The game's protagonist Spyro the Dragon is assisted by additional characters throughout Year of the Dragon. Sparx, Spyro's dragonfly sidekick, functions as the player's health meter and assists the player in gathering gems;  Sparx is also a playable character in certain levels. Also aiding Spyro is Hunter the Cheetah, who teaches the player game mechanics and is a playable character at special racing levels. Four other playable characters are freed during the game; Sheila the kangaroo, Sgt. Byrd the penguin, Bentley the yeti, and Agent 9 the monkey. The main enemy is the Sorceress, the iron-fisted mean and bad-tempered queen of the Forgotten Worlds. Aiding her is Bianca the Rabbit, her apprentice who attempts to hinder Spyro on his mission, with almost no success.