Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair

Dare to Enter the Lair! Become Dirk the Daring, a brave yet bumbling knight, sworn to storm the chambers of the evil wizard Mordroc and save Princess Daphne! Only razor-sharp reflexes and tremendous feats of daring-do will ensure triumph within the Dragon's Lair!

Deep within the cursed halls of an enchanted castle, a captive princess calls for one with the courage to rescue her from the keep of a foul dragon...

• Defeat the wily Wizard Mordroc, Singe the Dragon, and scores of monstrous minions like Fire Drakes and Giddy Goons.

• Survive over 250 treacherous castle chambers loaded with devious traps, wicked puzzles, hidden secrets, and mighty power-ups!

• Ultimate Home Theater - compatible with 1080i widescreen HDTV and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, only on your Xbox!

• In-game movies by acclaimed animation director, Don Bluth (Titan A.E., the Secret of N.I.M.H.).

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Back of Case - XBox

FAST FACTS:

Fact: Dragon's Lair is one of three arcade games on display at the Smithsonian Institute.

Has it really been almost twenty years? For those who remember when the original Dragon's Lair first appeared in the arcades, this game changed the way we looked at "interactive entertainment" forever.

Completely innovative for its time, Dragon's Lair was the one of the first games to run pre-rendered scenes from a disc (at the time, a 'huge' 12 inch Laserdisc) and had the player interact, although rather cosmetically, with the story. As we all know, technology advances in leaps and bounds and now we are able to play Dragon's Lair in real time 3D, with graphics identical to animator Don Bluth's original cel animation!

Due for release on PC/MAC and Xbox, Dragon's Lair 3D recreates the story of Dirk the Daring, a brave knight who sets out to rescue his beloved princess Daphne from the clutches of an evil wizard and his dragon, Singe.

Don Bluth has returned as part of the Dragonstone team , creating new creatures and traps to put Dirk through his paces. Featuring over 250 rooms, 30 enemies and one big-ass dragon, Dragon's Lair 3D looks to get you addicted all over again.

Source:

2002 PCPowerPlay Guide (UbiSoft)

Years ago, Don Bluth breathed new life into a flagging arcade market with his animated masterpiece Dragon's Lair. With the advent of twenty-first century technology, Encore Software invites you to relive the adventure from a whole new perspective with Dragon's Lair 3D.

Style Over Substance

The original Dragon's Lair wowed arcade audiences with its elaborately animated action sequences. While the visuals were state-of-the art, the gameplay remained as shallow as the 2D graphics themselves. Players were required to move the control stick in a specific direction at the right time during predetermined sequences. Failure meant the instant (albeit, humorously animated) demise of the game's protagonist, Dirk the Daring.

A Whole New Dimension

Fast-forward to the year 2002. Gone are the repetitive 2D landscapes of the original Dragon's Lair. Featuring fully polygonal environments and characters, Dragon's Lair 3D delivers a classic formula in a whole new dimension.

Once again, players must take up the role of bumbling knight Dirk the Daring on a quest to rescue the fair Princess Daphne from the evil dragon Singe. While the story may seem familiar, the gameplay is anything but.

Save the Princess ... Again

Now that players have full control over Dirk, the formerly trial-and-error style gameplay has been replaced with a sprawling action adventure. Armed only with your sword and wits, you must infiltrate the dragon's castle while avoiding booby traps and battling goofy henchmen.

Enemy encounters are facilitated by an auto-targeting system. With the push of a button, Dirk's attention is focused on the nearest enemy, allowing him to hack and slash with the greatest of ease. While traversing the 250+ rooms, you'll also have to repeatedly elude an untimely end from a wide variety of traps and puzzles.

These obstacles usually require hand-eye coordination and twitch skills. React too slowly and you'll become all too familiar with the screen of death. Fortunately, you have an infinite number of lives.

New Paint Job

The jump from 2D to 3D has allowed for numerous gameplay enhancements while retaining the clean look of the hand-drawn original. Each character has been cel-shaded to look as though it were hand-animated on top of the well-textured 3D backdrops. At first glance, it really looks as though you're playing a living, breathing cartoon!

The Classics Never Go Out of Style

Even in the highly competitive modern video game market, Encore Software proves that classic design sensibilities mixed with clever visual programming can still turn heads. Save the princess all over again in Dragon's Lair 3D.

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www.nintendo.com – Nintendo GameCube

As Dirk the Daring, a brave yet bumbling knight, you have sworn to storm the castle of the evil wizard Mordroc and save Princess Daphne. Only razor-sharp reflexes and tremendous feats of daring will ensure triumph--but will you risk unleashing the deadly secret that lurks in the heart of the Dragon's Lair?

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"Nintendo Winter 2002" promotional booklet - GameCube

Dragon's Lair fans can prepare to experience Don Bluth's classic Dragon's Lair tale in real-time 3D. Dragon's Lair 3D tells the tale made popular in the arcade version, where Dirk fans will once again brave the menacing Singe the Dragon and the evil Wizard, Mordroc, to save the beautiful Princess Daphne. Guide Dirk the Daring, the valiant but clumsy knight whose bravery is famed throughout the land. You'll fight your way through the castle's treacherous, labyrinthine-like halls, and overcome new monsters and obstacles lurking in the shadows. Dragon's Lair 3D resurrects the popular characters and creatures featured in the original Dragon's Lair, and as a special bonus, new characters in Dragon's Lair 3D are being designed directly by legendary animator Don Bluth.

Source:

www.xbox.com