Dragon's Lair (video game)

Infobox VG
title = Dragon's Lair


caption = Cover art of "Dragon's Lair"
developer = MotiveTime, Ltd.
publisher = CSG Imagesoft, Inc.
distributor =
designer =
version =
released = NES
flagicon|US December 1990
genre = Action Adventure
modes = Up to 2 players taking turns
characters =
monsters=
ratings =
platforms = NES
media = Cartridge
requirements =
input =
cabinet =
arcade system =
cpu =
sound =
display =

Dragon's Lair, based on the laserdisc game by the same name, is a 1990 platformer released for the Nintendo Entertainment System and developed by the "MotiveTime" group. Plotwise the game is identical to the original. The decision to make the game a platformer might have been a marketing move or motivated by the NES's inferior graphics capabilities.

Gameplay

The game is a side-scroller with the character's walking pace being "relaxed" by comparison to other such titles. Dirk can walk, crawl or jump forward and he has an array of weapons that he can discover and use to dispose of enemies. The controller layout is reversed from other mainstream NES titles, with "Select" functioning as the Pause-button while Start is used for the Candle object (which helps reveal hidden weapons). Also B is used for jumping and A for attacking (the input of the A & B buttons is almost always the opposite in similar NES games).

Difficulty

Due to the game's sluggish pace, and the fact that most enemies are able to instantly kill Dirk with one touch (only the smallest enemies, such as bats, drain Dirk's life bar instead of killing him outright), the game is universally criticized for its high difficulty level (Dirk even dies from walking against a door). Indeed, many find themselves incapable of beating the first section (screen) of the game, a battle with a monster on the drawbridge outside the castle. The game is not unbeatable, but requires the player to learn the timing of the game, which many find tiresome and makes the game almost impossible for novice gamers. Theoretically, the game could be completed in as little as four minutes if the player memorized every single move in the game, and manages to execute every jump and attack at the right moment. [http://youtube.com/watch?v=zEkNoipq1rw Tool-assisted Speedrun]

It is to be noted that the Japanese and PAL versions of the game has almost twice the pace of the other versions.Fact|date=January 2008

Levels

*The Drawbridge
*The Dungeon
*The Mines
*The Reaper's Domain
*The Dragon's Lair
*The Lizard King's Throne Room (bonus level)

After the Dungeon section the player must go through an elevator stage where the player dodges falling rocks and must jump out at the appropriate floor to enter the next level. The player can not explore freely, but instead jumping on the wrong floor forces him to replay the previous level. The Lizard King's throne room is located at the bottom and can be entered any time to recover all the "gold" that the Lizard King has stolen from the player. Unlike everywhere else, here, touching the Lizard King leads to an instant death.

References

External links