The player controls Spyro the dragon, who is accompanied by his dragonfly partner Sparx. Spyro is able to breathe fire, charge, glide, hover, and swim. New to the series is the introduction of multiple breath attacks, such as bubble breath, ice breath, and electric breath. Spyro is also able to learn a block technique which can be used to deflect ranged attacks back at enemies.[3] These abilities are attained from the ancient dragon statue in the home world by collecting magical runes.[citation needed] Additionally, some levels involve the operation of aircraft or other vehicles.[3]