Dragon's Lair 3d: Return to the Lair

by UBI Soft

Product Features

• Dragon's Lair 3D tells the tale made popular in the classic arcade game
• Guide Dirk the Daring to overcome new monsters and obstacles lurking in the shadows
• Brave Singe the Dragon and the Wizard, Mordroc, to save Princess Daphne
• 15 large, detailed, action-packed levels featuring more than 40 environments
• Over 250 new rooms with numerous puzzles, traps, power-ups, and hidden secrets to uncover

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00006GSNW
• Item Weight: 12 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: November 18, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,810 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: PC

From the Developer

Dragon's Lair 3-D is an entirely new, built-from-the-ground-up, three-dimensional version of the 1980s coin-op phenomenon. While it stays true to the design and story line of the arcade game, it offers a massive 3-D experience unlike anything else Dragon's Lair fans have played before, along with unexpected twists for a whole new adventure.

Princess Daphne has been kidnapped by the evil dragon Singe and hidden in a medieval castle owned by Mordroc, a powerful and malevolent wizard. To save her, you will take on the persona of Dirk the Daring, a goofy but courageous knight.

As he advances through the castle with the help of a magical amulet, Dirk must overcome a slew of challenges, from jumping over flaming pits and climbing ropes to flying across chasms and battling swarms of the wizard's minions.

Use cat-quick reflexes, cunning, and resourcefulness to solve puzzles, defeat a variety of enemies, and fight your way through the castle to find Daphne and save the kingdom from Mordroc's clutches.

Product Description

Dare to Enter the Lair!Product InformationBecome Dirk the Daring a brave yet bumbling knight sworn to storm the chambersof the evil wizard Mordroc and save Princess Daphne!  Only razor sharpreflexes and tremendous feats of daring-do will ensure triumph within theDragon's Lair!  Deep within the cursed halls of an enchanted castle acaptive princess calls for one with the courage to rescue her from the keep of afoul dragon.Product Features Defeat the wily Wizard Mordroc  Single the Dragon and scores of monstrous minions like Fire Drakes and giddy Goons. Survive over 250 treacherous castle chambers loaded with devious traps wicked puzzles hidden secrets and mighty power-ups. In-game movies by acclaimed animation director Don Bluth.System Requirements Windows 98 2000 XP Pentium III 800 MHz recommended 128 MB of RAM DirectX 8.1 compatible 16 MB Video Card DirectX 8.1 compatible Sound Card DirectX 8.1 (included on disc) 4X or faster CD-ROM (not recommended for use with CD-RWs)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great for fans of the old game, mediocre as a stand-alone ga, January 3, 2003

By 

bayou_hannibal "bayou_hannibal" (West Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair (CD-ROM)

"Dragon's Lair 3D" is the story of Dirk the Daring, as he returns to the evil wizard's castle to save Daphne, the princess and slay the dragon. It's a great item for Dragon's Lair fans, but mediocre as a stand-alone game.

Each room of the castle is warded by all sorts of bizarre, dangerous contraptions and strange cartoon beasts. The game play for DL3D generally involves moving room to room, navigating various hazards, picking up treasures, breaking open barrels, and fighting occasional monsters. Dirk the Daring has two basic weapons at his disposal, his sword, and a crossbow. Most of the puzzles in the game are simple and involve jumping at the right time or flipping switches.

DL3D oozes "Dragon's Lair" from every pore. It looks, feels and sounds like the old "Dragon's Lair" (due to the fact that it was made by the same people who gave us the arcade classic). Dirk the Daring still emits yelps and grunts instead of speech. The actress who voices Daphne's lines sounds exactly like the original Daphne, and the hazards in each room have the magical, unpredictable danger that defined the first game.

"Dragon's Lair" fans will be delighted that many old rooms been recreated in a way that captures the look and feel of the old version - some of them with extraordinary detail. The Lizard King makes a reappearance, and the fight with him resembles the arcade version, with you chasing your sword down the hall while he tries to pop you over the head with his sceptre. So do the three ropes across the fiery pit, the hallway with where the giant skeleton hands come out of the doorways, and many others. The hallway with the giant skeleton hands actually begins with Daphne yelling "Save me!" right before she gets dragged into one of the rooms, which is exactly how that scene begins in the old arcade game.

Unfortunately, the game play is simple, uncreative, and filled with repetitive jump puzzles and simple, easy combat. The AI for most monsters is nonexistent, and many can be easily dispatched with a simple block-and-slash tactic. Many of the recreated scenes seem forced, and have no value other than paying homage to the arcade classic. A prime example of this problem is the room where the Black Knight electrifies the floor with his sword. DL3D has the same room, but in the new version, the player simply needs to slowly move along the safe parts of the floor to advance forward. It might be a challenge for children, but not for experienced gamers.

The worst part about the game is the horrible controls. They are imprecise, sluggish, and aggravating. In addition, sometimes the camera switches to an annoying top-down view. This game has the dubious acheivement of being both easy and frustrating at the same time. These faults are inexcusable for a game that relies so heavily upon jump puzzles and timing.

"Dragon's Lair 3D" is not a bad game by any means. It is a treat for Dragon's Lair fans eager to relive their old passion in a new way, but it is difficult to recommend to anyone else. This game simply can't compete with all of the great games being made for the PC.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful art/colors, great gamplay!, July 7, 2003

By 

David J. Ceremuga "David Ceremuga" (Taylors, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair (CD-ROM)

The game is very long and it follows a great storyline. I have played through the game now 6 times in the past 4 months. Quite simply one of the most enjoyable games I have played in many many years. Those that insult the game are expecting a Quake III type game. Dragon's lair 3d does a great job with the type of gameplay it offers. Deny yourself this title and you are missing one of the best... PERIOD. It isn't all hyper run/jump/shoot like a first person shooter. You can run around, play around, just enjoy this game. Once again, the Graphics and Environment are FIRST RATE.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best games I've played in a long time., January 22, 2003

By 

Erik Gorka (Madison, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair (CD-ROM)

After playing this game for one night, I already love it. I feel like I'm playing inside a beautiful Disney movie. The 3D environment textured in the cartoon style, and the 2D cel animation makes this game truly unique. The soundtrack and sound effects also give this game an animated movie-like quality. You can tell a lot of talent went into producing this game.

Besides the incredible audio and visuals, the game itself is so much fun. It's got a great sense of humor and just the game play in general makes you want to keep going. I played for an hour and a half, and had no idea where the time went. Besides that, I really like the concept of the mana cell which activates special magical things throughout the castle.

And Dragon's Lair fans definetly will not be disappointed. There's even a documentary about the history of Dragon's Lair and how the newest version was made (like a DVD special feature).

As far as the game controls, I really don't find it much different from the controls of any other 3D PC game. I use w-a-s-d for movement, and the mouse for looking and shooting. The ONLY frustrating thing is that at some points, the mouse control is lost and you only can use the keyboard to navigate, which isn't always intuitive.

But other than that, this game is great. If you get this game, you won't be disappointed.

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