Dragon's Lair Review

Dragon's Lair (XBLA)
Developed and Published by: Digital Leisure
Date of Release: May 18, 2012
Price: 800MSP

In the year 1983 things were going quite well for the arcade industry. Games such as Tron, Pac-Man, Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong were doing well, and Spy Hunter had just hit the scene. Now although these games were all amazing in their own rights, they were about to face some major competition. And that competition was Dragon's Lair.




As neat as all the other games were with their 8-bit graphics and happily chirping synthesized soundtracks, there was no way they could stand against the mighty behemoth of Dragon's Lair. Although the gameplay was simplistic in comparison to other games (all that players needed to do was choose a direction for the hero at pre-determined points, sometimes pressing the attck button to ward off foes) the experience was unlike any othr game at the time. With cinema-quality laserdisc animation by Don Bluth and high-quality sound effects and cinematic score, Dragon's Lair was a quarter-devouring hit.




And now in this modern day of near-photo realistic 3D graphics, how does this charmingly retro title hold up? Amazingly well! Digital Leisure has taken the original game, remastered the gorgeous hand drawn animation frame by frame in HD, and completely removed the original load times. On top of that they have provided the option for Kinect control support (which works amazingly well, simply gesture where you'd like to go) and even added a 2-player co-op mode.




Dragon's Lair for the Xbox 360 is quite a nostalgia trip for those who grew up in the glory days of arcade gaming, and it also serves as a decent history lesson for those who are just getting started with arcade gaming. With the option to use the original arcade scene layout, or the more streamlined home version, Dragon's lair provides hours of entertainment for arcade buffs. There is even an option to watch the entire game cut together into a seamless movie. At a mere 800MSP this is definitely a sweet package for arcade buffs and newcomers alike. Here's hoping that Dragon's Lair II and Space Ace get the same treatment!