Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp
Encyclopedia
Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp is a 1991 laserdisc video game
by Don Bluth
. It is regarded as the first "true" sequel to Dragon's Lair
. It takes place years after the timeline of the original Dragon's Lair. Dirk has married Daphne, and the marriage has produced several children. When Daphne is kidnapped by the evil wizard Mordroc in order to be forced into marriage, Dirk's children are clearly upset by the abduction of their mother, and Dirk must once again save her.
or press a fire button at certain times in order to continue. The game follows a traditional damsel in distress
storyline where Dirk the Daring must find and rescue Daphne with the help of a well-spoken time machine
. Strangely, it seems that the time machine is (or has been possessed
by) the brother of Mordroc, the foul wizard that has kidnapped Daphne. As the title suggests, Dirk travels through several dimensions
and historical eras searching for Daphne, some are inspired by classic stories and fairy tale
s such as Alice in Wonderland
and Sleeping Beauty
, to prevent Mordroc from enslaving Daphne to his whim with the dreaded Death Ring. Voice actor Michael Rye
reprises his role as the narrator in the attract sequence, as he did with Dragon's Lair as well as Space Ace
.
eight years later, hence Leland Interactive's credit on the title screen. Gameplay differs from the original in two important ways. First, it's linear
, as opposed to the randomized sequences of rooms from the first game; "dying" in the sequel also forces you to resume from a checkpoint in the level rather than starting a randomly different level as in the original. Second, golden treasures are scattered throughout the game; getting each treasure is optional and requires an extra move, but the player is awarded extra points. The developers originally planned to include a longer battle sequence at the end if the player managed to collect all the treasures, and a shorter one if they missed any, but this idea was scrapped in the final version and the longer sequence is used regardless. In the final release of the game it was made mandatory to pick up all the treasures; if the player misses any, at the end of the game it loops back to the first treasure missed. As well, unlike in the first game, the actions the player must do are prompted by a brief flash of what Dirk should use or where he should go next.
and Space Ace
in HD for Blu-ray, Digital Leisure said they were working on a Blu-ray version of Dragon's Lair II for some time in 2008. The disc was released on June 2, 2009.
An easter egg
on the Space Ace Blu-ray allows the player to play the first scene of Dragon's Lair II in Blu-ray format.
Laserdisc video game
A laserdisc video game is an arcade game that uses pre-recorded video played from a laserdisc, either as the entirety of the graphics, or as part of the graphics.-History:...
by Don Bluth
Don Bluth
Donald Virgil "Don" Bluth is an American animator and independent studio owner. He is best known for his departure from The Walt Disney Company in 1979 and his subsequent directing of animated films such as The Secret of NIMH , An American Tail ,The Land Before Time , and All Dogs Go to Heaven ,...
. It is regarded as the first "true" sequel to Dragon's Lair
Dragon's Lair
Dragon's Lair is a laserdisc video game published by Cinematronics in 1983. It featured animation created by ex-Disney animator Don Bluth....
. It takes place years after the timeline of the original Dragon's Lair. Dirk has married Daphne, and the marriage has produced several children. When Daphne is kidnapped by the evil wizard Mordroc in order to be forced into marriage, Dirk's children are clearly upset by the abduction of their mother, and Dirk must once again save her.
Overview
As with the original, Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp consists of an animated short film that requires the player to move the joystickJoystick
A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks, also known as 'control columns', are the principal control in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or...
or press a fire button at certain times in order to continue. The game follows a traditional damsel in distress
Damsel in distress
The subject of the damsel in distress, or persecuted maiden, is a classic theme in world literature, art, and film. She is usually a beautiful young woman placed in a dire predicament by a villain or monster and who requires a hero to achieve her rescue. She has become a stock character of fiction,...
storyline where Dirk the Daring must find and rescue Daphne with the help of a well-spoken time machine
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
. Strangely, it seems that the time machine is (or has been possessed
Spiritual possession
Spirit possession is a paranormal or supernatural event in which it is said that spirits, gods, demons, animas, extraterrestrials, or other disincarnate or extraterrestrial entities take control of a human body, resulting in noticeable changes in health and behaviour...
by) the brother of Mordroc, the foul wizard that has kidnapped Daphne. As the title suggests, Dirk travels through several dimensions
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
and historical eras searching for Daphne, some are inspired by classic stories and fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
s such as Alice in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
and Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm is a classic fairytale involving a beautiful princess, enchantment, and a handsome prince...
, to prevent Mordroc from enslaving Daphne to his whim with the dreaded Death Ring. Voice actor Michael Rye
Michael Rye
Michael Rye is a US voice actor. He is also known as Mike Rye and sometimes used his surname at birth, Rye Billsbury...
reprises his role as the narrator in the attract sequence, as he did with Dragon's Lair as well as Space Ace
Space Ace
Space Ace is a laserdisc video game produced by Don Bluth Studios, Cinematronics, and Advanced Microcomputer Systems...
.
Development
Development on the game began in 1983 after the success of the original Dragon's Lair, and finally reached arcadesVideo arcade
An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
eight years later, hence Leland Interactive's credit on the title screen. Gameplay differs from the original in two important ways. First, it's linear
Linearity (computer and video games)
A video game with nonlinear gameplay presents players with challenges that can be completed in a number of different sequences. Each player sees only some of the challenges possible, and the same challenges may be played in a different order. A video game with linear gameplay will confront a player...
, as opposed to the randomized sequences of rooms from the first game; "dying" in the sequel also forces you to resume from a checkpoint in the level rather than starting a randomly different level as in the original. Second, golden treasures are scattered throughout the game; getting each treasure is optional and requires an extra move, but the player is awarded extra points. The developers originally planned to include a longer battle sequence at the end if the player managed to collect all the treasures, and a shorter one if they missed any, but this idea was scrapped in the final version and the longer sequence is used regardless. In the final release of the game it was made mandatory to pick up all the treasures; if the player misses any, at the end of the game it loops back to the first treasure missed. As well, unlike in the first game, the actions the player must do are prompted by a brief flash of what Dirk should use or where he should go next.
Blu-ray release
Following the release of Dragon's LairDragon's Lair
Dragon's Lair is a laserdisc video game published by Cinematronics in 1983. It featured animation created by ex-Disney animator Don Bluth....
and Space Ace
Space Ace
Space Ace is a laserdisc video game produced by Don Bluth Studios, Cinematronics, and Advanced Microcomputer Systems...
in HD for Blu-ray, Digital Leisure said they were working on a Blu-ray version of Dragon's Lair II for some time in 2008. The disc was released on June 2, 2009.
An easter egg
Easter egg (media)
Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...
on the Space Ace Blu-ray allows the player to play the first scene of Dragon's Lair II in Blu-ray format.
Stages
- Stage 1; Dirk must flee from his angry mother-in-law while getting past creatures and obstacles in Singe's old castle, not the least of which are not one, but two ravenous snakes, one of which is inexplicably wearing a Tam o'shanter, in order to reach the time machine that will allow him to pursue Mordroc.
- Stage 2; In prehistoric times, Mordroc takes a moment to taunt Dirk as he battles pterodactylsPterosaurPterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period . Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight...
, a T-rexTyrannosaurusTyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
, and two winged centaurs that carry Daphne away. As this happens, the tiny island they are on gradually crumbles into the sea. - Stage 3; In 1865, Dirk is materialized in Alice Liddell's house and goes through the looking-glass that hangs over the fireplace. He tumbles into Wonderland where he faces Tweedledum and TweedledeeTweedledum and TweedledeeTweedledum and Tweedledee are fictional characters in an English language nursery rhyme and in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. Their names may have originally come from an epigram written by poet John Byrom. The nursery rhyme has a Roud Folk Song Index number...
, the Queen of HeartsQueen of Hearts (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)The Queen of Hearts is a character from the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by the writer and mathematician Lewis Carroll. She is a foul-tempered monarch, that Carroll himself pictured as "a blind fury", and who is quick to decree death sentences at the slightest offense...
, her army of playing cardPlaying cardA playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic, marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing card games...
soldiers, the Mad HatterMad HatterHatta, the Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the story's sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. He is often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Carroll...
and the March HareMarch HareHaigha, the March Hare is a character most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.The main character, Alice, hypothesises,...
, the JabberwockyJabberwocky"Jabberwocky" is a nonsense verse poem written by Lewis Carroll in his 1872 novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, a sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
and the Cheshire CatCheshire CatThe Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll's depiction of it in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Known for his distinctive mischievous grin, the Cheshire Cat has had a notable impact on popular culture.-Origins:...
. - Stage 4; In the Garden of EdenGarden of EdenThe Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
, Dirk has to escape from guardian angelAngelAngels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s, the advances of a morbidly obese EveEve (Bible)Eve was, according to the creation of Abrahamic religions, the first woman created by God...
, a half-hungry, half-smooth-talking snake, and finally, the ruin of Eden itself when Eve eats the forbidden apple. - Stage 5; In 1804, Dirk is shrunk to the size of a mouse in Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's study, where he must avoid the predations of the composer's persistent, hungry cat, not to mention the sheer chaos of his creative gust. - Stage 6; In Ancient EgyptAncient EgyptAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
, Dirk finds what appears to be Daphne (wrapped completely in linen bandages) but is actually Mordroc in disguise, leading Dirk on a wild goose chase as he explores an ancient tomb while narrowly avoiding poison gas, spiders, giant bats, flesh-eating acidAcidAn acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...
, and an undeadUndeadUndead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
mummyMummyA mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
. - Stage 7; At Mordroc's castle, Daphne becomes a large monster when the evil wizard puts the Death Ring on her finger. Dirk must avoid the monstrous Daphne's mindless attempts to devour him, get the ring off her finger, restore her to normal, and defeat Mordroc at the same time.
- Final Stage; Although Mordroc is finally defeated, Dirk must fight off the wizard's surviving minions and safely escape the crumbling castle with Daphne.