Release Date USA: 9/10/1998
Release Date Europe: 23/10/1998
Release Date Japan: 4/1/1999
Platform: PlayStation
Developer: Insomniac
Producer: Cerney Games/Universal Interactive
Publisher: Sony
Genre: Action Adventure Platform
Players: 1
Memory Card: 1 Block (3 saves)
Supports: Analog, Vibration
PocketStation: 10 Blocks (Japan Version)
ESRB Rating: (Everyone: Comic Mischief)
Music: Stewart Copland
Product #s:

Original US: SCUS-94228
Greatest Hits: SCUS-94228
Collectors: SCUS-94228CE
Japanese: SCPS 10083~4
Demo (not for resale): SCUS-94439

Summery: Gnasty Gnorc has cast a spell on the all the Dragons of the Dragon Worlds encasing them all in crystal. He has magically created an army of Gnorcs from the Dragon's gems. And he has sent thieves to steal Dragon eggs. Only Spyro remains to save his people. Flame, charge and fly though over 30 levels.

The Origin of Ripto - I knew I had read this somewhere and now that I have found the Japanese box art for Spyro and Spyro 2 I have proof. I read in a gaming magazine that the guys at Insomniac came up with the name Ripto when they saw how "Spyro" was written on the Japanese version of "Spyro The Dragon". I kick myself for not buying that magazine when I saw it.

Spyro Collector's Edition - Now you can get All 3 PlayStation Spyro games for one low price.

Dark Secrets from Across the Sea - I have recently learned that the Japanese versions of Spyro and Spyro 2 both support the PocketStation. For those of you who do not know the PocketStation is a tiny handheld game device that works with the PlayStation. Games that support it usually include a small mini game that is downloaded to the PocketStation. This device was never released outside Japan and very few games released in the US support the PocketStation. The most popular to be released in the US would have to be Final Fantasy VIII.

I believe it to be poor judgment on the part of game developers/publishers to release any game in different countries with different features, especially now with the internet we have a truly global community and people in one country can easily find out what is released in another country. This also brings up the question: Is it still the same game? Square Soft and Enix have been pulling this for years with the Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior series, usually favoring their own country, Japan. Now we have Universal pulling it with Spyro.

I suppose one of the reasons the PocketStation was never released in the US was because the lack of games that supported it. Here we have two very popular games (and I wouldn't be surprised if the Japanese version of Crash Bandicoot also supported it) that could have supported the PocketStation and possibly made it profitable to release the PocketStation in the US.

For those interested you can obtain PocketStations in the US from shops that import Japanese games and such. You will also need the Japanese version of the game and a Japanese PlayStation or a mod device. If you have a US game that supports it (like FF8), it will work with your US PlayStation.

I have the Japanese version of Spyro the Dragon. It not only supports the PocketStation, it comes with a demo of the Japanese version os Ape Escape (Saru Get You), and a very nicely illustrated instruction book. I have received my PS X-changer disc and my PocketStation and have played it all the way through.

I'm going to work on translating the manual, if anyone can read Japanese and wants to help let me know. The PocketStation game involves raising Dragonflies from eggs that you collect in the main game.