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Dragon's Lair 3D - Return to the Lair Coverart

Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair (known as Dragon's Lair 3D: Special Edition in Europe) is an action-adventure video game released in 2002 by Dragonstone Software and Ubisoft on the Genisis3D engine and released in 2002 for Microsoft Windows PC CD-ROM, Sony Playstation 2, Nintendo Gamecube, and Microsoft Xbox home. The game is based on Cinematronics' 1983 laserdisc arcade game Dragon's Lair, and it follows a similar story; the hero, Dirk the Daring, must enter the evil wizard Mordroc's castle to rescue Princess Daphne from Singe the Dragon and ultimately the wizard Mordroc. Many of the characters and locations from the 1983 original make appearances in the game, along with new puzzles, rooms and enemies spread across fifty levels. Animator and director Don Bluth, who produced the cartoon animation for the arcade original, also produced two new animated sequences for the opening and ending of the game, although the ending relies heavily upon reanimated scenes previously used in Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp. The game uses cel-shaded polygons to mimic the distinctive style of the original, and it was originally developed by Blue Byte exclusively for home computers with a projected release date of Q2 2001, but the release was delayed until console ports were completed.

Gameplay[]

The game is the first in the series to host non-restricted movement for the player. A mostly linear exploration of the castle is broken up with boss fights, many of which are characters from the original arcade game, but not all. Many of the rooms seen in the original are seen again, though some are modified. New mechanics are introduced by the Dragon Essences that grant new powers. Health and Mana meters are also introduced and can be given upgrades throughout the game. A crossbow is also introduced and is used as an alternative weapon and resourceful object for puzzles. Treasure is also brought into the game to act as optional challenges to complete; collecting all 100 treasures unlocks extra gameplay options such as unlimited mana, alternate character skins, and faster sword charging for use when the player starts a new game.

Plot[]

The story starts as the Princess Daphne is captured by the dragon Singe commanded by the wizard Mordroc. Dirk sees this as he is riding his horse, Bertram, and unsuccessfully tries to rescue her. Daphne is taken through a portal, but leaves behind an amulet that allows her to talk to Dirk as he works his way through the castle withholding her. Daphne explains to Dirk how the wizard has become extremely powerful and would be undefeatable without the help of the Dragon Essences: magical objects that grant their users abilities and are each guarded by the strongest beings in the castle. Dirk manages to find the princess and goes into battle with Singe, largely mirroring the original arcade's version of the fight. As the knight walks away with the princess in his arms, he notices a different reflection in a nearby crystal and drops her to find that she is really a dark alter-ego version of himself in disguise. The evil Dirk laughs at the hero for almost falling for his trap and goes on to explain how he is one of the beings holding an essence and that long ago, those who held the essences grew corrupt, thus a civil war between the forces broke out. Dirk defeats the alter-ego and goes onto gather the rest of the essences, but as he gains a magical set of arrows that are the only weapon capable of dispatching the wizard, Daphne begins to chastise Dirk for picking them up. Soon after, it is revealed that the Daphne speaking to Dirk up to this point was Mordroc impersonating her (much like in Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp). Nevertheless, Dirk travels to where the princess is held captive and duels the wizard, who transforms into a dragon. Ultimately, he is defeated by the magical arrows and the knight saves the princess.

Trivia[]

  • The game inspired an original song and music video "He's My Guy" performed by Julie Eisenhower and produced/directed by Dave Hood, which plays during the credits.
  • A revised edition of the game titled Dragon's Lair III was released in 2004 for PC-CD ROM and DVD-Video, and consists entirely of pre-scripted gameplay footage of Dragon's Lair 3D that forces the player to input command prompts. Originally, this concept was intended to be included in the original 2002 release as a "Classic Mode." In a 2000 interview with Next Generation Magazine Dragonstone president Steve Parsons stated: "We're going to be taking the exact licensed rooms like the Black Knight Room, the main hallway, and the puzzle room and instead of giving the player full control we'll give them access to scripted routines. What it all boils down to is the original Dragon's Lair, but in full 3D." (Blake Fischer, "Dragon's Lair 3D" NextGen Lifecycle 2 Vol2 number 9, September 2000, page 35)
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