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1. Spyro The Dragon Game Download
2. Spyro The Dragon Gamespot
3. Spyro The Dragon Game Trailer

Spyro 2 is the sequel to best selling Spyro the Dragon and is also a 3D platformer. In this game Spyro is tasked with accumulating talismans and orbs so that he has enough magic to defeat Ripto, who is destroying the world of Avalar. Spyro the Dragon is the latest action/platform title from the combined talents of Sony, Universal Interactive, and Insomniac Games. Judging from the version on display at E3, Spyro could raise the bar for PlayStation graphics. Spyro™: Year of the Dragon Gnasty Gnorc has returned from exile and has unleashed evil magic on the Dragon Realms, trapping the Dragons in crystal and raising an army of Gnorcs. Spyro, with his friend Sparx the Dragonfly, is the only Dragon left who can traverse.

This page details prerelease information and/or media for Spyro the Dragon (PlayStation).

• 4Official Render Oddities
• 6E3 Demo
• 8EGM Issues 111 and 112
  • 8.1EGM 111
  • 8.2EGM 112
• 9Miscellaneous Screenshots

Subpages

Conception

Spyro the Dragon started development following the poor sales of Disruptor, Insomniac Games' previous game. Noticing the rise in popularity of platformers such as Super Mario 64 or Crash Bandicoot, Insomniac decided that their next game would try to appeal to a larger audience. Aiming to create a character for their new game which would in a way serve as a mascot for the more child-oriented part of the Playstation library, art director Craig Stitt suggested this character to be a dragon due to their sheer appeal in terms of both appearance and gameplay options.[1] The idea was then pitched to the rest of the development team, only to receive a positive reception. And so began the story of Spyro the Dragon.

Changes in Spyro's character in early stages of development:

• Spyro's working title was originally 'Pete', though this has been said to have been more of a codename than an actual name intended for the character. Spyro was then briefly called 'Pyro' before his final name was chosen.
• Spyro was originally intended to be an adult dragon, but was later turned into a kid in order to be easier to animate and look cuter.
• Other preliminary sketches also depict Spyro as being bipedal. 'The Making of Spyro the dragon' released by Playstation Underground actually shows us an early animation test of Spyro raising on his hind legs and putting his hands on his hips in a sassy manner.[2] While Spyro can go bipedal (like during the ending of the first game) he is otherwise quadrupedal by default.
• Spyro's original color was green, but it was switched to purple so that he wouldn't blend into grassy environments. What appears to be an animation test for Spyro using a green colour scheme can be seen in 'The Making of Spyro the dragon',[3] and a video of a 1997 colour test for the titular character, recorded by Craig Stitt, reveals several other designs that were considered for the character.[4]
• Spyro's voice allegedly went through 5 or 6 revisions[5] according to his voice actor, Carlos Alazraqui. Two proposed but ultimately rejected voices include a younger, more nasily voice, and an older, more tough sounding one.

Development Timeline

• Conceptual phase (Early 1997)
  • It is said that development on the game began in January 1997.
• Late 1997
  • VHS footage shows a colour test used around this time to decide on a colour scheme to give Spyro.[6]
• ~March - May 1998
  • Press screenshots and a small handful of builds of some of the earliest publicly seen versions of the game are sent to previewers. The game would not be officially unveiled to the public until E3, at which point the game was significantly more complete than these preview builds.
  • The earliest of these builds - the silver dragon build - shows a much earlier variant of the dragon statue, as well as an extremely primitive HUD. The build was featured in a number of European publications.
  • The gold dragon build featured in multiple USA-region magazines and trailers and showed a slightly later version of the game with an updated HUD and a gold variant of the dragon statues
  • An early trailer which originates from several VHStapes used in stores in the USA shows yet another update to the game's HUD, including a graphic that went unused in the final game. Dragon statues now use their final design.
• May 28th - May 30th 1998
  • E3 1998 began, and Spyro had a booth.[7][8][9] Said booth featured an early build of the game with a few notable differences. In particular, the HUD is now in a near-final state, but the life icon is located in the upper-centre of the screen instead of the right-hand side.
  • The build seems to be a match for one sent out to a number of publications for news and preview purposes, as well as one of the game's trailers. The build itself seems to be dated around May 15th, 1998.
• ~May 25th 1998
  • The Tabloid demo is built. It appears to be from a slightly later point in development to the build of the game shown at E3 1998.
• June 15th 1998
  • The June 15th, 1998 prototype is built around this time.
  • Another trailer seems to also be from around this point in development, closely matching the June 15th prototype.[10]
• June - July 1998
  • A second demo of the game is built. This version is later than the June 15th build but slightly earlier than the unreleased June 1998 build.
  • A currently unreleased prototype of the game, slightly later than the aforementioned demo. Features a multitude of differences.[11]
  • One of the builds EGM used in their articles seems to be a match for this version.
• July 18th 1998
  • A later build of the game, apparently only featuring a relatively small number of differences. The title screen still isn't finished, and a large number of dragon cutscenes are still missing or incomplete.[12]
  • One of the builds EGM used in their articles is a match for this version.
• July - August 1998
  • At least one review build of the game is used in a few publications.
• August 14th 1998
  • On August 14th the NTSC-U build of Spyro the Dragon finished development, according to the final game's primary volume dates.
• August 27th 1998
  • A PAL localisation prototype is built around August 27th.
• September 10st 1998
  • The final PAL build seems to have finished development around this time, according to the game's primary volume dates.
• Late 1998
  • September - Spyro the Dragon is released in North America.
  • October - Spyro the Dragon is released in Europe.
• 1999
  • April - Spyro the Dragon is released in Japan.

Official Render Oddities

A few official renders depict slight variations upon some of the levels and character designs seen in the final game. It may be the case that these renders represent an earlier stage of these designs than the ones seen in-game.

Egg Thief

It appears that the dragon eggs held by the Egg Thieves may have been planned to be white with colorful spots on it as opposed to pink with purple spots. Later renders of the character more closely match the in-game appearance.

Gnasty

Strangely enough, official renders of Gasty Gnorc use a different color scheme and design to the one used in-game - this one appears to wear silver armor plates and a brown-red armor with an entirely different design, as opposed to both of them being colored gold. Perhaps even stranger is that not even early in-game designs of the character match this appearance.

Spyro The Dragon Game Download

It is worth noting that the redesign of Gnasty's armor seen in Spyro: A Hero's Tail does appear to be based on the original render in terms of color scheme.

Red Gem Trailer

A video originating from a VHS tape used in some game stores in the USA shows a slightly later version of the game than the gold dragon builds, including a third unfinished version of the HUD. Not only has the green gem now been changed to a red gem, but an early graphic is used for the life icon which is still present in the final game, albeit unused.

Wizard Peak's level design is slightly different, once again showing an exit portal similar in design to the portals found in the Magic Crafters home, instead of the home vortex. There is also an ice wizard in the corner where the dragon statue should be - the statue in question being closer to the edge in this version.

A second version of this clip with some similar surrounding branding but slightly different logo placement has also been discovered, apparently surfacing on Google Video in the mid-2000s. Its original source is currently unknown.

E3 Demo

A few small clips of the E3 demo have surfaced, as well as a trailer showing a version of the game which appears to match the E3 footage.

E3 1998 Freak's Shop VHS Messevideo

Starts at 26:07.

• The HUD is mostly identical in appearance to its design in the final game, aside from the lives and dragons counters switching places.
• The tents in the Peace Keepers home have a different, more pronounced 'shadow' on their surface, which may be the result of a glitch, seeing how it disappears once the tent is flamed.
• There is a locked chest on the platform in the central area of the Artisans overworld.
• Gildas is missing his release animation, and his dialogue is presented in text form.
• At around 27ː39 you can see the Dragon counter going from zero to one after releasing Magnus in the Peace Keeper home, implying that there was some means by which the player could start in the second homeworld in this build.

PlayStation Underground Coolest Games

Starts at 1:08.

• The aforementioned early version of the HUD can be seen more clearly (at 1ː27).
• Said extract of the footage shows that the Magic Crafters home was also accessible upon starting the game, as the HUD informs us that the player hasn't yet collected a single dragon despite being in this world.

E3 1998 Gamers Point VHS Video

Starts at 20:31.

• A short clip of Spyro in the Artisan home, indirectly focusing on the locked chest which would ultimately be removed in the final game.

Stargame Multishow

This video shows multiple clips from what may all be different sources.

• A small clip of the E3 demo is seen 13 seconds into the video, showing the Artisans home.
• At 1:27 a very short clip of a monitor at the event seems to show a clip of the game's earliest trailer, complete with a green gem in the HUD.
• At 2:40, there's a little more footage of the event, showing Stone Hill
• At 2:49, direct feed footage begins. It is unknown from which build this footage is from, but one particularly noticeable difference is the presence of a flat-topped fountain in Town Square matching the June 15th Prototype.

Micromania

The Micromania E3 coverage also showed a short clip of the event, at around 1:59 in this video. Note that the B-roll that is shown is of the much earlier silver dragon build, and not the E3 build.

Additional Footage

This video shows clips of Dark Hollow and the Peace Keepers Home, at around 1:45:37

SCEE Demo Trailer

A trailer which appeared on multiple SCEE-region demo discs (e.g. Demo One V6, Euro Demo 37) shows what appears to be a match for the E3 build.

• The early version of the home vortex - using the Artisans dragon platform model - is present. A single blue gem is seen floating inside the Town Square home vortex, a level that wasn't accessible in the Tabloid demo.
• Around 49 seconds in, a section of Night Flight which usually contains a fairy is shown to have nothing at all.
• At 1:20, the matador Gnorc is seen to be using a design which neither matches the design used in the June 15th Prototype, nor the one used in later versions.
• The dragon animations that are shown appear to match the ones used in the June 15th build.

Tabloid Demo and Trailer

The earliest demo of the game - the Tabloid Demo - seems to represent a similar version of the game the E3 Demo. That said, given the approximate build date of May 15th for the demo, it's likely that this would have been built slightly later than the E3 build.

The standalone Tabloid Demo disc also features a trailer of the game which seems to match the June 15th build, seen in the video.

EGM Issues 111 and 112

EGM featured review builds of the game in two of their issues. It's not known if they're the same build or just very similar builds. They appear to be relatively late development, but it's hard to be sure.

EGM 111

High Caves

A screenshot of the open area of High Caves, on the right side the Magic Crafters flag can be seen hanging off the wall.

Crystal Flight

A screenshot of the beginning of Crystal Flight. The time shown on the timer helps us determine that this screenshot is indeed from around the July build of the game, seeing how in that build the player starts with a 20 seconds countdown instead of a 25 seconds one.

Gnasty's Loot

A screenshot of Spyro chasing a Thief in Gnasty's Loot, showing the level's earlier, more blueish textures.

EGM 112

Early Balloonists requests

This issue of the magazine also discusses the requirements needed to progress from one world to the next, differing from the final game. Peace Keepers is unlocked after freeing 5 dragons (instead of 10), Magic Crafters after obtaining 1000 gems (as opposed to 1200), Magic Crafters after obtaining 2000 gems (as opposed to having to rescue 5 dragon eggs), and Gnasty's World after obtaining 10000 gems (as opposed to 6000).

However, dialogue strings in the demo builds from even earlier builds of the game do not coincide with these figures. Hence, it's possible that the magazine published entirely incorrect information, for unknown reasons. Even the earliest builds of the game (ones featuring the Boatman!) have a 10 dragon requirement to access the Peace Keepers, for example.

Gnasty's Loot

Two screenshots of Spyro in Gnasty's Loot, showing the level's earlier, more blueish textures, once again, as well as the more green-yellow lava.

Spyro The Dragon Gamespot

Artisans home

A screenshot of Spyro walking toward Marco the Balloonist. Here Marco's clothes are white instead of yellow, though this may be purely down to the poor quality of the screenshot.

Miscellaneous Screenshots

Cliff Town

A screenshot of Spyro flying through Cliff Town which could be found in the 'Science & Technology News' section of the Dragon News Network website. In the top-left corner, we can once again see what appears to be an exit portal, instead of a vortex. This screenshot also featured in some adverts for the game. There also appears to be a gold dragon statue in the far middle-left of the screen (where Halvor is in the final game), but it is unclear whether it is truly a dragon statue due to the quality of the screenshot.

Dark Hollow

A screenshot of Dark Hollow which could be found in the 'Game' section of the official Spyro 1 website. Here the skybox has a pink/purple color as opposed to the final's deep blue tone. This image may be of a render of the level using the incorrect skybox as opposed to an in-game screenshot, though.

Spyro The Dragon Game Trailer

Gnasty Gnorc

Two screenshots of Spyro fighting Gnasty Gnorc found in issue 01-1999 of the Swedish PlayStation Guiden Magazine. It's possible that these images are from the August 27th build of the game, where Gnasty is inexplicably seen using much older assets than in the final version.