(edit: welcome to the site, btw!)

out of curiosity, why DOTD? i know ETD was loaded with bugs, but i'm kind of wondering about DOTD.

It's obvious: awkwardly executed dialogue, emotionless gestures, limited flying (you're forced to do platforming in certain sections, and they promised free "anytime flight"), some problematic combat, slightly repetitive combat, brash camera angles (they would confuse some players).

I mean, I liked the idea of the whole heavy/light elemental attacks thing, but they should have done a button-combo system (L1 + square for heavy, L1 + circle for light) rather than a pressure-sensitive system.

On the subject of how everything breaks down, Spyro is often slaughtering several dozens of apes in each fight, almost simultaneously.  I know Cynder had some effect on the end result of the conflict, but if a 12 year old dragon can beat half their army into the dirt, and often without even needing his elemental attacks, why did the war referenced in Ignitus's narration end the way it did?  If anything, Spyro shouldn't have been able to psychologically recover from fighting as much as he did in the manner presented. The elevated level of depth in the story doesn't allow for it. ANB provides quite a bit of nightmare fuel for the young dragon to shake to on its very own.

Looking at that, and maintaining the story structure with a few alterations, Spyro should primarily have been only fighting as a last resort- he's outnumbered and outgunned. For a decent example of that kind of gameplay, think some of the earlier Metal Gear games. You're not going to survive a prolonged conflict, so your only recourse is to hide. Given the primary setup and focus of the story though, this should be blended with a few bits of rest to allow for enjoyment of the environment. Make combat punishing, and extremely difficult, but not outright impossible. Also, very little of the characterization occurred during gameplay itself. Given the manner of medium used to present the story, start to present some small bits of how Spyro works in the way he interacts with the world.  Maybe he sees it as more of a grand puzzle, calculating and predicting the motions of his enemy so as to allow for critical maneuvers- presented by a system capitalizing on timed attacks being primarily more effective than random, brute force strikes- Dark Souls style attack interrupts or even general combat ethos- puzzle based systems or riddles out of combat, or even some extreme platforming Portal style.  Maybe he's better at maneuvering midair than on the ground- or just better at maneuvering in general- in game, that translates to large strung combos where you stay out of the enemy's way by quickly dodging strikes made against you while simultaneously jumping over to his back to continue your assault while you're fighting. When you're not in combat, you try to take advantage of the environment as a platformer in the vein of the original spyro games or even, should you get carried away, some inspiration from the mobility options in Mirror's Edge.

Either way, the solution appears to me to be to use a deeper story- which makes the game that much more meaningful to us- and combine it with well thought out gameplay.  The world of the game and the narrative are not two different places, something most games seem to forget. With this in mind, you need to redevelop how everyone interacts with each other. Cynder, for example, starts out as a villain.  Look at how that effects her. Does she feel remorse, or is she disconnected from the experience- referencing the phrase "An action done by me against my will is not my action". Her skillset should indicate this military experience she appears to have possessed, and her interactions with both the world and it's inhabitants needs to reflect her worldview. Does she strike hard and fast- going for pragmatic quick finishes using all resources at her disposal, or does she engage in a more sadistic or careful style of combat- seeking full retribution from her targets or even just trying to keep the blades away from her scales.  Spyro, on another hand, is too goody two shoes to really work out without some depth.  How does he interact with the world? Does his combat differ from how he begins his journey to it's end? If so, how and why does it change. It needs to have some form of meaning- the more desperate and pragmatic his moveset, the more apparent his stress or experience, even, becomes.  Why does he act the hero in all of this- what really drives him? Does he really want to do good just to help others, or does he have a more personal stake in the matter.  Most depictions show him as primarily benevolent, with a few things which seriously irk him. In the extremely simplified matter of the last couple of sentences, how is he supposed to be characterized- noble paladin or morally ambiguous vigilante?

Overall, the earlier suggestion of Dark Souls' style of combat/exploration seems to work best in my mind, mixed in with stealth and nodding back to the original games with a healthy dose of platforming appears to be a decent gameplay angle. You should only focus on the story once you have a solid idea of what mechanics you're using, and then, you let the mechanics and the ingame work do the majority of the storytelling. Don't tell your players how the world got to where it is outright, allow them to experience it for themselves.

Note: This was a semirushed post, with several ideas represented but probably not quite as polished or explained as I'd like. I'll edit what needs to be edited if people begin pointing out flaws in my presentation.

http://www.spyroforum.com/viewtopic.php … 92#p404792

(edit: welcome to the site, btw!)

out of curiosity, why DOTD? i know ETD was loaded with bugs, but i'm kind of wondering about DOTD.

(Thanks. ^.^)
The reason I would have DotD redone is because of all the plot holes. Not much more I can say on that, really...XP

out of curiosity, why DOTD? i know ETD was loaded with bugs, but i'm kind of wondering about DOTD.

[...]One thing from the LoS trilogy I would keep though is the health bar. Three hits is rarely enough for modern gaming.

Well, I like me some challenge, It makes you play more carefully and it also makes it a lot more satisfying to finally manage a challenging glide and tocollect extra lifes. 

Challenge is also something, that I wish for in a new 'classic' style Spyro game. There are rarely any challenging Platformers out there these day.

i would continue to make new original Spyro games, in the same exact style as they were made on the PS1. i'd make sure to throw in extra goodies for glitchers.**

i would make Spyro merchandise that is not only cool, but is available in MORE than 5 copies that are all in Japan.

i'd try to get the rest of the soundtracks legally released. come on, this is good music, people.

i'd have Spyro 4 (ETD) redone, and finished like the developers wanted it to be.

*

**