Dragon s Lair 3D

STORY / GAMEPLAY
You control Dirk the Daring, who is now on a new quest to rescue the fair Princess Daphne from the evil wizard, Mordroc. You will fight your way inside a castle, enchanted with treacherous monsters and obstacles. But be wary, as the Wizard will stop at nothing to protect his stolen prize. Advancing 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 Giddy Goons! These fast moving creatures leap and bound through the passages of the castle. With only short knives and no armor, the Giddy Goons are the weakest ones, but in groups they can be deadly. Dirk's main weapon is a sword that can also be turned into a fire sword and used in whirlwind attacks. During his adventure, Dirk will acquire a Crossbow. This weapon is good for long distance attacks. Any time during the game you can access the Inventory Screen. In this screen you can view the weapons and items that Dirk currently possesses. Select, equip and use items using the cursor pad keys. The screen will then close and Dirk will equip or use the item. Much like its predecessors, the gameplay offers unlimited lives here, so whether you fall into a deadly pit or killed by Giddy Goons, you'll just restart the area you currently play. Although the game has a nice scenario (and presentation), the controls are sometimes sluggish as the button layout is a bit tricky to master. The button layout is quite odd: you target with B, attack with A, jump with Y, and block with X (when using a Gamecube pad) and this doesn't work well, especially when you block hits or switch targets. But other than that, Dragon's Lair 3D is a good title and due to its legacy, it totally worth playing the game.

GRAPHICS / SOUND
The game features colorful graphics with fully cell-shaded, cartoonish characters that highly resemble the original Dragon's Lair. The animations are great (although Dirk is moving a bit sluggish) and there are several particle and lighting effects in each stage. The music fits perfectly to the game whilst the voice acting and sound effects are really good. Note that most of the voice acting is ripped directly from the original title!