many critics held praise for spyro's level design and controls, though some noted the game's simplicity and low difficulty level. fielder called the level design "exceptional", while crispin praised the levels for encouraging exploration among players. sushi called the play controls "perfectly tuned" whilst fielder wrote that they worked well both with and without the dualshock's analog stick, although shawn expressed that controls were unsuited for maneuvering in "high-risk areas." the camera system received varying reactions, with crispin praising it as one of the best in any 3d platformer and fielder declaring that it fixed the common issues present in most other 3d platform games, while harris criticized its lack of precision when following the player, stating that it "tends to float around on a loose tether", and highlighted the camera system as one of the game's only flaws. fielder wrote that an overabundance of extra lives caused the game to feel "like it was aimed at a younger or broader audience," holding the final boss and the bonus level as the only exceptions. despite praising "spyro", sushi noted the game's "lack of diversity" in obstacles and objects leading to "repetitive play." crispin lamented that the common trope of collecting items, while still very fun in "spyro", was starting to become less interesting, while also criticizing the game's boss fights, calling them "small, easy and decidedly unboss-like."