"Dragon's Lair" HD DVD Pre-Order Up

[imdaly]

Hey all, didn't see the news here yet so I figured I'd alert any of you who may have been waiting for this.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...nandscathed-20

The HD DVD version of "Dragon's Lair" is now up for pre-order on Amazon with an apparent release date scheduled for August 15.

[Dare]

Wait wait... is this the "video" game from the mid-'80s? On HD-DVD? Why?

[imdaly]

Originally Posted by Dare

Wait wait... is this the "video" game from the mid-'80s? On HD-DVD? Why?

Here's your answer and more: Blu-ray "Dragon's Lair" High-Def Digest Review

Those unfamiliar with 'Dragon's Lair' may be wondering why an arcade game is being released on Blu-ray disc, and/or why we're reviewing it here at High-Def Digest. The short answer to both questions is that 'Dragon's Lair' has always been a most unusual brand of video game.

Originally conceived and produced in the early '80s as an arcade game utilizing then-cutting edge Laserdisc technology, for a brief moment in time 'Dragon's Lair' bridged the gap between animated film and video games, enabling players to progressively "unlock" scenes in an otherwise traditionally-produced animated film.

Yet while several other games were produced and released in a similar fashion, ultimately Laserdisc was not to be the format of choice for advanced gaming, leaving 'Dragons Lair' a technological oddity -- not really a video game as traditionally defined, and not really a movie, either. Without falling falling squarely in one or the other camp, one might assume that the game would just fade away, but instead it has enjoyed a curiously strong afterlife in recent years, both as a traditional PC-based game and (more successfully) as a light-on-the-interactivity standard-def DVD game.

[Dare]

hmmm... That didn't really answer my "why?" =)

I am actually familiar with this game, and with laserdiscs. I owned an actual laserdisc from one of the game cabinets at one point. (that sucker was heavy) So... why?

I could see this game appearing on a DVD as an extra or something. Would I pay $30 just for this? Aw, come on. I'd rather buy a movie. Maybe a Don Bluth movie. ;-)

[AOD]

Or how about the animated Dragon's Lair cartoon from the 80's.

[The Main Event]

The last time I experienced Dragon's Lair was in the arcades in the '80s. Will probably pick it up for cheap just for nostalgia

[Tonkpilsnut]

Any word on these coming as well? I personally thought Dragon's Lair 2 was a better game (Time Warp was the sub-title, in case anyone was wondering). You went to some pretty fun places, like Alice In Wonderland's...uh...land, the Garden of Eden, and Beethoven playing the piano as it flies in the air and you're all tiny and a cat chases you....anyways, it's great. Bring it out, please!

[VC-1]

dragons lair is the "street fighter" of movie media. it will be on every format ever released, why? because it's dragon lair, lol.

[Hastor]

According to an email I received from Digital Leisure after asking them about which version to get, they told me that the Blu-ray version had better timing, and the arcade beeps that went along with directions flashing wouldn't be present in the HD-DVD. I don't know if they've cleaned this up or not, perhaps explaining the later release date. I'd like to know. Either way these are best played on a PS3 or Xbox360 as you can use the D-pad as your DVD remote arrows, making it play more like a game. Now if only they could include some achievements to unlock for those on 360s.

[numnuts77]

I was pretty unimpressed with the HD DVD of Dragons lair. There is a icon that appears on the screen and you have to guess the right command rather than compared to the acrade version you would respond to the icon listed like Left arrow, Right Arrow, Sword, Shield.

The response time on the remote is kind of crap and if you die i noticed that it would take you to a completely difference sequence in the game rather than start over in the right spot. Plus when you successfully execute the command there is a stop and go load pause for each scene which kind of takes away the fun no smooth transition. Its like skipping chapters and waiting for load time..

IMHOP dont bother unless you are a huge fan and are curious to watch the developers talk about the game development or for nostalgia watching the sequences rather than play them..

Probably way more fun on a console system but wont look as good about only bonus to owning the disc being HD quality resolution..

[ben1080p]

wasnt the first one on bluray only 30 or so minutes long?

[Ice2Dragon]

Originally Posted by ben1080p

wasnt the first one on bluray only 30 or so minutes long?

Not even that.

Isnt there penalties for bringing up more than month old topics...?

[MasterBlaster]

Originally Posted by Ice2Dragon

Not even that.

Isnt there penalties for bringing up more than month old topics...?

Haven't you asked this same question before? Why are you trying to get people in trouble for bumping review/title specific threads? Does it offend you?

There's nothing wrong with bumping a thread like this, there's no opinion based rants, or outdated news here.

@numnuts: Thank you for your thoughts. I was never a fan of the original DVD of this by Digital Leisure. That one didn't even offer random branching paths like the arcade version had. The scene selection is always pre-determined. No way I'm buying an HD version of this, it's seriously time to retire this old thing to history. I think I have 3-4 versions of it myself, between the sd-dvd, and a couple different console versions. I even had the NES game at one point.