Metacritic Games

Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, The (GameCube)

This completely new Spyro adventure, featuring gameplay focused heavily on dynamic action and fast-paced combat, uncovers the true origin of Spyro the Dragon as he evolves into a living, breathing weapon of explosive destruction. This epic story of Spyro's quest to discover his roots and realize his destiny is brought to life by leading Hollywood voice-over cast members Elijah Wood as the new voice of Spyro; David Spade as Spyro’s sidekick Sparx the dragonfly; and Gary Oldman as Ignitus, the Fire Dragon Elder and Spyro's mentor. In The Legend of Spyro A New Beginning, players will experience the awesome power of the purple dragon as they unleash devastating fury attacks, upgradeable breaths and ground-to-aerial melee combos in frenzied battles with hordes of menacing enemies and bone-chilling bosses. The action game also introduces a new dragon upgrade system, giving players the freedom to increase the power and variety of attacks to their liking. [Vivendi Games]

Vivendi Games / Sierra Entertainment
Platform
Players: 1
E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)
Developer: Krome Studios
Released October 10, 2006

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

67 / 100

Critic Reviews

85 Play Magazine
With any luck Krome's overhaul will prove lucrative enough to warrant them continuing the brand, flying Spyro into next-gen skies and who knows, perhaps a veritable rebirth. [Oct. 2006, p.54]
80 AceGamez
This new Legend is one you'll enjoy immensely while it lasts and crave once it's over.
77 IGN
The franchise has gotten a serious lift in nearly every area. The overall gameplay was extremely solid for a children’s title, the overall presentation was baffling complex – with everything from scripted story events and innovative enemy entrances – and the overall audio/graphical design is definitely stronger than we expected.
75 Worth Playing
A game worth playing if you're a dracophile, if you like the character or like animated movies, and if you're not averse to starting over with a fresh slate.
70 Games Master UK
Plays more like a scrolling beat-'em-up, and you know what? It's pretty damn good fun. [Christmas 2006, p.62]
70 Game Informer
Unfortunately, the entire affair is filled with repeated waves of what amount to the exact same enemies, and it doesn’t take long for boredom to set in.
66 NGamer UK
A button-masher that's unlikely to set you ablaze. [Dec 2006, p.39]
60 Boomtown
A step in the right direction. It's just plagued with mistakes that make it an uneven ride of missed chances. What makes it all the more galling is that it's presented so beautifully and uses the touch-screen in enjoyable ways.
60 GameZone
While this is one of the best-looking games we’ve seen and the combat, in and of itself, is designed well enough, the gameplay just isn’t any fun after the first hour of play. If it isn’t very fun, it isn’t very good.
60 Sydney Morning Herald
Aussie expertise has produced the best Spyro game in many years, but the action gets repetitive and some old fans might be dismayed by the emphasis on combat.
58 GameSpot
The title may say that this is a new beginning, but Spyro's latest adventure isn't much more than a collection of tired, overused platforming clichés.
55 Nintendo Power
For now, we're left with another disappointing entry in a once-great franchise. [Nov. 2006, p.90]
50 GameSpy
Despite some smart moves on the part of the developers (voice talent, good graphics engine, franchise overhaul) none of them really pan out and bring much to the experience, leaving the game to flounder with its new but repetitive focus on combat.

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