Spyro 2: Season of Flame

Spyro 2: Season of Flame is a platform game developed by Digital Eclipse and published by Universal Interactive for the Game Boy Advance. It was released in 2002 in North America and in the PAL regions.

Spyro 2: Season of Flame is the fifth installment in the Spyro video game series and is a sequel to Spyro: Season of Ice. The game's story centers on the abduction of the Dragon Realm's fireflies at the hands of the Rhynocs, causing the dragons to lose their ability to breathe fire. The protagonist of the story, Spyro the Dragon, must recover the fireflies and uncover the culprit behind the firefly theft. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics, many of whom considered the game to be superior to Spyro: Season of Ice, though the game was criticized for its "tricky" controls.

Gameplay
The player controls Spyro the Dragon, who must travel through the Dragon Realms and recover the stolen fireflies. Fireflies can be found in many places, either scurrying around in wide-open spaces or hidden behind obstacles. Fireflies can sometimes be received as rewards for performing tasks for the citizens of the Dragon Realms. Once found, the fireflies can be frozen in place by Spyro's ice breath, allowing Spyro to collect them.

In the Dragon Realms, Spyro can access various other levels by walking through Portals. Entering a Portal will transport Spyro to a world where he will meet creatures that are troubled by the invading Rhynocs. When Spyro helps these creatures, a Portal that leads out of that world will appear, allowing Spyro to return to the Dragon Realms. Some Portals can only be accessed after a certain number of fireflies have been rescued.

At the beginning of the game, Spyro has the ability to breathe freezing cold air to freeze enemies and fireflies, charge to penetrate armoured enemies and containers, glide through the air and hover at the end of his flight to gain more hang time. By rescuing a certain number of fireflies, Spyro can regain the ability to breathe fire, and may still use his ice breath thanks to the select button. Spyro can later gain the ability to headbutt and break rock formations and barriers. During the game, Spyro can also use special gates to temporarily increase the range of his fire breath, increase the potency of his ice breath or gain the ability to breathe electricity to recharge electric generators.

The main collectible item is gems, which are scattered everywhere throughout the game. Some gems are hidden in baskets and vases. To obtain these gems, Spyro must use his flame or charge to break open the containers. Gems are used to buy the various services of the character Moneybags.

Sparx, the dragonfly that follows Spyro, acts as Spyro's health meter. Spyro begins the game with four hit points and four lives. Spyro can be harmed four times before he loses a life. Each time Spyro loses a hit point, Sparx changes color accordingly. When Spyro loses three of his four hit points, Sparx disappears. Spyro can restore hit points by feeding Sparx butterflies, which can be obtained by killing small animals such as rabbits and sheep. Occasionally, a special butterfly can be found that can give Spyro an extra life. Sparx can also give advice on how to accomplish particular challenges and hints on how to perform certain tasks. The ability to receive advice from Sparx can be toggled on and off from the pause menu.

During certain parts of the game, the player's control will switch to either Agent 9 the Monkey or Sheila the Kangaroo. Agent 9 is speedier and more agile than Spyro and is equipped with a laser gun with limited ammunition. Special rooms in which Agent 9 can restock on ammunition can be found throughout the levels in which he is controlled. Sheila can jump higher than Spyro and is equipped with a powerful kick to fend off enemies. When all of the gems and fireflies in the game are collected, a minigame in which Sparx is the player character is made accessible.