The Spyro the Dragon video game series is primarily made up of 3D platformers that allow players to control a young purple dragon to explore fantasy worlds to save fellow dragons, collect treasures, and defeat evildoers. It differs from other platforming collect-athons due to Spyro walking on four legs, his ability to glide, his various fire breaths, his ramming ability, and more. Spyro has easily become one of the most beloved gaming mascots of all time.

However, fans often overlook a few games in the franchise known as The Legend of Spyro trilogy. This is likely because they exist within their own canon and play very differently than the rest of the Spyro the Dragon library. This trilogy may be vastly different from what fans grew to love about Spyro, but they’re still great games.

The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night, and The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon served as a reboot of the franchise that told a different story with different takes on the characters. This is not something fans wanted at all. That doesn’t make them bad by any means. In fact, they’re all actually a lot of fun.

The three Legend of Spyro games are more focused on combat than platforming. The player used combos, as well as abilities that could be leveled up over time, to take down hordes of enemies. These games were also much more linear than previous games in the franchise. Instead of choosing which levels to explore in any order for a given world, the gameplay of The Legend of Spyro took the player through levels in a single order that benefited the story. This version was essentially if Spyro was the protagonist of God of War.

The games certainly feel a lot different than any other Spyro game, but they play extremely well. Each attack and combo feels satisfying and the controls feel fluid. The skill tree allows players to choose which elemental abilities they want to focus on more. It all allows for a unique experience in this world that gamers love.

Instead of the story focusing on Spyro collecting magical items (like crystalized dragons and dragon eggs) and inevitably defeating a new cartoony villain, The Legend of Spyro trilogy is a three-part Lord of the Rings style epic. Spyro, being the first purple dragon to be born in centuries, is considered the chosen one to stop the Dark Master from destroying the world and reshaping it as his own. The tone of this story is much darker and more serious than the version most fans are familiar with.

A lot of the worlds and characters that fans may know aren’t in The Legend of Spyro. Hunter and Sparx are in it, but are very different. With the story and characters being so different, this could have been a series of original games instead of falling under the Spyro IP. That being said, this new tale is phenomenal. It’s dramatic, exciting, and filled with surprises. It’s hard not to care about the characters every step of the way. The ending is one of the most bittersweet finales ever for a video game story.

It’s also hard to discuss The Legend of Spyro trilogy without mentioning the voice cast. Of course it’s a different cast from who played the characters before, but with the likes of Elijah Wood, Gary Oldman, Wayne Brady, David Spade, Mark Hamill, Christina Ricci, and more, it’s impossible to say it’s bad. It’s an especially fantastic cast that just happens to be different. In that way, the cast perfectly reflects how the games are. Different, but fantastic.

If you’re a diehard fan of the beloved purple dragon, but somehow missed out on The Legend of Spyro, give it a shot. If you haven’t touched any of the Spyro games before, these ones being in their own bubble of a contained story make them easily approachable. They’re fun, action-packed games with an incredible and emotional story.