Spyro - Shadow Legacy on the DS is one of those weird little spin-offs that actually works. You’ve got classic Spyro platforming, but they threw in some light RPG elements—leveling up, unlocking spells, even a basic skill tree. At first I thought it’d feel tacked on, but messing around with different dragon breath combos ends up being way more fun than it sounds.

The story’s your usual "darkness is spreading" deal, but the writing’s got that goofy Spyro charm. Some of the puzzles make clever use of the DS touchscreen, like drawing bridges or rotating platforms. And yeah, the graphics are simple, but the animations still have that bouncy, cartoony energy.

It’s not the deepest RPG or the most polished platformer, but if you want portable Spyro with a twist, this one’s surprisingly solid. Just don’t expect Reignited Trilogy levels of polish.