Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair

Game reviewing is an interesting task. While playing and taking notes, I deliberately won't look at other reviews, but I do browse a bit after my rough draft is done, largely to make sure I've not left out some important feature or characteristic of the game. To my surprise, Lair 3D has received some negative press. I think of myself as rather critical, sometimes cranky in general, but some folks have really been picky about this terrific title. It's like they approach it to find what's wrong, much as my wife does with my wallpaper efforts, rather than look at the whole work. "Don't examine that little mismatch in the upper left hand corner of the ceiling, dear; rather, look at the glorious impact of the colors and design as you enter the room—please!"

I'm tellin' ya, at first I feared this would be nothing more than your usual 3D platform - jump, jump, as high as you can and collect 199 gold coins. Well, ultimately, it would be wrong to put this game straight into the mediocre-platform gaming sack. There are enough challenges and puzzles in the game to make you burn you brain cells and sore your trigger-finger. Sadly, we did encounter some difficulties along the way - players will sometimes have a hard time discerning what to do in the right moment (a rather annoying gameplay facet, which, as it turns out, still exists after 20 years). On the other hand, there's plenty of nifty gameplay elements to keep you on your toes. Introducing a rare high-quality animation system and preserving a superb cartoon-like ambiance, Dragon's Lair 3D is surely on its way to the very top of 3D action-adventures.

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.

Det enda som egentligen hindrar Dragon's Lair 3D från att lysa riktigt klart är att det inte har någon längre speltid och att det finns ett och annat problem med kameran. Märkligt nog – speciellt med tanke på den utsökta animationen i Cel Shading-stil – är kontrollerna ganska smidiga. De är optimerade för Dirks svajiga stil. Visserligen kan det här spelet aldrig anklagas för att vara djupare än havet, men medan det varar är Dragon's Lair 3D ett rent nöje att spela. Det här är det spel som stilen och visionen från originalet alltid förtjänat, och det Dragon's Lair vi alltid drömde om att få spela.

Ubi Soft and Dragonstone attempted to update an original and classic game. They succeeded in some areas, but weren't able to accomplish other tasks.

Dragon's Lair is one of those games from my childhood that has always stuck with me. I remember getting the trading cards, watching the cartoon, and dropping endless amounts of quarters at the local arcade. This is a stunning recreation of the original vision. It's obvious great care was given to Dragon's Lair 3D and that care pays off. The transition isn't the smoothest though as there are often times where your objective may be unclear and the fighting not as good as it could have been. Some will balk at the in-game menu interface and the endless number of messages offered for your perusal. Still, pushing through these issues (and the camera) is certainly worth it. The holiday season has brought a slew of high-quality games to Xbox and perhaps the final score suggests Dragon's Lair inferior to these. But you certainly can't go wrong here if you enjoyed the original or if you are looking for an incredibly challenging adventure-platformer.

Overall, I would have loved to give this game a really high rating because of how much I enjoyed it … mostly because I’m a big player from the past. Newer gamers who haven’t played the original might find this game to not be worth the trouble due to the difficulty, but if you are a platform veteran or a Dragon’s Lair fan, you definitely should pick this one up and have a good time. Look on the bright side, there are still tons of do overs, just like there always were, but without all of the wasted quarters … and in my case that’s a really good thing!

Ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass Spieleveteran Dirk noch einmal einen derart glänzenden Auftritt aufs Parkett legt. Die Cel-Shade-Comicgrafik passt zu Dragon's Lair wie das Schwert zur Scheide. Mehr davon!

As a platformer it pales in comparison to something like Rayman 2: The Great Escape, still one of our best and only efforts worth mentioning. As an action or an adventure title, it can't hope to a surmount Soul Reaver. As a daredevil, rope swinging, demon hacking, trap avoider, it doesn't best the old Prince of Persia. Still, these comparisons are somewhat frivolous, for though any one part of Dragon's Lair is uncompetitive, its whole is a memorable, nostalgic, vivid, and entertaining ride through an entirely trial and error puzzle broken into some 250 rooms. Every other element of the game is in place to further the challenge, interactivity, and believability of these puzzles, which have themselves been ripped straight from the original. See a puzzle, beat a puzzle, watch a story unfold. It's simplistic and addictive.

When I played the first Dragon’s Lair, all I could say was “wow”. This game was light-years ahead on the competition and it had a real soundtrack instead of the irritating “tudutudutiditadatodotiiiiiituuutudu….” midi soundtracks you got in other games. It was also one of the first games around to test the brand new cd-rom drive that cost you a ton of money. So, when Dragon’s Lair 3D was announced I was pretty enthousiastic but also a bit afraid at the same time. Many of the classic games have tried to go 3D and failed pretty damn hard. Look at Lemmings, Pac Man and of course Price of Persia. All games I liked to play back in the days but made me cry when playing the 3D versions.

Несмотря на скоротечность и почти нулевой стимул к повторному прохождению, Dragon's Lair 3D оставляет вполне приятное впечатление. Глаза радуются, нервы почти не напрягаются, мозг отдыхает, мрачноватые шуточки заставляют рот вытягиваться до ушей — если бы не подстава с камерой, из игры могло бы получиться прекрасное релаксационное средство. А так... для римейка, знаете ли, очень даже неплохо.

The game makes use of cel-shaded graphics to capture the animated look and feel of the original. The game's graphics look pretty good, with Dirk himself looking the best of all. Dirk features a number of moves that are animated with a large number of frames, making his movements appear very fluid. Too bad the control is so clunky...

Dirk's transition to the realm of 3D hasn't been without drawbacks, but Dragon's Lair 3D is still a fun romp through the castle again with enough new rooms, puzzles and challenges, enemies, and upgrades to warrant a serious consideration for any fan of the arcade classic. The game is fun and entertaining enough, but it has problems. It lacks a certain polish that's overwhelmingly present in some other, better action-adventures. If you're willing to forgive a sometimes-stubborn camera system, some collision detection issues and a sloppy framerate, though, you might just learn to like the Zelda-inspired control scheme and classic styled puzzles.

The fighting aspect is clumsy and doesn't require much technique. The camera is a big issue too. The developers leave it to you to position it correctly, so you're constantly swinging it around frantically. You can save at any time, but even if you forget to save and die, the game thankfully restores you close to where you left off. Like most platform games, you acquire new items and abilities as you progress. Dragon's Lair is pretty good. Even with all my complaints I could play for hours on end.

Auch ein neues 3D-Gewand oder Boni in Form eines neuen Intros, veränderter Schluss-Sequenzen oder eines Musikvideos zaubern aus diesem alten Schinken eine Softwareperle. Neuauflagen von Klassikern sind ja seit geraumer Zeit schwer in Mode gekommen. Ritter Dirk the Daring hätte man aber lieber in Frieden ruhen lassen sollen.

There aren't that many Gaming Legends out there. And when I say Gaming Legends I'm writing about characters that are known outside of gaming circles. Ask anyone on the street who Super Mario is and they'll likely be able to tell you. Dirk the Daring is one of those figures.

Pünktlich zum 20-jährigen Jubiläum des Laser Disc-Originals dürfen Sie erneut mit dem vertrottelten Ritter Dirk ausziehen, um Prinzessin Daphne aus den Klauen des finsteren Drachen zu retten. Inzwischen ist aus dem interaktiven Zeichentrickspaß allerdings ein richtiges Spiel geworden, in dem Sie den kreischenden Sympathieträger durch eine 3D-Neuauflage des Klassikers steuern.

Dragon’s Lair has always held a special place in my memory as it pertains to videogames, but Dragon’s Lair 3D irrevocably dampers my nostalgia for the 20-year-old title. As far as platforming 3D games go, DL3D is mediocre at best, but looking at the game from the perspective of how it compares to the original, it does a little better. In other words, if you are looking to relive the good times of Lair’s past then this may be a game worth checking out, but if you could care less about Dirk and the horribly helpless Daphne then you might as well steer clear.

Dragon's Lair a réussi tant bien que mal sa conversion vers la 3D. Ce titre souffre de quelques défauts qui entâchent l'aventure sans toutefois lui faire perdre tout intérêt. Un petit jeu sympa, trop facile et trop court pour les pros. Vendu 20 dollars aux Etats-Unis, il amusera les plus jeunes.

Dragon's Lair 3D aurait pu être un jeu d'action/plates-formes très sympa, si seulement la jouabilité avait été meilleure et que le gameplay n'était pas aussi limité. Son système de combat est en effet minimaliste et les pièges auxquels on est confronté ne sont pas assez originaux pour soutenir l'intérêt du joueur qui s'émousse bien vite devant tant de banalité et de difficulté.

Dragon’s Lair 3D is only for die-hard fans of the original arcade release. The linearity and tragically flawed control cast a pall over the entire title.

As a final note, the Xbox version of the game sports a high-definition mode making the visuals really impressive, but sadly, the GameCube's progressive scan opportunity seems to have been omitted. Stalwart fans will find some love in Dragon's Lair 3D, but casual gamers beware -- "try before you buy" should be planted firmly in your brains when approaching this one.

Infelizmente, toda essa homenagem tem um preço caro. A mecânica original de "apertar uma tecla no momento certo" não se traduz bem em um jogo de plataforma, deixando o todo bastante maçante. Mas os saudosistas de plantão certamente vão apreciar o esforço da produtora em não apenas resgatar um momento histórico dos jogos eletrônicos, mas oferecer um belo vídeo-documentário do passado e presente de "Dragon's Lair".

In the end though, Dragon’s Lair 3D is a game that can only hope to succeed by banking on name recognition… if it weren’t for the title’s roots it would never have even registered on anyone’s radar.

Overall, Dragon's Lair 3D is an ambitious, overly flawed attempt to revitalize a true gaming milestone. Based on the lengthy list of far less impressive attempts to do the same, it probably won't be the last, and it's only a matter of time before developers get it right.

Dragon's Lair 3D aurait pu être un jeu d'action/plates-formes très sympa, si seulement la jouabilité avait été meilleure et que le gameplay n'était pas aussi limité. Son système de combat est en effet minimaliste et les pièges auxquels on est confronté ne sont pas assez originaux pour soutenir l'intérêt du joueur qui s'émousse bien vite devant tant de banalité et de difficulté.

Deze draak van een spel had beter in zijn hol gebleven. Zelfs niet aan te raden voor die-hard Don Bluth fans...

Voilà ce qu'on appelle un come back raté. Dragon's Lair 3D nous offre un gameplay action/plate-forme avec résolution d'énigmes finalement très classique mais qui aurait très bien pu séduire si sa maniabilité n'était aussi désastreuse et énervante. Le plaisir de retrouver Dirk s'en trouve gâché. C'est ballot.

Die Grafik wirkt größtenteils fantasievoll aufgebaut und schön bunt, die ordentlich animierten Figuren sehen absichtlich nach Comic aus. Spielerisch bereitet das Ganze jedoch wenig Freude, weil viel Auswendiglernen angesagt ist und die Steuerung echte Macken hat.

Taking all this into account, there's really nothing else to say about Dragon's Lair 3D except that it was a real disappointment. I still count myself as one of Dirk's fans despite the long string of failed attempts to update the series, and this game won't change that. However, with technical weaknesses, lackluster production, and a failure to find or establish its own identity, the disc is several steps below the expected level of action/platform games. With such an anemic showing it's not likely we'll be seeing Dirk again for quite some time. Rest well, hero...you sure need it.

To be honest, I had a decent time with Dragon's Lair 3D, but not because it's a good game. It isn't. It adheres to dated, formulaic gameplay far too much and is over quickly. But I grew up on this game, and if you did too, you will likely have some fun with this as a rental. Just don't spend any more than a few quarters on it - you've wasted enough already.

Dragonstone definitely took a noble step in attempting to covert it into a viable next-gen adventure, but it still comes off as an average third-person quest. It's dripping with nostalgia, no doubt, but the best place for Dirk, Daphne, and Mordroc at this point is on the silver screen. Bluth knows -- he's currently working on Dragon's Lair: The Movie as you read this.

With the arcade original having been available on DVD for some time now, there seems little point in shelling out thirty quid for one of the more ill-conceived platformers of the 21st century. PC owners can pick up the game for less than a tenner now, but the rest of you should be reminded that although Dragon's Lair was fantastically innovative 21 years ago, it was also fantastically annoying. So what did change while I was sleeping?

The final score loses many points due to the awkward controls. While Dragonstone sought to give players the ability to move freely about the castle, they simultaneously confined them to a frustrating control scheme that makes no sense. If the controls could be corrected, Dragon's Lair 3D would merit a higher score despite its strong console roots; as it stands, I'd recommend it only to the most determined fans. The game does have appealing animation and a wonderful soundtrack, but so much of the original’s enchantment is missing.