Dragon's Lair

145 - Dragon's Lair

Year: 1983
Platform(s): Arcade
Designer(s): Rick Dyer
Developer: Advanced Microcomputer Systems
Publisher: Cinematronics

"As much an "arcade experience" as it was an arcade game, Dragon's Lair was initially seen by some as the savior of the declining arcade industry when it was released in 1983. The game not only ran on the cutting-edge Laserdisc format and featured groundbreaking animation by the now-legendary Don Bluth (who was mostly known for The Secret of NIMH at that point), it also cost a whopping $.50 -- double what gamers were used to spending at the time. But spend they did, to the tune of over $30 million in the first year. What's amazing is that the game is barely a game at all, more akin to a set of animated DVD menus than a truly interactive experience. At the end of the day, it wasn't the technology or animation pedigree that kept us coming back for more; it was the lovable, bumbling Dirk the Daring. It was impossible not to want to see this goofy hero save Princess Daphne, especially given the fact that she was so far out of his league. Guiding him through the evil dragon Singe's castle was an exercise in frustration and rote memorization, but sometimes, Dirk's gruesome deaths upon failing were just as (or more) entertaining than his awkward escapes." - GameSpy

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