The Dragon Realms (ドラゴン・リゾート Dragon Resort in Japanese) are diverse worlds that make up the primary home of the Dragons in the Spyro the Dragon series and throughout the majority of the Spyro franchise.
In Spyro: Year of the Dragon, it is revealed that over a thousand years ago, the Dragons originally lived in the Forgotten Realms, ruling over the land and providing it with magic they need to thrive. One day, a dragon had a disagreement with the Sorceress, and in her fury, she banished all of the dragons to the other side of the world, accidentally causing the Forgotten Worlds to gradually lose its magic. Not wanting anything to do with the Sorceress again, the Dragons settled and named their new home the Dragon Realms, forgetting about their former home as the years went by.
Appearances
Spyro the Dragon
The Dragon Realms first appeared in the game Spyro the Dragon for the PlayStation, in which Spyro traveled to six playable homeworlds within the Realms. This world made cameo appearances in Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon.
In the original games of 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 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.
In Spyro Reignited Trilogy, this "realm" seems to be non-existent, with its role in the trilogy mainly being replaced by the grassy plains of Stone Hill.
Spyro: 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 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. For the boss level, you jump in a portal located in front of the castle after completing all levels.
"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 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.
Spyro: Shadow Legacy
The history of the Dragon Realms was somewhat retconned in this storyline, with a storybook legend in the game stating that the Dragon Realms was either founded by a group of ancient dragons that fled a natural catastrophy in the Forgotten Realms, or was discovered by the Great Sea Dragon.
Homeworlds and Realms
The Dragon Realms is made up of six separate homeworlds, which can be traveled to with the balloonists. Each homeworld has five portals that each lead to a local realm; three leading to regular realms, one that leads to a flight realm and one more that leads to a boss realm.
Brief view of the Dragon Realms in Year of the Dragon
Dragon Castles from the Spyro Orange title screen and the Dragon Realms from Spyro 2 and 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 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 in the original trilogy, or they simply ignored the fact to rush development. It may have been useless to have the same portals that would lead to Spyro the Dragon homeworlds or Dragon Shores, while considering the development timeframe.