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The Whimsical Aesthetic of 'Spyro The Dragon'

How 'Spyro The Dragon' Truly Is One of a Kind Aesthetically

By Lacey LewisPublished 6 years ago 5 min read
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The O.G and childhood nostaglia

Alright, so I am new to this and not an "avid gamer" but from my experience with my Nintendo crazed, twitch streaming, boyfriend I find "Spyro The Dragon" to hold significant aesthetic and nostalgic pleasures.

Many older video games are what the millennial generation loves, the cheesy pixels make the game what it is. When I compare the older Nintendo games my boyfriend plays I do not notice the same color palette or "little pleasures" that I see in "Spyro The Dragon."

For starters, the dragons you release says it all.

Now of course Mario and the world of Nintendo have so many aesthetics that are branded on clothes, enamel pins, and the like but I feel "Spyro The Dragon" is heavily underrated considering the original game has so much to appreciate. The crystal/frozen dragons you release like I put above have the color palette you would expect in an "aesthetic" game. The teal, pastel greens and a little bit of aqua are so pleasing especially the sound effects when you are nearby. The blocky, squareness of these dragons would look so great as a pixelated enamel pin or as a watercolor drawing. Definitely one of my favorite visuals in "Spyro The Dragon."

Next up, I must put the spotlight on my favorite world: Magic Crafters. Paired with the amazing soundtrack for this world the pastel color palette and creative enemies make your eyes shine with childhood nostalgia.

Magic Crafters

LOOK AT IT.

Now of course, this whole article is opinion. Some of you may hate the color palettes, art style and enemies in "Spyro The Dragon" and that's okay! However, I believe the sense of whimsy "Spyro The Dragon" makes me feel every time I replay it is something that needs to be shared with the Nintendo dominated world.

In Magic Crafters, paired with the world itself and the theme song the enemies you encounter add it all up. Now, it is difficult to find some pictures but between the wizard who goes "nahhh nahhh" when you confront him while running around in circles, or laughing at you, to the little green raincoats that run around with rain clouds above their head and shoot lightning at you this is one of my favorite aspects of "Spyro The Dragon."

"WHOAHOOOP"

Now these weren't the enemies I wanted to showcase but had to provide something.

The original, O.G "Spyro" has the early classical elements that I love as well. I do love "Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage." and "Spyro 3: Year of The Dragon." But they have more elements of the late 90s "cheesieness." For example, each world has dialogue, more characters, obnoxious cut scenes and so on. They are still amazing games but "Spyro The Dragon" is simple and I think thats what makes it so good. Of course, there is this cheesy 90s element in the world PeaceKeepers.

I could ramble all day and this would go on and go so I must limit to the aspects that I personally love and that make my opinion concrete. As a huge fan of the holiday "Halloween" the first boss "Toasty" means a lot to me. I mean, the name TOASTY. How cute is that?

Toasty is my aesthetic.

Toasty is even better after you realize it is a sheep in stilts.

Moving on, the architecture in the game a long with the sound effects upon finding treasure "Spyro The Dragon" is just a visually and audibly pleasing game.

Even though Magic Crafters is my favorite I do need to bring up the world that I think most people get their childhood nostalgia fix and aesthetically pleasing aspects from: DREAM. WEAVERS.

Without even an introduction or explanation I give you...HAUNTED. TOWERS.

There are haunted armory that come to life and the only way to stop them is with a magical kiss from a fairy that allows you to flame them down.

Now you are ready to kick some ass.

The names of many of the worlds are just so ideal and creative as well. (I'm biased and love Haunted Towers the most.)

But back to Dream Weavers just take a look:

I know you can HEAR this picture.

"Spyro The Dragon" is generally an easy game. It is almost inexcusable to complete each level 100% because of how easy it is to do but a few levels are very tricky and creative in completing. "Wizard's Peak" and "Tree Tops" are two for example, it requires careful analysis of your surroundings, using triangle to look up and down, and back tracking. You will be satisfied once you find the hidden treasure or unreachable heights and seeing "500/500" or etc.

To bring this to an end I have to acknowledge the Dream Weaver level: "Dark Passage."

Each corridor you pass through has a fool with a lantern, when the light goes out the cute little puppies and armored turtles turn into larger enemies. I always loved this level for that reason, its hard to kill the enemies when the lantern is lit because they are just too cute.

And of course the Dream Weavers boss: Jacques, needs to be brought up. He is the cherry on top of the creepy yet whimsically pleasing visuals that Dream Weavers brings.

I know you can hear this picture too.

I know there is so much more content to bring up and discuss but again, I'd be rambling and this would turn into a novel. "Spyro The Dragon" is a visual staple in many of our childhoods and is the epitome of that aesthetic many of us are trying to chase today.

vintage
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About the Creator

Lacey Lewis

I love anything pertaining to sociology, philosophy and cultural anthropology.

However, when I am not arguing or having an existential crisis I love anime, movies, animals/bugs, and books.

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