Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2817 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Sierra
• Released on: 2005-10-28
• Rating: To Be Announced
• ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
• Platform: Nintendo DS
• Original language: German

Manufacturer's Description
Spyro Shadow Legacy introduces role playing elements to the Dragon Realms, offering Spyro fans an "RPG light" experience with all new gameplay features. By fighting and defeating creatures in the game, players will earn experience points that improve Spyro's strength and abilities. This RPG element will allow players to use their experience to build Spyro's new magical powers and martial arts combat abilities as the game progresses.

Spyro Shadow Legacy for Nintendo DS leverages all of the technical innovations of the Nintendo DS, including dual screen, touch screen, wireless capabilities and 3D graphics. With touch screen controls, players can draw symbols to cast spells or use the second screen as an overhead map. Players can utilize the Nintendo DS wireless capabilities to trade collectible creatures with other players nearby

Customer Reviews

Ehh...I'm sort of on the fence with this one.
So here's the thing: this isn't actually a bad game. It's just...well, not really Spyro-ish. I bought this in the sales after several years of playing the original Spyro 1 and 2 (on PS1) and the Season of Ice / Flame / Adventure series (on GBA), and was hoping that I'd get something similar to these, but upgraded for the DS. That's not what you get here. This is different in every way from any of the other Spyro games I've played. The view is different, the characters are drawn differently, the collecting aspect of the previous games is gone (no orbs / fairies / dragons / fireflies / gems to collect in this one), and it doesn't even have proper levels. In short, there are virtually no similarities to the previous games. It makes me wonder why they made this a Spyro game at all, instead of coming up with a different character.

If you take it for what it is, without expectation, it's not bad. The story's kind of cute, and I liked rescuing all the trapped characters and then completing tasks for them. And I also found it quite interesting the way they introduced the levelling-up process, with all the different skills to choose from.

My biggest criticism about the game would be that it feels unfinished. Some of the basic things, like the relics that you collect (those are the little wavy round things at the bottom of your inventory screen, btw) weren't explained at all and I actually didn't even realise I HAD them until I checked out a walkthrough online, let alone what they were for. A lot of terms were used and not explained (like "melee damage", for instance) that made me think, what the heck does that mean? - which made the crystals you collect pretty useless. Things in your inventory - relics, crystals etc - appear and disappear with no explanation of where they went to. And there were several areas - mostly those little caves in the ground - that I went into, only to find that there's actually nothing there, which makes me wonder why they were put in the game at all. (I can only assume that they were supposed to have a purpose, and they forgot to take them out.) When I defeated the Sorcerer, there was nothing to say, "OK, you completed the game," (no end scene or anything) and I walked around for the next half hour wondering what I was supposed to do next, until I realised, oh, maybe it's over.

Overall, the game feels like they did a rush job at the end and basically forgot to finish it. I used to date a guy who worked for a game design company, and he'd give me prototype games to test, and this is what Shadow Legacy feels like to me: a game that's just about done, but hasn't got the final touches put on yet. This doesn't make it bad; it was quite entertaining and didn't send me to sleep or anything, but I can't help but feel a little bit cheated.

lots of fun! (really!)
after reading reviews of this game on other sites i didn't know what to expect of this game, but i bought it anyway, since i'm a huge spyro fan and buy all the games, but i personally found this game quite fun to play. it's a direct sequel to "a hero's tail", and its the end of the tourist season in the dragon realms and spyro must start training with the elders to learn magic, but a dark spell is cast, pushing everyone into the shadow realm.
in this game you can warp betwwen the material world and the shadow world and learn new lots of new spells and combo moves (though admittedly you probably won't bother using all of them) to rescue everyone. the touch screen is used for the inventory and for casting spells, so you'll be using it often.
this game does have a couple of glitches, but nothing too serious, and the game overall in my opinion is a satisfying length. i recommend it to any spyro fan who has a DS.

Technical glitches were my only issue
I was slightly apprehensive about buying this game, but at first i was glad I did. Despite how different it was to the spyro I remember from the playstation games, I found the game very addictive, much more so than 'new beginning.' Training with the elders to learn new spells/moves is a nice idea, although the constant battles can get a bit tiresome. The main problem I had with the game however, was the constant technical glitches. At one point in the game, just trying to get through a door, I found myself stuck with the game not responding. After reading a few cheats online, I found this to be a common problem, one that could be resolved by perservering until the game responded. I got bored however, after a while, as I found I could not progress further in the game. Haven't picked the game up since, which is a shame, because until that point, I did enjoy the gameplay.