Line #5 YMMV/TheLegendOfSpyro


1	[[index]]
2	* ''YMMV/TheLegendOfSpyroANewBeginning''
3	* ''YMMV/TheLegendOfSpyroTheEternalNight''
4	* ''YMMV/TheLegendOfSpyroDawnOfTheDragon''
5	[[/index]]
6	----
7	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
8	** Malefor. This guy's been interpreted in practically ''every'' way possible with the fandom, some of which include; him bullshitting through his teeth when he delivers his speech to Spyro [[note]]mainly because he claims to have had control over stuff and manipulated Spyro and Cynder to such a degree that it would make [[Anime/DeathNote Light]] [[GambitRoulette Yagami]] jealous[[/note]], him not actually believing it's the Purple Dragon's fate to destroy the world, and has a different motive for wanting to go through with it, him just being ''batcrap crazy'', him being batcrap crazy because his elders put so much pressure on him to explore his powers as the first Purple Dragon that he finally snapped [[note]]which makes his NotSoDifferentRemark speech to Spyro all the more chilling considering the amount of pressure the Guardians put on Spyro himself[[/note]], and him wanting to destroy the world so he could recreate it [[InTheirOwnImage in his own image]]... And ''that's'' not ''even'' going into some DracoInLeatherPants theories...
9	** Some feel that Spyro and Cynder's relationship isn't based so much on love so much as they view each other as [[LivingEmotionalCrutch living emotional crutches]] thanks to the fact that up until the final battle they don't really show any signs of deeper feelings beyond a possible friendship, with Cynder being quite snappy with Spyro at points throughout ''Dawn of the Dragon''. Factor in all the trauma Cynder has and how Spyro claims that he has nothing left to fight for [[spoiler: when Malefor turns Cynder against him]] despite having Sparx, Terrador, Cyril, Volteer, and several others counting on him...
10	* BaseBreakingCharacter: Cynder, ironically ''because'' of how popular she was with the fandom initially. Even disregarding Classic series fans or [[ShipToShipCombat Shipping Wars]] regarding her and [[VideoGame/SpyroAHerosTail Ember]], her fans tend to grate on people who didn't like her, were originally neutral on her, or even ''liked her originally'' due to them playing up her past to {{Wangst}}y levels, and for the fact that the number of FanWorks focusing on [[PlotTumor Cynder and/or her past]] ''vastly'' out number the amount of FanWorks that focus on any other Spyro series character, including ''Spyro himself'', to the point he ends up being DemotedToExtra frequently. There's also a third camp that insists she has potential as a character as well, if people would just stop focusing on her DarkAndTroubledPast and more on her growth as a character, pointing out how even ''Dawn of the Dragon'' had her as a bit short tempered and snappy with those around her.
11	* BrokenBase:
12	** Fans either thought the dark tone fitted Spyro, or hated it and wanted to go back to the lighthearted days.
13	** Within the ''[=TLoS=]'' fandom, there's whether or not the statements by [[http://that-spyro-guy.deviantart.com/ Jared Pullen, the lead artist of the trilogy]], on [[WhatCouldHaveBeen what they never got to put into the trilogy proper]] should be accepted as hard canon or not, especially after years and years of popular {{Fanon}} concepts being smashed in the process of this. The fact that Jared Pullen more or less said it's up to people whether they want to treat his words as canon or not hasn't helped matter, either.
14	** After game developer Mike Stout revealed that the [[NoBudget games were made on a near shoe-string budget compared to most games at the time]], the {{Celebrity Voice Actor}}s became this over time. A large amount of more game dev savvy fans are quick to point out how ''astronomically'' a waste of the minuscule budget it likely was, with the decision to spend money on that coming off as incredibly tone-deaf towards how game development works, as such resources could have been much better allocated to actively improving the gameplay and environments. Those in defense of the decision, however, say that the {{Celebrity Voice Actor}}s ended up bringing ''much'' more life to the characters and helped give them identities of their own, and cite it as one of the reasons why [[CultClassic the games are still so beloved by its fans]] despite being contentious amongst Classic Spyro fans.
15	* CantUnHearIt: Out of all three of Sparx and Cynder's voice actors, Creator/DavidSpade and Creator/CreeSummer are often considered the most memorable by fans.
16	* CompleteMonster: See [[Monster/SpyroTheDragon here]].
17	* CriticalDissonance: Review scores from critics for the series were middling to bad. However, while it's divisive among classic fans, it has a significant following and a pretty active community.
18	* DancingBear: Probably the main reason it remains so [[CultClassic popular with those outside of the core Classic Spyro games]] is that it's one of the ''very'' rare pieces of HighFantasy media that actively ''stars'' dragons, instead of them being either bestial monsters or [[HorseOfADifferentColor glorified horses]] to the [[MostWritersAreHuman human(oid)]] protagonists. Many people like the take of a fantasy world where dragons are the dominant sentient species, as such premises, while not non-existent, are extremely rare in the sea of [[FollowTheLeader Tolkien-inspired fantasy fiction]].
19	* DiagnosedByTheAudience: It's common to see fans portray both Spyro and Cynder as suffering from PTSD after the events of the trilogy due to everything they went through; with some arguing they already start showing signs of it in ''Dawn of the Dragon''. Some take it either further, by saying they are completely co-dependent on each other in order to function due to being the only positive spot in their darkest times.
20	* DracoInLeatherPants: Malefor could give [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII the trope's poster boy Sephiroth]] a run for his money. There is nothing remotely sympathetic to him, the description of his fall towards evil is absolute NightmareFuel, he is death incarnate that brings destruction and misery to everything he sees and enjoys every second of it.
21	* EpilepticTrees: The song "This Broken Soul" [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080305023321/http://www.spyroworld.net/home/3623 represents]] Spyro's relationship with Ignitus, but some fans commonly use this song for videos on Spyro and Cynder's love for one another.
22	* EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame: What the general consensus of the trilogy seems to have become over time. Most fans will admit that the gameplay (''especially'' that of ''The Eternal Night'') is rather subpar and not up to snuff with action games it tries to ride the coattails of, but the story and characters are [[JustHereForGodzilla what keeps fans coming back]] to these games. The fact that all of the cutscenes have been uploaded to the internet [[https://youtu.be/L6E7xoRMjjc in movie format]] have also allowed for newcomers to fully appreciate the story without needing to play the games themselves.
23	* EnsembleDarkHorse: Pyra, the [[http://dragonoficeandfire.deviantart.com/art/--532115716 dragon seen next to Ignitus in one of the cutscenes in]] ''A New Beginning'', quickly exploded to this status once the lead artist for ''[=LoS=]'' went into [[http://tokowh.deviantart.com/journal/Q-A-with-Jared-Pullen-lead-artist-of-TLoS-556546930 his backstory in a Q.A. session]]. A combination of his backstory being Ignitus' first Battle Squire and being one of the few canon dragons close to Spyro and Cynder's age helps.
24	** [[spoiler: [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Dark Spyro]]]] seems to be this considering he happens to be a regular in Fan Works and [[VideoGame/{{Skylanders}} spinoff]] [[VideoGame/CrashTeamRacingNitroFueled material]].
25	* EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory: There are quite a few theories that Spyro and purple dragons in general are supposed to be [[CrystalDragonJesus Dragon Jesus]].
26	* FandomSpecificPlot:
27	** There's such a specific FandomSpecificPlot that occurs so regularly in the fanfic community that there's even a FanNickname for {{lampshad\|eHanging}}ing it. Called "the Post-''[=DotD=]'' template," it goes a little like this: a new ancient evil emerges, and Spyro, Cynder, and a ''ton'' of [[OriginalCharacter OCs]] (one of them possibly a human-turned-dragon) must stop it. Along the way, they encounter [[Franchise/SpyroTheDragon Flame and Ember]] who somehow managed to survive the temple raid at the start of the first game, and nine times out of ten Ember is given a RonTheDeathEater to make Cynder seem more likable. While all this is going on, Spyro and Cynder are struggling with their [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Super-Powered Evil Sides]] while also trying to admit their feelings for one another despite Cynder already admitting her love for Spyro at the end of ''Dawn of the Dragon'', with some contrived situation (usually caused by [[RonTheDeathEater Ember]]) breaking them up, only to get back together a few chapters later with little to no problem. Also, double points if Malefor shows up and pulls a [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Dr. Wily]] by [[HijackedByGanon hijacking the plot]]. It's impossible to count the number of fics that give Spyro a brother/sister who is ''also'' a purple dragon (despite the fact that only one purple dragon is born every ten generations) on both hands. While some of these kinds of fics ''can'' turn out to be really good if handled with care, in general, the "Post-''[=DotD=]'' template" has become widely hated in the fandom. Yet despite that, it ''still'' refuses to die.
28	** TrappedInTVLand SelfInsert fics have all but taken over the Spyro Platform/FanFictionDotNet archive. Notably, a large number of these involve a character who was in the army/police force/otherwise had special self-defense training getting sucked into the ''Legend of Spyro'' setting, as some form of 'justification' as to why they're able to handle themselves in the world. Commonly, the human protagonist is turned into a dragon in upon arriving in the dragon realms.
29	** Rewriting the ''Legend of Spyro'' storyline with a different character taking Spyro's place as the hero is also very common, be it an OriginalCharacter or a different canon character, with Cynder being a frequent choice.
30	** An OC dragon is of a special or unique kind of dragon born with incredible powers of some kind that is born only once every so many years or so and must fulfill a prophecy of some sort in order to and go on an epic quest to save the world from a powerful threat. Essentially, copying Spyro's archetype of being a rare breed of powerful dragon born once every few generations, destined to save the world. Sometimes said OC is actually the son or daughter of Spyro and Cynder, coincidently being born to parents who already were special kinds of dragons.
31	** Bizarrely, plots that mix the above premises have been done so many times that mixing the above tropes has become a plot in itself. Sometimes a TrappedInTvLand fic has the human transferred to the Legend of Spyro world in order to combat a new ancient evil. Alternatively it's because of some important prophecy and the OC protagonist is a chosen one or a special hero of some kind, akin to what Spyro is. Then the story often plays out akin to how the "Post DoTD Template" does. Bonus points if they are turned into a dragon upon arrival in dragon realm world. The list of mixtures of the above plots could go on for a while.
32	* FoeYayShipping: Be honest. How many were shipping Spyro/Cynder even before she made her HeelFaceTurn?
33	* FridgeLogic: [[http://shalonesk.deviantart.com/art/The-Legend-of-Spyro-DotD-is-151153490 This fanart]] sums up a few of ''Dawn of the Dragon''[='s=] problems quite nicely.
34	** Invisible Walls, of course, are a [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality limitation of gameplay, draw distance and what have you]], and the whole "[[OffscreenTeleportation teleportation trick]]" is just a glitch, but the rest of it can be chalked up to pure Fridge Logic.
35	* HypeBacklash: If you listen to only the fans who adore the trilogy to pieces, you'll probably be disappointed. On the other hand, if you listen to only the haters, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised. So both this trope and CriticalBacklash can be seen.
36	* MemeticMutation:
37	** Pyra is now canon / Pyra > [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Derpy]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]After the lead artist of ''[=LoS=]'' went into [[http://dragonoficeandfire.deviantart.com/art/--532115716 how the young dragon next to Ignitus in one of the cutscenes]] was intended to be a side character in the series, his back story and being one of the few dragons relatively close to Spyro and Cynder's age immediately made him explode in popularity with the fandom, despite never appearing in the trilogy proper. This also drew something of a comparison to the EnsembleDarkhorse character of Derpy Hooves from ''My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic''.[[/labelnote]]
38	** Spyro stahp [[labelnote:Explanation]]Cynder's [[DullSurprise halfhearted]] attempt to break Spyro out of his dark form. The line is now commonly used in the fandom as a way to sarcastically tell people to stop.[[/labelnote]]
39	** Calling/renaming Volteer "the Amazing el-Zappo", based on an off-handed comment about [[WordOfGod Jared Pullen's]] opinions of Volteer's canon name.
40	* {{Misblamed}}: Most of Cynder's detractors often point towards her {{Wangst}}iness about her past as a major reason for disliking her. In actuality, though, Cynder doesn't do too much angsting about her past in the games proper. The only times she does angst about it are when she leaves the temple in ''The Eternal Night'' and a few times when characters bring it up against her in ''Dawn of the Dragon''. Her {{Wangst}}y image actually comes from a lot of low-quality {{Fan Works}}, which tend to play up her past to the point where [[PlotTumor it's almost her]] [[{{Flanderization}} only character trait]]. [[note]]Despite the fact that ''Dawn of the Dragon'' shows she has quite the temper around others, even Spyro.[[/note]]
41	* MoralEventHorizon:
42	** If waging war on countless innocents didn't make Malefor an irredeemable bastard, [[spoiler: unleashing [[DestroyerDeity The Destroyer]] to annihilate the planet]] definitely did.
43	** Gaul crossed it by laying siege to the dragon temple and [[WouldHurtAChild committing mass infanticide by destroying all of the unhatched eggs there.]]
44	* PopularWithFurries: ''The Legend of Spyro'' is more popular with scalies than the Classic series -- even after [[VideoGame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy being remade]] -- or ''Skylanders'', with the more common reasons being its more realistic-looking dragons and focus on story. Cynder herself is easily the most popular out of all the characters in the reboot trilogy.
45	* ScrappyMechanic: Let's just say that thanks to the block/evade system, some people with the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} version of ''[=DoTD=]'' demand to know why support for the classic controller wasn't implemented. To elaborate: in order to block you have to hold the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} nunchuk vertical, and dodging requires you to point the analog stick in any direction and flicking the nunchuk in the direction you want to dodge. As you may expect with orientation-based controls, it has a habit of [[FakeDifficulty activating at the worst times, or failing to do so when it's needed.]] And the fighting system relies heavily on effective use of this mechanic...the classic controller has the same amount of buttons in the same orientation as the [=PS3=] controller.
46	* StrangledByTheRedString: Even though it's a large portion of the fanbase's OneTruePairing, and many are vicious about those who criticize it... Spyro and Cynder's relationship has little in-game development. Over the course of the series, they didn't show any interest in each other outside of a friendship, and Cynder was quite snappy with Spyro throughout ''[=DotD=]''. As such, [[spoiler:ThePowerOfLove rescuing Cynder after she fell under Malefor's control again in that game]] [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment may have come completely out of the left field for some]], to the point it borders on {{narm}} for both hardcore fans and people who like the pairing. [[WordOfGod According to Jared Pullen, the lead artist of the trilogy]], this was because [[http://dragonoficeandfire.deviantart.com/journal/Q-A-with-Jared-Pullen-lead-concept-artist-of-TLoS-556546930 Spyro and Cynder]] ''weren't'' intended to get together originally. However, the [[OneTruePairing very vocal]] fans on that subject eventually made them decide to ThrowItIn late in development, which explains why it feels so sudden in-game. Unfortunately, this has led to some seeing the relationship in a rather unflattering light...
47	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
48	** Dark Spyro. Despite being Spyro's SuperPoweredEvilSide, he barely, if at all, affects the plot. The only noticeable thing he does is kill Gaul and that's it -- his only other appearance, in ''Dawn of the Dragon'', lasts only a few seconds, is quickly dealt with, and has no impact on the story afterwards.
49	** Evil!Cynder. More than a few found her overall more interesting and enjoyable than non-corrupted Cynder, with a few wishing she had remained a villain for the entire trilogy rather than pulling a HeelFaceTurn after it was revealed she was BrainWashedAndCrazy.
50	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
51	** Even fans of the sub-series are willing to admit that the plot to the sub-series can be... [[PlotHole patchy]] at best. As [[WordOfGod Mike]] revealed, the games were made on what was essentially a [[NoBudget shoe-string budget]] in video game development terms. The plans for the series were [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/SpyroTheDragon much more grandious]] in development, but a lot of things had to be knuckled under or go unexplained because of the budget. That said, fans still like the themes enough to still consider it having potential; not to mention there's scant amount of fantasy media that actually ''stars'' dragons as opposed to them at best [[MostWritersAreHuman playing second fiddle to a human protagonist]].
52	** Really, the idea of Spyro having to take on a genuinely competent and legitimately threatening villain would be a rather nice change of pace compared to the mostly [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain ineffectual Gnasty or Ripto]]. However, since the Spyro of these games [[InNameOnly really has a bare passing glance resemblance to his Classic counterpart in terms of personality]], we don't really get to see how he would have reacted to such a scenario.
53	* VindicatedByHistory: Granted, there's still quite a bit of a BrokenBase when it comes to this and the Classic series, but in general, a lot of the debate and arguments over this series have died down since ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'' became a thing, with even quite a few Classic only fans willing to admit this trilogy is at least better than it, if only because it actually stars Spyro instead of him being a side character in his own series (outside of [[WesternAnimation/SkylandersAcademy the animated spinoff]]).
54	* TheWoobie: Both Spyro and Cynder, although Cynder arguably has it worse than Spyro. Spyro no doubt suffers greatly throughout everything and ultimately is pushed across the DespairEventHorizon by Malefor, but Cynder's life in general has been one long living nightmare. She was BrainwashedAndCrazy for most of her life into doing unspeakable things to her own kind and when she's finally free, she remembers every horrible thing she did during that time and feels guilty about it all (and she's a 12 year old kid at this point!) to the point she runs away from her friends and home because she can't stand it anymore. Not to mention Sparx being a pretty big {{Jerkass}} to her. And in the third game people repeatedly continue to blame her for what she did under Malefor's control, including the Hermit scene which seems to exist only to show the fate of the Apes and make Cynder suffer. Finally, she ends up getting sent over the DespairEventHorizon by Malefor as well and [[spoiler: gets BrainwashedAndCrazy all over again, forcing her to attack her own love interest!]] At least Spyro had a loving adopted family to help him through it all!

Context YMMV / TheLegendOfSpyro