OK … I
tallied up the total of all the money I would have right now if I kept all of my
allowances that I earned back when I was about ages 8 – 12, and it came out to
about $4,000. Where did all of this money go back in the day? Why … to arcade
games of course! Granted, we had an Intellivision back then (and I am still a
proud owner of two working ones today … but back to the point), but when you got
around all of the chirping, whooshing, and zipping of such stand up titles as
Tempest, Galaxian, Pac-man, and an untold number of others, you just couldn’t
help pushing that big total $10.00 weekly into the change machine and blowing it
all on a game with no real ending. Well, I remember one day I walked into the
local arcade, and there stood one of the coolest stand-up titles I had ever seen
… Dragon’s Lair. When I look back, the gameplay was basically a video version of
a choose your own adventure book, but many people, like myself, just couldn’t
resist playing an interactive cartoon. Years later, Dragon’s Lair is still
floating around and has popped up in many different forms, the most recent of
which is a high definition version of the classic title.
Dragon’s
Lair HD is, in fact, the classic game presented in high-def format, and it comes
complete with all of the classic pinging sounds of the arcade version and the
same concept … guide Dirk the Daring through various levels of an evil
magician’s castle by hitting up, down, left, right, or the sword button at just
the right time, or die in some crazy fashion if you hit the wrong thing and
watch a cinematic presentation of his demise. In addition, the original scoring
is included in this version as well, so for each right move you make and level
you clear, you will also rack up points accordingly. Honestly, I didn’t really
understand how the scoring system actually worked, since I would get 90 points
sometimes just for starting a level, then 0 the next time, but for any of you
who understand it it’s back in there.
In this
version, you also have the option of simply watching the game play out level by
level instead of sitting down and playing it, so for those of you who maybe
never got to see all of the game or beat it, you can go in and watch it run from
start to finish. In addition, it also comes in handy to watch each scene
individually if you happen to get stuck on one, since it can help you figure out
what you are pressing wrong or what needs to be hit at what time.
Overall,
there’s not a whole lot more I can really say about it. The new added watch mode
was kind of neat, and it’s always fun for me to take a walk down memory lane by
playing a classic game … and save all of my allowance (I’m married now so, yes,
I still get a weekly allowance). Kids will probably have some fun with the game
since it’s in a neat cartoon format, and older gamers like me who tossed an
untold number of quarters into one of the stand-up machines trying to beat the
Lizard King or get by the disintegrating room level will get some fun out of it,
but in the end it is classic Dragon’s Lair … so be prepared to simply use timed
button presses and probably do-overs over some bad timing now and then.
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Gameplay: 5.0
The game is
simply timed button presses in a cartoon story, and nothing more than that. I
had a couple of issues with thinking I pressed a button when I was supposed to
but died anyways, but that may be just me (but I’m tossing it in there since it
may be the game, too). The added feature of watching the game from start to
finish, including all the ways Dirk can die was neat, and it can help get you
through a stuck point if needed.
Graphics: 8.5
The game is an
animated cartoon by Don Bluth, and it looks great in the high-definition format.
Even if you don’t have high def it is still an animated Don Bluth cartoon, so it
still looks decent.
Sound: 7.8
The game features
all of the classic sounds from the arcade, which were written for an animated
cartoon rather than just another video game.
Difficulty: Hard
The game is
obviously easy to figure out, but trying to remember or find which button to
press at what time can be difficult, and for first time players it will take a
while to get all of the patterns down.
Concept: 6.5
It was neat to
have a high-def version of the game, and to have the added option of just
watching, but there’s not really anything else to it than that … and the game
does show its age. This would have been a great opportunity to maybe bundle in
Space Ace or add other versions of the game that were released to give it a
little more.
Overall: 6.0
This is a good
purchase for the Dragon’s Lair fan, especially if you have a high-def monitor or
have your PC hooked to the HDTV, but it is what it is … the classic version of
Dragon’s Lair, which may or may provide a lot of fun for you, depending on how
big a fan you are. Kids will probably get a kick out of it for the cartoons, but
it may be too frustrating to play or may not provide enough entertainment due to
the simplistic gameplay.
