Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair

Dirk the Daring is back in full 3 – D movement control … and he hasn’t aged a bit in 20 years!

As I opened Dragon’s Lair 3-D, I made a stunning discovery. I realized that if I still had every quarter and every dollar that went into the Laserdisc games of the 80’s like Space Ace, Cliffhanger, and of course Dragon’s Lair, I would probably not have to work for a long number of months. All lost money aside, here I sit … 20 years later … once again getting to walk back into Mordoc’s bizarre castle and into the lair of Singe the Dragon to rescue the scantily clad Princess Daphne from her spherical prison. To make matters even better, this time I’m in full control of Dirk the Daring and all of his heroic (and clumsy) antics.

That’s right 80’s gamers … Don Bluth’s original masterpiece which attracted a ton of attention and sucked untold amounts of wallets dry has been resurrected and released on Xbox for your gaming pleasure. Instead of just pushing a direction at the right moment or the sword button this time, you fully control the bumbling wonder as he runs, jumps, swings, and slashes through an untold number of Giddy Goons, flying books, and a host of other familiar creatures throughout 250 trap and hazard filled rooms.

Essentially, Dragon’s Lair 3-D is a fighting platformer … plain and simple. Due to this, there are a lot of new actions that Dirk can perform like a tuck and roll maneuver to avoid getting his head caved in and can even swing his sword from a lying down position when he’s been knocked over. He also now has an added weapon … a crossbow … which is useful for picking off distant enemies or is used in places to get around a particular puzzle. The developers have also added in some new “Dragon Items” that must be found before facing Singe, and include wings for him to fly short distances or an essence that gives him life back. These draw off of a mana meter at the bottom of the screen, so once the mana is gone … you can’t use it until it fills back up.

As for controls, every button on the Xbox is used for one function or another, and each one is necessary as you progress through the game. Certain rooms will have Dirk jumping and climbing ledges, blocking or swinging at enemy attacks, or jumping from ledge to ledge. Each action has an assigned button, and fortunately they kept the right analog stick free to control the camera … and it of course has its typical third person adventure game problems of being at weird angles at the wrong time here and there. On a positive note, the camera can be moved around as you see fit in most areas that it’s needed, including when walls are behind you, and the only time it causes any major headaches can be in those precise jumping and timing moments … which happen more and more as the game progresses.

The first and biggest thing that really impressed me when I popped this one in was the level of detail and attention that it has been given. The entire game, backgrounds and all, have a high rez … hand drawn look to them, and déjà vu hit hard as I was running through stages and facing enemies that I remember but haven’t seem in a long time (I had the original on 3DO a while back). The various rooms all have that same look of the original laserdisc game, complete with bright colors and nifty lighting effects to progress through. Another plus was the variation in the different areas, so that each part of the castle that you visit looks different from the one before or the one after.

The major thing about the new and improved Dragon’s Lair that will cause the most frustration (aside from camera related deaths) is the sheer difficulty of the game itself. Often times, various rooms will have to be replayed over and over again until you complete them due to some really complex and difficult tasks. Granted, you have an infinite amount of lives to go through and can save anywhere, which helps a lot when completing a really nasty area, but after large amounts of do overs it may cause the game to just get turned off or cause younger players to get really flustered. A lot of patience and in many occasions precise timing is needed to progress or figure out what to do at certain points. Add in some constant camera rotation while moving quickly and it can get a little tedious.

As I said before, this game is stunning graphically. The sound itself is also done very well, and now includes fully orchestrated music during the adventure and original voiceovers from the arcade. Dirk will even whistle sometimes as he walks along into a bizarre life threatening area, and still does his “Homer Simpson Style” scream when something bad happens or startles him. The original music is here as well and is re-done in a couple of places, but left as was in others.  Princess Daphne will also talk to Dirk through her amulet and drop some hints or tips along the way to help out or explain items … I only wish she did it more often to explain what the heck I need to do in some of the areas.

Overall, The Return to the Lair is a very impressive title that not only builds on the original, but adds in a ton of new castle areas, a ton of old original castle areas, and gives players the chance to play as their favorite laserdisc hero … only this time in complete control. If you are a Dragon’s Lair fan from the 80’s, you will not be disappointed with this title … despite the camera flaws and difficulty (How many quarters did you use trying to do the Black Knight’s electrified floor back in the day?). Also, platformer fans that are used to some of these same issues in other games will be right at home figuring out the puzzles and completing scenarios in this new Xbox adventure. So … shine your sword, polish your helmet, and prepare to kick Singe’s tail end all over again as you dare to re-enter the Dragon’s Lair.
 
 

Gameplay: 7.4
A really long and well done revision of the classic game from the 80’s which will please any Dragon’s Lair fanatic like me. Newer or younger gamers may find this game to look awesome, but be way too hard and not worth the trouble, even with a save anywhere feature. There is some great variation in the gameplay and hazards throughout the rooms, but the camera causes some headaches and some puzzles will cause many do overs that may lead to a thrown controller or two.

Graphics: 7.9
The game itself looks fantastic, backgrounds, extras, FMV’s and characters included. Dirk looks like a playable cartoon, just like in the old days, and the environments are brightly (sometimes weirdly) colored and the lighting effects look great. There are some collision detection issues that are more aesthetic then problematic, but also some issues which are annoying or fatal like enemies or their attacks coming through a door or wall to hit you.

Sound: 8.0
The original music has now been updated and orchestrated, and the voiceovers and sound effects sound just like they did back in the day. Little added touches like Daphne talking to you and giving hints was kind of neat, but got a little aggravating after hearing her say the same thing over and over again when having to replay a room multiple times.

Difficulty: Hard
It’s not too bad up front, but after you start progressing (especially into the sewers or “Platform Peril” room) you’ll see what I mean. Many puzzles or traps require some really accurate timing or weird solutions, so patience ultimately is the key to this one.

Concept: 7.8
It was great to see my old buddy Dirk back in action, and really made my day actually getting to play through his full adventure rather than just hitting a button or pushing a joystick every so often. This would have been spectacular if some puzzles would have been explained and the camera issues could have been a little smoother.

Multiplayer: N/A

Overall: 7.5
Overall, I would have loved to give this game a really high rating because of how much I enjoyed it … mostly because I’m a big player from the past. Newer gamers who haven’t played the original might find this game to not be worth the trouble due to the difficulty, but if you are a platform veteran or a Dragon’s Lair fan, you definitely should pick this one up and have a good time. Look on the bright side, there are still tons of do overs, just like there always were, but without all of the wasted quarters … and in my case that’s a really good thing!