Dragon's Lair

I will never forget the first time I saw a Dragon's Lair arcade machine. It was 1983, Showbiz Pizza in Birmingham, AL. I was there with a church group and from the moment I saw that game, I knew that it was not just the next big thing, but it was something special, very special.

There was a huge crowd surrounding the machine. It was like it was the only game in the entire arcade. There were rows of quarters stacked on the machine, people marking their place to get their turn at the game. I was astonished at what I was seeing. This was like no video game I had ever seen.

The game has a very simple plot. You become Dirk the Daring, a klutzy knight on a quest to rescue the beautiful Princess Daphne from the clutches of an evil dragon named Singe. The game takes place inside the Castle of an evil wizard Mordroc. It is filled with dangers, enemies, traps, and puzzles to deter any would-be adventurers.

What made this game so different was every frame was hand drawn animation by the amazing Don Bluth. There were moments in the game where decisions would have to be made. Move through a door, use your sword, grab a chain etc. then it would load another animation for whatever action you chose. If you chose the correct actions, you would progress through the scene and move on to the next, if you didn't, you died a horrible death.

This game had such a huge impact on me as a kid. I was 13 when it hit the arcades and it has always been enjoyable. I've never stopped loving this game, it will always have a special place in my heart for more reasons than I'm even aware of. If I had to write a top 10 list of video games, this one would be very high up in that list. This game had something magical about it and it will stand the test of time.

I never really played Dragon's Lair 2 much, or Space Ace for that matter. Both were games made by the same company, with animation from Don Bluth. I'm sure they're both great, but there is no way they can touch this game as far as nostalgia and pure magic goes.