Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage - A walk down the memory lane

Spyro 2 was released back in 1999 (November) for PS1.

Well, we’re in the heart of summer, people. The sun is out, the weather is warm, and all in all, life is good. To stray off the gaming path a little bit here, for me personally, with every summer, an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia usually accompanies the many joys of summer.

I often think back to the times where it seemed like the only worry I had was what color ice pop I got to choose at lunchtime. Being a teenager now, I still have no real worries, but I certainly do think about many more things, which can be a good and bad thing.

One thing I do take a fair deal of pride in is my exceptionally superb memory. I can recall many things from my childhood in vivid detail. This triggers my nostalgia, and brings me back to some good times in my childhood, and many of which were centered around old video games that i had played as a child.

While I can still recall quite a few games, and very specific details about them, no game brings me straight back to my childhood like Spyro: Ripto’s Rage does. To this day, from the second I pop the game in my old PS2 and hear the intro music, goosebumps surfaced throughout my whole body. Everything about this game was special to me, and I mean everything.

And this is how the new Spyro game for the PS4 will look like. Just kidding, it´s Spyro 2 ;)

I’ll later provide a link of a video review of the game, as it would take quite some time to give a plot summary of the game in its entirety. With that being said, in the game you play as Spyro the dragon, who lives in a ‘Dragon World’ which for the most part, is fairly peaceful and conflict-free.

As Spyro leaves to go to the beach, by flying into a portal (the main way of transportation throughout the Spyro series), he ends up landing in a world, (later referred to as the ‘Home World’) called “Summer Forest.”

Right off the bat, when I first played the game, I never wanted to leave summer forest. Although filled to the brim with portals, which led to smaller, individual levels that needed to be cleared, Summer Forest struck me with an immediate feeling of peace and serenity.

What contributed to this feeling the most, was the music that was played throughout the whole game. Although some tracks are re-used, the music to this game is absolutely amazing. It’ll make you want to roam around the level aimlessly, just to stick around and listen to it for a few minutes. The wonderful soundtrack goes way beyond Summer Forest, as the soundtrack for every level seems to compliment it just perfectly.

I don’t want to bore anyone by describing the game too much, but I just remember it all so vividly. The enemies, the cutscenes before and after every level, the talismans Spyro receives after completing each level (which are often related to the species of that level), the developers just did an amazing job with this game. Spyro Ripto’s rage did everything better and smoother than its predecessor, and I encourage you all to watch the video review that I will link.

With all of this being said, I know that to most of you, this is just plain and simple, a video game. While I know it’s just a video game, this game was a piece of my childhood, and still has a place in my heart. Don’t ever think that a video game is incapable of triggering feelings of nostalgia and butterflies. So take a few minutes, dust off that old box of games, pop one in, and just enjoy it.

You may just rediscover how passionate you once were about the game, and how many memories it holds in your heart. Crazy and absurd it may sound, but the mind is a very, very powerful thing my friends. Our memory is too, for that matter. Play the game, and just let your mind do the rest. You’ll discover more about yourself. Things you never knew, perhaps.