Ripto's Rage is best game in the Spyro Trilogy. Insomniac were getting off their feet with Spyro 1, learning how to make a good game, and responding to criticism and feedback from their first adventure with the purple dragon. Their second game fixes almost everything wrong with the first game then some.
Tom Kenny now does the voice of Spyro, which is a huge improvement from Carlos Alazraqui. This game also has a more saturated color scheme compared to the first game, alongside a more varied environment, enemy and character design. What's unique about the levels in Ripto's Rage is that they don't follow a specific theme or gimmick, and at times can look quite surreal. Levels such as Breeze Harbor and Idol Springs show the beauty the original PlayStation was capable of producing.
Perhaps the greatest feature of Ripto's Rage is its storytelling. Before each level loads there is an opening cinematic giving a brief synopsis of the problems the residents of this realm face. Not only is this a great way of showing exposition without reading boring dialogue boxes like in the first Spyro game and YotD, but it also provides cheap, childish jokes, which would always amuse me as a kid.
My only criticism for this game is that it's far too short. There are only three home-worlds, eighteen levels and four speedways. Each homeworld is named after three of the four seasons of the year (excluding spring.) This has led to many Spyro fans speculating of a possible fourth homeworld that was never implemented in the game, although there is no confirmation of this from Insomniac Games or in the game's code.
Fortunately, several Spyro fanatics have taken the liberty of forging their own fangame: Spyro 2: Spring Savanna, set in the mythical forth homeworld of Avalar. Think of it as a DLC for Ripto's Rage. Some brilliant people have worked on this project and its looking pretty good from the trailers they've released on YouTube.