Dragon's Lair (NES) Playthrough [NA/NTSC]

A playthrough of CSG Imagesoft's 1990 platformer game for the NES, Dragon's Lair. Dragon's Lair had a version of some kind appearing on most major platforms throughout the late 80s and early 90s. The computer versions represented valiant attempts at shoehorning as much of the coin-op's gameplay as possible onto a few floppy disks. The home console versions, on the other hand, adapted the story and action to a variety of 2D side-scrolling platformers. Motivetime's Dragon's Lair for the NES is not a game for impatient people. That much needs to be said upfront. It's clear that the designers wanted to remain as faithful to the style and flow of the FMV original as possible: the great majority of the game relies on tightly scripted sequences that require careful memorization and split-second timing. The attitude and the ambition that drove the game design should be commended. The execution... not so much. The arcade game was notorious for how quickly it chewed through quarters, and thoroughly learning each of its trial-and-error sequences was the only way to see the end. People in 1983 were willing to forgive the design, though, since the trade-off was the ability to "play" a beautifully animated cartoon. (Keep in mind that Dragon's Lair was released just five days after Nintendo's Mario Bros.!) The NES game largely mirrors the arcade game's design ethos. The scenes are short, straightforward, and rely on your having foreknowledge of what's coming in order to make any progress. However, while rigidity and repetition were necessary constraints for interactive movies, the NES game voluntarily adopts those limitations while ignoring the system's strengths. The graphics are uneven but generally good by NES standards. Dirk's sprite is huge and smoothly animated, and the enemies and backdrops have a good amount of detail to them, though they're recycled entirely too often. The issue is that the graphics were clearly prioritized over the gameplay. Dirk's lengthy animation cycles look phenomenal, but the game only runs at 12 fps, and the controls are painfully sluggish. If an enemy is coming at you from the opposite side of the screen, you'd better start hammering the fire button immediately if you're hoping to kill it before it kills you. If you need to shuck and jive through a gauntlet of moving obstacles, your timing will need to be virtually flawless. Dirk takes *forever* to duck, stand, and jump, and you'll often find yourself getting whacked by projectiles as you attempt to wade through an invisible sea of molasses. It's excruciatingly difficult, but it's not quite as impossible or as broken as it first seems. Once you've nailed down a sequence, you'll be able to repeat the steps to consistently get through without taking damage. Until then, good luck. It'll appeal to people who appreciate the level of dedication and skill the original Dragon's Lair demands, though. Nothing about it is randomized, and it encourages systematically attacking sequences to uncover the patterns. (If you decide to try it out, do yourself a favor and avoid the North American version. The PAL and Japanese versions run at much higher framerates, control better, and are less prone to freezes and crashes.) Overall, Dragon's Lair is an extraordinarily acquired taste. Those who cut their teeth on 80s PC action games will likely love it to pieces, but most will balk at the punitive design and the unresponsive controls. I didn't totally hate it, but I'd be perfectly happy never to touch it again. Approach with caution, Dirk. Only you can decide if Daphne is truly worth the effort. For something really impressive, check out the Game Boy Color version! https://youtu.be/e2MB-tYZXxU _____________ No cheats were used during the recording of this video. NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!