I don’t consider myself to be old, but I’m old enough to be an eighties arcade junkie – a time when Pac-Man was king, Donkey Kong kicked my butt and when many pizza parlors across the country had Asteroids or Missile Command in their front windows. It was also a time when I had a pocket full of quarters. Every game counted and every high score meant something, at least in my small corner of the world.
One arcade game I never got to master was Don Bluth’s Dragon’s Lair released in 1983. This laserdisc video game was a true marvel — provided a glimpse of the future of video games. Back then, there was no way even to imagine the existence of high-definition, home gaming systems like what we have today. For me Dragon’s Lair was the ultimate technological achievement ever to find its way into the arcade. However it was frustrating game to play and ate my quarters too quickly.
If you are unfamiliar with Dragon’s Lair, this may be a good time to digress from my nostalgic recollection and briefly explain it. In this game you control the actions of Dirk The Daring, a sword-wielding knight who must rescue Princess Daphne being held captive by Singe The Dragon. Unlike other video games during the early 1980’s, Dragon’s Lair used real animated sequences played from a laserdisc. Essentially it was an animated movie that put you in control. Dirk’s actions – move right, left, up and down, and swing sword – had to be selected at specific moments during the animations. If you missed that small window of opportunity, Dirk’s life was up.
Dragon’s Lair lasted less than a year at my local arcade, so I never got to slay the dragon and rescue the Princess. Sorry, Daphne. I tried my best. Around this time I purchased a copy of Joystick magazine, which I still have, featuring the game hints for Dragon’s Lair. I thought this would be my magic bullet… I mean my magic sword. From time to time, I would bump into Dragon’s Lair at different arcades and amusement parks, but I still couldn’t beat that dragon.
As the eighties ended, Dirk, Daphne and Singe became faint memories. Occasionally I would come across my Joystick and stash of Electronic Games magazines and think about all those great games that laid the foundation for the new generation of arcade junkies. And I never thought I would have the chance to revisit Dragon’s Lair in my lifetime. I was so wrong… how wrong was I? I have two words for you: “personal computer.”
In 1997 Dragon’s Lair was released as a Windows PC game on DVD-ROM. Here was my chance to defeat Singe. Well, I had other problems to worry about besides Singe. My computer was big pile of kong — too many crashes, too frustrating to use for a length of time. Eventually this computer would end up in the dumpster and my Dragon’s Lair disc in storage. Another decade slid by and so did my attempt to master Dragon’s Lair.
During the last ten years, the explosion of video games has been quite remarkable. I’ve had many opportunities to buy Dragon’s Lair again for my home computers, but never got around to it. Let’s flash forward to December 2010. A couple of weeks before Christmas, I purchased Dragon’s Lair for my iPhone. This would give me something to do while waiting at airports during my holiday travels. Even though it was not the same experience as playing the original game, it was a real treat to have Dirk’s destiny in my hands again, literally. On a late December night, I finally finished Dirk’s quest started almost three decades ago. Singe was slain and Princess Daphne was rescued.
So what’s next for me?… maybe it’s time for me to sell my Joystick magazine on eBay and recoup some of the money spent years ago at the arcade… or my other option… I have two words for you: “Space Ace.”
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Copyright © 2011 by Rob Dragan
