While Shenmue was the one to finally give it a name 16 years later, Dragon's Lair is the true inventor of the Quick Time Event. Of course, the entire game is a massive series of them. Due to this game's gorgeous animation by legendary animator Don Bluth, this was essential however as while a Cuphead type game with Bluth animation would be spectacular, it simply was not feasible with the tech in 1983 so the interactive movie will have to do. However the animation alone makes this game worth playing on Modern Platforms, if you just want to see the beauty of the visuals without having to be a QTE master. Failing ain't so bad either, as you can see the many, many ways Dirk the Daring becomes Dirk the Dying. Deaths aren't the only funny thing as I got a few chuckles out of the creatures and the water ride section. Some sections tend to repeat (albeit mirrored) though which feels like padding, but the game is so short it's a minor eye roll at worst except when you get a few of them at once, then it's a slightly bigger one. Everyone remembers Princess Daphne though and I'm surprised a game was allowed to be that horny.

All in all, whether you're an animation fan, have some interest in video game history, have an odd QTE fetish, or looking for a unique way to kill an hour, I think Dragon's Lair is an essential game in those specific categories. For the first timer, I recommend the settings where you can use continues but have to clear all the QTEs in a section before you can move on to the next, just so you can see the game, and then later decide if you're up for the true QTE challenge!

Okay, two obvious observations - the animation of this game is great and the gameplay of this game... meh. It's a great idea and a truly technical achievement for '83, but playing it now will undoubtedly leave you feeling frustrated for the rest of the day. I tried to run the arcade version on the computer, but realized that it was not at all easy and switched to the Dragon's Lair Trilogy bundle (which, for lack of other options, is generally okay), which, like a gift from heaven, included the display of the buttons required to press on a separate panel. Without this, my experience would undoubtedly have been much more frustrating, as segments of the game strangely range from fairly well visually guiding (and fortunately this is most of the game) to moments that are too fast, not obvious and literally distract you on purpose a couple of times (which is quite funny though). I understand that this is a game for an arcade machine, and it cannot be built differently, but this does not make it much more enjoyable. The structure of the game itself is quite interesting, and could be developed further by adding (for example) items or significant forks (which may be in the sequel). However, the visuals, outstanding for its time, undoubtedly save this game, and it is still very pleasant to look at (although most of the time I was still looking at the button panel).

And with that being said, who was actually enjoying this game in '83 - the player suffering (and getting poorer) trying to save the princess, or the mere observers standing at the arcade and just watching the amazing animation without having to press any buttons?

I don't know what to say... I'm just glad to have played this game on Sega-CD with the checkpoints instead of discovering it on Arcade in 1983. I would have lost so much money on that game.

We all know the game is awfully hard and that without this level of difficulty, the game takes like 11 minutes to complete. But, let's remember it was the way Arcade games were working... the objective was to make us pay. We can hate that as much as we want, but all the games were basically using a similar system.

Let's just remember that Dragon's Lair invented the Quick Time Event and just for that, it deserves much more than a 1 star rate. Of course it could have been easier, but it would have not became such a legend without this difficulty.

Also, with some practice, you can do it in a few hours.

This is a weird one. It features some wonderful animation from Don Bluth that's always a delight to watch. But gameplay wise it's more like an interactive movie you complete through trial and error. The game gives you a very small window of time to react and sometimes there's little indication of what button you need to press. Basically, it's an entire game of quick time events. At least you get to watch a fun death animation each time you die.

Of course, you could always play this game with a guide telling you exactly what to press and when, which I'd honestly recommend. This one's more for the spectacle than the gameplay.

I think the problem with Dragon's Lair is that even if Don Bluth's animation is frenetic and charismatic (even on the Sega CD with its limited color pallete on FMVs), his team was not experienced enough to handle the dynamism of a videogame and as such it results in a lot of continuity errors between cuts (objects disappearing or behaving differently after the scene continues if you input correctly) that end up being quite distracting and it gives off too much visual information to process.

Yes, reaction times are very short and there's a lot of logical jumps due to trial and error and mischevous elements which are an annoyance of Arcade design to munch coins, but I'm more thinking of the moments where you are supposed to press a direction with an akward camera angle and you end up repeating the same scene over and over again just guessing what you are supposed to press (and often times the character moves diagonally in the animation, which makes me frustrated that my first try in that general direction didn't register)

Dragon's Lair, a vintage piece from the crypt of arcade horrors. Imagine the agony of trial and error, akin to trying to comprehend the chaos of a Discord server with too many bots. The game's unique selling point? You get to experience a multitude of spectacular deaths in gorgeous animation. It's like playing a twisted version of "Choose Your Own Death Adventure." The controls are about as reliable as a $5 psychic reading. While some may revel in the nostalgia, it's more of a "look, but don't touch" affair. A generous 4/10 for the pain-soaked journey through Dragon's Lair.