Spyro: A Hero's Tail

The ninth Spyro the Dragon game, released on the Play Station 2, Nintendo Gamecube and X Box in 2004.

There's a new dragon in town named Red, and he's not exactly happy with the other dragon elders. He and his army of Gnorcs and other baddies are planting Dark Gems in the Realm--horrible things that radiate dark energy, warping the world around them! It takes a dragon with tough horns--like Spyro--to break them and return the land to its splendor. There's a bunch of kidnapped dragon eggs, too! By now, Spyro's just gotten used to the whole "world-saving" thing--now if only he could figure out what Red's problem is!

Tropes used in Spyro: A Hero's Tail include:

• Boss Arena Recovery: Not only are there butterflies surrounding the arenas (with more appearing depending on your death count), but the game will actually save your progress in the middle of the fight when you hit the boss enough times, so if you die, the boss' health remains one third or two-thirds gone. The only time the game expects you to finish the boss in one go is with the final boss.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall:
  • Sparx comments that he is "so awesome that this game should be called Sparx the Dragonfly."
  • Ember asks Spyro if the dark gem next to her would make a good engagement ring. Spyro then turns directly to the audience with an Oh Crap look.
• Bubblegloop Swamp: Crocovile Swamp.
• Cosmetic Award: Collecting the Dragon Eggs to unlock Ember and Flame as playable characters. In terms of gameplay, playing as Ember or Flame is no different from playing as Spyro. The only difference is having a different model. Even the voice clips are Spyro's and the character turns into Spyro in all cutscenes and the Ball Gadget.
• Cunning Like a Fox: The Ice Princess is an anthropomorphic fox.
• Degraded Boss: Gnasty Gnorc: Final boss in Spyro the Dragon 1998, the very first boss in A Hero's Tail. ...Well, he takes more hits to kill in the latter. Heck, there are mooks on the very first HUB who take more hits to kill.
• Eternal Engine: Dark Mine and Red's Laboratory.
• Genre Savvy: Spyro and Hunter both hang a lampshade on common game cliches.
• Goofy Print Underwear: Gnasty Gnorc reveals his red polka-dot boxers when he's goaded into swinging so hard that his staff/club sticks into the ground. More humiliating is the fact that this is his weak point.
  • Strangely, in his first appearance, he wasn't even wearing pants.
• Lethal Lava Land: The Volcanic Isle homeworld, particularly its second and third levels (Molten Mount and Magma Falls) as well as Stormy Beach at some points.
• One-Scene Wonder: The Ice Princess, who has a very charming design and attracted a small fandom, appears only to give the player a single mission.
• Palette Swap: Flame is basically Spyro with red scales instead of purple ones. There are some subtle differences (a wider snout on Flame, for example) but they're still really similar. Without going into the Model Viewer, it's hard to notice.
• Palmtree Panic: Coastal Remains.
• Shallow Love Interest: Ember.
• Slippy-Slidey Ice World: The Icy Wilderness homeworld.
• Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Ember. In addition to being pink, she has a necklace and a heart-shaped tail.
• Underwater Ruins: Sunken Ruins.
• Unwilling Roboticisation: Red's final form.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Red orders a mammoth to deal with Spyro once reaching Icy Wilderness warning the mammoth that if he fails there will be serious consequences. Spyro ends up being temporarily captured by the mammoth and imprisoned in a cage but is soon rescued by Sparx and Hunter. The mammoth is not seen or mentioned again after that leaving no closure to if Red found out and punished the mammoth.
• Whole Costume Reference: The ermine-trimmed gown the Ice Princess wears is based on an actual gown Ann Boleyn once wore.
• Winter Royal Lady: The Ice Princess.
• You Have Failed Me: Red has a habit of killing off his mooks without a second thought for failing him.