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Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp

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Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp

Believe it or not, I was alive and cognisant back when Dragon's Lair was still in arcades - and yes, I was alive back when there were arcades.

The thing is, I was never much of a fan. I always enjoyed watching other people play it, but on the few occasions I tried it myself I found it simultaneously stressful and dull.

Now that Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp HD is on the iPad - and now that I've had the chance to play it with better reflexes and a no need for quarters - my opinion really hasn't changed.

Quite the looker

Dirk must rescue Daphne yet again, only this time he has an angry mother-in-law hot on his heels. Always with the imminent peril, this guy.

Dragon's Lair II and its predecessor are perhaps best known for their visuals, which are still fantastic even over twenty years later.

It's very much like controlling a Disney cartoon, only you have to tap buttons at the right time to avoid getting Dirk killed.

There are several options to play around with in order to find the configuration that works best for you, but I stuck with the default settings as I liked the idea of having infinite lives.

Sure it cheapens the challenge, but so much of the game is trial and error (with a little reflex action thrown in) I was more than willing to sacrifice bragging rights in order to avoid frustration.

Same old, same old

Being able to play Dragon's Lair II on an iPad is nice, but the game itself hasn't changed. You're still just waiting for buttons to flash.

And you'll be spending so much time watching those buttons that you'll miss out on most of the action - and all that splendid animation.

Being able to adjust the difficulty slightly helps, but aside from the wonderful visuals the game really hasn't aged well.

Dragon's Lair was a glorified quick-time-event back before the term existed, and that's no different now. Whether or not that's a good thing depends on how much of a nostalgia buff you are.

Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp

The Dragon's Lair series was ground breaking for its time, but it isn't good for much more than a trip down Memory Lane these days
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Rob Rich
Rob Rich
Rob Rich is the editor of 148Apps.com