MAMEWorld Forums - News - Dragon's Lair:The Movie

Dragons Lair is more than merely "Visual".

Its also a Hell of a lot more important than some set-payout/odds Gambling or Mahjong clones.

Firstly, a well drawn cartoon... is something to be treasured. Especially when its not CGI computer generated framework.

Hand Drawn, and hand painted cells. Its a tough process, that requires an amazing level of talent. Not just to draw... but to make the animations look believable, expressive, and interesting. (unlike Jar Jar..)

And the painting, done in the amazing backdrops in the game... is some of the most breathtakingly beautiful works seen in any animation ever produced. These days, its rare to see such use of colors and shading in animations, due to the cost, timeframes, tools, and lack of skills of the content creators.

Besides the actual animations, which are quite incredible... you have sounds that match. Grunts, screams, rocks tumbling, ... music, and atmospherics. These days, its hard to find games that use anything other than droning techno.. which has no emotional content whatsoever.

Gameplay...

The interaction part is the weakest link. However, it was an experience. A sort of guessing game.. that gave you some hints. Failing was even fun.. because the death animations were fun and funny. Defeating a room was a great sense of accomplishment... and even then, sometimes you messed up on the timing, pressure, or memory lapse.

Replay Value...

This again is a bit of a weak point. However, that can also be said for a LOT of games. Especially beat-em-ups, and pretty much any game that has an ending. Not everyone cares to revisit the same experience. But, many whom Love the animations and sounds in Dragons Lair, Space Ace... etc.. will continue to enjoy these limited interaction, regardless of the lack of repeat challenge.

Historical Perspectives...

Remember, that even in the Arcade Heights of the 80s... games were not meant to last forever. Games were often replaced a few years down the road... as new games came into play. At .50 cents a play... that meant that as long as DL was Operational.. it would continue to rake in cash pretty well. Since youtube didnt exist.. the cheat books were not easy to translate to actual use in-game.. so that also helped.

You have to also place yourself as a young kid in the middle of an arcade filled with 8 bit graphics. Imagine comparing a bunch of NES vs Arcade machines... against Dragons Lair !!! Its impact was like getting struck by lightning.

It was ground breaking and incredible... despite its limitations in gameplay. It was fricken high quality audio and visuals.. in a time where low quality composite VCRs were the typical best source of video / audio.

Heck, most people of the time were listening to cassette tapes.. not CDs. The arcade I was in had a Journey, and a Two Tigers machine.. and those games used looping 8 Tracks in their cabinets. And even those were low quality loops.. and not full fledged and interactive audio and backing tracks. No blips, bloops, and beeps... but real crystal Clear vocals, bells, and orchestrations...

Again.. fire up some Excite Bike, and then compare that to the Intro alone.. in Dragons Lair at good volume and with decent quality speakers / headphones.

I myself have never fully learned DL in its entirety. Id played a few games in the arcade... but never was good at it.. but always enjoyed the attempts.

Ive often thought about using a cheat now that the DVD is playable, but feel Id rather discover the rooms on my own.

One day, I will invest more time into it.. and get good at it, as well as Space Ace.

I personally did Not care for Time Traveler. The whole Cowboy Redneck thing was cheesy as hell.. and the actions and acting of the live actors was pretty pathetic. It didnt have 1/100th of the moody experience that DL gave you.

It really is an important Historical treasure.

Being from a younger Era, you, and many others like you... really lack the proper perspectives. Its often a real issue for Preservation efforts in many forms. Just look at China.. steamrolling its hand carved / built temples.. in order to make modern boring artless high rise buildings...

Its citizens initially thinking its wonderful.. while us Westerners are cringing, and wishing we had even a Sliver of the artistry in our daily lives... rather than the typical generic concrete jungle, that we exist within.

The thing that makes this even worse... is that companies that own the IP have Butchered the re-masters. Both in horribly over saturated colors.. as well as in the actual screen format change (lopping off tons of artwork).

And as far as Ive heard.. the old Laser Disc formats degrade a bit each time they are played.

Dragons Lair is not an external desert-island game.. such as Robotron, or Super Mario World... however, it is a masterpiece. A real work of art. An experience to be enjoyed and treasured.. and well preserved.

Luckily, many fans agree.. and Dahpne was all over it.
DL and the like, sold like hotcakes in the arcades.. and then were ported and sold across countless game and computer systems. Sadly, none really captured the actual experience. Eventually the DVD finally came to pass... as well as Daphne.

I also enjoyed a bit of Space Ace, but not as much as DL. And, I also liked to play Astron Belt, and Foxfire? Despite their lackings. The atmospheres they created, were far greater / different than any 8 bit style of game could produce.

As for a full length movie starring Dirk.. Im not so sure about that. Though, Im a fan of pretty much any animation that is well done...

And the comment about the giant ball scene not "fitting", I disagree. Its a Castle of Magic, Fantasy, and Death Traps. I guess you have never seen the Goonies? Do not know what boobie traps are? Maybe a more realistic version might be a cylinder.. or a falling rock... but this is a Fantasy.. where knights can shoot lightning bolts out of floor tiles. Its fantastic fantasy... not boring reality.