Dragon’s Lair Trilogy review

As many of you who have took the time to read my reviews, will no doubt have gathered that I’m a big fan of all things retro. I get a warm fuzzy feeling when games from my past hit the Xbox store, whether it be a rehash of a classic title, or a chance for the masses to experience a golden oldie!

The Original Dragon’s Lair was a laser disc game in the arcades back in the 80’s, with the second addition of the game releasing in the early 90’s. The third game in this Trilogy is not related at all in terms of the Dragon’s Lair storyline but animated by Don Bluth (the head honcho behind Dragon’s Lair) and his crew and was often bundled together with the other games. Space Ace was offered as disc upgrade kit for the Dragon’s Lair arcade cabinets.

Over the years the concept of Dragon’s Lair has been marketed in many forms, merchandise, a cartoon series, and even comic books. There have also been several kickstart campaigns for a movie adaptation.

The Dragon’s Lair games are considered cult classics in the gaming world, and have been released on many platforms over the years, and now they have found there way to Xbox One

Should Dragon’s Lair be foreign to you then let me offer you a short guide to the games, but firstly I will point out that these game’s offer a cinematic carton experience with quick time controls, so if your looking for something else, then you best look elsewhere.

Dragon’s Lair

In Dragon’s Lair you play as the heroic Dirk the Daring, a loveable character who’s on a quest. Dirk is a Valiant Knight with only one thing on his mind, to rescue the fair princess from the clutches of an evil dragon.

You control the actions of an adventurer. Your role, to guide Dirk through a castle of a devious wizard, who has enchanted it with treacherous monsters and obstacles in the Mysterious caverns below. Your odyssey continues against the awesome forces that oppose your efforts to reach the dragons lair.

Dragon’s Lair II Time Warp

Once again you reprise the role of Dirk who is embarking on yet another perilous quest!

Spirted away to a wrinkle in time by the evil wizard Mordroc, Princess Daphne will be forced to marry the wicked wizard unless Dirk can save her. Once the casket of doom has opened, Mordroc will place the death ring upon Daphne’s finger in marriage, thus resulting on her being lost forever in the time warp.

Dragon’s Lair Space Ace

In Space Ace you are cast as the heroic Ace who must stop the evil commander Borf from taking over the earth!

Borf plans to reduce all of humankind to infants and take over the planet. Only two people have the courage and strength to stop Borf and save earth, the beautiful Kimberly and the heroic Ace. However, as the awesome twosome approach Borf’s stronghold, Ace is hit by the infant ray, transforming him into a child, whilst Kimberly is kidnapped by the evil madman. It’s up to you, as the earth’s fate lays firmly in your hands!

The Xbox one version’s offer a chance to play the original arcade cabinet cut allowing you to experience the game as it was released with the original scene order. Should you lose a life Dirk respawns in the next sequence. However, the good thing about nostalgic games having a new lease of life, is that they come with added options allowing you to experience the game slightly different.

Arcade game’s offer challenging gameplay. Gameplay that is addictive enough to keep the coins flowing in the slot, but a challenge that is rock solid in terms of difficulty. In these versions you have the ability to turn the arcade cabinet version off, this means that you have to pass the current act, without skipping ahead if you die. There are also director’s cuts on offer, and the ability to add more lives, and turn the difficulty of the games down, a bonus for many player’s that find these quick time event games extremely difficult, and I’ll be honest they are.

Dragon’s Lair Trilogy is a fun and addictive collection, full of charm and panache. The nostalgic cartoon’s may have aged visually, but the experience is still captivating, drawing you in as you look to progress through Dirk’s quest.

The controls are responsive, and the quick time mechanics are perfect for the games style. The games difficulty is extremely hard, so the added options to dumb down the challenge is a welcomed addition, as to the ability to play through without skipping scenes from the games, something the originals never had.

This is definitely worth picking up if you’re a fan of the original Dragon’s Lair, for nostalgic reasons and for a one not to miss title for ID@Xbox.