The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon

*“The Darkest Hour comes Right Before the Dawn.”*
    —Sierra Entertainment game tagline
***The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon***, originally called ***Darkest Hour***, is an action-adventure video game; the final chapter of *The Legend of Spyro* trilogy. Unlike the previous installments, Étranges Libellules has taken the helm in developing the console ports of *Dawn of the Dragon*. Tantalus Media produced the Nintendo DS version, while The Mighty Troglodytes did the mobile port once again.

Three long years have passed since Spyro and Cynder were trapped in the crystal, since then Malefor has unleashed his evil onto the world. In this third chapter of the epic *Legend of Spyro* trilogy, Spyro must fulfill his destiny and face the Dark Master. As evil spreads over the world, Spyro and Cynder must discover new abilities and unlock their true powers to defeat Malefor and stop him from destroying the world.

## Summary

### Press Information

In the final chapter of the trilogy, players find Spyro teaming up with an unlikely ally - Cynder, his former enemy, to face his most challenging mission to date. As the evil of the Dark Master, Malefor, envelopes the world like a plague, Spyro must fulfill his destiny and unlock the true power of the purple dragon within him to stop the Dark Master in his tracks.

## Gameplay

### Console version

Developed by Étranges Libellules, *Dawn of the Dragon* is more advanced than *A New Beginning* and *The Eternal Night*, both of which were previously done by Krome Studios. Spyro and Cynder have undergone a small makeover to make them seem larger and older to allow new gameplay opportunities, but they strangely remain the same size as their younger selves in *The Eternal Night*.

The game environments are much larger and a majority of them have a bit more exploration to them. In previous titles of *The Legend of Spyro* series, Spyro had to travel through the level and defeat enemies in a linear fashion. This time however, *Dawn of the Dragon* allows more freedom for the player to explore larger areas and collecting items in order to progress through the game. This game allows the player to fly at any time, expanding exploration. *Dawn of the Dragon* also features a co-operative play with Cynder. This feature allows players to have the option of completing the game as either Spyro or Cynder, along with giving them the power to switch between Spyro and Cynder, giving them more freedom to explore the world in completely new ways.

Spyro retains his command over Fire, Electricity, Earth, and Ice, while Cynder is given the power to wield Poison, Fear, Wind, and Shadow, abilities that were given to her when she was controlled by the Dark Master. While Spyro is stronger but slower in combat, Cynder is faster but weaker than Spyro. Along with the standard powerups that gems will bring, Spyro and Cynder can both equip pieces of Dragon Armor that they can find within the levels of the game. They also have another feature called melee combos. The more times the player hits the enemy, the more Blue Gems the players will earn.

Blue Gems grant Spyro and Cynder's experience points that allow them to upgrade moves. Along with blue gems, there are also red gems that restore lost health and green gems that give the dragons mana, allowing them to use their elemental attacks. The Fury gems from previous titles have been removed; instead the Fury Meter now goes up depending on the number of times Spyro or Cynder score attacks on enemies. In addition to normal enemies, there are elite enemies, which are enemies that are stronger than normal ones who are powered by the masks they wear that make them invincible to normal attacks. The player must use an element of a designated color that matches that of the mask in order to knock the mask off. Once off, normal attacks and other elemental powers will be allowed.

## Plot

Within the ruins of the Mountain of Malefor, a group of creatures enter the mountain and approach the crystal that contained the frozen forms of Spyro and Cynder after their fight with Gaul. The mysterious creatures proceed to break open the crystal, releasing Spyro and Cynder from their three-year long slumber, and shackle them together with glowing green snakes, whose effects are to keep Spyro and Cynder together at all times. Afterwards, the creatures takes the two unconscious dragons away, leaving behind Sparx, who awakens moments later in the palm of Hunter of Avalar, who had observed the whole scenario unfold from the shadows. Meanwhile, Spyro and Cynder awaken in a dark area within the Catacombs, wondering what has happened to them. Spyro notices that Sparx is not there with them, but has no time to dwell on this as he and Cynder are sent straight into battle. Attached to a peg on the stone platform, they are unable to escape when a massive Golem attacks them. While they are able to lift the peg, they remain tethered together by the snake collars as they fight off the creature. When they are unable to defeat it completely, Hunter rescues them by distracting it with an arrow to its eye.

Spyro, Sparx, and Cynder are reunited, then proceed after Hunter, who introduces himself and reveals that Ignitus had sent him when Spyro did not return to the temple three years ago. They manage to escape the Catacombs, tangling with the Golem and removing its arm in the process. After getting though an area called "Twilight Falls", Hunter reveals to them that the Dark Master had been resurrected, having escaped from the Well of Souls shortly after Spyro's disappearance, and has covered the land in darkness ever since. But before he is able to explain more, Hunter and the others are mysteriously hit by sleep darts, knocking them out. When they awaken, they discover that they have been taken to the Valley of Avalar and held prisoner by Hunter's tribe, whose leader, Prowlus, blames the dragon race for his clan's misfortunes. He soon accuses Hunter for bringing the danger of the outside world with him to the village, but Hunter defends his actions and reminds Prowlus that Malefor alone is responsible and that the dangers were already around them.

The village soon comes under attack by the mysterious creatures from before, now known as Grublins. After defending the cheetah village, news arrived that one of the vllagers, Meadow, went upriver before the attack and hasn't returned. After an argument with Prowlus, Spyro and Cynder volunteer to find Meadow, rescuing him from a troop of Grublins. However, his leg has been broken, and since the dragons returning to the village without Meadow would spell disaster, they are forced to go to an old hermit across the Valley in order to get a key needed to retrieve a raft for a nearby supply cave. When they get there, the Hermit fully gets under Cynder's skin with his words that she hasn't changed since she was under Malefor's control, and that "her eyes give everything away".

Spyro and Cynder leave the Hermit's area after Sparx pickpockets the key they need. They then guide the raft over to Meadow, and escort him back to the village where Prowlus realizes his error. The cheetah leader releases Hunter and allows him to lead Spyro and Cynder to a place called the Forbidden Passage, and from there, to the Dragon City of Warfang, an ancient settlement that the Moles crafted before Malefor caused the Dragons to be feared. When they arrive, the City is under attack, and Hunter is separated from Spyro and Cynder, forcing them to go their separate ways. After putting out a building fire and rescuing a group of Moles, the city comes under a fierce attack. Spyro and Cynder help to defend the City, before the gates are breached by a massive Troll. Once the Troll is defeated, the army of Grublins retreats to allow the Golem from the Catacombs to attack the City, reforming his missing arm from parts of the city in the process. The Guardians, Ignitus, Terrador, Cyril, and Volteer, lead the attack on the Golem, with Cyril and Volteer falling behind to grant Spyro and Cynder time to defeat the creature. After it is finally killed, the Guardians and Spyro, Cynder and Sparx are finally reunited after three long years.

Later that night, the Dark Master Malefor sends them an omnious message. He has revived the Destroyer, an ancient creature that's only purpose is to renew the world by bringing about its destruction. When it completes its circle around the world, known as the Belt of Fire, everything as they know it will end. Unable to catch the creature if they pursue it, Ignitus hatches the plan to go underground in order to intercept the Destroyer before Malefor realizes Warfang is left unguarded. Spyro and Cynder are sent to the Ruins of Warfang to open the exit doors to Warfang from the other side to allow the troops to enter.

After both Spyro and Cynder open the gates to the Underground City, the attack force proceed through it. Ignitus calms Spyro's fears that he will turn out like Malefor, just as they arrive where the Destroyer will finish its circle. Cynder gets the idea to flood the canyon with water from the nearby dam. Climbing to the top, the Dragons destroy the Dam, flooding the canyon and halting the Destroyer's progress. Ignitus leads the attack on the Destroyer as Spyro and Cynder work their way to the heart of the creature, destroying it. But it was a losing battle, as it is able to complete its circle anyway. With no options left to turn to, Ignitus orders the others underground as he escorts Spyro and Cynder through the Belt of Fire into the Burned Lands. But before they can complete the crossing, Ignitus sacrifices himself to get Spyro and Cynder across. In his grief, Spyro nearly loses himself to the darkness he fell into in *The Eternal Night*. Cynder's words bring him back to his senses, and they make their way to the Floating Islands, near where Malefor is waiting for them.

After a few final fights, Spyro and Cynder confront Malefor in his lair. He messes with their heads, first by telling Spyro that the destiny of the Purple Dragons is to destroy the world, then saying that Cynder has led him into a trap the entire time, by luring him to the Well of Souls to free Malefor. Cynder denies it, but her doubts allow Malefor to unlock the darkness within her, bringing her back under his control. She attacks Spyro, only to come to her senses when he refuses to fight back. Angry at the turn of events, Malefor engages them in a fight, and during the battle, the Destroyer completes its journey, initiating the end of the world.

The battle between the two dragons and Malefor carries them to the core of the world, where Spyro and Cynder blast him back with an Aether attack. As Malefor proclaims that they will never defeat him, five spirits surround him and take the evil dragon down into the world crystal. Even though Malefor is finished, the world is still being destroyed. Spyro tells Cynder to flee after Ignitus' spirit grants him hope, but she refuses to leave his side as he prepares to unleash a powerful fury wave, with the last words the player hears from her are "I love you" to Spyro. The world is rebuilt from Spyro's magic, and we last see the remaining Guardians, Hunter, Sparx, and the survivors coming back into the sunlight as stars in the sky form into the form of a dragon, signalling the start of a new age.

After the credits roll, the Chronicler is seen reading the end of Spyro's book. He then speaks to someone, saying that a new age has begun, and each new age has a worthy dragon chosen to write down the many triumphs and failures of that age. His time is over, but the time of the new Chronicler, Ignitus (whose spirit was summoned by the Chronicler) has just begun. Before he takes the Chronicler's place, Ignitus asks what has become of Spyro. The Chronicler responds that he does not know, but shows Ignitus the book that records the dragons that are deceased, and says that he has tried his best, but he was unable to find Spyro among the pages. The Chronicler passes on, and Ignitus becomes the new Chronicler of the new age and begins to look into the book, wondering where Spyro might be. Above the skies of Avalar, we are shown a glimpse of Spyro and Cynder wheeling through the air together.

## Levels

* The Catacombs
* Twilight Falls
* Valley of Avalar
* Dragon City
* Attack of the Golem
* Ruins of Warfang
* The Dam
* The Destroyer
* Burned Lands
* Floating Islands
* Malefor's Lair

## Voice Cast

* Elijah Wood as Spyro
* Christina Ricci as Cynder
* Wayne Brady as Sparx
* Blair Underwood as Hunter
* Mark Hamill as Malefor
* Gary Oldman as Ignitus
* Kevin Michael Richardson as Terrador/Prowlus/the Hermit
* Corey Burton as Volteer/Mason/Additional Voices
* Jeff Bennett as Cyril/Additional Voices
* Martin Jarvis as the Chronicler
* Fred Tatasciore as Meadow
* Chris Wilson as Additional Voices
* Michael Graham as Additional Voices

## Development

After the release of *The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night*, the Sierra Entertainment producers of the *Spyro* series turned to Étranges Libellules for *Dawn of the Dragon* after being impressed by the team's art style and visual quality of the *Arthur and the Invisibles* video game. Sierra knew Étranges Libellules would be a good fit for *Dawn of the Dragon* based on their prior experience with platform adventure games, but at the time, they were waiting for a few decisions to be made regarding *Spyro*, and weren’t really certain when they would be able to release the final chapter of the Legend trilogy. It turned out that the timing was perfect; the call was made for a 2008 next-gen release and they had a team ready to hit the ground running.

During development, Étranges Libellules endured a lot, but they were determined to do whatever they could to make the best game possible. Sierra producer Michael Graham stated that they 'were really fortunate to have Étranges Libellules on board, because their passion and desire to make a great Spyro game was much needed to refuel their efforts.' Despite the dedication, the producers and Étranges Libellules were trying to complete the game in the midst of a company merger between Vivendi Games and Activision, which resulted in a lot of restless nights for the *Spyro* team. A lot of tough decisions were also made. The development team knew that previous *Spyro* games and most other games aimed at younger audiences have a very cartoonish visual style. While that certainly has some appeal, they felt that it didn't necessarily fit the tone of the game they wanted to make. Rather than continuing down that path, they chose to bring players into a rich fantasy world with the terrific detail and vibrant colors to give younger players a new experience.

Étranges Libellules originally planned to have Spyro and Cynder resemble their young forms from *The Eternal Night*, as evident by early concept art found in the game's Scenery and Enemies art galleries. The Sierra producers of the trilogy soon challenged Étranges Libellules to come up with an updated look for Spyro that still felt like the same character. They wanted Spyro to be able to fly, so a broader wingspan was a must, but the real challenge was trying to match the character to the new art style without making it feel like a different character altogether. Sierra producer, Christopher Wilson, stated that they took the opportunity to explore different looks and "ages" for both Spyro and Cynder. "We also had to make some changes to allow for the new gameplay features, such as needing larger wings to work with the flight feature and to allow the characters to block with their wings. The team came up with a variety of concepts and we settled on what you see in DotD. We didn't want to change it too much, but it was a good opportunity to allow the characters to grow up a bit (just like many of the fans were growing up too). It was also a good time to make this change given that it was the 10 year anniversary for the Franchise. Had we made the game with Krome, it's difficult to say what would have happened, but I'm sure there would have still been some changes. Since this was the first time Spyro was on the next-generation consoles, we had to update the model to take advantage of the new technology on the PS3 and Xbox 360."

Lead animator Cédric Lavanche recalled that *Dawn of the Dragon* had a year and a half to finish. He had three months of experience prior to being appointed as the game's lead animator. The game had a few junior members on the team, and animating the dragons with their wings and long tails was a challenge for them. On September 9, 2008, production of *Dawn of the Dragon* was finished.

### DS Version

The Nintendo DS version started production in November 2007.

## Reception

Overall, the game has received generally mixed reviews upon its release, earning an average score of 62% by Metacritic. Matt Casamassina of IGN gave it a 7.3 and said that "There's no "new generation" style hook and the resulting play mechanics therefore don't feel fresh (especially after two prequels), but the fundamentals are sound and the presentation better than you expect". Gamezone gives it an 8.5 praising the outstanding soundtrack and voice acting but criticizing the multi-player aspect calling it "unnecessary and gimmicky" and the graphics stating that the colours are high contrast, high saturation, almost to the point of blinding. Impulse gamer praised the game for paying homage to the series' roots and taking it to the next evolution.

It was a nominee for Best Voice Acting for the Nintendo Wii by IGN in its 2008 video game IGN Wii: Best Voice Acting.

## Gallery

*Main article: The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon/Gallery*
## Trivia

* *The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon* is the only game in *The Legend of Spyro* series to have Finnish, Danish, Swedish and Norweigan voice-dub tracks; it is also the first ever Spyro game to be available with those dub language tracks.
* *Dawn of the Dragon* is the first *Spyro* game to be on the seventh-generation consoles of the Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.
* The game uses a heavy amount of bloom.
* On the Spyro's Lair website for *Dawn of the Dragon*, the game's back game cover, the chapter selection screen and options screen, there are visages of dragon heads that are based on McFarlane's 2007 Series 7 Fire Clan Dragon figure.
* Even though Malefor is the main antagonist of *The Legend of Spyro* trilogy, he makes his only full-fledged appearance in this game.
* The game's powerup menu is very similar to *God of War 2'*s own powerup menu.
* The game is notable by fans for having story plotholes because of the game's rushed production time and abrupt change in art direction, such as the sudden appearance of Cynder's jewelry at the beginning of the game when they were completely absent in *The Eternal Night*, and the teenage appearance of Spyro and Cynder due to the game being developed by a different game developer.
	+ *Dawn of the Dragon* also has several cutscene errors, such as certain characters floating, freezing, and inconsistent character placements.
* Although the game mechanic of Free-Flight lets you fly at anytime, it is exaggerated by fans as being very restrictive, not exactly letting you fly freely as indicated, but instead has a height limit that restricts you to only letting you fly inches or a few feet above the ground. This is because Sierra Entertainment didn't want to turn Spyro into an airplane shooter and the explorations of flight with Étranges Libellules didn't capture the sensation of flying. So they went with the suitable approach of flying through trees rather than flying over them.
	+ The function of the air downdrafts in certain areas also prevents the player from flying up to sections that let you advance further into the level, including high points that contain crystals or armor, forcing the player to climb up cliffs and walls using the Climbing Zones to reach the areas, or fly up to the areas from a higher point before the downdrafts pushes you down.
* In the Nintendo DS version, the story varies differently from the console versions: Spyro and Cynder aren't tethered together by snake collars, Hunter frees them from the time crystal, the Golem fights Spyro and Cynder at the entrance to Dragon City and is defeated, the Destroyer is defeated but Spyro and Cynder still had to confront Malefor, Dark Spyro and Volteer do not appear in the game, and Malefor himself intiated the world's destruction through his power instead of the Destroyer's.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, Sierra Entertainment product page - archived*. *Sierra Entertainment*.
2. ↑ *2008 GameStop listing of 'The Legend of Spyro: Darkest Hour'*. (Date Posted - Feb 27, 2008). *GameStop*.
3. ↑ *SPYRO THE DRAGON® CONTINUES HIS EPIC ADVENTURE THIS FALL IN THE LEGEND OF SPYRO™: DAWN OF THE DRAGON*. (Date Posted - Apr 28, 2008). *Sierra Entertainment*.
4. ↑ *"The end of the “Legend” series left both of them in a place that was open to interpretation. Were they in some sort of dragon heaven?"*. (Date Posted - Jan 12, 2021). *Magic-Crafters - Spyro Fan Forum*.
5. ↑ *'The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon' (ALL) Developer Q&A*. (Date Posted - June 29, 2008). *WorthPlaying*.
6. ↑ *INTERVIEW WITH SPYRO DEVELOPER MICHAEL GRAHAM*. (Date Posted - November 7, 2008). *Hardcore Christian Gamer*.
7. ↑ *THREE SPEECH TOP TRUMPS - SPYRO*. (Date Posted - Jun. 9, 2008). *Three Speech - Semi-Official PlayStation Blog*.
8. ↑ *"Regarding your question, when we began working with the new team at EL, we took the opportunity to explore different looks and "ages" for Spyro and Cynder. We also had to make some changes to allow for the new gameplay features, such as needing larger wings to work with the flight feature and to allow the characters to block with their wings. The team came up with a variety of concepts and we settled on what you see in DotD. We didn't want to change it too much, but it was a good opportunity to allow the characters to grow up a bit (just like many of the fans were growing up too). It was also a good time to make this change given that it was the 10 year anniversarry for the Franchise. Had we made the game with Krome, it's difficult to say what would have happened, but I'm sure there would have still been some changes. Since this was the first time Spyro was on the next-generation consoles, we had to update the model to take advantage of the new technology on the PS3 and Xbox 360."*. Christopher Wilson, Sierra Community Forums, *The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon* Q&A. *Sierra Community Forums (closed down)*.
9. ↑ *Rest In Play: A look back at Etranges Libellules and an interview with its founders Frédérique Blanc, Jean-Christophe Blanc and Frédérique Nazaret*. (Date Posted - Sep. 7, 2022). *Superpouvoir - Univers Geek et Pop Culture*.
10. ↑ *Spyro Update - shipping 10/21/08*. (Date Posted - Sept. 9, 2008). *Sierra Community Forums (closed down)*.
11. ↑ *The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon*. (Date Posted - Jun. 27, 2008). *Australian Gamer*.
12. ↑ *The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon*. *Metacritic*.
13. ↑ *The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon*. (Date Posted - Dec. 5, 2008). *IGN*.
14. ↑ *The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon – 360 – Review*. (Date Posted - May 4, 2012). *GameZone*.
15. ↑ *The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon Review*. (Date Posted - Nov. 3, 2008). *GameSpot*.
16. ↑ *"There is a height limit. We didn't want to turn Spyro into an airplane shooter. On one of our visits to Étranges Libellules earlier in the project, we explored dozens of different games that had flying and all felt that, though many of them allowed the player to fly way up into the air, they fell way short of capturing the sensation of flying. So that became the new approach. We were finding that flying through trees felt better than flying over them. So rest assured that, despite the limitations, it feels amazing. It's truly beautiful."*. *Q&A with Sierra (#2)*, Michael Graham. 2008. *Sierra Community Forums (closed down)*.

## External links

* Official site - archived July 2008; requires Adobe Flash
* A preview for the game

**Bosses**