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he following is sort of a grab bag of "Spyro the Dragon" tips, tricks, hints and, yes, codes.

1) Very important: Dragons can't swim. Not even a little. So don't try it. (OK, MAYBE a little: Try jumping when you fall in the water, and depending on the depth, you can sometimes make it out with only a single wound level to Sparx. Don't make a habit out of this, though.)

2) After you've killed all the monsters in an area, and come back to it, just to find them alive again, don't ignore them, kill them again. The silver gems they drop this time add up to new lives.

3) As several of the freed dragons will tell you, the longer you hold the jump button before pressing it again to glide, the more height you get on your flight. Having said that, it's never very much, so always look for hills, stools, steps and platforms to jump from.

4) The guy who did the voice for Spyro, Carlos Alazraqui, also did the voice for the "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" chihuahua on TV. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any way to get Spyro to ask gnorcs to "drop the chalupa."

5) It's great fun running-down or torching sheep, rabbits, lizards and frogs, but you might be wondering about the butterflies left behind. Well, they're dragonfly food, and Sparx will chow down on them if he gets injured, eating one per life level lost (he turns blue then green, then dies, depending on how much damage the two of you have taken). Just get close to a butterfly when Sparx is wounded or gone, and he'll take care of the rest.

6) If you're on a sub-world (not any of the home worlds) and are falling to your death, pause the game, then return to the main world from the menu. It'll save you a life.

7) Those stinkin' egg thieves are the bane of every dragon. Here's some tips to make life a little easier:

• You're faster than them, but just barely. Hold down jump and charge for a slight increase in speed (only noticeable if you chase them for a while.)
• You don't have to charge egg snatchers. Flaming them works just as well if you can get close enough. Flaming debris from chests will also knock them out.
• Egg snatchers usually follow a set pattern in their scurrying. Try to see just what they do and head them off.
• They can see you from great distance if you're level with them, but they don't tend to look up until it's too late. Try to get to a high spot and do a flying charge or flaming strafe. (Try this on the Wizard's Peak level.)

8) Can't get back to the previous world you arrived from, via balloon? Try asking the balloonist a second time, after picking up some treasure and eggs. Each balloonist has different requirements, but the balloonists will definitely take you back to previous worlds. (Head back to Artisans to bulk up on lots of free lives!)

9) Wonderin' what that giggling noise you occassionally hear is? That's a rotten, stinking egg thief (you'll feel the same way once you've chased a few) snickering at you through a wall or ceiling. Show no mercy. There are 12 eggs in the game and even more thieves (you'll see what that means, unfortunately).

10) Turning a supercharge into a flying supercharge (in other words, keeping a supercharge going once you're airborne) is tricky. Here's how you do it: Don't. That is, don't press the jump button twice to fly, like you normally do. Press it once, as though you were going to jump. This isn't spelled-out anywhere, and is a real pain in the butt, frankly.

11) Here's the good news: Spyro will eventually fly just like he does in the "bonus" levels. The bad news? It's only in the very last level of the game and you cannot go to other levels afterwards and fly the same way. Sorry.

12) READ THIS TIP! You cannot truly finish the game and get into the last level, Gnasty's Loot, unless you have every egg, every gem and have completed every flight level perfectly. That's why Spyro says he's not finished in the first end video you see. The good news is that Gnasty's Loot is easily one of the best levels in the game.

13) Hey! Looking for a cheat code? Are you sure? We'll make fun of you behind your back (even to your face) if you use it, but to get 99 lives pause the game and go to the inventory then press square 6 times, then O, up, O, left, O, right, O. Ya big cheater. I hope you're proud of yourself.

14) And here's another cheat code for all you lazy, lazy people who'd rather skip ahead to other worlds instead of solving the ones at hand (of course, that means you can't get into the final level where you can fly, fly, fly, but that's not my problem). The balloonists will take you wherever you want after you enter the following sequence on the Inventory screen: Press square, square, O, square, left, right, left, right, O, up, right, down.

15) IMPORTANT TIP! Think that you've done it all? Collected all the gems, rescued all the dragons and eggs and completed every flight level. But still can't get into the final level of the game? Why not? You might have used the "exit level" option to leave completed levels, instead of the "return home" portal, which apparently is when the game checks your progress and decides whether you've met the different qualifications needed to, say, play Gnasty's Loot. Go back to each world you've completed and fly through the "return home" portal. You do NOT have to start the game over from scratch or even replay all the levels that are questionable.