The Return of Spyro: Bringing an Iconic Platformer Back to Life
Here at Toys for Bob, we are incredibly excited to announce that Spyro, the world’s favorite purple dragon, will be returning to console on September 21, 2018 in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy. For the first time ever, Xbox players will be able to explore the enchanted Dragon Realms of the original three games, experiencing, in remastered glory, the magic of an iconic platformer that has endeared itself to millions of fans over the years. We are deeply honored to have the responsibility of updating this historic trilogy and thrilled to do so in time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Spyro the Dragon.
20 years is a long time, but as we’ve seen around the gaming community, it’s not long enough to dampen the intense passion that fans have for this series of games, and especially for its fiery protagonist. We’ve been listening to the community — reading the blogs, the posts, and the fan pages — and staying in tune with the palpable excitement for a remaster. Frankly, it’s been difficult not to let you all know that we’ve been hard at work preparing to unleash the dragon. Our core motivation with this collection is to give Spyro fans an experience worthy of their patience and adulation. Our approach is driven by our desire to stay true to the spirit, feel, and magic of the original games while adding new detail that will allow players to experience the trilogy in a way they could only have imagined until now.
The original trilogy by Insomniac was groundbreaking — from the expansive open-world level designs, to the smooth controls, to the gorgeous worlds and the iconic soundtrack — and from the start, we’ve approached the project with a sense of reverence. In every decision we’re making in the development process, we’re starting with a deep respect for the choices that went into making the originals. Each updated level is based upon the actual collision details of the original. The character movement metrics have been painstakingly matched to provide the same addictive platforming gameplay you remember. The trilogy also delivers a wicked remaster of Stewart Copeland’s original soundtrack from the first three games. And above all, Spyro’s personality is the one that fans will remember from back in the day. The undersized hero continues to punch well above his weight class and will be voiced by Tom Kenny, the original voice actor from Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! and Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon.
While staying true to the spirit of the original games, we are simultaneously passionate about maximizing the potential that modern consoles like the Xbox One can provide. The designs of the worlds and characters have been elevated with loving detail to give them a whole new life, and updates to many of the core gameplay systems (like analog stick camera control, an auto-save system, more fast-travel options, etc.), will provide the quality-of-life improvements that you expect in 2018. Nostalgic fans will find the same personality and humor of the originals in every square inch of the remaster, but will be amazed to see, hear, and feel the games in this newly reignited collection.
Upon the solid foundation of the originals, we’ve set out to craft a remastered trilogy worthy of Spyro’s 20th anniversary celebration. Each day, we’re working hard to fill the Dragon Realms, Avalar, and the Forgotten Realms with all the magic fans remember, and to bring the fiery personality of our purple-scaled hero to life all over again. We can’t wait to share the Spyro Reignited Trilogy with you all later this year.