P-Vock's Music Box: Dragon My Feet

Hello and welcome back to P-Vock's Music Box. My friends, there are some franchises in media that I would consider quintessential. You can't be a film buff and not see Star Wars. You can't be a fantasy freak without heading to Middle Earth. Joining these is a little purple dragon. You can't be into platformers, the PlayStation, or games from the late 90s and early 00s without touching on the little purple dragon.

So, how's about we head into the mystical and charming world of Spyro the Damn Dragon?

I don't even need to give the series much of a preamble to set it up. I think everything you need to know is in this music. Stewart Copeland (yes, the very same legend from The Police) was using that good stuff when he came up with this. The track is equal parts adventurous, bouncy, and whimsical,. It is absolutely preem for a franchise about a sassy dragon who uses his flame breath to bully sheep, torture evil people, and fuck with capitalists (as anyone with flame breath should).

Already, let's weave some dreams and carry on.

One of the coolest bits of history about this series is that Copeland played through each level himself before composing the music. This isn't really feasible with modern games that have lofty budgets and many many things being created in tandem with one another, but it really lets the music in this series stand out and really feel organic. For a place called "Dream Weaver's Home", this music feels absolutely dreamy. It maintains that same mix that the title theme, and whole series, has while standing out. It's that funky bass and them sexy strings. Makes me really wanna just croon, until those bombastic drums come and SLAP you out of that transient state because we got stuff to do and places to be.

I think this juxtaposition allows Spyro to be just as fun and frantic as something like the Ratchet and Clank games while being less intimidating or stressful than something like Crash Bandicoot. A perfect mix that few soundtracks can achieve.

Alright, I'm about ready to go, but I got one more treat.

These games recently got remade and while the whole OSTs weren't redone, we were blessed enough to have Copeland come back and redo the title theme that manages to capture the same vibes as the original while still standing out.

Spyro is definitely not my favourite series. It's not even my favourite platformer series that started on the PS1 (all hail Ape Escape), but it has wormed its way into my mind recently as a charming and bombastic series bursting with heart that I think anyone can enjoy. The welcoming music that motivates the player to get going while still being friendly is a huge factor as to why.

Anyway.

I truly hope your weekend is as incredible and unforgettable as this music, bless Stewart Copeland, and be sure to do Spyro proud this weekend by setting your nearest rich person on fire.

Thank you once again for checking out my nonsense and I'll hopefully catch ya back here next time with another suggestion from my Music Box.

Stay Brutal!