[Top 10] Games Like Spyro Reignited Trilogy (Games Better Than Spyro Reignited Trilogy Better In Their Own Way)

Updated:

13 Jul 2022

I've Beaten The Game, Now What?

The Spyro Reignited Trilogy has a lot to offer. Of course it’s three games in one and all three have hours of content, but it is simply a remake of older games. A lot of content back in the late 90s would be closer to a full “expansion pack” in today’s standards. Games were shorter then and usually made up for it with either loads of collectibles or insane difficulty. As games have been allowed to do more over the years, they’ve been able to make it more about quantity and quality than difficulty, or in some cases, one or the other. So when you complete the entirety of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, 100% all three games, what then? What games could possibly live up to the magic that the Spyro Reignited Trilogy brought to the table?

10: Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko (Nintendo 64, PlayStation 1, GameBoy Color)

The Gex 3 Cover Where Gex Is Being Gex. The Game Is Weird, But Funny Weird

Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Trailer

I kid you not, I saw this game and immediately ignored it because I thought it was just a Spyro Clone. That is the power of research my friends, learning that you are wrong and having to put up with your own failures, even if you’re upset about it. In fact, if any game was inspired by the other, Spyro was inspired by Gex. Gex 3 is a 3D Platformer much in the same style of Spyro, but with smaller areas to explore and a very different setting.

It follows the story of a gecko named, you won’t believe it, Gex, and is a television loving smart-aleck whose passion for media makes him the target of an evil electronic entity known as Emperor Rez, whose main drive is to conquer the Media Dimension, where television resides. Emperor Rez serves as the main antagonist throughout this trilogy and while the overall gameplay of the series transforms, the characters stay pretty much the same. Other characters would include Alfred the Tortoise, Gex’s Butler who serves as the voice in your ear giving you necessary advice, and Agent Xtra, the “damsel in distress” of the game that Gex must go in and save. There certainly are more characters in the game, but we’ll get to them soon.

While Gex 3 serves as the third and final installment to the trilogy, it’s also the most like Spyro with Gex 2 not being too far behind it. It features collectibles such as TV Remotes, Bugs, and Footprints. The collectibles unlock levels, an extra TV Remote, and extra Hit Points, respectively. Collecting 100 bugs in a level gets you another TV Remote.

On top of collectibles, Gex also has a couple of abilities he can use after obtaining power ups which include spitting fire and ice. Besides that he is able to tail whip, tail bounce, climb walls, and do a flying karate kick. Another neat feature to the game is his dialogue as he regularly spats out jokes and quips upon many of the common actions done by the player. Gex also has access to plenty of vehicles throughout the game, all of which probably have gecko-related car insurance

To tie this all up, I’d like to mention that there are other playable characters much like in Spyro 3, but the main focus of the series is still Gex. The game is certainly worth giving a shot. It is an older game and while it’s not the oldest game on this list, it’s the only one here that isn’t very accessible. From here on, I’ve only included games that are within the modern generation’s reach, still this one definitely deserves a call out but that’s why it’s at number 10.

9: Crash Bandicoot: N-Sane Trilogy (PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)

The Crash Bandicoot Trilogy Cover, Very Much Is Similar To The Spyro Trilogy Cover

Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy Trailer

Anyone who’s familiar with Crash probably knows that Crash and Spyro are like peanut butter and jelly: it’s hard to think of one without the other. Throughout the cycle of both games’ original run, they paid homage to each other and even do in this very same trilogy. But just because they are linked through the means of developers does not mean much to the gameplay, but in this case, that’s not true. In fact, Crash even became one of the playable characters in the game Skylanders alongside Spyro.

The series is about a genetically modified bandicoot named, believe it or not, Crash, who seeks to thwart the plans of the evil Dr. Neo Cortex. Neo serves as the main antagonist of the series and seeks to destroy his creation, Crash, and take over the world. Crash and Neo aren’t the only characters in the trilogy, the first of the three introducing Aku Aku and Tawna as allies to Crash, and Nitrus Brio as Neo’s right-hand-man.

The Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy is very similar yet very different from the Spyro. Crash’s levels are linear, difficult, and very short. Crash specializes in having fun gameplay while also making it quite challenging, and for completionists they make it even harder. This is a vast contrast to the Spyro trilogy, where levels are like miniature open world territories and the gameplay is relatively simple. Even some of the completionist runs, getting 100%, can be completed in less than six hours.

Though differences between the games stand out like a sore thumb, so do the similarities. The game’s longevity relies on collecting, and your moveset is relatively small, later gathering additions that don’t really change the core gameplay experience by too much. The game also holds a similar charisma to it that the Reignited Trilogy does, an atmosphere that truly represents the game. If you’re a fan of chaotic smashing and bashing, Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy isn’t suggested, it’s perfect.

8: Ratchet and Clank (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5)

I Bet You Can't Guess The Name Of These Two Characters At The Front

Ratchet and Clank (2016) Trailer

Like Crash, Ratchet and Clank is simply a natural choice for “games like Spyro” for one simple reason: it was Spyro’s successor. The original Spyro trilogy was created by Insomniac Games, a somewhat new company at the time that had clear talent. When they put Spyro aside after the original trilogy, they went on to make Ratchet and Clank, a game that used some of Spyro’s core concepts but drastically changed or improved the gameplay. Ratchet and Clank also eventually came to the forefront for a newer generation of gaming, much like Spyro and Crash, but rather than being a plain remake it was a reboot.

The series is set in a sci-fi setting (as all fantasy writers move on to or from) and follows, you guessed it, Ratchet and Clank, a feline-esque humanoid creature known as a Lombax and a “defective” robot built in a factory, respectively. The two meet when Clank escapes the factory and crashes down to Ratchet’s planet, Veldin. Upon witnessing the crash, Ratchet investigatesit and finds Clank, after which the two begin their adventures together, starting by defeating Chairman Drek who has ordered Clank to be destroyed and by extension from association, Ratchet.

The gameplay has many differences from Spyro being as it is a third-person shooter. The game features guns, platforming, different planets, and all sorts of sci-fi third-person shooter tropes that were very present during its time and not at all ripped from/inspired by Jak and Daxter (Crash’s predecessor). The game also features racing, puzzles, more shooting, and of course collectibles.

Collectibles in this game are a bit different than in Spyro, however. Seeing as the mechanics have changed from you being a speed demon toa trigger-happy gremlin instead, collectibles aren’t the same kind of chore, though any collectible is still a chore. Some of the collectibles even include world building, a feature that isn’t uncommon by any means in modern games but one that is incredibly different in comparison to the world of Spyro.

At the end of the day, or night, or morning, whenever you may be reading, Ratchet and Clank isn’t a lot like Spyro but is definitely worth checking out. The 2016 version is less like the original than Spyro’s remake is to its older counterpart, but it’s also worth noting that Insomniac Games was not the company who worked on the Reignited Trilogy. So if you decide to hop into Ratchet and Clank, don’t expect a Spyro sequel, but definitely expect to feel like you were brought back to an older age of gaming with a much more crisp set of visuals.

7: Ice Age: Scrat’s Nutty Adventure (PS4, PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X)

Scrat + Nut = Doom (but not Doom doom, just doom)

Ice Age: Scrat's Nutty Adventure Trailer

This is the first game on the list that isn’t mentioned because of its ties to Spyro, which is great…maybe. Scrat’s Nutty Adventure is based on the Ice Age films’ side character, Scrat, whom all familiar with the film franchise would most definitely recognize. Nothing’s really changed from the films to the game, Scrat is up to his usual antics on hunting down his acorn and stumbling into catastrophe because of it.

The plot for the game is a little more in depth, but not really, as it’s the same idea but rather than chasing the acorn, he at least knows where it is. It’s trapped inside of an ancient temple and needs four mystical crystal acorns to open it. As per usual, Scrat gets himself into shenanigans and thanks to his clumsy nature he, only falls deeper and deeper into the figurative abyss, and farther and farther away from his prized acorn. It’s about as deep of a plot as you can expect from a game about Scrat.

Scrat holds plenty of similarities to Spyro but of course it’s not a clone, though I’m sure it wishes it was. The game’s combat system is more like Scrat spraying a water gun at a burning building, doing something but effectively nothing. He kicks at enemies and throws things at them, but the combat has a somewhat janky sort of feel to it, as enemies don’t die as fast as they should. The game is also much more linear than Spyro, and doesn’t have the same sort of world traveling fun that most of the other games on this list have.

Despite what they don’t have in common, the game is very neat and features plenty of things that would make you have sudden PTSD flashbacks to Spyro. From the way Scrat runs and moves like any other quadruped, to the collecting of crystals and movement through the world. It is a platformer that, at its heart, is about collecting, just like Spyro. The game even features a very beautiful world, a beauty that isn’t often seen in movie-to-game adaptations. The game feels somewhat like Spyro’s gameplay but with a world design of The Legend of Spyro, though much more pleasing to the eye.

6: The Lego Game Franchise (PS1-5, Nintendo 64-Nintendo Switch, Xbox Original-Xbox Series S/X)

That Iconic Lego Logo, Everyone Knows It

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga Trailer

I know what you’re thinking: “the title is too specific, could you be more broad,” and the answer is yes. The Lego games have a soft spot in any gamer’s heart, as they are a wonderful way to recreate complex worlds and stories in a kid-friendly setting with a bright and playful tone. They’re fun, chaotic games that rely on simplistic combat and world navigation to progress a story, while incorporating some often complex-looking puzzles that are really quite simple, and bound to make anyone who does them feel accomplished. The Lego Game franchise is a perfect game for platforming, and a wonderful game to go on to if you loved the Spyro Reignited Trilogy.

In modern years, the Lego Games are trying to change their formula to become something more than just a watered down adaptation of the movies or worlds they’re based upon, adding in multiple layers with open worlds, original stories (even if in licensed settings), and overwhelming variety. However if you take a step back, preferably to any game before Lego Batman 2 (So before 2012), the Lego Games have a very similar formula to Spyro.

The first Lego Star Wars game was so similar as you had the main hub that you spent plenty of time in to get to the other levels, and to get to each level you had doors that acted as portals to said level. Each level was littered with collectibles suchas minikits and stud meters as well as red bricks in later games, and there was even a break in each episode to have a flight mission. The concept was very similar to Spyro, and even while the combat was very different, it had that simplistic nature of easy-to-defeat enemies and easy-to-complete puzzles.

As the games went on, it slowly steered from that simplistic concept. Either way, the games weren’t exactly like Spyro. You had tons of characters, abilities, cheats, and even custom characters down the line. The closer to the present you go in the Lego Game history, the more out of touch with the original formula it becomes, but that doesn’t mean it fell out of love with itself. The Lego Games never stopped being the goofy, loveable, simple-to-follow game that it started off as and while some games are more complex than others and some certainly fall a little too far from the original idea, the Lego Game Franchise is a perfect fit if you really liked the simple nature of the Spyro games, even the ones after 2012.

5: Spongebob Squarepants: Battle For Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated (PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia)

Patrick, Spongebob, and Sandy. Do I Even Need To Say This? They've Been Around As Long As Me!

Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated Trailer

Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated is a remake of an older game from the year 2003. It’s based on the characters from the Spongebob Squarepants animated series on Nickelodeon and features most of its respective voice actors and characters. The game has an original plot where the main antagonist of the series, Plankton, creates a robot army to take over Bikini Bottom. Spongebob and his friends must defend the city and defeat Plankton.

As is customary in the games on this list, the game has plenty of similarities to Spyro that root in its older nature. The game is also a remake and so has been reintroduced to the modern generation of gamers who have also grown up watching Spongebob. It includes tons of collectibles, simple to fight enemies, and several regions/levels to travel through and complete. It follows the same core ideas that most of the games on this list follow but is also full of characters that most of us know and love.

This game also features plenty of bosses and a co-op mode where you battle waves of robots across several different islands. It has multiple characters, multiple settings, and multiple collectibles which makes it a great game for somebody who wants to move past Spyro and onto something new, but with a face and voice they love. The Spongebob world is one that’s full of bright colors and beautiful sea-faring aesthetics that this game captures incredibly well.

4: A Hat In Time (PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)

Hat Kid and Mustache Girl Reaching For A Time Piece. Very Good Names

A Hat In Time Trailer

A Hat In Time is a cartoon-styled game that follows the antics of the mostly quiet but ever-charming Hat Kid. Hat Kid is an alien on her way home when she passes up a planet. There’s a knock on her window (yes, out in space) and it’s a man in the mafia of the world below telling her she must pay a fine to drive by their planet. The man then proceeds to bust open the window and causes all of the Time Pieces (hourglasses with special abilities to manipulate time, also her main fuel source) to fly out of the ship and be scattered all over the alien world below. The alien world is home to humans and anthropomorphic animals alike, as well as some other-worldly entities such as ghosts and “typical” aliens. It sounds chaotic, I know, but that’s because it is, but delightfully so.

Throughout the game, Hat Kid must go to different regions of the world to collect her Time Pieces, which can be earned through the many main missions throughout each region. Hat Kid must also obtain all sorts of other items to help in her journey such as Badges, Yarn, and Weapons, which she can use to upgrade herself, obtain new hats, and use new abilities. While the game doesn’t follow a very similar structure to Spyro, it still holds a similar charm.

Of course it has the common collectible, the one thing all of these games seem to have in common if it isn’t Spyro himself, and it also has the different regions that must be explored in its entirety in order to obtain all of these collectibles. However the game holds a very special charm, a charm of its own kind that can’t be very easily replicated. Spyro Reignited Trilogy holds a special place in my heart because of the mood it sets, the aura it lets off, and this game does the very same thing. While having a very similar core concept (collect to complete in this place and that), its core atmosphere is also a big part of the experience which is why I love Spyro and A Hat In Time.

The game’s combat is also simple, like Spyro’s, though it requires a little more than charging and flaming. Enemies don’t go down instantly but they aren’t hard, the combat isn’t janky, and all of the interactions are fun. This game clearly takes a lot of inspiration from other games, and while I don’t think that Spyro is one, I do believe there is another game on this list that it does take a lot of inspiration from, a game that I feel Spyro does too. Wait until the end to find out what game…

3: Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PlayStation 2-5)

Jak and Daxter, Both Showing The Exact Personality They Give Off In-Game

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy Trailer

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is the first in a series and was created by Naughty Dog, the same company who made Crash (and in the future would make Uncharted and The Last of Us). It follows the adventures of Jak, a silent protagonist who is really the only playable character in the game, and his best friend Daxter, an orange furry animal thing that was once the same species as Jak but got turned into…whatever he is by the Dark Eco, sort of a form of dark magic. When the wizards around the known world begin to go missing, the two embark on a quest to find out what happened.

Throughout their journey, they must recover all sorts of items to help them in their quest. The two have to recover precursor orbs, power cells, and scout flies, all of which need to be obtained to get the “true” ending. The game is open world and is divided into several regions, each of which has their own missions to progress you through the story and side missions to recover more power cells. Precursor orbs, however, are scattered throughout the world and can be easily obtained by simply walking over them, much like Gems in Spyro, and Scout Flies are located within crates that need to be smashed to release them.

The farther you progress, the more challenging it gets, as one would expect of any decent video game especially for the PS2 era, and to counter the linear-like open world, there are a small handful of portals throughout the world that can get you from point A to point B, C, or D. The game also features a few driving missions which require you to drive through areas that would be too dangerous to traverse on foot. It’s also worth noting that combat is relatively simple, simple punches and jump smashes are all you have in the first game. Daxter doesn’t do much but he does make the game significantly more fun with his snarky dialogue and death cutscenes.

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a fun game with simple mechanics. It has a decent layer of difficulty, not like Crash’s difficulty thankfully, and more of a story than the first Spyro for sure. The game is also a bit on the darker side, in terms of story, and only gets darker as the main trilogy progresses. The game still is littered with humor and fun moments, but goes from the simple fist combat of the first game to a third-person shooter in the second. It’s a strange change, but it’s still fun.

It’s not the most like Spyro, but if you’re interested in starting a new series with a similar vibe, Jak and Daxter is definitely the way to go. Jak and Daxter has 3 games in its main trilogy as well as a racing game, all made by Naughty Dog, and there are a couple of other games in the series made by other developers. If you’re a fan of stories with old-school gaming, this series is the perfect combination.

2: New Super Lucky’s Tale (PS4, PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)

New Super Lucky's Tale And Its Adorable Cat-astrophic Cast

New Super Lucky's Tale Trailer

New Super Lucky’s Tale is actually a remake of a game that came out in 2017, and is a sequel to Lucky’s Tale, a VR game. Why it got a remake so quickly after its initial release is beyond me, but the developers over at Playful Studios seemed to be quite proud of their recreation and spoke highly of the features they decided to implement into this version of the game.

New Super Lucky’s Tale is full of aesthetically pleasing visuals that are gentle on the eye without being too vibrant or bright or dull and dreary. It hits this interesting in-between where the magical aura around the game feels constantly present. While having a huge focus on platforming, a bit more than most of these entries, it also chooses to focus on puzzle solving a little bit more as well.

Upon originally seeing the game, I genuinely thought it was a Spyro clone. The gameplay in the clips I saw looked similar but I was seeing it out of context, so it was misleading. The game has its own unique charm when it comes to gameplay, and if you’re looking to jump into a world that’s full of life, character, and magic, then this game is high on the list for a reason!

1: Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64, Nintendo Switch)

It's-A Him, Mario

Super Mario 64 Trailer

Super Mario 64 is unlike any of the games on this list for one simple reason: Super Mario 64 is not like Spyro, rather Spyro is like Super Mario 64. Mario 64 came out in 1996, two years before the first Spyro game. It defined the slowly-growing 3D Platformer genre and because of it we now have legendary games such as Spyro, such as Crash, such as Ratchet and Clank. It’s a game that does a wonderful job following the classic structure of the Super Mario games and reworking it into a 3D setting.

The plot is like any other Mario game: Bowser has Peach, Mario must save her. Bowser has captured Princess Peach in her own home and stolen 120 Power Stars, and Mario must journey through the worlds within the paintings at Peach’s Castle to save her. The main goal is to retrieve the Power Stars to unlock the doors and defeat Bowser, freeing the castle from his rule. Several Power Stars are hidden in each level, and you must obtain at least 70 in order to complete the game.

The game features one homeworld with many portals to different worlds where your goal is to collect the Stars through all sorts of different means so you may progress. Revisiting each world permits more stars to be earned. There are also multiple abilities you can obtain by retrieving new hats which include Invisibility, Invincibility, and Flight. Your main way of combat is through punching enemies and/or stomping on them.

Through these descriptions alone, it should be obvious how similar it is to the Spyro Reignited Trilogy. Multiple worlds, power-ups, collectibles- that’s what the game is all about! Super Mario 64 is the most like Spyro in basic design than any other game on this list, and up until recently was a pain to get ahold of. Nintendo re-released the game for the Nintendo Switch (along with two other older Mario games), and is available now to the newer generation of gaming, though it still has that classic N64 look.