Classic Game Review: Dragon's Lair

Hi guys! Welcome to another game review! In this new segment, I will review classic video games from the olden days of gaming. This is a game unlike any other, because, well, it isn't even really a game! This is Dragon's Lair!

Dragon's Lair was an arcade game in the '80s developed by legendary animator Don Bluth, the director of great animated films such as The Small One, Banjo the Woodpile Cat, The Secret of NIMH, The Land Before Time, An American Tail, All Dogs Go To Heaven, and Anastasia. He's even the director of not-so-great animated films such as Rock-A-Doodle, Thumbelina, The Pebble and the Penguin, Titan A.E., and A Troll In Central Park! Dragon's Lair was his first video game. It was so successful that it spawned 2 sequels, Space Ace, which was a Sci-Fi adventure, and Dragon's Lair 2: Timewarp, a very strange official sequel to Dragon's Lair. Dragon's Lair even has 2 full 3-D platforming adventures, Dragon's Lair 3-D and Dragon's Lair 3 (Not an official sequel!), for the PC, X-Box, and the Playstation 2. Many versions and ports have been made of Dragon's Lair and Space Ace over the years. They are mostly horrible. However, none of these sequels were even nearly as successful as the original Dragon's Lair! In the game, you play as Dirk the Daring, a brave knight exploring the Dragon's castle to rescue the fair Princess Daphne. In the castle, Dirk must face the dangers inside to get to the centre of the castle and the Dargon's lair. Can Dirk the Daring rescue Princess Daphne from the dragon? Play Dragon's Lair to find out!

The story of this game is absolutely nothing special. It is just your basic Hero saves Princess from Dragon story. However, the gameplay of this game is some of the most innovative and fun I've ever seen! This game is entirely in hand-drawn animation, so the game is centred around pressing the right button at the right time. (BTW, this was the first game ever to have FMV, which is Full Motion Video, leading the way for all video game cutscenes to come. You have this game to thank, Metal Gear Solid 3!) You need to have sharp and quick reflexes to play this game. This game is very difficult, but fair. It tells you what button you need to press so if you screw up, it's all your fault. This game is not super long, you could beat it all in probably under an hour, but Dragon's Lair is a great and fun experience. If you want to try it or it's sequels, they are 5 bucks each on iPhone and 10 bucks each on Steam. You can also get these games on DVD, Blu-Ray, PS3, Wii, and X-Box 360! I had a lot of fun with this game! I'll give it 4 stars out of 5! A short, excellent experience!

Have you played Dragon's Lair? What did you think of it? Tell me in the comments!