Space Ace Vs. Dragons Lair 2

Background

• In 1983 Don Bluth released the original "Dragon's Lair" in arcades. Players assumed the role of Dirk the Daring, who is on a quest to save Princess Daphne from the wizard Mordrok and his dragon called Singe.

  Despite the expense of both the arcade machine and the cost to play, due to the laserdisc technology, "Dragon's Lair" proved incredibly popular, partially because of the cinematic animation.

Space Ace

• The success of "Dragon's Lair" led to a follow-up, "Space Ace" in late 1983. The game follows the space-faring astronaut Ace, who is hit by a laser beam that turns him into a child version of himself named Dexter and must rescue his girlfriend Kimberly from the villain, Commander Borf.

Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp

• Work began on "Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp" as "Space Ace" was being released. This sequel had Dirk the Daring traveling through time to save Daphne from the wizard Mordrok. Due to the declining arcade market, production on the game stalled in 1984, with Bluth continuing to work on it until its completion and release in 1991.

Comparison

• Both "Space Ace" and "Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp" play like the original "Dragon's Lair": players use a joystick to move the hero around or push a button to execute a well-timed attack. Due to the extreme difficulty of the original "Dragon's Lair," "Space Ace" provided players with flashing hints to assist them. "Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp" features faster animation than its predecessors, in addition to giving players the ability to collect items. The improvements in the sequel increased even more when it was finally released eight years after "Space Ace," thus allowing for more advanced technology than was feasible in the early 1980s.

Re-releases

• In the years since their initial release, both "Space Ace" and "Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp" (not to mention the original "Dragon's Lair") were re-released on a variety of platforms, including console video game systems, CD-rom, DVD-rom, and Blu-ray players. In May of 2009, Space Ace was released as an app for the iPhone.