Spyro the Dragon is a platform game developed by Insomniac Games for the PlayStation. It stars the title character, a young purple dragon named Spyro and his dragonfly friend, Sparx, and is the first game in the Spyro the Dragon series. The first game was massively popular at its initial release and Spyro would later become one of the most recognizable, popular and respected gaming icons for the PlayStation gaming console. Spyro's best friend, Sparx the dragonfly, acts like the player's health meter and assists in gathering gems. The various dragons Spyro unfreezes along the way are also key characters in Spyro's progression through the game. Gnasty Gnorc is the main antagonist, who froze all the dragons of the land in crystal.

The evil Gnasty Gnorc has turned all the dragons in the Dragon Lands into crystal. He has also stolen the dragons' gems by locking them up in chests or turning them into soldiers for his army. But he forgot about one little dragon: Spyro. Now Spyro has to travel through the dragon kingdom and free all the dragons from their crystal prison, recover the dragons' gems and defeat Gnasty Gnorc.