The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night

The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night

Company type	Video game
Industry	Video games
Founded	2007
Products	Video game for PlayStation 2, Wii, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, mobile devices
Parent	Vivendi Games (publisher)

The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night is an action-adventure title released in 2007, developed by Krome Studios and published by Vivendi Games for the PlayStation 2 and Wii platforms. Identically named versions were also created by separate developers for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and mobile devices. Serving as the second chapter in the The Legend of Spyro trilogy, this series reboot reimagines the Spyro franchise with a strong fantasy narrative. Following the events of The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning (2006), the storyline follows Spyro’s mission to stop the revival of the dragon known as the Dark Master before an ominous lunar event, the Night of Eternal Darkness, occurs.

The gameplay involves navigating through predominantly linear stages where players confront various enemies and bosses, placing a greater emphasis on exploration and puzzle-solving than in the previous installment. New combat mechanics were incorporated to enhance variety in encounters.

Upon its launch, The Eternal Night garnered mixed critical responses. The trilogy was ultimately concluded with Dawn of the Dragon in 2008.

Gameplay

Building upon its predecessor’s foundation, gameplay involves Spyro advancing through linear levels to defeat bosses using a range of combat abilities. This edition places stronger focus on puzzle elements and exploration.

During Dream sequences, Spyro acquires elemental breath attacks—fire, ice, electricity, and earth—from the Chronicler, which are utilized in battles. Additionally, he can activate powerful elemental fury attacks. Unlocking these powers requires gathering purple gems scattered throughout levels.

A unique ability called "dragon time," also taught by the Chronicler, enables Spyro to slow down time, facilitating traversal over fast-moving platforms and improving combat effectiveness against adversaries.

Each level contains forty collectible quills; collecting them rewards players with five pieces of concept artwork.

Setting

The Eternal Night picks up after the defeat of Cynder in A New Beginning. The new threat arises in the form of Gaul the Ape King, who aims to resurrect the Dark Master during the Night of Eternal Darkness.

Plot

Spyro chases Cynder through a swamp near the Dragon Temple. After Cynder leaves to discover her own path, apes attack the temple. Ignitus—the dragon leader and master of fire—dispatches Spyro to locate a tree seen in visions while rallying allies against the ape threat. Simultaneously, Spyro seeks out the Chronicler, who appears within these visions.

Upon locating the tree—which transforms into a monstrous entity called Arborick—Spyro defeats it but is subsequently captured by pirates and forced into gladiatorial battles. After overcoming several opponents, including Cynder who is also imprisoned, an ape assault disrupts their ship; Cynder is taken captive once more.

Following his escape and victory over pirate captain Skabb, Spyro discovers that apes have established a stronghold at Malefor’s Mountain (the Well of Souls) with plans to revive the Dark Master through a lunar alignment. Cynder is held there with intentions to convert her loyalty.

The Chronicler reveals that the Dark Master was originally the first purple dragon endowed with immense elemental powers before being sealed away for threatening all dragons. Though advised to hide, Spyro opts to mount a rescue mission for Cynder.

At Malefor’s Mountain, Gaul commands Cynder to attack Spyro; she resists but is rendered unconscious. Gaul then confronts Spyro during the lunar event that corrupts him with dark energy. Harnessing this power, Spyro defeats Gaul but endangers himself as the mountain begins to collapse.

Cynder restores Spyro from his corrupted state; recalling guidance from the Chronicler, Spyro encases himself along with Cynder and Sparx in crystal for protection. These events set up continuation in Dawn of the Dragon.

Reception

Critical response to the game varied significantly across different platforms. The Game Boy Advance edition, in particular, was met with generally positive feedback, as indicated by the review compilation site Metacritic. Conversely, the versions released for DS, PS2, Wii, and mobile devices garnered more moderate to lower ratings, demonstrating a diverse range of critical opinions.