GameCube

Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.