Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! (1999)
Insomniac's Beloved Avalar Sequel Blending Metroidvania Traversal Unlocks With Eclectic Minigames
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!—titled Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer in Europe and Australia—is a 1999 3D platform game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. Transporting Spyro to the besieged realm of Avalar, it enriched the original's pure collectathon structure with fully voiced cast interactions, purchasable traversal abilities, and varied Orb challenges.
Welcome to Avalar and Character-Driven World-Building
En route to a sunny vacation at Dragon Shores, Spyro and Sparx have their portal hijacked into the magical realm of Avalar by faun Elora, cheetah archer Hunter, and an absent-minded Professor, whose experiment accidentally summoned pint-sized dinosaur tyrant Ripto and his beasts Crush and Gulp. Unlike the solitary, enemy-filled stages of the 1998 debut, every world in Avalar—from monastic Idol Springs and icy Colossus to futuristic Metropolis—stages playful cinematic intro and outro vignettes while pairing rival neighbour realms in thematic contrast. Friendly inhabitants enlist Spyro for bespoke Orb side-quests ranging from ice-hockey matches and trolley rides to escorting alchemists and defending villages.
Moneybags' Traversal Unlocks and Ratchet & Clank's Blueprint
Across its serene Autumn Plains, Summer Forest, and Winter Tundra homeworlds, Spyro 2 introduced gentle backtracking by letting pompous bear financier Moneybags sell permanent movement upgrades—underwater swimming, ladder climbing, and the rock-shattering headbash—that unlock previously unreachable alcoves in earlier stages. Coupled with mid-air hover boost extensions at the end of glides, Spirit Particle activated Powerup Gates granting temporary superflame or flight, and another shimmering percussion-heavy soundtrack by Stewart Copeland, Ripto's Rage! became a critical darling. Its blend of gadget-like ability gating, slapstick cutscenes, and varied mission design directly foreshadowed Insomniac's PlayStation 2 flagship Ratchet & Clank.