The Dragon Realms (ドラゴン・リゾート Dragon Resort in Japanese) are diverse worlds the make up the primary home of the Dragons in the Spyro the Dragon series and throughout the majority of the Spyro franchise.
Legends say that the Dragon Realms was discovered either by the Great Sea Dragon, or a group of dragons who fled the Forgotten Realms from a natural catastrophe. Though, it was revealed in Spyro: Year of the Dragon that the dragons were banished from the Forgotten Realms to the other side of the world by the Sorceress, where they later settled and named their new home the Dragon Realms.
The Dragon Realms made their first appearance in Spyro the Dragon for the PlayStation, in which Spyro traveled to six playable homeworlds within the Dragon Realms, and made cameo appearances in Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon.
In Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon, the Dragon Realms' main homeworld (as seen in the intros of both games) does actually have various portals worth noting is the portal to Dragon Shores, as seen in Spyro 2's intro. In Year of the Dragon, Spyro and Hunter venture through a hole in the realm to reach the first homeworld of the Forgotten Realms.
Enter the Dragonfly
It wasn't until Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly that "The Dragon Realms" became a playable world. While not explicitly stated in Enter the Dragonfly, the homeworld in this game, referred to simply as "The Dragon Realms," is geographically connected to the other "Dragon Realm" homeworlds:
"The Dragon Realms" itself is technically a homeworld in "Dragon Realms" much like other homeworlds. The focal point of this world is the Castle, which leads to Nestor's Palace and Dragon Castles (from Spyro Orange). This area surrounding the castle serves as the solitary homeworld in Enter the Dragonfly. Unlike other homeworlds in the Dragon Realms, this homeworld does not contain portals, but instead, other forms of transportation to its connected realms. For example, to get to Crop Circle Country, Spyro rides a UFO from a barn.
The main area is a beautifully crafted homeworld full of lush green fields and comprised of a predominately hilly landscape. As Spyro leaves the main area of the Dragon Realms, the landscape varies depending on which passage to another realm is close by. But for the boss level, you jump in a portal that is located infront of the caste after you have completed all of the levels.
The Dragon Realms in the Legend of Spyro series is greatly different than its original counterpart. Portals are absent in this reboot, and not only do Dragons live there, but also other creatures as well. After the first purple dragonMalefor turned to evil, the Realms spiraled into chaos as Malefor attempted to destroy the world in order to create a new one.
Gallery
The Dragon Realms as depicted in Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs
Gnasty's World, one of the homeworlds of the Dragon Realms
Brief view of The Dragon Realms in Spyro: Year of the Dragon
Dragon Castles from Spyro Orange Title Screen Vs The Dragon Realms from Spyro 3
Trivia
In the Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly instruction manual, a picture is featured of a portal in the castle instead of the closed doors in the actual game. It is possible this could have been the portal to the removed level Enchanted Forest.
In Enter the Dragonfly, rock spitting was to be a feature in Dragon Realms, but was cut.[1]
Having no portals in the Enter the Dragonfly version of the Dragon Realms could be a possible developer oversight; the developers either didn't know about portals featured in the original trilogy games, or they simply ignored the fact to rush development or possibly because it would have been useless to have the same portals that would lead to Spyro the Dragon homeworlds or Dragon Shores, while considering the development time frame they were given.
In the first game, Magnus says that all homeworlds are a part of the Dragon Kingdom. The Dragon Kingdom introduced in Spyro: A Hero's Tail is a lot different, and seems to be a much smaller area.