Dragon’s Lair is a recreation of the classic laserdisc based arcade game that used real hand-drawn cartoons for the animations, and required accurately timed joystick and button presses in order to successfully navigate through a dangerous and haunted castle in order to save a damsel in distress from a menacing dragon.

In this Xbox live version, there’s an arcade recreation and a home mode in which you are given onscreen prompts as to the direction of timing of your button presses and joystick moves.  You can also play this game in Kinect mode so you’ll need to really jump and swipe to complete the appropriate actions.

Even with that help, it’s still easy to mistake, but luckily you don’t need to keep feeding the machine quarters in order to continue.  We definitely recommend playing home mode first, and then tackling arcade mode on future replays.  

The action moves pretty quickly, and you’ll need to stay on your toes as you make your way through crumbling passageways, fight demonish ghouls or giant skeleton hands, or swim from fiery rope to fiery rope.  The game is essentially a few dozen different mini-challenges which must all be successfully completed in order for you to rescue the dragon.

We were fans of the original Dragon’s Lair arcade game when we were young, so we loved sharing it with our kids. The actions were a bit more violent than we remember, but it was still fun to not only play through, but also watch as others played through. It’s tough to think kids’ will appreciate the novelty of an actual hand-drawn cartoon you can control, but we still think Dragon’s Lair makes a nice trip down memory lane, especially when remembered for the context of what other games were like when it was released.

INFORMATION FROM COMPANY FACT SHEET

Dragon's Lair, one of the most beloved arcade games of all time can now be enjoyed from the comfort of your couch. This fully arcade authentic version is fully playable with Kinect or the Xbox 360 controller so you can really show how well you wield Dirk's sword. Included with this ultimate edition are bonus Avatar items, Gamerpics and even a full watch feature to sit back and enjoy Don Bluth's stunning animation. In Dragon's Lair, you play the heroic Dirk the Daring, a valiant knight on a quest to rescue the fair princess from the clutches of an evil dragon! Find your way through the castle of a dark wizard, who has enchanted it with treacherous monsters and obstacles. Lead on adventurer. Your quest awaits!