History VideoGame / TheLegendOfSpyro

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Dragons are in central focus in the setting, are of the quadrupedal, winged modern European kind, and have strong connections to the elements. Different scale colors tend to be representative of a dragon's element and they are usually only privy to one. The extremely rare purple dragons are the exception, and can form connections to all elements.

* ChildSoldiers: Spyro is only twelve when he joins the battle against the apes. Cynder counts too, since she was critically turned into an adult by Malefor's magic and forced to serve as his top enforcer for likely years. Even Ignitus was shown in a cutscene to have a young dragon child by his side on the battlefield, during the earlier stages of the war. This, however, can be explained in Spyro's case being out of desperation, since the guardian's armies are dead and very few are left to fight them off. Plus, Spyro is *TheChosenOne and the only one strong enough to defeat the dark armies. In Cynder's case, she was forced into this.
** Ignitus mentioned that the Guardian's forces were small, and given that the dark armies were apparently large enough to conquer the world, it might have been out of desperation that a child like the one in the cutscene with Ignitus was called into battle.

* ComingOfAgeStory: Spyro's adopted parents knew his draconic nature would become apparent as he got older. This prompts him to leave the house to find out more about himself and stakeout a role in the world.

** In general, the series is this compared to the original ''Spyro'' games. The first game of this trilogy begins with the Dragon Realms already in the middle of a long war, where Spyro and Cynder's entire generation were slaughtered ''as eggs'', and the series afterwards follows a long, difficult quest to prevent the return of an ancient, monstrous evil.

This series has also caused a bit of a [[BrokenBase gap]] in the ''Spyro'' fanbase. Although the creator mentions he only "scratched the surface" with the trilogy, the ''Spyro'' franchise ultimately got rebooted again and spun-off into the far more successful ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'' franchise. The ''Legend'' series wasn't entirely forgotten, though, as several elements from it carried over into the ''Skylanders'' lore. Spyro's backstory is based on his Legend counterpart, and Cynder returns as a playable character. The BigBad Malefor is also mentioned in the backstories of several Skylanders and appears in person in the tie-in comics. Likewise, the ''Skylanders'' TV show, ''WesternAnimation/SkylandersAcademy'', has Spyro as the main character, and adds Cynder and Malefor in season 2.

* AbnormalAmmo: The Cannons can shoot metal bullets as well as rock spikes, icy jets, electrical surges and, during the first flight level, other apes.

* BagOfSpilling: In each game, Spyro begins with no powers of any sort and needs to develop them to full strength; the progress made in previous installments is not carried over. The end of ''A New Beginning'' sets up an explanation to justify this being the case in ''The Eternal Night'' -- Spyro mentions that the battle with Dark Cynder and subsequent escape drained his strength, and he lost most of his powers as a result -- but this is not present in the transition to 'Dawn of the Dragon''.

* ContinuityReboot: We now have a solid planet instead of a PortalNetwork of realms and worlds of unclear geography. The dragons are now far fewer in number and purple is rare and legendary, rather than rare but otherwise dismissed. Dragon flies and young dragons being in a relationship is now considered odd. We could go on.

''The Legend of Spyro'' is Creator/{{Activision}}[=/=]Creator/{{Sierra}}'s ContinuityReboot trilogy of video games based on the ''VideoGame/SpyroTheDragon'' franchise. In comparison to the lighthearted tone of classic ''Spyro'', the ''Legend'' Trilogy had a much darker atmosphere, including the major changes to characters, story, and gameplay.

* PatternCodedEggs: Purple dragons hatch from eggs of the same color. Because of their unique power, the birth of a purple egg is cause for much excitement and/or trepidation. This is a change from the [[VideoGame/SpyroTheDragon source material]], in which all dragon eggs were off-white and patterned with irregular pink-and-blue shapes (to emphasize the cuteness of the baby inside).

* BlueMeansCold: Spyro's ice breathes are white-blue in color. Cyril, the Ice Guardian, is primarily light blue with purple wing membranes and belly plates, while ice elemental enemies are the same bright blue as Spyro's attacks.

* MenAreGenericWomenAreSpecial: There are only male characters except for Cynder, who first appears as a villain in ''A New Beginning''. You don't get to see any other female dragons (or female characters in general) besides her, as if she is the only female in the world. You do get to see a little of Sparx's mother Nina, but since she appears too little in the first game, she doesn't count. There are no female cheetahs in Hunter's village or female moles in Warfang in ''Dawn of The Dragon'', making this trope even more true.

* GrievousHarmWithABody: You can and are in fact encouraged to do this. The first two games have a knockback move that exists specifically to allow you to kick one enemy into another, dealing damage to both (''A New Beginning'' teaches this move in the tutorial, not letting you move on until you get it exactly right), and the third game takes it UpToEleven by allowing you to grab one enemy and either bash it repeatedly into the ground and any other enemies in the way or swing it around you in a circle, effectively creating a living, screaming, damage-dealing shield around the PlayerCharacter.

!!Th trilogy as a whole contains examples of:

* InNameOnly: Despite the fact that it stars a purple dragon named Spyro, this series couldn't be further than [[Franchise/SpyroTheDragon the classic series]] that inspired it -- it's very story-driven where the classic games have strictly nominal plots, greatly emphasizes combat while deemphasized platforming, and only includes three characters from the original games in an otherwise entirely original cast. Even Spyro himself doesn't really act like his Classic self; while Classic Spyro is snarky, mischievous if well-meaning deep down, this Spyro starts out as a well mannered, respectful and near {{Paragon}} level hero.

* PrimateVersusReptile: While the series features dragons against monkeys, the "good primate" and "bad reptile" roles are inverted, as the titular hero is a dragon and the Apes are a villainous race of barbaric savages.

* ''The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning'' (2006) (developed by Creator/KromeStudios)\\

* ''The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night'' (2007) (developed by Krome Studios)\\

* ''The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon'' (2008) (developed by Etranges Libellules)\\

!!This trilogy contains examples of:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Series-Wide]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:''A New Beginning'']]
* AllTrollsAreDifferent: According to the manual, the draugr-like ghouls in Dante's Freezer are actually Trolls (while their bigger armored counterparts who turn into wraiths at half-health are Ogres).
* AndTheAdventureContinues: At the end, Spyro purifies Cynder and prevents her from freeing the Dark Master, but the war's not over yet.
* BackhandedCompliment: After clearing the Dragon Temple, Ignitus remarks that Spyro's fighting style was effective and got the job done, despite its primitive crudeness and Spyro having no knowledge of what it means to be a dragon. This is a genuine compliment, but ends up being couched in so many casual pejoratives that Spyro isn't exactly sure whether to be thankful or not.
-->'''Ignitus:''' The style you used earlier was is crude, archaic and obvious, but you got the job done. Not bad... considering you haven't been taught anything about what it means to be a dragon.\\
'''Spyro:''' Thanks... I think.
* BeatTheCurseOutOfHim: Spyro blasts Dark Cynder so hard that it frees her from Malefor's power.
* BoringButPractical: All four elements can be upgraded to do more damage and have additional effects, but the most worth it to pour EXP into is Electricity, as the higher levels of the basic breath allow you to stun and toss ''all'' enemies sans bosses in the game, letting you yeet what would otherwise be brutal encounters into nearby {{Bottomless Pit}}s with little effort, or at the very least crowd-control enemies to be more manageable.
* BreathWeapon: In addition to Spyro's abilities, magma worms spit streams of molten rock, while the Ice King can exhale clouds of freezing mist.
* CrystalLandscape: The sections connecting the palaces in Concurrent Skies consist of winding paths through a landscape of gigantic indigo crystals, in some places guarded by animated constructs of crystalline stone.
* CrystallineCreature: In Concurrent Skies, the native enemies include crystal brutes, hulking humanoid masses of crystal blocks held together by arcs of electricity.
* DieOrFly: Spyro's powers like to manifest themselves when he has to save someone he cares about. He's able to save Sparx from being squashed by apes with fire breath, and then Kane from falling off a waterfall with ice breath. He learns the earth element after being trapped under a bell, though that's less lethal.
* EvilVsEvil: In Dante's Freezer, the Apes and Ghouls are fighting one another as well as Spyro. The apes attack the Skavengers too.
* FlyingSeafoodSpecial: Convexity, an outer space-like VoidBetweenTheWorlds, is home to creatures resembling flying jellyfish, eels, and nautilus-whale hybrids.
* GladIThoughtOfIt: Early in Dante's Freezer, Sparx suggests loading a catapult with snowballs to knock down an obstacle. When this works, Spyro notes that this was a pretty good idea and then congratulates himself for coming up with it, to Sparx's outrage.
-->'''Spyro:''' That was a good idea. Glad I thought of it.\\
'''Sparx:''' You-- glad-- ''you''-- ''no''.
* TheGoomba: The frogweeds, found in the first level of the game, take three hits to kill and you literally have to sit there and stare at them for them to have a chance to hurt you.
* ImmuneToFate: Purple Dragons are stated to be able to guide the fate of the era into which they are born. This is shown by Spyro's habit of [[ScrewDestiny screwing destiny]] every time he hears a prediction he doesn't like.
* IneffectualLoner: Kane insists on going through the enemy-infested temple by himself, and refuses to accept Spyro's aid even when he's clearly overmatched by the Apes, despite Spyro arguing that in some situations teamwork is more effective. At the end of the level, he comes around to seeing things Spyro's way.
-->'''Kane:''' By the way, you were right.\\
'''Spyro:’'' About what? \\
'''Kane:''' Maybe two heads ''are'' better than one. Even if one does belong to an annoying mosquito.
* ItsQuietTooQuiet: At the end of Dante's Freezer, on entering a large, empty cave containing Volteer, the Guardian they had come to find, Spyro remarks that it's too quiet and that reaching Volteer like this is too easy. Sparx flippantly dismisses this, but a moment later the Ice King awakens and attacks.
* LethalLavaLand: The Munitions Forge, built around and within a volcano, is filled with streams and pools of lava and home to swarms of fiery insects, lava-spitting worms, and scorpions who can shoot fiery beams from their stingers.
* ManaDrain: The energy leeches of Concurrent Skies attack by draining away energy from the gauge that powers Spyro's elemental attacks, and only attack physically if this is completely empty.
* MookMaker: Fire beetle nests steadily spawn new fire beetles, creating a constant stream of insects to harry Spyro until the nests are destroyed.
* MosesInTheBulrushes: In the prologue, when the Dark Armies attack the Dragon Temple, Ignitus flees with Spyro's egg and sends it down a river, riding on a mushroom cap, in an attempt to save him.
* TheNecrocracy: The Ghouls are RevenantZombie barbarians similar to the draugr of Nordic mythology, ruled over by a frigid lich known as the Ice King.
* NeverTrustATrailer: ''A New Beginning'' was originally advertised as a {{prequel}} to the original ''VideoGame/SpyroTheDragon'', despite being a setting reboot instead.
* NonSequiturThud: After crashing upon escaping from Convexity, Sparx says "Mommy, fluff my pillow".
* NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom: The game is an extremely linear beat 'em up, and lacks any real form of exploration, side paths, or level select options.
* NonIndicativeName:
** The Tall Plains are on top of a set of sheer pinnacles, with several areas surrounded and separated by steep BottomlessPits, and their surfaces are covered in thick jungle and often include tiered levels for Spyro to climb. For being tall they're tall, but they're definitely not plains.
** Concurrent Skies is a CrystalLandscape of winding paths hedged in by crystal growths and dark, cavernous palaces. Most of the time, the sky isn't even visible.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Ignitus reveals that Cynder is not so different from Spyro -- her egg was among those the Dark Master sought to destroy when searching for Spyro's egg, as they both hatched from the same Year of the Dragon egg clutch.
* OrphanedEtymology: Sparx says "Spyro, we're {{not in Kansas anymore}}" in response to the pair's first glimpse of the ruins around the Dragon Temple, despite this being an original fantasy setting with no such thing as Kansas in it.
* OutsideContextProblem: Dark Cynder served as this for the dragons during the war. They were winning in their long battle with the apes, then she showed up and single-handedly turned the tide of the war. Not only was she just that powerful, it's easy to infer they didn't anticipate another dragon would show up to lead the apes.
* PunnyName:
** The Manweersmalls -- "man, we're small". They're shorter than Spyro -- except for their leaders, which are just below being eye level with him -- and, due to being bipeds, much smaller in overall mass. Upon meeting one, Spyro even says, "Man, he is small." Their leader, Mole-Yarr, is named as a pun on "Moliere" and "Mole".
** Mount Boyzitbig. At the very beginning of the level, Sparx says, "Boy, is it big!"
* QuestForTheRest: The story is started by Spyro's attempt to find out why his egg was abandoned years ago and whether there are others like him -- he doesn't even know the ''word'' dragon until meeting Ignitus. Later plotlines involve rescuing the dragons captured by Cynder and her ape army.
* RecurringRiff: The main theme's melody keeps on reappearing in multiple other tracks in the series, most notably [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMKMcebheTU The Valley of Avalar]] and "Guide You Home" (from the credits of ''Dawn of the Dragon'').
* RockMonster: Rubble brutes, enemies found in [[TempleOfDoom the Tall Plains]], are masses of stony blocks held together by vines and roots. They lie around passively, animating when Spyro approaches them. Crystal brutes, a variant found later in the game, are made of crystal instead.
* RunOrDie: Spyro's first encounter with Cynder is this. As Spyro isn't yet ready to fight her, all he can do is fly as fast as he can with her hot on his heels.
* ScaryScorpions: Buffalo beetles are, name notwithstanding, scorpions much larger than Spyro found in the Munitions Forge, who attack with their claws and with fiery beams shot from their stingers.
* SlippySlideyIceWorld: Dante's Freezer is a snow-covered arctic land home to undead soldiers and white-furred Ape recolors, includes an area where Spyro must outrace falling icicles, and culminates in a battle against an ice-wielding undead warrior.
* SpaceWhale: Enormous floating creatures referred to as void whales are found within Convexity, the VoidBetweenTheWorlds. They don't resemble true whales much, being closer in appearance to blue-black nautili.
* SwampMonster: Growths, foes found in the Swamp area early in the game, are hulking humanoids made out of knotted vines and branches and with a coating of green plants over their torsos. They attack with physical blows and by throwing clumps of slime at Spyro.
* SpiritualSuccessor: The DS version is this to ''VideoGame/SpyroShadowLegacy'', having similar gameplay and a similar top-down style.
* TempleOfDoom: The Tall Plains are a labyrinthine set of jungle-covered temple ruins swarming with armadillos, animated stone constructs and apes in {{Mayincatec}} costumes, where Spyro must navigate ancient stone-based puzzles to progress and navigate around rows of sharpened bamboo stakes, traps that spit volleys of sharp darts through the air, and swinging pendulum-like logs.
* UndergroundMonkey: In the Tall Plains, a TempleOfDoom jungle area, Spyro encounters rubble brutes, masses of rock in roughly humanoid forms held together by vines. Later, in the electrified CrystalLandscape of Concurrent Skies, he comes across crystal brutes, which are made out of crystal blocks and held together by streams of electricity.
* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: You fight Cynder in a world between worlds -- a dark place filled with distant planets, floating objects that look like ribbons and whisper Spyro's name, {{Space Whale}}s, and glowing jellyfish. The battle takes place next to a purple, sucking wormhole that functions as a portal to and from the {{Big Bad}}'s prison.
* VideogameFlight: Spyro learns to fly, but isn't very good at it and cannot do so at will. His flight sections sort of function like {{Rail Shooter}}s.
* VoidBetweenTheWorlds: Convexity is a dimension that acts as an "airlock" between the world and the dark realms beyond it. It appears as a vast dark void, where clusters of hexagonal stone platforms and large planet-like orbs float against a dark blue backdrop and creatures resembling luminescent sea life float through the emptiness.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''The Eternal Night'']]
* EleventhHourSuperpower: Spyro gains access to Dark Spyro at the end of the game, using it to easily dispose of Gaul.
* AlienSea: The seas around the Ancient Grove, and over which the Skavengers' pirate fleet flies, are the same vivid purple as its GrimyWater. Later, the sea around the White Isle is a bright, glowing aqua shade.
* BagOfSpilling: Due to unleashing his Light Aether fury from his battle with Cynder at the end of ''A New Beginning'', Spyro loses access to his elemental powers and has to re-learn them via dreams, coached along by the Chronicler.
* BreatherEpisode: The SkyPirates arc is rather lighthearted and comical compared to the rest of the game.
* TheCameo: Under the ice in the Celestial Caves, you can see fellow Activision platformer VideoGame/CrashBandicoot frozen in the ground.
* CrystallineCreature: The four elemental trials in the Celestial Caverns are populated by variants of the previous game's crystal brutes charged with fiery, icy, earthen and electric elemental energy.
* CutsceneIncompetence: In a cutscene, Spyro is captured by the pirate Skabb right after defeating a magic being three times Skabb's size, without the player even being given the opportunity to fight for his freedom. Later in the game, one does have to physically fight and defeat Skabb.
* DamageSpongeBoss: Gaul. [[spoiler: Besides the fact that you don't have access to Spyro's elements for it]], Spyro's normal attacks against him do pitiful damage, despite the fact that his attacks aren't too hard to dodge. As a result, the battle with him can take anywhere from twenty minutes to a solid half hour. [[spoiler: Thankfully, his second form goes down far quicker since Spyro is in his SuperPoweredEvilSide form during it.]]
* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler: Skabb, after losing to Spyro, staggers backwards off the side of his ship, falling to his death]].
* DiskOneFinalBoss: Skabb's death ends his arc, but not the game.
* DownerEnding: The Dark Master is freed, and Spyro, Sparx and Cynder are frozen in crystal under the remains of the Well of Souls, where they'll stay for the next three years.
* ElementalEmbodiment: The four elemental trials in the Celestial Caverns are populated by elemental enemies -- the fire trial is home to fire elementals, depicted as clouds of flame in loosely humanoid shapes, and each is home to hulking conglomerations of crystals charged with the appropriate elemental energy. Each trial also ends in a battle against one of the four Elemental Spirits.
* ElementalPunch: Spyro's elemental powers now come with either a BreathWeapon or a physical attack performed with horns, tail or bodyslam.
* EliteMook: In the Ancient Grove, the grove beasts are essentially stronger versions of the common growths -- they have the same body plan and attack animations, but grove beasts are considerably tougher and hit harder.
* EmbarrassingOldPhoto: Occurs with Sparx when the Chronicler shows a picture of Spyro and Sparx shortly after they were born, greatly embarrassing the dragonfly.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: During the pirate ship arc, Spyro finds a letter from a figure called Hunter telling him that he has allies and looks forward to the day they meet. They indeed meet each other personally three years later in ''Dawn of the Dragon'' and become allies.
* FlunkyBoss: The electric elemental in the GBA version. On its own, it would be fairly easy. It's invulnerable and causes collision damage as its main attack, but it's not too hard to dodge. When it does become vulnerable, however, it summons a swarm of LedgeBats to protect itself.
* GangplankGalleon: After escaping the pirate fighting arena, Spyro first navigates through a large flying ship, battling both regular and {{ghost|Pirate}}ly pirates and avoiding venting steam pipes and firing cannons, before leaving it to fight his way across an entire airborne ship, hopping around on lifeboats and gliding from vessel to vessel. In the end, the level culminates in a boss battle against the fleet's captain and his parrots. Throughout the level, collectibles and health pickups are hidden inside treasure chests and piles of gold coins left lying around all over the ships.
* GhostPirate: Spectral pirates are encountered as enemies in the ''Fellmuth''[='s=] brig, and occasionally within other ships in the fleet.
* GilliganCut: After defeating Ravage Rider during the gladiatorial battles, Sparx says that now they might finally get to ask for a room upgrade. The next shot is of Spyro being bodily thrown back into his cell.
* GladiatorGames: After Spyro is captured by the pirates, he's forced to fight in prize combat against a variety of monstrous foes.
* TheGoomba: The toadweeds, found in the first level of the game, take three hits to kill and you literally have to sit there and stare at them for them to have a chance to hurt you.
* GrimyWater: The Ancient Grove is crossed by a river of bright purple poisonous water, alongside several smaller scattered pools of the stuff. Falling in it will harm Spyro in the same manner as falling into any other pit hazard in the game, and in some areas he must use his ice breath to create platforms across large stretches of this water.
* HailfirePeaks: The Celestial Caverns are meant to test Spyro's mastery of the elements, and are consequently divided into four areas; each is themed after fire, ice, earth and electricity, built to make use of each element's effects on terrain (the ice area requires Spyro to create temporary ice platforms in the water, for instance), populated by [[UndergroundMonkey elementally-appropriate recolors of the area's basic set of enemies]], and capped off with a fight against its associated elemental spirit. The whole affair ends with a boss battle against a spirit that cycles through all four elements.
* HumanPopsicle: ''Dragon'' Popsicle considering the series; to survive the mountain caving in around them, Spyro shields himself, Cynder, and Sparx in a crystal. They wake up three years later.
* KillItWithFire: During the first phase of the bossfight against Arborick, Spyro has to use the fire bombs to set all of Arborick's body parts ablaze (upper body, left arm, right arm, pelvis, right foot and left foot).
* LivingStatue: Stone statues of axe-wielding warriors in Grecian armor serve as training dummies in the dream sequences where Spyro learns to master the elements. Later, they are also found as regular enemies in the first part of the Celestial Caverns.
* TheLostWoods: The Ancient Grove is a deep, unexplored forest untouched by civilization, shrouded in constant gloom by the canopies of its towering trees and by an ever-present shroud of fog. It has no intelligent natives, although plenty of aggressive animals and animated plants roam its shadows. Spyro travels through it in search of a tree he saw in his dreams, although, once he finds it, the tree pulls itself from the ground and attacks.
* {{Metroidvania}}: The GBA version has some elements of this. While most of the really important abilities are on a linear path, there are a few such as health and mana upgrades that require exploration of the levels in order to gain, often being in out of the way locations you likely wouldn't find without exploring. Similarly, it's possible to revisit previous areas in the game unlike the console version in order to explore them using later gained abilities.
* MonsterShapedMountain: The Mountain of Malefor is shaped like the head of a monstrous, skyward-gazing dragon, with caverns on its peak resembling eyes and two rows of curved pinnacles that frame its caldera like a titanic set of fangs.
* MookMaker: Swamp mite nests steadily spawn new swamp mites, creating a constant stream of insects to harry Spyro until the nests are destroyed.
* PantheraAwesome: Armored sabertooth cats appeared as enemies in the DS version.
* RayOfHopeEnding: After being sealed in crystal, the Chronicler tells Spyro that, when he awakes, the world will be different but he won't be alone. We then see Hunter watching over the three of them.
* SlippySlideyIceWorld: The ice dream temple in the GBA version. Spyro will have a hard time getting traction for most of the level, and automatically slide down slopes unless fought against. [[spoiler: Though you ''can'' find an upgrade near the end that will keep Spyro from sliding on the ice anymore.]]
* SnakePeople: In the GBA version, the boss of the Ancient Grove is Naga, a scaled humanoid with a serpent's trunk and a large dorsal crest.
* TechnicolorToxin: The poisonous GrimyWater of the Ancient Grove is a vivid, shocking purple.
* TemporaryPlatform:
** Several areas require Spyro to platform off of roots and branches that cannot support his weight, and which will bend down when he lands on them. Navigating these areas requires some careful pre-planning of one's route, as Spyro must leap off immediately after landing and the player can't stand around to survey the path ahead. Some of these sequences are fairly short and take place within otherwise normal areas, usually as side routes to reach a collectible. Others are much longer and required, and often above BottomlessPits.
** In other areas, Spyro must climb over platforms being swept down waterfalls.
** In the dream sequences, the path between each testing area takes the form of a series of small floating platforms. Some are stable, while others flip over periodically or rotate continuously, alternating between a flat, safe surface and a spiky, harmful one. The slower ones can be navigated with precise timing, but on the whole they're meant to train the player to use Spyro's new time-slowing powers.
** Spyro can create platforms over bodies of water by shooting icy blasts at them. These platforms are strictly temporary, however, and will melt and crumble after a few seconds.
* TournamentArc: Partway through the game, Spyro is captured by pirates and forced to compete in GladiatorGames for their entertainment.
* {{Treants}}: The Ancient Grove is inhabited and defended by a number of humanoid agglomerations of wood and plant matter -- the common growths, the stronger grove beasts, and the towering boss Arborick -- who endlessly patrol the forest in search for intruders and attempt to crush Pyro with sweeping blows of their limbs. While quite strong, they're vulnerable to fire.
* UndergroundMonkey: Most enemies and bosses are simply reskins of ones from ''A New Beginning'':
** The first enemies encountered, the toadweeds, are simply purple recolors of the frogweeds, the first enemies in the previous game.
** In the Ancient Grove, the local growths are simply recolors of the ones from the first game's Swamp. The grove mites and grove worms are lava beetles and magma worms adapted to match the poisonous forest instead of the Munition Forge's LethalLavaLand. Arborick is also a remodel of the Stone Sentinel.
** The Skavengers and their scurvywing and blundertail mounts are recolors of the Apes and their dreadwings and buffalo beetles.
** While the Ravage Rider uses a distinct model, its attack and movement patterns are recycled from Steam's.
** The four elemental trials in the Celestial Caverns are populated by crystal brutes, first encountered in the previous game's Concurrent Skies level, tweaked to have the colors and elemental effects of their respective sub-areas.
** The Executioner and the Elemental Spirits share the same basic model and attack animations as the Ice and Electric Kings in the first game.
* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: You fight Gaul in the Well of Souls, an ominous MonsterShapedMountain with green sludge flowing everywhere and a skylight through which the corrupting lights of the moons' eclipses can shine on you.
* WakeUpCallBoss: In the GBA version, the Naga serves as this. If you haven't been using Spyro's dodge effectively before, this battle ''will'' teach you to use it well if you want any hopes of beating him.
* WorldTree: Spyro spends a good bit of the beginning looking for a large tree that he and his mentor saw in a vision in an ancient and deadly grove.
* YouCantFightFate: Played straight when Spyro is told by the Chronicler that there's nothing he can do to stop the Night of Eternal Darkness, Malefor from being freed, and Cynder returning under the latter's control. Given that said event is a celestial alignment, Spyro can't stop it. This is subverted in ''Dawn of the Dragon'', though the only opinion we have on the world's destruction being fated to happen is from the one trying to destroy it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Dawn of the Dragon'']]
* ActionCommands:
** During the golem battle, when climbing up its arms to strike its head, the player is shown various button commands. Completing them in time lets Spyro and Cynder avoid its attempts to strike them and shake them off.
** Commands appear again during the battle against Malefor, where rapidly pressing the button flashing on the screen allows Spyro and Cynder to evade the Dark Master's counterattacks.
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: In the climax, [[spoiler:just as Spyro is about to unleash his Light Aether to stop the destruction of the world, which may end up as a HeroicSacrifice, Cynder, who refuses to leave Spyro's side, whispers "I love you" to him]].
* ApocalypseHow: The Destroyer causes either a Class 4 or Class 5. It's kind of hard to tell if almost all life gets wiped out and the remaining life survives or if it's complete extinction and life returns somehow. However, it can also be a Class X, as [[spoiler:the world breaks apart in the process but somehow gets restored afterwards]].
* ArmoredDragons: Spyro and Cynder can find various pieces of armor around the world -- helmets, bracers, and hip pieces -- which can be equipped to provide various stat boosts. Putting on an entire matching set will give them an additional bonus.
* ArtShiftedSequel: ''A New Beginning'' and ''The Eternal Night'' use a fairly simple, cartoony look similar to that of the classic games. ''Dawn of the Dragon'' uses a much more detailed, realistic one, with notably less stylized proportions and more complex rendering and shading.
* BeamOWar: The final battle features one as the deciding move when [[spoiler:Malefor tries to kill Spyro and Cynder with his Dark Aether Breath, only for them to counter with their respective Fury Breaths. After a beam struggle, the heroes finally overpower him.]]
* BeamSpam: Fury-mode breath. Watch enemies explode into pretty showers of crystals on contact!
* BewareMyStingerTail: Cynder has a blade on the end of her tail that she sometimes uses as a weapon, particularly in heavy melee attacks and her Scorpion Strike (where it is imbued with her Poison element). She also primarily uses this to attack [[spoiler:Spyro]] when she is [[spoiler:temporarily re-corrupted by Malefor]].
* BottomlessPitRescueService: The player is automatically forced into flight mode if they fall into an otherwise bottomless pit.
* CatFolk: The cheetahs are humanoid felines largely resembling upright panthers with thumbs, and are characterized as fierce and proud, but also seclusive and isolationist.
* ChainedHeat: The game has this as a mechanic -- due to the snake chains that tethers them together, Spyro and Cynder can't go too far from one another. They can use the chain to their advantage for maneuvering, such as by swinging each other around like pendulums or having one of them hold onto an object while the other pulls them around, but they can also be pinned down by special anchors.
* ColossusClimb:
** The Golem boss battle involves wounding its arm enough to jump on and climb up to it's head and smash it's brain. Answering the question of why they don't just fly up to do it, the Guardians tried that and failed horribly.
** The Destroyer is also fought in this manner and plays it much straighter, as the dang thing is bigger than a mountain and serves as it associated level in its entirety.
* DarkestHour: The ending is the bleakest part of the trilogy. [[spoiler:Ignitus is killed in a HeroicSacrifice]], the Destroyer is getting close to starting the world's destruction and nothing can stop it, and [[spoiler:Cynder is once again put under Malefor's control]]. A HopeSpot comes when [[spoiler:the PowerOfLove frees Cynder]], giving them a fighting chance, but it's crushed when [[spoiler:the Destroyer finishes its journey and begins the end of the world. It eventually gets better and Spyro manages to perform a WorldHealingWave and fixes the world, but it was certainly a dark moment.]] Notably, the trope name was the original title for the game, ''The Darkest Hour''.
* DeathByIrony: [[spoiler:Ignitus, guardian of fire, dies in the wall of fire left behind by the Destroyer]].
* DespairEventHorizon: When Spyro confronts Malefor and [[spoiler: Malefor turns Cynder against him, he's left too downbeat to even defend himself against her]].
-->'''Cynder''': [[spoiler: Fight back! ...Why won't you fight back?!]]\\
'''Spyro''': [[spoiler: ...Because you've left me nothing to fight for....]]
* DemotedToExtra: Volteer and Cyril. Both are chatterboxes in the first two games, but here they each get a single line. A DeletedScene originally was intended for them to have their normal chatterbox status, but it was cut.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Spyro and Cynder manage to [[spoiler: kill the Destroyer, an ancient mythological monster that exists to destroy the world, by destroying every dark crystal in its body, including its heart. Sure, Malefor brings it back to life, but if he hadn't been involved then it would've been dead. It's not like it ''worsened'' the situation in any way.]] It's not even the FinalBoss.
* DisneyDeath: Well, it's kind of a Disney AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence. At the end [[spoiler:Spyro and Cynder seem to have a HeroicSacrifice to save the world but, [[TheStinger after the credits]] the Chronicler informs Ignitus that he can't find any information on Spyro dying... and then we see him and Cynder, joyfully flying around Avalar, but whether they are alive or dead is intentionally left open to interpretation.]]
* DraggedOffToHell: [[spoiler:Malefor's demise is a bit vague, but it certainly has this feel to it since the spirits of dragons grab him and pull him into the earth's crystal core.]]
* EarthShatteringKaboom: The Destroyer walks in a massive circle to destroy the planet; [[spoiler:once it returns to its stating point, the world begins to tear itself to pieces[[. Interestingly, Malefor boasts all it would do is cover the planet in flames.
* EternalRecurrence: It's revealed that [[spoiler:purple dragons]] are supposed to destroy and rebuild the world periodically. The problem is that the last one appointed to the position, [[spoiler:Malefor]], didn't exactly do his job properly...
* FateWorseThanDeath:
** Malefor does this to the Apes after they [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlive their usefulness]]. He turns them into undead creatures, forever doomed to remain in the shadows with a hunger for the energy of others that can never be filled. Even Spyro and Cynder, who the Apes had been trying to kill for two games, are horrified at this.
** Depending on how you view his final scene, [[spoiler:Malefor's defeat may also count since it resembles DraggedOffToHell.]]
* FloatingContinent: The last level in the game takes place among the chunks of ruins and landscape torn from the ground by Malefor's magic, now floating in a loose archipelago high in the sky. In this case, the danger of falling to one's death is non-existent, as Spyro and Cynder can actually fly this time around.
* FlyAtTheCameraEnding: The game ends with Spyro and Cynder happily flying around in the sky, and then swooping in towards the camera.
* FreeFallFight: [[spoiler:The FinalBoss battle with Malefor consists of fighting him as Spyro, Cynder, and he plummet down a volcano to the core of the world.]]
* GhibliHills: The Valley of Avalar is a beautiful, secluded land of lush green meadows dotted with groves of trees and fields of colorful flowers and crossed by a rushing whitewater river, all just outside the cheetahs' village.
* {{Golem}}: Golems are giant lava monsters the sleep under the earth. Only one is actually seen, serving as TheBrute to Malefor, although the Destroyer appears to be a supersized specimen of this breed.
* GrandFinale: ''Dawn of the Dragon'' is the conclusion of the three-game saga. [[spoiler: Malefor is defeated, the world is saved, Ignitus becomes the new Chronicler and Spyro and Cynder's whereabouts are left open to interpretation by WordOfGod]].
* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: Downplayed. While Spyro and Cynder broadly the same range of abilities, Spyro has a higher health gauge than mana meter while Cynder is the other way around, encouraging use of the former as a more physical attacker and of the latter as a more magically-focused one.
* TheHermit: While exploring Avalar, Spyro and Cynder encounter an old cheetah hermit who chooses to live alone in the wilderness rather than among the other cheetahs in the village. His time alone is shown to have taken a toll on him, as while he's wise and well-informed he's also a touch deranged and his advice is couched in taunts and ominous implications and punctuated by bursts of cackling.
* HeroicSacrifice:
** [[spoiler:Ignitus focuses a fire-dampening spell around Spyro and Cynder, excluding himself to make it work better. He burns to death.]]
** There's also a subverted case. In the ending, it seems like [[spoiler:Spyro and Cynder make one, and even they seem aware this may be their end. Despite seeing them in the post-credits scene, WordOfGod confirms that their ultimate fate whether they made it out alive or not is left up to speculation.]]
* ImprobableAimingSkills: At the start of the game, Hunter manages to hit a {{Golem}} in the eye from quite a distance away.
* InfinityPlusOneElement: Going into Fury mode lets you use a special, "Fury-type" elemental breath. It's ''very'' effective on Elite Enemies.
* InfinityPlusOneSword: Equipping all the pieces of Fury armor to either Spyro or Cynder lets them use the Fury-element breath at any time. Most things die quickly. Unfortunately, so does your ManaMeter.
* KnockoutAmbush: Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx are shot with enchanted arrows by the cheetah tribe that immediately render them unconscious. Sparx only has enough time to react with a SlowNo
* LethalLavaLand: The Burned Lands are dominated by rivers and waterfalls of lava, which serve as major terrain obstacles alongside vents that periodically loose gouts of fire into the air.
* LipLock: The game was made by a French game studio (Etranges Libellules), so the lip-pinching is intended to match French dialogue and the English dub sometimes makes conversations seem kind of rushed.
* MakeMeWannaShout: Cynder's "Fear" element lets her use superpowered screeches.
* MarathonLevel: While the Siege of Warfang is only somewhat more lengthy than other levels, it's extremely chaotic, and the later half of it is basically an endless stream of combat. There's also constant running back and forth between several places you need to be on a strict time limit.
* {{Mordor}}: The Burned Lands, the area immediately around Malefor's lair, are a wasteland of barren, jagged black rocks interspersed with rivers of lava, fiery vents, and stands of burnt trees, all under a sky-shrouding pall of volcanic fumes and ash. Notably, between them and Malefor's lair proper is a series of floating islands covered in lush green grass, hovering above the ash and smoke and in full sunlight.
* NearVillainVictory: Malefor comes ''very'' close to winning. At the climax, he's unleashed the Destroyer and the only hope of stopping it is defeating Malefor before it completes the Ring Of Fire. [[spoiler:Spyro and Cynder ''fail'' to stop him in time and it finishes. Malefor's boss battle with the heroes after that point amounts to stopping him once and for all. The only thing that prevents him from winning is Spyro performing a WorldHealingWave and undoing the Destroyer's power.]]
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx have been [[CrystalPrison frozen in crystal for three years]], allowing Malefor to run rampant over the world, and when the game starts he days away from succeeding in his ultimate plan to destroy the world. Then some mooks decide to break them out of the crystal to sacrifice to a giant monster and they escape, allowing them to turn the tide against Malefor and save the world. They also tethered the two together with a pair of magic necklaces, but this allows the two to work together much more effectively and ultimately makes them realize their love for one another.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: In the final confrontation, Malefor claims that purple dragons were meant to constantly destroy and rebirth the world, and that [[YouCantFightFate Spyro has carried that torch that Malefor himself held in this regard]]. [[spoiler:Instead, Spyro ends up repairing the planet.]] Spyro also considers the possibility of this trope, but Ignitus assures him otherwise.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Spyro is normally an AllLovingHero who is polite and friendly to pretty much everyone he meets. This goes out the window with Dark Spyro. Wracked by grief at Ignitus's HeroicSacrifice, he turns into Dark Spyro again and is so determined to go back in and "rescue" Ignitus that he ''threatens to hurt Cynder'', something he'd never do otherwise.
* OminousFloatingCastle: Malefor takes over Warfang's temple and turns it into one of these in the three years between ''The Eternal Night'' and ''Dawn of the Dragon''. For added ominousness, there's a massive volcano erupting underneath it that the Destroyer emerges from. [[spoiler:The temple is destroyed when the Destroyer completes its path around the world, triggering the volcano to erupt and the world to begin breaking apart.]]
* OurOrcsAreDifferent: The Orcs are Malefor's soldiers and made of roots and dirt, a stronger and bigger counterpart to the diminutive Grublins.
* OurWyvernsAreDifferent: Wyverns are flying enemies. They're made from earth, vegetation and minerals like the rest of Malefor's army, and shaped in a mix of flying serpent and manta ray. One of them shows up as an elite enemy in the penultimate level of the game.
* PlotRelevantAgeUp: ''Dawn of the Dragon'' picks up three years after the end of ''The Eternal Night'', and Spyro and Cynder have grown into teenage dragons rather than their smaller selves from the first and second games, despite remaining the same height. This was because of the change in art direction and game developers, and was done in order to better show off the next-gen graphics of the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 PS3]] and UsefulNotes/Xbox360.
* ThePowerOfLove: It plays a rather large role at the end. [[spoiler: Cynder manages to break Spyro out of his [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Dark Spyro form]] with it following Ignitus' death. He then returns the favor by freeing her from Malefor's control with his own love for her.]]
* RealIsBrown: The [=PS3/Xbox360=] versions make heavy use of the bloom effect, leaving the scenery seemingly drenched in honey.
* SceneryPorn: Twilight Falls and the Valley of Avalar in particular are very lushly rendered, decorated with lush forests and roaring rivers and, in the case of Twilight Falls, huge glowing planets up in the sky surrounded by twinkling stars. Even the later levels, which feature a lot of fire and war, fit this trope -- the Burned Lands are comprised entirely of lava rivers and burned spires of rock but still manage to be highly visually impressive with the gigantic volcano looming over the level, and the Floating Islands are just gorgeous.
* ShatteredWorld: In the end, [[spoiler:Spyro and Cynder only manage to prevent the end of the world just after after the planet begins to physically break apart. As a result, although the world is stabilized before it is fully destroyed, it is left as a loose swarm of island- to continent-sized chunks floating through the sky.]]
* ShipperOnDeck: When Ignitus notices that Spyro and Cynder are tethered together he has a few words of encouragement, punctuated by a sly grin towards Sparx.
-->'''Ignitus''': Do not view this chain as a hindrance, but allow it to be a reminder of the bond you two share. Your destinies are now intertwined. And that thought is a hopeful one.
* ShooOutTheClowns: Just before the final battle with Malefor, Spyro tells Sparx he can't come with him and [[GreaterNeedThanMine instead asks him to lead everyone to safety underground]]. Justified, as he would not survive the intense heat in the Belt of Fire.
* ShoutOut: The siege of Warfang is basically one giant ShoutOut to the siege of Minas Tirith in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing''.
* SiegeEngines: During the battle at Warfang, Malefor's forces use siege towers and a BatteringRam while the moles defend the city with a catapult.
* SpiritAdvisor: In the ending, [[spoiler:Ignitus appears to Spyro in spirit form with advice]].
* TheStinger: After the credits roll for beating the game, the player sees [[spoiler:Ignitus become the new Chronicler... and that a glimpse of Spyro and Cynder are spotted somewhere after [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat putting the fractured world back together]]. WordOfGod states that Spyro and Cynder's ultimate fate is left ambiguous, however.]]
* TeamworkPuzzleGame: A central part of the game is that Cynder and Spyro's elements interact with different obstacles, and the player has to figure out which character's elements are needed to get past a certain obstacle.
* ThisCannotBe: When Malefor simply resurrects the Destroyer after the heroes' desperate, barely-successful attempt at stopping it, Ignitus is left staring at it dumbfounded whole murmuring "This can't be!"
* TravelingAtTheSpeedOfPlot: The Destroyer is supposed to go around the entire world in order to create the Belt of Fire that will destroy the planet, but manages to cross that entire distance in the space of a cutscene at a speed so high that even the dragons wouldn't be able to catch up with it.
* TriumphantReprise: The ending song, "Guide You Home", is a triumphant, lyrical reprise of the music used in the Enchanted Forest and Valley of Avalar.
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler: Was Malefor [[AndIMustScream sealed within that crystal core]], or was that [[TechnicolorDeath spectacular flash of light]] from within the core as it broke apart Malefor being destroyed inside it? Or was he DraggedOffToHell? It was neither confirmed nor denied whether he got a page in the book for whenever a dragon dies, as mention was only given to Spyro not appearing.]]
* UndeadCounterpart: In the first two games, the most common enemies that Spyro faces are the Apes. Here, he instead faces groups of skeletal Apes, revealed to have been created when [[spoiler:Malefor, displeased with their shallow, mercenary loyalty to him, cursed the Apes to become undead creatures with a hunger for the energy of others that can never be filled]].
* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: You start out fighting in a fiery void above the destroyed Dragon Temple, then end up falling down an erupting volcano, and end the fight in the center of the planet as it breaks apart.
* VillainousBreakdown: Malefor has one when [[spoiler:Cynder breaks free of his control thanks to the PowerOfLove]]. He reacts by getting enraged for the first and only time in the entire series and instantly cutting straight to the FinalBattle.
* WombLevel: While it's not an organic creature, the culmination of the Destroyer level has Spyro and Cynder fly down its throat and destroy its crystal heart while the lava that functions as its bodily fluids roils and sprays around them.
* TheWorfBarrage: All four Guardian Dragons fight the golem, but despite doing damage to it they're each overwhelmed, leaving it to Spyro and Cynder.
* WorldHealingWave: At the end, [[spoiler:Spyro unleashes one to stop the world from breaking apart. WordOfGod states that Spyro and Cynder's fate after the effort is left up to speculation]].
* WorldWreckingWave: If the Destroyer completes its march around the planet, it will unleash a wave of fire that will burn the world to ash.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Malefor does this to the Apes by rewarding them with a FateWorseThanDeath for freeing him from his prison. Since he quickly replaced them with the Grublins, it's rather clear his intention was to do this from the get go.
[[/folder]]

** While the original trilogy and the games between that and this trilogy are light-hearted, very plot-light CollectAThon platformers, this trilogy is a much more plot-heavy ActionAdventure BeatEmUp. Only ''The Eternal Night'' has a serious amount of platforming and the combination of Sparx guiding the player and dragon time mean it's still not too hard.