Spyro needs no introduction. As the face of several franchises of varying connections, chances are folks of nearly every gaming generation will recognise this adorable young dragon. The aging gamers will have seen many versions of the purple hero, but for those uncertain of his origins, let’s go back to the beginning.
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Conception
Spyro was created by Craig Stitt and designed by Charles Zembillas for Insomniac Games, the developers of the first three games in the Spyro the Dragon series. After developing Disruptor, Insomniac president Ted Price contacted Zembillas to design a playable dragon character for a video game. Zembillas had previously designed Crash Bandicoot for Naughty Dog, whose offices were just across the hall from Insomniac’s at Universal Interactive Studios.
Spyro was originally named “Pete” and coloured green during development, but the name was dropped to avoid infringing on the trademark of Pete’s Dragon, which was owned by The Walt Disney Company. His colour was changed to purple so as to avoid blending in with any grassy areas. He was made younger to appeal to children, needing “to be cute, but at the same time, mischievous, bratty, unpredictable, and something of an upstart.”
Spyro was granted the ability to glide infinitely to give him “something he could do that no other platformer could”, making the game’s worlds significantly larger and providing more incentive for exploration. According to programmer Peter Hastings, NASA rocket scientist Matt Whiting was hired to program Spyro’s controls so that he could move as smoothly as possible.
Revival
Price claimed in an interview that Insomniac stopped developing Spyro games after Spyro: Year of the Dragon because Spyro didn’t have hands and therefore his actions were limited. Vivendi and Activision were keen to publish further games in the series after the success of the original trilogy and reached out to new teams to produce a brand new, rebooted trilogy with bigger production values, and a slightly more mature Spyro.
The Legend of Spyro trilogy would be the result of these new partnerships. The first two games were developed by Krome Studios, while the third was developed by Étranges Libellules. The games received mixed reviews; the games’ controls and story received much praise, while the gameplay was often criticised for being repetitive.
The games use a combination of close-combat and platforming gameplay, though more oriented on combat than previous games in the Spyro series. The story revolves around Spyro as the protagonist once again, and his efforts to stop Malefor, the Dark Master, from escaping his ancient imprisonment to bring armageddon upon the world.
The Voice Behind the Dragon
Spyro was originally voiced by Carlos Alazraqui in Spyro the Dragon. Alazraqui explained in an interview with Electronic Gaming Monthly that he tried to make Spyro’s voice sound like “a kid at camp that everybody likes.” He was later replaced by Tom Kenny, who has been voicing the character since 1999, beginning with Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage!
In later years, he was voiced by Jess Harnell in Spyro: A Hero’s Tail; Elijah Wood in The Legend of Spyro series; Josh Keaton in Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure; and Matthew Mercer in Skylanders: Imaginators. In the television series Skylanders Academy, he was voiced by Justin Long. As Dark Spyro, he was voiced by Jason Ritter.
Story: Three Spyros, Three Continuities
Spyro originates from the Dragon Kingdom in Spyro the Dragon, and lives in the Artisans homeworld. He is very brash, being eager to defeat the game’s villain, Gnasty Gnorc. In Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! and Year of the Dragon, Spyro is more mature and laidback, though he continues to trash talk enemies such as Ripto.
In The Legend of Spyro, which takes place in a different continuity, Spyro was raised by dragonflies alongside Sparx after his egg was lost during an attempt to destroy his brood. He comes from a rare line of purple dragons, who are able to physically harness the power of the four classical elements. Here, Spyro is described as willing to help his friends and strangers with whatever problems they may have, without desire for reward.
In the Skylanders franchise, Spyro has a headstrong and arrogant attitude. Much as in The Legend of Spyro, he comes from a rare line of purple dragons in a faraway land which few have ever seen, and his adventures and heroics were chronicled by the Portal Masters of Old. He was eventually invited to join the Skylanders by Master Eon and now lives in the Skylands, remaining as one of its most valued protectors.
Relationships
Spyro and Sparx have been best friends ever since they were still in eggs. Sparx follows Spyro and acts as his health indicator, and helps him collect treasure scattered throughout the game worlds. If Sparx disappears, Spyro will be left vulnerable, but Spyro can replenish Sparx by finding butterflies for him to eat, which are usually acquired by attacking smaller animals, commonly known as “fodder”, such as sheep.
In Ripto’s Rage!, Spyro meets Elora the Faun, Hunter the Cheetah, and a mole known as the Professor, who assist him in various missions. A fairy named Zoe also assists Spyro, helping him save his game progress. In Year of the Dragon, Spyro meets a rabbit sorceress named Bianca, whom he initially distrusts but later allies with. He also meets Sheila the kangaroo, Sgt. Byrd the flying penguin, Bentley the Yeti, and Agent 9 the laser-wielding monkey, who support as additional playable characters after Spyro frees them from captivity.
Spyro generally respects the other dragons, but is impatient with some of the more senior ones and often tries to leave as they are talking. In Spyro: A Hero’s Tail, a pink female dragon named Ember has a crush on Spyro, who is not interested. In The Legend of Spyro, Spyro is Sparx’s foster brother. An older “Dragon Guardian” named Ignitus acts as a sort of father figure to him. Spyro develops a strong bond with Cynder, a black female dragon who is at first his enemy but later becomes his love interest.
In the main Skylanders canon, Spyro is good friends with fellow Skylanders Gill Grunt and Trigger Happy, and acts as the Skylanders’ leader whenever Master Eon is unavailable. In the Netflix series, Skylanders Academy, Spyro is best friends with Stealth Elf and Eruptor, two fellow cadets who became Skylanders alongside him.
Legacy
Spyro has been generally praised, particularly for his early designs. IGN praised Spyro’s design, saying he is “cute but not sickeningly cute”. He was ranked 9th in Complex’s “The 25 Most Kickass Dragons in Video Games” list, with writer Obi Anyawu stating Spyro “is truly an original, just from his size and colour alone.” HobbyConsolas also included Spyro on their “The 30 best heroes of the last 30 years.”
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.
GamingBolt criticised Spyro on his appearance in Skylanders as 2nd on their “Worst Video Game Character Designs”, stating that “Cute, innocent, fire-breathing Spyro didn’t deserve his terrible redesign”. “Beloved by many old-school PlayStation fans, Spyro was brought into Skylanders with much fanfare. His actual design seemed intended to make him more…dragon-like? Instead, it made Spyro look borderline frightening yet still goofy as opposed to, you know, a hero.”
The character endured in popular culture as a mascot of the PlayStation game console alongside Crash Bandicoot, having appeared in several games together with him. Both characters were owned by Universal Studios, under the former video game division Universal Interactive and have since become an intellectual property of Activision, through the merger between Vivendi Universal Games and Activision to create Activision Blizzard.
Spyro appears in Crash Twinsanity, Astro’s Playroom, and Astro Bot. Additionally, he makes a playable guest appearance in Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled as downloadable content. Spyro also appeared as a playable character in Crash Team Rumble, alongside Elora and Ripto. Spyro appears briefly in a cameo appearance in a commercial for Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, alongside Crash Bandicoot and Sonic the Hedgehog. All three are in full body casts in the hospital with boomerangs in their bodies, apparently having been put there by Ty.
Handheld LCD games themed after Spyro were packaged in McDonald’s Happy Meals in 2005 to promote Spyro: A Hero’s Tail. Spyro-themed figures were released in 2018 by First4Figures and Activision to promote the popular Spyro Reignited Trilogy, a remake of the original three games. Merchandise related to the Spyro franchise was released by Numskull alongside the new game’s launch.
Spyro has also appeared in Skylanders-themed plush toys and MEGA Bloks sets. He also appears in novels and issues of the Skylanders comic book series by IDW Publishing; including his own mini comic series, Spyro & Friends. Furthermore, he is the main protagonist in the animated streaming television series, Skylanders Academy.
