Dragon’s Lair 3D Return to the Lair
Many gaming fans will remember the original Dragon’s Lair from the arcade nearly
20 years ago. As a clumsy Dirk the Daring you must save Princess Daphne from
the evil wizard Mordroc. In the earlier version, which incidentally is one of
only three games on display at the Smithsonian Institution (the other two are
Pac Man and Pong) you had very little control over Dirk, only interacting when
flashes onscreen triggered you to press the controller in a certain direction.
We’re on the other side of the spectrum with Dragon’s Lair 3D
for the Xbox, which makes good and frequent use of every available button on
the Xbox controller to present a fully 3D Dirk the Daring in the latest version for the Xbox. Get ready
to fight your way through the castle and save your damsel in distress in the
challenging, sometimes frustrating, but certainly worthwhile cel-shaded Dragon’s
Lair 3D.
Dragon’s
Lair 3D is a platformer adventure by all means. Most of time you’ll be
faced with conquering puzzles and obstacles located in your path, as well as
fighting off the many enemies. Played from the third person perspective you
take control of Dirk the Daring and you have to fight your way through the castle
to save Princess Daphne from Singe the Dragon and the evil wizard Mordroc and
his minions. The action is fast paced, with plenty of enemies to plow down and
certainly enough little obstacles to overcome, it’s really a platformer’s
dream.
As
we said in the introduction every button on the Xbox controller is used, meaning
there will be a minimal learning curve before you can begin playing with confidence.
As with many of today’s games the left thumb stick controls Dirk’s movement,
and the right thumb stick controls the camera. X performs your
basic actions, A jumps, B blocks, and Y
auto-faces and auto-targets enemies. Your white button whips out your sword
(or sheathes it) and the black button does the same for the crossbow,
which you’ll get later in the game. Pressing the left trigger will make Dirk
run, pressing the right trigger will make him crouch, pressing both together
will make him roll. Using the D-Pad you can cycle through different arrows and
essences. Throughout the game you’ll receive messages through an Amulet (this
servers as your guide), which can be reached at any time throughout the
game for information if needed. That’s a lot of control on what was a very simplistic
setup on the original, but I think it works well and you’ll become accustomed
to it quickly enough.
Your
quest is based in a huge castle filled with over 250 rooms,
some from the original, which can be just as treacherous as the enemies you’ll
face. Environmental challenges such as fire, huge chasms, rising and falling
platforms, swinging chains, varied puzzles, and much more stand in your way.
. . Your skills will be put to the test. There is a nagging issue in game with
the camera however, so no matter how good you are, you’ll fall victim to it’s
sometimes quirky and frustrating lack of helpfulness, not to the point of making
you give up, since you have unlimited life, but just a nuicense in many cases.
For the most part, the objectives are clear, but there are times when you aren’t
sure what you need to do. Luckily the actual gaming is good enough to keep your
interest and never becomes boring.
The
other thing up against you are the actual enemies, being that the terrain is
enough trouble, the enemies make it that much more challenging. Fighting an
enemy is quite simple just using the X button to attack, or jumping and attacking
from overhead. There are limited attacks available, so the addition of the crossbow
and varying types of arrows for it, such as steel, flame, and magic arrows was
a nice addition to keep the gameplay fresh. With the crossbow, you can attack
enemies at a much farther distance. Your onscreen indicators will let you know
the status of your health and mana. Mana is used for special
powers that you will acquire throughout the game. Some of the Dragon Essences
are The Ring of Power, which gives Dirk a new sword
attack and starts off your collection of Mana, Dragon’s Wing
lets Dirk float when he jumps, Dragon’s Scale gives
him the ability to resist heat, and so on . . . there are about six in total.
To use them you need to select them in the Amulet. Finding health and mana in
the game by picking up little red and blue orbs dropped by fallen enemies of
hidden in breakable barrels.
The varied actions that Dirk can perform makes Dragon Lair 3D a great game,
it’s a much better experience than the already great original. The incorporation
of some of the retro cut scenes and memorable rooms was a nice addition and
fans of the series will certainly appreciate the memories it brings back! Newcomer
to the series will enjoy the game’s options and marvel at the cel shaded graphics,
and everyone will become frustrated at times with the camera. I like to think
of Dragon’s Lair 3D as a cross between the cel shaded graphics of Jet Set
Radio Future for the Xbox, and the non-stop adventure style gameplay of
MediEvil for the Playstation One, both excellent games in their own
right.
The first Xbox title to feature 1080i High Definition TV graphics
mode, if you have the still fairly unpopular and not readily available option
on your HDTV set-up, then you’re in luck with 16:9
anamorphic widescreen support! Dirk the Daring really does come to life in this
game, and the graphics are a pleasure to look at. All of the animations are
well done and are fluid throughout the game, without a drop in frame rate. The
environments in the castle are brightly colored, as are the enemies, and keep
the upbeat lackadaisical mood of the title. It’s amazing how close this replicates
the original, and how good it looks on the Xbox.
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, so everything comes through crystal
clear. There is a good soundtrack that fits the mood of the game, and adds to
the overall experience, in addition to all the original sounds from the first
debut back in 1983.
Getting through the game initially is a struggle, since there
are 250 rooms, tons of enemies, and it’s just a hell of a challenge. There aren’t
many bonuses for going back to play a second or third time around, except knowing
that you’ve done it better than the first time. Either way, I recommend the
title to anyone looking for a solid game that will offer a real challenge and
a platformer’s dream come true.
Overall
Score: 8.2/10 [Not an Average] Recommended
- Official
Game Site - Ubi Soft
- Dragonstone Software
- Dragon’s
Lair 3D Screenshots (Temporarily unavailable, Sorry.) - Dragon’s
Lair 3D Hints and Cheats - Buy
Dragon’s Lair 3D: Return to the Lair from Amazon.com
Filed under: Reviews
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