Spyro Eternal Night GBA is simply one of the BEST ACTION GAMES OUT THERE despite the preconceived notions of the license
So now my history is out of the way, I'm going to kick off my review. The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night GBA Review!
I want to get this out of the way right now. GO BUY THIS GAME! DO NOT overlook this game because it is on the GBA and a Spyro title. The second you are done with this review and you like action games, if you aren't in your car driving to go get this title you are a lost cause. Now for the remainder of the review;
This year's Spyro is a phenomenal achievement. I have logged over 35 hours with it so far. It's going to be difficult to review this game without spoilers with so much cool stuff I could talk about, but I promise you I will make sure none are in here. Not only is it a great Spyro game, but it is hands down one of the best action games on the platform and most likely THE version of the game to play (although the Wii version wasn't terrible it just wasn't special). It definitely has the best 2D action game combat on the GBA and dare I say even on the DS system! Previous Spyro games involved running around collecting items, usually in an isometric view and were pretty light on action. Sierra and Krome reinvented the Spryo franchise last year with A New Beginning and made Spyro a game focused on heavy action and all but eliminated the exploration with linear level design. A New Beginning on the GBA last year was a generally horrible game. The action was dull and repetative, sound was horrible and the graphics looked like it could have been done on the GBC. I was not going to play this years game because of that. However, I started seeing all the buzz floating around the internet about this game and figured what the heck. The game was being regarded as a "Metroidvania" game. For those that don't know what Metroidvania means, it means a game that incorporates elements from Metroid and Castlevania. While Eternal Night on the GBA does borrow some elements from this game to truly label it as such would be unfair. Spyro Eternal Night on the GBA is much more a true action game, similar to a Treasure made game or how a 2D Devil May Cry might have been like, with some pretty light Metroidvania elements. Now there isn't anything wrong with that as it works extremely well for this game.
Gameplay:
As said earlier, this game contains the best fighting and action system on the GBA and possibly even on the DS. It trumps anything out there and if you think there is something better I would love to play it. The controls are sharp and the best I have seen. The game controls always let me do what I want to do and sometimes even do what I intended to do almost like it read my mind. A HUGE Kudos to the programmer(s) responsible for that. There are modern console games that don't grasp this concept. In action games it's all about the controls and this game NAILS it.
Enemies are SMART and their behaviors vary greatly depending on the difficulty of the game you are playing. I started playing Spyro on normal and got stuck on one of the bosses. I simply wasn't prepared for the butt kicking I was going to get dished out to me by the insane AI in this game. So I reverted and played through the game on easy mode so I could see everything and get used to being a dragon that deals out pure beat-down awesomeness. Once I knew what I was doing I tackled normal mode. Once I beat normal mode the game unlocked a Hard mode. That mode took me a couple weeks to finish where normal mode took about 8 hours for me. Once I beat Hard mode a secret mode unlocks which is a total blast to play around in. In easy mode the game feels more like a light platformer game. Similar to Mario Bros. You navigate pretty environments and look for Relics to collect. There are the usual boss battles. However, a lot of the enemies you can navigate around and not fight if you don't want to. Yet, if you do that you miss out on getting gems to upgrade your abilities. On normal mode you will notice enemies starting to work together and they will hunt you down if you try to run. Sometimes you can ditch them in normal mode and catch a breather. In Hard mode the AI is relentless, hell bent on laying the smack down (as my husband puts it) on your little purple dragon butt. Come to think of it, it's really sort of weird seeing a cute little dragon dish out such brutal distruction and chaos. Especially when you use your Fury ability things just go all crazy. At the same time it's really cool to see Spyro not being such a wimp. There are 4 game modes to play, but only 3 save slots. That was a bit of a weird decision I think.
The boss battles in this game are fantastic. They ramp up nicely and really give you a great feeling of accomplishment. Not to mention they are all HUGE.... well, except one (heh, spoiler sort of).
My only complaint with the gameplay is why the hell can I not go back left onto a map I just exited from the right?! I mean seriously, how hard would that have been to get in the game. That little feature would have really made things much better for this game. It doesn't make sense why this isn't available in most cases for this game (except when the story obviously doesn't allow for it) even when the art implies that you can. HAH! My husband just said whoever dropped the ball on that should be punched in the face. I disagree, I just hope a lesson is learned there and it's better next time. Shame on whoever was responsible for not doing that, though. It doesn't detract from the over all experience terribly, but it's that one little thing that really sticks out. However, since they did put in a overworld map to travel back to places saves this problem from being a much bigger issue.
SCORE: 9.5 out of 10 (I would have gave this a perfect score except for the map transitions hold it back. This is literally one of the best combat systems in handheld gaming. Now let's let these developers make their own action games not attached to a license with a reputation like this one?)
Graphics:
I was really shocked by the graphics in this game. I had NO idea the GBA was even capable of a lot of the stuff I saw this game pull off. The bosses are all HUGE. The sprites have way more color in them than most games I have seen. The backgrounds are FULL of life. This game is an artistic marvel! The game is packed with FMV sequences and a really nice one near the end and beginning of the game. The 2D sprites have the incredible animations. Especially when applied to the combat system and running around the environment. It is really apparent playing this game that the art team and the programming team worked very close together. Either that or they are SUPERHUMAN FREAKS with the gifts of OLYMPIAN GODS! Either way I don't care the presentation is just amazing. I have cried before playing console games with really powerful stories. This was the first time I got teary eyed just sitting there looking at Spyro romp through the Ancient Grove. The attention to detail in this game is off the charts. There are blossoms in the air, bugs on the ground and all sorts of life in this game that are purely just there to provide a more immersive experience. The backgrounds are extremely detailed and highly animated. There was one particular place in Ancient Grove with a bunch of waterfalls and fish that blew me AND my husband away. When you get to that part of the game you'll know what I'm talking about. There is animated waterfalls, fish jumping out, swimming below, butterflies, animated reflections in the water and above. We both sat there completely baffled that we were playing a GBA game. Now did any of that have to do with gameplay? No, the art team simply took the time to lovingly craft one of the best looking 2D games available. For that I salute the developers! It makes you wonder why EVERY game doesn't look this good.
SCORE: 10 out of 10 (There is no "better" looking game on the GBA than this, period. Huge, colorful sprites and masterfully animated. Incredible backgrounds full of life.)
Sound:
The music is great. Like a few other people in other reviews before me have mentioned, I typically turn the sound off when playing GBA games. Music is normally bad and sound effects no better. I found myself not only enjoying the music and sound effects in this game, I caught myself humming some of the stage theme songs in the shower in the morning. They are quite catchy. Also the music sounds especially good on a GBA player for the Gamecube or on a DS Lite with headphones. Those are my preferred ways of playing this game.
SCORE: 8 out of 10 (This game does a great job musically. The music is top tier, fits most of the action nicely. However it does feel a little too similar to Castlevania in some places, not completely appropriate to the franchise of Spyro. The game also sports what appears to be really nice 3D environmental sound effects. The rest of the sound effects are just a notch above the standard fare.
Lasting Appeal:
If you are a habitual action game player you should be able to burn through the normal mode of Spyro at about 4-7 hours depending on your skill level. However, Hard mode adds a significant challenge and as stated before the gameplay feels much different on the different modes adding an experience anyone can enjoy. This is the kind of game you will pick up and play over and over again just to experience the fun combat and art in this game.
SCORE: 8.5 out of 10 (Being somewhat of a brief experience, the presentation and quality of this title will keep you playing again and again, if not just to enjoy beating up on bad guys and feeling like a kick-butt dragon.)
OVERALL SCORE: (not an average) 9.5 out of 10
The Legend of Spyro:The Eternal Night GBA is a MARVEL of a game. Not only is it a great Spyro game it is one of the BEST action games available for the handheld gaming, period. If you have a DS or a GBA you owe it to yourself to get this game. At $20 most places this game is a complete steal. IT IS RARE GAMES THAT COME ALONG LIKE THIS THAT MAKE PLAYING GAMES WORTH IT. GO GET IT NOW.
-PinkPixels