The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning

The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning is the first game in the Legend of Spyro trilogy, a reboot to the Spyro series, developed by Krome Studios of Australia for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance systems and Amaze Entertainment with a separate version for the Nintendo DS.

Gameplay
The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning uses a more action-based focus than previous Spyro games, with a limited use of Spyro's gliding ability and less based on collecting items and playing minigames. Instead of this, Spyro has a variety of combat moves as well as four different breath attacks: fire, electricity, ice and earth, which he can use as both long range and short range attacks. Spyro can also use furies, huge blasts of elemental energy. The game has fewer levels than previous Spyro games, with six levels that progress from a starting point towards a final destination and boss encounter in a linear fashion, and two rail shooter style flying levels adjoining them.

The DS version has additional attacks and challenges. As well as breath attacks and furies, Spyro can create an elemental shield around himself that protects him from enemies while hurting attacking enemies. Also, the DS version has extra side missions in the form of puzzles. 

Plot
The game begins inside a temple, where a large red dragon named Ignitus is watching over an egg; it is the "Year of the Dragon", a time every twelve years when new dragon eggs are brought to the realm. A dragons' prophecy tells that every ten generations, a rare purple dragon will be born, who will direct the fate of that era; Ignitus is looking after such an egg.

The dragons are, however, at war with an enemy known as the "Dark Master" who also knows of the prophecy, and lays siege to the temple, intent on destroying the brood of eggs. Ignitus escapes with the purple dragon's egg, leaving it to drift downriver into a swamp, hoping for the best. The egg is discovered by a family of dragonflies, and upon hatching, Spyro is adopted into the family and raised as one of their own, alongside Sparx, a young dragonfly born the same day.

One day, after coming under attack by strange foes and discovering that he can breathe fire, Spyro is told that he is not a dragonfly himself but a stranger from a distant land; Spyro decides to leave the swamp in search of his true home; Sparx, though reluctant at first, decides to follow along. Spyro is pursued by hostile forces, but eventually comes into contact with a distraught Ignitus, who although pleased that Spyro is alive, fears that with the Dragon Temple under occupation by their enemy, and led by an enemy dragon named Cynder, their war is already lost.

Spyro convinces Ignitus to lead him to the Temple, and is able to drive Cynder's forces out, after which Ignitus tells Spyro more about their war against the dark armies, offers Spyro some training in the art of the fire element, and then sends Spyro off to rescue three other dragons from Cynder's forces. One by one, Spyro clashes with Cynder's armies, rescues the three other dragons, while acquiring new skills and training along the way. It is learned that Cynder has been draining the dragons' power into crystals, and also that Cynder herself is merely a pawn serving the Dark Master -- Cynder originally being born from the same brood of eggs as Spyro, though they are not siblings.

Cynder, however, attacks Spyro shortly after he rescues the final Dragon Guardian, Terrador; Ignitus intervenes to fight Cynder but is captured. It is revealed that it was the four dragons who originally sealed away the Dark Master, and that Cynder is using the dragons' drained powers to weaken the seal. Ignitus's power is the final key in unsealing the Dark Master, so Spyro is sent on a final, direct assault against Cynder's fortress.

Spyro attempts to fight Cynder, but Cynder succeeds in draining Ignitus's power of fire into a crystal, and escapes to the sealed realm of the Dark Master. Ignitus fears that it is too late to stop her, but Spyro pursues Cynder and forces a showdown, eventually using all of his power in a final attack which defeats her, purging her of the Dark Master's influence and returning her to her true form, a young dragon the same size as Spyro. The realm begins to collapse in on itself; Sparx insists on making a quick exit but Spyro declares he will not leave Cynder behind with the Dark Master; though barely, Spyro is able to grab Cynder and escape safely.

Though victorious, the battle cost Spyro much of his own strength and powers, and both Spyro and Cynder suspect that the Dark Master is still alive somewhere; the war is still not over.

Characters
Further Information: List of Spyro the Dragon Characters

Spyro and Sparx
Spyro and Sparx are described as being a "oddly-matched, yet compatible pair", Spyro was adopted into a family of dragonflies, growing up alongside Sparx, a dragonfly born the same day. Upon learning that he is not a dragonfly himself but born from a distant land, Spyro set out on a journey to discover his origins, and Sparx followed him.

Dragon Guardians
The Dragon Guardians are a group of four elder dragons, each the master of an elemental power and who in turn teach that power to Spyro once he finds them. Ignitus, a red dragon, is very wise and is master of fire. The first guardian you rescue, as such, is Volteer, a yellow dragon with blue thunderbolt-like stripes (he's the electricity master) and has a very fast tongue. The second guardian you rescue is the ice guardian, Cyril, a pompous blue dragon. The last guardian is Terrador the earth master, a green dragon with a spike ball tail tip and much wisdom of war.

Cynder
A large, powerful black dragon, Cynder serves as the primary antagonist in The Legend of Spyro. Although born from the same brood of eggs as Spyro (though not siblings) and in truth the same size and age as Spyro, Cynder's egg was seized by the Dark Master's forces and she was raised by them; under the influence of the Dark Master's power, Cynder grew to adult size and strength quickly due to the dark magic the Dark Master shrouded Cynder in, and was then able to defeat and capture the Dragon Guardians, collecting their power in order to unseal the Dark Master from imprisonment. After her defeat from Spyro, Cynder returned to her original size and strength, and was safely returned to the Dragon Temple to celebrate.

Reception
The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning received mixed critical reviews, with most critics describing the game's direction, graphics and high-quality cinematics as an improvement to the series, while the gameplay has been criticised for being strictly linear and - differing from the previous (platforming-based) games in the series - repetitive in spite of Spyro's variety of attacks and abilities.