Dragon's Lair Blu-Ray

More than 15 years before cel-shaded graphics first appeared on PlayStation 2, a game by name of Dragon’s Lair was released in arcades. The big screen and Disney-style animation attracted players to the cabinet, devouring quarters by the truckload.

Dragon’s Lair centers on Dirk the Daring, a heroic knight who can’t stop getting into dangerous situations. Traps, pitfalls, monster scares, and other hazards pop out of nowhere, sending Dirk to an early grave. Lucky for him, death isn’t final. His bones might break and his skull might shatter but he’ll always come back. He’ll return a few times on the hard difficulty setting, and will be reborn an infinite number of times on the easy setting.

Dirk may never realize it, but he is stuck in an animated movie of limited proportions. His success depends on the player’s ability to react to the endless dangers that befall him. Sounds like another action game, right?

Had the game been developed today, that’s probably how it would have turned out. But 1983 was not a year of advanced technology. At that time the biggest arcade game was the original Pac-Man. Developers didn’t have many tools or powerful hardware, but they wanted to create a game that looked like they did. Their solution: produce a short animated movie of a knight in peril. Every scene needed to have at least two outcomes – he lives or dies. Unlike the other games of that era, death animations could not be repeated. Otherwise it would lose the illusion that you are controlling an animated movie.

The outcome wasn’t as much a game of control as it was a game of influence-at-just-the-right-moment. Essentially, it worked like this: pop a few quarters into the machine, watch the movie unfold, then watch for an announcement that you’ve died. Quarters gone. Game over.

Because the events are scripted, players are faced with a situation that’ll remind them (especially the younger generation) of the DVD games we have today. Dragon’s Lair was the first of its kind – an animated movie where the viewer could change the outcome. It’s surprising to think that reality TV hasn’t jumped on the idea. Who wouldn’t watch a show called American Gamer?

On the Blu-ray edition of Dragon’s Lair, the X button and D-pad are your only defense against a plethora of trials that’ll test your ability to watch and react. Some of the avoidable dangers include:

• Falling rocks / caved-in ceiling

• Collapsing floors

• Ferocious monsters

• Man-eating spiders

• Oversized rats

• Statues that come to life

• Swinging over a fire pit

The disc includes a Dragon’s Lair time capsule that shows how the game has evolved over the years. From the pixelated cartoon days of the Amiga to the crisper, though not much brighter, Deluxe PC Pack. The 20th Anniversary CD edition was much closer to the arcade version, though it wasn’t until players got their hands on the Laserdisc and DVD ports that they got to see the game as intended.

Dragon’s Lair Blu-ray offers the same kind of extras you’d expect to find in a DVD movie: trailers, commentary, and interviews. If you loved the game before, this is the pinnacle edition. But this modern-day version of an ancient arcade game is missing something: gameplay upgrades. So much time was spent making it look superior for Blu-ray DVD players that they completely forgot that Dragon’s Lair is supposed to be, first and foremost, a video game. If I’m wrong – if this is merely an artistic masterpiece with slightly interactive elements mixed in – then please correct me. But this wasn’t marketed to moviegoers. It was shoved into arcade units and placed next to Asteroids.

For its time, Dragon’s Lair was just as revolutionary as it appeared to be. But even Rick Dyer said (during the commentary segment) that the mesh of animation and gameplay created “an illusion of control.” During that same commentary Don Bluth pointed out that he had a problem with some of the scenes because “you’re not sure exactly what you should be doing.” They go on to talk about the challenges of creating this “game,” and how wonderful it is to have in high-definition.

After more than 20 years, isn’t it about time for Dragon’s Lair to receive more than a high-def upgrade? Shouldn’t gameplay have figured into the picture – or is the picture really all that mattered to its creators?

Gameplay: 3.0
You don’t “play” Dragon’s Lair – you watch impatiently and hope for the best. It can be a frustrating and unreliable nightmare. The mini-games found in DVD movies like Open Season are less cumbersome.

For Dragon Lair’s Blu-ray upgrade, the focus was on the graphical presentation. That’s not a bad choice, but it means that only the existing DL fans will want to add this edition to their collection.

Graphics: 7.0
Dragon’s Lair isn’t a PS3-specific, jaw-dropping adventure. But it demonstrates a series of fine visuals that can’t be found in any other console version of the game. For a 1983 animated port that doesn’t have a Disney logo slapped on the cover, Dragon’s Lair is downright amazing.

Sound: 7.0
Whereas the '80s proved to be a defining era in video game music, it wasn’t as remarkable for the film industry. Dragon’s Lair’s background lies in movies and thus contains an 80s movie-style soundtrack. It’s very good but can’t compare to game industry compositions of the decade.

Difficulty: Hard
If Dragon’s Lair were a game of Simon Says, it could’ve been a great edition to any PS3 library. But it’s really a game of watch closely and press the right button at exactly the right time and hope the game doesn’t glitch.

Concept: 7.0
Another port of the 20+ year-old animated movie game. This one comes with the sharpest images possible, looking just as good as the arcade version on a standard TV and runs in 1080p for those with a high-def set. Bonus content includes: 5.1 surround sound, a watch-only option (no interactions necessary), full-length commentary from the creators, and interviews with Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, and Rick Dyer.

Overall: 6.8
As a game, Dragon’s Lair falls flat on its face. However, I’m grading it as short film because, when you get down to it, that’s really what it is. Fans of the arcade original will clamor for the developer interviews. The creator commentary and high-def video – and being able to play the disc on any Blu-ray player (not just a PlayStation 3) – are sure to win over those who purchased the last high-def version. But the jittery scene transitions and unimproved gameplay will not win over anyone looking for a new PS3 game.