A Popular Gaming Mascot Could Return In 2018

[thunderball]

The remake train looks to keep rolling full steam ahead into 2018, with another beloved mascot from yesteryear rumored to be making a triumphant return. Despite the ongoing Lunar New Year event in Overwatch, it looks like Spyro might turn this into the year of the dragon.

According to a collection of sources reporting to Kotaku, a remaster of the original Spyro games could be heading to the PlayStation 4 later this year. Considering where this information is coming from, though, we're chalking it up as a rumor until we hear something official from a publisher or developer.

 

Based on the reports, a Spyro the Dragon Trilogy Remaster is set to arrive later this year. Apparently the plan is to officially announce the game this March, with a launch slated for Q3 2018. Getting more specific, a source has narrowed the launch window to September of this year, which would line up nicely with the 20th anniversary of the Spyro series. When it arrives, the remaster is said to include brand new assets, lighting, cinematics and a retooled soundtrack, basically making for three new versions of the PlayStation classic trilogy built from the ground up. There will also be a new save system rather than relying on codes to jump to your desired level.

If you're getting flashbacks to last year's Crash Bandicoot remaster collection, there's a good reason for it. Based on the reports, the game is being developed by the same team at Vicarious Visions, with Activision publishing. Also similar to the Crash collection, the Spyro trilogy is said to offer content that was cut from the original games.

There have been quite a few Spyro games over the years, especially if you count the more recent and massively popular Skylanders series. This trilogy, though, will be all about the original games, including Spyro the Dragon, Ripto's Rage and Year of the Dragon. All three of those games are available as PSOne Classics on the PlayStation Network but, otherwise, they're pretty difficult to find and play with ease. These remasters would fix that issue, on top of making them more playable by modern standards.

Rumor has it that the trilogy would be exclusive to the PlayStation 4 for a year before moving to other platforms. That's supposedly what's going on with the Crash collection, too, as rumors have it that the N. Sane Trilogy will arrive on other platforms later this year.

As a fan of these classic mascot-driven adventures, I'm happy to see some old-school favorites get a second lease on life courtesy of full remakes. The originals exist for those who want to experience them, but games like this rumored trilogy make it possible for a whole new generation of gamers to discover that same old magic that kept folks glued to their screens 20 years ago.