The Legend of Spyro : A New Beginning

The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning for Nintendo DS is a 2006 single-player action game that launches The Legend of Spyro trilogy. Developed by Amaze Entertainment and issued by Vivendi Universal Games under the Sierra Entertainment label, this portable edition is a distinct adaptation of the same story told by the console release. It follows the young purple dragon Spyro as he learns where he came from and begins a fight against the Dark Master's forces.

The story opens with Ignitus, the Fire Guardian, rescuing a dragon egg during an attack on the Dragon Temple. The egg reaches a swamp, where dragonflies raise the hatchling Spyro alongside Sparx. Once Spyro discovers that he is a dragon rather than a dragonfly, he leaves home with Sparx to seek the truth about his past. That search brings him into a larger conflict with Cynder and the armies serving the Dark Master.

On Nintendo DS, the adventure is presented as a top-down, scrolling action game. Players guide Spyro through fantasy locations filled with hostile creatures, using melee strikes to fight at close range and chaining repeated hits into combos. The game centers on clearing the route ahead while battling Cynder's minions and pursuing the next part of Spyro's quest, rather than on the collectathon-style exploration associated with earlier Spyro games.

Elemental breath powers broaden Spyro's options as the journey continues. Fire, ice, electricity, and earth attacks can be used at range or in closer encounters, while a stronger version of a breath attack consumes energy. Certain foes call for a different response: the DS touch screen is used in situations where ordinary attacks are ineffective. These controls make the handheld's second screen part of the action instead of merely a map or menu.

The Nintendo DS version also gives its puzzle sequences a specific role in progression. Its Power Crystal Puzzles ask players to arrange mirrors so that beams of light can travel around obstacles to their targets; splitters and prisms introduce further paths and colors to manage. Those challenges break up the combat-focused stages and distinguish this version from the game on the home consoles. The DS release also supports the optional Nintendo DS Rumble Pak for force-feedback feedback.

A New Beginning represents a reboot-era direction for Spyro, with a new origin story and a greater emphasis on combat. Its Nintendo DS adaptation preserves the central journey from Spyro's unusual upbringing to his confrontation with Cynder, while reshaping it around overhead action, touch-screen interactions, and light-routing puzzles. The story continued the following year in The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night, making this entry the starting point for players exploring this three-game branch of the series.