There's one thing that I need to mention from the start. Skylanders is a brand new game with its own world and own characters. Spyro (and Cynder) are simply characters that are a part of the Skylanders world, so please don't start with the naysaying that this isn't a "true Spyro game." Treat Skylanders as a new game that stands on its own. The Skylanders world does feel like the original Spyro games in its look and characters. They have gone back to a less dark feeling than the latest Spyro games have. You can even flame sheep again! All of the characters that you control are monsters, but they are the good guys and you can tell it in their look and actions. Granted, they might not be the most mentally stable as some just like to blow things up or shoot things, but they are the good guys of the story.