Spyro the Dragon (character)

Spyro the Dragon is a title character and the protagonist of the Spyro the Dragon, The Legend of Spyro, and later became a part of the Skylanders series.

First introduced in the 1998 video game Spyro the Dragon, Spyro is a young, energetic, purple Dragon with orange medium-sized wings, large, curved horns, a spiral-shaped spike on the tip of his tail, and spines resembling a mohawk. He is noticeably smaller than most other dragons portrayed in the series; a characteristic that aids him in the first game. In the original series, most dragons are depicted as bipedal; however, Spyro is depicted as quadrupedal. In the newer series, his story was that two thieves were running through the dragon realms and the dragons stopped them. They had two eggs, and the dragons adopted them as their own. They later hatched into Spyro and Sparx.

Development
Spyro was created by Charles Zembillas for the game Spyro the Dragon. During the development of the game, Spyro was originally going to be green, but the developers thought it was a bad idea because he would blend in with the grass areas, so they eventually changed him to purple.

After the first creative pass into the project, the producers came to their first important decision: They decided that the dragon would be a character that appealed to 8–10 years old. The character had to be cute, but at the same time, mischievous, bratty, unpredictable and something of an upstart. By the end of this pass, the character design that would become the basis for Spyro was defined.

In an interview, Ted Price stated that they gave up the series after releasing Spyro: Year of the Dragon because Spyro's actions were limited, due to not being able to hold anything in his hands. With the failed sales of Disruptor, Spyro was Insomniac Games' last resort before going bankrupt. Stewart Copeland was commissioned by Insomniac Games and Universal Interactive Studios (now Vivendi) in 1998 to make the musical scores for Spyro the Dragon.

Characteristics
Throughout the original series, Spyro is portrayed as energetic and curious (and somewhat bratty), with little regard for his own safety. He is also described as a courageous hero, despite his small size. Spyro is also known for his somewhat cocky attitude and stubbornness.

The reboot of the Spyro series, the Legend of Spyro trilogy, features an alternate incarnation of Spyro. In this series, he is described as a compassionate young dragon, always willing to help his friends and strangers with whatever problems they may have. He doesn't ask for rewards and is just happy to be a big help to those in danger. Spyro is adventurous, curious about his past and eager to shape his future. He shows the recklessness of an adolescent at times, but is slowly growing into the role of a leader of a proud species.

In the Skylanders adaption, Spyro is described as a strong-willed dragon who is young at heart, but possesses a headstrong and arrogant attitude like his original incarnation. He is fearless and brave, and a true hero dedicated to defending his world from all things evil. Much like his Legend of Spyro incarnation, in Skylanders, Spyro came from a rare line of magical purple dragons that have the ability to harness the power of the other elements.

Abilities
In the original series, Spyro's main attacks consist of ramming his opponents with his long horns or breathing fire at them. In later games, power-ups appear that let Spyro do much more powerful things like flying, spitting fire balls, and breathing ice. In every game past Spyro 2: Season of Flame, Spyro is able to breathe fire and ice, with power-up gates letting him breathe super fire, ice and lightning. In Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly he is able to breathe fire, bubbles, lightning and ice. In Spyro: A Hero's Tail, he is able to breathe fire, water, ice, and lightning.

In the Legend of Spyro series, Spyro controls the elements of Fire, Electricity, Ice, and Earth.

In the Skylanders series, Spyro has the ability to control all of the elements of the world of Skylands, but he prefers to master his original favorite - fire. On some occasions, he can also harness the powers of darkness to become his dark alter ego, Dark Spyro, but this process always leaves him at risk of being consumed by the darkness.

Original series
In Spyro the Dragon, Gnasty Gnorc attacks the Dragon Realms by using a magic spell that traps all the dragons in crystal, except for Spyro, who dodges the spell because of his size. He then goes across the Dragon Realms saving the trapped dragons, who give hints and tips, until Spyro battles with Gnasty. In Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!, Spyro seeks a vacation away from the dragon realms due to the prolonged rainy weather. When he attempts to go through a portal that is supposed to lead to a vacation, he ends up in Avalar, where Ripto, an evil wizard, has proclaimed himself ruler over the land, and Spyro must defeat him. After liberating each of the three kingdoms of Avalar, he defeats Ripto, and finally has his vacation. In Spyro: Year of the Dragon, an anthropomorphic bunny named Bianca, and her army of Rhynocs, steal dragon eggs. Because Spyro is the only dragon small enough to enter the hole Bianca created, he is tasked with saving the eggs (with help from Hunter, who was also able to get through with the help of an elder dragon). Later, after Bianca finds out what the Sorceress plans on doing with the dragon eggs, she becomes friends with Spyro. After going through all four of the Forgotten Realms, he finds the Sorceress, and fights her, with the help of Bianca, saving all of the eggs.

In Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, Spyro rescues all the dragonflies, which were stolen by the evil Ripto (It is not explained how he survived after burning to death in lava in the second game). When Spyro saves the dragonflies on a particular level, he unlocks new abilities. And at the end, Spyro battles Ripto and then defeats him. Spyro: A Hero's Tail shows Spyro saving the Dragon Realms from being plunged into darkness by an ancient dragon elder named Red using dark crystals, who has joined forces with Gnasty Gnorc.

The Legend of Spyro series
The Legend of Spyro trilogy serves as a reboot for the series. The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning states that Spyro was raised by a family of dragonflies in a swamp. After he discovers that he is a dragon, he travels to the dragon temple to find it under attack by Cynder, an evil dragon in the service of the Dark Master. After Spyro defeats Cynder in battle, the spell on her breaks, and she reverts to her normal self.

In The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night, the dragons are attacked by Gaul, the Ape King, who is now trying to release the Dark Master. Spyro travels to the Mountain of Malefor to try to stop Gaul from releasing the Dark Master, as well as to rescue Cynder, whom the Apes had kidnapped. After Gaul is defeated, Spyro traps himself, Sparx, and Cynder in a giant crystal to protect them as the mountain crumbles.

In The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, Spyro and Cynder are released from the crystal by Malefor's minions. They are attached by magic snakes and are attacked by a giant golem and must escape with the help of Hunter. They find out that Malefor, the Dark Master, has escaped and later released the Destroyer, a beast capable of destroying the world. They must travel to the Dragon city through the enchanted forest and then through Avalar (where they rescue Meadow). They then arrive at the Dragon city and must help protect the city and save the mole people. He and the four elder dragons slow down the beast, then Spyro and Cynder confront the Dark Master. During the battle, the three of them fall into the center of the earth, where Malefor is defeated. From there, Spyro repairs the damage the Destroyer caused to the planet, and he and Cynder are later seen flying together through the air.

Skylanders series
The Skylanders series serves as a second reboot to the Spyro franchise. Hailing from a rare line of magical purple dragons, Spyro was born in a far away land few has ever traveled. It's been said that the Scrolls of the Ancients mention Spyro prominently—the old Portal Masters having chronicled his many exciting adventures and heroic deeds. Finally, it was Master Eon himself who reached out and invited him to join the Skylanders, a group of heroes who joined together to battle the forces of darkness. Now calling Skylands his home, Spyro remains one of its most valued protectors, with evil facing a new enemy—and the Skylanders gaining a valued ally. During his time as a Skylander, Spyro became best friends with two fellow Skylanders, Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy.

In the series, Spyro is one of the many heroes playable in the games, and is mentioned as being leader of the modern-day Skylanders.

In Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, Spyro and his fellow Skylanders are banished from their world of Skylands by Kaos, a sinister Portal Master and the Skylanders' archenemy. They become frozen in the real world as toys, and It is up to the players of Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure to get the Skylanders back into their world by embarking on a journey to save Skylands from Kaos.

The first novel in the Spyro series and Skylanders series, Skylanders: The Machine of Doom, features Spyro and three of his Skylander friends embarking on a quest to stop Kaos from reaching a powerful weapon called The Machine of Doom. Spyro is later the title character of the novel sequel, Skylanders: Spyro versus The Mega Monsters, which is part of the Mask of Power series, and later had a role in the novel sequel.

Other media
A number of spin-off titles were also made for hand-held consoles. In Spyro: Season of Ice and Spyro 2: Season of Flame, Spyro works to save the Fairy Realm and Dragon Realm, respectively, after they are covered in ice by Ripto and the Rhynocs. Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs shows Ripto trying to invade the Dragon Realm; Spyro sets out to repel the invasion. Spyro: Shadow Legacy describes an invasion by a sorcerer who creates a dark version of the Dragon Realm, hoping to use this realm to conquer the Dragon Realm. Spyro sets out to free the sorcerer's captives and defeat the sorcerer. Skylanders: Universe is an online version of the original Skylander video game.

Three games were made for mobile phones, pitting Spyro against previously established villains like Ripto. There is also a crossover game called Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy, in which Spyro teams up with Crash Bandicoot to defeat Ripto and Crash's nemesis, Doctor Neo Cortex.

Merchandise
Five toys based on Spyro—including a checkerboard and key chain—were packaged with kids' meals in a Wendy's promotion for The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night. There were also toys released at McDonald's along with Crash Bandicoot toys in 2006.

Various stuffed toy versions of Spyro have also appeared in toy stores, although it is unknown whether or not they are official merchandise. Other merchandise of Spyro, including plush toys and MEGA Blok toys, are part of the latest Skylanders franchise.

Appearances in other media
Spyro himself makes a brief appearance in Crash Twinsanity. Spyro also appeared in the advertisement for Ty the Tasmanian Tiger in a hospital bed along with Crash Bandicoot and Sonic the Hedgehog. Krome Studios developed the first two installments of The Legend of Spyro trilogy. Spyro also appeared in the Game Boy Advance release of "Crash Fusion" (known as "Crash Purple: Ripto's Rampage" in the U.S.) where he was playable when the game was linked to its Spyro counterpart, "Spyro Fusion" ("Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy" in the U.S.).

Reception
Game Revolution criticized Spyro's voice in the first game, comparing it to the Taco Bell chihuahua (who was also played by Carlos Alazraqui). IGN praised Spyro's design, saying he is "cute but not sickeningly cute", and later said that he "is just a little bland, and not the kind of mascot that I would ever fall in love with", stating that "He's kind of like a blend between a big puppy and a donkey, painted purple." UGO.com listed Spyro on their list of The Cutest Video Game Characters stating "The purple little guy was cute, but not cute enough to win the Great Playstation Mascot War of 1998." The 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition lists Spyro as the 39th most popular video game character. In 2012, GamesRadar ranked Spyro "one of the most relatable mythological creatures of all time" as the 92nd "most memorable, influential, and badass" protagonist in games.