Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair is a 2002 reimagining in a Tomb Raider-style game. You once again have to rescue Daphne from the dragon, and will face familiar obstacles and enemies such as giant rolling balls and the black knight's electrified floor.
But instead of just pushing a joystick and a sword button, you run around in full 3D environments. You can jump and hoist yourself up ledges, crouch and roll, and even use some magic spells to negotiate more advanced obstacles. You can also switch your sword with a crossbow to shoot enemies from a distance.
I learned about this game from this Quarter to Three post (by a fellow who I think used to post here too). Then I bought it for $12 on eBay.
It ran well on my 2008-built Windows XP retro PC, though I spent some time reconfiguring the controls. The one technical issue I couldn't clear up was the audio. It's positional audio, and there's apparently no way to make it normal stereo. As a result, on my headphones, sound effects and music were sometimes too quiet.
The game retains its cel-shaded look (Don Bluth again contributed some animation work) as you move through the castle. The sound effects will be familar to arcade fans, from Dirk's hoots and yelps to Daphne's squeaky voice. Even the music composer is the same as the arcade's and provides good epic fantasy tunes.
The platform jumping isn't as refined and responsive as in the original Tomb Raider, but it isn't bad. The controls really sucked, though, when it came to the fire arrow puzzle room:
In this room, the camera has a fixed perspective, making the once-reliable controls complete garbage. I knew what I had to do, but it probably took a hundred attempts to pull it off.
The combat can be hairy when you're facing multiple enemies. Fortunately, the game is generous with health, mana, checkpoints, and game saves. You can't save during boss battles, though, which can be very frustrating. I used a video walkthrough more than once to learn how to win them.
The game has a few humorous moments. One of my favorite sight gags was this:
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The ending was fun, though, and the end credits features this:
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