Spyro the Dragon is a 3D platform game;[1] the player controls the titular character as he ventures across the realms of the Dragon World to defeat the antagonistic Gnasty Gnorc, as well as rescue his fellow dragons and recover all of their stolen treasure.[2] Worlds consist of six dragon "home worlds",[1] each of which acts as a dedicated hub, containing portals that serve as gateways to different levels.[2] The player must progress from one Homeworld to the next by talking to a balloonist, who transports Spyro to the next world on a hot air balloon after the player has found the required collectibles in the current given world.[2] In addition to regular platforming stages, each Homeworld contains a boss fight[3] and a hidden flight stage that involves flying throughout an environment and destroying a number of objects.[1]
The levels in Spyro the Dragon are open-ended, and they revolve around exploring and obtaining various collectible items to progress in the game.[4] Each stage contains many crystallized dragons, whom Spyro must turn back to normal by locating and stepping on their statue bases. These dragons give the player advice on how to progress through the game, as well as their respective locations acting as save points after the dragon has been freed.[2] Another important collectible in the game is the dragons' stolen treasure, which is dispersed throughout each level in the form of multicolored gemstones. These gems are located in numerous different places, including inside enemies, breakable boxes, and treasure chests, and most stages contain a set amount of treasure to be found.[2] There are also stolen dragon eggs that must be reclaimed by chasing and defeating thieves.[2] Finding every collectible in the game unlocks an additional world that otherwise cannot be accessed.[5]