u/harriskeith29

Which Spyro looks the best, in your opinion? Does a specific version already have everything you'd want, or would your ideal design blend details from different versions together?

I grew up in the 90s-2000s, so I definitely have nostalgia for the original trilogy. It was my first open-world game and my introduction to Insomniac. The Reignited Trilogy's design improves on some aspects of OG Spyro for me, such as refining his horns, making his chestplates and talons more angular, and giving his eyes more color + expression. Even the spiral conch shell tail tip looked sharper, possibly due to the more diagonal swirl lines.

The updated wing stem pattern and making the iconic eyebrow ridges look more attached to the head (instead of separate pieces, like a ventriloquist dummy's) were improvements, too. Unfortunately, while Reignited is more detailed in some areas, it also changed or removed a couple of details from his old design that I liked: Chiefly, the wings' fingertip claws and the shape of the gold fin-like crest between the horns. Reignited's crest looks good, but I prefer how the first point at the front was shaped in the OG design. Specifically, the bottom half curves outward slightly before the top half curves in. Hopefully, you understand what I mean, looking at the two side by side.

I like how the front point originally stood out more, almost like a smaller third horn that grew together with the rest of the spikes going down his head & neck. I don't care for how the latest incarnation appears to have changed the crest to spiky/wavy hair. That reads more like a horse's mane than a dragon to me, at least for this character. The added diagonal lines in the eyebrow ridges weren't needed either, but I don't strongly dislike them.

I admit, I'm likely biased on both counts. Spyro, without that sharp, solid, dinosaur-like crest, is like Link without his Phrygian cap. It just looks off to me. The lighter-purple scales lining his spine on either side of the gold spikes, which were more prominent in 2 onward, I would darken. Spyro's ideal "skin" scale pattern, I think, should look more cohesive in color with the same deep violet. The lighter purple scales aren't bad, per se, but distracting to me and remind me a little of Godzilla. Now, we come to the big, flashy, epic fantasy elephant in the franchise.

Legend Spyro looks cool while remaining recognizable enough, especially in the third/final entry. The new horns and lack of an interconnected crest were turnoffs, but the spinal spikes being red & gold like the wings was an interesting choice. Giving the wings thumb claws was also nice. Overall, I thought this era had the best artistic balance in A New Beginning-The Eternal Night. Dawn of the Dragon's model was intimidating, but over-designed, in my POV (Granted, I know that game was from another developer). The more bony wing stems weren't necessary at all. The barbs on the chestplates' corners were interesting. In the pursuit of trying to make the character look more adult, I think all those extra bells & whistles clashed with his anatomical genius in simplicity (similarly to Crash Bandicoot's Titans era).

To review: if I had to choose a favorite design, Reignited probably takes the cake, but I'd add a few things to take it over my "perfection" finish line: The front of the crest would return to the OG curve. I'd keep the more colorful eyes, but make the irises a little darker purple than the body (Perhaps it could fluctuate with the lighting). The wings would include the fingertip and thumb claws, both with a protruding nail. The scale pattern would remain streamlined. I'd keep the spikes' color entirely gold, but separate the ones running down the back, like the Legend version.

Out of all the Dragonball franchise's creatively varied settings that have hosted its epic battles over the decades (far too many to list here), I'd have to say that my personal #1 favorite is still Dying Namek. Even outside its status as one of the series' most iconic and nostalgic backdrops, it just has EVERYTHING I could want in a climactic battle arena.

I'll elaborate on my reasons why below:

1) Visually- I can't think of any other setting in all of DB to date that has so strongly sold the stakes and intensity of a final battle. Dying Namek looks BIBLICAL, TERRIFYING, APOCALYPTIC, which is the ideal vibe for what many fans thought at the time could be the end of the whole story: Dark (progressively blood-red) clouds, lightning, thunder, tidal waves, tornadoes and waterspouts, earthquakes, erupting volcanoes, beams of heat from Namek's increasingly unstable core blasting from the ground to the skies. Everything just screams imminent doom. Even SS Goku, the most powerful being in the known universe at that moment, eventually showed fear of it, knowing he'd die in space.

I also loved the anime's detail of showing moments where Goku and Frieza's fighting further demolishes the ruins of the (at the time) near-extinct Namekian civilization. Their blows tear through the already damaged walls of empty houses and smash the ground around them. It's like they're battling in a graveyard with a self-destruct sequence. Every detail articulates how this once-beautiful planet has had its harmony utterly corroded by Frieza's evil and been reduced to a ticking time bomb (however slowly that ticking may have been). The only arena I'd say rivals this in terms of the hellish landscape is Daima's depiction of the Demon Realm. But it's not just looks that make me prefer Namek.

2) Narratively- This battle is not only a turning point in DB because of the Super Saiyan form's official introduction. It's one of the very few times in the franchise when the Z Fighters failed to save the planet they were fighting the big villain on. Although why they never wished Old Namek back with the Dragon Balls is beyond me. It's one of several oversights that Toriyama (R.I.P.) could have addressed at some point in the original manga. New Namek was convenient, of course. Still, I think the Namekians would likely rather have returned to their birthplace.

It could have been fully restored. No, silly me! We have to use the next wishes on maintaining Bulma's youth and appearance (again). Priorities, am I right?! But I digress. Questionable plot decisions aside, the visuals of this deteriorating world emphasize the tragedy of its role in the story. The poor planet doesn't even get the mercy of a quick explosion. It dies slowly, boiling, crumbling, and burning apart like an egg overcooking in a pan. It's easy to interpret that it's suffering. Knowing that the surviving flora and fauna are gradually perishing is sad. If we think back to Cooler's Revenge, when Goku holds the wounded bird in his hands as Earth is on the verge of destruction, Namek's demise is like that same moment if the villain successfully followed through on tearing the planet apart.

To me, the fact that Namek lasted as long as it did demonstrates how much bigger and stronger a planet it probably was compared to Earth. Frieza could still destroy a world of any size with ease, of course, but it's possible that Namek's being larger contributed to its surviving immediate detonation. I doubt that our little ol' Earth could have sustained that level of blast damage, unless Frieza held back a lot more. Feel free to share your speculations on that.

3) Thematically- Lastly, Namek's twilight reflects the final nail in the coffin of cruelty that the tyrannical, bigoted, selfish, self-proclaimed Emperor of the universe brought to an innocent world and its inhabitants. He felt no remorse at all for this genocide. In spite of the despair, one could also perceive this as Namek refusing to go down without a fight. On some meta-physical level, you could interpret this slow death as the planet trying its hardest to hang on.

It's like Namek itself is ROARING for justice, raging with the same fury as the Super Saiyan, wanting Goku to win and avenge it. Obviously, it couldn't put off the final detonation forever. I do enjoy the detail that, while Goku himself defeated Frieza, and Trunks ended up killing him later, Namek got to deal a definitive blow to the monster. It was thanks to being caught in the explosion he set off that Frieza needed cybernetics to replace the parts he'd lost. So, for the short while that he continued to live, he'd carry scars to remember the Namekians and their lost home by. Obviously, Super kind of ruined this by bringing Frieza back (twice), but that's another topic.

Comment below. What is your favorite Dragonball battleground? If you can't pick one, share them all. Do you have thoughts to add on my choice? Feedback is welcome!