Dragon's Lair

n/a

Dragon's Lair

System(s): Sega Mega-CD

Publisher: Sega (JP/EU), ReadySoft (US)

Developer: ReadySoft

Distributor: Ecofilmes (PT), Tec Toy (BR)

Licensor: Epicenter Interactive, Bluth Group

Original system(s): Arcade boards

Genre: Action^[1]^[2]

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
JP	1994-06-03^[2]	¥6,8006,800	G-6035
US	1993-12^[3]	$59.9959.99^[4]	T-121015
EU	1994-03^[5]^[6]		4436-50
PT	1994
UK	1994-08^[7]	£49.9949.99^[6]	4436-50
AU	1994
BR	199x		061030

Non-Sega versions
3DO Arcade CD-i IBM PC Jaguar CD Macintosh

Dragon's Lair (ドラゴンズ・レア) is a full-motion video game released for numerous consoles including the Sega Mega-CD in 1993. It was revolutionary when first released in the arcades in 1983, and served as the first successful full-motion video game which relies solely on quick time events.

The game features animation from former Disney animator Don Bluth. It was followed by a spiritual successor, Space Ace, which was also ported to the Mega-CD

The Sega Mega-CD version is mostly faithful to the arcade original, but suffers due to the limited colour palette of the system. A Sega Saturn version was also planned^[8] but never materialized.

Story

The knight Dirk the Daring must find his way through the castle of a dark wizard to rescue Princess Daphne from the clutches of Singe the Dragon.

Characters

Dirk the Daring

A brave but clumsy knight who ventures into the castle to rescue Princess Daphne.

Princess Daphne

The damsel in distress, a beautiful princess that Dirk must rescue from the dragon's lair.

Singe the Dragon

A fire-breathing dragon that sleeps on a pile of gold. He has kidnapped Princess Daphne.

Gameplay

The game is on rails, meaning the narrative is predetermined and the player has very limited influence on its progression. Comedic aspects of the game include bizarre-looking creatures and humorous death scenes, and the portrayal of the player character as a somewhat fearful and reluctant hero. The game consists of a sequence of challenges played in a partially randomized order. The player does not control Dirk's actions directly but controls his reflexes, with different animated segments playing for correct or incorrect choices. The player must execute an action at the correct time by selecting , , , or or pressing to swing Dirk's sword.

The player has limited lives with which to clear the game and returns to a checkpoint after losing a life. Some scenes are occasionally mirrored horizontally for additional challenge.

Levels

Levels 3, 4, 5, and 6 are played in a randomized order. The scenes in Levels 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are randomized. If the player loses a life, Dirk starts over at the beginning of the current level.

	Level 1

	Level 2

	Level 3

	Level 4

	Level 5

	Level 6

	Level 7

	The Dragon's Lair
	Final scene against Singe.

Production credits

Sega Conversion

Produced by: David Foster
Directed by: Tony Bozek
Programmed by: David Foster
Computer Graphic Touchup: Mike Boulet, Tony Bozek, Carol Chan, Jackie Liew, David Magerman, Norice Millen, Shawn Moore, Jason Silverberg, Joe Verissimo, Nadia Yee
Sound: David Foster, David Magerman
End Music: Tony Bozek, Shawn Moore
Additional Programming by: Anselm Hook

Source:

In-game credits (JP)^[9]

Magazine articles

Main article: Dragon's Lair/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Game Players (US) #0612: "Vol. 6 No. 12 December 1993" (1993-1x-xx)
also published in:

Sega Visions (US) #16: "December/January 1993/1994" (1993-xx-xx)^[10]
GamePro (US) #54: "January 1994" (199x-xx-xx)^[11]
Sega Visions (US) #17: "February/March 1994" (199x-xx-xx)^[12]

Print advert in Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) #16: "January 1994" (1993-12-21)

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #57: "April 1994" (1994-xx-xx)
also published in:

EGM² (US) #1: "July 1994" (1994-07-19)^[13]

Print advert in Game Players (US) #0705: "Vol. 7 No. 5 May 1994" (1994-0x-xx)
also published in:

Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #58: "May 1994" (1994-xx-xx)^[14]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #59: "June 1994" (1994-xx-xx)^[15]

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1994-05: "May 1994" (1994-04-08)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average

Publication

Version

Score

Beep! MegaDrive (JP)

NTSC-J

68

^[16]

Consoles + (FR)

82

^[17]

Digitiser (UK)

32

^[18]

Electronic Gaming Monthly (US)

NTSC-U

62

^[19]

GamePro (US)

NTSC-U

90

^[4]

Gamers (DE)

7

^[20]

GamesMaster (UK)

NTSC-U

46

^[21]

Games World: The Magazine (UK)

PAL

29

^[22]

Hippon Super (JP)

NTSC-J

40

^[23]

Hyper (AU)

44

^[24]

Joypad (FR)

PAL

87

^[25]

MAN!AC (DE)

PAL

42

^[26]

Mega (UK)

NTSC-U

80

^[27]

MegaTech (UK)

NTSC-U

67

^[28]

Magazina Igrushek (RU)

50

^[29]

Mean Machines Sega (UK)

NTSC-U

67

^[5]

Player One (FR)

75

^[30]

Play Time (DE)

48

^[31]

Play Time (DE)

30

^[32]

Sega Power (UK)

NTSC-U

63

^[33]

Sega Pro (UK)

NTSC-U

90

^[34]

Sega Zone (UK)

PAL

45

^[35]

Sega Saturn Magazine (JP)

NTSC-J

69

^[36]

Todo Sega (ES)

75

^[37]

Video Games (DE)

NTSC-U

69

^[38]

	58
Based on 25 reviews

Dragon's Lair

Mega-CD, JP
Cover
Disc Jewel Case

Mega-CD, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Mega-CD, EU
Cover
Spinecard Disc Manual

Mega-CD, PT
Cover
Disc

Mega-CD, AU

Mega-CD, BR
Cover

Technical information

Main article: Dragon's Lair/Technical information.

References

Dragon's Lair
	Main page \| Hidden content \| Magazine articles \| Video coverage \| Reception \| Technical information Demos: Dragon's Lair Demo CD (1993) No results

Don Bluth games for Sega systems
Dragon's Lair (1993) \| Space Ace (1994) \| Dragon's Lair: The Adventure Continues (unreleased) \| Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp (unreleased)

[:File:DragonsLair_MCD_JP_Box_Back_Sleeve.jpg_p-1] File:DragonsLair MCD JP Box Back Sleeve.jpg

[https:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20200622192404.2Fhttps:.2F.2Fsega.jp.2Fhistory.2Fhard.2Fmega-cd.2Fsoftware.html-2] 2.0 ^2.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/mega-cd/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-06-22 19:24)

[https:.2F.2Fgroups.google.com.2Fg.2Frec.games.video.sega.2Fc.2FqeKIcUfxpHU.2Fm.2FybVHXn9hwUEJ-3] ttps://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.video.sega/c/qeKIcUfxpHU/m/ybVHXn9hwUEJ

[:File:GamePro_US_057.pdf_p42-4] 4.0 ^4.1 GamePro, "April 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 42

[:File:MeanMachinesSega17UK.pdf_p80-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Mean Machines Sega, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-01-28), page 80

[:File:SegaMagazine_UK_04.pdf_p106-6] 6.0 ^6.1 Sega Magazine, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-15), page 106

[:File:SegaPro_UK_36.pdf_p8-7] Sega Pro, "September 1994" (UK; 1994-08-11), page 8

[:File:SegaVisions_US_25.pdf_p38-8] Sega Visions, "September 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 38

[:File:Dragon.27s_Lair_MCD_JP_SSEnding.pdf_p-9] File:Dragon's Lair MCD JP SSEnding.pdf

[:File:SegaVisions_US_16.pdf_p35-10] Sega Visions, "December/January 1993/1994" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 35

[:File:GamePro_US_054.pdf_p101-11] GamePro, "January 1994" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 101

[:File:SegaVisions_US_17.pdf_p87-12] Sega Visions, "February/March 1994" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 87

[:File:EGM2_US_01.pdf_p125-13] EGM², "July 1994" (US; 1994-07-19), page 125

[:File:EGM_US_058.pdf_p163-14] Electronic Gaming Monthly, "May 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 163

[:File:EGM_US_059.pdf_p161-15] Electronic Gaming Monthly, "June 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 161

[:File:BeepMD_JP_1994-06.pdf_p20-16] Beep! MegaDrive, "June 1994" (JP; 1994-05-07), page 20

[:File:ConsolesPlus_FR_033.pdf_p146-17] Consoles +, "Juin 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 146

[digitiser1994-02-22-18] Digitiser (UK) (1994-02-22)

[:File:EGM_US_055.pdf_p42-19] Electronic Gaming Monthly, "February 1994" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 42

[:File:Gamers_DE_1994-05.pdf_p44-20] Gamers, "Juli/August 1994" (DE; 1994-07-01), page 44

[:File:GamesMaster_UK_016.pdf_p68-21] GamesMaster, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-17), page 68

[:File:Games_World_The_Magazine_UK_01.pdf_p23-22] Games World: The Magazine, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-05-26), page 23

[23] Hippon Super, "June 1994" (JP; 1994-04-30), page 60

[:File:Hyper_AU_006.pdf_p57-24] Hyper, "May 1994" (AU; 1994-xx-xx), page 57

[:File:Joypad_FR_032.pdf_p134-25] Joypad, "Juin 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 134

[:File:MAN.21AC_DE_1994-07.pdf_p59-26] MAN!AC, "07/94" (DE; 1994-06-08), page 59

[:File:Mega_UK_18.pdf_p32-27] Mega, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-17), page 32

[:File:MegaTech_UK_26.pdf_p20-28] MegaTech, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-20), page 20

[:File:Migr_2_RU.pdf_p62-29] Magazina Igrushek, "2/1995" (RU; 1995-xx-xx), page 62

[:File:PlayerOne_FR_043.pdf_p90-30] Player One, "Juin 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 90

[:File:PlayTime_DE_1995-03.pdf_p104-31] Play Time, "3/95" (DE; 1995-02-08), page 104

[:File:PlayTime_DE_1994-07.pdf_p138-32] Play Time, "7/94" (DE; 1994-06-08), page 138

[:File:SegaPower_UK_52.pdf_p36-33] Sega Power, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-03), page 36

[:File:SegaPro_UK_27.pdf_p24-34] Sega Pro, "Xmas Special 1993" (UK; 1993-12-02), page 24

[:File:SegaZone_UK_17.pdf_p56-35] Sega Zone, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-24), page 56

[:File:SSM_JP_19950901_1995-09.pdf_p87-36] Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87

[:File:TodoSega_ES_13.pdf_p52-37] Todo Sega, "Abril 1994" (ES; 1994-0x-xx), page 52

[:File:VideoGames_DE_1994-03.pdf_p76-38] Video Games, "3/94" (DE; 1994-02-23), page 76

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Dragon's Lair

From Sega Retro

Contents

Story

Characters

Gameplay

Levels

Production credits

Magazine articles

Promotional material

Physical scans

Technical information

References