Dragon's Lair II: Escape from Singe's Castle

Modern technology hit the arcades in the '80s like a ton of bricks when Don Bluth released Dragon's Lair, the very first laserdisc arcade game. The game was revolutionary in its use of animated sequences that were called up from the laserdisc player inside the game cabinet depending on the player's actions. The gamer would get closer to the goal if he made correct moves or choices at various points in the game.

Although very popular, the game was nothing more than a test of reflexes and memory. Only a few more laserdisc games made it to the arcades before the market crumbled.

It was only a matter of time before someone converted the game for play on the Amiga. Unfortunately, the first try didn't come close to capturing the full effect of the arcade game.

The same design team got together again to produce Escape From Singe's Castle, an updated version of the 1987 Dragon's Lair. Completely different rooms and a number of other options make it the best conversion so far of the arcade classic, a record that should stand until someone designs a CD-ROM version.

The first Amiga Dragon's Lair game lacked the distinct background of the arcade version and instead used bit-mapped graphics for everything. The new title brings the original backgrounds to the computer via digitization. Only the animations are bit-mapped.

Dragon's Lair II: Escape From Singe's Castle puts the player in the role of Dirk Daring, a knight on a mission to save Princess Daphne from the evil dragon Singe. The gamer directs the joystick in the right direction and pushes the joystick button with the exact timing the game requires.

Although the action might sound a bit boring, the attraction of the game lies in the rooms of the castle and the animated sequences. As expected from Bluth, these are nothing less than imaginative and breathtaking. Dragon's Lair II truly captures the look and spirit of the arcade game.

There are 11 sequences in Dragon's Lair II: Escape From Singe's Castle. A new interface lets the player choose the number of lives and the difficulty level and set switches for sound effects. There's also an aid that reveals the correct move and a mirror-image option. In addition, the designers threw in two sequences not in the original game, plus the ability to save the game after each successful encounter. Dragon's Lair II runs well on floppy disks, but even better on hard disk. The best feature of all is the ability to link Dragon's Lair II to the first Amiga conversion for a lengthy, challenging game. Graphics and special effects are excellent. The sounds are taken right from the game, and the animations blend in well with the digitized backgrounds.

Until the advent of CD-ROM technology is applied to this classic, Escape From Singe's Castle is the closest thing to the arcade hit available for play on computer.