Gamers old enough to remember the 1980’s will certainly appreciate the effort spent to create a masterpiece like Dragon’s Lair. Simple and lacking in depth, Dragon’s Lair was limited by the Laserdisc technology it utilized. Despite this fact, gamers from wide and abroad flocked to Dragon’s Lair cabinets to spend $1.00US per game to try and save Princess Daphne. What was the attraction? Video Games were still in their infancy and graphic technology was still little blocks that moved across the screen. Something like Dragon’s Lair – with its hand drawn Laserdisc visuals – changed the way gamers experienced video games.
Gamers didn’t care if they were limited by four basic directions and a sword attack; they just knew it was innovative and ahead of its time. Regardless of how old this game becomes, fans wait eagerly for a new release that may improve video quality or offer extras that were once lost.
Digital Leisure, a company synonymous with anything Laserdisc related, surprised Playstation 3 gamers the week before Thanksgiving by releasing a trailer of Dragon’s Lair on the Playstation Network. Speculation began to run rampant about the possibility of a release, but it was confirmed quickly by PixelPerfectGamning.com that Dragon’s Lair was indeed coming to Sony’s workhorse.
What does the Playstation 3 version of Dragon’s Lair offer that previous versions didn’t? For starters, it includes both Arcade and Home versions of the game. The Home version includes the missing drawbridge scene that didn’t appear in most upright DL machines. The scenes also play in a specific order, removing the randomness of Arcade mode.
There is also a difficulty option that allows you to choose between easy and hard. Easy is far more forgiving than hard, as you would imagine. One incorrect move doesn’t usually result in Dirk the Daring’s death, and if the right move is inputed too early, it is forgiven. Hard mode is less forgiving and requires accurate timing in each scene. Additionally, Arcade mode also offers extended scenes not found in Home mode.
For the first time ever, you can save your progress anytime during the game. This can be quite useful if you’re learning to play the game and don’t feel like starting over after exhausting your lives. The save game feature saves everything, including your number of lives and current high score. DL also offers an online High Score feature. Once the game ends, your current score is recorded in a chart against other players.
For gamers who are weary about venturing into Dragon’s Lair for the first time, Digital Leisure has included a help guide that explains the in-game mechanics. This guide uses a scene from the game to illustrate how the controls work, so there shouldn’t be any guessing involved. If this is not enough to convince you, an on-screen move guide will help you through the game. Positioned in the bottom-left corner of the screen – and in the shape of a Playstation 3 directional pad – this guide will flash when it’s time to make a move.
If Dirk needs to move left, the left side of the directional pad will flash yellow. Rinse, wash, repeat. There is also a sound effect (a high pitched beep) that will help you determine if a move is inputed correctly. All of these features (including the move guide) can be turned off, so veterans can test their skills without any assistance.
The features don’t end with the aforementioned content. There is an option for infinite lives (another great feature for newcomers), a Visual Mode (this allows you to view the game in full-screen or surrounded by an authentic Dragon’s Lair coin-op cabinet), and a Watch Game mode (view the entire game without having to play). There’s even trophies to unlock (eight in total, one being hidden), so there is plenty of content available to keep any gamer busy.
Digital Leisure went to great lengths to make this release special and they succeeded without question. Not only is DL beautiful and arcade perfect, but it offers more extras than expected. Kudos to the developers on a fantastic release.
Mike Pittaro
Platform: Playstation 3 (Available on PSN)
Price: $9.99
Developer / Publisher: Digital Leisure
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |  |
| The HD visuals are beautiful. | |
| Sound | |
| The quirky screams of Dirk haven't sound better. | |
| Gameplay | |
| While the gameplay is limited, the additional features make up for it. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Digital Leisure did an incredible job on this release. When will we see Dragon's Lair II: Timewarp and Space Ace? | |
