Alora Fane

I recently (re)played the remakes of these games that were a big part of my childhood. One trilogy I found mostly enjoyable, the other mostly frustrating!

Image reused from a blog post I wrote 4 years ago, apparently.

For reasons I can't recall, last month I replayed the Spyro: Reignited Trilogy, ∞ which I first got in late 2019 ∞ for the Switch. I got full completion on all the games without issue, enjoyed the experience, and don't want to write some full account of my experiences or anything!

Crash Bandicoot seems to occupy the same conceptual space as Spyro, what with them both being iconic PS1 mascot platformers (plus they literally had some crossovers); I recently learned ∞ that both the Crash and Spyro characters were designed by the same guy ∞ (kind of; seems there were several minds involved and it's complicated, but at the very least there's significant overlap).

I had both trilogies on the PS1 as a child, but recalled Spyro as purely fun and Crash as mostly frustrating, so I never bothered to get the Crash remakes when they were new (though I think I watched a longplay?).

I got them after finishing Spyro this time, though, and I've been playing through those.

I can't remember the last time I saw a GAME OVER screen so frequently!!

I wondered whether it was just me getting old and worse at games, but found ∞ some Reddit thread ∞ where other people seemed to be struggling to just make it through the levels (of the first game) even more than I was. They're really rather difficult games! I've no idea how I managed to complete them all as a child... though I don't think I ever got 100%, like I did with Spyro back then (or more than 100% since they have weird completion percentages).

One specific thing I find quite maddening is that the double jump ability - which you only unlock mid-way through the third game of the trilogy - works differently to pretty much any other game, where you can only perform a second jump while you're travelling up, but not after you start descending. ∞ Or, according to some other Reddit thread, the reason behind it failing is something else? ∞ Either way, ridiculously frustrating!

I'm currently trudging my way towards 100% on Crash 3 after beating the final boss, then I'll play the Crash 4 that was recently developed.

I knew I always liked Spyro's music - which I know now but not back then was composed somewhat improvisationally by Stewart Copeland, of the band The Police, whose style I quite like - but I didn't remember anything of Crash's music at all, or at the time I think I thought of it as just non-musical ambience or something?

Listening to it here in the future, though, I notice a lot of it is in Mixolydian, which I find both pleasing and surprising. I wonder if I composed in Mixolydian naturally - long before I'd ever heard the term or any of the theory behind it - because of subconscious influences like this while growing up?

Spyro's music is mostly Mixolydian too; I recently watched this interesting video which mentioned how Stewart Copeland started with just two guitar chords (I and IV) while learning to play the instrument, then added a third, bVII, which is what gives the Mixolydian sound... though I'd never thought of it like that before. I found it interesting how he arrived at that point by taking a different path to me, or something.

Relatedly, I also saw this interesting video about the origins of Spyro:

Something that stood out to me was the random roll-of-the-dice factor. One skilled mid-twenties programmer's mother knew another woman with a similar son, and through that connection they got together and formed what would become Insomniac Games.

People have asked me many times over the years why I don't work with other people. I'd like to! I used to say it was because I'm awkward/mentally ill/etc, but I've just never had that lightning bolt of luck where someone with the right level of skill and a compatible personality happens to cross paths with me at the right time in both of our lives. Now the only options would be getting help from volunteers who don't have enough skill or devotion (if they did they'd be selling them), or hiring people with money I don't have. Oh well.

Spyro was Insomniac's second game, and their first was a DOOM clone that was considered a flop because it only sold 200,000 copies. Pfff! I can only dream of selling that many copies of anything!

I should probably be playing newer games, or indies... but I suppose when we're feeling down it can be comforting to turn to the familiar, or something. Or maybe I'm just of a certain age where I mostly just look back to the past? HMM.

4 COMMENTS

rosalindmc1~1Y

I would not take as a given that people who are available to collaborate lack skill or devotion - there are a lot more game makers out there than jobs for game makers and a lot of us are bad at selling our stuff. But I sympathize a lot, I've always struggled to find people to collaborate with. Most of the people who I think can match me in dedication and what I need have very clashing aesthetic or narrative sensibilities.

200,000 being considered a flop is hilarious to me. god the margins of videogames must've sucked before online distribution.

PierceWickstorm29~1Y

I too, go back on the old stuff more than I'd like to admit. Pokemon Platinum, Final Fantasy 6, and Chrono Trigger is my go-to for a nostalgia trip.

As for collaboration, don't let it get you down. I wish I could collaborate with you, but I am incompetent with coding and music. My specialty is writing and design. But even then, our way of designing is different. Like I've mentioned before, my style of designing was inspired by Mardek (which I used to evolve my style into a balance of humorous and darkness), but you've evolved your style in a different direction. I remember you mentioning that you prefer to try to avoid the classic and violent example of gameplay.

But on the bright side, I did end up coming up with a title for my game. I created the story when I was in high school, but now that I'm coming back to it, I plan on changing it up. Keep the main premise, but tinker with ideas I believe are outdated. But I did intend it to be a spiritual successor to Mardek, so I'm not sure how you'd feel about the story, to be honest. I mean, it's way different, but still feels familiar, you know? And I still wouldn't mind telling you about it, if there was a more private way to talk about it.

Now I just need my upper respiratory infection to go away and I can get back to it.

I too, go back on the old stuff more than I'd like to admit. Pokemon Platinum, Final Fantasy 6, and Chrono Trigger is my go-to for a nostalgia trip.

As for collaboration, don't let it get you down. I wish I could collaborate with you, but I am incompetent with coding and music. My specialty is writing and design. But even then, our way of designing is different. Like I've mentioned before, my style of designing was inspired by Mardek (which I used to evolve my style into a balance of humorous and darkness), but you've evolved your style in a different direction. I remember you mentioning that you prefer to try to avoid the classic and violent example of gameplay.

But on the bright side, I did end up coming up with a title for my game. I created the story when I was in high school, but now that I'm coming back to it, I plan on changing it up. Keep the main premise, but tinker with ideas I believe are outdated. But I did intend it to be a spiritual successor to Mardek, so I'm not sure how you'd feel about the story, to be honest. I mean, it's way different, but still feels familiar, you know? And I still wouldn't mind telling you about it, if there was a more private way to talk about it.

Now I just need my upper respiratory infection to go away and I can get back to it.

Kalin24~1Y

Speaking of games, GoG is giving away a roguelike deckbuilder about psychology and phobias.
[LINK]

It's free for another two days.

Maniafig222~1Y

Funny, your impressions of these trilogies are quite similar to mine, I also found the Spyro Trilogy much more fun than the rather aggravating Crash one!

I would say the two are very different games despite them both being mascot games and having several crossover points and such, Spyro is a collectathon game at heart with exploration as the main challenge, Crash meanwhile is a linear difficulty platformer through and through. I certainly died a lot more in my Crash runs than my Spyro ones!

A lot of people made fun of the "DARK SOULS OF PLATFORMERS" analogy, and I think comparing any difficult game to Dark Souls is rather trite, but it is unambiguously a punishing and demanding game. I found the first one in particular hellish, and the second one had some really rough levels too. The third one's the only one I got 106% on, since that one has all the ability upgrades that drastically improve the extant of control over Crash, and of course the Wumpazooka lets you just defeat enemies and destroy crates from afar, which is absurdly broken.

The double jump is super janky in Crash 3! It's back in Crash 4, in which it works more like a typical double jump. I found the controls better overall in Crash 4, but that game also has much longer and more difficult levels to compensate.

I do like the Spyro music more than the Crash music too, though there are some Crash tracks I like quite a lot. I find N. Tropy's boss battle music interesting, it's very unusual and wacky for such a self-serious character. [LINK]

The latest indie I've been playing is Walthros Renewal, a JRPG which has been quite the rollercoaster plotwise. I really like the game's tone and cast, it's kind of got that Earthboundian tone to it, but in a distinct manner. There's a casualness to the dialogue, but it also isn't afraid to get super real all of a sudden. I also really like the aesthetics and use of very big sprites for characters, one of the party members is like 7 tiles tall.

Funny, your impressions of these trilogies are quite similar to mine, I also found the Spyro Trilogy much more fun than the rather aggravating Crash one!

I would say the two are very different games despite them both being mascot games and having several crossover points and such, Spyro is a collectathon game at heart with exploration as the main challenge, Crash meanwhile is a linear difficulty platformer through and through. I certainly died a lot more in my Crash runs than my Spyro ones!

A lot of people made fun of the "DARK SOULS OF PLATFORMERS" analogy, and I think comparing any difficult game to Dark Souls is rather trite, but it is unambiguously a punishing and demanding game. I found the first one in particular hellish, and the second one had some really rough levels too. The third one's the only one I got 106% on, since that one has all the ability upgrades that drastically improve the extant of control over Crash, and of course the Wumpazooka lets you just defeat enemies and destroy crates from afar, which is absurdly broken.

The double jump is super janky in Crash 3! It's back in Crash 4, in which it works more like a typical double jump. I found the controls better overall in Crash 4, but that game also has much longer and more difficult levels to compensate.

I do like the Spyro music more than the Crash music too, though there are some Crash tracks I like quite a lot. I find N. Tropy's boss battle music interesting, it's very unusual and wacky for such a self-serious character. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v27LdWd5Kx4

The latest indie I've been playing is Walthros Renewal, a JRPG which has been quite the rollercoaster plotwise. I really like the game's tone and cast, it's kind of got that Earthboundian tone to it, but in a distinct manner. There's a casualness to the dialogue, but it also isn't afraid to get super real all of a sudden. I also really like the aesthetics and use of very big sprites for characters, one of the party members is like 7 tiles tall.