Spyro: Year of the Dragon

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Spyro: Year of the Dragon<tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;">Image:Spyro yotd.jpg</td></tr>
Developer(s)	Insomniac Games <tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)</th><td>SCEA</td></tr>
Release date(s)	Image:Flag of the United States.svg October 23, 2000 Image:European flag.svg November 10, 2000
Genre(s)	Platform
Mode(s)	Single player <tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)</th><td>ESRB: Everyone ELSPA: 3+ OFLC: G8+</td></tr>
Platform(s)	PlayStation <tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media</th><td>CD-ROM</td></tr>

Spyro: Year of the Dragon is the third game in the Spyro series. It was the last Spyro game to be released for the PlayStation, as well as the last Spyro game developed by Insomniac Games.

1 Story
2 Gameplay
3 Trivia

[edit] Story

In Year of the Dragon, the dragons are celebrating the coming of dragon eggs, an event that takes place every twelve years. A mysterious anthropomorphic rabbit girl, Bianca, along with an army of rhynocs, comes by and steals all the eggs. Spyro, Sparx, and Hunter must now follow her down a rabbit hole to the other side of the world - to the Forgotten Realms to challenge Bianca, the rhynoc army, and their powerful queen, The Sorceress.

[edit] Gameplay

Spyro retains his abilities gained in Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage (i.e. swimming, climbing, hover, and headbash). Spyro's attacks stay the same, being a short range flame attack, and a fast charge more suitable for small armored foes.

[edit] Playable characters

A noticeable difference is the new addition of extra playable characters. Each character has one playable level exclusive to themselves, and they also appear for various missions and minigames in other levels. In most cases, these missions are separate from the main level by means of a portal; upon arriving, player control switches from Spyro to the character, and the side mission begins.

Shiela: An Australian kangaroo with an exceptional jumping ability.
Sgt. Byrd: A penguin and military soldier, wielding weaponry such as homing missiles and bombs. His missions revolve primarily around his flying missions. He dreams of being the first flying penguin by creating a military surplus-equipped jetpack.
Bentley: A smart yeti with a gentle demeanor; most of his missions revolve around his great physical strength.
Agent 9: A monkey who assisted the Professor. Agent 9 carries a laser blaster for combat at a distance, and can also pick up and throw grenades. His missions revolve around his shooting ability, some of which parody other shooter games such as DOOM.

[edit] Worlds

Sunrise Spring (Home World)
Shelia's Alp
Sunny Villa
Cloud Spires
Molten Crater
Seashell Shore
Mushroom Speedway
Buzz's Dungeon
Midday Garden (Home World)
Sgt. Byrd's Base
Crawdad Farm
Icy Peak
Enchanted Towers
Spooky Swamp
Bamboo Terrace
Country Speedway
Spike's Arena
Evening Lake (Home World)
Bently's Outpost
Spider Town
Frozen Altars
Lost Fleet
Fireworks Factory
Charmed Ridge
Honey Speedway
Scorch's Pit
Midnight Mountain (Home World)
Agent 9's Lab
Starfish Reef
Crystal Islands
Desert Ruins
Haunted Tomb
Dino Mines
Harbour Speedway
Sorceress' Lair
Bugbot Factory
Sorceress Finale

[edit] Worlds Creatures Butterflies

Sheep Enchanted Tower
Chicken Diving in Seashell Shore
Frog in Sunny Villa
Gull in Sheila's Alp
Peacock in Cloud Spires
Slug in Molten Lava
Ant in Bamboo Terrace

[edit] Minigames

Year of the Dragon features a wide range of minigames, some included as missions within a particular level (such as a Tony Hawk-style skateboarding minigame, or a boxing match between Bentley and another yeti), and others featured as levels of their own, such as Spyro's flying levels, and several Gauntlet-style levels featuring Sparx.

[edit] Trivia

The first production run of Spyro: Year of the Dragon featured holographic artwork on the case cover.
Several of the skateboarding tricks in the Tony Hawk–styled minigames are named after various Spyro antagonists (such as Gnasty Gnorc).
Cutscenes in one level, "Fireworks Factory", parody The Matrix.
The game's release date is astrologically correct; 2000 was the year of the dragon in the Chinese zodiac.