LGR - Dragon's Lair - DOS PC Game Review
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- Опубликовано: 2 фев 2025
- Don Bluth's "Dragon's Lair" is awesome. But the PC port from 1989? It leaves a bit to be desired. Overprotective copy protection, repetition, odd controls, repetition, bugs and repetition.
Dragons Lair for MS-DOS EGA PCs
At least it's more playable than that NES port.
Quick-time events, the game. "Before" they were a thing.
Hey! My thinks that I thought! Give them back. I don't have many of those anymore.
"If you don't know what you're doing, you die."
The 80s gaming mantra.
Works nicely as a Souls mantra now. :3
And sometimes even when you do know, you still die
@jyatzy123 ... WHAT? OH NO. I knew I shouldn't have made this video, now everyone knows! Guess that's what I get for having a hobby.
@CuntTornado You're quite welcome!
And I've gotta say, that's one memorable username you have there.
Supposedly the terrible computer ports of Dragon's Lair are what inspired the guy(yes 1 guy) who created Another World (aka Out of this world) as he thought he could make an interactive movie than fit on one disk, rather than 15.
Sic's Space Éric Chahi said this? Got any source?
I would love to read more about it. :)
@indignantatheist Awesome, I'm truly glad to hear I can invoke that kind of enthusiasm! Thanks for watching!
@SCSNSE Thanks! It's from an Atari 800XL, the name of the song is "Vaxeen 4U" in case you wanna look it up!
Sounds like a decent deal to me! Especially if it comes with the CPU.
You should revisit this review.
@TheAbridgedGamer Thanks. I use Adobe Premiere CS4.
I wrote you 7 years ago about this video. I am rewatching it again while working on a funny cartoon. thank you again for making this review!!!!!!
@SPeacock That Dragon's Lair HD version of the game on Blu-Ray already came out, in 2007.
I remember when a friend of mine got a EGA card & also bought this game to show off its enhanced graphics... the animations, the colors, it was beautiful.... i was sooo jealous. And then we tried to actually play the thing.
I played this thing in the arcade back in the day. It was the quickest way to waste $1.
@wakkyvideogroup Oh yeah, there were copy protection schemes for all home computers back then, but this one takes that cake as far as most confusing and annoying text codes.
@stringanime Oh yeah, I can imagine it would still have been rad to have had this on the PC back when it was new, because compared to many other ports of the time it's not half bad. But it's pretty lackluster, even then.
@bteeuwen If it weren't on the Wii with its uncomfortable controller & fuzzy SD video output I'd likely agree! The best version I've seen thus far is the Blu-Ray collection. Works great on a PS3.
@Lachlant1984 This was played on a low-end 386SX machine.
When I see your reviews show up in my subscriptions on the front page I get really excited. Love your videos, man! Excellent review.
I also enjoy his videos.
@atrainhxdotcom You're quite welcome, I appreciate the man-love!
Thanks for the review. Recently started to watch your videos and love them all, from the game reviews to the hardware/pc reviews, thanks again for the work.
As a kid, this would have gone over my head. I would have assumed it was some space-age technology and you controlled the character directly.
The early 2000 digital camera recording makes the laser disk look high tech.
Maybe it's time for a re-do one of these days huh?
@LGR
You always seem to know what games to review to catch my attention, not to mention the best theme song out of any internet reviewer (though spoony's is pretty good!) Keep up the good work
First arcade game i ever paid more than a quarter to play...
@Costerguy1234556 The Win95 and 98 era brought about far better support for FMV in games, and with it came what I consider to be the first DL port for PC that was totally worth playing (1999 release by Digital Leisure).
WOW! Thanks for showing this - it's amazing what folks were prepared to do to play DL.
I played it on release in the Arcades and had no clue what to do, hence a Game Over screen without realising the game had started!!
It wasn't a cheap game to play either ...
I thought it was an appalling game and am still conflicted by it ...
Sure the animation is glorious, it's innovative but the GP?
Not great imo ..
I still try/play it sometimes and yesss i'm still terrible at it.
I also play FMV games here and there - such an interesting, yet odd genere.
The amount of bad takes and spin off's on Dragon's Lair is amazing ..
Was/has there been any good ones before home thchnology caught up and allowed close versions be played??
I'd buy this for the shelf
if i found it - 13 floppies for 10 repeating screens lol.
🙋🏻♂️
...Nutsack of a game.
Clint, you crack me up dude, lol.
Thanks for always being awesome:)
"Dragon's Lair. Dragon's Lair never changes."
@majora1993 Agreed, at least they TRIED to make it truthful to the original. It's too bad the PC they meant it to run on was nowhere near capable.
Pedant here. Laserdisc isn't digital. It's analogue composite video
did they have to redo the animation for this port? Cus that would be pretty impressive if they did.
Animated Freak looks like they “traced” the original animation pixel by pixel, which is why it rather jiggles at times (for example when the feet are planted on the ground)
This one at least HAS the original gameplay; every other 8/16 bit adaptation is a completely different _game_ with completely different mechanics and gameplay. That being said, I personally don't count the chain of quicktime events that make up the original arcade a "game", and getting my hands on an emulated version of the original was one of the biggest disappointments of my life, but I digress. Bottom line: this conversion at least has got that _right_ to call itself "Dragon's Lair" in contrast to every other home computer version.
The Game Boy Color port of Dragon's Lair developed by Capcom was pretty cool. It recreated much of the arcade version's original animation on the GBC screen, which led me to think that these older ports could have pulled off a proper conversion... but I guess in 2000, hindsight is 20/20. :P
Lazy Game Reviews,
I saw your video when I was 11 in 2013.
minor issue: Laserdisc was an ANALOG system
SkyCharger001 Yup I misspoke. All analog at first, then later had analog video and digital sound!
+Lazy Game Reviews I came to the comments to say exactly this but then you guys got everything right before I could play all smartass-know-it-all. Not cool!
Really!? And there went my assumption that they were just big-ass CDs.
@yonderTheGreat Wrong. It was still read with a lazer, but the info wasn't in binary format.
@@DragonNexus Yep! The information was encoded as pits in the disc surface, read with a laser like a CD, but the pits and lands were of continuously varying lengths encoding an analog video signal. Utterly weird from a modern perspective.
Awkward nutsack of a game....best one liner ever
It looks like you're getting close to your 100th review. I wish I had at least some of those classic games (although maybe not this one) the only "classic" thing I have is an unopened King's Quest Collection Series and that was my mom's because she had a PCjr and wanted to play Kings Quest on the newer computer.
I have the DOS CD-ROM version, of which I never could get working right. I don't have the manual for it, but if I remember, it had the LaserDisc video encoded on it, and of course needed VGA. If I can find it, I'd like to donate it if you don't have it.
Love this video like all of your others. I'm too young to know for sure (only 18), but what is your intro song made on, a C64 perhaps?
Great review! Didn't see it comming when you said "13 floppy drives" wow and the coding sheet??? It that even legal? I don't think I would find myself buying this game in.. quite a while.. But otherwise, great review! I always look forward to your videos every week ; )
Awful game; great review.
Thanks for this, Phreak. Ya know, this is why I love the internet: anyone can reach a global audience from their own bedroom and occasionally it sprouts a real gem - someone who has genuine talent and personality.
Phreak, I think I might love you, man. I mean love in the rugged, back-slapping, beer-drinking sense, naturally, but it's love all the same. keep it up, man. Really entertaining, informative stuff.
We had a version of Dragon's Lair for Mac. It didn't have the copy protection so that wasnt an issue. Which was "good" I suppose. We lost the manual. XD Imagine trying to figure this game out without the internet, and with no manual. We didn't get very far.
"Dirk on dragon action"
"Awkward nutsack of a game"
nice review Clint!
"Merit Software"...
I think that sums it up all.
Love that game..and I even did finish the game..used many quarters at the local 7-11 when it came out in the 80s
Guys, which is the best adoption of the Dragon's Lair arcade? I only know of the DOS and NES version.
One of the better ones I know of the 3DO version.
@@EnforcerX71 Thanks. I just saw a video about the PS3 port, which apparently is near perfect.
This looks like a good effort for the day, but the lack of sound and the mirrored scenes seems to ruin it, amongst other things, haha.
Really interesting version! I've only played the NES and original arcade versions. This one was really interesting. Man, that copy protection though.... holy cow.
Hey I'm curious when where they finally able to make a port of this to PC? The 3.1 era or the Windows 95 era?
"Awkward Nutsack" would be a great band name XD.
I love the SEGA CD version. Do they ever made Space Ace for DOS PC as well?
LOL So many ports of this......
Great review as always.
I uncovered a glitch one time in this version where I got to the final level at the start of the game.
Dude, yes! Hook up 13 floppy drives and play it from there!
I admit I never liked Dragon's Lair. As a kid I was blown away by the animation and sound but when you get down to it its not an arcade game as much as a very un-interactive movie. The trailer that plays on the arcade game promises a fabulous fantasy adventure but it really doesn't deliver as you don't really have any true control over Dirk.
I had Escape From Singe's Castle on the Amiga which looked miles better than this one but still fell victim to the same lack of playability.
For me the only really good Dragon's Lair game was Dragon's Lair 3D which finally gave you full control of Dirk and gave some flavour of what the original only hinted at.
It's supposed to be an interactive movie, I don't see how you call it uninteractive. It's like a movie in which you get to make the key choices; do I go left, or do I go right? Either path is valid and leads to a different cutscene. You probably weren't very good at Dragons Lair and thus weren't able to experience it's depth.
Chris Pie All I've seen tissue paper with more depth. As for the go left or go right both giving you a different cut scene, rubbish. What you had was a split second to make a guess as to which move to make and if you got it wrong you lost a life. Nothing deep about that.
Chris Pie All It's got as much interaction as a hand cranked projector.
Imagine a game of DDR, except if you miss you die and have to start the song again. And again. And again. But, hey, you're getting a pretty cartoon with the tracks on shuffle, so hey, game.
It’s basically just a time- sequenced platformer.... But it was the first of its kind and the absolute best looking of its kind for many years to come therefore it was exciting and novel
For anyone, even.
"Geeze, Dirk, I know this sucks, but drugs Aren't the answer."
Awesome.
I had what I think is the same version, it was 13ish floppies but didn't have copy protection. The computer I had at the time was below specification (I think 384k ram or something) and I would try to run it anyway. It would start and take about 30 minutes to load the first area but I didn't know how to play (and didn't have the manuals) so I would die every time, and 30 minutes is a long time to wait for loading to try again.
I believe laserdiscs were analog not digital but can be accessed way more faster than a video cassette which allows the game to run smoothly, the same with American Laser Games titles!
I used to play this game all the time when I was a little kid. We had a copy on 3 1/2 floppies of which there were only 4. I don't think I ever beat it, but I was really little and likely didn't have the attention span or skil.
Unrecognised chunk found!
I remember this on the Amiga. So frustrating with it's trial and error method (back in the day before internet, to find a walkthrough). I revisited it recently with an emulator on PC, just so I could finish it. Some of the levels are hard to get through, even when you know the key combination.
Celebration of 30 years of Dragon's Lair!
I remember being so excited about finally Having Dragon's Lair at home on my PC. Then after unpacking 13 Large Floppies. It took my brother and I Forever to get passed the Title Screen Bridge and Bats.....Big Let down, but exciting at the time.
this game made me angry. and I haven't ever played it
Out of all the 80s home computer versions, the Amiga looks like the best version, and even that is not arcade-perfect.
remember seeing ths for the first time in the arcades. Wow talk about jaw dropping!
(Generic-porno-type music plays) "Princess Daphne..." lol.
As much as this game sucks I kind of want to play on it for some reason, if only to cause that palette problem with "Unrecognised Chunk Found". Great video as always.
Were those 360k diskettes?
I got this on Windows 95 when it came out, my cousin actually managed to beat it, it was the full version though with all the right sounds and colors lol. It took her 3 days of constant playing to beat it.
I got a review request or at least a let's play request. You should play Outlaws from Lucasarts, released in 1997. It was one of the first if not the first fps game in a wild west setting. I am sure you are familiar with it. Thank you in advance, i really enjoy your videos.
The version I played on PC didn't even have the prompts when to press so I consider this my worst gaming experience ever. It was only recently I found out there were supposed to be buttons flashing XD
did anyone make a spreadsheet of the copy protection?
they kept in the bridge seen?
This reminds me of that port to the gameboy color... Thats an interesting game btw.
Cheap low-budget attempts of Dragon's Lair for 8-bit & 16-bit systems look like crappy fan games sold in stores (1:20)
love the intro
6:21 "Unrecognised chunk found!!" what?
Indeed the CDi had some great games (imo), Burn:Cycle, Dragons Lair, Defender of the Crown, Escape from Cyber City, Flashback: The Quest for Identity, Lost Eden, Inca, Space Ace, The 7th Guest.
Did you ever play the GBC port?
I loved rescuing daphne only game i played on dos was elders scrolls 1 and 2 so different and difficult
Laserdiscs are actually analog, not digital. The arcade games took advantage of their seek capabilities.
DO you have thirteen floppy drives?
+MarioFanaticXV He probably has about 50
@phreakindee It left me looking at my SEGA MAster system thinking, why can't SEGA make this, I know it can! I wonder if the SEGA Master system could overlay animated Cels that big.
You can also download from the Playstation store.
Have you tried this version of the game?
I'd like buy it, it's $9.99
As you did say, it was one of a kind for its time for its genre. I remember this game being very fun, so it's not that it sucks, it just sucks for today's standards.
Anyone knows the song for the princess Daphne part? :]
I played this back in the day on my Amiga with about 5 disks...it was a swap fest, yet we never complained.
I remember playing this game at my uncle's house and I remember being excited about the amazing graphics it had. I was thinking to myself that future of gaming is here where character looks like a real character lol. It was amazing for EVGA and I am privilege to experience what it's like to feel excited about it because kids today will never understand it.
Oh shut up.
I agree, he needs to shut up. Unlike when I was a kid, today's kids would understand quick time events when they see them. And they would recognize that making a game out of them and nothing but them, isn't much of a game at all!
It's a damn shame that Eric Chahi hadn't gotten behind this port.
Did you know that his reason for creating Another World in vectors was partially influenced by these terrible ports? He wanted to see if it actually would have been possible for them to recreate the video sequences by tracing and converting them to take up much less memory, and have a similar quality to the arcade version.
As for DOS sideshows? I love 'em! A few of the stranger ones have even been fun! :D
that copyright protection nearly made me piss my pants from laughing
I always loved the ADAM computer version. Way better than the NES one
I'm way behind the times here, but I _just_ noticed how much Dirk resembles the Avatar from Dungeon Keeper.
At least it was better than the C64 port, or the abomination on the NES I had as a kid. The best version I have found so far was a DVD playable version.
i paused on the error and it said unrecognized chunk found!!
I actually got to play the arcade game recently and I had no idea what was going on the entire time I was playing it I put like 10 quarters in that thing and I still have no idea what happened
I adore the Coleco Adam version, which seems to be the most unlike the original, like they didn’t even try to emulate the look of the original.
Ah, the times when legitimate customers were actually punished by not using the cracked version.
I agree that this arcade classic game had several ported versions that weren't all good. The Atari 2600 version was scary bad but then again...it was the 2600. The c64 version was all that great neither. The graphic for the time were ok but the playability just wasn't there. The Sega CD version was actually good. Currently , I own a Don Bluth limited edition PC dvd rom set of both Drangon's Lair, Space Ace and Dragon's Lair 2. From my experience, these are the best versions for PC available.