Gaming Target - Game Boy Advance: Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy Ц Review

Written by Matt Swider on August 18, 2004

Full Review: (continued) Е cheap cartoon crossoverФ ЦBart Simpson

Spyro the Dragon seemed to play the part of supporting mascot on PlayStation next to Crash Bandicoot, but he finally got his due on GBA over the past three years. But while his three portable games were isometric adventures of near perfection, Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy is full of 2D mini-games and can't compare. It's the companion game of Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage, and although it shares a storyline, guest stars Crash and keeps much of the same mini-game formula, it's a big change for Spyro GBA fans and a disappointing one next to its Crash counterpart. This causes Crash to once again seem like the better mascot by comparison even though Spyro has more potential in a new 2D setting. It's by no means a bad title for portable enthusiasts, but it's just seems to be a less polished version of it's above average companion, leaving Spyro Orange hovering somewhere near average.

Spyro Orange involves the team up of Ripto and Dr. Cortex, which leads to the counter-team up of Spyro and Crash. It's actually the easier version of the two games since Spyro comes with three extra hit-points and includes dulled-down mini-games. Of course, there is lies the problem with Spyro Orange. The dulled-down and easier elements eliminate most of the challenge and it's instead replaced by some frustration. The mini-games seem to contain some annoying quirks, the controls sometimes seem less-than-responsive, and the ruby-system just plain sucks. Rubies need to be spent to access levels for the first time and enter bonus levels each time. Plus, ten rubies are lost each time you die. So, while Wumpa Fruits can be found everyone and don't need to be spent in Crash Purple, Spyro's economy isn't as prosperous. I guess you could say rubies don't grow on trees (but Wumpa Fruits do).

All of this takes away from the important and only interesting aspect of the game, the mini-games. Although Spyro Orange contains a lot of the same type of mini-games, others are less uninspiring next to Crash Orange. The only time you seem to die in this game is when something unexpected occurs like some sort of freak accident, and the rest is a piece of cake. It's unbalanced and makes a majority of the mini-games either dull or frustrating. Worse off, to face off with Dr. Cortex you have to go back and beat each mini-game three times. Oh, just what I wanted to do. The 2D overworld that contains portals to these mini-games is actually more interesting than most of the challenges themselves. If only the game where strictly a 2D platform title, fans would be served better because controlling the purple dragon and having him fly briefly in the overworld is much more fun.

Fun does come into play thanks to the game's ability to link to three other Spyro Orange owners. Players can also unlock hidden mini-games by trading cards with Crash Purple owners, a process that's like Pokemon. But, unlike Nintendo's successful Pocket Monsters series, the cards are otherwise worthless when they're being collected. At least in Pokemon you want to play, battle, trade and win, while in Crash Purple and Spyro Organge you just want the end result and never actually utilize the cards. In any case, the two games are a clever way of sharing a storyline, linking up, and maybe selling a few more copies of a slightly different game.