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Classic Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: June 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I think this is the classic version of the arcade original Dragon's Lair, Coin-Op Game. Awesome classic fun.

DRAGON'S LAIR ARCADE CLASSIC FINALLY RE-RELEASED!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 30, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Its about time they decided to get the Original Arcade game out for us. I hated the new DRAGON'S LAIR 3D. It totallt sucked and it was annoying getting Dirk to do what you wanted him to do as far as climbing and jumping, all bad timing. Nothing beats this arcade classic, a great game for those that know this game when it first was released on the arcade floors. I remember spending 10 dollars worth of quarters just playing this game when it first came out. I am still amazed and excited when I play this game over and over again.

I did notice a few stage rooms that were not included in the game, or they altered it in this release, othwerwise they added it to the DRAGON'S LAIR 3 game which I plan to get next since its like a sequel to the Castle venture. DRAGON'S LAIR 2: TIME WARP is neat too, but not as thrilling as the Castle stages.

A great game and a great collectible, a must have for adventure gamers for there is still nothing like this out there in gaming!!

Lazy Reproduction Can't Keep A Good Game Down

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

After a considerably long wait, Digital Leisure's landmark arcade title, "Dragon's Lair", is finally available for PC play.

For those of you unfamilliar with the title, "Lair" is the product of collaberation between video-game visionary Rick Dyer ("The Secret of the Lost Woods") and animation hero Don Bluth ("The Secret of NIMH", "An American Tail"): in the midst of the video-game boom - when no home-based consoles could outdo the arcade experience - Rick Dyer had an idea to improvise on his previous, unsuccesful text-oriented games; after being inspired by the work of ex-Disney animator Bluth, the two of them developed an idea for a game that would literally be like playing a cartoon.
Animated traditionally, their game would feature both a soundtrack and spoken dialogue, and turn-based responses to the perils faced by the hero ("Dirk the Daring") would either advance him towards the lair of the dragon ("Singe") or cause him to meet an untimely doom.
The concept was fairly revolutionary at the time, leading to a serious revamping of the industry to focus on more character-driven elements in games than seen before, as well as the need of voice-actors to cover the characters.

Though it's aged somewhat questionably, "Lair" is still a fun blast from the past, and a must-own for fans of Bluthian animation. Alas, the video quality is not exactly hi-def: it hasn't been remastered for this specific release, so playing with a fullscreen leads to a pretty blurred and grainy picture. Not that this really hinders the gameplay, which is controlled by way of the spacebar (to swing the sword) and the directional keys (move Dirk in a certain direction). Pretty basic, and stupifyingly simplistic compared to modern titles, but hey - it's the "original arcade experience".

A handful of cool extras, however, are included to make this release semi-exclusive: a 2-player mode, a "Watch" mode (watch the scenarios progress without playing), a featurette called "Dragon's Lair History", and a dozen previews for response-themed games from the 80s (no demos, though - but plenty of cheesy live-action, police-themed titles). "History" is pretty cool, as it's composed of about a half-dozen TV news reports regarding "Lair"'s release, making-of, and impact; it even includes a handful of interviews with Don Bluth and Rick Dyer. Less impressive is the video and audio quality of this feature, the latter of which has suffered especially over time, making the viewing of this collection a little tough. Nevertheless, the extra features are a couple of nice touches that really serve to give you a sense of this VG revolution as it was two decades ago: effectively, a unique little time capsule.

Give it a buy if you're not too enthusiastic about spending more money for the remastered release. Rest assured, this version's fallbacks will not impact your gaming experience too negatively, and it's certainly the most accurate portrayal of the era in which it made its mark.

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