general is less creative and more sparse.

Overall: I personally don't even consider this game to be part of the original timeline, even though it's supposed to be. The characters, setting, magic and technology, enemies, and "culture norms" have all changed. The entertainment value is extremely low and the replay value is even lower. Worlds are big but monotonous. Challenges are either pathetically easy or controller-breakingly difficult and always boring. Boss battles always consist of you running in circles around an enemy while they attack with only projectile attacks. No secret world or reward at the end of the game. No sense of satisfaction after finishing the game, just relief. If you are like me, you probably view the first three Spyro games as videogame masterpieces; original, creative, fantastic, and fresh. If so I would highly recommend you not buy, rent, or even play this game. You will save yourself money, time, and a whole lot of nostalgic heartache.

Fun but different

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 18 / 22
Date: November 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

After the last game Spyro Enter The Dragonfly, I wasn't about to put out 50 bucks again so I decided to rent it first. Turns out it's not bad. It's not the same as the first 3 but it's ok. The levels are huge, the graphics are vivid and the controls work really well. The story and missions are about the same but hey, it's Spyro.
I think that the music and "Monet Skies" that were used in the first 3 Spyro's gave it a magical feel and that is lacking in this game. The new music gives the game a Caribbean feel. I also don't like what they did to the character of Moneybags. He was a English stuffy snob in the first 3 and they should have left him alone. I can't pinpoint the accent but they made him really obnoxious.
I also don't like the new voices. They are horrible! Spyro use to have a little bit of an edge but his new voice makes him very wimpy.

All in all the game was fun to play and I've decided to buy it.

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