Spyro returns to the Dragon Realms after his vacation following the successful routing of Grendor in Spyro: Season of Ice, only to find that new problems have cropped up. Ripto has set loose invading Rhynocs who are stealing the dragons' fire breath and turning everything, including their breath, into ice. It's up to Spyro to once again save the day by defeating the Rhynocs, helping his friends in the meantime.

Spyro: Season of Flame is the sequel to Spyro: Season of Ice, and pretty much follows the same formula with some new, welcome additions. Players can now play certain levels as Sheila the Kangaroo and Agent 9, a space monkey. The Spyro and Sheila levels are both played in an isometric, top-down view, but Sheila's environment is different in that she can only hop from one grid to another, unlike Spyro's worlds which he can move in freely. Sheila jumps her way around, and uses her kick to take out enemies. Agent 9's levels are side-scrolling platforms and basically just involves him shooting and running quickly across the platforms. But enough about them, what can Spyro do?

At first, Spyro can only use his Ice Breath to take out enemies and transform objects, and moves such as Charge (run rapidly and knock into items), Glide and Hover. As he progresses he'll be able to use his Flame Breath (heat up/burn objects) and Super Head Smash (pulverize obstacles.) Special powerups can be accessed for short periods of time during the game, like Super Flame Breath, Super Ice Breath (create frozen walkways over water) and Super Electric Breath (recharge items and zap enemies.)

Moving Spyro around can be a little difficult, as he runs diagonally due to the isometric viewpoint, and directing him in a straight line can be bothersome at times. Also, the Glide and Hover flying abilities have to be timed just right to get Spyro to where he's trying to go. However, the enemies are easy to take care of, and most of Spyro's "deaths" are solely due to navigational errors, which lessen with practice. In each world, Spyro will be collecting fireflies and performing actions to either help friends or create more fireflies, such as freezing lemon drinks into lemonade, lighting tiki statues, turning fountains into flowers and other like things. He'll also be running into rabbits and sheep to temporarily freeze them and release butterflies for fuel.

The game begins at one of three main hubs in the game, Sunny Plains. From here, Spyro can travel to many worlds through portals which have to be activated by performing special actions, such as helping friends, collecting a certain number of fireflies and gems, and transforming objects as mentioned previously. Each world offers unique scenery, although the basic challenges remain the same, such as jumping/flying to different heights, taking out enemies and collecting items. There are some more exacting challenges scattered throughout, that will require some planning ahead, though, as in the special, timed powerups that will be used in far away places. Special "Challenge" areas are also present in some of the portals, which feature mini-games in an arcade style format. All of Spyro's friends are present to help him out, Bianca, Moneybags (for a fee, of course), Hunter and Sparx. Hunter will help train Spyro for new moves, and Sparx offers helpful advice, which can be turned off if desired in the options.

New additions include a very handy map, which shows areas already covered and icons representing things to be collected, although interpreting some of them is difficult. An atlas is also present, which displays helpful information on items collected from the total needed for each world and hub.

The game interface is fairly simple to use, with the various menu options easily accessible. Movement within the game is handled pretty well mostly, although the screen tends to jump and slide around while Spyro is moving, causing a slight "motion-sickness" feeling sometimes. Also, the isometric view means Spyro has to be directed diagonally, which takes getting used to with the controls. I've had a game before on the computer that offered the option to program the gamepad with the left/right/up/down arrows into diagonal arrows, but I'm not sure of if that is feasible on the GBA. That would have been a nice option, though, if possible.

The graphics are lovely, and offer a wonderful change from most GBA games which cause severe squinting due to lighting problems. Every level is clear, bright and extremely colorful. The animations of Spyro and the other characters and items are fantastic, with funny moments like Spyro being frozen by an enemy in mid-breath, with his face and lips poking out in a humorous pout, complete with a little puff of frozen breath. The sheep and rabbits are very cute as they run away frantically from Spyro. The other animations are equally as well-done.

Catchy, upbeat music is heard throughout, pleasant but not shatteringly unique. The sound effects, however, are great, such as the tinkling of the metal bombs hopping across the bricks as Spyro rams into them.

Spyro 2: Season of Flame has been an instant hit with my family, with the main players being my 16-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter. Each one agrees that it's one of their favorite GBA games currently. I've been having a slightly tougher time with it, as I'm hopeless at all things arcade and can't quite seem to get the hang of gliding and hovering, but have to rely on them to glide for me and help me out from time to time. The gameplay is straightforward and linear, and while not tremendously difficult, is not too easy, either. The map and linear design guarantees that players won't spend frustrating hours trying to find that last gem or firefly. The characters and levels are wonderfully animated and humor is present throughout. All of these attributes combine to make this game an excellent choice for most families, although the length of gameplay may be too short for serious gamers (but just right for most of the crowd.) Replay value is probably limited toward younger players ages 6-14, as most of them don't mind playing or viewing the same things over and over again, and the overall cuteness and engaging personality of Spyro will keep their attention even when going over familiar ground. The mini-games which are unlocked during game progress add more fun, and the variety of gaming styles in Sheila's and Agent 9's levels mix it up somewhat.