Dragon's Lair: Difference between revisions

{{work}}

 

{{quote|''"Dragon's Lair: The fantasy adventure where you become a valiant knight, on a quest to rescue the fair princess from the clutches of an evil dragon. You control the actions of a daring adventurer, finding his way through the castle of a dark wizard, who has enchanted it with treacherous monsters and obstacles. In the mysterious caverns below the castle, your odyssey continues against the awesome forces that oppose your efforts to reach the Dragon's Lair. Lead on, adventurer. Your quest awaits!"''|'''Attract mode from ''Dragon's Lair'''''. }}

 

 

Your role was Dirk the Daring, a brave yet still reluctant knight in medieval England whose goal was to save [[Everything's Better with Princesses|Princess]] [[Damsel in Distress|Daphne]] from the clutches of Singe the Dragon. Although Bluth played it straight for the most part in order to give it the feel of games of the era, the characters all were somewhat on the cartoony side, as Dirk had the look of a gallant knight, but was somewhat of an average joe [[Comedic Hero]] who would get freaked out upon seeing the random [[Nightmare Fuel]]-type creatures and enemies he'd encounter within the castle in order to save the [[Playboy Bunny]]-esque Daphne (she was modeled from Playboy pin-ups) from Singe.

 

 

The game (along with its sequels) was well-known for dozens of death scenes, all of which were unique to a given scenario and many of which verged on [[Nightmare Fuel]]. The cartoon included a variation by offering Dirk a choice of actions before each commercial, and showing what would have happened to him if he had made the wrong one in the next scene.

A movie was announced (and even storyboarded), but has languished in [[Development Hell]] for years. Bluth and Goldman are still trying to raise funds for it to this day. There's also a six-issue comic that's based on the game, but also incorporates elements from the cartoon series (such as Dirk's horse, Bertram).

 

{{tropelist}}

* [[Action Commands]]/[[Press X to Not Die]]: Pretty much the [[Trope Maker]] and [[Ur Example]].

** It's also played straight by the enemies: Almost all of them, including the big bad Black Knight, the giant Bat King and the skeletal Crypt Keepers will get vanquished in a single sword strike.

* [[Press Start to Game Over]]: You could lose all your lives in a hurry.

* [[Schmuck Bait]]: One room is nothing but a table with a potion on it labeled "Drink Me". In a castle where every single inanimate object has been magically enchanted to kill you.

** Interesting fact: if you lose all your lives on this scene, the board will say "Eat Me". Which still counts as a Schmuck Bait.

** Lampshaded in the comic: Singe has a legion of maidens he's transformed into vain bubbleheads [[Go-Go Enslavement|who all dress like that]], and Daphne just happens to be his latest acquisition. She does seem embarrassed about it and as they ride away at the end she's wearing a robe over it.

* [[Trial and Error Gameplay]]: When an action doesn't have a preceding cue. Also applies to the Commodore 64 port.

* [[Updated Rerelease]]: Oh boy, where to begin... Considerably, EVERY "direct-to-video" port was superior to arcade in a way they had new scenes. Of course, it can't be compared with ''Dragon's Lair 20th Anniversary Edition'' which not only does includes loads and loads of bonus material, but also loads and loads of [[Dummied Out]] scenes. ''Escape From Singe's Castle'' for Amiga also has completely new scenes which are... '''Oh come ON''', may anyone trace these for the new release already?!

* [[Yet Another Stupid Death]]: The direct-to-arcade versions indeed do qualify, but the NES port takes it to [[Up to Eleven|ridiculous]] heights. The castle door that kills Dirk instantly should only he contact with it? ''Everything's'' trying to kill you indeed.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Arcade Game]]

[[Category:The Golden Age of Video Games]]

[[Category:Adventure Game]]

[[Category:Full Motion Video]]

[[Category:The Eighties]]

[[Category:Saturday Morning Cartoon]]

[[Category:DSiWare]]