YMMV / The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon

• Ass Pull:
  • Cynder being rescued from Malefor's control again by The Power of Love can come off as this since there's absolutely nothing beforehand to imply that she and Spyro have deeper feelings for one another outside of a possible friendship.
  • The Chronicler suddenly appears and basically 'reactivates' Spyro and Cynder's powers after they awaken. If he could do so earlier, and so easily, why did he not just do it before? At least in The Eternal Night, Spyro had to go through trials and dreams to recover his, but Cynder meanwhile got none of that.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: Spyro turns into Dark Spyro due to his grief and anger over Ignitus' death. However, Cynder easily talks him out of it and Spyro never goes dark again.
• Complete Monster: The Golem is an ancient creature from deep underground whose malice and intelligence averts it being a mindless destructive beast. Summoned by Malefor to kill Spyro and Cynder, the Golem is relentless with its pursuit, attempting to either crush the duo or devour them alive. Escaping to the surface, the Golem attacks the city of Warfang, laying waste to it with the intent of leaving the whole city in a pile of flaming ruins and its inhabitants dead.
• Contested Sequel: Opinions on the game vary within the fanbase. Many people regard it as the best game in the series due to the improved combat and level design, its gorgeous graphics, and Cynder finally being playable; others hate it due to its inconsistent story, completely different art style, and janky mechanics due to being Christmas Rushed.
• Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory: Some view the ending as Spyro and Cynder dying while restoring the world. However, despite this, they're finally able to have a peaceful rest in the afterlife after everything they've been through.
• Fridge Brilliance: Malefor's army giving up the siege on Warfang seems a bit sudden after the Golem he sends out is defeated, but given that we later see how much he enjoys messing with others, he probably called the siege off before summoning the Destroyer was probably to make his enemies think they were winning before he showed them that the outcome of the siege made no difference.
• Game-Breaker:
  • Cynder's Shadow element has a basic attack that uses almost no mana, is inordinately powerful, can hit every enemy in a fairly wide radius around her, and knocks smaller enemies into the air for several seconds, after which they spend several seconds getting back up. On top of everything else, the shadow "blinds" them and makes them start attacking each other. If one uses this ability right, you can get a whole room full of enemies all attacking each other without you ever entering the fray.
  • To a lesser extent, her other element, Fear, is also this. Not only does it have homing which means you don't even really have to aim, it also paralyzes enemies for several seconds allowing you more than enough time to inflict heavy damage on them, if not outright take them out.
  • The Roll ability's intended purpose is to quickly dodge powerful attacks, but you are invincible whenever you use it, to the point where a Golem can smash its building-sized hand down on you, and if you roll you take zero damage. Using it in conjunction with Cynder's shadow abilities can potentially get you through the entire game without ever dying, or indeed without any kind of a challenge.
• Narm: Spyro's Despair Event Horizon lasts for a whole thirty seconds.

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