Escape from Singe's Castle
Encyclopedia
Escape from Singe's Castle, also known as Dragon's Lair Part II - Escape From Singe's Castle is a computer game for the Amstrad CPC
, Commodore 64
and ZX Spectrum
home computers. The game is sometimes referred to as Dragon's Lair II, but is not to be confused with the official arcade sequel Dragon's Lair II, also known as Timewarp. It was released in 1987 by Software Projects
.
There are eight different levels (with the name of the scene they are based on from the original Dragon's Lair
in brackets)
The Rapids (Underground River)
Avoid the boulders in the first section by following the "helper" arrows, dodge the moving whirlpools in the second section.
Boulder Alley (Boulder Trench)
Jump over the pits and avoid the giant boulders
The Throne Room (The Throne Room)
Avoid the electric sparks, jump over the electric disk and finally sit on the throne.
King Lizard (Pot of Gold)
Travel through the flickscreen maze to find the pot of gold and your sword (which is stuck to the pot). Avoid the Lizard King's attacks until you are armed.
Metallic Flying Horse (Flying Barding)
Guide the mechanical horse to avoid the walls and flames.
Lightning Room (Fire Room)
Avoid the lightning and try to escape the flames.
Checkerboard Corridor (Tilting Room)
Watch your footing as the tiles disappear and the bats attack.
Mudmen (Mudmen)
Avoid the mudmen and jump off the cliff to safety!
had licensed the Coleco Adam
version of Dragon's Lair
to be released on 8-bit home computers, but due to the limitations of memory size and media space very few scenes could be contained in the conversion. Therefore, a second game entitled Escape from Singe's Castle was created to contain some of the missing scenes. Some retained the original control method of only allowing a directional movement at the right time. Other sections had a smaller, more controllable Dirk.
The Commodore 64 cassette version features the same loading system as the original Dragon's Lair
conversion - the next game level loads while the player attempts the current level.
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
home computers. The game is sometimes referred to as Dragon's Lair II, but is not to be confused with the official arcade sequel Dragon's Lair II, also known as Timewarp. It was released in 1987 by Software Projects
Software Projects
Software Projects was the name of a computer game development company which employed Manic Miner developer Matthew Smith. After leaving Bug-Byte as a freelance developer, Smith was able to take the rights to his recently developed Manic Miner game with him, due to an oversight in his freelance...
.
Gameplay
Players control Dirk the Daring, the player character from Dragon's Lair, who has returned to the lair of Singe the dragon in order to claim a pot of gold. Singe has laid traps throughout his lair, forcing players to guide Dirk across a number of differently themed screens in order to steal the gold and escape.There are eight different levels (with the name of the scene they are based on from the original 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....
in brackets)
The Rapids (Underground River)
Avoid the boulders in the first section by following the "helper" arrows, dodge the moving whirlpools in the second section.
Boulder Alley (Boulder Trench)
Jump over the pits and avoid the giant boulders
The Throne Room (The Throne Room)
Avoid the electric sparks, jump over the electric disk and finally sit on the throne.
King Lizard (Pot of Gold)
Travel through the flickscreen maze to find the pot of gold and your sword (which is stuck to the pot). Avoid the Lizard King's attacks until you are armed.
Metallic Flying Horse (Flying Barding)
Guide the mechanical horse to avoid the walls and flames.
Lightning Room (Fire Room)
Avoid the lightning and try to escape the flames.
Checkerboard Corridor (Tilting Room)
Watch your footing as the tiles disappear and the bats attack.
Mudmen (Mudmen)
Avoid the mudmen and jump off the cliff to safety!
Development
Software ProjectsSoftware Projects
Software Projects was the name of a computer game development company which employed Manic Miner developer Matthew Smith. After leaving Bug-Byte as a freelance developer, Smith was able to take the rights to his recently developed Manic Miner game with him, due to an oversight in his freelance...
had licensed the Coleco Adam
Coleco Adam
The Coleco Adam is a home computer, an attempt in the early 1980s by American toy manufacturer Coleco to follow on the success of its ColecoVision game console...
version of 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....
to be released on 8-bit home computers, but due to the limitations of memory size and media space very few scenes could be contained in the conversion. Therefore, a second game entitled Escape from Singe's Castle was created to contain some of the missing scenes. Some retained the original control method of only allowing a directional movement at the right time. Other sections had a smaller, more controllable Dirk.
The Commodore 64 cassette version features the same loading system as the original 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....
conversion - the next game level loads while the player attempts the current level.